Bruce Blakeman names Stephen Bucaria, David Chiang to top Nassau County jobs

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman has appointed a longtime state Supreme Court justice to run the panel that reviews thousands of property assessment challenges each year, and a former finance executive to serve as county treasurer.

Justice Stephen Bucaria, 73, a Republican from Garden City, will head the county Assessment Review Commission.

Bucaria has served on Supreme Court since 1995, and before that was a Nassau District Court judge.

Bucaria replaces Jeremy May, who succeeded review commission chair Robin Laveman in October, when former County Executive Laura Curan appointed Laveman acting Nassau County Assessor.

David Chiang, named by Blakeman as county treasurer, is a former investment banker from Manhasset.

Chiang, 52, an unsuccessful Republican candidate for North Hempstead Town Board in 2019, replaces Beaumont Jefferson as treasurer. Jefferson is deputy county comptroller.

Blakeman, a Republican, also tapped former Long Beach City Council President Anissa Moore, a Democrat, to serve as deputy county executive for health and human services.

Chris Boyle, a county spokesman, said Blakeman has "assembled the most qualified and hardest working team of staffers to best serve the residents of Nassau County."

The appointees, "will work around the clock to help make Nassau County more affordable and safer while creating new jobs and helping to jump-start our local economy," Boyle said.

However, minority Democrats in the county legislature questioned Blakeman's appointments of Herbert Flores as head of the county Office of Hispanic Affairs, and John Capece to run the Department of Consumer Affairs.

Flores was arrested in 2004 for taking part in a bribery scheme involving the sale of patient data from Nassau University Medical Center to personal injury lawyers.

Nassau prosecutors said NUMC employees gave the patients' information to Flores' brother, Rafael Flores, who then sold it to the highest bidder, according to the charges.

Newsday has reported that Flores was sentenced in 2005 to 60 days in jail and five years probation on his plea to a Class D felony, attempted bribery of a public servant.

Democrats also cite the involvement of Capece, a former chief of detectives in the Nassau County Police Department, in a politically-charged election case in 2013.

Capece led an effort to apprehend Randy White, of Roosevelt, after White had testified in court against Andrew Hardwick, a former Freeport Village mayor who then was a third-party candidate for Nassau County executive.

White testified he had been paid on a per-signature basis for collecting nominating signatures on Hardwick's behalf, which is illegal.

Democrats alleged Hardwick was in the county executive race to siphon votes from Democrat Thomas Suozzi, who lost his challenge to GOP incumbent Edward Mangano in 2013. Suozzi, of Glen Cove, represents the 3rd congressional district.

White was arrested on an outstanding warrant for failing to pay fines involving bootleg DVD sales.

White said he was falsely detained and imprisoned and subjected to strip searches, after Nassau police stopped and handcuffed him on a public bus in Hempstead Village.

White sued Nassau County for civil rights violations, and settled in 2016 for $295,000.

Capece resigned from the police department in 2013 after Mangano had threatened to demote him.

Daniel Schrafel, a spokesman for Democratic legislators, said in a statement: "It is a cause for great concern that two of the administration’s picks to lead crucial County departments have documented records of violating the public trust."

Schrafel said Democrats would, "rigorously review the administration’s nominees to determine if they possess the appropriate experience, character and integrity to effectively serve the residents of Nassau County."

Capece and Flores declined to comment, according to Boyle.

County officials did no disclose the new appointees' salaries.

Asked whether Capece and Flores were subject to background checks, Boyle said: "All Nassau County job applicants must pass an exhaustive background check prior to the County extending an offer of employment."

Also, Blakeman has appointed Michael Sposato, who served as Nassau County Sheriff under Mangano, as a deputy undersheriff, Boyle said.

By Scott Eidler

scott.eidler@newsday.com@ScottEidler

Scott Eidler is a deputy editor for the towns department at Newsday. Scott has worked at Newsday since 2012 and previously covered municipal government and education.