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                                                                                  Harendra Singh (credit: Victor Alcorn, NY Post) Former Oyster Bay concessionaire Harendra Singh -- key witness in the federal corruption trials against former Republican County Executive Ed Mangano, his wife Linda and former Republican Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto -- still has not been sentenced and still is apparently living in his Syosset mansion, despite pleading guilty to eight felonies in 2016.  In comparison, Mangano last month began serving a 12-year sentence in federal prison after being convicted of accepting bribes and kickbacks from Singh in return for pressuring Oyster Bay Town officials to guarantee $20 million in private loans to Singh, a restaurateur and longtime family friend. Singh immediately defaulted on the loans; the alleged guarantees were subsequently found in three different courts to be fraudulent and illegal. Linda Mangano is on home confinement after serving five months o

Sometimes you just have to shake your head and wonder what elected officials were thinking. On the same day last week, Republican Nassau Comptroller Elaine Phillips released a four-part 94-page audit and Democrat Nassau Legis. Joshua Lafazan emailed county Democrats asking for money. There was a twist to both. Elaine Phillips First Phillips' big audit: Was it about the proposed $4 billion Casino project in the Nassau HUB? The looming banking crisis after one of Nassau County's depository banks went belly-up? Was it about Nassau's forever-financially struggling public hospital, the Nassau University Medical Center? Or about North Hempstead's building department, which was rocked by a 2007 scandal that resulted in four arrests. No, it was a 94-page audit about Hempstead Town's Sanitary District 7 in Oceanside, which picks up garbage for 13,000 households and 950 businesses. In comparison, Phillips in January issued a 30-page audit on Nassau's controversial reasses

  So what does the Nassau Interim Finance Authority do now? NIFA, the state-appointed Democrat-run board that took control of Nassau's finances in 2011, has continued to insist that the county's financial situation is so dire that NIFA needs to continue to keep a grip on spending even though Nassau ended the last three years with large operating surpluses. Now, the county's budget office has issued a report that says that Nassau ended last year with a tentative $321.4 million surplus in its major operating funds. That doesn't include more than $400 million in federal assistance the county banked during the pandemic. The budget office report still has to be confirmed by outside auditors this June, but it sure looks like Nassau will end up in the black again -- four years in a row. Yet the NIFA statute allows NIFA to control county finances when there is a one percent deficit or more in its major operating funds. The county's Office of Management and Budget hides the

                                                                                      Lafazan, second from left, at a Democratic "unity" press conference after Robert Zimmerman won the party primary for Congress Nassau Legis. Josh Lafazan, a Woodbury Democrat who has held numerous press conferences to complain about Republican U.S. Congressman George Santos' ethics, never seems to address his own dubious conduct. Such as a questionable loan of as much as $100,000 that Lafazan received from a wealthy North Shore couple -- a loan he didn't disclose to the Nassau Board of Ethics as required by county law for two years until after he lost the Democratic primary for the 3rd District Congressional seat eventually won by Santos. Santos has since been under intense scrutiny by the local and national media for lying about his background after the New York Times in December disclosed that he appeared to have falsified his public resume. The New York Post in August first report

                                                                                       Five Towns Community Center in Lawrence Newsday today had an interesting story about a fight over the Five Towns Community Center in Lawrence. which serves many low-income, black and brown, native and immigrant families in southwest Nassau. But it didn't note the behind-the-scenes political connections and feuds involved. Here is the basic background reported by Newsday. Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who took office in Jan. 2022 and counts the Five Towns Jewish orthodox community as his base, has said he will not renew the Center's 50-year lease, which expires in July. The center, which has roots stretching back more than 100 years, deeded its seven-acre sit to the county in 1974  in exchange for the long term lease and construction of a new building. Blakeman solicited a new operator and received two bids: from the Marion &Aaron Gural JCC, which would allow the center to c

                                                                              As rumored, Democrat Olena Nicks is challenging Republican Hempstead Town Supervisor Don Clavin for the town's top job this fall. She announced her race yesterday on Facebook and Instagram. Don Clavin Nicks, of Uniondale, ran against Kate Murray, a former Republican Town supervisor, for town clerk two years ago. Murray crushed her. Not expected was former Republican-turned-Democrat County Comptroller George Maragos challenging Republican Glen Cove Mayor Pam Panzenbeck. Maragos was elected as a Republican but switched parties and ran a primary in 2017 against Democrat Laura Curran for Nassau County Executive. Curran crushed Maragos. Don't know when Maragos announced, but read it first on the twitter Democratic parody site: DemocratsNassau. George Maragos Pam Panzenbeck Democrats are already out collecting signatures on nominating petitions. Republicans have yet to name all their candidates.  

