ISLIP TOWN EMPLOYEE VOTED onto BOARD of ETHICS

GOP MEMBERS VOTE AGAINST NOLAN'S CHOICE

At an Islip Town Board meeting Wednesday Sept 22, 2011 Lawrence (Larry) O’Leary, Commissioner of Public Safety and Code Enforcement, was appointed as a member of the Town’s Board of Ethics by a partisan vote of 3-2.  GOP board members Steven Flotteron and Trish Bergin-Weichbrodt voted against.

For a Town employee to be a member of the Board of Ethics, according to Mr. Flotteron,   "Is just wrong."

"He's not going to be able to be unbiased",  Mr. Flotteron said in a recent interview with Freelance Investigations.  "His position, with his $103,000 dollar salary, was created by his friend and boss Phil Nolan.  Nolan controls his salary and his job and for the first time you'll have a Town employee sitting in on details of ethical concern."

Mr. O'Leary had to get a special waiver to work for the Town because he receives a pension from New York State as a retired police officer. As such, the law states he can only make up to $30,000 dollars as a part time worker and he cannot work in a government position, unless he gets the waiver.  Islip Town Supervisor Phil Nolan, signed the request for the waiver stating Mr. O'Leary's extensive police experience, prior to his retirement, was a big advantage and a main reason for his recommending the special waiver from the State of New York.

According to a July 27, 2009 letter from Richard Ciprioni, Director of Commission Operations ; Municipal Assistance for the Civil Service Commission of New York to Mr. Robert Finnegan, Director of Labor Relations for the Town of Islip:

Limited approval through October 31, 2009 was granted with the stipulation that the Town review whether the qualifications of 20 years of law enforcement experience for the position is appropriate, and to expand recruitment efforts beyond police agencies to determine if there are any qualified non-retirees available for appointment...Approvals under this section of law are considered to be of a temporary nature.  The Commission's determination is for the finite period indicated and cannot be extended without the Commission approval.

Before the original waiver was expired however, another waiver was granted for November 1, 2009  through October 31,  2011.  Then, before the second waiver could expire in 2011, another waiver request was submitted to cover the time frame of May 1, 2010 through April 30,  2012. It was also granted.

Longtime Islip resident, Patricia Montanino, took issue with Mr. O’Leary being appointed to anything with the word ethics attached. She attended the Town Board meeting prior to the vote being taken, to ask Supervisor Nolan if he intended to vote Mr. O’Leary onto the Board of Ethics.

“How can you set an example or judge anyone’s ethical standards, if you do the wrong thing yourself?  Ms. Montanino asked.  "Mr. O’Leary seems to think he is above it all.  He is not able to lead by example, because his own behavior violates the rules.”

At the Town Board meeting Ms. Montanino  referred  to a package of documents she believes supports her allegations regarding Mr. O'Leary.

Ms. Montanino  stated that over a year ago, she handed the same documentation to all the Town Board members.  The package of documents allegedly contained proof of offenses committed by Mr. O’Leary and his Code Enforcement team.  “If you are making fake permits and parking signs and building an illegal office in your own code enforcement building, how can you be on an ethics board?”  she asked.

The package included the following issues, items and documents:

1.) According to documents submitted, Mr. O’Leary allegedly issued over 100 falsified parking permits in 2010 and 2011 to persons living within two blocks of the Islip Town water park.  The permits  appeared official as they had a bar code and the Town seal and allegedly Mr. O’Leary’s signature on them.

The problem is, the bar code was from a book ISBN number.   Islip Town never made a resolution authorizing either the permits or the parking signs. Public Safety officers allegedly put the signs up in the middle of the night on telephone poles and trees within a two block radius of the water park.  This would force most people to pay the $10 parking fee in the Town owned marina lot.  Putting signs on telephone poles is against Town ordinances and LIPA rules.  If the signature is not Mr. O'Leary's, or if it was not forged and was used with his knowledge and/or permission as a memo Mr. O'Leary sent through Susan Pontillo, would indicate, the permits would still be illegal, because there was no resolution by the Town Board authorizing them.

O'Leary memo regarding second set of permits, (now they had book ISBN number added)
the first set had no bar code and didn't appear official enough, according to sources.

Emails to Kevin Bonner, Town of Islip, Public Information Officer, regarding all of these issues were not returned at time of publication.

