Former TOH Official Gets 5 Years Probation For Stealing Funds: DA

MINEOLA, NY — A former deputy commissioner for the Town of Hempstead Buildings Department was sentenced on Thursday for stealing more than $59,000 from the Cedarhurst Republican Committee.

John Novello, 53, of Hewlett Harbor, was sentenced to five years probation, according to the Nassau County District Attorney's office.

Novello pled guilty in July to two counts of second-degree grand larceny. He was also ordered to pay $41,000 in restitution to the Nassau County Republican Committee, the DA's office said in a news release.

He was also sentenced to a separate commercial loan scheme to finance renovations on his family home, the DA's office said.

"As [a] public official and political party leader, John Novello was entrusted with serving the people of Hempstead and leading his Republican club, but instead he used donor funds as his personal piggy bank and made a fake company to scam a lender into giving him a million-dollar loan," Acting DA Joyce Smith said in a statement. "We have no tolerance for abuses like these in Nassau County, and because of this prosecution, he will be held accountable for these criminal betrayals of trust."

From January 2016 to August 2019, Novello, who was deputy commissioner for the Town of Hempstead Buildings Department and a former executive leader in the Cedarhurst Republican Committee, withdrew more than $20,000 in cash for the committee's bank account for his personal use, DA Smith contended.

He also stole more than $37,000 from donations to the committee's annual golf tournament fundraiser, according to the district attorney.