It is Lawrence, not Woodmere. In fact, Tassone agreed to pay Signorelli’s fine of $219,000, but it’s not known if the court will allow him to foot the bill. In the latest of several special school audits, State Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi criticized the Woodmere district on Tuesday for sloppy procedures, including some contracts awarded without bidding, poor controls of accounting records, 27 unused hand-held computers and two bills that were reimbursed twice. Over the next five years, Mr. Signorelli received $572,000 from that contract. And, in a show of good faith, Tassone asked Miller to return and look over the books to account for all of the money, this time with the evidence from the letter to guide him. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Tassone, Gluckin, McCormick, Rigano, Tassone’s partner Stephen Signorelli, and the school district’s auditor Andrew Miller ultimately pleaded guilty to charges related to the millions in thefts. ", Companion of Roslyn Schools Chief Is Sentenced to 1 to 3 Years for His Role in Embezzlement. The defendants are expected to plead not guilty, according to defense lawyers. The others are Mrs. Gluckin's niece, Debra Rigano, a school records clerk under Mrs. Gluckin's supervision, who admitted to stealing about $780,000; and Mrs. Gluckin's son, John McCormick, a home improvement contractor to whom she gave a Roslyn school credit card, which he used to charge more than $80,000 in merchandise. As several board members would later tell the NYT, Miller received the tip from the Home Depot cashier and investigated the claims. Prosecutors would later reveal that Tassone, Gluckin and a string of their friends and family were responsible for embezzling $11 million from the school district by using subtle and frankly smart tactics. Prosecutors said Dr. Tassone had been the schools chief for about five years, and already had begun embezzling funds, when he arranged to have Mr. Signorelli receive a no-bid contract to prepare and print computer teaching handbooks for the school district. The charismatic administrator allegedly insisted … Mr. Signorelli, one of those implicated, is accused of inflating invoices to the board from his software company and paying kickbacks to his partner. "My client was a complete outsider. President Trump, First Lady test positive for coronavirus, Jets quickly make Adam Gase decision after disastrous 0-4 start, Mary J. Blige sends mom and brother to Yonkers wine launch in her place, Sacha Baron Cohen was never ‘made’ during Trump stunt at CPAC, Halle Berry credits kids (and potential grandkids) for fitness inspiration, Yes, Kathie Lee Gifford Has Seen Her Son-in-Law’s Too Tight Pants on ‘Family Feud’: “It’s Hard to Miss It”, © 2020 NYP Holdings, Inc. 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He was asked to resign from the position that once brought him, and the school district itself, praise. 137,771, This story has been shared 48,452 times. 137,771, This story has been shared 48,452 times. And this Home Depot worker was right to question the actions of McCormick, as they would find out three years later when he was arrested and charged with fraud in 2005. Where is Frank Tassone now? Your California Privacy Rights He had faced up to 25 years in prison – until he agreed to cooperate. Jenks said Tassone has sworn to tell the truth about his wrongdoing and “if that means having to tell the truth against the person he lives with, he’ll do it.”. Then $8 million went missing, Tassone became a … The computer consultant was listed as the CEO of a company that submitted fake printing invoices for … That lack of legal protection is just one example of the benefits lost to gay couples when they can't marry, said lawyer David Buckel, a senior counsel with Lambda Legal fund, which is battling in state courts for recognition of same-sex marriages. Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Mr. Signorelli's lawyer, Kenneth J. Weinstein, said his client "is an established businessman who performed valuable services for the school district, and the only compensation he received was for services actually rendered.". Jackman's sleek looks are not far off from how parents and educators described Tassone, while Janney perfectly pulled off the role of the friend scorned. We hope to have this fixed soon.

Mr. Jenks said yesterday that Mr. Tassone has long considered the relationship "more Platonic than sexual," though he "went along" with the exchange of vows, and registered as partners in order to enjoy the benefits that provided. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Entertainment Television, LLC A Division of NBCUniversal. Three other defendants also have pleaded guilty in the case in which a total of $11.2 million was found missing from the affluent Long Island district’s coffers. Judge Honorof delivered his sentence, as agreed to beforehand, then added, "Good luck, Mr.

