Feds and NYC Investigators Begin Criminal Probe Over Spending by Queens Library Director

The Thomas Galante/Queens Public Library story continues today with the NY Daily News reporting that the FBI, federal prosecutors, and NYC’s Department of Investigation have begun an investigation of Queens Library Director, Thomas Galante.
From a NYDN Article:

The first sign of the joint probe came Friday when agents for the FBI and DOI suddenly appeared at the Queens Central Library in Jamaica with subpoenas for both Galante and the library’s construction management consultant, Frank Marino, according to a library source.
Marino, owner of Advanced Consulting Corp. in Merrick, L.I., has received contracts to manage 15 Queens Library improvement projects since 2008.
The probe appears to center on how Galante — who received more than $390,000 in salary last year, plus a city-supplied $37,000 sports car — spent millions in taxpayer dollars on various library renovations, a second source said.
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Meanwhile, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz asked Mayor de Blasio to suspend the ability of the Queens Library, a nonprofit agency, to independently spend any city capital funds on renovations.
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Katz also demanded in a separate letter to the library’s board of trustees that they “immediately retain an independent third-party forensic auditor . . . to audit and examine the entire capital construction process.”

Note: The full text of both letters by Queens Borough President Melinda Katz are embedded in the NYDC article and also at the bottom of this post.
Read the Complete NYDN Article
See Also: Queens Library construction manager has connections to school district paying library chief (February 24, 2014)
See Also:  Queens Library officials say CEO is worth his pay (via Queens Chronicle)

Previous infoDOCKET Posts About the QPL/Thomas Galante Story

• Queens Public Library/Thomas Galante Story Continues, Board Votes to End His $2 Million Golden Parachute

• Queens Borough President Discussed the QPL Story with City and State

• Queens Public Library CEO’s Compensation in The Spotlight (via LJ; February 17, 2014)

• More on the Thomas Galante/Queens Library Story (Feb. 11, 2014)

• Queens Library Chairman and CEO Testifies at NYC City Council Hearing (Feb. 5, 2014)

• New York City: Comptroller Scott Stringer To Audit NYC’s Three Library Systems (Roundup) (January 29, 2014)

Letter From QBP Katz to Mayor Re QPL Capital by Colin DeVries

Letter From QBP Katz to Board Re Capital Process by Colin DeVries

Filed under: Libraries, Management and Leadership, News, Public Libraries, Roundup