Edward Walsh’s trial could produce high political drama

The federal trial of Suffolk Conservative Party chairman Edward Walsh, scheduled to start this week, promises to be the most dramatic political corruption case since the late county GOP chairman John Powell fell from power nearly two decades ago.

Federal prosecutors say Walsh took more than $80,000 in taxpayer money while gambling, playing golf and politicking when he should have been working as a correction lieutenant.

Walsh’s attorneys maintain Walsh worked only feet away from Sheriff Vincent DeMarco, and that DeMarco knew what Walsh was doing for years and only turned on him out of political pique.

The battle turned more incendiary last week when, in federal court papers, DeMarco said Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota had failed to respond to DeMarco’s repeated requests to investigate Walsh. The district attorney responded that DeMarco, who has his own internal affairs unit, never did anything to supervise, discipline or investigate Walsh.

The unindicted co-conspirator in the case may be a political system that allows major and minor political parties to cross-endorse each other’s candidates.

Critics say the system discourages upstart contenders from running, denies voters a choice in elections and creates an incestuous tangle of political connections that thwarts government checks and balances.

“What happens with cross-endorsements is that you don’t have people looking over each other’s shoulder,” said Paul Sabatino, former Suffolk chief deputy county executive. “And you don’t get the kind of oversight that’s important.”

Because of such issues, 42 states either ban or limit such cross-endorsements.

There’s no doubt that DeMarco, a Conservative who once headed the deputy sheriff’s union, would not have been elected sheriff without Walsh’s support. Walsh and DeMarco’s political consultant, Anthony Manetta, helped get a cross-endorsement with Democrats that helped DeMarco beat GOP Sheriff Al Tisch in 2005.

Later, Walsh shielded DeMarco when the sheriff agreed to have deputies replace Suffolk police in patrols of the Long Island Expressway and Sunrise Highway.

The Suffolk Police Benevolent Association was livid. Walsh threw out more than 1,500 police officers and their families from the Conservative Party who had enrolled to block DeMarco’s 2009 renomination.

In his first election campaign in 2001, Spota got a significant boost from Walsh, then Islip Conservative leader. Walsh backed Conservative Richard Thompson, a sports agent who won a Conservative Party primary against GOP District Attorney James M. Catterson Jr. Loss of the minor party line sapped Catterson of 8,450 votes.

Since then, Spota has been endorsed by all the major and minor parties and has never again faced a general election opponent.

But the controversy over Walsh has done nothing to help Spota and DeMarco.

Spota’s office already is facing two other federal probes.

And DeMarco could have re-election problems next year due to backlash in his own party from members who have supported Walsh.

“With everything that’s been going on, eyebrows are being raised; it doesn’t look good for anyone,” said former Suffolk County Legis. Michael O’Donohoe, a Conservative who serves as county commissioner of jurors. “The only way to cure this thing is ban all cross-endorsements and have everyone run on their own.”