Oyster Bay Inspector General Brian Noone sidelined for ethics probe, ex-judge handling duties 

Oyster Bay Inspector General Brian Noone, who oversees town contracts, hasn't vetted any since late March after the town board tabled a $2 million cybersecurity contract Noone approved for a vendor tied to his private company, records and interviews show.

Supervisor Joseph Saladino, other council members and the town attorney referred the proposed cybersecurity contract award they tabled March 21 to Oyster Bay's ethics board, which last week cleared Noone of any conflict of interest, town spokesman Brian Nevin said.

But as of Friday, the town's first inspector general hadn't resumed his usual duties because a written decision from the ethics board remained pending, according to Nevin.

Noone began his role in 2019 to provide more contract scrutiny after a corruption scandal ensnared Oyster Bay officials and former Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano.

With Noone sidelined, retired State Supreme Court Justice Angelo Delligatti has taken over his contract duties for $75 an hour. Noone is still collecting his $154,000-a-year salary while handling administrative tasks, according to town officials.

A Newsday examination of town and business records, along with statements from town officials, shows a link between Noone's business and Enterprise Security Solutions LLC, the New Jersey vendor that was slated to get the $2 million deal after 13 companies submitted bids.

Newsday's review, which included documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Law, also shows Noone played a role in hiring companies during a 2021 cyberattack on Oyster Bay's computer network that are linked to his private business.

'A conflict, real or apparent'

The website for Noone's security consulting firm, Nova Venture Partners, lists Enterprise Security Solutions owner Michael Esposito as its cybersecurity practice leader.

Oyster Bay ethics board attorney Steven Leventhal, who handled the probe that cleared Noone, said Wednesday he found no conflict of interest with Noone recommending that town board members sign off on a $2 million contract for Esposito's company.

“There would only be a conflict of interest if Mr. Noone had an interest in the contract,” Leventhal said. “And in order for him to have an interest in the contract, you would have had to either have an ownership interest in the company or derive some direct or other material benefit from the contract. There is no evidence that that occurred.”

Leventhal said Esposito "provides services, consulting services from time to time to Nova Venture Partners."

Town procurement policy states "no employee, officer or agent of the Town of Oyster Bay shall participate directly or indirectly in the selection or in the award or administration of any contract if a conflict, real or apparent, would be involved."

Leventhal said a complaint from the public about a possible conflict on Noone's part in connection with the cybersecurity contract kicked off the ethics probe.

The attorney said his investigation included a review of town documents and an interview with Noone. Leventhal said he didn't interview Esposito "because Mr. Noone was credible."

Records show Oyster Bay terminated an existing contract with Enterprise Security Solutions on March 28, accusing the company of a confidentiality breach that allegedly happened the day legislators tabled the $2 million measure.

"You disclosed Confidential Information … to an unrelated third party," a termination note addressed to Esposito said of an alleged March 21 breach.

Noone and Esposito didn't return repeated messages. A woman who answered a knock at the door of Noone's home last week said he was at work.

Cyberattack contracts

Oyster Bay's procurement policy says in general, the town must pick the lowest responsible contract bidder. It makes exceptions for professional services that include computer work and allows emergency contracts without bids.

In early 2022, Noone asked the town board to "ratify the actions" of his office and authorize payments for emergency work two companies did during and after the December 2021 cyberattack on Oyster Bay's computer network, records show.

Noone also asked the town board to authorize emergency funding for Enterprise Security Solutions — by then already a town vendor. Oyster Bay's special counsel, Thomas Sabellico, also signed off in all three cases, town documents show.

One of the emergency vendors was Yonkers-based Megagiannis Inc., which billed the town $48,950.

The company's 2022 invoice listed Manos Megagiannis as its contact person. According to the Nova Venture Partners website, Megagiannis serves as its chief technology officer.

Megagiannis said Tuesday he lets Nova Venture Partners use his name as its chief technology officer but hasn’t done work for the company in six or seven years.

“I haven't done anything for them for [a] very long time,” Megagiannis said. “If they have a contract for me, I will very gladly help them.”

