Putnam Co. Executive Elect Leibell will not take oath of office....pleads guilty to corruption.

[Historic NY]

Republican Vincent Leibell, long the most powerful politician in Putnam County and a fixture in Albany government for 28 years, will not be take office Jan. 1 as Putnam County executive, the chairman of the Putnam County Legislature said this morning.

Vincent Tamagna, the Republican chairman of the nine-member Legislature, would not say why Leibell would not take the oath in a month's time but said he is working now on a transition government that will involve appointing an executive officer. Tamagna said he favors keeping County Executive Robert Bondi on for another year.

"This is Putnam County's darkest day since we've taken up the charter form of government," Tamagna said, referring to when Putnam moved from being governed by a Board of Supervisors to an elected county executive three decades ago.

Leibell, who this week resigned his state Senate seat a month before expected, did not return numerous phone calls and was not at his district office in Southeast this morning.

Leibell applied for his state pension on Nov. 3 — the day after he won the county executive race — and it becomes effective tomorrow. Leibell earned a base salary of $79,500 in the Senate plus a $9,000 stipend for serving as the ranking Republican member on the Senate Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs Committee. He's eligible for a roughly $69,800-a-year pension

http://www.lohud.com/article/20101202/NEWS04/12020426/Vincent-Leibell-will-not-take-office-as-Putnam-county-exec

and there is more....he pleads guilty.

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2010/12/leibell-wont-take-office.html

The guilty plea will resolve a indictment that is about to be unsealed, the sources said..

Leibell, who was set to leave office at the end of the end of the year to become Putnam County executive, instead retired a month early from the Senate. His resignation takes effect tomorrow.

He also agreed not to take office as county executive in January. He already has informed the chairman of the Putnam County Legislature of his decision.

"He has some pretty major problems he's dealing with," said a longtime friend who was informed of the decision. "His position is going to be untenable to continue in pubilc life."

One source said he was told directly by Leibell that he would be pleading guilty to a crime. Another source said as part of the deal, he'll serve less than two years in prison.


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2010/12/leibell-wont-take-office.html#ixzz171OO2H00

[SoBronxSchool]

1. Putnam County

This I believe is just the tip of the iceberg