Comptroller Taking Town To Court Over Animal Shelter Audit

Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos is taking the Town of Hempstead to court over its refusal to comply with his audit of the town's animal shelter.

The comptroller filed four subpoenas on Thursday, Newsday reported, which seek sworn testimonies from Town Supervisor Anthony Santino and shelter Director Michael Pastore.

Maragos, who is running for county executive, announced the audit earlier this month after he said he received many complaints from residents and animal rights groups about conditions at the shelter. Maragos said his office would be auditing the finances and operation of the shelter. The groups that Maragos spoke to alleged animal neglect, unnecessary deaths, unsanitary conditions and unqualified staff at the shelter.

Attorneys for the town, however, said the comptroller was overstepping his bounds. They claimed he had no authority to audit anything outside of the shelter's finances.

“. . . it appears that the audit is more about the treatment of the animals and the conditions at the Shelter and less about the finances, and thus, patently outside of the jurisdiction and audit authority of the comptroller’s office," the town's attorney, Joseph Macy, wrote in a letter to the comptroller, Newsday reported.

The subpoenas are the comptroller's answer.

“They're stonewalling an elected office that clearly has the authority to go in and audit every aspect of the town's operation and how their money and services are provided to the residents,” Maragos told Fios1.

Photo: Patch