Read Newsday's recent coverage of <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County Executive Steve Levy, who announced March 24, 2011 that he would not seek re-election for a third term.

Long Island

Suffolk

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The <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County district attorney's office has subpoenaed records related to $2.6 million in state grants that the <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> administration obtained to buy equipment for the county nursing home without acknowledging the complex was being sold. 
The state Dormitory Authority, which awarded the grant, froze any further payments to the county and has started its own review of whether the county complied with terms of the grant, a spokeswoman said. 
The subpoena follows <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> Comptroller Joseph <a href="/topics/Joseph_Sawicki">Sawicki</a>'s April 7 letter to District Attorney <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Thomas Spota</a> requesting an inquiry into the grant and the process used to find a buyer for the John J. Foley skilled nursing facility in <a href="/topics/Yaphank%2C_NY">Yaphank</a>. 
"We reached a point in our investigation where I'm now compelled to ask the district attorney to intervene to get to the bottom of some very serious questions," Sawicki said Monday. 
The subpoena seeks the comptroller's nursing home audit findings and work papers, which are to be turned over today, Sawicki said. <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Spota</a> declined to comment. 
Aides to County Executive <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a> said only that the administration is "fully confident in the legal and transparent process" of the sale. Equipment purchased with the Dormitory Authority grant is detailed in the purchase contract and "reflected in the sale price" of $36 million, the aides said. 
Edward Dumas, chief deputy county executive, said the authority has not told the county about the payment freeze. The sale of the 264-bed facility, approved by the county legislature March 4, was disclosed to authority officials in a March 10 conference call, he said. "The notion that someone uncovered a nugget that anything was trying to be concealed is absurd," he said. 
Susan Barnett, dormitory authority spokeswoman in <a href="/topics/Albany%2C_NY">Albany</a>, maintained county officials never revealed plans to sell the nursing home and the authority only found out March 22. The authority has already paid the county $900,000 under the grant first issued in 2007. The freeze will affect $700,000 in claims for which the county is awaiting reimbursement and another $1 million, she said. 
<a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a>'s spokesman, Mark Smith, said the county did not disclose its plans earlier because officials were considering both a sale and continued public operation of the facility. 
The developments come a week after Kenneth Rozenberg, a private nursing home operator, told the county he was withdrawing his agreement to buy the Foley nursing home and wants his $1.8 million deposit returned.

POGRAN12

DA wants records in Foley grant dispute

Steve Levy

For New York's struggling <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republicans</a>, fundraising challenges now include a new twist. 
The key talking points from state chairman Edward Cox and Suffolk chairman John Jay LaValle took shape shortly after Suffolk's newly minted <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a> County Executive <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a> bowed out as their most valued prospect, saying he won't seek a third term. Cox and LaValle have since noted repeatedly that most of those funds in Levy's more than $4 million campaign account -- to be given up to <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a>-turned-<a href="/topics/U.S._Democratic_Party">Democrat</a> District Attorney <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Thomas Spota</a> -- were raised during Levy's time as a <a href="/topics/U.S._Democratic_Party">Democrat</a>. This gives <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republicans</a> the chance to say that any questionable fundraising was not theirs as they prepare to face Democratic <a href="/topics/Babylon%2C_NY">Babylon</a> Supervisor Steve Bellone for county executive, whose campaign coffers have grown. 
Cox's decision to court Levy for governor last year now fuels criticism from those looking to oust the chairman in September. Possible challengers have included Nick Langworthy, chairman of the Erie County <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republicans</a>, who seem to be in perpetual revolt, and Ed Lurie, who has served before as state executive director and headed the state <a href="/topics/U.S._Senate">Senate</a> <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a> Campaign Committee. 
Amid that static, a question arises: How's Cox's own party fundraising? His executive director, Thomas Basile, waxes positive, saying Cox and company have been "building relationships with major donors over the last year and a half" as well as developing a base of smaller donors. 
According to election filings posted last month, the New York <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a> State Committee's reporting account had $104,547.25 on hand. The committee's housekeeping account totaled $131,802.45. The most recent major donations to those accounts came from <a href="/topics/David_H._Koch">David Koch</a>, one of the Midwestern industrialist Koch brothers who fund right-wing causes ($100,000), a firm affiliated with developer <a href="/topics/Peter_Kalikow">Peter Kalikow</a> ($50,000) and the Westchester GOP ($25,000). That's in addition to funds in a federal account. 
The state party's spring dinner will be held in early June. Last year's, featuring <a href="/topics/Jeb_Bush">Jeb Bush</a>, brought in nearly $1 million, Basile said. In state government, the most important <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a> is <a href="/topics/U.S._Senate">Senate</a> Majority Leader <a href="/topics/Dean_Skelos">Dean Skelos</a> of <a href="/topics/Rockville_Centre%2C_NY">Rockville Centre</a>. As of January, his conference's campaign accounts held a combined $611,131.

Opinion

Columnists

Dan Janison

POJANI11

GOP crafts message on Levy cash crash

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Contractors, their employees and trade unions working on the new $156-million, maximum-security jail in Yaphank contributed $924,746 to County Executive <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a>'s $4.3-million campaign war chest. 
A Newsday examination of hundreds of records, and dozens of interviews related to the jail -- the largest public works project in the county in 30 years -- has found these contributions were a windfall for Friends of <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a>. These records and interviews show: 
Thirty-two contractors and subcontractors and at least 17 employees of firms involved with the project made contributions totaling $462,056 from 2004, when active planning for construction began, through 2010. The biggest donor is Rocco Trotta, the chairman and chief executive officer of LiRO Construction Management, a Syosset firm that in 2005 won a $5.1-million contract to supervise construction at the site. 
Twenty-six unions and union political action committees whose members have worked on the jail project contributed $462,689 to the Friends of <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a>. The largest was Steamfitters Local 638, which contributed $77,250 from 2004 through last year. 
There is a close relationship between county Department of Public Works officials and the contractors whose work on the jail they supervise. There were fundraising events hosted by contractors and attended by Department of Public Works and Levy administration officials. Some DPW officials also worked on their own fundraisers for Levy. At least three high-ranking DPW officials have left the department since 2003 and currently work for firms involved with the jail project. 
The entire Friends of <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a> fund must be turned over to <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County District Attorney <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Thomas Spota</a> as part of an agreement with Levy announced two weeks ago that ended an investigation by <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Spota</a>'s Government Corruption Bureau. The money will be reimbursed to donors who request it; what isn't returned will be given to charities. The agreement between <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Spota</a> and Levy also compelled Levy to forgo his bid for a third term as county executive. 
While declining to discuss the specifics of his investigation, <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Spota</a> said his probe "revealed serious issues with regard to fundraising and the manner in which it was conducted, including the use of public resources." 
On Tuesday, County <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">GOP</a> chairman John J. LaValle said he would turn over to the district attorney's office a $100,000 campaign donation from Levy to the county party, made last month. In a statement, LaValle said it was "unfair of Mr. Levy to give such a contribution, knowing it would necessarily taint the party." 
The Levy administration did the project under the authority of the Judicial Facilities Agency, a state entity. With the JFA, the administration was able, through state legislation, to get an exemption from the Wicks Law, which would have required separate bids for several major components of the project. It allows for a more pivotal role for the construction manager, such as selecting subcontractors and unions. Officials say the exemption was to save taxpayer money 
Levy spokesman Mark Smith said all contracts on the jail project were subject to competitive bidding procedures. Newsday has gone to court seeking the release of jail documents, including documents related to the bidding process. Levy sponsored a resolution approved by the county legislature that assured the jobs would be all union under a Project Labor Agreement. Smith said they were required to use a PLA on the project. 
The project is the subject of an audit by county Comptroller Joseph <a href="/topics/Joseph_Sawicki">Sawicki</a>. He said he opened the audit last December after receiving a letter from the Judicial Facilities Agency that said the Department of Public Works was refusing to release to Newsday public records related to the jail. 
Sawicki, a fellow Republican whom Levy has characterized as a political rival, said he found the fact that Levy's campaign raised so much money from vendors and unions working on the jail "extremely disturbing." He added, "Auditing this project is a no-brainer. It's a big chunk of taxpayers' money, and I want to make sure it's being spent properly." 
Levy declined requests to be interviewed. Newsday also reached out to unions and contractors involved in the project who gave to Friends of <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a>. Many declined to comment or did not return repeated phone calls. 
Asked to comment on the contributions Friends of <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a> received from vendors working on the jail, Levy spokesman Dan Aug said: "It is sad that Newsday would write an article implying that it is somehow untoward to obtain contributions that are neither illegal nor unethical. Interestingly, the publication never raised these concerns when the county executive was a member of a different political party. The ultimate irony is that the administration fought vigorously against having to build this mandated jail, which ultimately is being brought in on time and under budget." State efforts to compel the county to build a new facility to alleviate overcrowding began before Levy took office in 2004 and continued afterward. 
Administration officials said any contractors or subcontractors working on the job were picked based on the quality of their work, not on donations. Gil Anderson, the DPW commissioner, said campaign contributions had very little if any bearing on who gets county contracts. 
Election officials say the donations to Friends of <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a> do not appear to exceed guidelines limiting individual giving up to $44,000 per election cycle for the county executive, and $5,000 per year by companies. 
&nbsp; 
Contractors as contributors 
Thirty-two contractors on the project and some of their top employees have contributed to the fund. Examples of the top contractor contributors include: Sidney B. Bowne &amp; Son, $64,202; Rosemar Contracting, Inc., $37,656.49; and E.W. Howell, $33,970. 
Among the largest individual donors is LiRO's chairman, Rocco Trotta. Trotta has personally contributed $66,345 to Friends of <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a> since 2004. His contributions increased after his firm won the contract. Trotta made 33 contributions to the fund from 2004 through 2010. Last year alone, he contributed $14,300 to Levy. He did not return repeated phone calls asking for comment. 
LiRO was initially hired by the Department of Public Works to do a feasibility study on whether the project should be covered by a Project Labor Agreement, which sets work rules. Such agreements result in unions getting work on a project. That study recommended that the project be covered by a Project Labor Agreement. 
LiRO was one of eight that responded to a request for qualifications / proposals to be the project's construction manager. A selection committee of five public works employees, including then-Commissioner Charles Bartha, cut the list to three. 
LiRO's bid for the project, at $5.1 million, was the highest of the three -- $1.1 million and $1.9 million higher than the other two, records show. The two other bidders did not contribute to Levy. A bidders scoring sheet obtained by Newsday under the Freedom of Information Law doesn't provide a reason for why the highest bidder was selected. 
Marcella Diaz, chief marketing officer for LiRO, said the company was awarded its jail contract based on its qualifications as a construction management firm. 
"We were hired based on our technical qualifications," she said. "We were the highest ranked based on technical qualifications. It was a qualifications-based hire, not a low bid." 
She said that donations by Trotta were his own personal contributions, not the company's. "It was a personal donation that came out of his personal bank account," she said. 
Company officials couldn't be interviewed because their work for the county continues, she said. She added that LiRO has not been contacted by the district attorney's office nor asked to provide any information. 
In an interview, Anderson said there was no favoritism in the LiRO selection. He said the award was given to the most qualified bidder, regardless of the amount of the bids. 
"At the end of the day, it [contributions] has very little import, if any at all, in getting work with the county," he said. "We require such levels of service that if they [contractors] don't meet it they are not getting the job." 
Sidney B. Bowne &amp; Son, Llp, a <a href="/topics/Mineola%2C_NY">Mineola</a> architectural and engineering consulting firm, contributed $22,800 to Levy in 2006, the same year the Department of Public Works hired the firm to work on the jail. Outgoing public works Commissioner Bartha signed the contract; in September of 2006, he went to work for the company. From 2004 through 2010, the company made 38 contributions to the Levy campaign totaling $64,202. 
Jon Siskind, marketing manager at Bowne, said, "I personally don't know anything about those donations." 
Jeffrey Koch, a political science professor at the <a href="/topics/State_University_of_New_York">State University of New York</a>-Geneseo, said the fact that jail vendors and unions contributed so heavily to Levy creates the appearance of a problem. In general, he said, "We would be much better served if politics could be taken out and it could be done on a purely professional basis," he said. 
Levy has defended the practice of soliciting vendors by saying that, although he supports campaign finance reform, "you don't unilaterally disarm." 
Monroe Freedman, a Hofstra law professor and ethics expert, disagreed. "The argument that everybody does it is simply not acceptable," he said. 
&nbsp; 
One department's key role 
The importance of Department of Public Works to a county executive can be seen in a taped conversation, made on March 26, 2004, between Levy, who had recently been elected county executive, and Stephen Baranello, one of his top advisers. The tape was made by <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Spota</a>'s office as part of an investigation into public corruption that led to Baranello's pleading guilty in April 2004 to bribery and conspiracy charges. Levy was not a subject of that investigation. 
The comments were captured by a wiretap and disclosed at a trial. They were reported again by the media in March of last year when Levy sought the Republican nomination for governor. Other taped conversations connected with the investigation were sealed. 
"I've gotta have a set of eyes at public works . . . " Levy told Baranello on the phone at 10:12 p.m. on that date. "If I'm keeping this guy [then-Public Works Commissioner Charles] Bartha, there's got to be someone there to make sure that he's not only doing things for me, but that he's not doing it for the <a href="/topics/Brookhaven%2C_NY">Brookhaven</a> Republicans at the same time." 
A week before the March 26 conversation, the state Commission of Correction ordered the county to shut down two jail dormitories in Yaphank because of unsafe conditions. The following month, Levy announced that the county would have to build a new facility. 
Bartha initially oversaw the jail construction planning when it began in 2004. He left the county in August 2006 after the firm received a contract for topographical surveys and other work at the jail. 
Bartha said in an interview that Bowne had been solicited for funds, which he said is typical. "I haven't seen anything out of the ordinary" from Levy's campaign, he said. 
Under a resolution sponsored by Levy and approved by the county legislature, the jail was included under a PLA, which guaranteed the work would be done by unions. County spokesman Mark Smith said the county was merely following a longstanding policy that says PLAs must be used on projects over $3 million. By going under the umbrella of the Judicial Facilities Agency, the county could receive an exemption to the Wicks Law, which mandates that governments bid out construction contracts exceeding $50,000, including for electrical, plumbing and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning. 
According to Martin Cantor, the JFA chairman, the exemption was designed to save money, but it also gives a construction manager a potentially central role in selecting subcontractors. He said the Wicks law exemption had the effect of opening up fundraising possibilities for Levy because LiRO had discretion in hiring. 
"Implicit in this concept is, if you get a contract, you want to say thank you to the people who gave you the contract," Cantor said. 
Smith rejected that argument, saying LiRO had "absolutely no role in advertising, reviewing or awarding construction bids." The county's published request for proposals specifically lists the construction manager's responsibilities, including making "recommendations for award of the contracts." 
A copy of the September 2004 request for proposals issued by the county, obtained by Newsday under the Freedom of Information Law, outlines numerous "bid services" that are a key component of the construction manager's work. 
The construction manager would not only "attend bid openings and record and distribute results," but also "interview prospective low bidders, determine bidders credentials and qualifications and make recommendations for award of the contracts." 
The construction manager is also given considerable sway in hiring and monitoring the union workforce. In addition to determining whether or not a project labor agreement is in the county's best interest, the firm is charged with negotiating "a project specific collective bargaining agreement with all craft locals that might be involved in the project." 
Smith said all contracts on the jail project were subject to competitive bidding procedures. Last June, Newsday requested all bid documents related to the jail project under the Freedom of Information Law. County officials released two requests for proposal and a limited number of other documents and said others could not be released because they were privileged. Officials later released some documents in response to follow-up requests, but said they had no documents responsive to the request for bid documents. 
At a 2003 fundraiser for Levy, Cantor said he recommended to Levy that the project be done under the JFA's auspices. He said he told Levy the Cohalan court complex in <a href="/topics/Central_Islip%2C_NY">Central Islip</a> had been done that way and that it saved money overall. 
"I said, 'Why not put the jail under the JFA?' " Cantor said he told Levy. He said he told Levy an exemption to the Wicks Law would save the county money. 
While the JFA was important in the county winning a Wicks Law exemption, county officials limited its role in financing the project. Later, JFA officials were angered when they learned that DPW had awarded a $15-million bid without their knowledge, according to JFA minutes. The jail project remains under the auspices of the agency. 
The close relationship between officials from the county Department of Public Works and the contractors whose work they oversee can also be seen at annual waterside political fundraisers. These were not uncommon during previous administrations, officials said. 
According to several former county officials and contractors who asked not to be identified, department staffers participated in two Levy fundraisers, 2007 and 2008, at The Oar, a waterfront restaurant in <a href="/topics/Patchogue%2C_NY">Patchogue</a>. 
During another fundraiser, in 2008, according to one former county official who attended, top department contractors, Levy friends and others were invited to give to Levy aboard a yacht in <a href="/topics/Huntington%2C_NY">Huntington</a> Harbor at a gathering hosted by an executive of J.D. Posillico, the <a href="/topics/Farmingdale%2C_NY">Farmingdale</a> construction firm that has a multimillion-dollar contract at the jail. Tickets to the boat events were $500 and up. Posillico officials didn't return numerous calls for comment. 
Referring to these fundraisers, the Department of Public Works' Anderson said, "The companies like access to political figures. They like to be in the know. No matter who's contributing to party A or B, it just doesn't impact the ability to work." 
He also said he has no problem with high-ranking department officials going to work for companies whose work on public projects they may have supervised. He said such connections "don't mean diddly."

