LI lawyer to lead new state real estate finance agency

George Haggerty, a Long Island attorney, has been named to run the state's new unit overseeing real estate finance.

Haggerty, who founded a real estate law firm in Jericho, recently started as an executive deputy superintendent at the state's new Department of Financial Services, which oversees insurance and banks. He will run the department's real estate finance division.

Haggerty's entry into government comes, he said, after initially resisting pleas from Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a friend since they were both teenagers.

As a real estate lawyer, Haggerty had often spoken on behalf of the state bar association to criticize illegal practices in real estate. "You talk the talk," said the Fort Salonga resident, 52. "When would you ever get the opportunity to walk the walk?"

One priority is to save homeowners from foreclosure, he said, but the state's financial straits will be an obstacle.

The new regulator also wants to license title insurance agents, who function like brokers in that they are authorized by several different title insurers to offer policies to homeowners.

Haggerty and Cuomo met in the 1970s when they drove tow trucks for the Haggerty family gas station in Hollis, Queens. He said the station was a hangout for Democratic Party leaders, such as Cuomo's father, Mario, who went on to become a three-term governor.

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Haggerty last year served on Cuomo's state transition team. Over the course of 15 months starting in March 2009, he gave $26,750 to Cuomo's campaign, and his law firm gave $5,000, state Board of Elections records show.

Haggerty said he took the job after figuring he could pay off college and family bills even after ending his business relationships to comply with state ethics rules: "I could see light at the end of the tunnel."