Major political donor settles $500,000 debt by receiving $168,544 from county
(Long Island, NY) Former Nassau County Comptroller Howard Weitzman joined with Legislative Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams to expose a highly suspicious settlement Nassau County reached with a major political donor found to have shortchanged the county over $500,000, and called for an investigation.
The donor, Anthony Capetola, has contributed over $100,000 to the Nassau County Republican Committee and various political candidates since January 1, 2009. Most recently, Capetola hosted a free fundraiser for George Maragos at The Carltun, a facility for which he has an exclusive county contract to operate and is subject to audits by Maragos. The value of the facility, donated food, and funds raised totaled $21,100.
The $168,544 settlement is highly unusual both because of the financial gains by Carltun and because settlements valued over $100,000 are typically brought before the Nassau County Legislature for approval. No record can be found of the Legislature being notified of the settlement or approving the settlement. The county attorney also never notified the parties to the settlement, including Weitzman, of its terms.
“First George Maragos cooked the books to hide the county’s 2012 $45 million deficit. Now it turns out he’s cooking the books to give questionable handouts to a major donor who shortchanged taxpayers over $500,000,” said Weitzman.
The settlement was with Capetola’s Carltun on the Park, Ltd., the holder of the exclusive contract with Nassau County for concession and hospitality services in Eisenhower Park. Carltun was found in a 2009 audit to have under-reported $4.6 million in revenue, depriving Nassau County of over $500,000. The claim went unsettled for over three years, only to be addressed during this election year. The terms of the apparent settlement called for Carltun to pay $381,456 to the county to settle its $504,885 debt, extended the duration of Carltun’s exclusive contract despite them shortchanging the county, and, in an unusual twist, the county gave Carltun an ‘allowance’ of $550,000 to purchase a new generator for their facility, yielding a $168,544 net gain for Carltun in addition to the benefit of an extended contract.
“We have found no record that the legislature ever approved, or was ever informed of this highly suspicious settlement with a well-connected political donor to Mr. Maragos,” said Abrahams. “I am calling for a full investigation of whether this unapproved settlement was legal and appropriate.”
In spite of the damaging findings in the 2009 audit, it does not appear Mr. Maragos ever publicly issued a follow-up audit or audited the $550,000 given to The Carltun as an ‘allowance’ to purchase a new generator.
About Howard Weitzman, CPA
In 2001, Howard Weitzman became the only CPA ever elected to the office of Nassau County Comptroller after a 30 year career as a healthcare financial executive. He was subsequently re-elected to a second term in 2005. During his eight years as Comptroller, Howard Weitzman played a central role in the financial rescue of Nassau County. Under Howard’s leadership, the office of Comptroller became a national model for transparency and accountability while at the same time developing a reputation for groundbreaking audits, independence and integrity. A graduate of Brooklyn Technical High School and Queens College, Howard is the former Mayor of Great Neck Estates, where he and his wife resided for 35 years and raised three children. He is currently a resident of North Hills.
WEITZMAN AND ABRAHAMS WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR MEDIA TODAY, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29TH AT 10:00 AM VIA CONFERENCE CALL. PLEASE CONTACT NICK BENSON AT NICK@WEITZMANFORNASSAU.COM OR 516-500-1085 FOR CALL-IN INFORMATION.
