The TIMES of Middle Country

Serving Centereach • Selden • Northern Lake Grove

Volume 4, No. 41 January 29, 2009 75¢

Networking across generations

Courtesy Syntax Communication
A new intergenerational program, Computer Connections, pairs up members of the Middle Country Public Library’s Teen Advisory Council with seniors for one-on-one computer tutoring
on Saturdays at the Selden branch. This season teens are illustrating computer basics and how to use an email account. The program will also be available March 7 and 14. Interested
seniors can apply at either MCPL branch or call 585-9393. Above, Angela Basso learns how to open an attachment in her email with the help of Chin Chu Kim.

Justice for violators

Supervisor hopeful calls for
Supervisor
town community court showdown
Story, Page A5 A2
Sewers by Uncle Sam?
County asks feds for $746M
for 19 wastewater projects
Story, Page A7 Photo by Kelly Campbell

Win wrenched ‘My Fair

from Newfield Ladies’
wrestlers comes to LI
Lose four final matches Also, infrared photos,
to fall to Smithtown East 32-22 ‘Hansel and Gretel,’
Sports, Business directions,
SBU Sports
Page A13
Page B1

Where the North Shore clicks: www.northshoreoflongisland.com

PAGE A2 • THE TIMES OF MIDDLE COUNTRY • January 29, 2009
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Supervisor contenders
square off in Selden
BY KELLY CAMPBELL
mctimes@tbrnewspapers.com
Brookhaven voters packed the Middle
Country Public Library in Selden Monday
night as they came to size up the two can-
didates competing to replace Brian Foley
as town supervisor.
A special election necessitated by now-
state Senator Foley’s departure to Albany is
scheduled for March 31. Town voters will
decide whether he is replaced by Council-
man Tim Mazzei (R-Blue Point), the lead-
er of the Republican Town Board majority,
or Democrat Mark Lesko, a federal attor-
ney until his resignation three weeks ago
to run for supervisor.
Questions by the audience drove the
discussion. Initially, the candidates found Photos by Kelly Campbell
themselves sparring over the town’s em- Attorney Mark Lesko (D), above, and
barrassing nickname, Crookhaven. Councilman Tim Mazzei (R) are candidates for
“It is a term for the culture of cor-
ruption that has existed in the Town of
town supervisor.
Brookhaven and no one who lives here can
say it has not been corrupt,” Lesko said.
“The town still has a culture of corruption
that needs to be rooted out. I’ve done that
in my career as a prosecutor and I will do
it as town supervisor.”
Mazzei denied that a culture of corrup-
tion exists in the town. “No one’s palms
are getting greased in Brookhaven,” he
said. “If a project is good, it will get done.
If it’s not, it won’t.”
The candidates were also questioned
about the balance between preservation
of open space and the need for responsible
development.
Mazzei touted his participation in the
$100 million land-preservation bond plan,
which Brookhaven residents agreed to in a
2005 referendum. federal prosecutors on Long Island.
However, the fund is nearing exhaus- “One task force had over 100 NYPD
tion, he said. “This town is going to get detectives, and if you think it’s easy to
built out within the next 10 years. Now manage 100 NYPD detectives, you’d be
is the time to buy,” Mazzei said. “Unfor-
tunately with less funds coming in from
the transfer tax and the mortgage tax,
we’re not getting as much as we had been
wrong,” he said. “That was an experience
in itself. But that’s the type of experience
I bring to bear as a leader in the Town of
Brookhaven.”
Mazzei acknowledged not having as
in prior years to do that, but it is certainly
something the whole board has voted for much supervisory experience as Lesko
and I’m sure will continue to do so.” described, but did point to his role as bu-
Brookhaven included another $10 reau chief of the Suffolk County District
million for land preservation in the 2009 Attorney’s homicide division. He added
capital budget, Lesko pointed out, but the that, in any case, he thought a business
board has offered no indication of where background was more appropriate for the
and when it would be spent. town supervisor position.
“I would ask, ‘What are we planning to “I’m a small businessman,” Mazzei said.
do with it?’” Lesko said. “We need to get “I had my law practice and ran another
about the business of focusing on those business in the Town of Brookhaven. You
Day! have to understand how to run a business
historical and open spaces and start pre-
and understand that you have to pay the
serving that land.”
©84458
Mazzei noted that the $10 million had secretary; you have to pay the light bill and
not yet been spent as it was only recently the water bill. If you don’t understand that,
bonded. “But we have a laundry list” of an- you will have difficulty running the Town
ticipated open-space purchases, he said. of Brookhaven.”
Lesko countered, “Folks should know In closing, Mazzei said that he stands
what’s on the list.” on his record as a town councilman since
That would not facilitate paying the 2003.
“I have a record,” Mazzei said. “You
lowest costs for properties, Mazzei re-
sponded. “With all due respect, if every- may like it or you may not but I do have
one knew the laundry list, the price would
go up,” he said. Lesko disagreed, saying
a record. I am very proud of the things we
have done in a bipartisan fashion. We’ve ac-
Se Habla
Español
such price escalation was unlikely in the
current depressed housing market,
complished a lot and brought up our parks
and done a lot of other good things.”
Given the supervisor’s role as town chief Lesko said the election offers voters “a
executive officer, residents also questioned choice between a town board which has
the candidates’ administrative experience. not been fiscally responsible and a super-
Lesko said that in the second half of his visor who will bring a Steve Levy model of
decade-long career with the U.S. Depart- fiscal responsibility to the town board.”
ment of Justice, first as an assistant U.S. “If you think the town has been run in
attorney in D.C. and then for the Eastern a bipartisan fashion and work got done on
District of New York, he supervised all the Continued on page A9

