Laura Incalcaterra

lincalca@lohud.com

Rockland County Legislator Frank Sparaco, on the heels of an unsuccessful effort to take over the Clarkstown Republican Party, is quitting his $103,600 town job.

Sparaco, R-Valley Cottage, said Wednesday he decided to submit his resignation as confidential secretary to Clarkstown Highway Superintendent Wayne Ballard.

"I want to step down and move to something else," said Sparaco, who completes his tenure on Dec. 31. Sparaco, who is married and has three daughters, said he did not yet have another job.

"I wish him all the best in the future," said Ballard, who plans to fill the job. "He was a great help to me during snowstorms and other challenges."

Sparaco, who earns about $32,000 as a county legislator, was first hired to serve as a constituent services representative for the Highway Department, a part-time job paying $78,000 annually.

In July 2013, he held a press conference to announce he had been secretly taping elected officials, and accused them them of trying to bribe him with a better-paying job and a vacation if he helped Ballard's opponent in a election. All the targets denied any wrongdoing and demanded that Sparaco turn over all eight hours of the video and audio tapes he told reporters he had. The incident has also led to two lawsuits.

Sparaco has garnered criticism from members of his own party as well as some town residents and in May, he quit the town GOP committee after being accused of party disloyalty — a charge he denied.

Last month, he lost an effort to take control of the town GOP committee, with his camp losing to County Executive Ed Day's supporters, 191-13; Sparaco himself could not get elected to the committee.

He even lost his mentor, county GOP Chairman Vincent Reda, who declined to seek re-election amid the party's turmoil and on Monday was replaced by Lawrence Garvey, a county native who lives in West Nyack.

Back in June, three Clarkstown Town Board members backed a motion to eliminate funding for Sparaco's highway job, which expired June 30.

On July 1, Ballard named Sparaco his confidential secretary. It became available about two months after Nancy Willen, who served as Ballard's confidential secretary for about 16 years, abruptly decided to retire.

Twitter: @LauraInc15