Embattled Queens Library boss Thomas Galante should take a leave and stay out of circulation while the latest chapter of his spending and payment scandal plays out, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz said Monday.
Katz sent sharply worded letters to both Galante and the library’s board of trustees, calling for the board to formally suspend him at their meeting set for Thursday.
She said faith in library leadership has been dangerously undermined by recent revelations involving Galante, and the “thousands of children, adults and seniors” who rely on the $120 million-a-year Queens Library system are at risk.
“In order for the library to operate effectively and more importantly, to continue to receive taxpayer money, I believe it is best for the institution that you take a leave of absence effective immediately, and continuing until the various investigations and audits into the Library’s operations are resolved,” Katz wrote Galante in a letter obtained exclusively by The News.
“Given the current state of uncertainty and turmoil, I don’t believe you will be able to successfully lead the institution through this budget cycle, and the library will suffer, which is an outcome nobody wants,” she said.
The city Department of Investigation, the FBI and the U.S. attorney’s office are reviewing library records and conducting interviews as part of a possible criminal probe, The News previously reported.
19 comments:
I hope that the Feds also investigate the Elmont Union Free School District, where Galante moonlighted as a $150-per-hour business consultant.
According to the Daily News article, Galante was paid $200,100 by Elmont during the 2010-2011 school year; $189,387 during 2011-2012; and $190,387 during 2012-2013.
Katz sending a "sharply worded letter"? That's like the pot calling the kettle black.
Hey Tom Galante why don't you write Katz a sharply-worded letter and ask this Jezebel to resign?
For a full review of her disgustingly shameful shenanigans, check 'em out here.
As well he should!
thomas"127 hours"galante will
soon fulfill his fantasy work weeks in federal prison and actually do something productive.
You have a lot of nerve Katz, asking someone to take a leave of absence. Did you ask this from your incompetent predecessor, Helen Marshall?
This is just the typical political ploy of “look there, so you don’t
look here” from Melinda Katz. I mean really why are you so involved in this, when there are so many bigger issues in Queens and especially the community of Jamaica’s quality of life issues. This smells so much of the Bernie Maddoff situation. Find a boogie man that people will hate (Maddoff), even though he had little to do with the majority of people and the economy, drag it out, which then takes focus completely away from the real culprits of the economy meltdown, the CEO’s of major companies who caused the problem, yet not one has been brought up on
charges to this day.
Ms. “I am so moral” Katz, what are you trying to deflect?
Focus on the REAL problems of Queens and especially Jamaica and it’s poor quality of life issues and leave the detective work for the professionals. This is not your job. I mean where are you with corrupt Senator Malcolm Smith or Congressman Gregory Meeks about stepping down from office?
I am so tired of this typical political bullshit of not focusing on the REAL issues. This is FBI work, let them do what they need to do and you go to doing whatever the hell it really is you do with your six figure salary courtesy of the tax payers.
Yes, ask him to resign, replace him with Curtis!
Who did this guy blow in ELmont?
We all knew that Galante would be the scapegoat here.
He is a product of a pathological envirnment that runs Queens - something that infects every aspect of our borough down to the non-profits that are increasingly under the thumb of shadowy people from questionable backgrounds and businesses that don't look too kosher.
Developers and the well connected that want to take and mine everything useful are the real reason this borough has slipped from something that used to be a real alternative to Manhattan down to its bottom ranking - falling with no end in sight.
Since they are throwing him under the bus, the best thing he can do is talk.
The library board of developers needs to be cleaned out and real educators/scholars need to get a dominate role.
I was remiss in not mentioning in my above comment that the link that I gave you to Katz's "disgustingly shameful shenanigans" was brought to you by the Greatest Caller Ever to Talk Radio, He-Of-The-First-Blood, formerly known as the Great Frank of Queens. Please excuse me for the unfortunate oversight.
2 Kings 9:
33 And he said, “Throw her down!” So they threw her down, and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall and on the horses; and he trod her underfoot.
34 And when he had come in, he ate and drank, and said, “Go, see now this cursed woman, and bury her; for she is a king’s daughter.”
35 And they went to bury her, but they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands.
36 Therefore they came back and told him. And he said, “This is the word of the Lord, which He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel.
37 And the carcass of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel, so that they shall not say, “This is Jezebel.”’”
___________________________________
WARNING. EXTREMELY GRAPHIC CONTENT. May be offensive to certain viewers. Parental discretion is advised:
Queens Borough Hall. Sometime in the future.
gs 9:
"Mop needed to clean the dribble between the Borough President's legs."
We all knew that Galante would be the scapegoat here.
How is Galante the scapegoat if he either (1) lied to the City Council when he said that he only worked for Elmont a few hours a week and only at night and on weekends, or (2) lied to the Elmont School District when he charged them for 26 hours a week? One of them is false - did he falsify his Elmont timesheets? Or did he just lie to the City Council because he thought they couldn't check his timesheets? Time to close the book on Mr. Galante - send him back to Connecticut.
She owes someone a favor and a job. That's why she wants Galante out of her way.
How is Galante the scapegoat
The library board is totally unequal to the task besides playing with a capital budget. Look at the people running it. How many scholars to you see on that board?
Not giving the staff a raise, not purchasing books, limited hours compared to other boroughs, and enormous sums spent on questionable projects?
No my friend, Galente is the product of the library board. I hope he cuts a deal with the Feds.
Queens will howl.
Why should Katz resign?
Galante is a scapegoat?
More like a thieving criminal felon.
Gets inflated salary from Library Board of flunky friends and co-conspirators. Bills for 3 jobs worth of hours from a full time job and alleged part time job. Lies about time dedicated to both. Builds unnecessary personal office improvements at taxpayer expense, while giving construction job to a friend. All of this in a library struggling to survive and laying off P/T staff whose job it is to help people in Queens (at $9/hour). This douchebag should be in jail, but probably will only lose his job and live in luxury on the money he has already stolen
dump the entire library board of trustees when Galante goes. Investigate the "new American's" program at the QBPL, audit it.
Hire Americans First. Immigrants Last.
Once a thug, always a thug.....
She's a lesbian single mother,leave her alone !
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