Schools may see $4M boost
BY JOE DARROW
joedarrow@tbrnewspapers.com
The Middle Country Central School District
would receive federal aid amounting to almost $4
million over two years under an economic recov-
ery bill introduced in the House of Representatives
Jan. 22.
Should the measure become law, in 2009 Mid-
dle Country schools would receive a total federal
aid boost of $2.3 million, with $1.7 million more
coming in 2010.
The education stimulus money is intended to
fund services for low-income students and those
with disabilities, as well as to repair and modernize
learning facilities, according to a Thursday release
from the office of Rep. Tim Bishop (D-Southamp-
ton). The funding would offer students “technologi-
cally updated, energy-efficient, 21st-century class-
rooms to learn in” and create “good construction
jobs for local workers,” the Bishop release stated.
“With our financial outlook worsening by the
day, bold and strategic investments are needed to
jump-start our economy,” Bishop said.
“This funding will provide a double benefit for
Long Island: First, it will ensure that our students
are learning in the best schools possible; and sec-
ond, it will both protect and produce much-needed
jobs on the Island,” he added.
“Improving the quality of education is one of
the best ways to drive long-term growth and com-
petitiveness,” the congressman said.
LIE car fire claims three lives
A car fire claimed the lives of a Selden man and his
two children in the early hours of Monday morning.
At about 1 am, Suffolk police and deputy sheriffs
responded to reports of a car fire on the side of the
eastbound Long Island Expressway just east of exit 56
in Hauppauge.
They found a 1995 Jeep fully engulfed in flames,
according to police. Despite heroic efforts by pass-
ersby, including a truck driver and an off-duty New
York City police officer, the responders were unable
to rescue the occupants.
After the flames were extinguished by the Cen-
tral Islip Fire Department, police located the bodies
of Arthur Reece, 44, of Selden, his 5-year-old stepson
Delano Anderson and his 10-month-old daughter
Larissa within the vehicle.
The investigation is continuing, police said.
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BNL gets OK for synchrotron
Construction of $912M device would start in ’09 if fed $$ materializes
Brookhaven National Labora-
tory in Upton announced Monday
the U.S. Department of Energy has
approved the construction start for
the state-of-the-art National Syn-
chrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II)
at BNL.
The DOE has granted “Criti-
cal Decision 3” (CD-3) status to
the NSLS-II, approving the start
of construction in fiscal year 2009
and scheduling completion in 2015.
DOE has approved a total project
cost for NSLS-II of $912 million.
“NSLS-II is the largest capi-
tal project under construction at
any of the 10 national laboratories
throughout the country that are
owned by the Department of Ener-
gy’s Office of Science,” said DOE’s
Brookhaven site office manager
Mike Holland. “Th is represents a
major investment by the Depart-
ment of Energy in Brookhaven Na-
tional Laboratory and ensures the
scientific vitality of Brookhaven,
one of the nation’s premier research
laboratories, for at least 25 years
into the future.”
NSLS-II will be a medium-en-
ergy storage ring with a unique de-
sign that will deliver world-leading
brightness and flux and exception-
al beam stability. The machine will
be the newest member of a suite of
advanced light sources and neutron
facilities operated by DOE’s Office
of Science that are used by more
than 9,000 researchers annually.
The NSLS-II will advance explo-
ration of the scientific challenges
faced in developing new materials
with advanced properties, enabling
their study, particularly at the na-
noscale, at a level of detail and pre-
cision never before possible.
“NSLS-II will provide the
world’s finest capabilities for x-
ray imaging, with unprecedented
631–879–3939 by appointment only
spatial and energy resolution and
the ability to detect single atoms,”
said Steven Dierker, associate lab-
oratory director for light sources.
“It will provide advanced tools
for discovery-class science in con-
densed matter and materials phys-
ics, chemistry, and biology — sci-
ence that ultimately will enhance
national and energy security and
help drive abundant, safe, and
clean energy technologies.”
The scientific advances result-
ing from research at the new facil-
ity will support technological and
economic development in multiple
sectors of the economy, from next-
generation energy technologies to
new drugs for fighting disease, Di-
erker said.
CD-3 is the fourth of five criti-
cal decisions that the project will
need to achieve in order to progress
through the successively more de-
tailed stages of conceptual design,
preliminary design, fi nal design,
construction, and then operations.
A CD-3 approves the start of con-
struction and signifies that a fi nal
to all my loyal
customers of
many years!
January 29, 2009 • THE TIMES OF MIDDLE COUNTRY • PAGE A3
Rendering courtesy of BNL
design review has been performed,
that all environmental and safety
criteria have been met, all security
concerns addressed and the proj-
ect is ready to begin construction.
CD-3 authorizes the project to
commit all the resources necessary
to execute the project, within the
funds provided. CD-2, approving
the facility’s performance base-
line, was announced in December
2007, and CD-1, siting the facility
at DOE’s Brookhaven and approv-
ing its cost range, was announced
in July 2007.
NSLS-II will replace the exist-
ing NSLS, which began operations
in 1982. NSLS provides essential
scientific tools for 2,300 scientists
each year from more than 400 aca-
demic, industrial and government
institutions.
The NSLS-II is funded by the
Department of Energy’s Office of
Basic Energy Sciences under the
Office of Science.
For more information about the
NSLS-II project, visit www.bnl.
gov/nsls2.
For the man who takes
pride in his appearance.
PAGE A4 • THE TIMES OF MIDDLE COUNTRY • January 29, 2009

