Santino, Town Under Fire For Releasing ANCHOR Families' Info

Just days before voters go to the polls, Town of Hempstead Supervisor Anthony Santino is the subject of a class-action lawsuit from town families that say he used their information, and that of their special-needs children, for his political gain.

According to the families, several of them received a letter from Santino's town council, William J. Muller III, and his wife Diane, urging them to vote for Santino because of how he supports Camp ANCHOR, which is a special program run by the town that provides after-school, weekend and summer activities for special-needs children and adults. It is based in Lido Beach.

"ANCHOR Program lists maintained by the Town of Hempstead fall under provisions of the Freedom of Information Law, just as many other publicly available lists maintained by our municipality," said Town of Hempstead Spokesman Mike Deery. "Mr. Muller acquired such a list, in his capacity as a private individual, in response to a properly executed Freedom of Information Law request."

The lawsuit was announced at a press conference Sunday on the steps of Town Hall. Some of the parents filing the lawsuit were joined by Laura Gillen, the Democratic candidate for Town Supervisor, and Jeffery Gold, the lawyer who filed the lawsuit and a Democratic candidate for the County Legislature.

"We cannot allow anyone...to use our children, especially our most vulnerable children, as a pawn in their political agendas, said Milagros Vicente, a parent of a Camp ANCHOR child.

Councilwoman Erin King Sweeney, who represents Lido Beach, attacked Santino for the mailings. "The idea that the Anthony J. Santino administration released contact information for the parents of ANCHOR campers to Santino counsel William Muller, for the purposes of promoting his political candidacy is blatantly unethical and potentially illegal," she said. "The recipient of the letter has stated that she does not even know Mr. Muller, and yet somehow her contact information fell into his hands for political purposes. We need a thorough investigation of how this information was released, to determine if all laws and ethical codes regarding such release of information were adhered to."

King Sweeney has been calling for more stringent ethics reforms in the town for months, and used the letter as an opportunity to renew her call to create an independent Inspector General for the Town of Hempstead. Under King Sweeney's proposal, the Inspector General would be granted broad investigative and advisory powers in the town, allowing them to review records, Requests for Proposal, porcurment polices and monitor compliance with laws. The Inspector General would be a former judge, investigator or prosecutor.

Inspector Generals are used to root out corruption, as they also have the power to subpoena records and conduct investigations into complaints that are brought to their attention.

"[The ANCHOR families'] information should have never been released by the town, as it constitutes a clear violation of the privacy of these families," King Sweeney said. "This is an abuse of power and has now exposed the town to litigation. Occurrences like this must be thoroughly investigated, and the only way that we can ensure that the town has proper oversight is to have an independent Inspector General."

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