Grant
Administrator
Town Official Pleads Guilty to Airport Scheme on L.I.
By JULIA C. MEAD
Published: August 2, 2006
RIVERHEAD, N.Y., Aug. 1 — A 36-year veteran of Islip town government admitted Tuesday in Suffolk County Criminal Court that he approved construction at MacArthur Airport knowing that it violated the state’s fire and safety codes — and acknowledged that he was now helping the prosecution in its pursuit of additional suspects.
The town official, Steven J. Rizzo, 52, of Islip Terrace, pleaded guilty to offering a false instrument for filing, a felony, and reckless endangerment and official misconduct, both misdemeanors. If he had gone to trial and been convicted of the felony, he could have faced one and a third to four years in prison.
Instead, Judge Michael F. Mullen approved a plea bargain that promises Mr. Rizzo a sentence of no more than a year in exchange for his cooperation. Although Judge Mullen sealed the agreement, its general terms were outlined during Mr. Rizzo’s appearance in court.
He responded with a soft “yes” or “yes, sir” to each of the more than 30 questions posed by Christopher McPartland, the chief of the Suffolk district attorney’s government corruption bureau. What emerged was a six-year history of corruption in which town officials, including Mr. Rizzo, expanded the town-owned airport while ignoring state regulations for fire detection and suppression. Earlier in the day, Mr. Rizzo resigned as the town engineer and deputy planning commissioner.
“There’s going to be a lot of people who aren’t going to sleep tonight,” said Steven J. Wilutis, Mr. Rizzo’s defense lawyer, after the plea. Mr. Wilutis said the sleepless would include “current and former officials of the town of Islip.”
Although he confirmed that his client knew that a T.G.I. Fridays restaurant built at the airport lacked the required fire-suppression system and therefore was unsafe, he claimed that Mr. Rizzo was “deceived” by those officials into signing the restaurant’s certificate of occupancy. The felony charge stems from his issuing of that certificate.
“He was given false information and was given this information by people who knew better,” Mr. Wilutis said.
Suffolk’s district attorney, Thomas J. Spota, did not disagree. “Our investigation leads us to believe that Mr. Rizzo was pressured to act improperly and the people who pressured him, their identities are known to the D.A.’s office,” he said outside court.
About 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, town officials shut the restaurant, citing safety concerns. The town supervisor, Eric M. Hofmeister, said in a statement that the board would act swiftly to cure the violations.
Town fire marshals and building inspectors will assess the building on Wednesday, said Pierce Fox Cohalan, the town attorney. “We will take whatever steps are necessary to be sure that the airport is code-compliant,” Mr. Cohalan said.
Mr. Spota, a Republican turned Democrat, has investigated and obtained convictions for an ever-growing list of public officials since taking office five years ago. Most have been from the neighboring town of Brookhaven. Peter J. McGowan, the former Islip town supervisor and one of the most influential Republicans on Long Island, was the first from Islip to be snared.
Mr. McGowan was released from jail in early July after serving 56 days for taking kickbacks and misusing more than $30,000 in campaign donations.
State officials learned more than a year ago that the expansion, which included a $50 million Southwest Airlines terminal, had been built without state approvals and in violation of fire and safety codes.
A major proponent of the expansion, Mr. McGowan, 69, saw his name emblazoned on the new terminal and then removed after he resigned in disgrace in March. Prosecutors declined to say whether Mr. McGowan was once again in their sights. Mr. Spota instead said his office would continue to investigate the airport’s expansion, including construction of the terminal.
“We have developed cooperators and are using other investigative techniques,” he said, adding that his investigators were looking at “the important safeguards required by the State of New York that were deliberately circumvented to the detriment of the taxpayers of Suffolk County and the traveling public.” Mr. Rizzo is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 25.
By JULIA C. MEAD
Published: August 2, 2006
RIVERHEAD, N.Y., Aug. 1 — A 36-year veteran of Islip town government admitted Tuesday in Suffolk County Criminal Court that he approved construction at MacArthur Airport knowing that it violated the state’s fire and safety codes — and acknowledged that he was now helping the prosecution in its pursuit of additional suspects.
The town official, Steven J. Rizzo, 52, of Islip Terrace, pleaded guilty to offering a false instrument for filing, a felony, and reckless endangerment and official misconduct, both misdemeanors. If he had gone to trial and been convicted of the felony, he could have faced one and a third to four years in prison.
Instead, Judge Michael F. Mullen approved a plea bargain that promises Mr. Rizzo a sentence of no more than a year in exchange for his cooperation. Although Judge Mullen sealed the agreement, its general terms were outlined during Mr. Rizzo’s appearance in court.
He responded with a soft “yes” or “yes, sir” to each of the more than 30 questions posed by Christopher McPartland, the chief of the Suffolk district attorney’s government corruption bureau. What emerged was a six-year history of corruption in which town officials, including Mr. Rizzo, expanded the town-owned airport while ignoring state regulations for fire detection and suppression. Earlier in the day, Mr. Rizzo resigned as the town engineer and deputy planning commissioner.
“There’s going to be a lot of people who aren’t going to sleep tonight,” said Steven J. Wilutis, Mr. Rizzo’s defense lawyer, after the plea. Mr. Wilutis said the sleepless would include “current and former officials of the town of Islip.”
Although he confirmed that his client knew that a T.G.I. Fridays restaurant built at the airport lacked the required fire-suppression system and therefore was unsafe, he claimed that Mr. Rizzo was “deceived” by those officials into signing the restaurant’s certificate of occupancy. The felony charge stems from his issuing of that certificate.
“He was given false information and was given this information by people who knew better,” Mr. Wilutis said.
Suffolk’s district attorney, Thomas J. Spota, did not disagree. “Our investigation leads us to believe that Mr. Rizzo was pressured to act improperly and the people who pressured him, their identities are known to the D.A.’s office,” he said outside court.
About 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, town officials shut the restaurant, citing safety concerns. The town supervisor, Eric M. Hofmeister, said in a statement that the board would act swiftly to cure the violations.
Town fire marshals and building inspectors will assess the building on Wednesday, said Pierce Fox Cohalan, the town attorney. “We will take whatever steps are necessary to be sure that the airport is code-compliant,” Mr. Cohalan said.
Mr. Spota, a Republican turned Democrat, has investigated and obtained convictions for an ever-growing list of public officials since taking office five years ago. Most have been from the neighboring town of Brookhaven. Peter J. McGowan, the former Islip town supervisor and one of the most influential Republicans on Long Island, was the first from Islip to be snared.
Mr. McGowan was released from jail in early July after serving 56 days for taking kickbacks and misusing more than $30,000 in campaign donations.
State officials learned more than a year ago that the expansion, which included a $50 million Southwest Airlines terminal, had been built without state approvals and in violation of fire and safety codes.
A major proponent of the expansion, Mr. McGowan, 69, saw his name emblazoned on the new terminal and then removed after he resigned in disgrace in March. Prosecutors declined to say whether Mr. McGowan was once again in their sights. Mr. Spota instead said his office would continue to investigate the airport’s expansion, including construction of the terminal.
“We have developed cooperators and are using other investigative techniques,” he said, adding that his investigators were looking at “the important safeguards required by the State of New York that were deliberately circumvented to the detriment of the taxpayers of Suffolk County and the traveling public.” Mr. Rizzo is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 25.