Ongoing Investigation Into Clarkstown Employee

At last night’s Clarkstown Town Hall, feelings were mixed regarding the ongoing investigation into Michael Gianatasio, director of engineering and facilities management for the town of Clarkstown. For context,  Giantasio has claimed that the there are discrepancies in how the town has been spending around $600,000 in the town’s contract with Siemen’s Energy. It seems the town believes that this is not a whistle-blowing effort, and is instead retaliation from Giantasio.

Giantasio has been undergoing an investigation since 2025, after claims that he failed to disclose private connections to vendors and businesses the town utilized. Giantasio was placed on administrative leave while an independent ethics committee conducted the investigation.

Some residents expressed frustration over the town’s refusal to share more information at this time, while others encouraged residents to trust in the legal process. Town Attorney Kevin Conway emphasized the need to preserve the integrity of the independent ethics review, and stated that board members should avoid speaking publicly on the matter to avoid the appearance of prejudgment on the investigation.

Statement from Town Attorney Kevin Conway

Last year the town received a complaint from a Town vendor related to Mr. Gianatasio’s conduct. The town took the complaint seriously, which necessitated the launch of an extensive and lengthy internal investigation that began last year.

The Town hired an independent counsel to investigate the allegations and interview Mr. Gianatasio. Based on the initial findings of the independent counsel, including Mr. Gianatasio’s own recorded admissions, the Town Attorney filed a formal ethics complaint with the Town Ethics Board. Included in this complaint are overtures made by Mr. Gianatasio to a town vendor named Siemens related to potential business relationship(s) with Gianatasio’s wife’s business.  Due to the serious nature of the charges against Mr. Gianatasio, he was placed on immediate paid administrative leave.

The independent counsel also discovered approximately seventeen separate instances in which Mr. Gianatasio failed to properly disclose his personal business interests in violation of the Town’s Code of Ethics. For example, the independent counsel reported that Mr. Gianatasio is registered as the “second qualifying agent for business” for C.A.C. Industries Inc. in Florida and that the license location listed on Mr. Gianatasio’s Florida registration is C.A.C.’s New York address. Despite the fact that C.A.C. Industries sought to do business on multiple occasions with the Town, Mr. Gianatasio never disclosed his business relationship with C.A.C. Industries to anyone in the Town or on his mandatory personal financial disclosure statement with the Town.  The Independent counsel also reported that Mr. Gianatasio has taken numerous actions as Town Engineer that would benefit C.A.C. Industries. These include working with the Town Highway Superintendent, without town board approval, to repave a town road for free with road surface material unauthorized by the NYSDOT potentially endangering residents’ safety. Additionally, the same company bid on a multi-million dollar project that Mr. Gianatasio oversaw and was charged with disqualifying bidders for. To respect the Ethics Board’s ongoing work, additional material details will be released at a later time. 

Mr. Gianatasio’s failure to disclose this financial relationship and his repeated efforts to monetize his town position by benefiting his private business interest represent a grievous breach of the public’s trust and required immediate action by the Town Attorney. Any claims of impropriety made by Mr. Gianatasio involving other Town officials are baseless and were concocted only after he became aware of outside counsel’s investigation. Mr. Gianatasio is not a whistleblower.  He is making a desperate attempt to distract from his own misconduct and self-dealing. He had oversight responsibility, approved products used, vendors selected, and authorized final payment on projects he now manufactures complaints regarding. The Town Attorney’s office has communicated with the District Attorney’s office regarding its investigative findings to date and will provide additional details upon completion of an independent ethics board process.

Following the completion of its formal independent process, the Town Ethics Board retains the authority to refer Mr. Gianatasio for termination, professional misconduct and criminal prosecution. The Town has full confidence in the independent Ethics Board’s process and looks forward to its findings and recommendations.