Duo Accused of Coercing Islip Town Fire Marshal Applicants to Decline Job Reject Plea Deal: Report

The two Town of Islip officials who plead not guilty for allegedly attempting to coerce four fire marshal applicants to decline the position have rejected plea deals in court on Tuesday and will now proceed to trial, according to a report in Newsday.

West Islip resident John Carney, 54, who served as commissioner of public safety, and Holbrook resident Michael Allen, 41, who served as assistant chief fire marshal, were both accused of bribe receiving, official misconduct and coercion, according to the DA.

The two were offered a plea deal that included community service rather than jail time, however State Supreme Court Justice Fernando Camacho said in court that he will not enter into plea discussion according to Newsday.

In September, the duo were charged with four counts of third degree bribe receiving, four counts of official misconduct and eight counts of second degree coercion, according to the DA.

If convicted of the top felony charges, Carney and Allen could face a maximum prison sentence of over 2 to 7 years in prison.

The trial will begin in the spring.

In March, the two conducted job interviews for the position of fire marshal and they had to chose from a civil service list of candidates established by the Suffolk County Department of Civil Service, the DA said.

While conducting interviews for the job opening, four applicants were allegedly coerced by Carney and Allen into declining the position and signing declination letters in order to try to get their preferred candidates who finished lower on the civil service list after an exam, the DA said.