O’side Sanitation district lawsuit continues

The contract with Assistance Corp. was terminated, but the lawsuit against the Oceanside Sanitation District is still ongoing.

Since former Sanitation District Supervisor Michael Scarlata’s contract with the district was ended by a 3-1 vote on Dec. 3, the suit seeks to recover funds paid to Scarlata, his son Charles and their company, Assistance Corporation. The suit also seeks funds paid to former sanitation district attorney Jack Libert and his law firm Forchelli, Curto, Deegan, Schwartz, Mineo & Terrana, based on the fact that Libert and Scarlata have been business partners since 2007, violating the district’s conflict of interest policy.

“One thing that we don’t know is how much [the] law firm was paid in violation of [the sanitation board’s] conflict of interest policy,” said Austin Graff, the attorney for the lawsuit. “It’s part of the discovery process. We’re looking for it, we just don’t know the number.” He said that any funds recovered would be restored to the sanitation district in order to lower taxes.

Libert has said that he sold his share in the business partnership shortly after becoming district counsel, but Dennis Rockefeller, who is also part of the partnership, said that Libert has not produced evidence that he sold his share. Rockefeller also said that the business partner agreement was signed in an office owned by Sanitation Board chairman Joe Cibellis – which, they lawsuit argues, means he was aware of the partnership and the potential conflict of interest.

Over a year ago, a report from the state comptroller’s office determined that the elder 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. In addition, the comptroller determined that the district had entered into a series of contracts with Assistance Corp. in which Michael Scarlata received additional money. The latest contract, which began on Jan. 1, 2014, and was set to end on Dec. 31, 2018, was for $48,000 per year, or a total of $240,000. Approximately $92,000 had been paid to Assistance Corp. before the contract was terminated.