H Gymnastics At Its Best At...H Suspicions raised by

EASTERN GYMNASTICS Sherlock in sweat pants
H CENTER H H BY JIM LAINO
mctimes@tbrnewspapers.com
Jan. 20 on Continental Drive in Cen-
tereach reported observing an un-
32 SOUTHERN BLVD., NESCONSET, N.Y. 11767 A resident of Cedarhurst Road in known male sitting in her father-in-
Selden at 2 pm Jan. 16 said an unknown law’s vehicle, possibly trying to steal
Between Route 347 & Jericho Tpke.,
H pair of males, one white and one black, something, she said. The complainant
1 mile west of Smithhaven Mall came to his house and identified them- said the subject f led upon noticing
selves as police detectives. The com- the complainant; she did not know if
plainant said the men began asking anything was taken from the car. The
questions about a prior occupant of the police dispatched several officers,
REGISTER TODAY! house and his suspicions were raised
“because one of the detectives was
including a K-9 unit, to canvass the
area, but found nothing.
wearing sweat pants,” clothing he said Theft
18 Months to 2-1/2 Years seemed unusual for a A resident of Ru-
One – 45 minute class per week H detective. land Road in Selden
Assault at 6 am Jan. 22 said
Morning/Afternoon & Saturday classes available A female com- an unknown person
plainant at 12:15 am burglarized her home
H
3 Years to 6 Years H Jan. 23 said she was
assaulted at a location
sometime over the
previous three hours.
1 hour class per week H near the Lake Grove A resident of Ellen
Morning/Afternoon & Saturday classes available School on Moriches Court in Lake Grove
Road. at 3:20 pm Jan. 21
Police reported at noon Jan. 12 that said her home had been burglarized by
7 Years & Up
90 minute class per week
H H one hour earlier an assault took place at a
school on Wood Road in Centereach. Ac-
an unknown person.
A male complainant at 6:35 pm Jan.
After school & Saturday classes available H cording to police reports, an 18-year-old
male was assaulted by another student.
21 said he was the victim of a strong-
arm robbery. According to the com-
A resident of Fulton Street in Lake plainant, two unknown black males
Grove at 10:30 pm Jan. 19 said his tenant accosted him in the parking lot of the
“went berserk and assaulted him.” The Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove and
New Semester Begins complainant refused medical assistance. robbed him after threatening to hit
Vandalism him with a brandished crowbar.
H
1/31/09 A resident of East Court in Cen- A male complainant at 5:35 pm Jan.
H tereach at 4:15 am Jan. 24 reported a
case of vandalism to his property. Ac-
18 said armed assailants stole his vehi-
cle, and in the course of the robbery his
REGISTER NOW! cording to the complainant, a group of
youths ran through his fence, damag-
arm was injured.
Police information
ing it in the process, before climbing A resident of Walnut Street in Cen-
REGISTRATION HOURS: into an unknown vehicle and fleeing tereach at 4:37 pm Jan. 16 said he had
H Monday – Friday H
the area.
Disturbance
lent his laptop computer to his ex-girl-
friend, but when he contacted her and
H
4:30pm – 8:30pm Police received a call at 1:35 pm Jan.
13 from security personnel at a store
requested it returned she refused, say-
ing it was a gift. Officers advised the
Saturday within Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove
requesting police assistance with an
complainant to pursue his complaint
in civil court.
H 9:15 – 12:15 H adult male in store custody. The com-
plainant said the subject was in hand-
Cat fight collateral damage
A resident of Picket Lane in Cen-
All Classes Still Available cuffs but was being uncooperative.
A proprietor of a convenience store
tereach at 8:26 pm Jan. 21 said her pet
cat was fighting with a neighborhood
on Middle Country Road in Selden at stray cat and when the complainant
6 pm Jan. 19 said a known male sub- intervened, her cat leapt onto her and
ject has repeatedly asked his customers seriously scratched her face and the top
28 years of teaching children to buy him cigars, as the subject lacks
required identification. The would-be
of her head, she said. Centereach emer-
gency responders transported the in-
gymnastics. puffer was gone upon police arrival.
A female complainant at 7 am
jured complainant to Mather Hospital
for treatment.

We take pride in our staff! Inside this week

Director – Bob Whitney News
N.Y. State Certified H Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A15
Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A14
Obituaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A11
People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A11
Phys. Ed Teacher Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A14 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A12-A13
N.Y. State Director for
USA Gymnastics H Leisure Arts & Lifestyles
H Art Exhibits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B2 Father Frank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B29
Ask the Veterinarian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B3 Health. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B2-B13
Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B32 Investing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B27
H H Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B24-B27 Kids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B29-B32
H Cooking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B22
Dining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B19
Religious Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . B28-B29
SBU Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B33-B35
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©84450

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Supervisor hopeful calls for community court
Separate forum would speed up Brookhaven enforcement of quality-of-life grievances, Lesko says
BY KAREN FORMAN
mctimes@tbrnewspapers.com
Oneida Avenue in Selden
looks like many other streets
in a quiet Brookhaven neigh-
borhood, until a visitor notices
a house with piles of building
materials stacked out to the
roadway. An adjacent house
— at least it looks as if it was
a house decades ago — leans
to one side, is partially board-
ed up, has no front door and
looks as if it will blow down in
a stiff wind.
Judy Clendenning, who
lives across the street, said the
bricks have been there for about
18 months. With this winter’s
snow and ice, she said she’s
afraid that when backing out of
her driveway onto the narrow
street, her car may slide into the
bricks. Meanwhile, she said area
youths have hung out, smoking
and drinking, in the next-door
abandoned shack throughout
the 22 years she’s lived on the
block. She’s called the police,
but they’ve never come, Clen-
denning added.
Both structures violate town
building code and have done
so for many years, according
to town officials. Democratic
candidate for supervisor Mark
Lesko, a former federal prose-
Town code violations, such as these curbside brick piles and abandoned shack on Oneida Avenue in Selden, have
gone unaddressed for years. A Brookhaven community court would speed up their removal, advocates say.
cutor, highlighted the situation
at a Monday press conference,
vowing to address community
eyesores if elected on March 31.
“These are some of the worst
offenders in the town and the
town is doing nothing to stop
this,” Lesko said. “When I
am elected supervisor, I will
change this.”
The candidate called for
the creation of a “commu-
nity court,” an idea borrowed
from Babylon Town Supervi-
sor Steve Bellone, who fought
New York State to establish
the first such court in subur-
ban New York in 2004.
The plan aims to expedite
the resolution of code viola-
tions like those on Oneida Av-
enue, while providing more
funding for town enforcement
efforts. The community court
“would handle all quality-of-
life cases, both criminal and
civil, brought by the town,” ac-
cording to a Lesko release. As a
result, complaints would bypass
overloaded county courts and
so be resolved faster, generating
more revenue through fines, to
cover the costs of broader town
code enforcement.
Photo by Karen Forman
The Babylon court has seen
a lot of use, handling 200 to
300 cases a week, according to
Bellone. And since the court’s
inception, town revenue from
fines has increased from about
$60,000 annually to over
$500,000 last year, the Babylon
supervisor said.
The court allows residents
to be heard on quality-of-life
grievances that “are not taken
seriously by the district court,”
Bellone said. “And these serial
code offenders and slumlords
don’t take this seriously either
— they pay their fines and go
January 29, 2009 • THE TIMES OF MIDDLE COUNTRY • PAGE A5
about their business. You have
to hit them in the pocketbook.
In Babylon Community Court,
at the end of the day, you must
comply with the law and be
a responsible member of the
community.”
Bellone added that if the
rundown Selden properties
were in Babylon, the town
would remove the bricks if the
owner still failed to do so af-
ter five days’ notice, while his
town would demolish the aban-
doned, deteriorating home after
20 days of inactivity.
Brookhaven’s delay in ad-
dressing the Oneida properties’
violations highlights the need
for a community court to speed
up the process, said Town Coun-
cilman Steve Fiore-Rosenfeld
(D-East Setauket).
“Oftentimes district court
gets tied up in delays,” he added.
“We need to expedite the peo-
ple’s business to keep communi-
ties whole. People are suffering
here. Justice delayed is justice
denied.”
Suffolk County Legislator
Brian Beedenbender (D-Cen-
tereach), who said he “grew up
down the road” from the Onei-
da site, said the residents of
Centereach and Selden “work
Continued on page A9
83934
PAGE A6 • THE TIMES OF MIDDLE COUNTRY • January 29, 2009

Can a University be Big and Small at the Same Time?

