By Nick Buglione
The television version of the political advertisement, which also ran on the radio, began with the question "Guess who just gave $25,000 to help his friend Dave McDonough?" The phrase was followed by a picture of Gulotta, who many hold personally responsible for running Nassau County's finances into the ground.
Although Moore maintains the ad never suggested any illegal wrongdoing, Assemblyman David McDonough, of North Merrick, was still infuriated by its content.
"That was a very misleading ad; fortunately, it wasn't effective," said McDonough, who despite the negative barrage won the election handily, garnering 62 percent of the vote.
New York State campaign finance law prohibits any individual from donating more than $3,100 directly to an assemblyman's campaign during the two-year election cycle.
"First of all, $25,000 is above the legal limit I could accept," McDonough said. "If I did accept it, it would be a criminal liability on me."
Gulotta did, however, cut a $25,000 check for the New York State Republican Committee, but McDonough said he never saw one cent of the money.
"I can guarantee you, any money that's been spent on me has to be reported, and there's nothing in my filing that says I got any money from the New York State Republican Committee," McDonough said.
Online campaign finance reports confirmed that the assemblyman never received a contribution from the committee.
Moore, a court officer from Merrick, said critics misinterpreted the advertisement.
"It said that [Gulotta] gave a check for $25,000 to the New York State Republican Committee," Moore said. "It wasn't cash in a bag left in the Mary Bill Diner."
He also said the purpose of the ad was to attack McDonough's attempt to hide his association with the Nassau County Republican Party, which is still smarting three years after the county fell into the financial doldrums under Gulotta's watch.
"I can honestly say I have no regrets on how I ran the race," said Moore, who called McDonough a day after the election to congratulate him and exchange well wishes. "Politics is a field of battle, and sometimes blood is shed."
Moore estimates his campaign cost about $150,000, of which he personally raised $70,000. Much of that money went toward aggressive television and radio advertisements.
With redistricting adding the traditionally Republican neighborhoods of Wantagh and Seaford, as well as a portion of Levittown, to the 19th Assembly District, some political insiders were surprised the Democratic Party put forth such a strong effort to win the seat. The party said independent polls indicated Moore stood a decent chance of winning.
Prominent local Democrat Steve November, of Merrick, who ran against McDonough in a special election last February, couldn't understand it.
"Wantagh and Seaford are death for Democrats," November said. "I'm assuming that their polls showed that there was a very close race, but I don't see how scientific that was."
