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Sunday, September 29, 2019
Butler v. Nassau Regional Off-Track Betting Corporation et al
sufgolk county legislator kevin mccaffrey president of teamsters local 707 carries out the bidding of joseph g cauro and arthur walsh to the detriment of poll taxpsying union members eho put in an honest days wirk gor an honest days pay ehile bag man al d'amato colle ts $25k per month for a nassau otb no show job
the fbi needs to look st the books and revords of the teamsters local 707 pension fund, kevin mccaffrey trustee
State audit of Long Beach finances says city overpaid more than $500G in separation pay to 10 workers ehile the books & records of nassau otb .....hint lok at the documents secreted under the orotective order in the below case
Butler v. Nassau Regional Off-Track Betting Corporation et al
Board of Directors of Nassau Regeional Off-Track Betting Corporation
Defendant
Jay Jacobs
Defendant
Nassau County Democratic Committee
Defendant
Nassau Regional Off-Track Betting Corporation
Plaintiff
Teresa Butler
An audit by the office of State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli ends a 16-month probe into Long Beach's finances. Photo Credit: Newsday/Thomas A. Ferrara
Long Beach's then-City Manager Jack Schnirman and nine other current and former employees were overpaid more than $500,000 in separation payments between 2017 and 2018 for accrued sick and vacation time, according to a draft audit by the office of state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.
The audit, which ends a 16-month probe into the city's finances, found that Schnirman was overpaid $52,780 as part of a $108,000 separation payment when he left in December 2017 to serve as Nassau County comptroller.
Schnirman was paid $73,113 for 100 percent of his 878 hours of unused sick time and $34,910 for 419 vacation hours. Auditors said the city code calls for sick time to be capped at 30 percent and for vacation time to be capped at 50 days or 400 hours.
Schnirman declined to comment Friday, saying he had not reviewed the draft audit.
State officials are working with the office of Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas and said the audit is not considered complete until city officials respond to the report.
The city has 30 days to respond to the draft before it is completed and released by the comptroller’s office.
The state comptroller began examining Long Beach’s finances last year after the City Council defeated a $2.1 million bond to pay for separation payments, including for Schnirman.
The city is in the midst of a fiscal crisis following years of unbalanced budgets and an influx of federal and state funding after superstorm Sandy in 2012 that masked the city’s deficits and reliance on borrowing.
Auditors said the city mismanaged funds, resulting in an $8.5 million deficit in the past four years. City officials have borrowed $15 million since 2012 for costly separation payouts to city officials, police and firefighters.
DiNapoli delivered two draft audits to Long Beach officials on Thursday and recommended the city try to recover overpayments made to employees that do not follow city code.
A second audit looking at an overview of Long Beach's finances found the city's general fund balance decreased 68 percent from 2014 to 2018, depleting the general fund balance from $9.9 million to $3.2 million and leaving a $813,994 deficit in 2018.
The City Council issued $10.1 million in bonds from 2014 to 2017 to finance recurring expenditures and infrastructure projects after the storm. Auditors also said Schnirman did not draft a multiyear financial plan. The city did draft a long-term fiscal recovery plan in 2013, and earlier in the year contracted with an outside team of financial advisers.
Schnirman said he relied on the city’s payroll department to document his separation payments after he submitted his documented time. He said he thought the payments were calculated properly, but he said if an audit found payments were made in error he would seek to return any funds that were overpaid.
Comptroller officials said Long Beach has failed to correct its separation payment policy for more than 25 years, after audits in 1992 and 1996 found its separation payments were inconsistent with city code and union contracts.
At an Aug. 20 City Council meeting, council President Anissa Moore called on the state comptroller and the district attorney to conclude their investigations and release their findings. She called the current and former city employees who approved the payments “co-conspirators.”
“This is a clear abuse of power. This is a clear abuse of public trust,” Moore said during the meeting. “We will get to the bottom of this, and we intend to seek restitution for all that’s owed to the city.”
Singas is continuing a criminal investigation into the separation payments and said Thursday that the probe was delayed by “a lack of cooperation by some critical witnesses” and city records that were unavailable.
“I hope that the comptroller’s determination that payments were made in excess of the city code and the former city manager’s contract moves the city not only to take the recommended remedial actions immediately — including seeking repayment to the city for any inappropriate disbursements and implementing reforms detailed in this and earlier audits — but to cooperate fully and expeditiously with our criminal investigation as we seek to conclude it,” Singas wrote.
The district attorney’s office clarified in a letter Friday to the city’s outside counsel, Anthony Capozzolo, that he “has been responsive, professional, collegial and ethical.”
“Our generic reference to uncooperative witnesses that have delayed our investigation was not intended to suggest that your clients have been uncooperative,” Chief Assistant District Attorney Albert Teichman wrote.
Capozzolo said the city has fully cooperated with the comptroller and district attorney’s investigation by providing any witnesses and documents requested. He said the draft audit was leaked to the public before the city was able to respond to the comptroller’s findings.
“I can assure you that the city is preparing a detailed and fact-based account of the issues covered in the report and it will provide a full and fair understanding of the issues related to the separation payments,” Capozzolo said.
City officials told the state comptroller that the City Council approved a retirement incentive in 2012 to both union and exempt employees. The city interpreted the city’s code to allow exempt and management employees to be entitled to no less than 30 percent of accrued sick time, multiplied by the rate of pay.
