Nassau County Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams (D-Freeport) said the county will not benefit from the Legislature’s hiring of Roslyn-based attorney Steve Leventhal.
On Monday, April 3, the county Legislature’s Rules Committee voted 4-3 along party lines to approve a five-year, $55,000-per-year special counsel contract with Leventhal, Cursio, Mullaney & Sliney, LLP.
The contract is to provide services as special counsel to the county’s Board of Ethics from Nov.1, 2022 through Oct. 31, 2027.
“While Steven Leventhal was sanctioned for engaging in ‘frivolous, obstructionist behavior’ in a 2017 court case, he did not begin disclosing this ruling until this year – and I believe that is a highly concerning lapse in judgment,” Abrahams said in a statement. “The operations of our Board of Ethics must be fully beyond reproach at all times, and it is hard to see how Mr. Leventhal’s continued involvement helps Nassau County meet that standard.”
Leventhal was sanctioned for his performance during a 2017 court case and did not indicate as such when his contract with the county board was extended that year, though the form only asks for disclosures “with respect to any professional license,” according to Newsday. The 2017 incident was never reported to the New York Attorney Grievance Committee, so Leventhal’s law license was not affected, the newspaper said.
Leventhal, a partner at the Roslyn law firm, said he was “fully ethical in meeting my obligations to the county” when in 2019 the county inspector general’s office brought the disclosure issue to light after reviewing documents.
North Hempstead Supervisor Jennifer DeSena, a Republican, tried to appoint Leventhal to special counsel for the town’s Board of Ethics, but Town Democrats blocked the resolution.
The Town majority said during the September Town Board meeting that outside counsel can be requested by the board when needed, which they have not done as of now.
Professionally, Leventhal has served as Town of Hempstead ethics counsel, president of the Nassau County Bar Association and consultant to the United Nations Ethics Office.
Leventhal has also served multiple municipalities in different legal roles, including Manorhaven, Flower Hill, Massapequa Park and Lattingtown.
