Gromack didn't report side work for Brega on Rockland ethics filings

Clarkstown Supervisor Alexander Gromack was paid about $10,000 to refer customers to Richard Brega Jr.— a local businessman who runs the county's bus system — but failed to report the work on his Rockland County ethics forms, a Journal News investigation found.

The arrangement is being reviewed by a federal grand jury, after it subpoenaed Gromack's county ethics filings from the Rockland Board of Ethics, an agency independent of county government. The subpoena, a copy of which was obtained by The Journal News, also sought filings for other politicians and members of county agencies from 2009 to the present.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara's letter attached to the subpoena states, in part: "Please be advised that the accompanying subpoena has been issued in connection with an official criminal investigation of a suspected felony being conducted by a federal grand jury."

Gromack, an elected official since 1983 who became Clarkstown supervisor in 2004, said last week that Brega paid him to refer people who might need commercial vehicle maintenance to Brega's RTB Industries from Feb. 2012 to March 2013. RTB operates a recently-built maintenance facility and bus depot on 16 acres in the Valley Cottage section of Clarkstown.

Brega also operates Brega Transport Co., which operates a fleet of 60 Transport of Rockland and Tappan ZEExpress bus lines under a contract with the county government.

Richard Brega's uncle, Peter Brega, and other family members run the separate Peter Brega Inc., which provides school bus service to many Rockland communities. Gromack and the Clarkstown Town Board have voted on contracts to hire Peter Brega's bus company for such things as summer camp transportation and senior outings.

Gromack, who is paid $170,309 as supervisor, is required by law to fill out the county ethics forms as a member of the Rockland Solid Waste Authority and Rockland Sewer Commission. The form states the purpose of the disclosure is to identify potential conflicts that may exist between private and public life, and call for the disclosure of all jobs paying more than $2,500 in a given year.

Gromack acknowleged, after being sent the records by a reporter, that he never reported his working relationship with Brega on his county ethics filings.

His signed filings for the years 2012 and 2013 stating that his wife, Joan, now a retired teacher, was working part-time for Brega's RTB Industries doing marketing. Gromack also acknowledged to The Journal News that his daughter Jenna worked for Brega a couple years ago while home on college break.

Gromack, however, maintained in an email to The Journal News that he had reported both his and his wife's jobs on his Clarkstown Ethics Committee filings. He also said he got a legal opinion from the Clarkstown committee that no conflict existed between his town position and side job because Brega didn't do work for Clarkstown.

"My relationship, and my wife's, with RTB was fully disclosed to the Town Ethics Committee who reviewed both town records and my financial disclosure forms and found no conflict," Gromack said. "My wife works part-time for him. She works four to six days per month. I have not earned any income from RTB since March 2013."

He said in an email that Brega paid him approximately $10,000 during February 2012 and March 2013 for referrals who became Brega customers.

Jeffrey Millman, the town deputy attorney for the Clarkstown Ethics Committee, confirmed that Gromack received an opinion from the Ethics Board stating no conflict exist. The board is comprised of five clergy members, led by Rabbi David Fass.

Gromack said Monday he planned to amend his county forms "to comport with my Town financial disclosures."

In addition to reviewing Gromack's forms, the federal grand jury subpoenaed Rockland Board of Ethics filings and other documents for numerous current and former members of the Rockland Legislature, Rockland County Sewer Commission, and Rockland Solid Waste Management Authority, as well as any former county political chairperson.

Bharara and Rockland District Attorney Thomas Zugibe have been working together under the auspices of a "Public Corruption Task Force," which includes FBI agents, district attorney's detectives and prosecutors.

Richard Brega didn't return a telephone message seeking comment on the Gromack matter. Brega – personally and through his companies – contributed $5,750 to Gromack's election campaigns for supervisor between 2009 to 2011, according to the New York state Board of Elections.

Clarkstown Councilman Frank Borelli said he was not aware of any job Gromack or his family members had with Brega, who is one of Borelli's insurance clients.

"We've never voted on any contract with him," Borelli said of Brega. "We've done everything on the up and up."

Gromack is a former county legislator and former state Assembly member. He was appointed supervisor in 2004 and has won election to successive two-year terms since.

The timetable the ethics probe is on is unclear, but it is reportedly separate from an ongoing federal probe in Ramapo. In the Ramapo case, the task force seized boxes of documents and computer hard-drives from Ramapo Town Hall in May 2013. Bharara has indicated in a related civil lawsuit that charges in the Ramapo case could come as soon as October.

Another local corruption investigation recently led to federal convictions and prison sentences against former Spring Valley Mayor Noramie Jasmin and Deputy Mayor Joseph Desmaret.

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