District Attorney Spota says Bellone’s accusations baseless; designed to block campaign probe
County Executive Bellone “Tom Spota you must resign from this office”
County Executive Beeline at DA office calling for DA Spota to resignSuffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota today called County Executive Steven Bellone’s allegations of impropriety and misconduct in the DA’s office “baseless” and nothing but a vendetta in retaliation for refusing Bellone’s efforts to stop criminal investigations of the County Executive’s best friend and former campaign treasurer, and former senior Bellone administration official Donald Rodgers of Centereach who pleaded guilty 22 months ago to official misconduct and filing a false instrument charges.
“I have never said it before, but I’ll say it now. The County Executive has made and did make in the past, multiple personal pleas to me in the presence of other prosecutors, not to investigate or prosecute people that he was close to,” District Attorney Spota said.
“He asked me not to charge his IT commissioner Donald Rogers. He begged me not to charge him, as a matter of fact, even though I showed him, and I explained to him, that Rodgers had falsified documents with respect to a failed contract,” DA Spota said.
The investigation into Donald Rogers was opened in November 2013 in response to information sent to the district attorney’s office by whistleblowers in the Suffolk County Information Technology department, a fact that DA Spota said did not deter the County Executive.
“Bellone had absolutely no concern for the evidence or the fact that Rodgers had committed a crime. And I did prosecute Rodgers. And he did plead guilty,” said Spota.
The District Attorney further explained Bellone again attempted to intercede on behalf of his childhood friend Robert Stricoff of Babylon, asking the DA to discontinue the ongoing investigation of the County Executive’s former campaign treasurer.
“Again, I refused,” DA Spota said. “I told the County Executive it was my obligation to continue the investigation and I even commissioned and paid for an independent auditing firm to review all of the records, and based upon their recommendation, I sent everything to the chief law enforcement counsel for the State Board of Elections for review. I also sent other documents, too, to the state Board of Elections, and Mr. Bellone knows what they are…”
The District Attorney said Bellone’s accusations stem from the County Executive’s wish “that perhaps he thinks that perhaps another prosecutor will do what he wants and choose to look the other way”
“And that’s why he stood on the steps outside and said outrageous things…that 190 prosecutors, cops, and support staff are all a part of a “culture of corruption”. It’s outrageous and it’s false,” said Spota.
Responding to a reporter’s question about Bellone’s claim that he’s asked the governor for assistance, District Attorney Spota said, “If the governor chooses to question me or members of my staff, everybody will be available.”