New inspector general to oversee Oyster Bay contracting work

The Oyster Bay Town Board, at its regular meeting Tuesday, appointed an inspector general to oversee its contracting.

The board tapped Brian J. Noone, 71, of Syosset, who has a background in security and law enforcement, to be the first person to serve in the position, created by the board in 2017.

Before the unanimous vote, Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino said the appointment “will provide the town board and its residents with confidence that the proper rules are being followed when contracting with vendors and procuring goods.”

Saladino, a Republican, embraced the idea of creating an inspector general during the 2017 election after Democrats pushed the plan in response to a series of indictments of town officials and contractors. Though included in the 2018 budget, the position was vacant for the entire year, leading Councilwoman Rebecca Alesia to abstain on most resolutions awarding contracts last year.

“I’ll happily be able to make some informed votes again,” Alesia said after the meeting. She said Noone's credentials were "superb," citing his past experience working on issues involving money laundering and contracting.

“It creates confidence in our ability to vote, knowing that there’s a fresh set of eyes, checks and balances, on resolutions for procurement that are being given to us,” she said of the appointment.

Noone worked for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency for a decade in the 1980s and 1990s, serving as its chief of task force operations on Long Island, according to his resume. He also founded several security and information technology companies, worked for National Grid as chief security officer and with U.S. law enforcement agencies. In 1999, he was appointed by then-Nassau County Executive Thomas Gulotta to serve on a board overseeing the county jail, following the beating death of an inmate. Noone said he served on  that board for about a year.

Noone said in an interview after his appointment that he expects he will be “totally independent” in  the position.

“There are a lot of things that have happened in the past and obviously you want to be of value there to correct things,”  he said. “You just want to have people doing the right thing, for the right reasons.”

The appointment comes as Democrats in the State Legislature are expected to reintroduce legislation to impose a fiscal monitor on Oyster Bay.

Robert Freier, spokesman for the Oyster Bay Democrats, said he was hopeful the inspector general would fulfill his watchdog role.

“This person needs to be truly independent, because I think a lot needs to be watched in the Town of Oyster Bay,” Freier said.

The appointment is for three years and comes with a $135,000 annual salary.