Signorelli, who is charged with stealing $219,000 in the $11.2 million school swindle, hasn’t made a plea-bargain deal – and he doesn’t want Tassone testifying against him. To you and me that might be gluttony or poor judgment, but within four corners of his employment contract, I fail to see how that should be a larceny.". © Copyright 2020 The Globe and Mail Inc. All rights reserved. "Mr. Miller had a fiduciary relationship with the school district," he said. 48,452, This story has been shared 30,882 times. Mr. McCormick also received about $80,000 in Roslyn funds directly through his mother, according to prosecutors. Before the sentencing, Kenneth J. Weinstein, Mr. Signorelli's lawyer, asked the judge to give his client less than the one-to-three-year term agreed to when he pleaded guilty last month, based on the agreements for lighter sentences reached with two defendants whose crimes Mr. Weinstein said were equal to or more serious than Mr. Signorelli's. The two years it took for prosecutors to press charges wasn't the investigators' fault though. Do Not Sell My Personal Information. In a motion filed yesterday in state Supreme Court, Signorelli asked that his spousal privileges be recognized and his “loving partner” of 33 years be kept off the stand. "But they still are the closest of friends; it's just not a sexual relationship.". The live-in lover of a disgraced former Long Island school superintendent has asked that his same-sex partner be barred from testifying against him in an explosive, multimillion-dollar scandal – because they are married.

This is a space where subscribers can engage with each other and Globe staff. Then, in March, a team of student journalists for The Hilltop Beacon, Roslyn High's school newspaper, would break the news of the school board's cover-up, beating major publications, including The New York Times, to the punch. The Nassau County district attorney's office declined to say whether there might be more indictments. Mr. McCormick's thefts were approximately the same as my client's." In an interview with The Island Now, Rombom said of the differences between her and the Bad Education star, "Rachel does a little more investigative reporting than I did.". Dr. Tassone has admitted to …

If you are looking to give feedback on our new site, please send it along to, To view this site properly, enable cookies in your browser. Gluckin. All four defendants are scheduled for arraignment in Nassau County Court here Wednesday, according to court records and defense lawyers.
Dr. Tassone has been vilified by the media." In a 2005 affidavit obtained by The Los Angeles Times, Signorelli claimed that he and Tassone were "loving partners for 33 years" and were registered as domestic partners in New York City (gay marriage wasn't legal at the time). Another defendant, Andrew Miller, the outside accountant who helped cover up the crimes after they were first discovered, was sentenced last month to four months in jail. Nassau County prosecutor Peter Mancuso refused to discuss the motion. Of the $11.2 million found missing in a state audit of the district, only $7 million has been traced to Tassone and his cohorts. Mr. Signorelli's indictment made him the fourth defendant, since the other three had already been arrested. Your California Privacy Rights The loyal Tuggiero hews closely to Tassone’s real domestic partner, Stephen Signorelli. "There certainly was a [sexual]relationship at one point, but I think it sort of disintegrated," Mr. Jenks said. To the Harvard-obsessed parents of Roslyn, New York, Frank Tassone appeared to be the ideal schools chief. Correction: June 19, 2005, Sunday An editorial last Sunday about school-budget voting misidentified the Hewlett-Woodmere School District as one of the Long Island districts criticized by a state audit over sloppy procedures. Mr. Signorelli, 60, of Manhattan, was for 33 years the domestic partner of the Roslyn schools superintendent, Frank A. Tassone.

The scandal provoked a revolt among Roslyn voters, who elected a majority on the school board that vowed to try to recoup the losses. Mr. Signorelli, 60, of Manhattan, was for 33 years the domestic partner of the Roslyn schools superintendent, Frank A. Tassone. We aim to create a safe and valuable space for discussion and debate. Neither same-sex marriages nor civil unions are recognized in New York State, though New York City does allow couples to register same-sex partnerships, which this couple did about a year after their wedding. In an affidavit filed with Mr. Weinstein's motion last week, Mr. Signorelli said that "Mr. Tassone and I have been loving partners for 33 years . Tassone, now 73, said in an exclusive interview on “The Coach Mike Podcast” that he was dreading the release of “Bad Education.”. Your source for entertainment news, celebrities, celeb news, and ​celebrity gossip. Non-subscribers can read and sort comments but will not be able to engage with them in any way. Auditors and prosecutors say that Roslyn's taxpayers were bilked of at least $11.2 million, as school funds were diverted to pay for personal goods and services including jewelry, dry cleaning, artworks, a pool cleaner, home furnishings, carpets, entertainment, food, pet supplies, foreign trips, vitamins, home mortgages and more than $1 million in cash withdrawals from automated teller machines.