Suffolk IDA interviews candidate

Members of the Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency interviewed a candidate for executive director Tuesday afternoon but took no action to hire him.

The members questioned Babylon-based corporate and political adviser Anthony Manetta, 32, for more than an hour behind closed doors. Afterward, they said only that the process of selecting a replacement for Bruce E. Ferguson would continue. Ferguson, 65, resigned this past week.

Board vice chairman David Rosenberg said Manetta, founder and president of the Roosevelt Strategy Group, was the first person interviewed for the job. Rosenberg declined to say if others also would be interviewed.

Manetta, who has a master's in business administration from Dowling College, said during a break that the questioning was “very thorough” about his background and professional accomplishments. “It went all right,” he said. “We’ll see.”

He said that if he gets the job, his Roosevelt Strategy Group’s clients would be transferred to other firms offering corporate and political strategy, public relations and political fundraising and that Roosevelt would be dissolved. Manetta also has worked as a turnaround consultant in Westchester County.

Ferguson, who has been executive director since 1985, is to remain until Aug. 31. He plans to become a consultant.

Manetta’s candidacy for the IDA job is backed by Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone.

The IDA is also without a board chairman because Jim Morgo has resigned after six years to devote time to a new advisory role at the Long Island Association business group and as a member of the Suffolk County Community College board of trustees.

The industrial development agency, similar to those in other counties, is a public benefit corporation to promote economic development in Suffolk by helping in the "acquiring, constructing, reconstructing and equipping of manufacturing, warehousing, research, civic, commercial or industrial projects," according to its website.

To promote economic development, the IDA provides financial assistance, including through the issuance of tax-exempt or taxable bonds, for businesses that either wish to locate or expand their operations in Suffolk.