Democrats lobby AG to probe Oyster Bay contract matter 

Oyster Bay Democrats on Thursday called for the state attorney general to investigate what Republican town officials might have known about business ties between the town’s former inspector general and a contractor he recommended for a $2 million deal. 

Former Oyster Bay Inspector General Brian Noone resigned in June following a town ethics board review of that potential deal.

He stepped down amid a probe by Nassau prosecutors three weeks after Newsday reported he had recommended the hefty cybersecurity contract for a vendor who was listed online as playing a role in his private company.

Town board members tabled the contract in March and sidelined Noone, 76, of Syosset, from his contract oversight duties. A town ethics board attorney later cleared Noone of any conflicts of interest.

Records show Noone emailed the contractor, Michael Esposito of Enterprise Security Solutions, four days before the town board was to vote on the $2 million cybersecurity deal to tell him: "We have the votes," Newsday reported Monday.

Esposito is listed online as the cybersecurity practice leader for Noone's private business, Nova Venture Partners.

Jared Behr, the Democratic candidate for Oyster Bay supervisor, on Thursday shared a letter he wrote asking New York State Attorney General Letitia James to look into what town officials might have known about ties between Noone and Esposito.

“Unfortunately, this type of self-dealing and corrupt behavior has become the norm under Joseph Saladino and the Republicans … Oyster Bay taxpayers need answers to these two questions: 'What did Joe Saladino and the town board know? And when did they know it?'” Behr said, referencing the town's supervisor.

Brian Nevin, a spokesman for Saladino, released a statement later Thursday accusing the Democrats of "an October political stunt."

Of Noone, he said: "The Town Board removed him from his duties which led to the end of his employment. We called for an investigation into the matter, approved reforms to prevent future conflicts, and remain eager, willing and able to assist in an official review."

Assemb. Charles Lavine (D-Glen Cove) joined Behr and two other Democratic candidates for Oyster Bay's town board, Danielle Medeiros and Ravin Chetram, to echo their calls for an investigation by James.

The assemblyman also urged adoption of state legislation he first introduced in 2017 that would empower the state comptroller to appoint a monitor to oversee Oyster Bay's finances.

"In the Town of Oyster Bay, we have a history of political corruption that goes back year after year after year,” Lavine said Thursday.

He described Noone's former role overseeing town contracts as a case of a “fox in charge of the henhouse.”

Noone couldn't be reached for comment Thursday.

Saladino's spokesman responded to the call for a fiscal monitor by saying the state comptroller "gave the town a perfect score of zero fiscal stress just last week."

The state attorney general's office didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

A spokesman for Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said last week her office's investigation was “ongoing."