Stony Brook is red hot. And when you think about it, our leaps-and-bounds route
to success is even more stunning when you realize we did it all in just 50 years.
(As a matter of fact, some of this year’s graduates are older than the University
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boasts woodlands as wild and glorious as when America was discovered,
contrasting with our daring architecture and lush, manicured grounds.

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(And that’s big!)

THE TOP 50!

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THE TOP 100!

That’s Stony Brook’s rating among all universities in North America.
(And that’s big!)
Ranking; The Center for Measuring University Performance; U.S.News & World Report
2008 rankings, top to bottom: London Times Higher Education—QS World University

$4,970!
OUT OF STATE: $12,870
That’s Stony Brook’s tuition.
(And that’s small!)

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Stony Brook University/SUNY is an affirmative action, equal opportunity educator and employer. 0810055

76219

Task force wants $746M to treat its dirty water
County submits its sewer upgrade ambitions for inclusion in federal stimulus spending
BY ARLENE GROSS
arlenegross@tbrnewspapers.com
Hoping to cash in on some of the pro-
posed $775 billion federal stimulus pack-
age which Congress hopes to have on
President Barack Obama’s desk by Thurs-
day, Feb. 12, the Suffolk County Wastewa-
ter Task Force has announced 19 sewer-
related projects, nine of which would be
ready for immediate implementation.
The projects, which total $746 million,
are projected to create 36,242 jobs and
bring $4.7 billion into the local economy.
Task force member Tom Kehoe said the
project list is the culmination of a year’s
worth of meetings. “These projects were
ready long before there was any talk of an
economic stimulus package,” he said. “It
just so happens these projects are ready now
and the [president] is talking about making
money available for shovel-ready projects.”
Brendan Stanton, the spokesman for
Task Force chairman Legislator Wayne
Horsley (D-Babylon), said all four con-
gressional delegates, Sens. Chuck Schum-
er and Hillary Clinton, and Reps. Steve
Israel and Tim Bishop, asked that the task
force send the list to their offices.
Among the task force’s nine top prior-
ity projects are to:
• Expand Huntington sewer district:
Increase capacity and prevent leakage and
infiltration of unwanted particles. Capacity
would increase by 100,000 gallons per day,
which translates to business and workforce
housing development and environmental
improvement. Total cost: $1.55 million.
• Upgrade Northport sewage plant:
Previously upgraded in 2005, the plant
January 29, 2009 • THE TIMES OF MIDDLE COUNTRY • PAGE A7
must be improved upon to meet the 2014
permit limit related to the Long Island
Sound Plan. Total cost: $7 million.
• Upgrade Port Jefferson pumping
station: Also connect parts of the village
and adjacent areas to the recently rebuilt
and expanded Suffolk County Sewer Dis-
trict No. 1 Wastewater Treatment Facility.
Total cost of $25 million, would include
engineering design, environmental ap-
provals and construction management.
• Follow feasibility study for
Smithtown/Kings Park: Recommen-
dations include installation of alternate
sewer systems and numerous pumping
stations, requiring acquisition of land for-
merly occupied by the Kings Park Psychi-
atric Center. Total cost: $40 million. File photo
One of the ten projects in the preplan- County officials hope federal stimulus spending means a boost for much-discussed Suffolk
ning stages includes installation of con- wastewater treatment expansions efforts.
ventional or alternate sewer systems and
acquisition of land for recharge in Rocky for it.” “These are real needs to solve real prob-
Point. The total cost, estimated at $60 Last year, state Sen. Carl Marcellino lems with real impacts,” she added. “Our
million, includes planning, design, envi- (R-Syosset) appropriated $500,000 as par- sewage treatment plants are important
ronmental approvals, inspection and con- tial funding for Northport’s $3 million for protecting our environment, protect-
struction management. project to replace the sewer lines that run ing public health and allowing our local
Part of Kehoe’s work involved ap- into the harbor and pump station. economies to grow.”
proaching Sens. Chuck Schumer and Hill- Adrienne Esposito, co-chair of the task Right now the treatment plants are dis-
ary Clinton and Rep. Israel for funding, force’s education and public relations com- charging into either the bays or ground-
only to learn there was none. mittee and executive director of Citizen’s water, with the exception of the Bergen
“We had projects ready and chose not to Campaign for the Environment, reported Point facility, which discharges into the
raise taxes or even bond for some of them the disparity between the state’s overall ocean, she said.
right away,” he said. These 19 projects were needs and proposed funding. “The number “The bottom line ... is that this is old, an-
included in Suffolk County’s overall re- is not set yet. To us, wastewater treatment tiquated infrastructure ... in desperate need
quests for wastewater projects, Kehoe said. needs in New York State alone are $36 bil- of upgrading, and the federal government’s
“We’ve got the same requests moving for- lion. ... If they’re only putting somewhere not paying enough attention to it. Roads
ward in Washington and also in Albany on between $6 billion and $12 billion for all are more visible, so they’re getting more
a couple of different levels. So we’re pretty the states, they’ve clearly undervalued the attention, but the sewage treatment plants
confident that we’re going to get funded importance of wastewater infrastructure.” are very vulnerable and very old.”
84076
PAGE A8 • THE TIMES OF MIDDLE COUNTRY • January 29, 2009
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Babylon Town Supervisor Steve Bellone, at the podium, touted the benefits of a community
court. He was accompanied by Brookhaven Councilman Steve Fiore-Rosenfeld, far left,
Democratic supervisor candidate Mark Lesko and county Legislator Brian Beedenbender,
right, at a Selden press conference Monday.
Supervisor race
Continued from page A2
the citizens’ behalf, then ... vote for Coun-
cilman Mazzei,” he added. “But if you
think what was going on in Town Hall
was bickering and flat-out nonsense that
led me to run for this, and we need some-
one to get in there and change things and
get about the business of solving problems
that plague our town, then I urge you to
vote for me.”
Community court
Continued from page A5
hard every day and want to be proud of
where they live.”
“They shouldn’t have to live next
door to an eyesore like this,” Beeden-
bender said. “Homes like these lead to a
downgrade of the neighborhood.” The
legislator added that constituents had
complained about the Selden homes’ vio-
lations last July, whereupon he wrote to
the town, demanding action. The town
has cited violations on the properties, but
no penalties have been enforced, accord-
ing to Beedenbender.
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Sports Authority... Footlocker

