Town Board appoints Brian J. Noone new Inspector General



Briane J. Noone was confirmed as the Town of Oyster Bay’s first Inspector General by a unanimous vote of the Town Board at their first meeting of 2019, held Tuesday morning, January 8. Noone’s extensive background in law enforcement includes serving as vice president of security for National Grid, the largest distributor of natural gas in the northeastern U.S., with customers in New York state, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.

Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino announced that this appointment makes history, as Oyster Bay became the first local municipality to create the office of Inspector General and on January 8, TOBAY becomes the first town to hire an Inspector General.

“The Inspector General role will protect our taxpayers and restore the public trust in government. The appointment of Brian Noone as Inspector General will provide the Town Board and its residents with confidence that the proper rules and regulations are being followed when contracting with vendors and procuring goods. Mr. Noone’s experience, specifically with National Grid, provided him with significant knowledge of procurement and bidding processes. Throughout his career he has worked with the FBI, the CIA, the DEA and National Grid where he performed internal audits on budgets and overtime. He has extensive experience with uncovering concealed income, exposing the manipulation of financial systems, and investigating illegal money laundering. This experience will benefit the taxpayers of the Town of Oyster Bay,” Saladino said.

Noone was confirmed by Board vote for a term commencing January 31, 2019 through December 31, 2020. The Town Supervisor added that the Town Board’s vote on the IG position was followed by adoption of new contractor requirements, “to bring an even greater level of transparency, integrity and ethics to the Town of Oyster Bay.”

Saladino thanked Councilwomen Michele Johnson and Rebecca Alesia for chairing the Town’s interview process for the new position, “it was very thorough process with quite a few candidates considered,” he announced.

Councilwoman Johnson said the hire of the Inspector General further safeguards taxpayer money. She thanked the administration of Supervisor Saladino for following through and prioritizing the IG position.

“This action builds upon the many other initiatives we have taken over the past two years to increase transparency and ethics within the Town. I was proud to co-chair this selection committee with Councilwoman Alesia along with others who joined us when interviewing for the position. We are making the right job offer when it comes to Mr. Noone, as he has significant experience with contracting, bids, budgeting and audits. He gained extensive experience detecting fraud and identifying wrongdoers with the DEA, FBI, CIA and in the private sector with National Grid. This is the type of experience we need to safeguard our residents and protect the integrity of the Town from anyone who seeks to cheat our taxpayers,” she said.

Over the past year Councilwoman Alesia has withheld from voting on Town of Oyster Bay contracts “while we waited for the appointment of an Inspector General.” She said the issue stemmed from the leadership of then-Supervisor John Venditto, who along with County Executive Ed Mangano were indicted in late 2016 for business deals involving restaurateur Harendra Singh.

“To say this was a long time coming and that we were picky and choosy would be an understatement. The position I took with municipal contracts became necessary because we as a board, those of us here prior to Supervisor Saladino taking office in 2017, were deceived by an unethical and rogue employee in the prior administration as well as outside vendors who were taking on bad practices. It’s imperative not just for the community but for us on Town Board to restore the public trust in town government. I truly believe, having sat through the entire interview process, that Mr. Noone is the right person to do that job. We really have somebody coming on board who has a wealth of knowledge in the particular areas that we need,” Alesia said.

Noone comes to the Oyster Bay Town government role with 29 years of Federal interagency experience, “specializing in covert and overt international and domestic operations in intelligence probes, enforcement operations and clandestine business structures” according to a Town press release this week. He also maintains connections with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and received the Medal of Valor from the International Narcotics Enforcement Officers Association. Noone earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Cathedral College, and he later studied psychology at the University of Virginia.

Just prior to his vote for Noone, Supervisor Saladino said he’s very proud of the moment as the appointment of the IG was a cornerstones of priorities on Town Board since he took office. “This will clearly benefit our residents and we are proud to be one of the trendsetters, setting the pace for the rest of Long Island as the first township to appoint an Inspector General.”

At the January 8 meeting, Councilman Anthony Macagnone said the process was started before Supervisor took office less than two years ago.

“I want to thank Councilwomen Alesia and Johnson for following this through. I read Mr. Noone’s resume and it’s very impressive. I am proud to vote ‘Ay’,” he said.

Councilman Joseph Muscarella called Noone “the best person for the job” before his Ay vote to confirm him.

Before he voted in favor of Noone’s appointment Councilman Louis Imbroto added that he “could not imagine a more qualified individual…he is a stellar candidate and I was very impressed with his qualifications and experience with law enforcement. Mr. Noone will be a great Inspector General for us and today I am proud to make history and vote Ay.”

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