Smoke clearing in volunteer firefighter infighting

Daily Point

Fire fight cools down, but issues remain

After months of infighting over ways to recruit and retain volunteer firefighters, it seems the multiple associations that attempt to represent those firefighters finally have found some common ground.

But that doesn't mean the disputes are over.

Last month, both houses of the State Legislature passed a bill, which was sponsored by Sen. Monica Martinez in the Senate, that would quadruple an income tax credit offered to firefighters and ambulance workers — pushing it from $200 to $800.

If Gov. Kathy Hochul signs the legislation, it would mark the first bump in the tax credit since it was introduced 20 years ago.

And it could help volunteer departments in their efforts to recruit and retain firefighters — an issue that has been a problem for years.

That issue has led to disputes between the largest association — the Firefighters Association of the State of New York, or FASNY — and some of the other groups that represent fire chiefs, commissioners, coordinators and others.

But the various groups have come together in support of the tax credit legislation — even as everyone recognizes it's not the sole answer.

"We are eager to utilize this important measure as a tool to help address the statewide volunteer firefighter recruitment and retention issue," said Ralph Raymond, a commissioner with the North Massapequa Fire District who serves as second vice president with the Association of Fire Districts of the State of New York.

"I do think that we're pretty much shoulder to shoulder in supporting this," said FASNY secretary John D'Alessandro.

D'Alessandro said there's an ongoing campaign to encourage Hochul to sign the legislation, including more than 2,000 members who've signed online letters in support.

Hochul has previously provided funding for the volunteer firefighters' infrastructure and training needs, but it's unknown whether she will sign the tax credit legislation.

"Governor Hochul recognizes the vital role volunteer firefighters play in maintaining the safety and security of New York communities across the state," spokesman Gordon Tepper said in an email. "This administration has made record investments in recruitment, retention, and mental health initiatives to support New York's volunteer firefighters and first responders, and the Governor will review this legislation."

Even if she signs it, however, the tax credit won't alone solve the problem.

"It is not the magic bullet," D'Alessandro said. "It is not the magic ingredient that is going to solve the recruitment and retention challenges, but it is another valuable option in the toolbox."

And Raymond noted that he and his association continue to seek legislation that would allow nominal compensation for volunteer firefighters. The Assembly support is there, he said, and the group is working to gain State Senate support. A FASNY spokesman said the larger group, too, supports current incarnations of the nominal compensation proposal.

"The residents of New York State deserve the highest level of fire and emergency services, and we will continue to advocate for policies that strengthen and sustain our volunteer fire service for generations to come," Raymond said.

Despite the newfound agreement between the associations, there are still signs that issues remain. Next month, FASNY will hold its annual officer elections. Typically, there is no competition for the positions, as a FASNY representative in one position simply moves up the ladder to the next rung. But this year, there is a competition for the FASNY presidency, as Sayville Fire Department's Donald Corkery, the former president of the fire chiefs group and the Association of Fire Districts, is challenging current FASNY first vice president Donald Farrell, in what some are calling the battle of the Donalds.

And some are already taking sides in an election that may help to determine what comes next for FASNY, and for firefighters across the state.

The Sayville Fire Department, unsurprisingly, has lent its support to Corkery. The Hudson Valley Volunteer Firefighters Association, meanwhile, backed Farrell.

"His opponent who is from downstate has very little past involvement with FASNY," the Hudson Valley association said of Corkery on its website.

But no matter who's elected, D'Alessandro noted that the central concern — the need for more volunteer firefighters — remains the same.

"We need people," he said. "That's the bottom line."

— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com

Pencil Point

Almost there

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Final Point

Piccirillo: It took years to 'scrub the stink' from Spota

Should one of Long Island's most powerful elected officials who had a stunning fall from grace be given a clean slate?

Former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota and his ex-top aide, Christopher McPartland, want presidential pardons for coordinating a cover-up of the beating of a prisoner in a Suffolk police precinct back in 2012, according to a Newsday news division story.

But there won't be any fresh starts for felons if Suffolk County Presiding Officer Anthony Piccirillo has his way.

In a letter to President Donald Trump Thursday, Piccirillo implores Trump to give Spota and McPartland the clemency cold shoulder.

Piccirillo said he was inspired to pen the letter to the most powerful person on the planet after reading Newsday's story Tuesday that detailed the duo's efforts to effect pardons. He told The Point: "... it's taken us years to scrub the stink out of county government, and we've worked years to regain the trust of residents" after Spota and McPartland's crimes.

In his letter, Piccirillo tells Trump that Spota and McPartland "damaged public confidence in government and weakened trust in the institutions responsible for delivering justice." Granting clemency, Piccirillo wrote, "could leave the impression that those in positions of power are held to a different standard when they abuse the public's confidence."

Spota served 2 years and 7 months of a 5-year sentence while McPartland served about 2 years. Since then, Spota worked as an administrative clerk at a law firm and McPartland started a business advising incoming federal prison system inmates.

Spota and McPartland were convicted of trying to hide the beating of a shackled burglary suspect who found a duffel bag full of Viagra, sex toys, pornography and ammunition that belonged to then-Suffolk Police Chief James Burke. The trio dubbed itself "the administration." Burke pleaded guilty to federal charges from the beating and served almost 4 years in prison. In 2023, he was arrested by Suffolk park rangers who said he solicited sex during an undercover sting. Charges of public lewdness and indecent exposure, Newsday reported in April, will be dropped if Burke stays clean until his next court appearance on Oct. 28.

McPartland is now pushing a conspiracy theory on a right-wing social media influencer's TikTok recently that he and Spota were victims of Biden-era weaponization of the Justice Department.

Spota and McPartland don't appear to be oozing repentance, at least not publicly, Piccirillo said, and pardons would be "a slap in the face ... they show no contrition on this whole issue, and that really bothers me."

But Spota and McPartland shouldn't hold their breath for pardons. In a shift from earlier in his term, clemency requests recently have been as popular with Trump as DEI initiatives. Earlier this month, Trump denied almost 6,000 clemency applications. Most of those, The New York Times reported, were for people who "lacked political connections."

In 2005, Spota ran unopposed for reelection as the powerful DA with the backing of five political parties, an indicator of his political clout. After his 2019 conviction, Spota said in court he left his family with "the stain of being a convicted felon" and they "will forever be marked by my disgrace."

Now, though, Spota and McPartland have political forces working against them in the form of Piccirillo, who recruited nine fellow legislators in the GOP caucus to co-sign the letter. Piccirillo said he did not speak with Suffolk County GOP leader Jesse Garcia about the Trump letter.

Will Trump, ever with his ear to political affairs high and low, find the mercy to pardon Spota and McPartland, or heed Piccirillo's plea to let the pair remain tarnished examples of how people in positions of power should not comport themselves?

— Mark Nolan mark.nolan@newsday.com

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