By Jeff Lipton
The demands included that the contractor do work on the inspector's East Meadow home, and purchase a portable generator apparently in exchange for approval of an Oceanside project, officials said.
Scott Cisler, 42, turned himself in to FBI agents on July 23 and was released on $50,000 bond set by U.S. Magistrate Judge Arlene Lindsay, according to a spokesman for the U.S. attorney.
As a county construction inspector for 14 years, Cisler was responsible for inspecting, evaluating and approving roadway construction projects around major housing developments in the county.
Following his arrest, the county moved quickly to oust him from his post. 'We will be terminating him and have offered our assistance to the U.S. attorney's office,' said Jennifer Kim, a spokeswoman for County Executive Tom Suozzi.
According to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Central Islip, between January 2005 and May 2008, Cisler made several demands and threats against the contractor, who owns a company that does road projects throughout Long Island. Cisler had the power to halt work or require that work be redone, and the unidentified contractor gave in to Cisler's demands for fear that his construction projects would be rejected, according to court papers.
The federal complaint states that in the spring of 2006, Cisler requested that the contractor ' who eventually became an informant for the government against Cisler ' install pavers at Cisler's East Meadow home, a project that would have cost between $15,000 and $20,000. Cisler never mentioned to the contractor that he would pay him for the work.
Cisler repeatedly demanded that the contractor install the pavers, but the contractor delayed the installation until the following winter, when it was too cold to pour the concrete.
When Cisler learned that the project would be delayed further, he threatened the contractor, according to the federal complaint, by telling him, 'You embarrassed me in front of my wife, because she thought she was getting pavers. You're done in Nassau County, and you're dead.'
On another occasion, in August 2007, the contractor worked on a project in Oceanside, for which Cisler was the county inspector. The contractor expected to receive roughly $700,000 for the work. During that time, Cisler approached him with a newspaper circular for a portable generator that he wanted the contractor to purchase for him for use at his East Meadow home.
'I don't care how you get it,' he told the victim, according to the complaint, advising him to 'write it off.'
The contractor believed that Cisler would not approve his work on the Oceanside project unless he purchased the generator for him, the complaint stated. Cisler wanted the generator by Halloween, but the victim balked, finally purchasing the equipment for $931 from Sears in Massapequa last December. The FBI was alerted, and conducted audio and video surveillance of the transaction. A week later, the generator was delivered to Cisler's East Meadow home.
Among the other charges in the federal complaint:
n In 2005, the contractor was working on a project in Jericho called the Hamlet, which was also overseen by Cisler and for which the contractor expected to be paid $1.5 million by Nassau County. But Cisler told him that he was 'in trouble' and needed money. The contractor felt he had to give Cisler money, even though he did not think he would pay him back, because he feared Cisler would take retribution on the Hamlet project. The contractor gave him $5,000, which he was never repaid.
n On April 15, 2007, while the contractor was working on a $1 million Massapequa project called The Seasons, Cisler demanded $1,500 from him, saying that he was 'tight with my taxes.' The contractor paid him the money because he believed that Cisler otherwise would not approve portions of the work on the project.
n On Jan. 24, 2008, Cisler demanded and received $300 from the contractor to help pay his taxes while overseeing another one of the victim's projects.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Orenstein issued FBI agents a warrant to search Cisler's East Meadow home on May 6, and the following day agents raided his home and seized the portable generator, as well as other evidence, the complaint said. At the time of the raid, Cisler allegedly told agents, the generator was a Christmas gift. He also allegedly stated that the $300 payment was a loan, court papers said.
Neither Cisler nor his attorney could be reached for comment.
Comments about this story? JLipton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 213.
