Suffolk Ethics Commission probe stalls over records

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-Holbrook). "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 Steve Levy, 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 Levy 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 Sawicki 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.