Levy contributors invited to seek refunds

Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota has alerted 2,500 past political donors to County Executive Steve Levy that they can reclaim contributions that Levy agreed to forfeit to end a probe of his $4-million campaign fund.

The letter, dated Tuesday, asks donors to file claim forms by Dec. 1.

Although Levy ran his first campaign throughout 2003, Spota said contributions made before Jan. 1, 2006, will not be eligible for refunds. He gave no explanation for the cutoff date.

Oheka Castle owner Gary Melius, a large Levy donor, said he's "absolutely sending a claim" for an estimated $60,000 in contributions over the years, though he could not say how much he gave before 2006. "I feel like I won 60 grand, I may just have a party," Melius said.

Levy was twice elected county executive as a Democrat but switched parties last year in an unsuccessful Republican gubernatorial bid. In an agreement to end an 18-month probe of his campaign finances, Levy disclosed in March that he would not seek re-election this fall and would turn over his campaign fund to Spota.

Spota's office took over the fund in July after Levy filed his final campaign finance report, which disclosed expenditures including payments to his criminal defense attorneys. Robert Clifford, Spota's spokesman, said the campaign fund contained about $3.9 million when the district attorney's office took control. A Levy spokesman declined to comment Friday.

Clifford said that because Levy had spent large amounts of campaign money over the years, the refunds will be paid on a prorated basis, depending on how much contributors are claiming. Contributors will have to provide proof of donations such as canceled checks or credit card receipts. Spota requested that donors make a separate claim for each contribution.