News

LIJAIL07

Many Levy fund donors tied to new jail

The fog surrounding Suffolk's political investigation thickened Tuesday. 
County <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">GOP</a> Chairman John Jay LaValle has delivered the third in a series of announcements involving the campaign funds of County Executive <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a> that are remarkable for their opacity. 
LaValle announced Tuesday he will give up $100,000 in campaign cash that Levy contributed to the Suffolk <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republicans</a> on March 10 -- just two weeks before Levy shook the political scene by forgoing a fall re-election race and saying he'd forfeit his $4.1 million campaign war chest. 
For the first time in the 12 months since he and state <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">GOP</a> Chairman Ed Cox negotiated Levy's stunning switch from <a href="/topics/U.S._Democratic_Party">Democrat</a> to <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a>, LaValle has pointed a public finger at the now-muted county executive, whose fundraising had reportedly been under investigation. "It has become increasingly obvious," LaValle states, "that Mr. Levy's knowledge of this matter may have preceded the contribution. . . . It was unfair of Mr. Levy to give such a contribution, knowing it would necessarily taint the party." 
Just how the chairman knew or came to suspect that such a taint was Levy's intent, well, LaValle wasn't saying. As Levy and District Attorney <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Thomas Spota</a> did on March 24, LaValle was sticking to his statement, without elaboration. 
Who would have pictured, only a few weeks ago, anyone complaining about a sudden burst of generosity from Levy -- whose much-applauded frugality on behalf of taxpayers was reputed to extend to his campaign practices? County <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">GOP</a> sources say they were shocked when Levy acceded to help support other party candidates with such a big gift. 
Beyond that, the ambiguity suffusing this episode remains its unique feature. Two Thursdays ago, Levy issued about 300 words of pretty standard bowing-out language -- followed by this bombshell: "Questions have been raised concerning fundraising through my political campaign. Since this occurred under my watch I accept responsibility. In order to resolve these questions I will be turning over my campaign funds to the Suffolk County District Attorney." 
And what was it that occurred under his watch for which he accepts responsibility? Sorry, no comment. 
The second statement in the series issued from <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Spota</a>'s office. After a brief preamble, it said Levy wasn't running in order "to resolve a 16-month investigation" that "raised serious issues with regard to fundraising and the manner in which it was conducted, including the use of public resources." 
What issues? What conduct? What resources? Sorry, no details. 
Suffolk Legis. Jon Cooper (D-<a href="/topics/Huntington%2C_NY">Huntington</a>) and Kate Browning (WF-<a href="/topics/Shirley%2C_NY">Shirley</a>) are pushing for a framework for public financing of campaigns by 2013. Cooper cites the success of New York City's stringent regulations. He ties the timing to "the wake of the 'Levygate' scandal" and asks "If not now, when?" 
Maybe such a system would make sense. To that end, it would be good to know what the probed abuses were -- and whether they really were about campaign financing practices.

POJANI06

LaValle hints Levy's gift was improper

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<a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> Republican chairman John Jay LaValle said Tuesday that he's returning a $100,000 donation that County Executive <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a> gave the party two weeks before announcing that he's not running for re-election. 
Levy announced on March 24 that he would not seek re-election, saying "questions" had been raised about his campaign fundraising. He agreed to turn over his $4-million campaign war chest to District Attorney <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Thomas Spota</a>. 
Levy's contribution to the GOP on March 10 appeared to mark the largest single contribution to the <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County Republican Committee Campaign Account. 
LaValle said in a statement Tuesday that he could not "in good conscience" allow the party's campaign committee "to keep this money. While it was accepted in good faith and without knowledge of any impending investigation, if it was raised inappropriately, it must be returned." 
"It has become increasingly obvious that Mr. Levy's knowledge of this matter may have preceded the contribution . . ." LaValle said. "While every political committee must fundraise in order to be competitive, it was unfair of Mr. Levy to give such a contribution, knowing it would necessarily taint the party." 
He declined to elaborate, though he acknowledged he'd asked Levy to "contribute to the team." 
Levy, through spokesman Dan Aug, declined to comment. In an interview Friday, Levy would say only that he made the donation because it had been requested, and agreed to, before he agreed to give back his remaining campaign coffers. He declined to comment further. 
LaValle said he will be contacting <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Spota</a> to "inquire about the steps the [party] committee must undertake to return the money. As a result of this matter, the party must commence a repayment plan for the $100,000 immediately."

POLAVA06

LaValle: GOP to return $100G Levy donation

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Refusing to close the door on a future in politics, <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County Executive <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a> said Friday that "time will tell" whether his decision to not seek re-election in the wake of questions about his fundraising spells an end to his political career.
In his first public comments since announcing that he would not run for a third term, Levy said in an hourlong interview that he is considering working in academia or at a think tank once he leaves. "I'm a policy wonk," he said.
For now, he said he is focusing on holding down taxes in the face of state budget cuts. Levy declined to discuss the investigation into his campaign fundraising by District Attorney <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Thomas Spota</a>.
Levy said that before returning to the office Friday, he had been in the <a href="/topics/Boston">Boston</a> area with his wife, Colleen West, and his 25-year-old stepdaughter Erin, who is attending <a href="/topics/Harvard_Medical_School">Harvard Medical School</a>. Levy said he took time to shop and spend time with his family.
As for his chances of again holding elective office, Levy said he thought people may feel differently about him when all the facts surrounding the investigation are known.
"Time will tell," he said during an hourlong interview in his office in Hauppauge. "Right now no facts have come out. People are speculating to fill a vacuum, which is understandable." He declined to elaborate, saying he did not want to jeopardize <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Spota</a>'s inquiry.
But Levy acknowledged that he might be leaving the limelight.
"In politics, you can be yesterday's news very quickly," Levy, 51, said, adding that he will focus during the last six months of his second term on "guiding this ship through very treacherous waters," a reference to big state budget cuts. He predicted school districts will raise taxes and said, "I want to make sure that doesn't happen at the county level."
He downplayed questions about his lame-duck status and his ability to deal effectively with the county legislature. He noted that he had accomplished much of his cost-cutting administratively, including removal of Suffolk Police from highway patrol duties.
Levy sat at a table in the conference room of his Hauppauge office. In front of him was a stack of correspondence, and he was flanked by his public relations director and his chief policy adviser. He appeared upbeat, and maintained a smile that only faded when the conversation turned to questions around his fundraising. 
Levy would not discuss Spota's investigation. Spota said he had discovered "serious issues with regard to fundraising and the manner in which it was conducted." Levy agreed to turn his $4.1 million campaign treasury over to the district attorney.
Looking toward his immediate future after his term ends, Levy said work in academia or with a think tank would allow him to remain involved in public issues. 
Levy also sought to downplay the personal toll leaving office would have on him. He said he had only been "50/50" about running for re-election this fall anyway, after a "grueling" but unsuccessful run for governor last year and the knowledge that many incumbents suffer a "third-term curse." He said he'd expressed his uncertainty over another campaign to those close to him. "It wears on you physically and it wears on your family," he said.
He conceded that some might doubt his indecision about running. "People may not believe it's true," he said. Frank Tantone, <a href="/topics/Islip%2C_NY">Islip</a> Republican chairman, said Levy had screened as a candidate for re-election on March 9 at the party's <a href="/topics/Bay_Shore%2C_NY">Bay Shore</a> headquarters. "He screened as if he were running," said Tantone. "Did he say . . . 'I'm running?' No." But Levy " . . . gave his usual Steve Levy fiery speech and very frankly he won a lot of them [the audience] over."
In thinking about his decision not to run again, Levy said he took solace from the fact that, "I've seen many people who've lost elections say several weeks later that it was the best thing that ever happened to them."
He said he was looking forward.
"There's no time to dwell on things; there's so much on the table to deal with," Levy said.
Contemplating the legacy he wants to leave behind, he said, "I hope that people will look back on these eight years, and realize that while others raised taxes and faced fiscal Armageddon, we in Suffolk kept taxes and spending under control."
With Rick Brand

POLEVY02

Levy: 'No time to dwell' on troubles

poLEVY

Two weeks before <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> Executive <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a> announced he'd forfeit his $4.1-million campaign fund, he transferred $100,000 from it to an account controlled by the county Republican Party. 
The donation from Friends of <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a> on March 10, disclosed on the state Board of Elections website, appears to mark the biggest single infusion to the <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County Republican Committee Campaign Account, one of a few county GOP war chests. 
On March 25, Levy announced that he will not seek re-election and had to turn over his campaign war chest to the district attorney's office, which ended an investigation into the county executive's fundraising. 
Suffolk GOP chairman John Jay LaValle said Wednesday that the transaction came before he or other party officials knew Levy would drop out of the county executive's race and turn over his campaign funds to District Attorney <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Thomas Spota</a>. "I can tell you without a question, it was received in good faith," LaValle said. "We certainly had no idea" that the announcement Thursday was coming. 
District attorney spokesman Robert Clifford declined to comment. Levy spokesman Dan Aug did not return calls. 
The disclosure by the GOP committee surfaced in a required report for the special election in Suffolk's 6th Legislative District. 
Other Suffolk GOP incumbents have kicked in to the party campaign fund, though with donations considerably smaller than Levy's, the state records show. Other contributions, transfers, or fundraising by Friends of <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a> since mid-January must be disclosed in July.

Politics

POFUND31

Levy fund gave GOP $100G 2 weeks ago

Four days after announcing that he will not seek re-election, <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County Executive <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a> continued to stay away from his office Monday. 
Levy may take most, and possibly all of the week off, spokesman Dan Aug said. Levy also was not at work Friday. 
"He's taking some time with his wife that he hasn't had for some time," Aug said. Asked for Levy's whereabouts, Aug said only: "Away." 
Levy, who did not answer the door at his <a href="/topics/Bayport%2C_NY">Bayport</a> home Monday morning, has made no public comments since announcing Thursday that he would not seek re-election, saying "questions" had been raised about his campaign fundraising. Under an agreement with District Attorney <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Thomas Spota</a>, Levy, 51, will turn over his $4-million campaign war chest to the district attorney's office. 
Aug said Levy was in contact with him, his deputy executives and department heads Monday on issues including land-use planning and implementation of an electronic system to track gunshots in several areas of the county. Levy "has his hands firmly on the wheels of the county," Aug said. 
Two deputy county executives who Aug said had consulted with Levy on county business did not return phone calls and referred questions to Aug. 
Levy's absence drew fire from Legis. Jon Cooper (D-Lloyd Harbor), who said Levy should be at work dealing with looming state budget cuts. "Of all weeks for the county executive to be not here," said Cooper, the legislative majority leader. 
Other lawmakers said they understood Levy's decision to take time off. "I'm sure the decision he made last week was a traumatic one for him and his family," said presiding officer William Lindsay (D-Holbrook). 
Legis. Kate Browning (WF-Shirley), who has clashed with Levy over his move to sell the John J. Foley Skilled Nursing Facility in Yaphank, said, "There are some very competent people who work [in Levy's office]. I'm sure his office is still functioning." 
Legis. Tom Barraga (R-West Islip) said he spoke with Levy after the announcement, but declined to characterize their conversation in detail. "I think he's doing OK. I think it's a tough circumstance. I can only surmise how I would feel. It would be traumatic. ...I think he should take some time." 
Frank MacKay, state and Suffolk chairman of the Independence Party, said he spoke to Levy this weekend. "He seems to be in a good place, but he expressed frustration that he couldn't discuss anything."

POLEVY29

Levy keeps a low profile

Stevelevy03-600x434

In the first signal that it's investigating the county <a href="/topics/Ethics_Commission">Ethics Commission</a>, the Suffolk district attorney's office Monday requested records and security video related to meetings of the special legislative committee set up to probe the commission. 
Meanwhile, the county legislature's presiding officer, William Lindsay (D-<a href="/topics/Holbrook%2C_NY">Holbrook</a>), said District Attorney <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Thomas Spota</a> asked him to suspend the committee's work pending the completion of a "criminal investigation." 
In a statement, <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Spota</a>'s office said: "The special committee to investigate the Suffolk County <a href="/topics/Ethics_Commission">Ethics Commission</a> has agreed to suspend its hearings pending this office's review of matters relating to the <a href="/topics/Ethics_Commission">Ethics Commission</a>." 
On Thursday, County Executive <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a> announced he would not seek a third term and that he would turn over his entire $4.1 million campaign fund to prosecutors. Without providing specifics, <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Spota</a> said <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a>'s action resolved an investigation conducted by his office's Government Corruption Bureau. He said the inquiry into <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> was completed, but that an investigation into the conduct of others was continuing. 
<a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> spokesman Dan Aug declined to comment Monday. Calls to the <a href="/topics/Ethics_Commission">Ethics Commission</a>'s offices were not returned. 
Lindsay established the special committee in June after Newsday reported <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> had filed a less extensive state financial disclosure form, rather than the county form required of roughly 650 county employees each year. Lindsay said at the time that he was concerned about the independence of the <a href="/topics/Ethics_Commission">Ethics Commission</a>, which reviews financial disclosure forms. 
The district attorney's letter asked for all records related to the establishment and funding of the committee, all written submissions in support or opposition to the committee, and all security video for the legislative meetings of Aug. 3 and Aug. 17, 2010. There was no explanation as to why prosecutors wanted the video. 
Legislative Clerk Timothy Laube said he would provide the records, but that there are no security cameras in legislative buildings. 
Last Aug. 17, legislators voted to hire former federal prosecutor Joseph Conway to lead the committee's review. At the Aug. 3 meeting, Craig Tortora, one of the three ethics commissioners, said the commissioners were "outraged that our personal integrity has been publicly questioned without one shred of factual proof that any impropriety has taken place." 
The committee's work then stalled after a prolonged court battle over commission records. In January, a judge ruled the committee had the right to subpoena records, and the commission provided them. Lindsay said he had planned to resume hearings, but that he would honor the DA's request. 
In a statement issued late Monday, Lindsay said, "This does not mean our work is complete. We fully intend to rewrite the statute to increase transparency and prevent future conflicts."

