Bethpage developer fined $166G over filings for condo projects

The state Office of the Attorney General has fined a Bethpage developer $141,000 and ordered him to pay $25,000 in restitution over information omitted from state filings on condominium developments in Copiague, Westbury and Islip Terrace.

Anthony Galeotafiore, president of AJG Capital of Bethpage, was ordered to pay the fines as part of the “Assurance of Discontinuance” issued Jan. 30 by the attorney general’s office.

Galeotafiore did not respond to requests for comment. According to the assurance obtained by Newsday, he “admits to the OAG’s Findings.”

The violations stem from Galeotafiore’s offering plans or broker-dealer registration statements submitted to the state in connection with four developments built on Long Island in recent years or currently under construction:

• Harbor View Estates, 40 units for residents 55 and older in Copiague.
• Parkview at Salisbury, 30 units for residents 55 and older in Westbury.
• Cypress Way at Islip Terrace, 26 units for residents 55 and older in Islip Terrace.
• Newton Gardens, eight units in Westbury.

According to the assurance, the information Galeotafiore variously did not disclose in filings included:

• Six mortgage loans that he negotiated between 2011 and 2014, for which he received more than $500,000 in fees, although he lacked the requisite real estate broker license.
• A 2003 sanction from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority that required him to “disgorge” $250,150 in consulting fees, pay a $5,000 fine to the National Association of Securities Dealers and temporarily suspend contact with association members.
• Litigation involving Galeotafiore over alleged fraud and a profit distribution dispute with a co-developer.
• His temporary status as the principal of a group sponsoring one of the developments.

AJG Capital, which lists the four projects in its online portfolio, works in real estate development, bridge lending and capital note acquisition, according to its Web page.

“Our investments span the East End of Long Island, to the New York Metro area, New Jersey, and Florida,” and include “office, retail, industrial, multi-family, condominium and mixed-use investment properties,” the page reads.