You are not imagining things if you find something familiar about Robert Troiano and his decision to resign as the Nassau County acting commissioner for traffic and parking violations a day before he was to be considered for confirmation by the Nassau Legislature.
Like Gerard Terry, the former chairman of the North Hempstead Democratic Party, Troiano worked for the town – first as director of operations and then a senior policy adviser – while he had a federal tax lien problem.
Terry compiled $1.4 million in tax debt while working as North Hempstead Town special counsel and attorney for the Board of Zoning Appeals. The work for the town was one of six government jobs Terry held at the time that were controlled by Democratic Party officials or in party enclaves, not including a job his wife held as deputy town clerk.
To be sure, there appear to be major differences between Troiano and Terry.
Troiano told Newsday he paid off the $81,533 in federal income tax liens he amassed between 2010 and 2014 as well as a $749,264 lien against a house he owns that was facing foreclosure. Although that remains to be seen. The Nassau County clerk’s office has no records indicating the debts were paid or the foreclosure canceled, Newsday reported.
But at least there have been no criminal charges against Troiano.
Terry, on the other hand, was charged with one count each of tax evasion and obstructing the Internal Revenue Service and later pleaded guilty to tax evasion. He also pleaded guilty in Nassau County Criminal Court to failing to file a 2010 state tax return for personal income and to not paying more than $3,000 in state taxes.
But the two cases still raise important questions about how the town and the county screen candidates for jobs – with neither appearing very eager to answer.
Nassau County Executive Laura Curran and her administration were apparently unaware of Troiano’s tax liens when she named him acting commissioner for traffic and parking violations.
But Nassau Republicans said the GOP caucus in the Legislature learned about Troiano’s tax liens 10 to 12 days before his confirmation hearings.
“Troiano would have been questioned about his financials by the Republicans” during Monday’s confirmation hearing if he had not resigned, Frank Moroney, a spokesman for Nassau Republicans, told Newsday last week. “The sheer volume created doubts in people’s minds.”
In raising the issue about Troiano, Republicans did Curran a favor.
Curran won election in November running on a pledge to clean up the corruption that marked the administration of Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano.
Imagine how it would have looked if the person she picked to head traffic and parking violations had large debts that no one in the administration was aware of.
Keep in mind that a good deal of money flows through the county for parking and traffic violations between payments made by violators and contractors offering the latest technology.
Why didn’t Curran know about Troiano’s financial problems?
According to Troiano, because she didn’t ask. He told Newsday that county officials did not require a financial disclosure statement.
Hardly encouraging for an administration that is supposed to be rooting out corruption.
The fact that Curran was apparently unaware of Troiano’s history of tax liens also raises questions about the Town of North Hempstead.
Democrats allied with Terry including North Hempstead Supervisor Judi Bosworth, former Supervisor Jon Kaiman and county Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs all said at the time they were unaware of all of Terry’s tax liens.
We expressed our doubts at the claims of ignorance. The Republican legislators’ knowledge of Troiano’s liens don’t do anything to reduce those doubts.
Bosworth said she asked town Attorney Elizabeth Botwin to undertake a “comprehensive” review and advise her on “any necessary changes in town policy and procedures that we need to take” at the time of the disclosures about Terry’s finances.
The town subsequently widened the pool of officials required to file financial disclosure forms and said it would begin enforcing a 25-year-old requirement that leaders of town political committees file them.
So was Troiano – following the Terry disclosures – required to file a financial disclosure form with the town? If so, did he comply? If so, did the financial form disclose the tax liens? And if he did was Curran informed?
Those are a few of the questions we’d like to see answered. But so far both the town and the county aren’t saying.
Voters and taxpayers might also want to ask about the credentials of people who get town and county patronage appointments.
After nearly 10 years as a town councilman and county legislator, Troiano got hired by the town as director of operations in 2014 and later moved to a senior adviser post at a salary of $137,660 a year.
He then was set to become the head of parking and traffic violations for the county at $155,000 a year.
And when that became a problem, Curran’s office announced, he took a job paying $140,000 a year at the county Board of Elections – one of the six places Terry had jobs.
Small world.
