Suffolk law lets 5-member committee sign off on settlements

The entire Suffolk County Legislature this week huddled behind closed doors more than an hour and a half, grilling county attorneys over a $10 million settlement with Martin Tankleff, who served 17 years in prison for killing his parents before the appellate division in 2007 overturned the conviction.

Yet when county lawyers briefed all 18 members on the deal, they learned the decision authorizing the settlement had already been made. Five days earlier, the legislature’s Ways and Means Committee, in executive session, voted 5-0 for the deal, which under a 30-year-old county law was the only vote needed to finalize the settlement.

“I never saw us give away that kind of money when 12 legislators had no idea what was going on,” said Legis. Robert Trotta (R-Fort Salonga). Three days after the vote, he requested a resolution be drafted to require that any settlement of more than $500,000 go to the entire legislature for a vote.

“I was very uncomfortable with what happened,” said Trotta, and he believes other lawmakers felt the same way. “I think there will be support to change it. It only makes sense.”

Freshman Legis. Susan Berland (D-Dix Hills) also questioned the process, saying, “In this day and age when litigation verdicts are in the millions, the economic decision may need to go to the full legislature to weigh in on.”

Concerns were only heightened because the Tankleff settlement came on the heels of a state Supreme Court ruling rejecting Suffolk’s claim to recoup $7.8 million from insurers after losing a breach of contract suit for failing to allow a solar firm to install solar panels at the Ronkonkoma rail parking lot.

Some were upset the county did not go to trial against Tankleff. “I’m not happy. I would have rather seen us fight in court,” said Legis. William Lindsay III (D-Bohemia).

Leonard Lato, an attorney involved in the original prosecution, this week urged lawmakers to go to trial, saying blood evidence implicating Tankleff was never successfully challenged in court. “The physical evidence doesn’t lie,” he said.

Tankleff has claimed detectives had fabricated a confession, which he refused to sign, and suppressed exculpatory evidence. Earlier Tankleff received a $3.375 million settlement from New York State under the Unjust Imprisonment and Conviction Act.

While the settlement is final, the county legislature still faces the prospect having to vote for a $10 million bond borrowing to pay Tankleff since the county has reserves to pay only minor cases. Since 2016, Suffolk has already borrowed $20.8 million to pay legal claims.

“There’s always a reluctance to borrow millions of dollars [for settlements],” said Legis. Tom Cilmi, GOP caucus leader. “I will be urging the administration to find as much money as they can in our operating fund.”

The law that allows a legislative committee to sign off on settlements dates back to 1980. It was put in place after the county began self-insuring for all but the largest insurance and litigation claims. The law empowers the committee to sign off on all settlements over $25,000.

But former Legislative Counsel Paul Sabatino said the original law had its priorities backward. “You don’t want the full legislature to get bogged down in cases of $25,000 to $50,000, but in really big settlements, you don’t want six people making the decision. You want the full legislature to control the purse strings.”

Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregory (D-Copiague) said he is open to revising the law. “When you have a case with a lot of zeros involved, you want to have as much input as possible,” he said.