Ex-politico Jim Morgo opens consulting firm

Anyone who knows Jim Morgo associates him with politics (he was a Suffolk County legislator), government (he was chief deputy to Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy) or nonprofits (he was president of the Long Island Housing Partnership.)

He now has a new title: businessman. Morgo, who is a part-time economic development coordinator to Brookhaven Town, has started his own company in Bayport, Morgo Private Public Strategies, a consulting firm for economic development projects.

Because of his past county association and his current town job, Morgo is not allowed to do any municipal work in Brookhaven, nor can he do any such work in Suffolk County, for the next two years.

His clients include Rechler Equity Partners, the largest commercial landlord on Long Island. He cannot work on Rechler's project to redevelop and manage the 53-acre Hampton Business and Technology Park at Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach. The redevelopment is a joint effort between the county and the Town of Southampton.

"I'm very fortunate I can pick and choose for whom I want to work," said Morgo.

As for his having to watch out for possible conflicts of interest, Morgo said, "I've made it a point in my career to be scrupulous about these things."