LIETHI29

Suffolk DA seeks records in ethics probe

Stevelevy03-600x434 -- CROPPED

<a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County Executive Steve Levy, one of the most popular politicians on <a href="/topics/Long_Island%2C_NY">Long Island</a>, stunned the political world Thursday by announcing he will not seek re-election in November after prosecutors raised questions about his campaign financing. 
The county executive, 51, who has been in elected office nearly all his adult life, must turn over his entire $4-million campaign war chest to the district attorney's office. Last year Levy sought the Republican nomination for governor. 
Thursday's announcement followed an investigation by <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> District Attorney <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Thomas Spota</a>'s Government Corruption Bureau. In a statement, <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Spota</a> said his investigation revealed "serious issues with regard to fundraising and the manner in which it was conducted." 
Over the past year, Newsday investigations have raised questions about Levy's campaign contributions, his financial disclosures and his wife's work for county vendors. 
Levy's announcement set off a scramble for who will be his party's nominee for county executive this fall. Until recently, Levy's associates have said, he had talked about making another run for governor in three years. 
"This closes the door on the one who would have most likely been [incumbent] <a href="/topics/Andrew_Cuomo">Andrew Cuomo</a>'s next opponent," said Frank MacKay, chairman of the State and <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> <a href="/topics/Independent_Party">Independent Party</a>. 
&nbsp; 
Told officials yesterday 
In midafternoon Thursday, Levy informed top Republican officials in the county, and later his <a href="/topics/Hauppauge%2C_NY">Hauppauge</a> staff. Afterward, he issued a statement announcing his decision. 
"Questions have been raised concerning fundraising through my political campaign," Levy said. "Since this occurred under my watch, I accept responsibility. . . . In order to resolve these questions, I will be turning over my campaign funds to the <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County district attorney." 
In his own statement, <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Spota</a> said, "There is no question that while the investigation revealed serious issues with regard to fundraising . . . I am confident that Mr. Levy did not personally profit. The forfeiture of his $4-million campaign fund demonstrates his acceptance of responsibility for these failings." 
<a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Spota</a> added, "You can be assured that if I believed that his actions compromised his ability to govern, I would have sought his resignation." 
He said his investigation "into Mr. Levy's conduct" has now ended. But he said an unspecified separate investigation "will continue with respect to the conduct of others." As for the $4 million, <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Spota</a> said it would be distributed to those who wanted it back, but only after the November election. Anything not claimed will be donated to charity. 
"I am satisfied that the actions taken by Mr. Levy resolve the investigation in the best interests of the citizens of <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County," <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Spota</a> said. 
Levy's announcement -- and the disclosure that he had been the subject of a DA's investigation -- was an astonishing turn of events for a man who was once so popular that the last time he ran for office both parties endorsed him. His political fortunes began to change in March 2010, when Levy shocked even his own party leader by declaring his plans to leave the Democratic Party and run for governor as a Republican. Much of his war chest was raised when he was a Democrat. 
&nbsp; <object width="580" height="288"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.newsday.com/swf/newsday/newsdayVP.v.2.08.swf?videoId=29170"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></object> 
<a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> politics altered 
His decision not to run for re-election immediately changed the political landscape in <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a>. 
"I'm stunned and speechless. . . . This just drastically changes the entire political year," said Richard Schaffer, the <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> Democratic chairman. "This is probably one of the most significant political things to happen in the county in a very long time." 
Levy's short-lived bid for governor last year energized what had previously been seen as a lackluster race. Casting himself as a reformer, Levy vowed to "clean the place up both ethically and financially." 
Questions about how he raised his money surfaced in April, when Newsday reported that Levy -- a longtime advocate of campaign finance reform -- had received $200,000 in contributions from law firms and title companies doing business with the county. 
Newsday also reported that a company partly owned by Levy's longtime friend, Ethan Ellner, got more than $85,000 in county title work -- on Levy's recommendation -- even though Levy knew Ellner had been convicted of federal tax evasion, lost his law license for a year and was cited for "unconscionable trade practices" by <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County consumer affairs officials. 
Levy defended his decision as an effort to give a friend a second chance; but his relationship with Ellner would dog him, coming up later in a high-profile criminal case against a former county legislator in which Ellner testified. 
By June, Levy's gubernatorial campaign had fizzled, after he failed to win enough votes to secure the Republican nomination. 
That month, <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Spota</a>'s office subpoenaed Levy's financial disclosure forms after Newsday inquiries about why Levy filed a state disclosure form, rather than the more detailed county form that roughly 650 county employees are required to fill out. Levy defended his filing, saying he had a ruling from the <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> <a href="/topics/Ethics_Commission">Ethics Commission</a> director that the state form would suffice. 
County legislators reacted swiftly. Presiding Officer William Lindsay (D-<a href="/topics/Holbrook%2C_NY">Holbrook</a>) formed a special legislative committee to investigate the <a href="/topics/Ethics_Commission">Ethics Commission</a>, which is ongoing. Levy called the probe politically motivated. 
In July, Newsday reported that court reporting firms owned by Levy's wife, Colleen West, regularly received work from businesses with millions of dollars in county contracts. Those business relationships were never disclosed on county financial disclosure forms, which Levy filled out after the Newsday stories. Levy said it was not required. 
In early January, court documents released in the insurance fraud trial of former county Legis. George Guldi indicated that a key witness said that a "high elected official" received cash payments for public work awarded to a <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County title company. 
The company was Suburban Abstract, which was partly owned by the witness, Ellner. 
While the official's name was never disclosed, Levy issued a statement that said, in part, "I request donations from thousands of residents and businesses on a yearly basis, but I have never, ever demanded one." 
Two weeks later, prosecutors in the Guldi case, as required by law, turned over to the defense a witness statement that provided more detail about the cash payments. According to the court papers, the witness said that he was asked for a "bribe" by the elected official and that it would be paid via Lee Holding Corp. 
State campaign records showed that a Lee Holding Corp. contributed $8,900 to Friends of Steve Levy from May 21, 2006, through June 25, 2007. It did not contribute to any other candidates and is the only company of that name in state campaign filings from 2005 through 2009. State business records list Ellner's mother, Gladys, as the chairwoman or chief executive of Lee Holding Corp. 
When Ellner testified in the case, he said the elected official told him how much to pay in contributions and that he got the county title work as a result of his relationship with the county official. 
At that time, Levy spokesman Dan Aug said Ellner "simply lied without substantiation." 
Levy has enjoyed immense popularity among voters, who applaud his tightfisted governance and willingness to face down the powerful police union. A skilled politician, Levy is renowned for his work ethic, often scheduling stops at three or four community meetings on a single night. Proud of his middle-class roots, he has an instinctive feel for the public mood. 
He has touted his fiscal record, noting last year that <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> had faced a $238-million deficit when he first took office, and that he had managed to improve the county's finances without any significant tax increases since then. &nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
<h3>Levy's announcement</h3> 
&nbsp; 
What happened 
<a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County Executive Steve Levy announces that he will not seek re-election in November. He will turn over his $4 million campaign fund to the district attorney's office. 
The money 
District Attorney Thomas <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Spota</a> says the money will be given back to those who want it back. Anything left over will be donated to charity. 
The impact 
The decision changes the county executive campaign because the Republican Party had planned on Levy being at the top of its ticket. <a href="/topics/Babylon%2C_NY">Babylon</a> Supervisor Steve Bellone is the Democratic frontrunner. Any potential Republican candidates now must scramble to raise the funds necessary to conduct such a campaign. 
The investigation 
<a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Spota</a>'s office had been looking into fundraising conducted by Levy's campaign. That investigation into Levy has now ended, <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Spota</a> said. He said the investigation will continue "with respect to the conduct of others."

LIMAIN25

Steve Levy won't seek third term

polevy

March 19, 2010 -- <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County Executive Steve <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> announces he is leaving the Democratic Party and will run as a Republican for governor. 
&nbsp; 
April 8, 2010 -- Newsday reports that <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a>, a longtime advocate of campaign finance reform, collected more than $200,000 in campaign contributions from law firms and title companies doing business with the county. 
&nbsp; 
April 13, 2010 -- Newsday reports that a company associated with a longtime <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> friend, Ethan Ellner, got more than $85,000 in county title work, on <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a>'s recommendation, despite the fact that Ellner had a federal tax evasion conviction, lost his law license for more than a year and was cited by the county's consumer affairs officials for "unconscionable trade practices." 
&nbsp; 
June 2, 2010 -- <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> loses the Republican gubernatorial nomination to former Rep. <a href="/topics/Rick_Lazio">Rick Lazio</a>. 
&nbsp; 
June 7, 2010 -- The <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County District Attorney's Office subpoenas <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a>'s financial disclosure records. <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> had filed a different form than the more detailed county form filled out each year by roughly 650 county employees. 
&nbsp; 
June 22, 2010 -- Legislative Presiding Officer William Lindsay (D-<a href="/topics/Holbrook%2C_NY">Holbrook</a>) forms a special legislative committee to investigate the county <a href="/topics/Ethics_Commission">Ethics Commission</a> that reviews disclosure forms. Levy would later call the inquiry politically motivated. 
&nbsp; 
July 8, 2010 -- Newsday reports that court reporting firms owned by Levy's wife, Colleen West, have regularly received work from businesses with millions of dollars in county contracts. 
&nbsp; 
Aug. 2, 2010 -- After weeks of pressure, Levy files county disclosure forms and releases them. The forms do not include some information about his wife's business, including accounts receivable. 
&nbsp; 
Aug. 17, 2010 -- Just before the <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County Legislature votes to hire former federal prosecutor Joseph Conway as special counsel for its ethics investigation, Legis. Jon Cooper (D-<a href="/topics/Lloyd_Harbor%2C_NY">Lloyd Harbor</a>) says Levy threatened to reveal information from Cooper's disclosure form if he voted for the probe. 
&nbsp; 
Oct. 13, 2010 -- Newsday reports that some ethics commissioners and staffers have made campaign contributions to the officials they regulate. 
&nbsp; 
Dec. 3, 2010 -- The county <a href="/topics/Ethics_Commission">Ethics Commission</a> refuses to comply with <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County Comptroller Joseph <a href="/topics/Joseph_Sawicki">Sawicki</a>'s subpoenas for records, and Sawicki directs his lawyer to file contempt charges against the commission's executive director, Alfred Lama. 
&nbsp; 
Jan. 4, 2011 -- Newsday reports that "a high elected official" received cash payments for public work awarded to a title company, according to a witness statement contained in court papers filed in the criminal insurance fraud trial of former <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County Legis. George Guldi. The official is not named. 
&nbsp; 
Jan. 7, 2011 -- Newsday reports that Legis. Jay Schneiderman said Levy offered him high-level county jobs in the week before a crucial vote on a new legislative presiding officer and insisted he resign immediately if he accepted a job. 
&nbsp; 
Jan. 19, 2011 -- A key witness in the Guldi case told prosecutors that he was asked for a "bribe" by an official in order to receive county work, according to court documents. The official is not named. 
&nbsp; 
Jan. 20, 2011 -- A State Supreme Court judge rejects the <a href="/topics/Ethics_Commission">Ethics Commission</a>'s efforts to block the legislative probe and rules that the committee has the right to subpoena commission records. 
&nbsp; 
Jan. 28, 2011 -- Newsday reports that the district attorney's office has been looking into county campaign contributions. 
&nbsp; 
Jan. 28, 2011 -- Guldi alleges in an affidavit that Levy used his political influence to provide protection for the criminal acts of a key witness in the insurance fraud trial against Guldi. 
&nbsp; 
March 24, 2011 -- Levy announces he will not seek a third term in November 2011 and will turn over his entire $4-million campaign chest to the district attorney's office.

LIHIST25

Steve Levy: A year of turmoil

Suddenly, the clock ticks down for <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a>'s tenure as Suffolk executive and the political pros puzzle aloud if the 51-year-old <a href="/topics/U.S._Democratic_Party">Democrat</a>-turned-<a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a> could ever stage a comeback.
"Hey, who was <a href="/topics/Andrew_Cuomo">Andrew Cuomo</a> after he lost to <a href="/topics/Carl_McCall">Carl McCall</a> in the [Democratic] primary in 2002?" asked Edward Lurie, former state <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">GOP</a> executive director. "There's a lot more to be played. Levy's got to resolve the controversies -- though you wonder what would have happened if he'd run for governor as the Republican nominee."
Frank MacKay, state and Suffolk chairman of the Independence Party, said, "It would take some time before all the facts come out. But you've still got to believe he's got pockets of popularity that are very strong."
One <a href="/topics/Long_Island%2C_NY">Long Island</a> Republican, who's been an admirer of Levy as a manager and asked not to be identified, said, "Some people think he can come back. Let's say he wanted to run in his old Assembly or legislative district. Back home, yeah, he could win, but it's too early to tell."
But if the battleship <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a> isn't sunk, it lists now and drifts unmoored. Given severe damage, it would have to be fully rebuilt.
His agreement to surrender a $4-million-plus war chest to "resolve" what Levy vaguely calls "questions" that "have been raised concerning fundraising through my political campaign" smashes one of his biggest practical assets.
Replenishing that kind of funding after losing a powerful perch would be no mean feat.
Further, one consultant called Levy "a man without a party -- like a man without a country." Both state <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">GOP</a> chairman Ed Cox and Suffolk GOP chairman John Jay LaValle invested heavily in Levy. When he signed up as a Republican after a lifetime as a Democrat -- but then lost his bid to run a primary for governor -- Levy was hailed by these party leaders as a newfound asset.
Within hours of Levy's announcement Thursday that he would refrain from seeking a third term, detractors of Cox and LaValle crowed that they, too, are damaged.
"This is a huge embarrassment. They have egg all over their faces," said one peeved Republican operative. "They're not going to see a dime of the dollars that attracted them to Levy in the first place."
Levy is widely regarded as having burned bridges with <a href="/topics/U.S._Democratic_Party">Democrats</a>.
One regional spin consultant was asked what might happen in Levy's first debate as a comeback candidate, when asked about the circumstances of his decision to forgo this run for re-election.
"That's a good question," said the consultant. "The spin would be, 'There was no corruption on my part and we went above and beyond by turning all the campaign money over to charity.' "
None of this, of course, accounts for new facts -- positive or negative -- still to be revealed.

POJANI25

Puzzling aloud over possible Levy comeback

0LCRMI2C.JPG

The stunning deal that derailed <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County Executive <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a>'s political career yesterday answers one question: Will Levy seek re-election? But it leaves others unanswered: What would <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> District Attorney <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Thomas Spota</a> have been able to prove if a case had gone to trial? Why would Levy decline a shot at re-election, if evidence against him was weak? Can he govern or will the lingering questions force him to resign before his term ends on Dec. 31? 
Disappointingly, Levy's statement gave almost no details, beyond a disingenuous wish "to tackle other challenges," an acknowledgment of questions about his fundraising and an acceptance of responsibility. "In order to resolve these questions I will be turning over my campaign funds to the <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County District Attorney." 
<a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Spota</a>'s almost equally fact-free statement said that this ends what he called a 16-month investigation of Levy's campaign finances, that Levy "did not personally profit," but that "the investigation revealed serious issues with regard to fundraising." The irony is that Levy's downfall is the $4-million fund that made him a strong contender for the Republican nomination for governor last year and a formidable candidate for a third term as county executive in November. 
Despite his history of supporting campaign finance reform, Levy was known for aggressive pursuit of contributions. A Newsday story last April showed that he had received more than $200,000 in contributions from law firms and title companies that have won more than $7 million in county business since 2006. 
Earlier this year, Newsday reported that Levy had directed $85,000 in county title work to a firm including a friend -- Ethan Ellner, a <a href="/topics/Plainview%2C_NY">Plainview</a> lawyer now disbarred -- despite Ellner's shady history, including a tax evasion conviction. At the insurance fraud trial of former legislator George Guldi in January, Ellner admitted making campaign contributions to get county work. The judge kept the name of the recipient from being mentioned, but Newsday's reporting showed a paper trail strongly suggesting the official was Levy. 
This episode has been a personal tragedy for Levy. He has spent almost his entire adult life in public office, but that career has taken a devastating blow. It also posed a problem for <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Spota</a>, a Republican-turned-Democrat, investigating Levy, a Democrat-turned-Republican. Though he says his investigation started before Levy switched parties, <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Spota</a> was likely concerned he might face the accusation that this was a politically motivated prosecution by a Democratic district attorney of a Republican executive. 
Still, <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Spota</a>'s statement that he is allowing Levy to complete his term in office because of "the need for stability in government in these difficult economic times while affording a smooth transition after the 2011 elections," is too vague. County taxpayers, whose dollars might have been ill spent as a result of any pay-for-play arrangements, might wonder if this deal is really the best outcome for the public. That said, we are satisfied that this was not a political prosecution and that <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Spota</a> acted in what he saw as the best interests of the county. 
As to whether Levy can govern effectively, given the energy it will take to fend off the swirling unanswered questions, that's unclear. If he wants to keep governing until year's end, his best strategy is to answer those questions quickly and candidly.

VPSUF25

Questions swirl around Levy deal with DA

0LIKZSTC.JPG

A year ago this month, <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County Executive <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a> -- a fiscally conservative Democrat enjoying widespread voter support -- announced he was switching parties to seek the Republican nomination for governor. 
That gamble kicked off a year of high hopes, disappointments and grueling battles with the legislature and police unions. Levy, 51, steered <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> through the economic downturn and came out of his failed gubernatorial bid with a healthy $3 million war chest. Then came Thursday's stunning announcement: the hard-charging politician who built his career on a fearsome work ethic and a willingness to take on just about any opponent would not be seeking a third term this fall. 
Soon, Levy may find himself in a position he hasn't faced since age 25 -- that of an ordinary citizen, outside the political world that had consumed him for half his life. 
What happens during his remaining time in office is anyone's guess. 
"I don't think <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a> is going to change his personality," said <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> Sheriff <a href="/topics/Vincent_DeMarco">Vincent DeMarco</a>. "I don't think he will change the way he governs." 
Raised in <a href="/topics/Glendale%2C_NY">Glendale</a>, <a href="/topics/Queens%2C_NY">Queens</a>, Levy moved out to <a href="/topics/Holbrook%2C_NY">Holbrook</a> in 1969 when his parents joined the waves of urban migrants headed east for suburbia. 
He was a middle-class kid who lifted weights and mowed lawns and shoveled driveways for extra cash. During his 26 years as an elected official, his polestar remained the concerns of <a href="/topics/Long_Island%2C_NY">Long Island</a>'s middle class: taxes, crime, jobs, quality of life. 
Levy graduated from Sachem High School and earned a political science degree at <a href="/topics/Stony_Brook_University">Stony Brook University</a>, then went to law school at St. John's University. 
He was practicing law in <a href="/topics/Smithtown%2C_NY">Smithtown</a> when Suffolk Legis. Jim Morgo, whose Democratic campaign Levy had worked on, decided not to seek a second term in 1985. Levy, 25, threw his hat into the ring in a contest that eventually pitted the political neophyte against a <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">GOP</a> front-runner in a Republican district. He knocked on nearly every door in the eighth legislative district, located mostly in <a href="/topics/Islip%2C_NY">Islip</a> town, and he won. 
"He really in those days was kind of a Mr. Smith goes to <a href="/topics/Hauppauge%2C_NY">Hauppauge</a>," said Morgo, a former Levy deputy. "He was totally idealistic and incredibly hardworking. What really mattered to him was the whole middle class, homeowner, <a href="/topics/Long_Island%2C_NY">Long Island</a> story." 
In the legislature, he was known as a policy wonk and copious note-taker. Levy immersed himself in the issues and spent hours poring over budget documents, an obsession that has remained his hallmark. And then there was news conference after news conference -- a media blitz that over the decades only spun faster as technology allowed. 
Levy also gained a reputation in the legislature as a maverick -- or an opportunist, depending on whom you talked to. Sometimes he cast the sole opposing vote to resolutions. Other times he allied himself with Republicans. 
"The problem with government is that there are too many officials who go along just to get along," he told Newsday in 2003. 
Levy beat out a Republican for a state Assembly seat in 2000. During his three years in Albany he introduced dozens of bills, few of which passed, and often spoke out on the Assembly floor. 
But <a href="/topics/Long_Island%2C_NY">Long Island</a> beckoned, and in 2003 Levy ran yet another uphill campaign, this time for Suffolk County executive. Outspent 2-to-1, he won the Democratic primary despite the opposition of police and public employee unions. Levy positioned himself as a moderate with his eye on the public purse and defeated Republican contender Ed Romaine. 
In his two terms, Levy cemented his reputation as an anti-tax moderate. He supported open space acquisition and environmental restoration, putting county money toward restoring shell fish populations. 
But he also drew fierce criticism for his aggressive stance against illegal immigration, at a time when Suffolk found itself grappling with demographic change, attacks against Latinos and eventually, the killing of an Ecuadorean immigrant, <a href="/topics/Marcelo_Lucero">Marcelo Lucero</a>.