NO COMPETITION!!!
Centereach civic, school to
We beat their price/service/selection
You can buy sneakers anywhere, but there’s only one place that you can get the
launch junior association
“2nd Wind Experience”. Only our staff of The next general meeting of the help the students achieve their com-
athletes have the knowledge to put you in Centereach Civic Association will be munity service points. I encourage ev-
the right shoe for your foot, your activity, held tonight, Jan. 29, at 7:30 pm at the eryone to think about how we can in-
your budget. Middle Country Public Library on corporate our youth in more ways than
GT 2130 Eastwood Boulevard. just asking them to clean up a street.
For Men, We have a very busy agenda for this Finally, board member Joe Rizzolo
Women & coming meeting — you is going to talk brief-
Children do not want to miss ly about our Middle
it. One of our mem- Country Booster Club:
bers, Vinny Zecca, will the good that it does
be discussing paying for the student athletes
down debt, late pay- as well as the help it is
©80997 ments, handling collec- seeking.
751-5534 1371 Rte. 25A, E. Setauket, NY (King Kullen Shopping Center) tion calls and provid-
ing various literature
The fundraiser that
was held at Mulcahy’s
to the same. Zecca has Pub in Wantaugh in
been in collections for honor of fallen soldier
over 30 years and will U.S. Army Staff Sgt.
share the information James McNaughton of
he has gleaned over the Centereach was again a
decades. great success. I believe
Also on the agenda, the amount of people
board member Julia BY DIANE CAUDULLO who attended was
Wilson has reached out PRESIDENT around between 750
to Principal Tom Bell of CENTEREACH CIVIC ASSOC. and 800.
Centereach High School Zecca can tell us
and has initiated the more at the January
start of a junior civic meeting because it is
association. Principal Bell, along with his son, Vinny, who puts the event
a select few of his students, will join us together in the memory of his friend
to see how we can incorporate them McNaughton.
into what we do — in essence, training Congratulations to you, Vinny, for
our future community leaders. Con- honoring your friend so successfully.
versely, we will also examine how we Thank you, also, for allowing half of
can help them in their endeavors. the raised funds to go to our Cente-
I think the concept of a junior civic reach High School students by way of
association is a great one. It will also scholarships.

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 January 29, 2009 • THE TIMES OF MIDDLE COUNTRY • PAGE A11
PEOPLE

Photo courtesy MCPL

Strengthening the Family Safety Net

Dr. Esther Kogan, Early Childhood Education Program director at Adelphi University, recently presented

Hommel-Malangone
“Strengthening the Family Safety Net by Improving Self-Esteem and the Empowerment of Women and
Mothers,” part of the Allstate Readiness series, at the Middle Country Public Library. Th is was the third of
three Distinguished Speakers series of 2008-09. In her presentation, Dr. Kogan showed those in attendance
how empowering women and mothers, by giving them the self-esteem they need, will make them better
engagement
advocates for their children. As a result, these women will be able to get the resources their children need to Lori and Don Hommel of Setauket are proud
reach their full potential. to announce the engagement of their daughter,
Pictured from left: Jeff Freund, Allstate Foundation representative; Dr. Esther Kogan; and Kathy Ashleigh, to Paul Malangone.
Deerr, national coordinator for Family Place Libraries, MCPL. Ashleigh is a graduate of Ward Melville High
School and Boston University. Paul, son of Meg
and the late Dr. John Malangone of Lake Grove,
SUNY at New Paltz awards December undergraduate degrees is a graduate of St. Anthony’s High School and
The following local residents are among more than Maleh of Centereach received a bachelor’s degree in Wesleyan University. He will graduate from St.
700 students who recently received undergraduate adolescence ed: Spanish. John’s Law School in June 2009.
degrees from the State University of New York at New The college recognized students who completed The couple is planning a summer 2010 wedding.
Paltz: their undergraduate degrees in August and Decem-
Patrick Furey of Selden received a bachelor’s degree ber 2008 at commence-
in visual arts education, Javier Lopez of Selden received ment ceremonies on
a bachelor’s degree in communication media, Victoria Dec. 19 and 20. Send information for the People page to: vtimes@tbrnewspapers.com.

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PAGE A12 • THE TIMES OF MIDDLE COUNTRY • January 29, 2009

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Mike Dixon won the 600-meter race for Middle Country with a time of 1:25.54.
New Location
529 Lake Avenue Newfield wrestling “With them in there was a good chance
that the score would have been different.”
Continued from page A13 Newfield concludes their regular season
St. James, NY 11780 over Tom Fenster at 112 pounds with a this weekend with a match against Middle
(Across from the St. James Train Station)
dynamic take down and near fall in the Country rival Centereach on Jan. 30 and a
631.941.0100 second round to win 10-2. The climax to
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tournament at Sachem East on Saturday.

Your Local Travel Agent where Dylan Clay pinned Newfield’s Jesse
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Earlier in the match Newfield had ral-
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MC winter track
Continued from page A13
4x200-meter teams managed to put some
points on the board. The 4x800-meter
quartet was a sixth place finisher with a
time of 11:26.10 while the 4x200-meter
squad was fifth with a time of 1:56.61.
Some solid performances included
junior Amanda Bense who finished
eighth place in the 1,000-meter run
(3:29.38); freshman Jessica Balthazar
who took 14th place in the 1,500-meter
run (5:58.43); junior Amanda Resgen-
burger who came in eighth place in the
300-meter run (45.67) and junior Caitlin
Vaughan who took eighth in the 1,500-

