Now that an independent auditing firm has completed an audit of the books at the Village of Saddle Rock, Deputy Mayor Avery Modlin would like you to believe that all of the questions raised about the village finances have been resolved. That’s not how we see it.
“No money was misappropriated,” said Modlin.
But Modlin’s fancy footwork does not address serious questions raised in the letter sent last July month by Satty, Levine & Ciacco CPAs which found multiple financial irregularities and flawed bookkeeping practices in the Village of Saddle Rock.
Adding to our concern is the fact that Saddle Rock Mayor Dan Levy repeatedly took the Fifth Amendment during the trial of Sasha Masri, a former Saddle Rock trustee candidate who was convicted in June of misdemeanor attempted assault for a fight with Levy after an October 2012 board meeting. Marsi’s attorney was asking about village finances, the alleged reason that the fight began.
Levy’s attorney wrote in a statement that the questions were a distraction.
With all due respect to the Bill of Rights, it’s hard not to believe that an elected official has something to hide when he or she repeatedly takes the Fifth. It goes to the heart of the problem. There has been a disturbing lack of transparency when it comes to the finances of the Village of Saddle Rock. The village taxpayers deserve better.
Saddle Rock’s board recently announced at a board meeting that communications from its auditors were public records, and made public an confidential opinion from special counsel that, based on statements from the board, found no evidence of criminality by board members – but not until after media reports revealed auditors’ concerns about the village’s financial practices.
The auditors wrote, “The combination of these exceptions not only demonstrate that the Village is not practicing or enforcing sound control policies over procurement of goods and services, but that the lack of evidence, as mentioned above, could be indicative that there is ongoing fraudulent activity.”
Much of the controversy centers on the hiring of Next Capital, a Queens company run by a close friend of Levy, to do work for the village. The auditor’s letter states that Next capital: “was paid in some cases with no voucher or invoice, and only a check, according to the letter.
Auditors requested images of the checks, and indicated in the letter that they were endorsed by Levy and that some had “ok to cash” written on them.”
The village’s special counsel noted another oddity with the arrangement: according to village documents, Next Capital received no profit from the work, with all payment going directly to its workers – among them Levy’s daughter.
In some cases, checks, signed by Levy, were reportedly issued without an invoice, according to the auditors’ July 2012 letter. The village later provided copies of itemized invoices for Next Capital’s work, but court testimony from the former village clerk cast doubt on their authenticity.
In her testimony at the Masri trial, former village-treasurer Donna Perone said that she created invoices for Next Capital after-the-fact and submitted them to the auditors.
“I created them,” she said. “I was given instructions to create them by the mayor.”
Going forward there needs to be greater transparency when it comes to village finances, no contractor should ever be paid without an invoice – never – and equipment paid for by the village should only be used for a public purpose. Finally, village administrator should avoid decisions that raise ethical questions such as awarding contacts to friends.
Whether or not the questions raised by the audit rise to the level of criminality is something for Nassau County District Attorney to decide.
