By:Doug Miller
Kearney pleaded guilty Nov. 22 in U.S. District Court to embezzling nearly $150,000 from Local 79 of the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA) while he was secretary-treasurer from 2000 to 2002. He was sentenced to one year of confinement and two years of probation, fined $100 and barred from holding a union office for 13 years. Kearney's attorney, Peter Tomao of Garden City, said Kearney also paid restitution of $149,330.12, made possible by the refinancing of his Arizona Avenue home.
"He admitted what he did and he's sorry for letting people down," Tomao said. "He's accepting his punishment and is ready to do it and put this behind him."
Kearney was elected to the Long Beach City Council in November 2001, but resigned in June 2003 when questions began to surface about the union's finances. At the time, he claimed he was resigning for health reasons, and Gina Guma, then the president of the Long Beach Board of Education, was appointed to fill his seat.
Kearney was appointed secretary-treasurer of the local in 1996, and held the position until he resigned on March 31, 2003. He told inspectors that his duties included paying bills and overseeing the administrative aspects of the office and its day-to-day operations.
Local 79 was rocked by corruption scandals and allegations of organized-crime infiltration throughout the 1970s and '80s, according to published reports, and Kearney was part of a new leadership group brought in to repair the union's reputation.
The embezzlement mostly involved purchases of personal items and gifts with the local's American Express card. While the transcript of Kearney's interview with investigators suggests that he also forged the local's president's signature on several checks, Tomao insisted that his client had not pleaded guilty to forgery.
According to the transcript of the investigator's report, "Kearney was asked why he used the union credit card for personal uses. Kearney stated he does not know in that he did not have cash problems or financial problems. Kearney just got stupid in purchasing items at stores like Kohl's, Marshall's, the Gap and jewelry stores for his own use. Kearney stated it was partly ego, him being a big shot giving out gifts to different individuals. Kearney also liked people outside the union to believe he was an influential person within a major labor organization."
Among the beneficiaries of Kearney's spending spree was the Long Beach Democratic Party. Kearney gave $5,000 of the local's money to the Chairman's Fund, which he told investigators was intended to improve his standing in the party.
He also entertained and bought gifts for several Long Beach Democrats with the union's money. According to his interview, he gave plane tickets to Lee Biddison, Steve Polcer and John and Maryellyn Feiler. John Feiler called Kearney's story "nonsense."
At the time, Polcer was the city's Democratic vice chairman and its director of operations, and Biddison, his girlfriend, was a city employee. Maryellyn Feiler was the office manager of City Hall under Polcer. Polcer is now deputy superintendent of the Nassau County Department of Public Works as well as vice chairman of the Long Beach Democratic Party. He did not return a call seeking comment.
According to investigators, "Kearney wanted to take them to the LIUNA convention in an attempt to obtain union work in Long Beach. Biddison would keep Kearney apprised of upcoming projects." Kearney said the four did not make the trip because of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Kearney also told investigators that he purchased a television with the union's money and gave it to Biddison as a gift, but told her he had paid for it with his own money.
Scott Nigro, chairman of the Long Beach Democratic Party, declined to comment.
Kearney's other illegal expenditures read like the roster of a Long Beach merchants guild. He patronized nearly every restaurant in Long Beach, from TKOPS to the Beach Cafe to the Whale's Tale, while Blockbuster Video, CVS and Beech Street Photo already show up in his statements.
Farther afield were unsanctioned purchases at Radio City Music Hall, the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, a Macy's in Hawaii, and the San Diego Zoo.
Curiously, he also charged the union for the gift baskets he sent to Republicans Jim Hennessy and Tom Sofield Jr. after he defeated them in the November 2001 council election. Hennessy and Sofield, who are now president and vice president, respectively, of the City Council, both described Kearney as a "nice guy" and said they were troubled by his fall.
In a city like Long Beach, where the colorful political goings-on have over the years been one of Nassau County's favorite soap operas, it is notable that Kearney will be the first councilman to go to jail, at least as far as anyone can remember. The city's first mayor, William Reynolds, who founded and helped plan the city, was convicted of misappropriating funds and resigned his office in 1924, but he is not believed to have spent any time in jail, and his conviction was later overturned. Phil Kohut, a former Long Beach Democratic chairman, was indicted in 1964 for allegedly taking kickbacks from the city's parking meter vendor, but the charges were later dropped.
A council candidate, Patricia Lang, was indicted in the early 1970s for reportedly giving a book stuffed with money to a rival, hoping to dissuade him from running in a Democratic primary. She pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and moved away.
According to local legend, the book was Mike Royko's "Boss: Richard Daley of Chicago."
Comments about this story? DMiller@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 213.
