By Mike Schnitzel
At a Board of Trustees work session on Monday, the trustees voted 3-1 to hire Steven G. Leventhal, a Roslyn attorney, as a special counsel to Lynbrook's Tow Vehicle Review Board to look into "any and all actions" concerning Hendrick's involvement with Autotech Collision, according to review board Chairman Richard Clifford. Mayor Eugene Scarpato, Deputy Mayor Thomas Miccio and Clifford voted in favor of the special counsel, while Trustee David Penso voted against it. Hendrick recused himself from the vote.
Clifford and Miccio, who sit on the review board along with Penso, raised concerns about portions of a conversation between Hendrick and Lorraine Pilitz, the owner of Autotech Collision. The conversation, which was taped by Pilitz, was presented as evidence at hearings held by the village to determine whether it acted properly when it removed Autotech from its tow rotation list in February 2005. (The matter is still unresolved.) The list, administered by the Lynbrook Police Department, determines on a rotational basis which tow company is due to make a tow in the village.
In the taped conversation, Hendrick and Pilitz discuss the "peace and quiet" addendum to her company's towing license agreement, which required that Autotech not offload vehicles at its Lincoln Place depot between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. Clifford said that the conversation gave the appearance that Hendrick was advising Pilitz, which, Clifford and Miccio said, conflicted with Hendrick's duties as a village trustee.
Clifford said he felt it was important to hire a special counsel because the matter needed to be reviewed to make sure there were no improprieties concerning Hendrick's conduct. "Why wouldn't any reasonable person want to hire a special counsel who specializes in ethics issues to look at Trustee Hendrick's actions with regard to his alleged involvement concerning Autotech Collision?" Clifford said. "After hearing [the taped conversation] and observing the manner in which Mr. Hendrick, a trained attorney, testified, there may be more fire than smoke [in this case]."
At the May 18 hearing of the Tow Vehicle Review Board, Hendrick denied accusations that he advised Pilitz regarding her signing the addendum "one way or the other." He also said that he chose his words poorly when he told Pilitz, "I can't protect you anymore" during the conversation.
"I wasn't protecting her from anything - it was just a poor choice of words on my part," Hendrick said. He added that he was frustrated at that point in the conversation, reiterating that he did not try to influence anyone on Pilitz's behalf.
Hendrick said he felt the move to hire a special counsel was politically motivated and an attempt to discredit him. "It's not the first time [the board has] wanted people out of the way, and they know that I'm opposed to a lot of the projects they've got coming up," he said. "They know I'm looking for re-election [as a trustee], and they know I'm looking into putting my name up for mayor. It's just political, and I'm going to keep working for the people."
Miccio said that an outside counsel who was unaffiliated with the village would be the best way to determine whether Hendrick had acted inappropriately. "Despite the fact that Bill is my friend, this is a gray area, and we as a village need to know there were no improprieties," Miccio said. "A special counsel is the best way to do that. I hope at the end of the day that the special counsel will find that Bill acted appropriately."
Penso, the lone trustee who voted against hiring the special counsel, said that he, too, felt the hiring was politically motivated. "Mr. Hendrick has made his intentions known that he may run for mayor or trustee," Penso said. "This is something that raises ethical questions that could be used against him [in the 2007 village elections]."
Leventhal, who has been in private practice since 1983, has served as a special counsel to the Village of Rockville Centre, the Town of Putnam Valley and Nassau County, and was a member of the Nassau County Board of Ethics from 1990 to 2002, serving as its chairman from 1996 until he left the board. Leventhal did not return calls for comment.
Former Rockville Centre Village Attorney Martha Krisel said she recommended Leventhal to the board because of his ethics expertise. "He's the Long Island man on ethics," Krisel said. "That's his niche. He's lectured everywhere in the state on [ethics]."
Comments about this story? MSchnitzel@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000, ext. 265.