Parking permit on dashboard of local resident's car

Sample of Permit with Bar Code ISBN # 978091889-428X

Book from ISBN Bar Code # on Parking Permits Issued by Code Enforcement in Islip Town 

No Parking Signs on Telephone Poles

"Currently, under Islip Town Code
(Article 29), it is illegal to post signs of
all types on trees and telephone poles."
according to town of Islip spokeswoman
Catherine Green, in an article from the Islip Bulletin dated December 11, 2008.

2.) An office was constructed on the third floor (attic) of the Town of Islip Code Enforcement building at 28 Nassau Avenue in Islip, even though no permits for the construction were ever obtained.  The office was newly constructed allegedly for Jason Mistretta, a code enforcement officer, but the office was ordered to be demolished by the Fire Department, after a complaint was made to the Department of Health, about the office and it’s location on the third floor, as a serious safety and fire hazard.

Pictures of a Town dump truck backed up to the building while the contents of the office were thrown out the attic window, were also given to the Town Board members.  There allegedly was no attempt to save, store or recycle the new office furniture. Building materials such as brand new doors, desk, chair, carpeting, sheetrock, molding and other items were tossed into the dump truck and discarded.  Witnesses claim the brand new doors were purposely damaged with sledge hammers as the workers were disassembling the office and its' contents.

3rd Floor Illegal Office in Code Enforcement Building

28 Nassau Avenue 3rd Floor Office

Attic windows open...items tossed into truck

Weight of truck buckles sidewalk

3.) Lacrosse balls were purchased with Town funds, yet curiously the Town has no lacrosse team.  Mr. O’Leary’s phone records on the Town cell phone show dozens of calls on Town work time, to his son’s lacrosse coach at St. Anthony’s High School in Huntington.  Many other calls were also made to Southhampton, on the Town cell phone, during work hours, to the number where the coach lives.

Six Dozen Lacrosse Balls $90 Dollars

Invoice For Lacrosse Balls for Islip Town

4.) Fifty two embroidered jackets paid for by the taxpayers were ordered for Mr. O’Leary’s Public Safety Enforcement staff.  Inquiries into the purchase however resulted in the jackets never actually being distributed. The cost for the jackets allegedly no one ever received was $1, 464.00 on June 17, 2010.

5.) Mr. O’Leary received three  special waivers from New York State to be hired at his $103,000 salary, even though he is a retired New York City Police Officer receiving a pension. That waiver application along with the approval of Alan Schneider, Director of the Town’s Civil Service Division was the reason Mr. O’Leary could make his $103,000 salary.  Mr. Schneider’s son, Robert also works for Islip Town-at McArthur airport.  Mr. Nolan stated in the papers he submitted to the State requesting the waiver, that Mr. O’Leary’s extensive police background and experience was key to his reason for hiring him and needing the waiver.  Mr. Nolan said at the time his search produced no one more qualified for the position than Mr. O’Leary.

First of three waivers:  This one dated March 2009 through March 2011

Page one of second application to State for Mr. O'Leary's Waiver
Period covered November 1, 2009 through October 31, 2011

Page two of Waiver Application

Waiver Application: Page Three
Mr. O'Leary's and Mr. Nolan's Signatures

Mr. O'Leary's Responsibilities for Islip Town

Justification for Renewal of Retiree Waiver for Mr. O'Leary

Civil Service Commission Letter to Islip Director of Labor Relations

Ms. Montanino asked with all the special training and police experience Mr. O'Leary has, something Mr. Nolan stressed when asking for the waiver, "Why then did Mr. O’Leary not get involved or even bother to show up when he received a phone call from the Public Safety Officers in Islip, regarding information they had just received from the police department warning of a credible threat of alleged gang activity with weapons for later that day?".

According to the phone message with Mr. O'Leary, the potential violence with weapons was slated to occur that night at Brookwood Hall, where a senior citizen center, a daycare facility and GOP Town Board member Trish Bergin-Weichbrodt’s office are all located.

According to an official audiotape of the call made on April 1, 2011 obtained by Freelance Investigations, Mr. O’Leary, when notified by telephone during regular business hours, that gang related violence- with weapons- was planned for later that day, his 30 second on the record response consisted of asking one question; who was working- then telling them to check it out and if there was a problem, to call the police.  End of call.

Ms. Montanino wants to know why Mr. O’Leary, for all his ex-FBI and police training and specialized experience in law enforcement- before his retirement, declined to go to the sight directly himself, instead, asking his lone, unarmed Public Safety officer to handle the situation.  The gangs did show up and were chased away, by the police, but not before a noose was hung from the branch of a tree behind the building, according to both police and Town Public Safety reports about the incident.

