Dan's Papers - May 22, 2009 - Suffolk D.A. Spota Puts Spotlight on EH Town

The political season of 2009 is taking shape in the Hamptons with some usual and unusual twists and turns. In what is becoming a Franz Kafka-like political novel, three East Hampton Town Board members (Julia Prince, Pat Mansir and Brad Loewen) were questioned by the Suffolk County District Attorneys office in their domain, East Hampton Town Hall, to determine if they were witnesses or accomplices to activities of Supervisor William McGintee. The very same people who make the laws of East Hampton were before the law, in some cases reportedly squirming in response to questions about whether their colleague was either part of a conspiracy or acted alone in possible misuse of town funds to finance town operations. Thrown into the mix is the charge of a "no-bid" contract given to operate a skating rink that, on the surface, seems intriguing. But when I investigated it, it seemed this was only a hand grenade of innuendo based on political heat rather than logic.

In the U.S. Army, an officer once said that no matter what you did you could earn either a medal or a court marshal. The same is becoming true in the political theater. In the case of the "no-bid" rink, people who ran the programs in an outdoor skating rink for over a decade were given the rights to continue running the programs when the rink became an indoor rink. Some have said the issue here is hidden racism by local Republicans because the rink is now home to Latino soccer leagues. Figures like $500,000 were thrown around, in my opinion, to incite the ignorant when in fact, right now, all expenses of a town in trouble are being questioned.

But the critical mass of the investigation by the Suffolk County D.A. Thomas Spota's office centers around McGintee and Town Budget Officer Ted Hults. Both are being looked into about the use of Community Preservation Funds in town accounts to pay for things like payrolls, when the realities of the economic downturn first hit the local economy like a brush fire. The scope of the investigation is whether the two knowingly released misleading figures in town documents to hide the fact that the town was going broke. It's "what did they know, and when did they know it" types of questions, according to a source in town hall.

However the crux of this issue may not be bookkeeping errors or misrepresentations and misstatements, but perhaps, as McGintee's top aide Lynn Ryan said, "It's political." At the moment, McGintee has not hired an attorney and denies any wrongdoing. In past interviews with me he admitted he made mistakes. Months ago, in private, he told me this investigation was coming. It bothered him, but he believed in the process and believed he would be vindicated. But now both his recent political work and the East Hampton Democratic Party stand to be seriously damaged.

Republicans in town are reveling. This certainly can't hurt Republican Bill Wilkinson's chances for election this year for East Hampton Town Supervisor. The East Hampton Democrats have nominated Deputy Suffolk County Executive Ben Zwirn to run against Wilkinson, who says he likes his chances of winning this year after losing by fewer than 200 votes to McGintee two years ago. The prediction is lots of headlines just before the election, lots of ink, maybe an indictment. It will become a letter of the law issue.

Releasing misleading financial documents is a charge that can be levied, perhaps, upon many banks and financial institutions, which can also lead to convictions of those responsible. But then, they're not running for a heated Supervisor's position in East Hampton.

It may be time for the District Attorney of Suffolk County to reveal his own motives. Is this politics? Were these deeds done for personal financial gain? Were the actions criminal in intent? Or do they only look like a crime afterwards, when at the time they were a desperate choice? Lastly, is all this just because of the realities that faced a small town as the economic downturn began to suddenly surface on the local budget level? The ironic twist is that the next East Hampton Town Supervisor may have to massively raise taxes, cut salaries, and eliminate services and programs for children, seniors, and the poor just to balance the town budget. Those don't seems like very popular decisions. It's one thing to win an election; it's another to have to make tough decisions every day. Make the wrong one, and perhaps the District Attorney will come to visit you.