Suffolk ethics board clears Paul Sabatino

The Suffolk Ethics Commission has cleared former Suffolk chief deputy county executive Paul Sabatino of violating the county ethics code in a case that lasted for four years.

The three-member commission, which itself has been the subject of a grand jury probe, exonerated Sabatino in a terse five-paragraph letter that included no specifics or rationale for its ruling.

The Dec. 15 letter simply stated, "Upon consideration, the commission found that the proof received at the hearing did not establish that you violated the Suffolk County Ethics Code."

"Truth has trumped all these charges," said Sabatino, noting that the allegations were "totally fabricated and politically motivated from a disgraced county executive," referring to his former boss, ex-County Executive Steve Levy. Levy did not return calls for comment Tuesday.

Three former Levy aides -- Jeff Szabo, James Morgo and Ben Zwirn -- made the complaint in October 2008. Sabatino had left the administration in late 2007 after a falling-out with Levy.

The former aides said Sabatino broke county ethics laws by working within two years of his departure as an adviser to the county's largest union in a battle over the closing of the county nursing home. They also say he violated the law by appearing at the Newsday editorial board with Wall Street financier Harry Tyson; touting the sale of tax liens; and working with the lawyer of a health department doctor Patricia Dillon, who was suing the county.

Sabatino countered that the aides broke the law by making public their complaint, which was supposed to be handled confidentially.

Sabatino said the law only barred him from being involved in "cases, proceedings, applications or matters" that were pending before he left the county. He said he worked as an adviser to the union on the proposed 2009 budget, testified as a "character witness" for Dillon and that there is no law barring him from speaking to newspaper editors.

Courts earlier threw out a lawsuit brought by the Levy administration to block Sabatino from receiving $40,222 of $194,220 in exit pay for unused sick and vacation time, claiming he crafted an undisclosed exemption in the county laws for himself. An appeals court found Levy's claim "without merit."

Newsday has reported that critics raised questions about whether Levy wielded undue influence over the commission's actions and whether the commission leaked confidential information.