In Our Opinion.

It’s Time To Pull The Plug On Larry Schwartz

It has come to our attention that the Westchester County Commissioner of Public Safety, Tom Belfiore, has been supplying Deputy County Executive Larry Schwartz with police intelligence, BCI Reports, on applicants for pistol permits, and other County residents. If true, the practice is not lawful, and constitutes an unacceptable
conspiracy, and usurping of powers by two public employees, neither of which are directly answerable to the public, and one of whom serves at the pleasure of the other. Sure, both were appointed by County Executive Andy Spano. And he, ostensibly, is answerable to the voters.

However, everyone knows Larry is the real County Executive. And, that situation is not healthy for decent, law-abiding citizens, whether applicants for a Pistol Permit, or not, because Larry’s lust for power and control knows no limit. From his perch on the ninth floor of the County Office Building, he has controlled Westchester County
Government, in all three of its branches: the Executive, of course; the Legislative, by it’s purse strings, with all of the funds raised from Democrats going into Andy’s campaign coffers for distribution as Larry sees fit; and the Judicial, similarly, historically in collaboration with individuals such as Guilio Cavallo, Nick Spano, and Jeanine
Pirro corruptly controlling the nomination and election process.

Under Larry Schwartz, County Government has been a ‘closed shop’ for nearly ten years. It’s not merely about patronage and money. Larry’s diabolical control involves indecency, and unconscionable, and unconstitutional, violations of individuals’ civil rights; in one instance driving a gifted young attorney and public servant, working
in the County Executive’s office, to suicide, a man whose only “disloyalty” was his unwillingness to betray his political party, the Democrats, and their candidate for District Attorney, Tony Castro, to join Larry’s scheme to re-elect Jeanine Pirro.

Larry never forgave David Meyer for his unwillingness to join the countywide race-fixing conspiracy of 2001. After pushing him from the office, he blackballed him everywhere he went, with every prospective employer. David, with a wife and two young children, pleaded with him, 48 hours before his plunge, to stop badmouthing him. But, Larry told him he would “never work again.”

We do not believe an individual as ruthless and conscienceless as Larry Schwartz ought to have a hand in the selection of who will be granted a pistol permit. He shouldn’t have had a hand in selecting the County’s solid waste hauler, either. However, because he did, we are doing business with a company from Connecticut that
the City of New York specifically would not do business with because of its Mob ties, and we are paying nearly twice the $70 million we once paid, and could have renewed for another five years, but for Larry’s control of the County Legislature.

One has to wonder about deals like that. Where do the unnecessary millions of taxpayer dollars squandered on a vender with, at best, a checkered history, really go?

We are not persuaded that the pistol permit application process should be taken from the hands of elected, County and Supreme Court Justices, and entrusted entirely to Larry and his cronies, simply because he has enlisted the support of the District Attorney’s Office. The relationship between that office and his has been far too incestuous to begin with. To be more specific, the DA’s so-called Public Integrity Unit has been a joke for years, a virtual oxymoron.

Elected judges are accountable to the voters, and their decisions are subject to scrutiny, due process, and recall. The same cannot be said for Larry and his gang. As We understand it the real question is: Why does County Executive Andrew Spano keep Larry Schwartz employed and in control, someone whose cruel agenda has injured, and turned away so many good citizens and public servants?