POPOLI25

Levy built his career on hard work ethic

<a href="/topics/Long_Island%2C_NY">Long Island</a>'s top office holders and politicians, both <a href="/topics/U.S._Democratic_Party">Democrat</a> and <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a>, said Thursday that they were deeply shaken by <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a>'s decision to forgo a campaign for third term as <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County executive.
"The whole political world has changed," said Suffolk legislative Presiding Officer William Lindsay (D-<a href="/topics/Holbrook%2C_NY">Holbrook</a>). "I'm absolutely surprised, like probably the whole rest of <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County. We're trying to absorb it all."
Suffolk Democratic chairman Richard Schaffer said he was "stunned and speechless."
"This just drastically changes the entire political year," Schaffer said. "This is probably one of the most significant political things to happen in the county in a very long time."
State Sen. <a href="/topics/John_Flanagan_%28politician%29">John Flanagan</a> (R-<a href="/topics/East_Northport%2C_NY">East Northport</a>), a potential candidate for the <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">GOP</a> nomination for county executive, said he was "very, very surprised." He credited Levy for working hard to "maintain fiscal stability" in Suffolk.
"I certainly don't know all the circumstances associated with his deciding not to run. I wish him and his family well," Flanagan said.
John Jay LaValle, Suffolk <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">GOP</a> chairman, said Levy's fiscal record was "second to none" and that his decision not to run forces the party "to move in a slightly different direction."
"That he won't be the candidate is unfortunate but we fully expect have a very substantial candidate and grab that mantle and move forward," LaValle said.
Former Suffolk County Executive Patrick Halpin, a Democrat, called the Levy revelations "another sad chapter in Suffolk's history."
Suffolk Legis. Tom Barraga (R-<a href="/topics/West_Islip%2C_NY">West Islip</a>) said he could not believe Levy could have done "anything inappropriate or dishonest."
"I don't think he would jeopardize his public service by ending it with a cloud over his head," Barraga said. "I think it's a deep personal decision. I think it's a great loss."
"Wow, I would say nothing surprises me in politics anymore," said state and <a href="/topics/Nassau_County%2C_NY">Nassau</a> Democratic chairman <a href="/topics/Jay_Jacobs">Jay Jacobs</a>. "Every time you turn the corner, there's a new surprise. I'd simply say under the circumstances it sounds like he's done the right thing."
With Alfonso Castillo

POREAX25

Levy decision stuns LI politicians

Reaction from the political community on <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a> not seeking a third term: 
"The whole political world has changed. I'm surprised. I'm absolutely surprised, like probably the whole rest of <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County. We're trying to absorb it all." -- Suffolk Legislature Presiding Officer William Lindsay (D-<a href="/topics/Holbrook%2C_NY">Holbrook</a>) 
"I'm stunned and speechless; I think it will take a little time to process this . . . This just drastically changes the entire political year. This is probably one of the most significant political things to happen in the county in a very long time." -- Richard Schaffer, Suffolk Democratic chairman. 
"I'm as surprised as anybody else. The county has worked very hard to maintain fiscal stability in the county. I certainly don't know all the circumstances associated with his deciding not to run. I wish him and his family well. And I'm just very, very surprised." -- State Sen. <a href="/topics/John_Flanagan_%28politician%29">John Flanagan</a> (R-<a href="/topics/East_Northport%2C_NY">East Northport</a>), Senate education committee chairman. 
&nbsp;"This is a complete vindication for me and Bill Lindsay and others that have been beaten up by <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve</a> Levy for months. We had our motives questioned and there were accusations that we were unfairly besmirching him and his reputation." - Suffolk Legis. Jon Cooper (D-<a href="/topics/Lloyd_Harbor%2C_NY">Lloyd Harbor</a>), majority leader of Suffolk Legislature. 
&nbsp;"Talk about hoisted by your own petard. It's karma, baby! . . . I think this is a wonderful day for Suffolk County. I'm hoping that <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve</a> Bellone is successful and he will be a good leader. Goodbye, <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve</a>."" - Suffolk Legis. Vivian Viloria-Fisher (D-<a href="/topics/East_Setauket%2C_NY">East Setauket</a>) 
&nbsp;"I'm surprised and shocked. I respect Mr. Levy's decision. He's always been a man to accept full responsibility for his decisions and I wish him well in the future." -- Suffolk Legis. Ed Romaine (R-<a href="/topics/Center_Moriches%2C_NY">Center Moriches</a>) 
&nbsp;"This closes the door on the one who would have most likely been <a href="/topics/Andrew_Cuomo">Andrew Cuomo</a>'s next opponent." -- Frank MacKay, chairman of the State and Suffolk Independence Party. 
"Machiavellian characters with miserly tendencies, they don't just say goodbye. I don't believe that he's just deciding to spend time with his family and move on." -- Suffolk Legis. Jack Eddington (I-<a href="/topics/Medford%2C_NY">Medford</a>)

POREAC25

Local pols react to Levy's decision

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Levy Announces He Will Not Seek Third Term as Suffolk County Executive 
Statement of Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy 
I have been blessed by having had the privilege of being a public servant for twenty-five of my fifty-one years. Fifteen years as a County Legislator, three years as a state assemblyman and the last seven years as Suffolk County’s Executive. 
During the time, there were both great challenges and a large number of successes. But twenty-five years is a long time to do anything. Last year when I said I’d have to think long and hard if I’d seek a third term as County Executive, many folks thought I was posturing. But, my indecision was indeed genuine. 
Long hours, tough decisions, grueling debates, family sacrifices and a feeling that after a while you’ve accomplished what you set out to do on one level and look to new challenges.&nbsp; 
That’s why last year I put at risk an otherwise safe re-election for County Executive in 2011 for a chance to run for Governor. I yearned for the chance to change the state for the better as I believe I did in the county. I said to friends that if I didn’t run I would regret it for the rest of my life. It would be my swan song. I knew if I wasn’t successful that I might not seek a third term as County Executive. While I didn’t move on to a higher office it’s time to decide whether I’ll seek a third term as County Executive. After much discussion with my family and due to my desire to tackle other challenges I am announcing that I will not be seeking another term. 
My decision was not made lightly. There were concerns about staff I’d leave behind and the impact the decision would have on the Republican Party that so warmly welcomed me last year. 
There is a reason I didn’t announce a campaign manager or do a poll; I was truly undecided, but now the time has come to make this important decision. 
Questions have been raised concerning fundraising through my political campaign. Since this occurred under my watch I accept responsibility. 
In order to resolve these questions I will be turning over my campaign funds to the Suffolk County District Attorney. 
I thank the people of Suffolk County for the opportunity to have served them these many years. 
&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Full text of Steve Levy's statement

The Steve Levy statement

Steve Levy 

In my nine years as District Attorney I have prosecuted numerous public officials including town supervisors, county legislators, department heads and others without regard to political affiliation. I believe that my time as District Attorney will be defined by my aggressive and impartial investigations and prosecutions of corrupt government officials. 
Today, our County Executive <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a> announced that he would not seek re-election and that he was turning his campaign funds over to the District Attorney’s Office. This action was taken by him to resolve a sixteen-month investigation conducted by the Government Corruption Bureau which began in the summer of 2009. 
I am satisfied that the actions taken by Mr. <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> resolve the investigation in the best interests of the citizens of Suffolk County. Our investigation included the full cooperation of the County Executive. He met with prosecutors and investigators on multiple occasions to answer questions and provide information relevant to our inquiry. 
There is no question that while the investigation revealed serious issues with regard to fundraising and the manner in which it was conducted, including the use of public resources, I am confident that Mr. <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> did not personally profit. The forfeiture of his 4 million dollar campaign fund demonstrates his acceptance of responsibility for these failings. 
The campaign money will be distributed to those individuals who request that it be returned. The remainder will be donated to charity. To avoid political gain by another person or political party I have determined that no distribution will be made until after the November 2011 election. ? 
The decision to allow Mr. <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> to complete his term was carefully considered and involved weighing his conduct, the need for stability in government in these difficult economic times while affording a smooth transition after the 2011 elections. You can be assured that if I believed that his actions compromised his ability to govern I would have sought his resignation. 
Restraint is often more difficult than aggressive action but in this case I know it is more appropriate. 
This outcome ends the inquiry into Mr. <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a>’s conduct. The investigation will continue with respect to the conduct of others.

lispota

Statement of Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota 

liHEROIN

The defendant in an insurance fraud trial under way in <a href="/topics/Riverhead%2C_NY">Riverhead</a> states in an affidavit that <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County Executive <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a> used his political influence to provide protection for the criminal acts of a key witness in the case. 
The affidavit, filed by the defendant, former <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> Legis. George Guldi, also says that the witness, Levy's one-time friend Ethan Ellner, performed free legal work for Levy and did legal work "for Levy's signature" while Ellner's law license was suspended in 1999 after Ellner's tax evasion conviction. Ellner's license was reinstated in 2001. The affidavit provides no specific details to support the allegations. 
In his affidavit, which is a sworn statement, Guldi asserted that Ellner was aware that Levy disliked Guldi and was motivated to lie at the trial to curry favor with Levy. 
Levy declined to be interviewed about Guldi's allegations, but issued a statement: "As I've said before, Mr. Ellner was once a friend and we had occasional business interaction. But to suggest that these mortgage fraud and forgery indictments against Mr. Guldi were somehow brought by the D.A. because I didn't like Mr. Guldi is the height of absurdity. Next, Guldi will say I framed Roger Rabbit." 
Guldi is on trial for insurance fraud in connection with a November 2008 fire that destroyed his <a href="/topics/Westhampton_Beach%2C_NY">Westhampton Beach</a> home. He is also charged with involvement in an $82-million mortgage fraud case. 
Ellner, who was also charged in the mortgage fraud case, pleaded guilty to grand larceny charges and is now testifying against Guldi. 
Guldi filed the affidavit to try to compel Levy to testify at the trial. <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County Attorney Christine Malafi has moved to block Guldi's effort, and County Court Judge James F.X. Doyle, who is presiding over the trial, has not yet ruled on the issue. 
The relationship of Guldi, Levy and Ellner has been in the spotlight in recent weeks as Guldi, who is representing himself, fights the insurance fraud and grand larceny charges filed against him by Suffolk District Attorney <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Thomas Spota</a>. Ellner took the stand yesterday and is expected to continue his testimony today. 
The affidavit also refers, without any explanation, to a "debauched trip to <a href="/topics/Puerto_Rico">Puerto Rico</a> which Ellner and Levy took together and their activities there which were anti-social or illegal and/or highly embarrassing in which they engaged together." 
Guldi's statement also refers to what it describes as Levy's business dealings with Ellner, including what Guldi characterized as irregularities in transactions involving apartment buildings in <a href="/topics/Eastport%2C_NY">Eastport</a> and Albany that were owned by Levy. He also alleges, without details, "other irregular property transfers and eviction proceedings." 
Guldi states that Levy intervened to obtain and expedite permits for Ellner's projects and protected him from violations. 
Real estate records reviewed by Newsday show that Ellner has handled at least one closing, several evictions and title work on at least four of Levy's properties since 1997. 
In a recent statement to Newsday, Levy, who took office in 2004, said he often relied on friends in the legal community to help him with his legal practice. In a statement released Friday, Levy spokesman Dan Aug said, "The county executive never said there was free legal work done for him since he has been county executive."

LIPAP28

Guldi offers more allegations against Levy

liGULD28

A witness in the insurance fraud trial of former <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County legislator George Guldi testified Thursday that he was contacted by the <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> district attorney's office last summer in connection with an inquiry on campaign contributions. 
The testimony by the witness, Ethan Ellner, is the first time it has been disclosed that the district attorney's office undertook an inquiry into campaign contributions. 
Ellner, a former principal of Suburban Abstract, a <a href="/topics/Stony_Brook%2C_NY">Stony Brook</a> firm that did title work for <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County, is a prosecution witness. He was allowed to plead guilty to a grand larceny charge in a mortgage fraud case in exchange for testifying against Guldi. 
Under questioning from Assistant District Attorney Thalia Stavrides, Ellner said that he made the campaign contributions because "I thought it was necessary in order to get the work" with the county. He said he was asked to make the contributions. But he did not say who asked him and Stavrides did not ask Ellner who in government solicited the contributions.
County Court Judge James F.X. Doyle, who is presiding over the trial in <a href="/topics/Riverhead%2C_NY">Riverhead</a>, told lawyers in a sidebar conference Thursday that they could not ask Ellner the name of the official. He said the identity of the official was "neither material nor necessary" to the insurance fraud and grand larceny case against Guldi. 
Newsday has reported that County Executive <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a> assisted Ellner in getting county title work because he said he wanted to help Ellner get a second chance after a tax evasion conviction. Records show the county paid Suburban Abstract about $85,000 for title work.
<a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a>'s spokesman Dan Aug did not return calls Thursday seeking comment on Ellner's testimony.
Guldi is charged with insurance fraud in connection with a fire that destroyed his <a href="/topics/Westhampton_Beach%2C_NY">Westhampton Beach</a> home in 2008. He is also charged in connection with an $82-million mortgage fraud case. 
Ellner testified Thursday that he first cooperated with the district attorney's office on the mortgage fraud case out of concern that his mother, who worked for Suburban Abstract, could somehow be arrested or indicted. The testimony is the first indication that Ellner had also cooperated in a separate campaign contribution inquiry. 
Christopher Brocato, Guldi's co-counsel, said after testimony Thursday that Guldi also has provided information to the district attorney's office on campaign contribution matters. He said Guldi has "answered [prosecutors'] questions on pay to play" allegations, and offered to be a government witness in the inquiry, but "they [prosecutors] were not interested in his cooperation." 
Robert Clifford, a spokesman for the Suffolk DA's office, declined to discuss Guldi, Ellner's testimony or any aspect of the case. 
Doyle earlier ordered notes of the district attorney's interviews with Ellner to be turned over to Guldi only in redacted form, leaving out the name of the official who Ellner said solicited campaign donations.
In his testimony, Ellner said Guldi told him about his plans to forge the endorsement on an insurance check. 
"He said he was going to forge Countrywide's endorsement and take it to the city to deposit it," Ellner testified. "I said, 'Good luck with that, George.' " 
Outside court, Brocato said Ellner's testimony is not credible. "It's completely illogical that he [Guldi] would turn around and say, 'I'm going to commit this felony. I just wanted you to know about it," Brocato said. 
With Carl MacGowan
and Sandra Peddie

LIGULD28

Guldi trial witness: I was contacted by DA

A State Supreme Court justice has rejected the Suffolk <a href="/topics/Ethics_Commission">Ethics Commission</a> attempt to block a legislative probe into its operations and upheld the legislature's right to subpoena commission records. 
But Justice Thomas Whelan also quashed a subpoena already served because there was no vote by the special legislative committee to ask for the records. 
Presiding Officer William Lindsay hailed the decision and said the subpoena can be "easily corrected" with a committee vote. 
But he added that attorneys for the commission have indicated they may recommend turning records over voluntarily. 
Steven Leventhal, the commission's lawyer, said he could not confirm Lindsay's comment, but plans to meet with the commission Tuesday to review the decision. 
"I'm satisfied Justice Whelan's decision gives the ethics commission exactly what it needed - clarity as to its legal obligations," he said. 
Lindsay launched the ethics committee after Newsday reported that County Executive <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a> had been filing state disclosure forms rather than the more detailed county form. 
Lindsay said the inquiry is aimed at determining whether the ethics commission is consistent in how it operates, issues opinions and responds to requests for release of information. He said the ruling reaffirms the legislature's watchdog role. "If the legislature does not have the power of oversight over county government, it is a toothless tiger." 
The three-member ethics commission's had requested a preliminary injunction to halt a special legislative committee initiated last summer because it was "not lawfully constituted." They also maintained that documents sought by subpoena "are prohibited from disclosure by local law" and could subject the commission to criminal penalties. 
In his ruling, Whelan said, "The petitioner failed to demonstrate that the public policy of this state precludes the dissemination of documents relating to the inner workings of an ethics commission. . . . Indeed public policy appears to dictate just the opposite." 
<a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a>, in a statement, said, "It's good to see there is finality so that materials can be turned over to the legislature without any liability to volunteer commission members."