Andrea Horn, Travel Consultant absence of Nick Jones and John Randaso. meter race/walk (9:4957).
 January 29, 2009 • THE TIMES OF MIDDLE COUNTRY • PAGE A13
SPORTS
Boys can’t defend title,
but finish a solid second
Girls’ team struggles in competition
TRACK
BY ROBERT LEUNER with a time of 1:31.32. The Middle Country
katsports@tbrnewspapers.com 4x800-relay team consisting of Dixon, ju-
The Middle Country boys’ winter track nior Steven Galvao, Cange and senior Nick
team didn’t defend their League I champi- Destefano took first place honors with a
onship title, but did take a strong second winning time of 8:48.95, nearly 17 seconds
place finish in Saturday’s League I champi- ahead of runner up Longwood.
onship meet held at Suffolk County Com- Other Middle Country competitors
munity College in Brentwood. Longwood scoring points included Galvao who placed
finished in first place with a whopping 124 sixth in the 1,600-meter run; senior An-
points followed by Mid- drew Dauernheim who
dle Country with 67 took third in the 300-
points and Brentwood
‘I was hoping that we meter run with a time
with 57 points. Com- would be able to defend of 38.52; sophomore
mack came in fourth our title, but a lot of our Justin Lewis who fin-
and Sachem East took ished fourth in the shot
fifth place. guys were either out sick put with a toss of 41-09;
“I was hoping that or injured. We just didn’t sophomore Corey Mor-
we would be able to de- rison who was fifth in
fend our title, but a lot have as much depth as the triple jump at 37-09;
of our guys were either we did last year.’ and the Middle Coun-
out sick or injured,” said — MIDDLE COUNTRY COACH try 4x400-meter relay
Middle Country head MIKE SOTO team consisting of Lew-
coach Mike Soto. “We is, Dauernheim, sopho-
just didn’t have as much more Scott Cohen and
depth as we did last year.” sophomore Mike Rupolo who finished in
Middle Country was paced by senior sixth place with a time of 3:56.35.
Miles Lewis who won the 55-meter dash Lewis will get to tune up for next
with a time of 6.59. Senior Ian Haney was weekend’s Suffolk County champion-
fifth with a time of 7.10. Lewis also won the ship meet this Friday when he competes
long jump with a leap of 21-09.50. in the 60-yard dash in 102nd Millrose
Also taking first place honors for Games at Madison Square Garden in
Middle Country was senior Steve An- New York City.
derson, who was sick with the flu, but The Middle County girls’ team, on the
managed to capture the 1,000-meter run other hand, struggled a bit, finishing in
with a time of 2:45.48. ninth place, far behind overall winner
Senior Ivan Dixon took first place in Sachem East (109 points). Photo by Robert O’Rourk
the 600-meter run with a time of 1:25.54 Only Middle Country’s 4x800 and Middle Country’s Steve Anderson won the 1,000-meter race in the League I championships
while sophomore Skyler Cange was sixth Continued on page A12 with a time of 2:45.48.

