North Hempstead Dems allege Town Supervisor Jennifer DeSena illegally hired hearing officer 

A pair of North Hempstead Democrats alleged Tuesday that Town Supervisor Jennifer DeSena illegally hired and paid a hearing officer who cleared her top deputy in a harassment case, calling for Nassau's comptroller to investigate.

Their allegations followed a Newsday report Monday detailing a probe into harassment and retaliation complaints against Deputy Town Supervisor Joseph Scalero that sparked former Purchasing Director Moira LaBarbera's resignation this summer.

A Nassau comptroller’s spokeswoman said later Tuesday that her office hadn't received an audit request.

"There is nothing that suggests a systemic issue indicative of a lack of internal controls or ongoing failure to adhere to prescribed municipal codes or protocols," she said, referencing news coverage of the matter.

DeSena, a registered Democrat who caucuses with Republicans and is facing off in November against Democratic former Town Supervisor Jon Kaiman, called Tuesday’s claims “nothing more than an October political stunt representing the last dying gasps of a town board majority desperate to hold onto power."

However, Democratic Councilwomen Veronica Lurvey and Mariann Dalimonte said procurement policy requires the town board to approve all professional services that mandate contracts and DeSena didn't follow that procedure.

“Supervisor DeSena unilaterally and unlawfully hired Brian Davis,” Lurvey said of the hearing officer who investigated the harassment claim against Scalero. She also questioned the probe's result.

Lurvey, who is running for town receiver of taxes, and Dalimonte, who is running for reelection, said town procurement policy states the town attorney must prepare and review all contracts. DeSena, they said, also didn't do that before hiring Davis, a Garden City attorney, to handle the Equal Employment Opportunity complaint. 

The council members displayed a poster of a check for $11,731.25 made out to Davis for his town services.  

"Transparency and accountability is not optional," Dalimonte said.

DeSena said Monday she had followed town code "to the letter of the law."

In a statement Tuesday, she pointed to an anti-discrimination policy section in the code, saying it “specifically spells out that the supervisor is to appoint a hearing officer in the instance that material facts are in dispute in a given complaint.”

The supervisor added Davis is an experienced hearing officer with a 30-year track record of fair proceedings.  

Town records Newsday obtained showed the probe involving Scalero began July 8, 2022, after Town Attorney John Chiara filed a complaint against him on behalf of an unidentified employee.

Chiara's office then hired law firm Lamb & Barnosky LLP to investigate and create a report before they recommended a formal hearing due to “material facts in dispute."

The records show Davis became involved in December 2022 after his hiring as the probe's hearing officer.

Davis later found no violation of the town’s anti-harassment policy — in particular, that concerning sexual harassment — or any other town policy, according to the heavily redacted records the town provided after a Freedom of Information Law request.

An unredacted copy of LaBarbera's resignation letter Newsday obtained separately showed the former purchasing director said she agreed to cooperate as a witness in the harassment hearing, but then a lawyer for Scalero allegedly threatened her with litigation.

LaBarbera wrote that she disagreed with Davis' findings and revealed a disparaging comment Scalero allegedly made during a June 2022 Republican caucus, saying she had to assume DeSena also agreed it wasn't harassment.

"I can only assume that you both agreed that the statement, 'DO YOU HAVE A DOG WHISTLE, CAN YOU MAKE HER ROLL OVER TOO?' did not constitute prohibited conduct in violation of the Town code and Anti-Harassment Policy," her letter said.

Davis said Monday there was “a lot of inconsistency between what people said they heard” during hearing testimony and he factored that into his decision to clear Scalero.

Davis added he was “assigned a job, and he gave both sides an 'open forum' where everyone could testify.”

The Democrats on Tuesday labeled Davis a Republican "megadonor" who made 72 donations to the party and its candidates.

State Board of Election records show Davis made $9,264 in political donations since 2007 to mostly Republican interests.

“I certainly am not a megadonor,” he said with a laugh.