Legis. Martinez makes a hire with family ties

Suffolk Legis. Monica Martinez (D-Brentwood) has hired a former Salvadoran diplomat who is partners in a political consulting firm with her brother Tony, a Babylon town board member.

Luis E. Montes Brito, 51, started as a $44,709-a-year legislative aide this month. The firm, Pan American Communications LLC, specializes in reaching Hispanic voters. Montes Brito is also the father of Luis Montes, a $110,000-a-year assistant deputy to County Executive Steve Bellone; Luis Montes said he was also in the firm before joining the Bellone administration. Montes-Brito has served as general counsel to El Salvador on Long Island and in Florida and vice minister of foreign affairs for Salvadorans living abroad. -- Rick Brand