When two political operatives met for lunch at a Hauppauge restaurant last year, they thought they'd be discussing their business in private.
What they didn't know was that tiny recording devices had been placed at their table, and that their waiter was an undercover detective.
...Careful planning, secret listening devices and undercover detectives are hallmarks of Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota's two-year investigation into political corruption. ...
Some have questioned whether Spota's tactics have crossed the line between aggressive prosecution and infringing on individuals' rights. But even defense attorneys have been impressed.
"I think this is the most successful investigatory process of political corruption since I came to the county in '73," said William Keahon, a defense attorney who has represented at least two targets of the probe. "It has been done like no other DA has done in the past."
The reason, he and other defense attorneys said, is that prosecutors are thinking like them.
The key is in doing an exhaustive investigation and strategically blocking possible defense legal maneuvers before filing charges. "In all previous administrations, they've always forgotten or failed to do major parts of the investigation until after the indictment, which has left them vulnerable at trial," Keahon said.
...When Spota first took office, political corruption wasn't even on the radar. Then tips began to come in and prosecutors examined campaign filings. They were stunned at the extent of Towle's abuses.
The assets, seized Wednesday as part of the Suffolk District Attorney's ongoing probe into political corruption, are worth at least $1.5 million. They include Dragone's home, a 2003 Ford Excursion sport utility vehicle, a 2002 Lincoln LS sedan, a Harley Davidson motorcycle, an all-terrain vehicle, a camper and two bank accounts, said District Attorney Thomas Spota.
"The properties we have seized are the proceeds of crimes," Spota said....William Keahon, Dragone's attorney, declined to comment...The investigation has reshaped Suffolk's political landscape, shaking Republicans, who count most of the arrested among their ranks. Fearing the loss of their last bastion of power, the GOP machine has moved to keep voters on their line by cross-endorsing Spota for re-election this fall...
"The corruption appears to be so pervasive from the lower echelons on up that to root it out might take even more effort," said John Ray, the defense attorney for former Brookhaven Zoning Board of Appeals member Theodore Rickman, who pleaded guilty to receiving bribes in April 2004.
Spota said the difficulty of ending corruption became evident when his detectives recently asked a suspect who admitted wrongdoing why he had broken the law, knowing prosecutors were investigating.
"And his response was he didn't think he'd be caught," Spota said. "But as long as they know that we are there and we are looking, we will make at least a significant impact."...
...The Republicans point out that two Democrats, advisers to Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy, have been arrested in the probe. Stephen Baranello, a former Suffolk OTB official and son of the former county Democratic leader, pleaded guilty to second-degree bribe receiving. Former Suffolk legislator Wayne Prospect has pleaded not guilty to bribery, coercion and conspiracy. Levy says the men acted without his knowledge.
Brookhaven Republican candidates also depict the disgraced members of their own party as renegades. "Bring the paddy wagon in and take all the bad guys out," said Mazzei, a two-year incumbent.
If the investigation shifts the balance of power, Spota said it's not intentional -- and it doesn't really matter to him.