POETHI21

Court: Lawmakers can subpoena ethics records

A key witness in the insurance fraud trial of former <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County Legis. George Guldi told prosecutors that he was asked for a "bribe" by an official in order to receive county work, according to court documents. 
The official is not named in the court papers obtained by Newsday, which are heavily redacted, with other identifying details blacked out. The witness in the case is identified in the papers as Ethan Ellner, who partly owned a title company that received county work and who is a prosecution witness against Guldi. 
"I was surprised by [the name is redacted] request for money and I was surprised by the location [his office]. I was shocked by [the name is redacted] asking for a bribe," Ellner told the <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> district attorney's office in an interview last June, according to court papers. 
Both Ellner and Guldi were charged with involvement in an $82-million mortgage scam. Ellner pleaded guilty later to grand larceny and other charges. Guldi also faces charges in a fire-insurance fraud, and that trial opened Tuesday in <a href="/topics/Riverhead%2C_NY">Riverhead</a> before County Court Judge James F.X. Doyle. The district attorney's office had filed a motion to keep the name of the official out of the court proceedings when Ellner testifies. Doyle denied that request, which means the name may come out as the case unfolds. 
Newsday has reported that a company partly owned by Ellner, Suburban Abstract, of <a href="/topics/Stony_Brook%2C_NY">Stony Brook</a>, received more than $85,000 in <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County work from 2005 through 2009. 
Another section of the court papers states: "Ethan E. told Guldi that he had to pay kickbacks to [the name is redacted] for [the word is redacted] business." 
Ellner is a longtime friend of <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> Executive <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a>, who said last April that he recommended Ellner get title work from the county to help him get back on his feet after a tax evasion conviction. 
<a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday. His spokesman, Dan Aug, issued a statement in which he referred to Guldi's opening statement in court in which Guldi criticized Ellner's treatment of his own mother. "How can anyone believe anything coming out of the mouths of these defendants when even Mr. Guldi, in his opening statement, stated that Mr. Ellner is so desperate that he is willing to throw his own mother under the bus to soften his sentence?" 
By law, prosecutors must turn over witness statement to the defense. The statements were turned over Tuesday to Guldi, who is defending himself. Guldi and his co-counsel, Christopher Brocato, objected to the redactions. Doyle said he would issue a ruling on the matter Wednesday. 
Earlier this month, Guldi served <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> with a subpoena to testify at his trial. Aug has said <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> would move to quash the subpoena. 
According to the court papers, Ellner stated that around 2004 or 2005 he asked someone - the name is blacked out - whether work was available from Suffolk County. The unnamed person "wanted [the word is redacted] of profit to go to 'Friends of [the name is redacted']" 
The papers state that Ellner would make the "kickback paid via 'Lee Holding Corp.' " The Lee Holding checking account was at a <a href="/topics/North_Fork%2C_NY">North Fork</a> Bank branch in <a href="/topics/Stony_Brook%2C_NY">Stony Brook</a>. 
State campaign records show that a Lee Holding Corp., with a <a href="/topics/Stony_Brook%2C_NY">Stony Brook</a> post office box, contributed $8,900 to Friends of <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a> from May 21, 2006, through June 25, 2007. It did not contribute to any other candidates, these records show. It is the only company of that name in state campaign filings from 2005 through 2009. 
Earlier this month, <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> said, "I request donations from thousands of residents and businesses on a yearly basis, but have never, ever demanded one." 
State business records list Ellner's mother, Gladys Ellner, as the chairwoman or chief executive of Lee Holding Co. According to the court records in the Guldi case: "Mother rec'd letter saying contribution exceeded legal limit for donation (2005)." 
The papers also state that Ellner reached out to the unnamed person "for a favor" after his arrest, but did not get a call back. Later, an attorney called him to say that ".[name redacted] feels because of my legal problem [word redacted] better not to have contact." 
Earlier this month, court papers in the case revealed that Guldi had told prosecutors in June that Ellner told him he had made campaign contributions or cash payments to a "high elected official" in exchange for county work. Assistant District Attorney Thalia Stavrides filed a motion seeking to bar Guldi from asking Ellner the name of that official because any such disclosure could jeopardize a possible investigation. The motion did not make clear whether an investigation was actually under way. Guldi, of <a href="/topics/Westhampton_Beach%2C_NY">Westhampton Beach</a>, declined to comment yesterday. Ellner's attorney, Raymond <a href="/topics/Perini">Perini</a> of <a href="/topics/Hauppauge%2C_NY">Hauppauge</a>, has also declined to comment.

LITRIAL19

Witness talks of 'bribe' in Guldi trial

George Guldi 

A "high elected official" received cash payments for public work awarded to a Suffolk County title company, the defendant in an upcoming mortgage and insurance fraud trial alleges in court papers. 
The defendant, former Suffolk Legis. George Guldi, and the Suffolk District Attorney's office state that a witness against Guldi in the case, Ethan Ellner, said he made cash payments or campaign contributions to the unnamed official in exchange for work from Suffolk awarded to a title company connected with Ellner. 
Neither set of papers identifies the official. The Suffolk District Attorney's office is seeking to prevent Ellner from being asked to reveal the name of the official at Guldi's upcoming trial. 
In 2009 both Guldi and Ellner were charged with involvement in an $82 million mortgage scam. Ellner later pleaded guilty to grand larceny, scheme to defraud and conspiracy to commit fraud charges and is awaiting sentencing. Ellner agreed to testify against Guldi. 
Records show a company Ellner was a partner in received more than $85,000 in county work. He has been a longtime friend of Suffolk Executive <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a>, who said last April that he recommended Ellner be considered for title work from the county to help him get back on his feet after a tax evasion conviction. 
When asked about allegations in the court papers, <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> issued a statement that read: "Desperate defendants often fabricate claims in the hopes of softening their sentences. It is common for a defendant facing hard time to throw out allegations he knows cannot be proven yet cannot be disproven. I request donations from thousands of residents and businesses on a yearly basis, but have never, ever demanded one." 
<a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> also said in his statement that the company Ellner partly runs, Suburban Abstract, of <a href="/topics/Stony_Brook%2C_NY">Stony Brook</a>, was awarded the work by the county attorney's office after the company was vetted. County Attorney Christine Malafi, whose office oversees county title work, also issued a statement yesterday: "Once Suburban was vetted, I never had a conversation with the County Executive as to the assignment of title work to that, or any other, company." 
Guldi's trial on insurance and grand larceny charges is scheduled to begin Friday before Acting Supreme Court Justice James F.X. Doyle. A 2009 indictment charged Guldi, Ellner and others with involvement in a mortgage scam that left scores of luxury homes in <a href="/topics/Southampton%2C_NY">Southampton</a> in foreclosure. 
Guldi, 57, of <a href="/topics/Westhampton_Beach%2C_NY">Westhampton Beach</a>, declined to comment Monday, as did Ellner's attorney, Ray <a href="/topics/Perini">Perini</a> of <a href="/topics/Hauppauge%2C_NY">Hauppauge</a>. 
Without saying whether an investigation is ongoing, the papers say any disclosure of the official's name could jeopardize such an investigation. District Attorney <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Thomas Spota</a>'s office also has requested a gag order preventing all parties from disclosing the official's name to the news media. 
The district attorney's office declined to comment Monday. 
Guldi, in his papers, argued that barring him from questioning Ellner as to the identity of the public official would violate Guldi's constitutional right to cross-examine witnesses. He also stated, "When Ellner's political patron does come up in the trial, defendant will be compelled to refer to him as 'he who must not be named.' " 
Ellner's law license was suspended in March 1999 after a federal tax evasion conviction. It was reinstated in November 2001, according to court records. <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> said in April that he recommended that Ellner, 50, of <a href="/topics/Plainview%2C_NY">Plainview</a>, be hired by the county from 2005 through 2009 because he had been impressed by work Ellner had done for <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a>'s private law practice. <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> said he usually does not recommend title companies, but did so because he personally found the firm's work "spotless." 
Assistant District Attorney Thalia Stavrides argued in the court papers that Guldi could ask Ellner if he made campaign contributions to get title work, but that revealing the name of the public official "would compromise any such investigation and serve to cause speculation and possible confusion among the jurors as well as inflaming the public." 
Ellner and Levy met at St. John's University Law School, and Levy served as an usher at Ellner's wedding, according to Ellner's ex-wife, Stacy. When the Ellners divorced, Ethan Ellner rented an apartment from Levy in his <a href="/topics/Holbrook%2C_NY">Holbrook</a> home, Levy has said. 
After Newsday reported that Levy recommended Ellner for county work, the county Legislature passed a law banning people with criminal records from getting title work. Levy vetoed the bill in July; the Legislature overrode his veto, enacting the new law.

LITRIAL04

Surprise in Suffolk fraud case

liGULD10 cropped jcm

A battle over the financial disclosure statements of a former senior Suffolk County official escalated Friday, as the Suffolk <a href="/topics/Ethics_Commission">Ethics Commission</a> refused to comply with the county comptroller's subpoena for the records and the comptroller directed his lawyer to file contempt charges against the commission's executive director. 
The commission and the comptroller's office squared off over the financial disclosure statements of <a href="/topics/Lawrence%2C_NY">Lawrence</a> J. Cooley, a former $116,000-a-year senior deputy labor commissioner appointed by County Executive <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a>. Cooley, 69, of <a href="/topics/Greenlawn%2C_NY">Greenlawn</a>, was fired Oct. 27, after he testified in a federal trial that he made cash payoffs through a private business to a mob-connected contractor. 
Comptroller Joseph <a href="/topics/Joseph_Sawicki">Sawicki</a> requested the financial disclosures last month, after his office opened an investigative audit into Cooley's activities as a county employee. Although county disclosure statements are routinely released to the public with some financial information redacted, <a href="/topics/Ethics_Commission">Ethics Commission</a> executive director Alfred Lama told an auditor to subpoena them, according to court papers filed by commission special counsel Steven Leventhal. 
Sawicki said it was the first time as the county comptroller that he has had to subpoena records and that he found the commission's refusal to release the forms "bizarre." 
Lama did not return repeated calls seeking comment for this story. 
After Sawicki subpoenaed the records, according to court papers, Lama asked him for additional time to respond, and Sawicki agreed to a deadline of Friday. On Thursday, the day before the deadline, Leventhal moved to quash the subpoena. The court papers argued that the commission might be subject to legal penalties if it released the forms to Sawicki. 
Supreme Court Justice Thomas Whelan on Thursday refused to grant the commission's request for a temporary restraining order to block the subpoena, according to court papers and lawyers for both sides. He scheduled a full hearing on Jan. 6 for the commission's separate application for a preliminary injunction to block the subpoena. 
Ben Sliney, Leventhal's partner, who appeared for the commission in court, said Friday the commission went to court because "the Suffolk County DA has indicated he would prosecute" if the commission released the financial disclosure records to Sawicki. 
That was disputed Friday in a statement released by District Attorney <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Thomas Spota</a>, who said: "Mr. Sliney's statement is inaccurate. He is misrepresenting this office's position on an unrelated matter before the Legislature more than six weeks ago." 
Late Friday, Sawicki's attorney, Anton Borovina, said he would be working over the weekend on a contempt motion against Lama for failure to turn over the records.

POETHI04

Suffolk ethics panel defies subpoena

After failing to negotiate a release of records from the Suffolk Ethics Commission, the special legislative committee investigating the commission has subpoenaed a range of records and scheduled two witnesses for its meeting Tuesday.
The subpoena sets a Friday deadline for turning over the records. Presiding Officer William Lindsay (D-<a href="/topics/Holbrook%2C_NY">Holbrook</a>), who formed the committee, said he expected the commission to move to quash the subpoenas in court.
Calls to the Ethics Commission and the commission's special counsel, Steven Leventhal, were not returned Monday. In a recent news release, the commission argued that its proceedings are confidential by law. The commission met in a public session last week, but declined to answer questions from the public.
The legislative committee, formed after Newsday reported that Suffolk County Executive <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a> had been filing the state financial disclosure form instead of the county form, which asks for specific financial information, is scheduled to meet Tuesday in <a href="/topics/Hauppauge%2C_NY">Hauppauge</a>. Lindsay said two witnesses are expected to testify, but he declined to name them.
Calls to <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a>'s office for comment on the issuance of the subpoena were not returned. 
The committee's subpoena seeks from the commission all Freedom of Information requests and ethics complaints made since Jan. 1, 2006; any legal justification on whether filing a state disclosure form exempts a county official from filing a county form; a list of other county employees filing the state form, and legal analyses and advisory opinions about conflicts of interest involving spouses or family members of county officials. It also seeks all opinions and legal analyses provided to the commission by county attorneys, outside counsel or expert consultants after May 15, 2009.
The Legislature granted the committee subpoena power two weeks ago after negotiations over the committee's request for records stalled. In a letter to the committee's special counsel, Joseph Conway, Leventhal said the commission might "seek judicial guidance" in deciding what to turn over under a subpoena. Conway told legislators he understood that to mean Leventhal might move to quash the subpoena.
Ethics opinions are confidential under the law, although the county Charter allows them to be published if the names are redacted. Lindsay said the committee offered to accept redacted opinions, but that offer was rejected.

LIETHI26

Panel subpoenas Suffolk Ethics Commission's records

As a special county legislative committee continues its investigation of the Suffolk <a href="/topics/Ethics_Commission">Ethics Commission</a>, records show that some commissioners and staff have made campaign contributions to the very officials they regulate - a practice some government ethics experts say undermines the body's independence. 
 Records show that commissioners and staffers - who review financial disclosure forms of roughly 650 county employees and write advisory opinions - have made political contributions to both <a href="/topics/U.S._Democratic_Party">Democrats</a> and <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republicans</a>. Since 2004, the largest amount went to County Executive <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a>, who took office that year. Records show at least $4,950 was contributed to <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> from the commission chairman, a former commissioner, two staff attorneys and two secretaries. County legislators and political committees that give to candidates also received contributions. 
 "It's wrong," said Paula Franzese, former chairwoman of the state ethics commission in <a href="/topics/New_Jersey%2C_NY">New Jersey</a>, where such contributions are banned. She said such contributions raise "the inference of impropriety. An ethics commission only works if the body is independent." 
 <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> spokesman Dan Aug said donations from commission members to elected officials are not a problem. "This would only be an issue if ethics commission decision-makers were receiving, rather than giving, donations - but that was never the case," he said. 
 Officials in New York City, Westchester, <a href="/topics/Nassau_County%2C_NY">Nassau</a> and <a href="/topics/New_York_%28state%29">New York</a> State said they had no outright bans on political contributions by ethics commissioners or staff. These municipalities have laws that prohibit activities that would create an appearance of a conflict of interest. The Suffolk County ethics law has similar language. 
 Mark <a href="/topics/Mark_Davies">Davies</a>, executive director of the New York City Conflict of Interest Board, said donations from an ethics commission are not a good idea. "If someone asked me, should you do it, I would say no because it looks bad," Davies said. 
 Although Aug said it wasn't necessary, he said <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> initiated a policy of returning donations from commission members. Campaign filings show <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a>'s campaign returned three contributions totaling $800 from two staff attorneys and a commissioner but did not return all of them. Aug said "if there has been any oversight," other contributions would also be returned. 
 He declined to explain why <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> initiated the policy. 
 A review by Newsday of campaign records also shows that ethics commissioners in the previous administration of Robert Gaffney also contributed to elected officials. 
 The question of the ethics commission's independence and effectiveness is at the core of the committee's inquiry, according to Presiding Officer William Lindsay (D-<a href="/topics/Holbrook%2C_NY">Holbrook</a>). <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> has criticized the probe as politically motivated. In June, Suffolk District Attorney <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Thomas Spota</a> subpoenaed records related to which officials in the county file the local financial disclosure form. Newsday reported that Levy had, from 2006 to 2010, filed the state disclosure form in place of the county form. Tensions over the committee's probe flared last week after the ethics commission refused to turn over records the committee had requested. 
 Campaign records examined by Newsday show that among the contributions are these: 
 A staff attorney in 2009 made $360 in contributions to a county official. That official filed a complaint in 2008 with the commission that is pending. 
 A commissioner contributed $300 to Levy. The commission later issued an opinion, which the commissioner signed, that allowed Levy's wife to do business with hospitals that receive county funds. 
 Two staffers made donations totaling $320 to two county legislators. 
 A commissioner's law firm contributed more than $1,500 to three political committees and a county legislator. 
 In addition, County Attorney Christine Malafi, who has described herself as commission counsel and whose office has supplied the commission with attorneys and secretaries, has contributed $1,400 to Levy since 2006, records show. She has not contributed to other politicians. She did not return a call for comment. 
 Lindsay said he had been unaware of the donations, but said he is now considering proposing a legislative ban. "Anybody that's connected with the ethics commission should not be contributing to a campaign," he said. 
 Campaign records show that commission chairman Thomas G. Nolan, who was appointed in 2006, has contributed a total of $350 to Levy in the last three years. He also has contributed to judicial campaigns. Levy returned a $200 donation from Nolan on July 15 of this year. Nolan did not return calls for comment. 
 <a href="/topics/Michael_Kennedy">Michael Kennedy</a>, who recently left the board, did not make personal contributions as a commissioner. But his law firm, Borda, <a href="/topics/Michael_Kennedy">Kennedy</a>, Alsen &amp; Gold of <a href="/topics/Bay_Shore%2C_NY">Bay Shore</a>, contributed to political committees, which distribute money to various candidates, and a legislator. Records show the firm contributed $1,150 to the Suffolk Democratic Committee, $150 to the Independence Party Chairman's Club, and $250 to Legis. Ricardo Montano's campaign for State <a href="/topics/U.S._Senate">Senate</a>. 
 "I was never told it was prohibited," <a href="/topics/Michael_Kennedy">Kennedy</a> said of his law firm's donations. 
 Franzese, the former chairwoman of the <a href="/topics/New_Jersey%2C_NY">New Jersey</a> <a href="/topics/Ethics_Commission">Ethics Commission</a>, said that it was better for the firm to refrain from campaign contributions because it's difficult to maintain separation within the law firm. 
 Montano said the donations he received were from the firm, not <a href="/topics/Michael_Kennedy">Kennedy</a>. 
 <a href="/topics/Michael_Kennedy">Kennedy</a>'s firm also gave $100 to the Campaign for a Democratic Legislature, which is a political action committee started by Lindsay to raise money for legislators. Lindsay said he personally does not <a href="/topics/Benefit_%28designer%29">benefit</a> from it, but that he would ask the committee to return any donations tied to the ethics commission. 
 Craig Tortora, who replaced <a href="/topics/Michael_Kennedy">Kennedy</a> on the commission in June, said he has stopped making all campaign contributions. "I do not believe that it's appropriate," he said. 
 Records show that two staff attorneys, John Holownia and Jessica Hogan, have contributed to Levy. Records show that Holownia contributed $2,300 and Hogan $600 since 2006, while they were assigned to the <a href="/topics/Ethics_Commission">Ethics Commission</a>. Levy returned $300 to Hogan on June 20, 2009, and $300 to Holownia on Jan. 13, 2009. Attorneys assigned to the commission provide advice and help write ethics opinions. 
 Hogan also contributed to James Morgo, the chairman of the county Industrial Development Agency, when he ran for <a href="/topics/Islip%2C_NY">Islip</a> supervisor last year. As chairman, he files a financial disclosure form with the commission. While he was a chief deputy county executive, Morgo filed a complaint in 2008 with the ethics commission. The complaint is still pending. Morgo stepped down from that position shortly before running for office. Hogan did not return a call for comment. 
 In an interview, Morgo said he didn't remember soliciting Hogan for a contribution, but said they were friends. 
 Holownia also contributed $200 to the Campaign for a Democratic Legislature and $400 to Legis. Louis D'Amaro (D-<a href="/topics/North_Babylon%2C_NY">North Babylon</a>), who is married to Holownia's boss, Christine Malafi. 
 Records show that Vivian Keys, the commission secretary, and <a href="/topics/Daina">Daina</a> Sindone, secretary for commission Executive Director Alfred Lama, also have made campaign contributions. 
 Keys has contributed $450 to Levy since December 2007. She also contributed a total of $150 to Brian Beedenbender, when he was a county legislator. Keys declined comment. Beedenbender, who now works for <a href="/topics/Brookhaven%2C_NY">Brookhaven</a> Town, said he wasn't aware that Keys worked for Lama and that it probably wasn't appropriate for him to accept contributions from her. 
 Sindone has contributed only to Levy, $600 since December 2006. She did not return a call for comment. 
 Steven Gittelman, who was an ethics commissioner from 2000 through 2006, contributed $300 to Levy on Dec. 5, 2006. The previous year, on Oct. 24, 2005, the commission issued an opinion - which Gittelman signed - that Levy had sought on whether his wife, Colleen West, who has a court reporting business, could do business with hospitals that receive county funding. The opinion found it would not reasonably create a conflict, as long as West did not publicize her role as the county executive's wife. 
 Gittelman, who also contributed to other elected officials, said it had not occurred to him that his Levy donation might be a problem. "No one has ever made that point to me before. In retrospect, I agree," he said. 
 Campaign records show that ethics commissioners who served for Levy's predecessor, Robert Gaffney, also made political contributions. David Besso, who was the ethics commission chairman under Gaffney, said he did not contribute to Gaffney and records confirm that. He said his law firm contributed to other candidates. Besso said he didn't think a small contribution would influence anyone's judgment. 
 "I think that if it's a minimal contribution, I don't see a problem," he said. "It's de minimis," he said, using a legal term to describe something lacking in significance. 
 "I think it is very unwise for individuals who are asked to regulate officials to be in the position of contributing to their campaigns," said Lee Ann Pelham, executive director of the <a href="/topics/Los_Angeles">Los Angeles</a> City <a href="/topics/Ethics_Commission">Ethics Commission</a>, where such donations are banned. "If you gave a contribution to somebody and had to weigh in on an opponent, how can the public expect you to treat that person fairly?"

