Sunday, September 14, 2014

Galante placed on leave

From DNA Info:

The embattled head of the Queens Public Library was put on leave Thursday after a months-long conflict with elected officials and a series of investigations into the institution's spending.

Thomas Galante, who makes $392,000 a year, will continue to receive his salary and benefits, the library said.

The decision from the library's board comes amid a series of ongoing investigations by the FBI and the city's Department of Investigation probing construction spending at the library.

The board also decided Thursday to provide City Comptroller Scott Stringer with all of the library's financial documents, which the trustees had initially refused to do.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

If the some on the board don't agree with the politicians viewpoint fire the board members who are in disagreement, replace them with puppets and have another vote.

Progressive democracy at work.

Anonymous said...

News flash: Some newspaper had a feature on the Kings of Queens.

You should do a piece on it crappy: includes a replaced library trustee and a husband? of another former library trustee, and a special landlord with colorful advertising.

Marvelous. Absolutely marvelous.

Anonymous said...

Trustees shouldn't have lifetime appointments - one of them had been on the Board since 1972. It wasn't the fact that they disagreed with Katz or de Blasio - it was their dereliction of duty that caused them to be removed.

ron s said...

Placed on leave at full salary. He will now be doing nothing for 300K. How would we notice the difference?

Anonymous said...

That's $400,000, thank you.

Anonymous said...

Anon no. 1: What are you talking about?

The trustees who removed were Galante's enablers. He should have been fired or suspened without pay, but at least he's taken the first stop out the door.

Up until now, the politicians weren't doing their job. With the removal of the old trustees and this first step, they're starting to do that. The big question is will they continue to do that.

Anonymous said...

More importantly than putting Galante on paid leave, the Trustees have opened the Queens Library's financial records and cooperated with the various people who are investigating Galante and his spending practices, including Scott Stringer. Galante is collecting his full salary ... for now. He very well might not be free much longer. If I were Tom, I'd be very worried.

Anon No. 6 said...

Anon No. 7: You're exactly right. Thank you for mentioning that.

Anonymous said...

the Peninsula Library in Rockaway Beach, the hardest hit by Hurricane Sandy is STILL NOT REBUILT. It is still operating out of a double wide trailer. There isn't a bathroom for patrons nor can anyone pay fines at that branch. While I give kudos to the hardworking staff, something is seriously wrong with this as there are other Queens libraries being built and renovated to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars, no millions of dollars. Why is Rockawy Beach the step child of the Queens Boro Public Library system? Why did Galente build himself a private smoking deck before restoring the Peninsula library?

Anonymous said...

What about the PLA spies tracking dissidents?

Anonymous said...

who is investigating Scott Stringer's past gov. position deals ?

Anonymous said...

according to Whittaker Chambers (former underground soviet spy who broke in 1939), this is similar to the Stalinst purges in the U.S.S.R. and Europe.

He was "WITNESS".