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Ex-Smithtown building director arrested in probe

BY STACEY ALTHERR | stacey.altherr@newsday.com; Staff writer San

May 7, 2008

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In a grand jury corruption probe that Suffolk prosecutors say continues to widen, the former head of Smithtown's building department was arrested yesterday on a multicount indictment that includes charges of bribe-receiving and coercion.

Robert Bonerba, former chief inspector and building director of Smithtown, pleaded not guilty to 28 felonies and 14 misdemeanors in the Riverhead courtroom of Acting County Court Judge Martin Efman. If convicted of all charges, Bonerba could face more than 20 years in prison.

"The investigation is ongoing and broadening," said Christopher McPartland, bureau chief of the district attorney's government corruption bureau.

Bonerba is the third person to be arrested in the grand jury probe. Two builders have already pleaded guilty to giving Bonerba $5,000 bribes each to expedite the construction of a Nesconset home in 2003.

The indictment covers the years 1999 to 2006, when Bonerba resigned after 18 years on the job. He is accused of taking cash bribes and services - such as free plumbing work at his Country Pointe condominium in Smithtown - in exchange for improperly using his influence as the town's chief building inspector, McPartland said.

Among other allegations, the indictment charges that Bonerba intentionally deceived the town because he knew official documents such as building permits and certificates of occupancy contained false information.

The coercion count involved an allegation that he compelled another town employee to falsify an official document, McPartland said. Then, the subordinate employee was told to inspect a home after Bonerba issued a certificate of occupancy.

The Suffolk district attorney's office said that on two separate days in June 2006 Bonerba, 58, gave prosecutors a written statement in which he confessed to some charges.

Bonerba's attorney, Anthony LaPinta, of Hauppauge, said he would not comment "at this time." Bonerba surrendered to authorities yesterday morning and was released. He has until Friday to post bond set at $100,000, or $25,000 cash, and surrender his passport.

LaPinta said in court that Bonerba's tight family ties and his severe asthma made him an unlikely flight risk.

Town officials were reticent to speak about the latest developments in the probe after a town board meeting yesterday, but some said it has affected the morale of town employees.

"It's disappointing, but let the investigation continue and wait to see what the outcome will be," said Councilwoman Patricia Biancaniello.

The news spilled out into the meeting room yesterday when a resident, frustrated that she was given just three minutes to speak on another issue, said, "In light of the corruption in the town," officials should extend the time limit for residents to speak.

The felony charges against Bonerba include 10 counts of bribe receiving in the third degree; a coercion charge, three counts of issuing a false certificate, seven counts of offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree, and seven counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.

The 14 misdemeanors include one count of receiving unlawful gratuities, 10 counts of official misconduct, two counts of obstructing governmental administration in the second degree, and one count of conspiracy in the fifth-degree.

Yesterday's arraignment comes on the heels of the guilty pleas by local builders, Frank Esposito and Robert Fitzpatrick, who said they each bribed Bonerba in connection with a house they built in Nesconset.

Esposito, 72, of Nissequogue, pleaded guilty on March 31, and Fitzpatrick, 55, of Bayport, pleaded guilty on April 28. Esposito and Fitzpatrick are cooperating with Suffolk prosecutors and haven't been sentenced.

Bonerba was suspended by the town in December 2006 for failing to properly fill out his financial disclosure statements, and pleading the Fifth Amendment on questions pertaining to outside work and gifts. He retired before a hearing could be held on whether he should be terminated, preserving his state pension of $31,871.

In August 2006, some of Bonerba's personnel records were subpoenaed by the district attorney, including expense reports and his financial disclosure reports. Since then, the building department and several other town departments have received subpoenas for more records, including building permits on residential and commercial properties, according to town sources.

Staff writer Sandra Peddie contributed to this story.