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Library funds spent on ‘questionable expenditures’: Stringer

By Alex Robinson

All onboard Thomas Galante’s gravy train.

Under the leadership of its suspended president, the Queens Library spent thousands of dollars on luxurious meals, expensive furniture and even Maroon 5 concert tickets, City Comptroller Scott Stringer said last week.

Stringer revealed some preliminary findings of an audit his office has been conducting in a letter to the nonprofit’s board.

In fiscal year 2013, the library bought lavish monthly dinners for trustees and senior management, which cost an average of $1,000, Stringer said. Attendees feasted on filet mignon and soft shell crab, and sipped fine wines and fancy cocktails.

More than 60 meals were bought for internal library staff and booked as work meetings, Stringer said.

The nonprofit was also billed for four tickets to a Maroon 5 concert, worth $1,962.95, an autographed ball for the president’s office signed by Bill Buckner and Mookie Wilson, and a Mahogany Carleton desk, which cost more than $2,000, the comptroller said.

Galante also bought multiple room service charges, guest rooms and minibar items when he was on out-of-town travel, according to Stringer.

The comptroller called for an overhaul of the library’s fiscal policies as many of these questionable expenses also lacked supporting documentation.

“The information that has just been provided reflects a disturbing pattern of expenditures,” Stringer said in the letter. “I urge the board to direct the library to immediately promulgate responsible policies that will ensure the prudent fiscal practices.”

The Library’s board of trustees voted to suspend Galante with pay in September months after allegations of improper spending spurred several investigations into the nonprofit’s expenses.

The board also voted to open its books to Stringer, who launched his audit of the library’s finances.

The changes came after a new state law gave Borough President Melinda Katz and Mayor Bill de Blasio the power to remove trustees before the end of their terms. Katz and de Blasio removed eight trustees, who had stood by Galante and refused to open the nonprofit’s accounts to the comptroller for an audit.

More than 85 percent of the library’s funding comes from public coffers, according to Katz.

“We must not let the board’s recent action to place CEO and President Thomas Galante on administrative leave distract us from the urgent need to establish adequate management and controls for the library, particularly over the expenses incurred by anyone conducting business or traveling on behalf of the library,” Stringer said.

Stringer has yet to release his office’s formal audit.

Reach reporter Alex Robinson by e-mail at arobi‌nson@‌cnglo‌cal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.