Islip Town fire marshal’s bribery case to go to trial

The criminal case against Michael Allen, an Islip Town fire marshal charged in a 16-count indictment last year alleging his involvement in a scheme to steer Civil Service positions to favored candidates, will head to trial, a judge said Tuesday morning.

Prosecutors last month offered Allen a plea deal.

Suffolk Assistant District Attorneys Kevin Ward and Angelo Macaluso, and defense attorney Stephen McCarthy, of Manhattan, on Tuesday joined Justice Fernando Camacho in his chambers for two conferences.

“After much discussion and negotiations, this case needs to be tried,” Camacho said afterward in his Central Islip courtroom. He then ordered jury selection to begin July 11.

Outside court, Ward said the plea offer to Allen is still on the table and includes an agreement for no jail time. Ward expects the trial to last about two weeks.

“Mr. Allen is very appreciative of the fairness of both the court and the district attorney’s office,” McCarthy said outside court. He declined to further discuss the plea negotiations.

Allen, along with former Islip Town Public Safety Commissioner John J. Carney, was indicted on Sept. 13 and charged with four class D felonies of third-degree bribe receiving and 12 class A misdemeanors — four counts of official misconduct and eight counts of second-degree coercion.

Prosecutors have said Allen, who was an Islip assistant chief fire marshal when the crimes allegedly were committed, acted with Carney to coerce four Civil Service candidates into declining job offers for Islip Town fire marshal jobs so that provisional employees — some who scored lower on the list — could be hired.

Allen and Carney both pleaded not guilty when they were arraigned on the indictment; both had been released on their own recognizance.

On April 26, after three days of testimony and nearly four full days of deliberations, a jury in Camacho’s courtroom in Central Islip convicted Carney of three misdemeanor coercion charges. Jurors acquitted him of the top four felony bribe-receiving charges as well as nine misdemeanor charges, including four official misconduct and five other coercion counts.

A week before he was indicted, Carney, citing health reasons, resigned from his commissioner position. Sentencing for Carney is set for July 6.