FBI interviewed at least three people about inner workings of Suffolk Democratic Party and lead-up to Rich Schaffer vote
Rich Schaffer won another term as Suffolk County Democratic Committee chair last month. Credit: Rick Kopstein
The FBI and New York Attorney General’s Office conducted interviews with Suffolk County Democratic Committee members and a former board of elections employee as they probe potential misconduct related to Chairman Rich Schaffer, three Democratic officials confirmed to Newsday.
The full extent of the probe and whether either agency has launched an official investigation remains unclear. Attorney Mark Lesko, who represents Schaffer, said in an email that his client, who's also Babylon Town supervisor, has not been contacted by any law enforcement agency.
Leigh-Ann Barde, chair of the Islip Town Democratic Committee, said she was interviewed jointly by two FBI agents and two investigators from the state attorney general's office on Sept. 18 and Sept. 22. The conversation centered on tactics to assist Schaffer's reelection and alleged offers of payments by Schaffer to committee members to ensure their attendance at the Sept. 22 organizational meeting, she said in an email to Newsday.
Two emails reviewed by Newsday show FBI agents and members of the attorney general’s office setting up a Teams call with committee members. The subject line is “Schaffer” in the email with Barde and two FBI agents and an assistant attorney general for a Sept. 22 call, the same day the county committee met for its convention. Another email shows a Teams call on Sept. 18 sent by the same assistant attorney general for a committee member along with the two FBI agents copied.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- The FBI and New York Attorney General's Office interviewed three Democratic officials over potential misconduct involving Suffolk County Democratic Committee Chairman Rich Schaffer, focusing on alleged tactics to secure his reelection and offers of payments to committee members.
- Schaffer's attorney denies any wrongdoing, labeling the allegations as politically motivated.
- Schaffer was re-elected chair at the biennial organizational meeting, securing about 57% of the vote to stave off challenger Kathryn Casey Quigley.
Among the agents invited to speak with Barde included one who previously investigated the Suffolk County Conservative Party more than a decade ago.
Cameron Trent, who said he was fired from his position at the Suffolk County Board of Elections earlier this year for refusing to collect signatures to get more Schaffer-backed committee members, confirmed to Newsday he also spoke to FBI agents last month. Another Democratic Committee member who requested anonymity over fear of backlash also confirmed being interviewed by the FBI and attorney general's office in late September.
"I think the sense that I got was that they're looking at Rich Schaffer as a target and the operation more broadly," Trent said, adding he discussed with the federal agents how we was fired.
Lesko denied any wrongdoing on Schaffer's part and said he is "the model of professionalism and ethics."
“This is the latest in a series of baseless allegations made against Chairman Schaffer for political purposes weeks before Election Day,” he said.
He added: “We are confident in the facts and will not give these politically motivated allegations any credence.”
A spokesperson for the attorney general’s office last month confirmed to Newsday the office had received and was reviewing one complaint. The attorney general’s office has not confirmed any additional details since then and did not answer a question Thursday of whether the office is working with or separately from the FBI.
The FBI New York Office did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Schaffer retained the committee chair position at the biennial organizational meeting, securing about 57% of the vote to stave off the challenger, Kathryn Casey Quigley, the chair of the Southold Town Democratic Committee. The vote capped a contentious 10-month period where both sides sought to boost the ranks of the committee to gain backers for last month's election.
Barde had been a strong supporter of Schaffer when Casey Quigley first launched her campaign. But she publicly supported Casey Quigley in a social media post the day before the organizational meeting, saying she could not “support anyone or anything that undermines the legitimacy and integrity of either the party or our democracy.”
She called the backroom deals that ended Democratic county clerk candidate Anthony Portesy’s campaign “the tip of the iceberg.”
“What has followed is offering money for votes and threats to people’s livelihood, including that of my own family,” she wrote a day before the vote.
Her husband, Waquel Romain, works for the Suffolk County Board of Elections.
Ken Colón, a committee member who ran unsuccessfully for Islip Town supervisor in 2023 had previously provided Newsday with a copy of text messages showing Schaffer asked him to get his father to come to the convention to vote. He replied that his father had to work doing security.
Schaffer responded, "Can we pay him to miss work?"
A Suffolk Democratic Party spokesman Bryan Sokolowski, previously called the allegations false.
Joe Werkmeister joined Newsday in 2022 and covers Suffolk County government and politics. He is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University and previously worked as the editor of two North Fork community newspapers.
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