Ms. Montanino also asked why in all three cases, an extension of the waiver was applied for, many months before the waivers had even expired.  For example, the first waiver listed the duration from 3/09 to 3/11. Yet the second waiver was applied for and obtained for the period 11/09 to 10/31/11.  The third waiver was granted for the period May 2011 through April 30, 2012.

"These appointments are supposed to be temporary, why is this going on for years now?"
Ms. Montanino asked. "They don't even wait for the waivers to expire, they just reapply.  Why? Does any one really believe that in this time of record unemployment there are no other experienced persons who could do this job, that are not already receiving a State pension?"

Ms. Montanino asked.  "Are they still looking for a non-pensioned replacement ?  I think not, if they are applying for new O'Leary waivers before they even expire."

No Board member responded to the information contained in the package of documents Ms. Montanino gave to the Board members at a Town Board meeting over a year ago in August, 2010.  Ms. Montanino wants to know why nothing has been done about alleged forged instruments, unauthorized permits and other anomalies and asks how Mr. O'Leary could be on any Board related to ethics.  The documents are all here...you can decide for yourself.

An E-mail to Board Member, Trish Bergin-Weichbrodt, for comment was not returned at time of publication.

TOXIC DUST ON 9/11 LEADS TO CHRONIC BERYLLIUM DISEASE

WERE THOUSANDS OF WORLD TRADE CENTER RESPONDERS MISDIAGNOSED? 

 IS SARCOIDOSIS DIAGNOSIS REALLY CHRONIC BERYLLIUM DISEASE?

Thousands of firemen, policemen and other first responders who worked on “the pile” or "the pit" at the World Trade Center after 9/11 even for short amounts of time were potentially exposed to toxic levels of Beryllium which could result in a fatal disease known as Chronic Beryllium Disease.


Hundreds, maybe thousands of World Trade Center First Responders have been diagnosed with Sarcoidosis disease, according to John Feal the founder and president of the non-profit Fealgood Foundation, an organization dedicated to the health and well being of 9/11 First Responders.             


According to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) anyone who has been diagnosed with Sarcoidosis who had ever been exposed to Beryllium is automatically presumed to have Chronic Beryllium Disease.

According to The American Lung Association: Sarcoidosis is a disease caused by small areas of inflammation. It can affect any part of the body but is most common in the lungs—called pulmonary sarcoidosis. In pulmonary sarcoidosis, small patches of inflamed cells can appear on the lungs' small air sacs (alveoli), breathing tubes (bronchioles) or lymph nodes. The lungs can become stiff and may not be able to hold as much air as healthy lungs. In serious cases, sarcoidosis can cause scar tissue in the lungs, which can affect the lungs' ability to move oxygen into the bloodstream.No one knows what causes sarcoidosis. The good news is that is it usually temporary. In half the cases, sarcoidosis heals naturally—without any treatment. In serious cases, health care providers may treat a patient's symptoms to help improve how well the lungs and other organs are working. 


The statement from NIOSH to Congress in unequivocal. According to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) anyone who has been diagnosed with Sarcoidosis who had ever been exposed to Beryllium is automatically presumed to have Chronic Beryllium Disease.

On September 4, 2008, DEEOIC issued Circular No. 08-07 which states:A diagnosis of sarcoidosis is not medically appropriate if there is a documented history of Beryllium exposure. Rather, in these situations, the claims examiner is to consider the diagnosis of Sarcoidosis to be a diagnosis of Chronic Beryllium Disease.                                                                  (EEOICPA OmbudsmenReport to Congress 2008)
The American Lung Association's Website's "List of Lung Diseases"  does not have any information or listing for Chronic Beryllium Disease.

Beryllium is the most toxic metal known to man. Beryllium was in the American Airlines-Boeing made planes that were flown into the buildings that day.  When the firemen added water to the pit, a deadly toxic vapor was created that can cause  Chronic Beryllium Disease. The disease can take many years to present its’ symptoms, lying dormant sometimes for decades, but when it does present, it can be deadly as the scar tissue shuts down the lungs and there is no cure.

The fires at The World Trade Center should never have been fought with water and everyone who breathed in the vapor, dust and smoke that day and for months to follow were potentially exposed to toxic Beryllium and could be in danger of getting the fatal disease.  Even regular airplane fires should not be fought with water.