“There was nothing restricting the city manager from providing exempt employees with more than the minimum entitlement set forth in the city code,” the audit states. “If it was the intent of the city as part of a retirement/separation incentive, to change the leave entitlement terms of the city code, the council should have amended the city code.”
Previous city managers were paid incentives as far back as 2008 that paid up to 100 percent sick leave, according to the audit. The payroll supervisor said the city has paid exempt employees 100 percent of all accumulated leave balances since 2014. The city also had an unwritten policy to give exempt employees the same benefits given to union employees.
The city also issued $229,494 in payments to eight city employees who did not leave employment in the city, auditors found, including Corporation Counsel and now acting City Manager Rob Agostisi, who was paid $119,855 in November 2017 and ended up not taking a job with the Town of Hempstead.
The city also paid $471,799 in separation payments to retiring police officers last year. City police officials said it has always been their policy to pay PBA employees all accumulated vacation and compensatory time at separation.
Auditors said the city should amend the city code to reflect how it intends to pay exempt employees for accrued time and review calculations before making drawdowns of times or separation payments.
"The state comptroller's findings demonstrate wrongful behavior by city officials and a complete lack of respect for taxpayers," State Sen Todd Kaminsky (D-Long Beach) said. "The city should cooperate and take the initiative to determine who should be held accountable and to best protect the public funds going forward."
hell no simply having the fbi investigate the books and revords of the teamsters local 797 pension
fund would provide acvountsbility and feedback for acts and omissions
Christopher Carini replaces Erin King Sweeney on 5th council district ballot
Posted
Chris Carini will replace Erin King Sweeney on the ballot for the 5th Councilmanic District in the Town of Hempstead.
Seaford resident Christopher Carini has announced his campaign for the 5th Councilmanic District in the Town of Hempstead. He replaces Erin King Sweeney on the ballot, who dropped her re-election candidacy on Sept. 12.
Carini boasts several community-oriented accomplishments. Carini is a Port Authority police officer, a former MTA police officer and previously served as an officer with the New York Police Department, according to a news release. He also serves as the vice president of the Wantagh-Seaford Homeowners’ Association and is on the Nassau County Police Commissioner’s Community Council.
As the vice president of the Homeowners’ Association, Carini has pushed the Long Island Rail Road and the Metropolitan Transportaton Authority to remove graffiti at local train stations; increase policing at the stations; repair broken escalators; and enforce quality-of-life issues at commuter centers. Additionally, he has helped establish a community watch to combat neighborhood burglaries and other crimes.
“I am eager to continue my work on behalf of neighbors in the 5th Councilmanic District,” Carini said. “And, I am excited to join Don Clavin, Hempstead Town’s next Supervisor, in reducing government spending and taxes, slashing patronage and repairing the town’s roadway system.”
Carini is retiring from the Port Authority Police Force to dedicate his time to the campaign. “I have really enjoyed serving my community and working to maintain it as a safe and desirable place in which to live, work and raise a family,” he said. “Working to help area homeowners is something to which I am dedicated, and as a Town Councilman, I will be able to do even more.”
In a statement on Sept. 12, Sweeney, a Republican from Wantagh, said, “My husband’s job has been relocated to North Carolina. Therefore, based upon the needs of my family, I will not be a candidate for re-election.”
“My personal journey over the last year has made me appreciate more than ever the importance of family,” she added. “I send my deepest gratitude and best wishes to the residents of the 5th Councilmanic District whom I have had the privilege to serve.”
Sweeney was appointed to serve as the representative for the town’s 5th district — which covers Baldwin, a portion of Freeport, Merrick, Bellmore, Wantagh and Seaford — following the retirement of Angie Cullin in January 2015. She was elected to a four-year term that November.
Carini will challenge Democratic candidate Lora Webster, a Paralympic volleyball player, stay-at-home mother and a childhood cancer survivor.
At the time, Webster was surprised by the announcement, but remained humbled by the news, saying that she would continue to run a grassroots campaign by knocking on doors and speaking with residents, as if there were still an opponent in play.
“I’m still going to run the race like I am behind, and use that as motivation,” Webster said. “As far as I’m concerned, I still have to prove myself to a ton of people.”
"I am running against the pay-to-play culture of corruption that has permeated Hempstead Town government for far too long," she added in a statement on Sept. 25, pointing to more than $1,600 in donations made by Carini to Republican candidates since May. "I am proud to stand alongside Supervisor Gillen in her fight to clean up Town Hall."
Carini has consulted with Town Receiver of Taxes Don Clavin, who is challenging Supervisor Laura Gillen, to work on a taxpayer accountability plan. This would include “slashing patronage by $1 million on day one,” according to the release. Carini also supports the Republican majority’s 2019 budget, which received unanimous support aside from Gillen.
“The Carini Plan calls for strict fiscal accountability,” Carini said. “At the same time, we need to invest in our roadway network, which is in need of serious attention. I am working with Don Clavin to rebuild our infrastructure.”
“Putting taxpayers first is not just a campaign slogan for me,” he added. “It is my commitment to the residents of the 5th Councilmanic district.”
In Seaford, Carini is raising two children along with his wife, Danielle.
thefederal opm has a leave sharing plan
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/leave-administration/fact-sheets/voluntary-leave-transfer-program/
the town of hempstead has a leave sharing plan as do many other
teamsters local 707 suffolk county legislator kevin mccaffrey president purports to represent nassau otb employees
nassau otb used to have a leave sharing plan