                                                                              Nassau County legislative meeting How oddly ironic that Nassau Democrats in November blithely voted -- without question or discussion -- for  some 20 banks to hold Nassau deposits, including the now failed Signature Bank. The legislature was provided no disclosure of principals or lobbyists for any of the banks on the list; nor were any reasons given for choosing them, such as interest rates or safety. After state regulators took over insolvent Signature Bank on Sunday night, the administration of Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman acknowledged that the county had $95 million in deposits at Signature Bank. Yes, $95 million!!  A county spokesman said all the monies were safe and "collateralized" even though county legislature's November resolution did not specify that deposits be "collateralized" or secured with the bank assets, as did for example, the Town of North Hempstead&

                                                                                Josh Lafazan (left) holding news conference about Congressional District 3  in county legislative building For someone obsessed over pointing out Republican U.S. Congressman George Santos ethical flaws, Nassau Legis. Josh Lafazan, aWoodbury Democrat,  is somehow oblivious to his own ethical lapses. Such as not disclosing on his county financial disclosure a private loan of as much as $100,000 from a wealthy North Shore couple for two years even though county law requires disclosures of all loans over $5,000. He amended his disclosure forms only after the New York Post began raising questions about the loan -- and after Lafazan lost a Democratic primary last year in his bid to run against Santos for the Third District Congressional seat. Santos, who has admitted lying about his background, has said he will not resign. But Lafazan has received national publicity by holding news conferences almost every other

                                                                                Town of North Hempstead North Hempstead Town had $1.2 million on deposit in Signature Bank, which was shut down by state regulators Sunday night, but Oyster Bay Town did not use the New York bank as a depository, spokesmen for both towns said separately today. Hempstead Town did not respond to inquiries about deposits at Signature Bank. Signature was seized by state regulators Sunday evening after the Silicone Valley Bank in California collapsed on Friday. Both President Joe Biden and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul have tried to assure worried Americans that their deposits are secure. Biden said today, "Rest assured our banking system is safe." But, of course, many people are waiting to see if any other banking institutions fail. In North Hempstead, the town board unanimously approved Signature for town bank deposits in January, among with seven other banks: First National Bank of Long Island, Flushi

                                                                                     It's probably too soon to panic. But, the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank on Friday led many to wonder if there were going to be other bank failures despite federal authorities assuring everyone that the economy remains strong and the California bank's financial troubles were contained. Today Signature Bank of New York was shut down by New York State regulators, the U.S. Treasury and FDIC announced. In October, the Nassau legislature approved a list of banks for deposit of county taxpayer funds. Yes, Signature was among them. (see below) News reports say the feds will guarantee all deposits. But who will ultimately pay that guarantee? Financial pundits say Signature has been under financial pressure for weeks. Did Nassau treasurer move any money it may have had in Signature? Did the Comptroller flag it. The county executive's spokesman did not respond to an inquiry about Nassau and Signatu

Some critics call it the "Blakeman effect." Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman is known to be a hard-charger who tends toward autocratic dictates ever since his days as the county legislature's first presiding office from 1996 through 1999. But some current legislators may just feel its time to quit, regardless of Blakeman's demands. Right now three of the current 19 county legislators are leaving and there are questions about one more. Legis. Denise Ford of Long Beach, a registered Democrat who has run and won as a Republican since 2003, just confirmed that she is not running again after much speculation about her intentions.  Denise Ford Every two years, Ford has threatened to quit but has always been talked out of it in the past. Her colleagues were waiting to see if Nassau Republican Chairman Joe Cairo, who has led Republicans to unexpected victories in the past two years, would convince her to run again. Ford tends to follow her own path rathe