By Madina Toure
Former Queens Library CEO Thomas Galante and Interim President Bridget Quinn-Carey spent more than $300,000 on prohibited items, such as alcohol, dinners, entertainment and other personal expenses, according to an audit released by City Comptroller Scott Stringer Tuesday.
Standing across the street from the Astoria Library at 14-01 Astoria Blvd., Stringer released the first full financial audit of the Queens Library’s spending practices between fiscal years 2008 and 2014 in more than two decades and the first report from his newly formed research and investigative unit.
After an analysis of fiscal year 2012-2014 credit card purchases by Galante and Quinn-Carey, the investigation found that the senior executives used their Queens Borough Public Library credit cards for more than $310,000 in prohibited expenses, including about $115,000 in purchases that appeared to be taxable, undeclared income.
Of this amount, nearly $260,000 was incurred by Galante. Quinn-Carey, who was the chief operating officer before Galante was fired, made a number of prohibited purchases totaling $48,000, the audit said.
Galante also ran up $670,000 in credit card charges from July 2007 to December 2013, according to the audit.
“For years, the former CEO of the Queens Borough Public Library Thomas Galante and his executive team used the library as their personal piggy bank,” Stringer said. “Today, that era is coming to a definitive close.”
Stringer said he has referred the results of the audit and the investigation to the Internal Revenue Service and law enforcement authorities.
Galante had told the City Council that the library was running a deficit from fiscal year 2008 to 2013 that ranged from $5.7 million to $6.9 million, according to the audit.
But the library had anywhere from $17 million to $27 million in unrestricted funds from fines and fees as well as state and board designated funds, the audit said.
The audit found that there was $101,453.66 in potentially taxable income on Galante’s credit cards and $16,088.79 on Quinn-Carey’s credit card.
Galante charged $77,000 on his credit card for food and beverage expenses and the library likely paid roughly $18,900 in taxable fuel expenses for Galante.
He also bought four tickets to a Maroon 5 concert, collectively costing the library $1,962.95 as well as two admission tickets for $174 to the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, Calif.
He also spent library funds on specialty ash trays and filters, two Apple-TV devices, a satellite radio subscription for his car, his recurring monthly New York Times digital subscription, a penalty for his car being towed and an EZ-pass violation fine.
The investigation also found Galante’s records of time spent performing part-time consulting services for the Elmont Union Free School District, another public employer, conflicted with his Queens Library work schedule.
From 2005 to 2014, Elmont paid Galante between roughly $150,000 and $200,000 annually. The comptroller’s investigators identified more than 100 days in which Galante claimed to have worked five or more hours for Elmont while working full days for the library.
Quinn-Carey, for her part, charged $11,500 on her credit card for food and beverage expenses and to pay a $100 parking ticket. She probably cost the library $4,000 in taxable fuel expenses.
Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, who helped reform the library system’s board of trustees in 2014, commended Stringer’s investigation.
“The comptroller’s audit and investigative reports confirm some deeply disturbing suspicions of the library’s prior management, and I am pleased the findings will be referred to the appropriate authorities for further action,” Katz said.
Carl Koerner, chairman of the library’s board of trustees, said the audit confirms the “disturbing practices” of Galante and his “complacent trustees.”
He said the current board reversed an earlier decision and unanimously voted to give Stringer’s office full access to the library’s bank accounts.
“We’ve opened the library’s books to stricter outside scrutiny, we’ve enforced greater internal accountability and we’ve ended excessive, unquestioned over-expenditures by management and staff,” Koerner said.
Reach reporter Madina Toure by e-mail at mtour
