Levy's commissioner switch raises politicos' eyebrows

Call it a Steve Levy trifecta.

Suffolk's county executive in the last week threw his $124,000 county parks commissioner, John Pavacic, under the bus after only two years on the job. And Levy acknowledged that he plans to hire an ally of his chief Conservative Party gubernatorial champion, Suffolk chairman Edward Walsh, to replace Pavacic.

Then looking to reap political credit, Levy said his proposed choice, Joseph Montuori, 53, will be limited to making $30,000 a year while double-dipping on a state pension after retiring from his current $77,000-a-year job as manager of Heckscher State Park.

"It's an opportunity to get a two-for-one deal - a guy I've always wanted as commissioner at a quarter of the regular price," Levy said. He added he has offered to keep Pavacic, whom he called a "very talented county employee," albeit at a cut in pay.

But critics say widely respected Pavacic is just collateral damage for Levy's relentless ambition to be governor. Montuori, who like Walsh lives in East Islip, is a member of both the Islip and the Suffolk Conservative Party executive committees. "Steve Levy is not doing this because he cares about the environment or parks," said Richard Amper, executive director of the Long Island Pine Barrens Society. "He's doing it to curry favor with his Republicans and Conservative friends."

Commissioners serve at the pleasure of the county executive and can be removed at any time, but any new nominee must be confirmed by a majority vote of the county legislature

Legis. Jon Cooper (D-Lloyd Harbor) called Pavacic "fair-minded and a true professional" and feared his removal could set a "dangerous precedent" leading to the ouster of other commissioners for political reasons. "It's an awfully big coincidence that an ally of Ed Walsh is announced for parks commissioner only weeks after Levy changes parties," he said. "It strains credulity that there isn't a political component to this."

Some worry Levy may name others to jobs and vacancies to prove his credibility with the GOP. John Jay LaValle, Suffolk GOP chairman, said he and Levy have had some "labor-related" discussions, and he would "anticipate forwarding names" to Levy for new openings but would not be specific.

But Levy says there is no politics involved. He said he offered Montuori the post before Pavacic was even considered for the job, but the Conservative declined because at the time he lived in a state house on the Heckscher property. Levy aides say Montuori will move into a post of chief deputy commissioner within several weeks to get acclimated to the agency until he is confirmed by county lawmakers.

Backers say that Montuori is highly qualified, working for the state for more than 35 years, and has run Heckscher since 1996. They also said that Montuori is a former fire chief, fire commissioner, school board member and currently a local library board president. "He's a great guy who does a great job," Walsh said.

Levy informed Pavacic of his plans about a week ago. Administration sources say that Levy was unhappy Pavacic was not a tough enough cost-cutter in his department. Pavacic, a Republican who formerly worked at the Department for Environmental Conservation and in Brookhaven, was mulling whether to accept a lower-level job "suited to his skills and experience," said Levy spokesman Dan Aug. Pavacic did not return calls for comment.

"It's always the prerogative of the executive to choose his own people," said Legis. Edward Romaine (R-Center Moriches), a frequent Levy critic. "But here, it leads to speculation about why. And I don't think we'll get an explanation from the county executive."