arthur walsh esq runs nassau otb and interacts with kevin mccaffrey sufgolk county legislator snd president of nassau otb which purports to represent nassau otb employees, note that joseph cairo appeared at a union meeting of teamsters local 858 to endorse kevin mccaffrey and local 707 taking over representing nasau otb employees
possibilities include
walsh does whatever he wants telling cairo in whole, in part or not at all what he foes thus giving cairo deniability for anything
note joseph cairo does not talk to nassau otb employees who work
joseph cairo signs agreements such as that dated may 8, 2019 with kevin mccaffrey for purposes not in the interest or knowledge of nassau otb employees that work. alan klapman was passed over for promotion to brsnch manager of green acres branch because cairo and mccaffrey acted in concert with animus against an otb employee. perhaps cairo simply signs what arthur walsh presents to him without independent thought, investigation and or snalysis.
politics is politics. working is working.
since teamsters local 707 and kevin mccaffrey are not a union that understands anything other than court actions or perhaps fbi subpoenas like the uaw perhaps cairo might consider the views and concerns of nassau otb workers that may or may not ever have reached him.
opm has a leave plan nassau otb does not the town of hempstead et al do
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/leave-administration/fact-sheets/voluntary-leave-transfer-program/
the personnel and hardware dealing with money at nassau otb is charitably speaking in need of improvement or more
nassau otb unlike a nookie is not open to take bets when great out of state racing is running
ny pml sec 109 is uncondtitutional and or foes not apply to nassau otb
al d'amato park stategies gets$25,000 per month for nothing
Records: GOP leader, son earned $1.1M for Malibu Beach work
The Malibu Beach Club in Lido Beach, seen on Aug. 25, is a Hempstead Town-owned facility. Photo Credit: Howard Schnapp
A Hempstead Town contractor facing scrutiny from federal law enforcement has paid more than $1 million over 10 years to Joseph Cairo, chairman of the Nassau County Republican Committee, and Cairo's son for legal and project management work at the beachside recreation complex the contractor runs, according to records and interviews.
Butch Yamali, whose company, Dover Gourmet Corp., operates the town-owned Malibu Beach Park, said in an interview that he paid $1,160,000 to Cairo and his son, Joseph Michael Cairo, for work related to the popular Lido Beach facility. Hempstead provided Newsday with invoices for the work dating from 2009 to 2018 following a Freedom of Information request.
The records show Yamali's work at Malibu has been a steady source of income for the senior Cairo, who political experts say wields vast influence over jobs and the Republican agenda in the Hempstead and Nassau governments.
Newsday reported in July that Dover had not paid Hempstead rent on Malibu for seven months, accumulating a balance of $378,000 in unpaid fees as of April, when town Parks Commissioner Daniel Lino and then-Comptroller Kevin Conroy extended the contract without Supervisor Laura Gillen's knowledge or town board approval. Gillen, a Democrat, criticized the extension as a “sweetheart deal” and called for Lino to resign. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York subpoenaed the town for records on Dover. Conroy retired Aug. 26, citing health issues.
Cairo said in an interview that he worked for Yamali in his capacity as a private attorney. Cairo, a former Hempstead councilman, said he was not involved in the contract extension, is not on retainer this year and has had only minimal communication with town officials regarding Dover's work at the facility.
“There may have been some correspondence [with town officials], but certainly the correspondence dwindled, so to speak, over the years, and there has been none recently,” Cairo said.
Joseph Michael Cairo, through a spokesman, declined to comment.
Former Republican town officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Cairo's involvement in the contract raises questions about whether Republican town officials overseeing the Malibu deal felt pressure to offer Yamali favorable treatment.
"It would make people bend over backwards in order to accommodate whatever that vendor wanted," one former Republican town official said. "You would be very reticent to get on the wrong side of someone so powerful."
Another said: "If Joe Cairo was a town vendor's attorney, then who in their right mind would question his legal opinions or demands for a client? . . . It's a culture of fear."
Cairo was appointed the county committee chairman in May 2018. He served as vice chairman for more than a decade prior. He said he did not believe his political role put pressure on Republican town officials to treat his client favorably.
“I have not spoken to either the park commissioner nor do I talk to any town elected officials with respect to his contract, his extension or his agreement,” Cairo said. “I made that decision very specifically that I would not interfere, and I went out of my way to avoid even the appearance that . . . I would have any influence on them. I was very cautious in that regard.”
Lino did not respond to a request for comment. A spokeswoman said Conroy was unavailable for comment.
The records include seven invoices from Joseph Cairo to Dover Malibu for “Retainer[s] for legal and advisory services” from 2012 to 2018, totaling $510,000.
They also include five invoices from JMC Management to Dover Malibu for “Capital Improvement Planning, Consulting and Project Management” from 2009 to 2013, totaling $650,000, payable to ”J Michael Cairo.” Joseph Cairo said JMC is run by his son, Joseph Michael Cairo.
Yamali, who has held numerous concessions and vending contracts with local governments on Long Island, said Cairo was a longtime friend and played an advisory role on Malibu issues.
“I would ask for guidance,” Yamali said. “There’s a lot here, a lot to decide. Who can you bounce it off of?”
Hempstead Town records obtained by Newsday through a previous Freedom of Information request show town officials sent letters to Cairo in 2015 regarding sanitation fees at Malibu.
Yamali said the younger Cairo oversaw construction and renovation projects at the facility, which features a restaurant, pool, tennis courts and hundreds of cabanas.
Joseph Michael Cairo would "make sure that the fence was put in the right spot, or that the thing was painted the right color, or the consistency of the stucco was right,” Yamali said.
Yamali has described Gillen's statements as politically motivated. He asked the state Supreme Court in Nassau County earlier this month to confirm the contract was "lawfully and validly extended.” The litigation is ongoing.
Hempstead possessed the invoices it provided to Newsday because Dover submitted its capital improvement expenses at Malibu to the town for review, according to a town official familiar with the documents.
The capital improvement costs have become a focal point of the dispute over Malibu. Yamali said he has spent more than $12 million to improve the property since he began operating Malibu in 2009. He said he has replaced roofs, installed new amenities and spruced up the hundreds of cabanas that Hempstead families rent for thousands of dollars each summer.
The contract states the Freeport-based Dover would carry out $10 million in capital improvements. Yamali has said he has not paid rent on the Malibu concession in the past year because the town owes him for the more than $2 million for improvements he has completed beyond that mark. He said town officials instructed him not to pay until the two sides came to terms.
Newsday also received spreadsheets prepared by the Hempstead comptroller’s office indicating the town counted Joseph Michael Cairo’s project management fees as capital improvement costs and Joseph Cairo’s legal retainers as operational costs.
Project management fees incurred before or during construction are typically classified as capital improvement expenses, while legal retainers are considered operational, according to Mitchell Pally, chief executive of the Long Island Builders Institute.
Jesse Coburn covers the Town of Hempstead. He's worked at Newsday since 2016.
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