Singas, Kaminsky present anti-corruption bills

Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas and State Sen. Todd Kaminsky, a Democrat from Long Beach, announced jointly on Feb. 8 that they are “fed up” with corruption among elected officials, and that Kaminsky planned to introduce new legislation to better empower local prosecutors to go after those who take advantage of their positions of power for personal gain.

The announcement came on the same day that a U.S. District Court judge set a Jan. 15, 2018, trial date for County Executive Mangano, who faces corruption charges. Mangano’s wife, Linda, and former Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto are all under federal indictment for alleged bribery and corruption.

The bills introduced by Kaminsky and Singas build on concepts that were before the County Legislature four years ago and supported by former New York County District Attorney Cyrus Vance, they said.

“New York’s anti-corruption laws are outdated and inadequate,” said Singas, pointing out that it is currently not a crime for an elected official to lie to a local prosecutor.

“That a D.A. investigator can knock on your door and you can lie to them now is disgraceful,” Kaminsky agreed. “If you’re a politician looking to do wrong, it’s sad to say, but you probably don’t fear the D.A.’s office all that much right now.”

The two bills proposed by Kaminsky and Singas would criminalize lying to district attorneys, assistant district attorneys and investigators, making it a class E felony. Also included is a range of stronger penalties for public servants who have financially benefitted from official misconduct for which they are found guilty.

“If we want to stop the rampant corruption that has plagued New York for decades, we must give prosecutors the tools they need to succeed and ensure that the penalty for corruption fits the crime,” Kaminsky said. “This legislation will strengthen our anti-corruption laws, lead to more convictions and stronger penalties, and send a message that New Yorkers will not tolerate dirty public officials.”

Kaminsky and Singas did not directly comment on the pending federal corruption case the Manganos and Venditto, except to say that Singas’s office offered “every assistance [it] could” to federal prosecutors.

“This bill would give us the tools we need to bring these cases on the local level,” Singas continued. “It gives us more in our arsenal.”

At press time, Mangano’s office had not responded to a request for comment.

On the bills’ future, Kaminsky said that senators “don’t have any choice.”

“I think this does have to be a part of the conversation,” he said. “I’m waiting for someone to give me a reason that this won’t work.”