REMEMBER THERE IS NO MONEY, THERE IS A SUPPOSE 10 MILLION SHORTFALL, MANY LAID OFF FOR THIS!

Islip official quits, two suspended in probeBY JENNIFER MALONEY

jennifer.maloney@newsday.com

10:53 PM EDT, May 4, 2009

Islip's deputy public works commissioner has resigned and two department managers have been suspended after, town officials say, they played golf and went on at least one boating excursion during work hours and used town-issued vehicles for the personal trips.

The latest actions follow by 35 days the resignation of their boss, public works commissioner Stephen Lapham, who admitted he had played golf on town time. Newsday had submitted a Freedom of Information request in February for the GPS records of town vehicles driven by the four men, and the town launched its own investigation.

The records show that on a work day in October, Joseph Boccio, the deputy public works commissioner, left his Huntington Station home at about 3:20 a.m. and arrived at 5:30 a.m. at a Montauk dock, where the car stayed for nearly 12 hours.

Islip Supervisor Phil Nolan said the suspended managers, fleet service manager Tom Martin and highway general supervisor John Hillenbrand, rode with Boccio on that trip. Five weeks ago, Boccio told Newsday the trip was for a demonstration of street sweeping equipment. Asked Monday, he said that meeting never happened.

"What I was doing, I really can't say," Boccio said. "I was not on any commercial fishing charter." Nolan said there is no direct evidence that the men went fishing, but "a reasonable person could certainly come to that conclusion."

Martin's attorney, Pamela Sandmeier of Sound Beach, said any claim her client had gone fishing that day was "hearsay."

On Sept. 24, another weekday, Boccio's car was parked in Freeport from 6:44 a.m. to 2:54 p.m., then driven to his home, the records show. Nolan said that Boccio, Martin and Hillenbrand went on a boat trip that day for public works managers sponsored by Bohemia-based Trius, Inc., an equipment supplier that does business with the town.

Robert Hamilton, executive vice president at Trius, confirmed Monday that his company had hosted the trip. He said Trius had cooperated with the investigation and had not been accused of any impropriety.

Nolan said no one in his office had given the three men authorization to attend. None took a vacation day for either trip, according to time sheets obtained by Newsday.

Boccio called the Freeport trip "an error in judgment."

Boccio, who previously worked for the municipal services contractor Dejana Industries with Lapham and Nolan, said, "I don't come from the municipal world. In the private sector, certain things - it's the way business operates."

Nolan noted that Boccio had been dedicated to his job, putting in dozens of extra unpaid hours during snowstorms.

Martin and Hillenbrand have been suspended without pay pending a disciplinary hearing, Nolan said. They have been charged, under civil service law, with misusing town vehicles and town time.

Records show that Martin drove a town vehicle to Southampton Golf Club on Oct. 22 and parked there for more than five hours. Martin told Newsday that he parked at the club and was picked up by a vendor, who took him to see a piece of municipal equipment.

Nolan said the town's investigation found that Hillenbrand had played golf on five occasions during work hours.

Hillenbrand did not respond to requests for comment Monday. Sandmeier said Martin had been "wrongfully suspended."

Nolan said he has appointed Rich Baker as acting public works commissioner.

"We'll be fine," Nolan said. "Nobody is irreplaceable."


THEN WHY, WHY, WHY, THIS:
Hillenbrand- WAS PAID FOR BEING OUT OF WORK FOR 17 WEEKS, $21,584.05. YOU GET FREE PAY , BENEFITS FOR STEALING FROM THE TOWN! HE RETURNED SEPT 28, FREE AND CLEAR AFTER 17 WEEKS OFF WITH PAY!

TOM MARTIN: HE IS STILL OUT COLLECTING PAY! SO FAR $32,500. HE HAS ONLY WORKED FOR THE TOWN 4 YEARS, ADMINISTRATION IS TRYING TO GET HIM TO 5 YEARS SO HE CAN RETIRE IN 5 WITH "BENEFITS FOR LIFE."
YES YOU GET REWARDED FOR STEALING TAX MONEY!

WHILE YOU HAVE WORKED OVER 20 YEARS AND LET GO WITH NOTHING!

O'LEARY- "CREATED" JOB- ABUSE OF TOWN VEHICLE AND TIME, REWARD $103,000, BENEFITS AND CAR!