Lupinacci Calls For Law Enforcement Investigation; Huntington Pols Rattled and Scrambling
By Maureen Daly
Huntington Councilwoman Brooke Lupinacci (R-Lloyd Harbor) has called on law enforcement to investigate the conflicts of interest and insider deals of the Town Board, after reports of two Huntington Officials enmeshed with a Melville real-estate fraudster accused of perpetuating a $50 million plus Ponzi land scheme.
“As a former Assistant District Attorney in Suffolk County who prosecuted white collar crimes, I believe the time has come for an independent investigation by law enforcement, in light of recent allegations published in news reports surrounding development projects,” stated Lupinacci in a press release.
“The outrage from the public has not gone unnoticed and the public trust and confidence in this Town Board’s governing actions must be restored," added Lupinacci. "I swore an oath to protect every resident in the Town of Huntington, and I intend to keep it.”
Documents first published by The Leader, show Councilman Sal Ferro (R-Commack) receiving a million dollar unsecured mortgage in 2023 from accused fraudster Gregory DeRosa of G2D Development - a direct financial relationship never disclosed to the public.
The scheme revolves around the Melville Apartment re-zone, which Ferro has filed before the Town Council, and DeRosa’s real estate properties, which would be inflated by hundreds of millions with the Ferro re-zone changes.
It also showed the dark underbelly of development projects in Huntington, as DeRosa’s lobbyist, Paul Tonna, wielded his leadership positions in government and his secret developer group “Energeia” to push for the Melville Apartment Re-Zone, and other projects for decades.
While the public has praised Lupinacci’s bold commitment to fighting corruption, several elected officials with ties to DeRosa have sought to “sweep” the allegations under the rug.
Supervisor Ed Smyth (R-Lloyd Harbor) dismissed the corruption allegations and documents as “much ado about nothing.”
Yet since The Leader broke the story, this paper has received credible, first-hand accounts from land owners that met privately with DeRosa in October 2023. DeRosa pitched building apartments on their property and bragged that he already “secured” the votes of Smyth and Ferro to push through any re-zone for that project.
Smyth was also deeply involved in the re-zone for DeRosa of the Spring Street Condos development.
Former Councilwoman Joan Cergol (D-Halesite) took to Facebook to criticize Lupinacci for going to law enforcement, and not the Town's politically-controlled “Town Ethics Board” - where the complaint surely would have died.
Cergol was the Director of the Town’s Community Development Agency during the "Gateway Giveaway," where the Town of Huntington "essentially gifted a multi-million-dollar piece of commercial real estate" to DeRosa to construct the 65-unit "Gateway Plaza" apartment complex at 1000 New York Avenue.
Cergol is also a member of Tonna’s “Energeia” developer group, enlisting in 2016 during the “Gateway Giveaway.”
Interestingly, a few days after The Leader first reported the Ferro-Tonna story, former Councilman Marc Cuthbertson (D-Northport) was quietly replaced as Huntington Democratic Party Chair by Jill Kaufman.
While serving as a Town Councilman, Cuthbertson pushed for DeRosa’s development projects and tried to push high-density apartments into Melville in 2015 and 2021.
Cuthbertson is one of the earliest documented members of Tonna’s “Energeia” group, joining in 2007, even before DeRosa in 2009, and Ferro in 2018. Tonna founded “Energeia” in 2005.
According to documents filed with the Nassau County IDA, Cuthbertson was DeRosa’s paid attorney on DeRosa's land deals in 2017, while serving on the Town Council.
Cuthbertson is also Ferro’s attorney. Ferro replaced Cuthbertson on the Huntington Town Board in 2022.