Megagiannis said he has known Noone for about 25 years and didn't see any problem with Noone approving an emergency contract for his company.

“There is no conflict of interest in any way, shape or form. I'm not making any money from them,” he said of Nova Venture Partners.

Records show the third company that did emergency work after the cyberattack was Garden City-based WebHouse Inc., which billed the town $6,010.

WebHouse's chief executive, Dan Kerning, also heads an affiliated company, Cloudscann, that is listed on the Nova Venture Partners website as part of its "portfolio."

Kerning said Tuesday he wasn't aware of what was listed on the Nova Venture Partners website. 

"I think they're trying to resell the product we have," Kerning said. "We pretty much let anybody sell our software." 

Kerning said he's known Noone for years through his own military work and Noone's government work. 

Cloudscann used to be based in a Baldwin office building, state records show. An earlier Noone company, e-Lucidata Solutions, listed the same address, according to web pages Newsday archived. 

"At one point I think we let them use our conference room," Kerning said of Noone's business. "We let companies come in and use the space." 

'Will have no conflict'

The town first hired Enterprise Security Solutions to perform electronic security assessments in August 2019, striking a deal for $10,000 a year and renewing it twice before agreeing to a $15,000 contract in 2022.

The initial contract was about eight months after Noone became inspector general. Before that, his career included 28 years with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and a National Grid corporate security job, his LinkedIn page says.

Oyster Bay created Noone's town position after the bribery case involving former town concessionaire Harendra Singh, who is awaiting federal sentencing. 

The scandal ensnared Mangano, the former Nassau County executive who is in federal prison, and his wife, Linda, who went free in January.

In federal court testimony, former Town Attorney Leonard Genova and former Deputy Town Attorney Frederick Mei admitted taking Singh bribes.

In 2018, a federal jury acquitted former Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto on corruption charges related to Singh. A year later, Venditto — who died in 2020 — admitted to official misconduct and corrupt use of position in a state case.

Saladino said upon Noone's appointment that the inspector general would "help bring an even greater level of transparency, integrity and ethics to the Town of Oyster Bay."

Noone told Newsday about a week later — in previously unpublished comments — he "probably" would continue outside business with Nova Venture Partners.

"My 9-to-5 commitment will have no conflict with anything that I'm doing," Noone added. " … I can't see doing things unless they're going to be done right."

Days after Noone's swearing-in, two town board members called for his resignation for not disclosing previous consulting work for the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency. He said the search committee "did not ask for a list of entities for which my company performed work."

The IDA paid Noone and his companies more than $550,000 for consulting work on homeland security and cybersecurity ending in 2017, Newsday previously reported. 

In 2020, a Nassau comptroller's audit found Noone's work produced little if any results — a finding Noone said bordered "on ridiculous."

After his inspector general appointment, Noone resigned as an unpaid assistant commissioner at the Nassau County Police Department — a Mangano appointment.

A police spokesman said then the agency requested Noone's resignation "so there is no conflict of interest."

Ex-judge fills in

Delligatti, the former judge who assumed Noone's contract duties, retired in 2021 as a State Supreme Court justice.

Now 77, Delligatti previously was Oyster Bay's supervisor, a town councilman and the Republican commissioner of Nassau's Board of Elections.

He didn't respond directly to an inquiry. Oyster Bay's spokesman said last week Delligatti was "tied up in meetings" and to "send over your questions." 

In April, a change in the language of resolutions hinted at Noone's change in duties. 

Sea Cliff resident Arthur Adelman spoke up at the March 21 town board meeting about the cybersecurity contract resolution but was shut down. 

“Arthur, resolution 206 has been tabled,” Councilman Louis Imbroto told the frequent board critic. “This is the time to talk about the resolutions on the calendar.”

On May 9, Adelman asked the board: “Where is the inspector general?”

Saladino and other legislators didn't respond.

On May 23, Adelman asked the board if the request for proposals for cybersecurity services would be reissued and called for the $2 million measure to be killed. 

“We should un-table the resolution and vote it down so we can then move forward,” he said.

Saladino responded: “There is cybersecurity in place in the town and we continue to review the issue.”

With research by Laura Mann