Cedarhurst man to be sentenced for grand larceny

A Cedarhurst man who ran unsuccessfully for the Lawrence school board four years ago could be facing more than a decade behind bars when he is sentenced soon on grand larceny changes for stealing $750,000 from a North Shore hospital.

Michael Brooks, a contractor who had been hired to make renovations to St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn, was charged in September 2008 with stealing $750,000 from the hospital. Brooks, 64, was charged with second-degree grand larceny, first-degree scheme to defraud and first-degree falsifying business records. The Cedarhurst resident pleaded guilty to the grand larceny charge last December and faces up to 15 years in prison when he is sentenced. His sentencing at Nassau County Court in Mineola before Judge David J. Ayres was originally scheduled for Thursday March 11 but was postponed to April 7.

Brooks, who ran his wife's business, CBF Development Corp., was hired to perform renovations for St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn in January 2004. The roughly $2.5 million project called for renovations to the hospital's Women’s Center, emergency department, electro-physiology lab and a storage room. After being selected in the bidding process, from January 14, 2005 to June 28, 2005, St. Francis Hospital paid CBF an initial payment of $750,000 to cover work performed, materials and pay for the subcontractors.

The theft came to light in July 2005, when a subcontractor requested payment from the hospital for its work on the renovations. Hospital officials called other subcontractors that had been involved in the project, and discovered that some of them had not been paid.

In 2006, Brooks ran for the Lawrence school board against Michael Hatten. Brooks lost his bid to serve as a District 15 trustee to Hatten by 1,692 votes, 5,365 to 3,673.

Brook's attorney Michael Marinaccio did not return calls seeking comment.

Comments about this story? Nassaueditor@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 201.