LIETHI13

Experts: Political donors undermine Suffolk ethics body

Tensions over a special legislative committee of the Suffolk Ethics Commission flared Thursday as negotiations about turning over records broke down and the county comptroller stopped paying the commission's attorney because he said he won't document his bills to auditors.
The attorney, Steven Leventhal, said in letters to the committee that he would not turn over all the records sought by the committee at its first meeting last month. The committee sought, among other things, legal research, complaints and opinions about conflicts of interest and financial disclosures. In another matter, Leventhal declined to provide specific information about his billing because he said ethics matters are confidential by law. 
In order to obtain the documents, the committee will ask the legislature to grant it subpoena power when it meets Tuesday, said Presiding Officer William Lindsay (D-<a href="/topics/Holbrook%2C_NY">Holbrook</a>). "I find it ludicrous that we have to seek subpoena power to exercise our oversight over an agency in the county," he said.
Suffolk County Executive <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a>, who has been sharply critical of the committee's investigation as unfair, did not respond to a call for comment on the subpoena issue. Leventhal also did not return phone calls seeking comment.
The legislature formed the committee in June, after Newsday reported <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> had been filing a state disclosure form, rather than the county form, which seeks financial information such as specific dollar amounts. Levy has said his filing of the state form was proper; he has since filed the county forms for the years 2006 to 2010.
Meanwhile, Comptroller Joseph <a href="/topics/Joseph_Sawicki">Sawicki</a> said in an interview that his office would not pay more than $4,664 in outstanding bills filed by Leventhal and will seek repayment of the more than $5,062 already paid to him. 
An audit report released yesterday by Sawicki said Leventhal may have "double-billed the county" and billed for services not in the law firm's contract. In addition, the report said auditors had repeatedly tried to get more detailed information about Leventhal's billings - which included billing on five separate days for reading the county ethics law - but Leventhal had declined. In a letter to Sawicki's auditors, Leventhal's office said the mistakes were clerical.
In a letter dated Sept. 27, Leventhal suggested that the comptroller subpoena the records Sawicki is seeking.
In an interview with a reporter last week, Levy criticized Sawicki. "The things he was asking for from the attorney are blatantly improper," he said. "What he's asking for is confidential attorney information which has nothing to do with billing." 
Levy spokesman Dan Aug said yesterday that Leventhal had shared the comptroller's letter with his office. Aug said in a statement that Sawicki was not entitled to any financial records because of attorney-client privilege. "The only attorney-client privilege that exists is between attorney Steve Leventhal and his client, the Ethics Commission," Aug said.
Yesterday, Sawicki was critical of Levy for getting involved in the billing dispute. "The ethics commission is not a department of the county executive. It's supposed to be truly independent, above partisanship. Why is Steve Levy involved in this?"
Rick Brand contributed to this story.

LIETHI08

Suffolk Ethics Commission probe stalls over records

On the eve of the first hearing of a special legislative committee investigating the Suffolk <a href="/topics/Ethics_Commission">Ethics Commission</a>, the county executive's office Tuesday issued a statement saying that no investigation is needed and that the legislature's action "is politically motivated in an effort to discredit the county executive." 
The statement cited a legal brief written by County Executive <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a>'s lawyer, Steven Schlesinger, who is also counsel to the <a href="/topics/Nassau_County%2C_NY">Nassau</a> Democratic Party. Schlesinger said that state law supersedes county law and that the <a href="/topics/Ethics_Commission">Ethics Commission</a> was required to accept Levy's filing of a state financial disclosure form, instead of the county form required of about 650 county employees. In the statement, Schlesinger said no "threshold" had been met for an investigation. 
"The county executive, the Suffolk County Ethics Commission and its executive director are clearly vindicated by arguments within this memorandum of law," Schlesinger wrote. 
Presiding Officer William Lindsay (D-<a href="/topics/Holbrook%2C_NY">Holbrook</a>), who formed the committee, criticized the statement. "I'm just starting, and they're telling me I haven't reached a threshold. It's so overblown." 
As a member of the state Pine Barrens Commission, Levy is required to file a state financial disclosure form. Levy has said the Ethics Commission ruled that the state form would fulfill the filing requirement for the local disclosure form, but neither he nor the commission has provided the date of that ruling to Newsday. Levy also has said Ethics Commission Director Alfred Lama gave him permission. 
Unlike the state form, the county form requires, among other things, detailed information about bank accounts. And unlike the state form, the county form is a sworn statement. Schlesinger said that was not significant because anyone knowingly filing a false state financial disclosure is subject to a misdemeanor. However, according to the state penal code, anyone filing a false statement on the county form could be subject to an additional felony perjury charge. 
Newsday requested a copy of Schlesinger's brief, but the county executive's office said it would be released Wednesday. 
Lindsay said the legislature was merely exercising its oversight role, as it does with all county departments. "It's about the commission. It isn't about Mr. Levy." 
<h3>THE INVESTIGATIVE COMMITTEE</h3> 
&nbsp; 
The Suffolk County Legislature has formed a special committee to investigate actions of the county Ethics Commission, a three-person board that oversees the filing of county financial disclosure forms by roughly 650 county employees. When requested, the commission provides opinions to employees on potential conflicts of interest and other ethical issues. The commission is advised by the county attorney's office. By law, all commission proceedings are confidential. 
The legislative committee, which is scheduled to meet Wednesday, plans to undertake the following, officials said: 
&nbsp; 
<ul> 
 <li>review the operations and procedures of the commission;</li> 
</ul> 
&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
<ul> 
 <li>determine whether the commission has been subject to undue influence by outside parties;</li> 
</ul> 
&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
<ul> 
 <li>ascertain whether greater oversight is needed over the commission.</li> 
</ul> 
&nbsp;

POBRIE22

Levy's office: No reason to probe Suffolk ethics office

The <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County Legislature voted Tuesday to hire a former federal prosecutor as special counsel to oversee its investigation of how the county's <a href="/topics/Ethics_Commission">Ethics Commission</a> determined that County Executive <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a> could file a state rather than a county financial disclosure form. 
The legislature voted 13-5 to pick former federal prosecutor Joseph Conway, a <a href="/topics/Queens%2C_NY">Queens</a> resident who has a law practice in <a href="/topics/Mineola%2C_NY">Mineola</a>. Aides to <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> sharply criticized the vote. "The hiring of an attorney is not only wasteful and unnecessary, it is a slap at the integrity of <a href="/topics/Ethics_Commission">Ethics Commission</a> members without a scintilla of evidence that they have been anything but honorable," said <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> spokesman Dan Aug. 
Two legislators said the vote was preceded by what they characterized as intense lobbying from <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> against naming a special counsel. Before the vote, Legis. Jon Cooper (D-<a href="/topics/Lloyd_Harbor%2C_NY">Lloyd Harbor</a>) alleged that <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> had threatened to reveal information from the legislator's own disclosure form if he voted for the counsel measure. 
The presiding officer, Legis. William Lindsay (D-<a href="/topics/Holbrook%2C_NY">Holbrook</a>), said he had referred unspecified lobbying efforts against the special counsel vote to the district attorney's office. It could not be learned last night what, if anything, the district attorney's office is doing with Lindsay's allegations. 
Aides to <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> said the county executive had done nothing improper in his lobbying. Edward Dumas, a chief deputy county executive, said <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a> had called Cooper to lobby against the vote. "There were no threats issued to Legislator Cooper or any other legislator. The county executive communicated that, if the legislature intended to have a fair and evenhanded review, it should include the financial disclosure forms of all the legislators." 
Some legislators said they had been caught by surprise when Lindsay revealed shortly after 3 p.m. that a special committee of the legislature looking into the <a href="/topics/Ethics_Commission">Ethics Commission</a> wanted to hire Conway. "That's investigation by ambush," said Legis. Louis D'Amaro (D-<a href="/topics/North_Babylon%2C_NY">North Babylon</a>), one of the five who voted against hiring a special counsel. He added, "I just don't see the need to rush into this special counsel investigation." Earlier this month, Lindsay said the committee had chosen attorney Anton Borovina for the position. 
Legislators questioned Conway, who was present at the meeting, about how he intended to proceed. "To me, I look at this as another investigation," he said. 
Lindsay formed the special committee last month after Newsday stories about Levy's filing of a state disclosure form instead of the more extensive county form that some 650 county employees file annually. The <a href="/topics/Ethics_Commission">Ethics Commission</a> said Levy could file the state form in place of the county form. 
The vote came shortly before 6 p.m. Before the vote, Cooper described what he alleged were threats made by Levy in a telephone conversation Sunday night. "The county executive has personally issued threats against me and has told me he has information to use against all of my legislative colleagues, as well as the county comptroller, and the county treasurer for that matter," Cooper said. 
Cooper said Levy charged that he had failed to reveal on his financial disclosure that his then-domestic partner, and now husband, had served in an unpaid position on the board of the nonprofit Family Service League, which receives county funding. Cooper's husband has since left the position.

POETHI18

Special counsel chosen for Suffolk ethics probe

Suffolk Executive <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a> Monday released his county financial disclosure forms, which were heavily redacted and did not include some basic financial information regarding his wife's business, but did include her contracts with five hospitals. 
The county form asks for specific dollar amounts for everything from bank accounts to outside income. It also asks for real estate information. On Levy's forms, dollar amounts and the location of a <a href="/topics/Florida">Florida</a> condominium were redacted by the commission. Commission officials have said they allow officials to redact private information. 
The release came on the eve of a meeting at which the county legislature is expected to approve a special counsel to investigate the actions of the Suffolk County <a href="/topics/Ethics_Commission">Ethics Commission</a>. 
In the county forms, which require detailed financial information of both the county employee and spouse, Levy's wife, Colleen West, declined to report the accounts receivable of her court reporting firms, Enright Court Reporting and Enright Sten-Tel, which are based in Sayville. In an attachment, she wrote that reporting that information would be detrimental to her business. 
West was not available for comment Monday. Her accountant, Richard Doyle of Smithtown, said in an e-mail that West did not disclose the information because they interpreted the request as for "personal, not corporate, receivables." He said West would be "happy to provide the corporate information as well if requested by the commission." The form makes no distinction between personal and corporate receivables. 
Although Levy has maintained that he is not legally required to fill out the financial disclosure form required of roughly 650 county employees, he filed the county forms last month after District Attorney <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Thomas Spota</a> issued subpoenas and some county legislators called for an investigation. Levy since 2006 had filed a state financial disclosure form, which is far less detailed and, unlike the county form, is not a sworn statement. 
While insisting that his previous filings met all legal requirements, Levy said in a statement, "we nonetheless filed the local forms to quell allegations that we had something to hide." 
Anton Borovina, an attorney who helped draft the county ethics code and also represents former Levy aide Paul Sabatino in an ongoing complaint before the ethics commission, said the reason West offered for not reporting her account receivables was "malarkey." 
"That statute was intended to cover not only the official, but the spouse of the official," he said. 
Newsday has previously reported that West's companies have received work from law firms and hospitals that have received millions in county business. Levy has said he is not required to disclose her work for county vendors or to list them. 
On Sunday, Levy issued a news release in which he said the paper's reporting on the financial disclosure and his wife's business dealings were "disparaging, inaccurate and false." In response, Paul Fleishman, Newsday's vice president of public affairs, said, "We stand behind the accuracy and fairness of our news coverage." 
Although the forms, obtained by Newsday under a Freedom of Information Act request, do not list all of West's clients that are also county vendors, they do disclose contracts her company has with five hospitals. One of the hospitals, Good Samaritan, has received about $54 million in county payments since 2006. She had no hospital contracts in 2004 and 2005, according to the forms. Levy took office in 2004. 
County ethics code bars an official or spouse from benefiting directly or indirectly from any transaction that creates a conflict of interest. Levy has said West's work for county vendors is not a conflict. In an interview, he cited a 2005 <a href="/topics/Ethics_Commission">Ethics Commission</a> opinion that said she could do work for <a href="/topics/Stony_Brook_University">Stony Brook University</a> Hospital provided that she did not draw attention to her relationship with Levy. 
Late Monday, Levy spokesman Dan Aug said in a statement: "Not a single Suffolk legislator or legislator's spouse with a business listed clients on their 2009 disclosure forms - confirming that there is no place on the form where this information is requested." Aug told a reporter they obtained the information from people who received the forms on a Freedom of Information Act request.

