Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino's 2nd job leads to independent review

The controversy surrounding the outside employment of Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino could now affect hundreds of county workers. The County Board of Ethics appointed an independent consultant

News 12 Staff

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Jul 17, 2014, 1:01 AM

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Updated 3,893 days ago

The controversy surrounding the outside employment of Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino could now affect hundreds of county workers.

The County Board of Ethics appointed an independent consultant Wednesday to review not just Astorino's finances, but also hundreds of employees that work and run Westchester government.

The board voted to hire Long Island lawyer Steven Leventhal to complete the task and review disclosure forms from hundreds of employees, including those belonging to Astorino.

Astorino has come under fire by Democrats lately for performing two outside consulting gigs earning him at least $35,000 a year.

Spokesman Ned McCormack says Astorino's financial forms have been available since 2010 and suggests the Democrats are only making issues now because it is an election year.

Because there are so many financial disclosure forms for Leventhal to review, the results are not expected to be ready until next May.

Once Leventhal reports his findings to the Board of Ethics, it has the ability to issue subpoenas, stage an independent investigation and/or refer the matter to the district attorney.