Bad news for Oyster Bay inspector general Brian Noone: Nassau County investigating him too

This raises serious concerns about the independence and integrity of his office.”

Jared Behr town supervisor candidate

Brian Noone, the Town of Oyster Bay inspector general, is under investigation by the Nassau County district attorney’s office for approving a $2 million contract between Michael Esposito, a business associate of Noone’s, and the town, to reassess the town’s cybersecurity. 

The investigation comes on the heels of a town Board of Ethics inquiry that concluded that the deal did not constitute a conflict of interest. 

Neither Noone nor Esposito responded to requests for comment.

Nova Venture Partners, a security consulting firm in which Noone is a partner, employs Esposito as its cybersecurity practice leader, according to the firm’s website. Esposito also owns and operates Enterprise Security Solutions, a cybersecurity company based in New Jersey, which Noone recommended to the Town Board to receive the contract over 13 competitors, which prompted both investigations.

This is not the first time Noone approved Enterprise for a town contract. In 2019 the town hired the firm to conduct an annual electronic security assessment for $10,000, and the contract was renewed twice before a new $15,000-per-year contract, also with Enterprise, was signed in 2022. 

Brian Nevin, the town’s public information officer, released a statement saying that the town has been aware of the county investigation for several weeks, and that town officials have been cooperating with District Attorney Anne Donnelly’s office. 

Noone has been on leave since the initial ethics investigation began in March, although he continues to carry out general administrative tasks separate from the work of the inspector general’s office, and is receiving his $154,000 salary. 

“Town officials initially referred this matter to the Board of Ethics and have been in communication with the district attorney’s office for several weeks,” Nevin wrote. “Supervisor Joseph Saladino directed the 

own attorney to provide the district attorney’s office with all information needed for their review.”

The office of inspector general was created in 2019 in the wake of a corruption scandal involving former Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John Venditto and former County Executive Edward Mangano, to bring more oversight and openness to local government. Noone, a former task force chief for the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, has served in the position since its creation.

While the investigation is under way, Angelo Delligatti, a retired state supreme vourt justice and a former town supervisor, has taken over Noone’s duties. Delligatti is being paid $75 per hour during his temporary tenure.

Members of the Town of Oyster Bay Democratic Committee held a news conference on Wednesday morning calling for Noone’s resignation, or his termination by the Town Board. But because Noone was appointed to his position, he cannot be fired outright unless the board receives a court or ethics notice. 

Either way, the Town Board cannot make a decision until its next public meeting, on June 27, according to county bylaws.

In Nassau County, any town official “may be removed from office by the Supreme Court for any misconduct, maladministration, malfeasance or malversation in office. An application for such removal may be made by any resident of such town ... or by the district attorney of the county in which the town, village or district is located.” 

At the news conference, Jared Behr, the Democratic candidate challenging Saladino for supervisor, was joined by County Legislator Delia DeRiggi-Whitton, a Democrat whose district includes part of the Town of Oyster Bay, and two other Democratic candidates for the Town Board, Ravin Chetram and Danielle Madeiros. Behr added that the town needed “large-scale ethics reform” and called for the replacement of members of the Board of Ethics.

“This raises serious concerns about the independence and integrity of his office,” Behr said, reading excerpts of a letter the Democratic committee sent to Donnelly, referring to Noone. “We firmly believe that it is of the utmost importance to investigate this potential conflict of interest and protect the integrity of the Town of Oyster Bay and its contracting process, which unfortunately has a long history of arrests and convictions of town officials.”

DeRiggi-Whitton added that having an inspector general that the town “can’t trust or rely on to be not only thorough but secure and honest is worse than not having an inspector general.” 

She said that the lack of trust Noone’s office would lead to a distrust of local government and elected officials in general, which would adversely affect the function of government and residents’ lives.

“We really need to hold the inspector general position to a very high level of scrutiny, because our trust is in them,” DeRiggi-Whitton said. “As a legislator who has been around a while, I’ve seen what corruption does.”