LILEVY03

Levy releases financial disclosure forms

Court reporting firms owned by <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County Executive <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a>'s wife, Colleen West, have regularly received work from businesses that have been paid millions of dollars in county contracts in recent years. 
At least seven businesses - five law firms that have been paid more than $3 million since 2006 and two hospitals that have been paid more than $23 million by <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County for services since 2008 - have hired West's companies Enright Sten-Tel and Enright Court Reporting to provide transcription services during that time. 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/breaking/1.2085172">Records show</a> that one business, <a href="/topics/Stony_Brook_University">Stony Brook University</a> Medical Center's Cody Center, paid one of West's companies $31,906 for work from October 2008 through May 2010. <a href="/topics/Stony_Brook_University">Stony Brook University</a> Hospital, which receives county funding, helps fund the Cody Center. A university spokeswoman said Enright's relationship with the Cody Center was discontinued last week. 
No public records could be found that show what other vendors paid her companies. The businesses declined to discuss their relationships with West's firms. In an interview, West said that she has "up to 10" county vendors as clients. She said some of them predate Levy's election as county executive in 2004. 
<a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County's financial disclosure form requires approximately 650 county officers and employees to report financial interests, including those of a spouse. The form also requires the county employee to report all sources of income above $1,000; all contractual arrangements that produce or are expected to produce income; and all honoraria, lecture and miscellaneous fees earned by the county employee and the spouse. Legal and ethics experts who helped draft the 1988 <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> ethics law say this requires Levy to report West's work for county vendors - businesses selected by the county for work paid with tax dollars. 
The county <a href="/topics/Ethics_Commission">Ethics Commission</a> since 2006 <a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/breaking/1.2085156">has permitted Levy</a> to satisfy the county disclosure requirement by filing the <a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/breaking/1.2085141">New York State financial disclosure form</a> - one that requires far less extensive financial information than the one mandated in county law. In addition, the county form is a sworn statement, while the state form is not. As a member of a state-appointed Pine Barrens Commission, Levy is required to fill out the state disclosure form. Levy has not disclosed West's work for county vendors in state financial disclosure forms he has filled out since 2006. Walter Ayres, spokesman for the <a href="/topics/State_Commission_on_Public_Integrity">State Commission on Public Integrity</a>, said the state form does not require disclosure of a spouse's clients.&nbsp; 
Levy: Business disclosures not required 
Levy said nothing in county ethics law or in the county disclosure form requires him to disclose these business relationships. And the county executive has maintained that he is not required to file the county's disclosure form because state law trumps local law. Levy said he filed the county form his first two years in office, 2004 and 2005, but he has declined to provide those reports to Newsday. 
Following a June 7 subpoena to the <a href="/topics/Ethics_Commission">Ethics Commission</a> and the clerk of the legislature by <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> District Attorney <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Thomas Spota</a> for records related to the <a href="/topics/Ethics_Commission">Ethics Commission</a> and financial disclosure forms, Levy said he would file the county financial disclosure forms from 2006 to the present. And <a href="/topics/Ethics_Commission">Ethics Commission</a> director Alfred Lama said Monday that Levy has recently filed the 2009 form. Newsday requested this form, along with the earlier county forms, Tuesday and was told to file a written request. 
Late Tuesday, Levy filed the county forms for 2006 to 2008, his spokesman, Dan Aug, said. "We've shown that we were willing to go above and beyond, first by complying with the state law and then by filing additional forms even though it was not required to do so," Aug said in a statement. Aug did not respond to questions as to what information is on the forms. 
Wednesday, a newly formed <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> legislative committee met to discuss investigating the decision by the <a href="/topics/Ethics_Commission">Ethics Commission</a> - whose members at the time were appointed or recommended by Levy - not to require Levy to file the county's disclosure forms since 2006. Presiding Officer William Lindsay (D-<a href="/topics/Holbrook%2C_NY">Holbrook</a>) said the committee, which met behind closed doors, interviewed potential candidates for special counsel and discussed seeking subpoena power for the committee. 
SBU ends arrangement with Enright 
Records show that West signed an addendum to a <a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/breaking/1.2084477">business services agreement</a> with the Cody Center at the <a href="/topics/Stony_Brook_University">Stony Brook University</a> Medical Center. Asked Friday to comment on Enright's work, university spokeswoman Lauren Sheprow said the arrangement between the Cody Center and Enright Sten-Tel was discontinued last Thursday. 
Late Tuesday, Sheprow provided a second statement that read: "The Hospital was not aware that the Cody Center had enlisted this vendor, and by doing so, the Cody Center departed from University purchasing procedures. When authorities at the University learned of it, the arrangement was discontinued. The Hospital has a state approved contract with a different vendor for transcription services." 
Sheprow did not provide details as to how West's firm got the work or why it was discontinued. 
In a written statement Wednesday, West said her company had nothing to do with any procedures utilized by the Cody Center in picking a transcription company. She said the Cody Center was told it could pick its own company and used Enright on a day-to-day basis. 
Two weeks ago, Levy and West said in a joint interview that she works as an independent contractor and does not have written contracts with her clients. She said law firms call her when needed. Levy also said he <a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/breaking/1.2085184">sought a ruling from the commission in 2005</a> as to whether West could bid on a <a href="/topics/Stony_Brook_University">Stony Brook University</a> Hospital contract. A ruling from the commission said that if she won a contract, it would not constitute a prohibited "direct or indirect" interest in any contract or professional dealings with the county. 
In the interview, Levy said, as a result of that ruling, he believed West's subsequent work for the hospitals - and the law firms as well - did not constitute a conflict. 
In addition, Levy and West said she does not work on county business for these firms. West said she has never looked to her husband for help in her businesses. If anything, she said her marriage to Levy has hurt her business more than it has helped. "We're good people, and we try to do everything right," she said. 
Late Tuesday, Levy offered two additional opinions in support of his view that state law supersedes county law in this case. In one opinion, Barry Ginsberg, executive director and general counsel of the <a href="/topics/New_York%2C_NY">New York</a> <a href="/topics/State_Commission_on_Public_Integrity">State Commission on Public Integrity</a>, said state law allows a local municipality to accept the state disclosure form in place of the local form. In the other opinion, Mark Davies, executive director of the <a href="/topics/New_York%2C_NY">New York</a> City Conflicts of Interest Board, said state general municipal law was "crystal clear" in allowing a person subject to two filing requirements to file the state disclosure form to satisfy a local law. 
Levy recently switched from <a href="/topics/U.S._Democratic_Party">Democrat</a> to <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a> in a failed bid to run for governor as a Republican. He has not announced whether he will continue as a gubernatorial candidate. 
<a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County Comptroller Joseph <a href="/topics/Joseph_Sawicki">Sawicki</a>, who once served as the ranking Republican on the State Assembly ethics committee and whose office reviews county contracts, said: "It appears to me that he's taken pains to hide these agreements and to avoid publicly disclosing what every other county official has to - as they should." 
&nbsp; 
Experts: Disclosures needed 
Anton Borovina, who served as first counsel to the county <a href="/topics/Ethics_Commission">Ethics Commission</a> and who helped draft the law, said, "The <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County ethics law applies to him, and the <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County ethics code requires all employees to file disclosure forms that include information about the spouse, P-E-R-I-O-D." 
<a href="/topics/Robert_Gottlieb">Robert Gottlieb</a>, a <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> lawyer who chaired the committee that drafted the county ethics code, said Levy is required to file the county form and disclose his wife's business connections. "Hiding the sources of income behind the legal nicety that it's an oral agreement and not a written contract just smells bad," <a href="/topics/Robert_Gottlieb">Gottlieb</a> said. 
According to Enright's website, West started Enright Court Reporting Inc. in 1991, and bought a franchise for transcription services in 1998, which she calls Enright Sten-Tel. The website states that Enright Sten-Tel is ranked among the top three out of 50 Sten-Tel companies nationwide. 
Although Levy and his wife declined to list all of her clients who are also county vendors, at least five law firms that have county business <a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/breaking/1.2084489">have used Enright</a>, records and interviews show. They include Vecchione, Vecchione &amp; Connors Llp of <a href="/topics/Garden_City_Park%2C_NY">Garden City Park</a>; Lewis, Johs, Avallone, Aviles &amp; Kaufman Llp of <a href="/topics/Melville%2C_NY">Melville</a>; Vincent D. McNamara of <a href="/topics/East_Norwich%2C_NY">East Norwich</a>; Mulholland, Minion &amp; Roe of <a href="/topics/Williston_Park%2C_NY">Williston Park</a>, and Fumuso, Kelly, DeVerna &amp; Snyder Llp of <a href="/topics/Hauppauge%2C_NY">Hauppauge</a>. 
Of the five law firms, West named three that were her clients before her husband became county executive in 2004 and that have remained clients. All five serve as outside counsel to <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County and have been paid more than $3 million by the county since 2006, the year Levy began filling out the state disclosure form, according to county records. At least one of the firms, Lewis, Johs, Avallone, Aviles &amp; Kaufman, did work for the previous administration of Robert Gaffney. Another firm, Mulholland, Minion &amp; Roe, handled cases for previous administrations, according to attorney Brian Davey. The other firms did not respond to calls or e-mails for comment. 
Campaign finance records show that the five law firms have contributed $86,950 to Levy's campaign coffers in that time. 
&nbsp; 
Enright's hospital work 
Enright has done work for <a href="/topics/Stony_Brook_University">Stony Brook University</a> Medical Center's Cody Center, and <a href="/topics/Good_Samaritan_Hospital">Good Samaritan Hospital</a> Medical Center in <a href="/topics/West_Islip%2C_NY">West Islip</a>. Since October 2008, the Cody Center has paid Enright Sten-Tel $31,906, according to records. During the same period, the county paid the hospital $10.8 million. Good Samaritan has been paid more than $26 million by the county since 2006. Catholic Health Services, which runs Good Samaritan, declined to reveal how much it has paid Enright. 
In 2008, after the <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> Police Benevolent Association raised questions about Enright doing county work, County Attorney Christine Malafi, Levy said,<a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/breaking/1.2084490"> wrote a letter to law firms</a> receiving county business stating that Enright was not on any list of court reporters that could be chosen by the county or its outside counsel for stenographic service. The letter did not specifically address her firm's work for these businesses on noncounty related business. Sawicki, whose office monitors county contracts, said he never received a copy of the letter. 
In the interview, West said she has had a number of the clients who receive county business for years, going back to before her husband was elected county executive, while he was a county legislator and state assemblyman, and even before some of the firms were selected for county work. 
Levy said that his wife's work with county vendors had "no relevance to county business." According to Levy's former chief deputy county executive Paul Sabatino, Levy asked him in 2005 if his wife could seek work from hospitals with county contracts. "My response was that it would be prohibited, at which point he told me the county attorney disagreed with me," said Sabatino, who served as legal counsel to the legislature for more than 19 years. "We never discussed it again." Malafi declined to comment. 
On Tuesday, Aug, Levy's spokesman, said, "The county executive does not recall any such conversation, and he certainly would not rely on any opinion from Mr. Sabatino on this matter." 
Sabatino left the Levy administration in December 2007 after months of discord. Borovina represented Sabatino in his successful overturning of ethics charges filed by Levy against Sabatino over severance pay. 
Levy said he asked the <a href="/topics/Ethics_Commission">Ethics Commission</a> whether West could bid on a <a href="/topics/Stony_Brook_University">Stony Brook University</a> Hospital contract, since the hospital receives county funds. The opinion, which says West asked for the ruling, said that if she won the contract, it would not reasonably create a conflict. 
That opinion, dated Oct. 24, 2005, states that the ruling is limited: "This opinion is specifically limited to the issue of whether a prohibited conflict of interest in violation of <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County Administrative Code A30-1 would be created if Enright Sten-Tel Transcription Services Inc. entered into a contract for medical transcription services with <a href="/topics/Stony_Brook_University">Stony Brook University</a> Hospital or other hospitals which have contracts with the County of <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> to provide medical care." 
In the interview, however, Levy said the opinion was "all encompassing" and would also apply to her work for the law firms. 
&nbsp; 
Ethics law addresses conflict issue 
County ethics law bars county employees from engaging in any activity, "directly or indirectly," that could pose a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict. Specifically, the law reads that no officer or county employee can have an interest in "any contract or business or professional dealings" with the county. Further, the law defines "interest" to include the activities of a spouse or minor children. 
Newsday reported that Levy was one of two employees who filled out the state form in place of the county form. In the wake of the subpoena, Levy has consistently maintained that other municipalities allow the substitution of the state disclosure form for the county form. He has also argued that state law supersedes the county's more stringent filing requirement. 
However, legal experts point to an earlier <a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/breaking/1.2085193">appellate court decision in 2003</a> on the <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> <a href="/topics/Ethics_Commission">Ethics Commission</a> that found a county can impose more stringent ethics regulations than those required by state law. 
Levy's current chief deputy county executive, Ed Dumas, <a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/breaking/1.2085169">wrote in a June 28 memo</a> he e-mailed to a reporter that the appellate court case did not apply to Levy's situation because state law would trump county law in his case. In a subsequent e-mail, Levy spokesman Aug said they were "adamant" that state law trumped local law in this matter. 
George Nolan, counsel to the legislature, <a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/breaking/1.2085183">issued an opinion</a> June 30 that cited the appellate court decision and said the <a href="/topics/Ethics_Commission">Ethics Commission</a> is "obligated to follow the county's financial disclosure law and should only accept from officers and employees the county form . . . " 
<h3>The Ethics panel&nbsp;</h3> 
What is the <a href="/topics/Ethics_Commission">Ethics Commission</a>? 
In <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County, it is a board that reviews financial disclosure forms, renders advisory opinions on the county's ethics law, and conducts hearings as necessary to implement the law. 
How many members? 
Three. 
Who picks them? 
Under <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> law, one is selected by the county executive, one by the legislature, and one by the presiding officer. In practice, the legislature has accepted recommendations from the county executive. 
Are disclosure forms available for public viewing? 
These disclosures must be requested through a Freedom of Information form. The commission then meets and decides whether to release them. If released, the commission redacts certain financial information.

ENLEVY08

Levy's wife's business: A question of disclosure

Suffolk’s ethics commission gave County Executive Steve Levy a pass on filing a county financial disclosure form -- but still is pursuing a two-year-old complaint against former Chief Deputy County Executive Paul Sabatino. The commission two weeks ago subpoenaed Cheryl Felice, president of the Association of Municipal Employees, to testify. The union hired Sabatino to consult on Suffolk’s 2009 budget. In a complaint, Levy aides said that violated a ban on former officials appearing for two years for clients in matters that were before county boards or commissions when the officials were employed. Sabatino says the 2009 budget wasn’t filed until nine months after he left and that he never appeared for the union before the legislature or any county agency. Felice said union lawyers would move to quash the subpoena.

Suffolk ethics panel gives Levy a pass but pursues his ex-aide

Suffolk D.A. Tom Spota's office is inquiring why Steve Levy files a different disclosure form from most county employees, as Sandra Peddie <a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/suffolk-da-subpoenas-financial-disclosure-law-records-1.1989070">reports here</a>. Levy says he is "outraged" by the "suggestion of something nefarious" and he was consistently instructed a state form was an adequate substitute for the county form. 
While the story, posted earlier this afternoon, was making the rounds, Levy, who called a press "availability"' over potential local effects of the Gulf oil spill, made himself unavailable for questions on other topics. His statement was included in the news report. 
Five days ago, Rick Lazio bested Levy and Buffalo businessman Carl Paladino at the Republican state convention for the&nbsp; nomination for governor.

Suffolk DA inquires into Levy's disclosure forms

State Republicans designated former Rep. <a href="/topics/Rick_Lazio">Rick Lazio</a> as their candidate for governor Wednesday as rival <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a>, the <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County executive, failed to secure a place on the September primary ballot. 
Lazio, of Brightwaters, received nearly 60 percent of the delegate votes at the state Republican Convention in midtown <a href="/topics/Manhattan">Manhattan</a>. Levy captured 28 percent, followed by Buffalo businessman Carl <a href="/topics/Carl_Paladino">Paladino</a>, 8 percent, and <a href="/topics/Manhattan">Manhattan</a> real estate executive <a href="/topics/Myers_Mermel">Myers Mermel</a>, 4 percent. 
Levy's showing enabled him to force a second vote, in which he needed more than 50 percent to challenge Lazio in a gubernatorial primary. But delegates rejected that possibility, 57 percent to 43 percent. 
The hourlong vote was contentious, with Levy supporters chanting, "Let the people vote," and Lazio backers responding, "Just say no." 
In his acceptance speech, Lazio called for unity in the face of Democratic gubernatorial nominee <a href="/topics/Andrew_Cuomo">Andrew</a> <a href="/topics/Andrew_Cuomo">Cuomo</a>, who leads him in recent polls by more than 40 percentage points. 
"Together we will lead our party to victory," Lazio said. "It is time that we unify and we come together." 
However, Levy declined to endorse Lazio, telling reporters he could mount a third-party challenge in November to both Lazio and <a href="/topics/Andrew_Cuomo">Cuomo</a>. 
"I'm contemplating my other options - if there's potentially another line to be running on, simply to get the message out," Levy said. "I don't think I'd necessarily win on another line, but you'd be able to force the other candidates to adopt the type of important policies that I think the state really needs and to make sure we don't go off that financial cliff." 
In addition to governor, the state GOP Wednesday nominated Staten Island District Attorney Dan Donovan for attorney general. He received 60 percent of the delegate votes to 40 percent for Onondaga County Comptroller Bob Antonacci, who then withdrew from a potential primary. 
Later Wednesday, state Republican chairman Edward Cox, citing a recent conversation with Levy, said the county executive "is not going to be supporting a third-party line, he's going to be supporting Republicans." 
Told of Cox's comments, Levy repeated his earlier statement. 
The failure of Levy's primary challenge is a rebuke of Cox, who recruited the lifelong Democrat last winter amid party concerns about Lazio's anemic fundraising and lackluster stump speeches. The move sparked intraparty skirmishes and rumors of Cox's imminent demise. 
Asked about his future, Cox said, "I don't have any plans to resign. No one has asked me to resign." 
Of the other gubernatorial aspirants, <a href="/topics/Myers_Mermel">Mermel</a> quickly endorsed Lazio, and Paladino vowed to gather signatures on petitions to secure a spot on the primary ballot. 
After the votes were taken, Lazio attempted to redirect the delegates' attention away from infighting to <a href="/topics/Andrew_Cuomo">Cuomo</a>. He portrayed the Democratic attorney general as a Capitol old-hand who is captive to state employee unions and other special interests. 
"<a href="/topics/Andrew_Cuomo">Andrew Cuomo</a> has been too political for too long," Lazio said. "Isn't it time we reject the status <a href="/topics/Andrew_Cuomo">Cuomo</a>?" 
<a href="/topics/Andrew_Cuomo">Cuomo</a>, through a spokesman, declined to comment on Lazio's remarks. However, sources close to Cuomo said he considers Lazio a less formidable foe than Levy. 
The GOP convention wraps up Thursday with nominations and votes for lieutenant governor and a challenge to Democratic Sen. <a href="/topics/Kirsten_Gillibrand">Kirsten Gillibrand</a>. 
With Dan Janison, Elizabeth Moore 
and Thomas Maier

