Thomas Garry doing legal work for Nassau IDA

Thomas Garry, a managing partner at the Harris Beach law firm and vice chairman of the Nassau County Democratic Party, said last year while chairing County Executive Laura Curran’s transition team that he would not take a government job.

But he was on the clock when he attended a recent meeting of the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency.

The IDA board voted to employ Harris Beach in August to assist the agency. The IDA seeks to spur economic development in Nassau by offering tax breaks to attract or retain businesses.

“They were hired in a competitive process,” IDA chairman Richard Kessel said of the Uniondale law firm. “They were one of three firms that we brought on to help us with transactions. They represent over 30 IDAs, including Suffolk. ... From my perspective, they are the most experienced IDA firm in the state. I’m glad we got them.”

Curran, a Democrat, also pledged she would not hire anyone who held a political party position.

But IDA officials and Garry said the IDA is not part of county government.

“The IDA is an entirely separate legal entity,” Garry said last week. “Their leadership does not involve the county whatsoever and our firm has one of the largest, if not the largest IDA practices in New York State. ... We don’t do any work for the county and will not do any work for the county.”

Members of the IDA board are recommended by the county executive and approved by the county legislature.

But IDA Executive Director Joseph Kearney agreed with Garry that “it’s not a county agency. It’s a state agency so we’re separate and distinct from the county. What we do, however, is we work with the county executive in terms of helping her push her vision for economic development in the county.”