For more than three decades, Rockville Centre resident Frank Quigley Jr. pursued justice in the Nassau County District Attorney’s office, helping prosecute corruption and holding public officials accountable. To his wife of 56 years, Mary, and their family, he was a devoted husband and father guided by a strong sense of right and wrong.
Quigley, who served as Rockville Centre’s village administrator after a long career with the Nassau County District Attorney’s Special Investigations Bureau, died on Oct. 22. He was 79.
“He was a person who was a true gentleman, who, unlike what sometimes is going on today, devoted his life to public service as a high calling and honestly and diligently,” Mary said.
Frank spent more than 30 years in the district attorney’s office, overseeing public corruption, official misconduct and white-collar crime cases.
One of the major corruption investigations during Frank’s tenure involved Nassau County’s employee health benefits contracts with Benefit Plan Administrators, led by Albert Isernio. The case centered on a bribery scheme involving county contracts. Former Chief Deputy County Executive Robert McDonald and William Pattison, then head of the Nassau County Police Superior Officers Association, were implicated in the case. Isernio pleaded guilty in 2004 to conspiring to bribe McDonald and to money laundering.
Mary said Frank served as the district attorney’s office’s point person in the investigation, which also involved federal prosecutors. Pattison pleaded guilty in January 2003 to money laundering and obstruction of justice.
Another high-profile case was the prosecution of former Roslyn School Superintendent Frank Tassone, who pleaded guilty to first- and second-degree grand larceny and admitted stealing more than $2 million. The scandal later inspired the HBO film “Bad Education,” starring Hugh Jackman.
“He never jumped to snap decisions,” Mary said. “He would dot the I’s and cross the T’s and then go back and make sure he dotted the I’s and crossed the T’s.”
He later served as deputy inspector general of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Rockville Centre village administrator from 2008 to 2011, and a criminal defense attorney.
As village administrator, he helped secure approval for the Avalon apartment complex, which opened in 2011 after years of litigation, and establish a contracted emergency ambulance service designed to reduce response times to less than 10 minutes.
Mary said the ambulance agreement mattered because it would directly benefit residents. He believed public decisions should be practical and fair, even when the process was contentious.
“He was very aware that sometimes the decision you’re going to make is not going to make somebody happy,” she said. “He was incredibly fair and honest and tried to do the right thing.”
Mayor Francis X. Murray said the village was grateful for Frank’s service and lasting contributions.
“Frank Quigley dedicated himself to serving our Village, and we are grateful for his years of service and lasting contributions to the Rockville Centre community,” Murray said in a statement. “He will be remembered with respect and appreciation. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family and loved ones during this difficult time.”
Ed Grilli, who served as Nassau County district attorney press secretary from 1978 to 1999, said he had the privilege of serving alongside Quigley under District Attorney Denis Dillon.
“Frank served with great distinction as a Bureau Chief and exemplified the best qualities of a dedicated public servant,” he said in a statement. “He was a man of extraordinary integrity, sound judgment and respect for the law. He carried out his responsibilities with professionalism, fairness and honor, earning admiration for his character. I will remember Frank as a true gentleman and a man of principle.”
Mary traced Frank’s sense of fairness partly to his father, a World War II veteran who flew missions over Germany and later served 20 years as a police officer. One of Frank’s guiding principles was that “the law is our friend,” Mary said, provided law-enforcement personnel acted honorably and fairly.
That commitment extended beyond work. On his 65th birthday, Mary recalled, Frank was returning from Village Hall when he spotted a man breaking into a car in a parking lot near St. Agnes Cathedral. He chased the man while calling police.
“That was Frank,” she said.
A voracious reader, Frank enjoyed British fiction, history, politics and legal investigations. He read four newspapers daily and admired Winston Churchill’s “keep calm and carry on” message.
“Never give up was one of his mottos,” Mary said.
He supported his children, Brendan, Sean and Colleen, attending his sons’ sporting events, his son Brendan’s trials as a federal prosecutor and advising daughter Colleen as a journalist in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Raised and educated at St. Agnes, Frank attended Mass regularly and raised his children in the Catholic faith, a tradition continued by his grandchildren.
Frank and Mary met at Fordham University, where he edited the student newspaper, The Ram, and she reported on demonstrations. Seven years ago, he suffered a stroke after bypass surgery that left him with aphasia. Though frustrated by communication difficulties, he continued reading and rarely complained.
He read to his children, walked with them at Hempstead Lake Park and treasured time with his grandchildren.
“He was always there for us,” she said.
Frank is survived by Mary; their children, Brendan (Joan), Sean (Mallory) and Colleen (Mac); nine grandchildren, Katherine, Nora, Maeve, Cara, Collins, Connor, Case, Frances and Theodore; and his brothers, Thomas (Christine) and Mark (Jamie) Quigley.
A wake was held Sunday at Macken Mortuary in Rockville Centre. The funeral Mass was Monday at St. Agnes Cathedral, followed by burial at the Cemetery of the Holy Rood in Westbury.
