Republican Club Leader, A Town Employee, Stole From Club: DA

The leader of a Five Towns Republican club — and a high-ranking employee of the Town of Hempstead — was indicted today on charges that he stole tens of thousands of dollars from the club.

John Novello, 51, of Hewlett Harbor, was charged with second-degree grand larceny, four counts of third-degree grand larceny, two counts of petty larceny and four counts of violating Election Law 14-126(A).

According to Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas, Novello stole nearly $59,000 from the Cedarhurst Republican Committee, where he was the executive leader. Novello is also the Deputy Commissioner for the Town of Hempstead Buildings Department.

Novello is due back in court on Sept. 26. If convicted of the top charge against him, he could face up to 15 years in prison.

“This defendant allegedly funded his luxurious lifestyle with contributions that donors made to support the Cedarhurst GOP and its candidates,” Singas said. “These allegations are an outrageous betrayal of trust by a public official and party leader, and my office is committed to seeking justice.”

According to Singas, between January 2016 and August 2019, Novello withdrew more than $20,000 in cash from the committee's campaign bank account, which he used for personal expenses.

Singas said that, during the time period, Novello made more than 40 withdrawals from the account in amounts of up to $2,000. He was the only signatory on the committee's account, and Singas said he allegedly deposited some of the cash into his personal accounts.

In addition, Novello also stole more than $37,000 in donations from the committee's annual golf fundraiser and the Mayor's Cup in 2018 and 2019, Singas said. Novello allegedly transferred more than $22,000 from the 2018 Mayor’s Cup donations and more than $15,000 from the 2019 Mayor’s Cup donations to personal and business bank accounts.

Singas said that Novello spent the money on his mortgage payments, a trip to a winery, luxury candies, entertainment, gas, restaurants and groceries. In total, he stole more than $59,000 from the Cedarhurst Republican Committee, Singas said.

"This indictment is just another example of the culture of corruption that has been festering in Town Hall for over a century under one party rule," said Hempstead Town Supervisor Laura Gillen. "In addition to these charges, Mr. Novello has been drawing multiple taxpayer salaries and has inherent and undeniable conflicts of interests in his current town role, which include operating his own private architectural drafting firm that does business with the town, serving as the Executive Leader of the Cedarhurst-Meadowmere Park Republican Club and serving as the Chief of Staff to Republican Assemblywoman Missy Miller. For all of these reasons, Mr. Novello should resign from his position so that residents can feel safe knowing that their interests are being best served."

The investigation into Novello is continuing, Singas said.