In March, the Orange County Legislature dismissed all seven members of its Industrial Development Agency when it learned that a criminal investigation was being conducted by the District Attorney”™s Office. On June 21, three of its former members pleaded guilty after a grand jury indictment against them was unsealed.
Former County Executive Edward Diana, 72, who held that office from 2003-2013 and most recently was town supervisor of Wallkill, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of offering a false instrument; Laurie Villasuso, 41, former IDA chief executive officer, and Vincent Cozzolino, the agency”™s former director, both pleaded guilty to a felony charge of corrupting government.
Cozzolino, 62, is president of Galileo Technology, a Kingston consulting firm that was employed by the Orange County IDA. At a press conference held at the Government Center in Goshen on June 22 after the plea deal was made public, Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler detailed a pattern of nondisclosed conflicts of interest the former IDA members engaged in and pointed to Cozzolino as the most culpable of the three.
Galileo Technology was made to appear as an independent contractor, even though Cozzolino was its CEO. In addition, Villasuso and Diana were on Galileo”™s payroll while they were on both the boards of the IDA and The Strategic Economic Consortium, Hoovler said. It was previously known as TSEC, or The Solar Energy Consortium.
“No theft of funds or missing money, but a pattern of nondisclosed conflicts of interest, where these individuals were self-dealing. They were making deals that benefited themselves while they were on a payroll (for Galileo Technology) and not exercising independence. They were cheating the taxpayers in this county. Contract language was so vague that Galileo could legally bill for the same services under multiple contracts,” continued Hoovler.
“We found contracts that Galileo had with the IDA that did not adequately describe its services, containing convoluted language to make it appear that Galileo was an independent contractor.”
He went on to fault the IDA”™s unnamed legal counsel, who accepted predrafted contracts with Galileo, allowing the company “to enrich itself several times over.” Hoovler noted the IDA attorney was “guilty of malpractice”¦. but bad lawyering is not a crime.”
However, enriching yourself through a public benefit corporation is a crime, and all three pleaded guilty to the charge. Cozzolino, Villasuso and Diana will appear in court in September for sentencing. Each will receive five years probation and pay restitution: $1 million for Cozzolino; $175,000 for Villasuso and $90,000 for Diana.
The district attorney commended the new IDA board for adopting the oversight policies its former members failed to initiate. Some members who were dismissed in March by the Orange County Legislature, said Hoovler, “were volunteers, and I do not believe they are bad people; but they did not exercise oversight over the IDA or its financials. They failed to seek outside verification or adopt an ethics policy.”
The New York State Comptroller”™s Office aided the county district attorney”™s office in its investigation. Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli attended the press conference, commending Hoovler and his staff for their investigation.