                                THE PREMATURE DEATH OF HEROES
According to John Feal who spoke with Freelance Investigations today, there is no question that Beryllium was in the pit.  "Everyone knows that Beryllium was there.  I've got eight and a half years of 9/11 "U" behind me and I consider myself intelligent enough to know that this has led to the premature death of heroes who risked their lives without prejudice a few years ago."  Mr. Feal spoke of the "toxic soup" in the pit:  "I believe the Beryllium added with all the other toxins like the Jet Fuel, Benzene, Mercury, pulverized cement and other contaminants all led to a toxic soup that we inhaled.  No one can deny that these toxins have caused serious injury and death.  When mixed all together, no one can say what the exposure could do."

In a video on the Fealgood Foundation website, John Fealgood said "The government has let us down... If we have money to kill we should have money to save lives."

Mr. Feal has a vested interest in the issues of 9/11 first responders and works tirelessly on their behalf.
On September 17, 2001 8,000 lbs. of steel fell on Mr. Feal's foot while he was working at the pit causing him to spend 10-11 weeks in the hospital with gangrene and sepsis. Eventually he underwent dozens of surgeries.  Despite his own physical issues- on August 14, 2007 John Feal donated a kidney to a perfect stranger.  Mr. Feal said he did it "To show America that people that basically have nothing can still help others.  People who have seen the bottom can rise to the top and continue to help others."


  HOW MUCH BERYLLIUM WAS IN “THE PIT”AT THE WORLD TRADE CENTER?
It is difficult to ascertain the amount of Beryllium that was contained in the pit at the World Trade Center.  Mr. Feal said this issue of Beryllium at the site needs to be investigated further, "Because this is human life we are talking about right now."

Calls to Boeing by Freelance Investigations to determine the total amount of Beryllium contained in both the plane and the jet fuel were never returned.
The media representative for American Airlines who refused to give their name gave this quote when asked how much Beryllium was in the 757 and 767 planes that flew into the towers and ended up in the pit:  " We don't respond to 9/11 requests for information." 
Beryllium is used for the airline seats, luggage, clothing, golf clubs, cell phones, computers, landing gear, radar, brakes, the shell of the body of the plane, the turbine blades of the jet engines, electronics and also in the jet fuel and engine oil.   When Beryllium burns and water is poured onto the fire, it creates a toxic brew of dust, particles and Beryllium vapor that even when inhaled in small amounts can be deadly toxic. 
Pictures of the firemen fighting the fire at the Pentagon, show they were all wearing protective SCBA (Self Contained Breathing Apparatus) and Haz-Mat suits while fighting the fire.  Perhaps this was because the military has known for decades that you do not pour water on a Beryllium Fire and you wear proper equipment when fighting one.
According to a study published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine, a seven year study with members of the New York City Fire Department;  rescuers who had significant declines in lung function a year after the attack had still not recovered, and the recorded drop in lung function was about 12 times the rate seen in normal aging. Since Sarcoidosis usually can heal and Chronic Beryllium Disease gets worse, why aren't World Trade Center responders and clean up crews being tested for Chronic Beryllium Disease?
Since Beryllium is now being used in so many non-military or civilian applications shouldn’t all fires be treated as if the possibility of Beryllium is being burned and shouldn't all firefighters have the proper equipment (SCBA gear and Haz-Mat suits) to keep themselves safe from toxic Beryllium vapors?
According to the National Jewish Health Reference Laboratories (NJHCRL) it can sometimes be difficult to diagnose Chronic Beryllium Disease (CBD).  A normal blood test result (where all values are equal or below the cutoff value of 2.5 in response to antigens) still does not exclude the diagnosis of Chronic Beryllium Disease.  They recommend a Beryllium lymphocyte transformation test using bronchoalveolar lavage lymphocytes.  Other doctors interviewed said that a tissue sample from the lung is the only real definitive test for Chronic Beryllium Disease.  Exposure to even a small amount of Beryllium in a vapor dust or particle form can be deadly toxic depending on the individual, according to the National Jewish Health website.
When misdiagnosed as Sarcoidosis and treated for that disease in error, irreparable harm can be done if the person really has Chronic Beryllium Disease.  
Freelance Investigations spoke to the law clerk in the chambers of Judge Alvin Hellerstein to ask if any of the attorneys or doctors trying to hash out a settlement had ever considered beryllium exposure to explain many unexplained symptoms that the workers have exhibited.  The law clerk declined to comment.  No one at the WTC site has been tested for the disease even though the symptoms match some of the sick workers.