Newfield drops lead, final four bouts to fall 32-22 to Smithtown East
WRESTLING
BY ROBERT LEUNER
katsports@tbrnewspapers.com
Trailing 22-13, the Smithtown East wrestling team
won the final four bouts, two by pins, against Newfield
and turned a nine-point deficit into a 10-point 32-22
League III victory on Jan 23. With the win the East Bulls
moved into second place in league standings with a 4-1
record, one game behind league leading and undefeated
East Islip, while Newfield fell to 3-2.
“We knew it was going to be a tough match,” said
Smithtown East head coach Dave Cummings. “We needed
to win the last four bouts to pull it out.”
Newfield had taken a 22-13 lead when Hugo Roman
pinned Chris Lambert at 189 pounds with one minute re-
maining in the third round. But Smithtown East closed the
gap to three points as Kevin Cassidy pinned Maroun Ibra-
him with 30 seconds left in the first round at 215 pounds.
Newfield’s Max Gold followed with a 3-2 upset de-
cision of Anthony Hirschfield at 103 pounds to tie the
match at 22-22. “I thought that was the key bout,” said
Newfield head coach Mike Newell. “We were just a little
bit short today.”
Smithtown’s Tyler Vigliarolo then snatched a victory Photo by Josh Kalish
Continued on page A12 Newfield’s Glen Vogeli (left) defeats Smithtown East’s Alex Mazzola, 7-1, at 135 pounds.
PAGE A14 • THE TIMES OF MIDDLE COUNTRY • January 29, 2009
EDITORIAL
Trim the fat
As the 21st century opens, government has
taken meaningful, if far from complete, steps
to eliminate toxins in our air, water and earth.
We’re glad to see them tackle our food now.
Bravo to Suffolk County Legislator Lou
D’Amaro (D-North Babylon) for introducing a
bill to ban use of trans fats in county food es-
tablishments, following the example set by New
York City, California and a growing number of
localities. If the measure does not pass swiftly
into law with a minimum of debate, county law-
makers should double-check their science.
That’s because trans fats — lipids created
by artificially hardening vegetable oils for use
in baked goods or fried foods — are poison,
plain and simple. Unlike other foodstuffs hotly
debated in the nutrition community in recent
years — saturated fat, complex carbohydrates,
even high fructose corn syrup — trans fats have
no conceivable upside. These man-made fats
are foreign to the human body, which is poorly
adapted to handle them. As a result, their con-
sumption has been linked to increased risk of
heart disease, insulin resistance, obesity and
cancer.
Some studies show consumption of just 40
calories of trans fat — or 4.5 grams — a day can
boost the risk of a heart attack by 23 percent,
and a fast-food meal of fried chicken strips and
French fries can easily contain more than 100
calories of trans fat, according to D’Amaro.
Some may interpret this as one more unwel-
come intrusion into personal preference by a
healthier-than-thou nanny state. For example,
those who criticize Gov. David Paterson’s pro-
posed 18-percent “obesity tax” — on nondiet
sodas or other beverages lacking a certain pro-
portion of natural sugars — at least have an ar-
gument when they say government should not
be in the business of influencing citizens to
consume one artificially flavored beverage over
another.
But a trans-fat ban is not analogous to a vice
tax. Rather, it more closely parallels the Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency’s efforts to ensure
businesses do not contaminate the drinking wa-
ter of nearby residents with trichloroethylene
or other toxins. Who among us would demand
the choice over whether poison comes out of our
taps?
It’s possible that the market would eliminate
trans fat use on its own. Some major fast-food
chains, such as Burger King and Wendy’s, forced
to ditch the fats in some localities and sensing
that their number is only likely to grow, have
chosen to phase out their use.
But many restaurants have yet to follow their
lead, and are unlikely to do so soon of their
own accord, as trans fats are cheaper and better
preservatives in comparison with most natural
animal or plant lipids. The county would be do-
ing every Suffolk consumer a favor by speeding
along the retreat from trans fats, even residents
who already go out of their way to avoid the
stuff.
Why? Because in America today, the less
wealthy the eater, the more likely they are to rely
on low-cost, high-volume fast food or packaged
snacks laden with trans fat. The same demo-
graphic, unfortunately, is also more likely to lack
health insurance or rely on state-subsidized cov-
erage like Medicaid. So, preventing some disease
with a virtually cost-free trans-fat ban would,
in addition to the overarching benefit of avoid-
ing human suffering, cut the expense of drugs or
surgery for the uninsured or state-insured that
taxpayers would have to bear.
The Legislature’s Health and Human Services
Committee is set to consider the trans-fat ban to-
day, so the bill could be scheduled for a general
vote as early as next Tuesday. Tell your county
representative to send trans fats packing.
OPINION
the threat and fact of criminal If I was the presiding officer
Re: indicted
S’town nurses,
prosecution and punishment cre-
ates a condition of servitude that
the constitution prohibits.
of the Suffolk County Legisla-
ture, I wouldn’t waste a perfectly
good opportunity to move these
Starting with Bailey v. Ala- important items toward action
told you so bama, I suggest that your appeals by writing a letter to the edi-
TO THE EDITOR: bureau do further research. tor complaining about a former
Lawrence Gray candidate’s bumper stickers.
(An open letter to Suffolk
Kings Park Nobody craves the milk dud that
County District Attorney Thom-
spends several years stuck to the
as Spota dated February 2008)
bottom of the carton.
I read the court’s denial of
It is time to move forward to
the motion to dismiss the case
more pressing issues. Intestinal
brought by you against the Ava-
lon Gardens contract nurses. It
was boilerplate. This prosecution
In a time of fortitude calls for leaders to fight
the tough fight and declaring a
has the earmarks of poor pros-
ecutorial judgment.
crisis, wasted ink war on bumper stickers is a little
out of touch while credit defaults,
TO THE EDITOR: a brain drain and taxes soar, and
The reckless endangerment
My primary criticism with community involvement, em-
statute, as currently applied to
politicians is that too many of ployment and home prices hit the
the facts of this case, trenches
them lack the character, will and floor. Until you are willing to do
upon the 13th and 14th Amend-
devotion that will truly advance something about these critically
ments. Prosecutorial discretion
the causes our community and important causes, don’t sweat the
employed with an evil eye and an
nation desperately need to put really small stuff.
uneven hand is a denial of due
our best foot forward in 2009. Lee Zeldin
process of law.
For every decent elected of- Shirley
While the appearance of the
ficial, there are four others who The writer was Republican
statute is fair, its application to
truly only care about themselves nominee for the 1st Congressional
these nurses is not. Penal laws
and their immediate families. District representative last year
are not to be employed to bolster
My congressional campaign and owns a law firm in Smith-
one side or the other in a labor
offered me an opportunity to town.
dispute. I prosecuted elected
meet some incredibly principled
public officials
and grounded leaders while also
In a Feb. and politically
meeting some complete duds.
wired nursing-
2008 letter, I write this letter in response
home opera-
the writer tors for years.
Too many of
to one: “An end to lingering
political graffiti” in the Jan. 22 Mommy,
forecast
the court’s
them, it ap-
pears, with
edition — from a dud.
If I was the presiding officer of how much
exoneration their contri-
butions to
the Suffolk County Legislature,
I would write my letters to the is a million?
of the Avalon political office editor about providing affordable TO THE EDITOR:
housing to military veterans, cut- It wasn’t very long ago when
nursing home holders still ting the outrageously high taxes a million was the gold standard.
have, as they
employees in Suffolk County, making gov- A million meant a lot. A rich
say, “one foot
ernmental buildings more energy guy was a “millionaire.” Marilyn
indicted for in the door.”
efficient or reducing helicopter Monroe starred in a movie about
Were it
resigning. noise on the East End. how a woman could marry one.
not for the
I would write to our state Guys would back up their confi-
employment
legislative representatives and dence by saying, “You wanna bet
contracts of these nurses there
demand that they bring home a a million bucks?”
would not be even a colorable
higher percentage of funding to People wrote songs about a
linchpin to predicate a legal duty
educate our area youth, provide million. Jimmy Charles had a hit
on these nurses to stay on the job
better tax rebates to military with “A Million To One,” Larry
whether their shifts ended or not.
veterans, pass much-needed Graham sang “One in a Million,”
Contract disputes are enforced in
tort reform to improve available and, there was a famous bal-
civil lawsuits, not criminal pros-
medical services and agree to a lad about mother, which started
ecutions. The county and state
cease-fire to the petty partisan out with: “M is for the Million
health departments and police
bickering in Albany. Things She Gave Me.”
emergency services units have
I would write to our congres- We’d say that there were a mil-
hot lines. There is also a patient
sional representatives about the lion stars in the sky. We watched
abuse reporting statute that ap-
need to stop passing trillions a TV show called “The Million-
plies to health facility owners as
of dollars worth of bailout and aire,” where a regular guy would
much as staff — more so. There
stimulus packages while our na- be given a million dollars and
are temporary nurse services.
tional debt hits 14 figures, create his life would be transformed.
The reckless endangerment
incentives for investors to believe Washington had its Million-Man
statute is not a cow-catcher for
in the future of the American March. A million was big. No
every possible breach of “duty”
economy, reform our nation’s more. Almost overnight, the “B”
