It may be that there is nothing illegal about the fact that the re-election campaign of Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano accepted donations from companies his administration hired to cut trees, repair infrastructure and haul debris after Hurricane Sandy, but it sure does have a bad smell.
Last week New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sent subpoenas to seven county departments requesting documents related to storm debris and tree removal operations. In particular the attorney general wanted to see documents related to Looks Great Services, a landscaping and debris hauling contractor that was paid as much as $70 million for its role in the cleanup.
Kristian Agoglia, the president of Looks Great, gave $1,500 to Mangano’s campaign on Nov. 26, and then on Jan. 10 gave another $15,000 for a campaign golf outing. In early 2012, the company gave $10,745 to Mangano’s campaign. All told this company has donated at least $27,000 to the Mangano campaign.
According to an AP report, “in the 11 weeks following the storm, Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano reaped at least $144,000 in donations from companies his administration hired to cut trees, repair infrastructure and haul debris, according to … campaign finance and county records.”
When asked by a reporter whether the contributions created the appearance of impropriety, Mangano spokesperson Brian Nevin said such questions are “leading, offensive and we will not dignify them with a response.”
Are you kidding, Mr. Nevin? Your boss took in more than a hundred thousand dollars in campaign contributions from companies hired under emergency provisions after Hurricane Sandy, and you’re offended that a reporter has the nerve to ask about it?
Not every company hired for the cleanup that is now making campaign contributions is even from Long Island. The Debristech Company, located in Mississippi, has given $15,000 to Mangano’s campaign. This company was given a $1 million contract after Sandy.
Agoglia rejects the idea that he made his donations to Mangano’s campaign in order to curry favor with the administration. He said his company started as a lawn mowing service that he ran out of his parents’ Huntington garage.
In the wake of the storm Looks Great managed 18 subcontractors, eight of which were from out of state. Agoglia told the Wall Street Journal that his company is “clean as a whistle.” He and others believe that the attorney general is responding to complaints brought by trade unions unhappy that he brought in an army of 1,000 or more of non-union workers from out of state.
That may be so. With the island experiencing record unemployment at the time that Sandy struck, we can understand why the unions would be angry. We can also understand why the law allows the county to award no-bid contracts in an emergency situation.
But what stinks worse than Sandy sludge is the reality that Mangano and the GOP have reaped a windfall from this disaster.
We urge Mangano to return any funds that came from contractors hired to help with the cleanup. Better yet, these funds could be given to nonprofit organizations that continue to help the victims of Sandy.
