The leadership of the Queens Library, already embroiled in a scandal since it was revealed that its president used taxpayer money to fund a luxurious new office for himself, continued to dig a deeper hole for itself as it pledged to use even more public money to defend its president during a corruption investigation.
Luckily, no services have been effected by the ongoing scandal, however the leadership of the library seems to be in no mood to jettison its president, Thomas Gallante, who is being investigated by the FBI for giving out contracts to a company he allegedly had personal connections to. This past Thursday, the library board voted to spend $30,000 on an outside public relations firm to help the library weather the storm. Trustees insist however, that this is simply to promote the services of the library.
At a City Council hearing on Tuesday night however, Queens councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley blasted the library's leadership. “Are we using city dollars, tax-levied dollars, to pay for private attorneys and these P.R. firms to make the library look better?” Ms. Crowley asked Gallante. A spokesperson later told the Times, "The Queens Library, like many nonprofit organizations, utilizes communications firms to promote our programs and services to benefit the community."
The board members of the Queens Library were informed at last Thursday's meeting that the library would be paying all the legal fees for Galante’s trouble relating to his association to a Long Island firm that has received contracts for library improvement projects since 2008.
Galante originally came under fire when it was revealed that he had spent $140,000 of taxpayer money last year to have a 250-square-foot rooftop deck installed adjacent to his office. He also used the money to build two new executive conference rooms and to redo his private bathroom and shower.