POCONV03

Lazio gets GOP nod for guv; Levy ponders 3rd-party run

Rick Lazio

A company associated with a longtime friend of County Executive <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a> got more than $85,000 in county title work, on Levy's recommendation, despite his federal tax evasion conviction, loss of his law license for more than a year, and his being cited for "unconscionable trade practices" by the county's consumer affairs officials. 
The friend, Ethan Ellner, also recently admitted to involvement in an $82 million mortgage fraud in which former county Legis. George Guldi and several others also were charged. 
"I tried to give a guy a second chance in life, and no good deed goes unpunished," Levy said. 
Just last week, Levy said he played no role in doling out county title business. 
Last March, Ellner was arrested and his company closed after he was indicted on a charge of his role in the mortgage fraud that involved more than 50 East End properties. The company has not been accused of wrongdoing. 
Ellner pleaded guilty in December to grand larceny, scheme to defraud and conspiracy to commit fraud. He is awaiting sentencing. 
Levy said he had recommended that Ellner, of <a href="/topics/Plainview%2C_NY">Plainview</a>, be hired in 2005 because he was impressed by Ellner's work. Business records most recently show Ellner as president of a company called Suburban Abstract. Prior to 2007, records are unclear as to the position he held at the company. 
He was the owner of the company from 2007 to 2009, according to the <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> District Attorney's office. Records show the county began awarding title work to Suburban Abstract in 2005, a year after Levy took office. Suburban was paid a total of $85,714 by the county through early 2009, when Ellner was arrested in connection with the mortgage fraud case. 
Levy said he usually does not recommend title companies, but did so for Suburban Abstract. "I know this firm because they did work for me, and it was always spotless." 
County Attorney Christine Malafi, who selects the title companies, said a company disclosure form required of all vendors and filed with the county did not list Ethan Ellner as a principal, but lists his mother, Gladys Ellner, as a partner. Neither of the Ellners returned a call Monday. 
Levy, however, said he knew of Ellner's connection to Suburban. "I knew it. Christine did not," he said Monday. 
Under county law, Ellner's prior felony conviction did not disqualify the company from getting county title work. 
Ellner, 50, and Levy, also 50, met at St. John's University Law School, and Levy was an usher at Ellner's wedding, according to Ellner's ex-wife, Stacy. Ellner also rented an apartment from Levy at Levy's <a href="/topics/Holbrook%2C_NY">Holbrook</a> home while the Ellners were getting divorced, Levy said. 
The friendship endured despite Ellner's troubled history. 
In February 1992, while Levy was a county legislator, a <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> hearing officer found Ellner had engaged in "unconscionable trade practices" in connection with a mortgage fraud in <a href="/topics/Medford%2C_NY">Medford</a>. The hearing officer fined Ellner the maximum allowed under law, $5,000, according to county Consumer Affairs Commissioner Denis McElligott. Later that year, Ellner was arrested and charged with tax evasion. 
While that case was pending, Levy asked Ellner to represent his mother, Marie, in a lawsuit against the <a href="/topics/Internal_Revenue_Service">Internal Revenue Service</a>, Levy said. 
In October 1997, Ellner pleaded guilty to tax evasion. He was sentenced to one month in prison and three years' supervised release and got a $5,000 fine, according to court records. 
In March 1999, the state Appellate Division suspended Ellner's law license because of the tax evasion case. He was reinstated to the bar in November 2001, court records show.

LILEVY13

Levy's convicted friend got $85,000 in county work

Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy

<a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County Executive Steve <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Levy</a>, a longtime advocate of campaign finance reform and candidate for governor, has gotten more than $200,000 in contributions from law firms and title companies that have received more than $7 million in county business since 2006, state and county records show. 
The law firms and title companies were chosen by County Attorney Christine Malafi, a close friend and political confidante of Levy's. Since he became county executive in 2004, his administration has made changes in county procedures that have resulted in Malafi's having greater discretion in awarding millions of dollars in county business. 
Levy's successful fundraising is a critical part of his appeal to <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republicans</a> since his highly publicized defection from the <a href="/topics/U.S._Democratic_Party">Democratic Party</a> two weeks ago, when he announced his candidacy for governor. He has a $4-million campaign fund, compared with $640,000 raised as of January by his <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a> challenger, former congressman <a href="/topics/Rick_Lazio">Rick Lazio</a> of <a href="/topics/Brightwaters%2C_NY">Brightwaters</a>. 
Records show that three title agencies that contributed more than $73,000 to Levy secured the lion's share of county title business - nearly $1.3 million, or more than 75 percent of the county's total title business - from 2006 through 2009. One of the companies, Liberty Title, closed last year after federal authorities indicted its president, Brian H. Madden of <a href="/topics/Greenlawn%2C_NY">Greenlawn</a>, on charges of embezzling more than $4.7 million. The case is pending. 
In addition to the title companies, nine law firms retained by Malafi have contributed more than $146,000 to Levy and have received more than $6 million in county business since 2006. 
A 10th outside legal counsel, the <a href="/topics/Garden_City%2C_NY">Garden City</a> firm of Berkman, Henoch, Peterson &amp; Peddy, which has longtime <a href="/topics/Nassau_County%2C_NY">Nassau</a> Republican ties, has not contributed to Levy. It did $107,005 in county work from 2006 through 2009. Another firm, the <a href="/topics/New_York%2C_NY">New York</a> firm of Putney, Twombly, Hall &amp; Hirson, didn't contribute to Levy. It received $284,311 in legal work from the county, according to records. 
Contributions reviewed by Newsday came from the law firms. These totals do not include possible contributions from individuals connected with those firms. 
&nbsp; 
Levy: I don't confer on picks 
In interviews, Levy said he does not confer with Malafi on selecting outside counsel, or any outside company, and rarely knows which ones are selected until after the fact. "I'm too busy for that," he said. He said there was no connection between contributions and the awarding of business. 
"If a company wants to contribute, fine," he said. "If they don't, that's fine, too." 
In his bid for governor, Levy has touted his reputation as a fiscal conservative and hands-on manager and has vowed to reform Albany. He relies on a close circle of advisers, among them Malafi, a longtime friend, and her husband, Democratic Suffolk County Legis. Louis D'Amaro, who is a former aide. Both Levy and Malafi said in interviews that they have never pressured anyone to contribute to Levy. 
"Absolutely not. Never," Levy said. 
Under state law, professional services, such as work done by law firms and title companies, are not subject to competitive bidding. While it is neither unusual nor illegal for vendors seeking municipal business to contribute to elected officials, Levy has criticized the practice and has twice proposed local laws to limit it. 
In 1996, as a county legislator, he proposed banning contributions from county vendors of more than $500 to county executive candidates and more than $200 for county legislative candidates. His proposed legislation said, in part, "there exists a public perception that government contracts are often awarded on the basis of political contributions and not upon the qualifications and cost-effectiveness of the proposed contractee." 
In 2006, as county executive, he proposed public financing of campaigns. Both resolutions failed. 
Levy said he still supports campaign finance reform but believes it is appropriate for him to accept contributions from vendors, because "You don't unilaterally disarm." He added that he believes strongly that he is playing within the rules. 
"Is Suffolk County unique where you will have lawyers contributing to countywide officials?" he said. "No. It's perfectly legal, legitimate and common throughout the state and throughout the nation." 
&nbsp; 
Vendors choose not to play 
The perception that contributions are a necessary part of winning county business - dubbed "pay to play" by political insiders - discourages some vendors from even seeking county business because they're not willing to contribute, said Jeffrey Koch, chairman of the political science department at SUNY Geneseo. "Competition produces the fairest outcome," he said. 
Malafi's practice of selecting title companies is a sharp change from previous practice. Then, about a dozen title companies were awarded business on a rotating basis by the county's real estate division. Because insurance regulators set rates for title companies, their prices are generally the same and officials believed spreading the work around ensured fairness and faster service, according to two former county officials. 
Some time after Levy appointed her county attorney, Malafi took over the job of selecting title firms, which research chain of ownership and claims on property before it is bought or sold. She said she did that because her department handles property closings for the county. 
Just three companies - Advantage Title Insurance, Abstracts Inc. and Liberty Title - got nearly $1.3 million in county business from 2006 through 2009. Records show that Liberty Title contributed $31,823 to Levy in the same period. Advantage, of <a href="/topics/Huntington%2C_NY">Huntington</a>, contributed $18,900 to Levy; and Abstracts Inc., of Garden City, contributed $23,200 to Levy and $1,900 to D'Amaro, Malafi's husband. 
Records show that seven other title companies contributed no money to Levy and got a total of $222,747 in county business over the same period. 
Malafi said she was unaware of the contributions. "I've never asked a title company if they're contributing to anybody," she said. "I don't ask other elected officials whether or not they're receiving a contribution." 
Levy said he leaves the selection of title companies to Malafi. But he added, "When you do spread it out, you open it up to criticism that you're spreading it around to get more contributions," he said. "You're damned if you do and damned if you don't." 
Owners of Liberty Title and Abstracts Inc. did not return calls. 
&nbsp; 
Gives to Dems, Republicans 
Joseph Willen, president of Advantage Title, said he had known Levy for years because he had done work for him when Levy had a private law practice. 
"He always said to me, 'When I was a young attorney, you were there for me,' " Willen said, adding, "He remembered the good work we did." 
Willen said his firm contributes to both <a href="/topics/U.S._Democratic_Party">Democrats</a> and Republicans and that contributing "is part of being a title company. It seems to be expected of us. That said, I support candidates I believe in." 
Under the county charter, the county attorney chooses which legal firms get county business. 
When Malafi was first appointed in January 2004, she sought an ethics opinion about the propriety of her awarding legal work to her former law firm, Lewis, Johs, Avallone, Aviles, which is based in <a href="/topics/Melville%2C_NY">Melville</a>. Malafi, who would not release the opinion to a reporter, said it recommended that her chief deputy, Lynne Bizarro, award all legal work for two years. In January 2006, Malafi said, she took over those duties. 
County comptroller records show that in that same year, payments to her former firm from the county nearly quadrupled. In 2005, the county paid the firm $81,966. In 2006, the payment jumped to $306,139. Overall, it has received more than $1.1 million in county business since 2006. 
In 2006, the firm also began contributing heavily to Levy. From 2006 through 2009, the firm contributed at least $100,676 to 50 candidates statewide. However, about 40 percent of that total - or $40,200 - went just to Levy. 
Previously, according to county records, the firm contributed $1,500 to Levy in 2003. 
Malafi said the firm's billing was from a case it had been assigned before she became county attorney and that she had given the firm only one case last year and one case the year before. 
When hiring outside counsel, Malafi said as a practice she sends her request to hire a particular law firm to the county waiver committee, which may determine that a "request for proposal," which is a process for comparing vendors' prices and qualifications, is not necessary. 
&nbsp; 
Waiver committee changed 
Before the Levy administration, the waiver committee consisted of three representatives, from the departments of law, purchasing and county executive. In 2006, according to records, the committee was changed, replacing earlier members with the chief deputy county executive, in consultation with other county executive staff, and a representative from the law department, when needed. County procedures were also changed to state that the county executive, through this committee, had the sole discretion to grant or deny a waiver request. 
Malafi said the waiver committee always approved her requests for waivers. "Hiring lawyers, you can't do it by RFP," she said. "You hire lawyers based on their ability and their track record." 
Nonetheless, in 2005, records show, the county attorney's office did use the request for proposal process to hire the law firm handling workers' compensation cases. A separate committee that reviews RFPs rated several law firms and gave the highest rating to the <a href="/topics/Carle_Place%2C_NY">Carle Place</a> law firm of Cherry, Edson &amp; Kelly, which had handled these cases for 27 years. 
Despite that rating, Malafi said the committee made a mistake in its selection, according to a transcript of a 2006 legislative hearing held after a lawyer from Cherry, Edson complained about being replaced. She said another firm was equally qualified and that Cherry, Edson was more expensive. 
&nbsp; 
Partner classmate of Levy 
Malafi then selected Vecchione, Vecchione &amp; Connors, a law firm in <a href="/topics/Garden_City_Park%2C_NY">Garden City Park</a>. Michael Vecchione, a firm partner, is a law school classmate of Levy's. Records show the firm has contributed $12,800 to Levy and $700 to D'Amaro since 2006. 
County auditors reviewed the committee's rating of Cherry, Edson and found that it was correct, according to records. 
Levy said the county stopped using Cherry, Edson because he said it had been "padding their bills." Paul Siminerio, a partner at Cherry, Edson, called that "an outrageous mischaracterization" and said the firm was paid a set amount by contract. He also said it was his firm's experience, prior to Malafi, that the county awarded legal work through the request for proposal process. 
Records show that Cherry, Edson has contributed to Republicans and made one $700 contribution to Levy in 2003. Asked if he thought his failure to make additional campaign contributions to Levy contributed to his losing the work, Siminerio said, "I don't doubt that there's a correlation." 
Lawyers at other law firms contributing to Levy either declined to comment or said that they contributed to a variety of political candidates. 
Levy said his fundraising operation is successful, in part, because of its follow-through. County employees and supporters volunteer to make calls on their lunch hour and after work to people on mailing lists, he said. 
And while Levy said he rarely makes calls himself, he also said, "There are times when, as a candidate, that you have to get on the phone and dial for dollars, or you're going to be left in the dust."

Inside the Steve Levy money machine

ALBANY - Renouncing his lifelong membership in the <a href="/topics/U.S._Democratic_Party">Democratic Party</a>, <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County Executive <a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a> on Friday launched his bid for the <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a> nomination for governor.
Levy, flanked by state GOP and Conservative Party leaders, promised a "crusade for fiscal reform" that would bring <a href="/topics/New_York%2C_NY">New York</a> back from the brink of insolvency. If elected governor, he vowed to cap increases in state spending and local property taxes.
"The people of this state are crying out for someone with a proven record . . . who can balance budgets, make the tough decisions to protect taxpayers and save New York from financial ruin," Levy said outside the Capitol. "I am the leader that can solve these problems and that is why I am today announcing my candidacy as a Republican to become the next governor."
Minutes before Levy's midmorning announcement, former Rep. <a href="/topics/Rick_Lazio">Rick Lazio</a> of Brightwaters blasted what he said was Levy's "liberal <a href="/topics/U.S._Democratic_Party">Democrat</a> voting record" during three years in the Assembly. Levy responded that he was a "contrarian" in the State Legislature and had clashed with Speaker <a href="/topics/Sheldon_Silver">Sheldon Silver</a> (D-<a href="/topics/Manhattan">Manhattan</a>).
Lazio also reported picking up the endorsements of Staten Island <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republicans</a> and Conservatives in upstate Oneida County. Staten Island GOP chief John Friscia described Lazio as "as true conservative."
With Friscia's backing, the Lazio campaign claimed to have more than 50 percent of the weighted vote at this spring's Republican convention. But Levy said he had more than 40 percent of the vote, thanks to support from "seven or eight" of the party's nine vice chairmen and other county leaders.
Levy, 50, of <a href="/topics/Bayport%2C_NY">Bayport</a>, ended his three-decade association with the <a href="/topics/U.S._Democratic_Party">Democrats</a> at 10:20 a.m. He was handed a pen by state Republican Committee chairman Edward Cox and signed a form switching his party enrollment, although it won't be official until after Election Day in November.
Cox said, "<a href="/topics/Steve_Levy">Steve</a>, I welcome you into our party. . . . I endorse your run for governor."
In addition to caps on state spending and local property taxes, Levy wants to declare a state of emergency to rein in the cost of public employee benefits and permit the governor to withhold 10 percent of state payments to avert bankruptcy.
Later Friday, at a rally in <a href="/topics/Battery_Park%2C_NY">Battery Park</a> in Manhattan, Levy said, "The problem in Albany is it's embedded in the institution. The public employee unions and the special interests and the lobbyists control the place."
Asked for his positions on <a href="/topics/Same-sex_Marriage">gay marriage</a> and abortion, he said, "I'm pro-choice, against partial-birth abortion. With the gay issues, I upon coming into office gave equal rights for benefits. I'm in favor of <a href="/topics/Same-sex_Marriage">civil unions</a>, but marriage - a man and a woman."
Levy said he has voted for a Republican in a presidential election, but he declined to say whether he voted for Democrat <a href="/topics/Barack_Obama">Barack Obama</a> or Republican <a href="/topics/John_McCain">John McCain</a> in 2008. "That will be between me and the voting booth," he said.
Democrats heaped scorn on Levy.
Jay Jacobs, head of the state and <a href="/topics/Nassau_County%2C_NY">Nassau</a> Democratic committees, called Levy a political opportunist. Citing Levy's tough stance against illegal immigration, state Sen. John Sampson of <a href="/topics/Brooklyn_Bridge%2C_NY">Brooklyn</a>, the Democratic chief, accused Levy of "hate-mongering rhetoric" that has divided groups.
Levy shot back that his position on immigration was misunderstood: "I simply oppose illegal immigration and that's where the vast majority of people are on that issue."
With Dan Janison

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