Oliverio Calls for Investigation as Other Legislators Address Levy Controversy
First state senator Greg Ball called on the governor’s office for an independent investigation into the actions of Putnam County District Attorney Adam Levy. Now, a member of the county legislature is calling for the same action.
District 2 Legislator Sam Oliverio sent a letter to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Attorney General Eric Schneiderman asking them to “quickly move forward with a thorough investigation into the allegations surrounding” Levy.
Noting that many of his constituents are losing faith in Levy to perform his job effectively, Oliverio said an investigation could clear the air in the county.
“Until the many and sundry allegations against out District Attorney are either proven false or proven to be true, the very foundation of our County’s legal system continues to be put at risk,” Oliverio wrote in the letter.
During last Wednesday’s legislature meeting, Oliverio brought the topic up and urged his fellow legislators to sign the letter with him, but none of them took him up on his offer.
“We need this to be cleared up,” Oliverio said. “I’m not asking for a resignation. I’m asking for the truth.”
Those legislators who spoke said because Ball already asked for the investigation, it wasn’t necessary to send a separate letter and the legislature would be better served to let the situation play out.
Still, most of the legislators addressed the ongoing controversy that alleges misconduct and a conflict of interest by Levy. They also addressed Levy’s relationship with sheriff Don Smith.
Levy is suing Smith for defamation of character to the tune of $5 million.
District 5 Legislator Carl Albano said by writing another letter to the governor, it would just result in another headline for newspapers and would bring more attention to the matter.
“I don’t think we could speed it up,” Albano said. “I wish we could. We want to put it to a rest. It’s embarrassing and I’m very upset about it.”
Legislature chairman Rich Othmer mentioned the rift between Levy and Smith and said he was angry that the legislature had to vote on placing a criminal investigator in the DA’s office, rather than Levy and Smith working it out on their own.
He added the situation with Levy would eventually work its way out whether the legislature got involved or not.
District 6 Legislator Roger Gross said he questioned The Journal News’ reporting, branding it as “yellow journalism.”
“It seems we’re making a lot of conversation over an inflammatory, yellow journalism by (The Journal News),” Gross said.
District 1 Legislator Barbara Scuccimarra said while she has respect for both Levy and Smith, she bluntly said their behavior in the past year has been disappointing.
“This is going to resolve itself. It’s going to come to a head soon,” she said. “And I believe that Adam Levy will make the right decision for Putnam County.”
Oliverio responded the letter from the entire legislature would apply more pressure to the state to investigate and move the process along quicker.
Ball, who was the first to call on Cuomo to investigate Levy, was at the meeting and said if the legislature did nothing, it would be a “dereliction of duty.”
“It is your responsibly as a legislature to make that request,” Ball said.
Levy has come under fire the past few weeks after it was revealed his involvement in the rape case of Alexandru Hossu was deeper than originally thought. While Levy immediately recused himself after Hossu was arrested and sent the case to the Westchester County District Attorney to prosecute, reports from the Journal News indicate Levy and his public relations firm worked to influence the case, according to emails the newspaper obtained.
Levy’s push goes as far as to suggest he revealed a grand jury’s vote, former Hossu’s defense attorney Robert Atchiler claims, according to The Journal News. If true, it could result in a felony charge.
The Westchester DA has also requested the Putnam County Court to explore any conflict of interest now that Levy’s brother-in-law Daniel Mentzer is the defense attorney for Hossu. In the motion, the Westchester DA cites the family ties between Levy and Mentzer could be grounds for Hossu to appeal if convicted.
Levy has also admitted to helping fund the defense for Hossu, the newspaper reports.
