Sanitary District 7 consultant on paid leave

The Oceanside Sanitation District 7 Board of Commissioners voted to place consultant Mike Scarlata on paid leave while it reviews both his contract and the state comptroller’s audit that revealed that Scarlata collected $391,000 in questionable retirement funds.

At its July 9 meeting, the board met with Scarlata in a closed-door executive session to review personnel issues. Then the commissioners approved a resolution, by a 3-2 vote, to suspend Scarlata and review his contract. The resolution forbids him from attending sanitation board meetings or interacting with board members or sanitation employees.

The board directed the district’s attorneys to review his contract and look into ways to recoup the $391,000, as recommended by the state comptroller.

Commissioner John Mannone, who was elected last month, said that his first order of business would be to remove Scarlata. Ed Scharfberg and Tom Lanning, who were elected in the past two years, now form a majority with Mannone. They voted for the motion, while Florence Mensch and Chairman Joseph Cibellis voted against it.

Earlier this year, a state comptroller’s audit revealed that two former sanitation supervisors, Scarlata and his son Charles, collected $800,000 in retirement benefits in addition to their salaries. Mike Scarlata received $391,000 in deferred payments from 1998 to 2013, after retiring in 1998 with a $75,000 annual pension. His son received $421,353 in payments in 2012 and 2013, after he retired.

Mike Scarlata has remained a consultant to the sanitation board under a five-year contract, earning $62,000 a year as well as health benefits. He will continue to receive a salary during the investigation.

The sanitation board oversees the garbage pickups at 13,000 homes and 950 businesses. It collected $8.8 million in taxes last year.

Scarlata was unavailable for comment.