By Village Justice Tom Liotti
Pick up the paper almost any day and you can read of corruption in government. It’s not Democrats or Republicans but a system that knows of only one path to success—money-raising and donating it. People in high political or appointed office have paid their dues. If you want to run for office, raise and donate money! If you want a judgeship, ambassadorship or cabinet position, raise and donate money! Yes, your conscience may be motivating you to contribute to the liberal now progressive causes of the Democrats or the pro-business, conservative politics of the Republicans, but either way, the path to power in the political hierarchy is all about money.
In 1961 Eugene Nickerson, a Democrat, was elected as County Executive. He served for three terms until 1970. His victory was unheard of in an all Republican County and against the rising star of GOP boss, Joseph Margiotta, who came to power in 1968 following the untimely death of his predecessor Edward Speno. Margiotta built an unrivaled patronage machine where county and town employees, if not civil service, had to contribute one percent of their annual salary to the GOP. An exception was Denis Dillon, elected district attorney as a Democrat in 1974, remaining in office for the next 30 years but changing his registration to Republican in the early 1990s since the Party supported his anti-abortion views.
Margiotta was indicted, convicted and went to jail in 1983 for receiving a portion of insurance commissions from county and town governments, a practice that existed during prior administrations including during Nickerson’s when the Democratic Party was headed by the venerated Jack English, a leader instrumental in the election of John F. Kennedy as president.
Marvin Christenfeld, another Democratic county leader in the early 1970s, was indicted and convicted. His successor Stanley Harwood garnered four paid positions for himself when he became county leader.
Margiotta’s prosecution began the breakdown of the Republican machine in Nassau. Registration figures also began to change so that in 1989, Ben Zwirn was elected as a Democratic Supervisor in North Hempstead. Democrats have controlled North Hempstead town hall ever since. In the early 1990s the Board of Supervisors was replaced by a county legislature. North Hempstead and the county legislature have both seen their share of corruption.
A state senator recently wrote that when he was elected five years ago, he promised to restore the public’s trust in Albany. Apparently he believes that notwithstanding the convictions of Assemblyman Silver and Senator Skelos that he has accomplished that.
Recent and ongoing investigations involving the Town of Oyster Bay; a former Vice Chair of the Democratic Party whose tutelage of receiverships is being questioned and the tax problems of the current Town of North Hempstead Democratic Leader, reminds us as within the Bible, 1 Timothy 6:10 said: “The love of money is the root of all evil.”
