23 LI School Districts Have Private Lawyers on Rolls

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. -- Twenty-three school districts -- nearly one-fifth of all the school districts on Long Island -- improperly reported private attorneys as employees, which helped the attorneys earn public pensions totaling more than $342,082 a year, plus health benefits worth thousands more, a Newsday review of records has found.

In some cases, a town, village, library, special district or county also reported the attorneys as employees, often as full time, even though records show they did not always work full time. By being reported as employees at these other agencies, while also working in private practice, they were able to enhance the size of their state pensions, the paper reported.

The employment arrangements -- some of which started in the early 1970s and continue to this day -- enabled a select group of 10 attorneys to garner generous public benefits, even as they earned millions in legal fees as well, state and school district records show. Three of the 10 have not yet begun receiving their pension, the paper reported.

According to the paper, the attorneys uncovered in state, district and county records are:

• Private attorney Albert D'Agostino;
• Nassau County Legis. Richard Nicolello, R-New Hyde Park;
• Gil Henoch, a partner in a prominent law firm that includes state Republican leader Joseph Mondello;
• William Englander;
• Lloyd Harbor attorney William M. Cullen;
• Dominick Minerva, former mayor of the Village of Valley Stream;
• LeRoy Van Nostrand Jr.

Although most of the attorneys declined to comment top the paper, those who did speak with a reporter said they were following previous practice when they got onto the public and school district payrolls. Two recently changed their status from employee to independent contractor, the paper reported.

-- NYSSCPA.org News Staff

Posted on 3/28/08