Brega pleads guilty to making illegal campaign donation in Rockland

Steve Lieberman | The Journal News

Show Caption Hide Caption Video: Richard Brega leaves federal courthouse Richard Brega leaves federal courthouse as jury continues to deliberate the charges. John Meore/lohud

Rockland's former bus czar Richard Brega pleaded guilty today to illegally donating to a political campaign by funneling cash through a family member.

Brega pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree falsifying business records before Rockland County Court Judge David Zuckerman.

He admitted using his brother-in-law, Anielo Feola, as a go-between to conceal the origin of a $6,000 donation Brega made to the county executive campaign of Rockland County Legislator Ilan Schoenberger, who leaves office for retirement on Thursday.

Brega's plea came several weeks after a federal jury convicted him of bribery and other charges as part of a conspiracy to take public money without repairing BOCES buses.

He had been charged by a Rockland grand jury with 10 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with bundling campaign contributions under other people's names. He gave cash to friends, family and employees who then donated under their names.

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Brega, who officials say tried to use his wealth to become a political player in Rockland, pleaded guilty to filing false documents with the New York state Board of Elections.

He allegedly provided people with money — such as his employees, family and friends — in exchange for donations to candidates he supported or wanted to influence.

Brega, 50, of Stony Point, faces a maximum of a year in state prison when he is sentenced Nov. 20. That sentence will run concurrently with the longer one expected on Oct. 17 when he's sentenced on his federal bribery convictions.

Brega's attorney, former federal prosecutor Kerry Lawrence, called Tuesday's plea "a way to resolve all of the legal issues and bring closure to the various cases that have been brought against Mr. Brega."

Lawrence said he had not decided whether to appeal the federal conviction. He said he will wait until after Brega is sentenced in federal court in Whites Plains.

Brega's arrest last July on the Rockland charges followed his federal indictment and culminated a joint investigation by the Rockland District Attorney’s Office Public Corruption Task Force and the New York State Board of Elections Division of Election Law Enforcement. The task force includes the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan and White Plains.

At the time of Brega's arrest, District Attorney Thomas Zugibe said, "Hiding the true source of campaign donations from election officials and the public fundamentally impacts the transparency of our democratic system of governance."

Brega won a five-year, $70 million contract to run the county's bus system with an estimated 10,000 riders. He also won a countywide contract to repair vehicles, as well as contracts with BOCES and businesses.

The indictment accused Brega of providing "straw donors" with thousands of dollars to donate to the "Friends of Ilan Schoenberger" between April and August 2013 during the race for county executive.

A Journal News review in 2013 indicated Schoenberger received about $48,000 in donations through Brega employees and associates.

Schoenberger, an attorney and longtime legislator and government employee as county attorney, has said he did nothing wrong and was unaware of Brega's donations through others. He said his campaign followed the law and reported all donations.

Then-Legislator Ed Day, a Republican serving his second, four-year term as county executive, got close to $12,000 from Brega, while former Legislator Frank Sparaco, R-Valley Cottage, got more than $800. Sparaco's wife worked for Brega.

Day has said the contributions didn't influence him. He noted that he vetoed a 2014 legislative spending initiative of $3.6 million over four years for washing Brega's buses daily, and faulted Brega Transport Corp. for missed trips, lost fares, inadequate maintenance and incomplete record-keeping.

"You can contribute to me but that doesn't mean you own me," Day has said.

Brega’s RTB Industries also paid then-Clarkstown Supervisor Alexander Gromack $10,000 between February 2012 and March 2013 for referring customers to Brega’s maintenance business.

Gromack originally didn’t report the income on his county Board of Ethics filings, which were subpoenaed in 2015 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Gromack amended his filings a day after The Journal News/lohud.com reported he failed to report his financial ties to Brega.

Gromack's original filings stated his wife, Joan, worked part-time for RTB doing marketing and office work.Their daughter worked part-time for RTB during her college vacations.

As a result of the federal indictment, company officials said Brega gave up ownership of the transportation and repair companies to his brother Jason, who took over the county bus contracts.

In early May, a federal jury convicted Richard Brega of bribery and falsifying documents to show his company, Brega D.O.T. Maintenance Corp., had repaired Rockland BOCES school buses when no work actually was done.

He bribed then-BOCES Transportation Director William Popkave with more than $40,000 in uncharged repairs for vehicles owned by Popkave, his familiy and friends. Popkave pleaded guilty to felony charges and testified against Brega to avoid a prison sentence.

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