"The fact that Nassau County employees working for County Executive Tom Gulotta are 'hidden' in other departments within the Nassau County government is outrageous," said Carl Lowe, candidate for the Nassau County Legislature in the 12th Legislative District representing Massapequa, East Massapequa, Massapequa Park and parts of North Massapequa. "This represents the kind of budgetary fraud that has been perpetrated on the citizens of Massapequa and all of Nassau County during the past four years." Hearings at the county legislature last week revealed, in the testimony of Leonard J. Samansky, commissioner of accounts, that at least five nonunion exempt workers, are being paid through Samansky's department when they actually work for Gulotta.

"So while I and other citizens have been outraged that Mr. Gulotta maintains a personal staff of 15 who collectively are paid $900,000, it now turns out that you can add at least another five employees and their collective salary of $220,000 to those figures. How many other employees are 'hidden' within the county budget performing mystery tasks? And why have the county legislators, including my opponent for the legislature, Peter Schmitt, allowed Mr. Gulotta to engage in these smoke and mirror tactics during the past four years? For too long there has been no accountability in Nassau County government. It is time for that to change," said Lowe.

After the hearings, Mr. Samansky refused to talk to the press about the employees who were 'hidden' in his budget. "That is another sign of an attitude in county government that has to change," noted Lowe. "Our employees in the county government, who work for us and are paid with our tax dollars, have to be forthcoming about county business. It is this kind of secretiveness and budget shenanigans that have resulted in the county's $2.5 billion dollar debt (double any other New York county) and the current $300 million deficit this year."