Village attorney to have his pension pulled

Note: subsequent to this story, the Herald reported that New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli's decision to withhold Rockville Centre Village Attorney A. Thomas Levin's pension was overturned. Click here to view that report.

Rockville Centre Village Attorney A. Thomas Levin is one of five Long Island attorneys who have again been notified by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli that they will have their state pensions revoked. The move is part of DiNapoli’s ongoing review of the state retirement system during which his office has revoked pensions or pension credits of 62 professionals statewide.

After two Albany State Supreme Court rulings found that previous attempts by DiNapoli to strip private attorneys of their state benefits had not given them sufficient due process, this time the news came in a more detailed letter, dated Nov. 10, to Levin that also advised him of his right to an administrative hearing.

In the letter, the comptroller’s office outlined why Levin, 66, was not a public employee and was therefore not entitled to the pension of approximately $10,000 that he collects. According to DiNapoli, the Village of North Hills incorrectly reported that Levin, its former attorney, was an employee from 1980 to 1999 — years during which it paid Levin’s law firm thousands of dollars in consulting fees. His employee’s status enabled Levin to amass credits toward a state pension which he began collecting after he retired as North Hills’ attorney in 1999.

The comptroller said that while working for the Village of North Hills, Levin did not work set hours or submit time sheets, and performed his work from an office at his law firm. Levin, a Rockville Centre resident who is a member of the law firm Meyer, Suozzi & Klein P.C. and a former president of the Nassau County Bar Association from 1991-1992, has been special counsel to the village of Rockville Centre, handling franchise negotiations with Cablevision. He served as acting village attorney until recently, when he was appointed village attorney, a position he holds in other Nassau County villages.