Double Eagle lands on Westchester judge

First a Democratic Supreme Court Justice recused himself from a legal dispute between Hempstead Town and the former operators of the town's Lido Beach golf course after Hempstead Supervisor Laura Gillen complained that Nassau Republican Chairman Joseph Cairo had been paid nearly $1 million by the vendor.

With no explanation, Justice Timothy Driscoll, a deputy for former Democratic County Executive Thomas Suozzi,  recused himself from the Double Eagle Golf Inc. lawsuit.


Then a Conservative justice removed himself. After being assigned the case, Justice Vito DeStefano in Mineola recused.

Next  Republican Justice Jerome Murphy recused himself. Murphy is the son-in-law of former U.S. Senator Al D'Amato. Murphy's wife Lisa has a high-level town job.

Now Double Eagle has landed with a Westchester County judge.

Nassau court spokesman Dan Bagnuola said in an email today, "The Hon. Vito C. Caruso, Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for Courts outside NYC,  in consultation with the Hon. Alan D. Scheinkman, Presiding Justice of the Appellate Division, Second Department,  assigned the Hon. Linda S. Jamieson, Supreme Court Justice, Westchester County."

Let's see what she does.

Democrat Gillen, who just lost her bid for a second term, had complained in an affadavit to the court last month that  Double Eagle issued checks from 1999 thru Nov. 2014, totalling $922,800, to the McCormick Group, Inc. She said the New York secretary of state lists Joseph Cairo as CEO of the company.




Newsday reported  that Cairo said he had consulted with Double Eagle on “business decisions and transactions” when he had no relationship with the town and before he became GOP chairman last year.

Double Eagle sued Hempstead after former Hempstead Supervisor Anthony Santino, a Republican,  took back management of the  Lido Golf course in 2017 when Double Eagle's contract expired. Double Eagle had run the golf course for 20 years. Hempstead countersued.

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