Chronic Beryllium Disease and Beryllium Sensitivity Disease symptoms include but are not limited to:  rashes, dermatitis, conjunctivitis and eye ulcers, enlarged heart, kidney problems and chronic sinusitis.  If Beryllium in dust, vapor or particle form is introduced through the skin by a cut or puncture, non-healing ulcers may develop with target organs being; lungs, mucous membranes eyes and skin .                                                     ( Genium Publishing Corporation-Beryllium Metal/Powder)
Beryllium production was halted by Brush Wellman, the nation’s largest producer of Beryllium, in 2000 primarily due to economic and occupational and health reasons according to William Greenwalt, the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Industrial Policy) for the United States.
Beryllium use in Europe is strictly limited and regulated by CERN, their nuclear regulatory agency which was already limiting future use and production for safety and health reasons as far back as 1985.
Beryllium production in the United States will continue unimpeded however.  Thanks to the need by the Department of Defense for the military and aerospace applications, a brand new facility was scheduled to open in Elmore, Ohio last month.
In testimony before the U.S.- China Economic and Security Review Commission regarding China’s Proliferation and the Impact of Trade Policy on Defense Industries in the United States and China dated July 13, 2007,  Greenwalt noted:
When absolutely necessary, the Department of Defense can intervene directly in the marketplace to create or expand domestic production capabilities as necessary to meet military requirements.  The department is doing so now to ensure it will continue to have access to high purity Beryllium metal.  Because of its’ unique properties (including high stiffness and strength to weight ratios, thermal conductivity and reflectivity to infrared wavelength) high purity Beryllium metal and its primary high Beryllium content alloy (Aluminum-Beryllium metal matrix composite or AlBeMet) have wide ranging defense applications including in sensors, structures and components in missiles, satellites, fighter and rotary aircraft and nuclear weapons.  Brush Wellman is the only Beryllium metal producer worldwide that can meet the Beryllium quality requirements of the highest purity defense and essential civilian applications. However, Brush Wellman mothballed its 40 year-old primary Beryllium metal production facility in October 2000 for economic and occupational health reasons.   Since then, Brush Wellman has relied on Beryllium cast ingot from the inventories of the National Defense Stockpile at the Defense Logistics Agency for the highest purity Beryllium material applications; and on less pure Beryllium metal acquired from Kazakhstan for production of AlBeMet.  To rectify this situation, the Department initiated a Defense Production Act Title III project jointly funded with Brush Wellman the design and construction of a new Beryllium metal production facility, scheduled for completion in 2010.
People who worked at Department of Energy facilities from the 1940’s to the present who were exposed to Beryllium, like Brookhaven National Laboratory and the former Hicksville-Sylvania Corning Plant are eligible for free medical care, testing and possible compensation (up to $400 thousand dollars per person) under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act. (EEOICPA)
           
                     DOE EMPLOYEES COVERED:  DOD EMPLOYEES ARE NOT...WHY NOT?


One big problem is that a person who stood next to the DOE employee at the same job, who was actually a Department of Defense worker, that person is not covered by the EEOICPA.  Why does the same level of toxic exposure have different levels of help for American workers?  Why are DOE workers covered for toxic exposure to Beryllium and not DOD workers at the same spot doing the same job?  One answer might be the astronomical costs associated with covering everyone.  So far the EEOICPA has paid out over 5.5 Billion dollars to EEOICPA claimants since 2001 when the law was enacted by President Clinton, that despite that fact that the Department of Labor has done a limited job of notification to DOE employees.  The Department of Labor claims they notified the employers and depended upon them to provide lists of employees to notify of benefits available to those exposed.  Many companies refused to supply the lists and to this day thousands of workers who could and should receive medical testing and care don’t have any idea it is available for them.
Sean Riordan, the attorney for the Fealgood Foundation declined to answer when asked if the first responders may have been misdiagnosed with Sarcoidosis noting he does not  have medical credentials.   He did say "I really want the bottom line truth and if Beryllium is the cause, then we should treat them for what it is. I want all the elements investigated and if it is Beryllium exposure then lets find out and not treat them for Sarcoidosis if that is not the cause."

If the World Trade Center first responders were exposed to Beryllium then shouldn't they be eligible under NIOSH for free screenings and medical treatment?  If the World Trade Center is considered a Department of Energy Facility or a subcontractor of a DOE Facility, then wouldn't any and all first responders fall under this federal financial umbrella?   This remains to be seen.