O'side sanitation struggle continues

Sanitation Commissioner John Mannone, far left, tried to get the district to hire an outside law firm to review Michael Scarlata’s contract. Commissioner Ed Scharfberg, second from left, voted for the measure, while Joseph Cibellis, Tom Lanning and Florence Mensch voted against it. (Rebecca Melnitsky/Herald)

Rebecca Melnitsky/Herald

Michael Scarlata, a former sanitation supervisor and consultant, has continued to attend meetings despite his suspension.

Rebecca Melnitsky/Herald

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Sanitary District 7 Commissioner John Mannone tried and failed to get an outside legal counsel to review former Supervisor Michael Scarlata’s consulting contract and reclaim the $391,000 he received in retirement benefits while also working for the district.

At its most recent meeting on Sept. 3, Mannone asked the board of commissioners to hire the firm Thompson Hine, which he said was experienced in “clawbacks” and deferred payments, to see if they could get the money back from Scarlata. But Mannone’s proposal failed in a 3-2 vote, with he and Ed Scharfberg in favor and Commissioners Tom Lanning, Florence Mensch and Chairman Joseph Cibellis opposed.

“I’m very disappointed that it hasn’t passed right now,” Mannone said. “I think inevitably we’re going to need special counsel because of the conflicts. … The board made the original decision in the first place, so we have to address that as a conflict. It’s not going to work. So ultimately I think we’re going to have counsel. The fact that they didn’t vote for it tonight? Big disappointment.”

“I just wasn’t ready for it,” Lanning said of the measure. “So I just didn’t know too much about it just yet. … It’ll be brought up again, I’m sure. And we’ll go from there.”

Previously, Mannone has said that he, Scharfberg and Lanning would constitute a majority to dismiss Scarlata. The three voted for an initial resolution to put him on paid leave.

In July, the board approved a resolution, by a 3-2 vote, to suspend Scarlata, and review his contract as well as the state comptroller’s audit that concluded that he had collected $391,000 in questionable retirement funds. The resolution ordered him to stop attending sanitation board meetings and interacting with board members or sanitation employees.

But Scarlata has continued to attend meetings as a member of the public, as he is allowed to do. At the Sept. 3 meeting — held in the evening and attended by more than 35 people, three times the size of the usual crowd — he criticized the preliminary budget the district was sending to the Town of Hempstead, as well as Scharfberg’s presence on the budget committee.

Some residents who addressed the board criticized the commissioners for their lack of action on Scarlata and the funds.