Levy to appeal to block release of non-prosecution agreement
Former Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy speaks at a news conference in 2012. Credit: Ed Betz
Former Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy has filed a notice of appeal signaling a continued effort to block release of the 2011 agreement that settled a 16-month probe of his campaign practices and ended his political career.
Lawyers for Levy had telegraphed an appeal last week, the same day Suffolk County Supreme Court Judge Paul Baisley ordered the document released after 10 days and the court file immediately unsealed.
Newsday originally filed a Freedom of Information Law request for the document in February, citing Levy’s public comments about it.
In filing his appeal with the State Appellate Division, Levy is expected to request a stay preventing the document’s release. A spokesperson for Suffolk County Attorney Dennis Cohen’s office said he "intends to oppose the stay and the appeal."
Suffolk District Attorney Tim Sini’s office, which had moved to comply with Newsday’s document request in May, said in a statement, "Absent a stay, the office intends to produce the requested document."
Court documents unsealed last week included an affidavit by Levy saying release of the report, which followed a 16-month criminal investigation by former District Attorney Thomas Spota, "will have a devastating impact upon my professional reputation" and "undermine my credibility."
He said the agreement includes a list of the "lines of inquiry in the underlying investigation against me," which he wrote were included "to ensure that these lines of inquiry — even if they were dead ends and could not be substantiated — would not resurface at a later time." He said they were not an admission of guilt and Levy hasn’t been charged with any crimes.
Cohen in his court papers noted that the agreement included no stipulation of confidentiality and argued that Levy "in attempting to usurp the right of the free press to access government records … seeks to keep from the citizens of Suffolk County matters clearly within the public interest."
Levy's lawyer David Besso said he was "confident" the Appellate Division would reverse Baisley's decision.
"There should be no insinuation that opposing unsealing is to hide wrongdoing," Besso added. "It is to protect the privacy of the many people who were subjected to an investigative team that used illegal tactics. No person should ever be subjected to the same tactics used against Mr. Levy by the former DA."
Mark Harrington, a Newsday reporter since 1999, covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fisheries.
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