that may have serious repercus-
immigration policy and speed up word has taken over.
sions as may be defined ad hoc by
our nation’s transition to energy Bruce Stasiuk
causation and logic. To borrow
independence. Setauket
from the Supreme Court in one of
its post-Civil War peonage cases,
“We cannot escape the conclu-
sion that, although the [reckless
endangerment] statute is to pun- Letters ...
ish [reckless endangerment] still We welcome your letters. They should be no longer than 400
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 January 29, 2009 • THE TIMES OF MIDDLE COUNTRY • PAGE A15
How the mighty may fall: an autopsy Your turn
Back in 1998, I was working as a appetite for a good deal and a good dessert, in either of their companies were winners.
reporter at Bloomberg News, where any and was the ultimate charmer on Wall Investors believed in the promise of the
story at any hour could and did require Street. He was a hero for turning a collec- merger.
my complete and immediate attention. In tion of financial services businesses into a Soon after the companies combined,
April, I had received a “tip” from an anony- profit-making machine. He had convinced Weill frequently told anyone who would
mous source that Citicorp was going to an- Reed to join forces with him. But even listen that the merger was working and that
nounce a huge merger on Monday. I called that wasn’t the most shocking part of this its record profits soon after the marriage
every source I could think of, pulled every merger. It was something far more basic. were proof of that. Reed cautioned that the
trick out of my reporter’s repertoire, made “Excuse me?” I asked my editor, as he big numbers came from putting together
every personal and professional appeal to raced through the press release to send two big companies. He continued to sug-
every imaginable person who might tell me out as many headlines as he could about gest that everyone had to wait to see how
something to break this big story. a merger heralding a brand new day in it all went. He was, to use a favorite phrase BY DANIEL DUNAIEF
Back then, bankers ascribed to their global finance. from the corporate world, “cautiously
unshakable belief that bigger was better. “WHAT?” he yelled. optimistic.”
They’d serve more of every customer’s need “Isn’t this illegal?” Citigroup did manage to get Glass-
in more places than anyone else. The mar- Without taking his eyes off his screen, Steagall repealed and didn’t have to sell big around the world, maneuvering around
ket was buzzing every day with talk of who he nodded his head. He directed me businesses to make the deal happen. an already heavily regulated industry that
would partner up with back to my seat, where I In less than two years, Weill muscled threatened to require almost as many
whom and what that might needed to turn this press Reed out of the co-CEO role, standing people watching and listening to how one
mean for the remaining The White House was one release into a story. I had alone as the seller of his grand vision for side of the house spoke to the other as it did
players. Bankers described 15 minutes to convert a bigger, better, stronger, faster bank that people trying to make money.
their business as a barbell: of the few places I hadn’t those headlines into could and would do anything but make From day one, Prince seemed a good
there would be a concen- called to try to break the a story, while adding you eggs over easy for breakfast. candidate to handle the regulators, but per-
tration of enormous strong story. Silly me! some background about The big, bad boy that was Citigroup haps a questionable one to make the best
banks on one side and a Citicorp, Travelers, John became big and bad. There were the ugly business decisions for the bank. After all,
collection of tiny banks Reed, Sandy Weill and email exchanges between Sandy Weill he hadn’t spent all that much time running
on the other. Everything the merger trends in and the poster boy for research conflicts a business.
in between would struggle to survive and banking. As the day progressed, we’d find of interest, former telecom analyst Jack With 20/20 hindsight, it’s easy to see
compete — or so the thinking went. experts — lawyers, doctors, Indian chiefs Grubman. how Prince and all the other top CEOs
After a weekend of looking over every — who could all weigh in on whether the An unseemly set of emails showed Weill who made millions stumbled badly when
shoulder and calling in every favor I could deal was legal and could happen. Even in urging Grubman to take another look at the complicated investments they held that
imagine, I got nowhere. Almost getting a the short press release, Weill said he had his rating on AT&T stock — a company were somehow tied to home prices around
story wouldn’t do much for me. I barely contacted the Clinton administration the whose board Weill sat on. There was also the country finally did the unthinkable and
slept that night, anticipating that 4 am night before. The White House was one of a “donation” Citigroup made to the 92nd fell.
call from an angry editor who read a story the few places I hadn’t called to try to break Street Y just as Grubman’s children were Even the regulators didn’t see it coming,
someplace else about the merger and the story. Silly me! applying for kindergarten. or they would have raised more red flags.
demanded I find someone as quickly as Citigroup, as Reed and Weill’s married Crusading Attorney General Eliot And now, 10 years after that day that
possible who could verify that story. Even companies would be called, had some time Spitzer was determined to do whatever marked the beginning of a new era in
though that call never came, I arrived at to repeal the Depression-Era laws called it took to save the small banking, Citigroup is
my desk at 6 am. Glass-Steagall that had separated commer- investor from the un- about to try to break
My editor, a driven, intense, high energy cial and investment banking. If they didn’t derhanded dealings and Even the regulators up into two large pieces
man whose whereabouts in the newsroom change the laws, the combined company dealers on Wall Street. He — even without any new
were always known from his booming would have to sell some of its businesses. would protect Mr. and didn’t see it coming, or laws restricting its busi-
voice and the shoes he clomped around in The press conference that day revealed Mrs. John Q. Public even if they would have raised ness.
as if he were crushing cockroaches, was the just how different these two financial lead- it meant he’d have to ride Is there a lesson in
only other person in the newsroom just as ers were. Weill offered amusing sound bites the publicity he generated more red flags. all this? I’m sure there
the sun started to pour in from over the and off the cuff witticisms straight from his to the governor’s mansion. are a lot of them. How
59th Street bridge. self-made Brooklyn pedigree, while Reed With enough righteous about the conventional
I stared at the public relations newswire, considered his answers, often describing indignation to fill the new and old Shea wisdom — and back then, it was bigger is
ready to write whatever story came in that what he hoped the merger would achieve. and Yankee stadiums, Spitzer laid out better — can be anything but wise. Or, how
morning. I was so concerned about miss- The stock market, which was in great (oops, poor choice of words) exactly how about, even giants — who seem to have an
ing the big moment that I barely took my shape in 1998, fell in love with the deal analysts were being corrupted by their “in” with everyone in power — can fall.
eyes off the screen to talk with my editor. and the sales pitch. Citicorp shares surged ties to investing banking. The investment When they do, they fall farther and harder
Would Citicorp, run by the intellectual, $35.625, or 25 percent, to help the Dow to bankers didn’t want any of their free- than their smaller counterparts.
deliberate and stately John Reed, merge its first close above 9,000. spirited analysts to say bad things about More than a decade later, Sandy Weill
with a foreign bank? Would Reed dare to Numerous print and TV journalists companies that were paying them millions is gone from Citigroup and so are many
merge with, say, a NationsBank, a giant — caught up in the euphoria of this mar- of dollars to sell stocks and bonds to the of the billions made on that first day. As of
bank that had gone from the fourth largest riage — started their “exclusive” interviews public. Jan. 16, Citigroup was worth $20 billion,
bank in North Carolina to one of the larg- with Sandy Weill and John Reed that day Ironically, when federal regulators well below its market cap of $140 billion
est in the nation through the deal making by congratulating them on the merger. revealed Spitzer’s own emails to a prostitu- in April 1998. Many of the millions Weill
of former marine Hugh McColl? Strange as it seems now, at the time, it was tion ring, his career came crashing down. made and then reinvested in the bank have
And then it hit. One of the strangest perfectly normal. It was like the sports But that’s a rise and fall story for a different also disappeared. And John Reed no longer
press releases I’d ever seen. Citicorp was reporters who congratulate the manager day. has to wait and see if Citigroup lived up to
merging with Travelers Group. The value of a team that had won a big game. How Sensing that the world was turning on its promise: it didn’t.
of the deal was $70 billion. could they not have felt and noticed the ex- him and seeing one bad headline after Daniel Dunaief was a business reporter
Sanford “Sandy” Weill ran Travelers. citement? The stock market loved the deal another tied to his name, Weill endorsed for over 14 years. He worked at the New
Weill was the antithesis of John Reed. The and the reporters often used the market’s the company’s top lawyer, Charles Prince, York Daily News, Bloomberg News and the
son of Polish immigrants, Weill shot from reaction as a scorecard. On that day, Weill, as the new CEO. In theory, Prince could American Banker. He is currently trying his
the hip, grew up in Brooklyn, had a hearty Reed and anyone who had money invested handle any legal challenges the bank faced hand as a book author.

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