Suffolk lawmakers pass bill targeting conflicts of interest in land sales

In an effort to flag conflicts of interest, the Suffolk County Legislature approved a bill Tuesday to require sellers of open-space land to the county to disclose recent campaign contributions to county elected officials or candidates, or any government jobs they’ve held.

The bill, which lawmakers passed 17-0 at a meeting in Hauppauge, was sponsored by Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregory (D-Copiague) in response to findings in a Newsday series in July about land acquisitions made under Nassau County’s environmental bond acts of 2004 and 2006.

The series found that $30 million of the $100 million in bond act money Nassau used to preserve open space was paid to sellers with ties to county politics, the property selection process, or both. Also, the county never followed through on many of its promises to enhance access at those sites and others.

As a result, many of the properties — some adjacent to politically connected sellers' private estates -- for years were hidden or closed off from the public that paid for them.

Sellers included a political appointee of then-Democratic County Executive Thomas Suozzi, large campaign contributors to Suozzi and his Republican successor, Edward Mangano, and major donors to the nonprofit advocacy group that played a primary role in deciding which properties were purchased.

Nassau County legislators who approved the transactions between 2006 and 2012, along with many members of the advisory committee that recommended the sites, said they were not aware of these connections at the time.

“I said, ‘Wow,’” Gregory said in an interview. “Do we address this enough in our program, and how can we change it, and make it more transparent?”

The Suffolk bill, expected to be signed by County Executive Steve Bellone, would require land sellers to disclose whether they’re officers or employees of the county and if they’ve made campaign contributions to elected county officials or candidates in the preceding four years.

Forms would have to be filed with the clerk of the legislature, in addition to the county real estate office.

Adrienne Esposito, executive director of the nonprofit Citizens Campaign for the Environment, in Farmingdale, testified for the bill at a public hearing last month.

“After the Newsday story, it certainly seems that a little bit more transparency would have been helpful and meaningful,” Esposito told lawmakers. “So we’re asking you to learn from another county’s mishaps . . ., I think what we need to do is just ensure the greater transparency.”

Last week, Nassau County Executive Laura Curran signed legislation to increase public access to eligible open-space sites and to better promote and label the parcels.

With David M. Schwartz

By Paul LaRocco

paul.larocco@newsday.com@paullarocco

Paul LaRocco is a reporter on the investigations desk. Since starting at Newsday in late 2010, he has also covered Nassau and Suffolk county politics and government and the Town of Oyster Bay.