Romaine removes Suffolk County fire commissioner, holdover of prior administration

Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine last week abruptly removed Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services Commissioner Patrick Beckley, one of the few department heads appointed by former County Executive Steve Bellone to continue serving after he left office in December.

Deputy FRES Commissioner Rudy Sunderman, a former Republican county legislator and a Romaine appointee, will serve as acting commissioner until a permanent replacement is named. The position requires approval from the Suffolk County Legislature.

“We thank Pat for his years of service to Suffolk County residents,” Romaine spokesman Mike Martino said in a statement. “There will be a seamless transition, and acting Commissioner Sunderman’s Suffolk County years of experience as a first responder will serve FRES well.”

Martino did not say why Beckley was let go as it was a personnel matter.

Romaine, a Republican who took office in January, sought the resignation of hundreds of nonunion employees overseen by Bellone, a Democrat, shortly before his term began. Staffers were allowed to reapply for their positions and Romaine kept most of the employees while naming many of his own department heads, a common practice during a transitional period in government.

Beckley, reached by phone Tuesday, declined to comment.

Beckley was appointed as acting commissioner in 2021 and confirmed as permanent commissioner in 2022. He earned $159,081 in the role in 2023, according to county payroll records.

Previously he served as the Long Island regional director for the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

FRES oversees the county’s response to disasters, 911 dispatchers and some 10,000 fire and medical emergency volunteers in the county, among its services.

Sunderman, a Republican who represented the 3rd District covering southeast Brookhaven Town, served as a Mastic fire chief for decades and as an instructor in the county’s fire academy. He did return requests for comment. 

He resigned from his legislative post in 2021 after pleading guilty to filing a false financial disclosure form to the county's ethics board. Prosecutors said he tried to circumvent the board's ruling that he could not continue working for two separate fire districts while serving as a legislator. Sunderman, who was sentenced to a conditional discharge and fined $1,000, maintained the charge was politically motivated.

Legislative minority leader Jason Richberg (D-West Babylon) said Beckley was an “excellent” commissioner, but Sunderman also has a “wealth of expertise.” He underscored the importance of training and retaining the county’s emergency volunteers as well as the ability to shepherd the county’s 1.5 million residents through a disaster.

“Whoever is going to be the next commissioner should be ready for any of our emergency service events,” he said.

By Vera Chinese

vera.chinese@newsday.com@VeraChinese

Vera Chinese covers Suffolk County government and politics. She joined Newsday in 2017 after working as an editor for the East End lifestyle publication northforker and a general assignment reporter for the New York Daily News.