Sapraicone goes to work with D'Esposito in Washington

Daily Point

Another GOP hire for a 'nonpartisan' IG job

Michael Sapraicone, a Republican from Nassau County and onetime Senate nominee crushed at the polls by Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand two years ago, has been named chief administrative officer of the U.S. Department of Labor inspector general's office.

Sapraicone, 70, will be working under Inspector General Anthony D'Esposito, 44, who on the same 2024 ballot lost his 4th Congressional District seat to Rep. Laura Gillen even as GOP President Donald Trump won the county by 4 percentage points, or 30,000 votes.

White House patronage appointments after losing candidacies are typical in both parties. Sapraicone is not only known to be a friend of former Sen. Al D'Amato, but is a longtime law enforcement professional who founded, ran and sold the private Squad Security company, following a career as an NYPD detective, which D'Esposito once was.

In fact, Sapraicone's professional resume shows more seasoning than D'Esposito's — and perhaps is more suited to running a sizable organization — which suggests he could prove valuable.

When Sapraicone first came forward as a Senate candidate, other Republicans, including ex-Rep. Pete King, called his MAGA credentials into question. In 2022, he contributed $1,000 to Trump's archnemesis, New York Attorney General Tish James. But Trump gave Sapraicone the nod for his nomination. The candidate posted this statement online: "President Trump and I were both born in the same hospital in Queens, built successful businesses and attended Mets games in adjacent boxes where I was lucky to share a hot dog and a brief word with him on a few occasions."

Inspectors general, in theory, serve as independent, nonpartisan watchdogs within their agencies. They are assigned to monitor those agencies for possible waste, fraud and abuse, as described for example by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, a good-government group.

For his part, D'Esposito trumpeted the Sapraicone appointment on social media, saying he brings "more than 40 years of operational security expertise and investigative experience" to the new job and grew his business "into a global company employing over 600 active and retired law enforcement professionals serving a broad range of corporate clients."

Early in Sapraicone's 2024 candidacy, Gavin Wax, then leader of the rightist New York Young Republicans Club, said the club gave state GOP chairman Ed Cox and Nassau GOP chairman Joe Cairo "an earful" in opposition. The group also stated: "Sapraicone underscores the disdain in which the New York State GOP leadership holds New Yorkers and America First patriots."

And yet, despite this largely forgotten crossfire, both Wax and Sapraicone are serving the same second Trump administration. Wax, a former Long Islander, is now chief of staff to the under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs — where his LinkedIn entry says, "I contribute to shaping global perceptions of U.S. policies and values through strategic communication efforts."

Which proves again that campaign talk and patronage hiring don't always fit together. 

— Dan Janison dan.janison@newsday.com

Pencil Point

Fluid home prices

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Final Point

Even at the beach, elections are contentious

You would be forgiven for thinking that a quiet oceanfront village with only about 150 year-round residents cared little for politics and concerned itself with the more mundane aspects of life, like the weather forecast.

But this is Long Island, and people take their incorporated villages seriously, even if the political parties in previous election seasons had chipper-sounding names like the Stay-A-While Party and the Sunshine Party.

Dubbed "The Land of No" because of numerous strict ordinances against, well, just about everything, Ocean Beach Village's annual election Friday features some squabbling. Remember: Village election results in 2018 were delayed after a candidate presented a court order an hour before polls closed that sequestered absentee ballots. And in 2022, a state audit found that the village had overpaid its clerk-treasurer by more than $44,000. Another state audit, in 2023, found that $356,000 in credit card transactions did not comply with village policy.

This year's election already has more than a few wrinkles. Maria Silsdorf, the president of the Ocean Beach Association, stepped down temporarily earlier this year because her husband, Ian Levine, who is a village trustee, is challenging longtime Mayor James Mallott. Another trustee, Marco Arment, who is running for reelection, declined to participate in the association's winter Zoom meeting because of the perceived conflict of interest arising from Silsdorf serving as the association's president while her husband campaigns for mayor, according to news reports in Fire Island News.

Then there's the race for village court justice.

Village Justice William Wexler, who's held the position for nearly three decades, is being challenged by Ali Marin Mitchell. The contest for Ocean Beach's top judge became a legal one when Wexler tried to get Mitchell knocked off the ballot over residency concerns. Earlier this month, a state Supreme Court justice dismissed Wexler's case.

In a Fire Island News story, Wexler said he will "let the voters decide. That's our democracy." In the same article, Mitchell said she was "grateful" the case was dismissed in her favor.

Even in an idyllic village with beautiful vistas, politics is pugilistic, and elections aren't a day at the beach.

— Mark Nolan mark.nolan@newsday.com

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