Nassau IG cautiously questions Yamali settlement

                                                                                 

Nassau GOP truck parked outside Butch Yamali's Peter Clam House restaurant on Friday afternoon

Nassau's inspector general reported Friday that Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman's proposed legal settlement with concessionaire Butch Yamali "could erode public confidence in the county's commitment to the competitive process," lead to future litigation by upending existing vendors and omits required disclosure forms adopted after a major contracting scandal.

But Inspector General Jodi Franzese tread carefully through a political minefield in her eight-page report (which includes more than 100 pages of appendixes) about the deal that would give Yamali's Dover Gourmet Corp. a five-to-ten year license extension for providing food and concession services to most county parks and beaches.

Franzese works for the Republican-controlled county legislature, which will consider the Republican county executive's settlement on Monday.

Though Yamali has worked for Democratic and Republican county executives over the past 30 years, he has aligned more with Republicans recently.

Note the photo of the "Vote Republican" truck in the parking lot  Friday at Yamali's popular Peter's Clam Bar restaurant in Island Park. Yamali, whose venues include the Milleridge Inn and the Coral House, has hosted numerous fundraisers for politicians of both parties. 

He has been featured in Nassau Republican events three times in the past two months, with Hempstead Town GOP lawmakers praising him seven times in five minutes at an Easter Egg hunt that Yamali sponsored.

He also  is considered a good friend of Nassau Republican Chairman Joseph Cairo. Newsday reported in 2019 that Yamali had paid Cairo and his son more than $1.1 million over ten years ( before Cairo became party chairman) for consulting services at Hempstead Town's Malibu Beach Club,  also operated by Yamail.

Some county insiders are already grumbling that Franzese overstepped her authority because her mission is to look at county contracting,  not legal settlements.

Franzese acknowledges in her report that her office "was not privy to either the settlement negotiations or the decision-making process." But she says she "has also been mindful of actual and potential collateral impacts..upon the county's contracting/procurement processes."

Yamali sued Nassau when former Democratic County executive Laura Curran in 2019 attempted to terminate Dover's longterm exclusive contract to provide food, catering and vending services on county properties, including Nickerson Beach.

Yamali argued that he had received a two-year extension through 2021 from the former chief deputy county executive. But Curran ordered Yamali out and demanded he remove his vending machines while the county took over management of  Nickerson Beach.

A judge ruled in favor of Yamali; the county appealed. The litigation seemed endless.

Though the two-year extension would have taken Dover through 2021, Franzese points out, the settlement calls for a five-year term, with another five-year option, all without any competitive bidding.

"Competition is the preferred method for government to acquire services. Competitions in the realm of revenue agreements provides an important means to maximize revenue as well as quality of service in the best interests of the county," she wrote.

She noted that the deal gives Dover back Nickerson Beach, again without competitive proposals.

Franzese points out there are already contracts in place for vending at various county buildings and  to provide picnic and special event catering at all county properties.

Awarding these services to Dover could upend those existing vendors and create still more litigation, she said. 

Her office, she said, "is concerned that the proposed settlement, as presently drafted, may erode public confidence in the county's commitment to competitive process and a level playing field, leading to cynicism and disincentivizing future proposers."

She said the settlement says that Dover "will be deemed in good standing and eligible to bid on and be awarded future solicitations and procurements (ie RPFs bids, etc) by the county."  

That language could be interpreted to say the vendor is qualified "in perpetuity," she wrote.

Franzese also reported that her investigators were unable to find any recent disclosure forms, which are supposed to be updated every six months.

Her office could only find disclosures from Nov. 2016 and Jan. 2017, she wrote.

Here is a listing of the forms that are missing:

These disclosures were adopted by the county legislature after former State Senator leader Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) was indicted for pressuring Nassau County officials behind the scenes to approve a $12 million contract for a company that employed his son.

Although Blakeman is a former presiding officer of the county legislature, he was no longer in county government when the reforms were adopted.

The Inspector General's office was created because of the corruption allegations. Pushed by the Democratic minority, Republican lawmakers agreed to establish the office in 2018, after Skelos and son were convicted.

Finally, Franzese wrote in her report that the settlement does not require Dover to abide by the vendor code of ethics.

The inspector general believes "it is highly advisable and appropriate..that the stipulation explicitly provide that the Licensee agrees to comply with the Vendor Code of Ethics in its entirety."