Community Corner

Hassett Submits Missing Paperwork, Tea Party Points Finger

Dr. John Hassett and his political party respond to complaint filed against his campaign for failing to submit form.

The Malverne Tea Party is blaming the village clerk for the fact that a required form was missing from the election file of their candidate, Dr. John Hassett, Jr.

Hassett has since filed the necessary paperwork with both the village and the Nassau County Board of Elections, but his party is using the situation to fire back at the village's current administration.

In an e-mail sent to Patch early Saturday morning, the Malverne Tea Party responded to the formal complaint made against Hassett by Stephen Canzoneri, who addressed to the village elections commissioner and the Nassau County board of elections, that the Tea Party candidate failed to follow protocols when running his campaign.

Find out what's happening in Malverne-Lynbrookwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"Setting the record straight," they wrote,  "Stephen Canzoneri is the brother-in-law of Jim Callahan (opposing trustee), and son of the chairman of the 'Independent Party,' Joseph Canzoneri."

Hassett said that this is the second complaint that he has filed against him. The first, which raised questions about the signatures on his initial petition to run for office, was thrown out by the Nassau County Board of Elections.

Find out what's happening in Malverne-Lynbrookwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In the e-mail,  the Tea Party also pointed the finger at Village Clerk and Elections Commissioner Teresa Emmel, accusing her of being biased and blaming her for not telling him to submit the form sooner.

They pointed out that her salary and benefits are controlled by the incumbents, adding "So, one can only imagine how impartial she can be."

Regarding the missing CF-16 form, they said the document was completed on Feb. 11, but was never requested by Emmel.

"All she had to do was ask for the form," they wrote. "Especially, since the last time we asked her if we needed to file any other paperwork, she stated, 'No.'"

Emmel said she was never approached directly by Hassett about the forms he needed to file. According to Emmel, when his mother, Dr. Carol Hassett, dropped of his initial paperwork, "All that was required at that time, to my knowledge, was what she had in hand."

Ultimately though, Emmel said it is the responsibility of the candidate to know which forms must be filed and the requirements vary depending on how each one runs their campaign.

For instance, Emmel said, "I don't know if he's collecting campaign funds or if he's self-funding his campaign." If he doesn't collect contributions, he is exempt from filing the CF-16 form, she explained.

"I don't get involved with political campaigns," she said. "It is up to their party to advise them when they should file the financial documents."

Upon receiving Canzoneri's letter of complaint, Emmel said she immediately constructed a letter to Hassett alerting him about the issue and had it hand-delivered to his home by a Malverne police officer on Friday.

"I did more than I needed to do," she said. "I could have just turned everything over to board of elections."

Instead, the Malverne Tea Party was able to submit the CF-16 form to the Nassau County Board of Elections at 3:50 p.m. on Friday, the same day the complaint was filed. They also was clocked it in with the village at 4:52 p.m. that same day.  

Deputy Mayor and Trustee James Callahan also came to Emmel's defense, saying,"It is not the village elections clerk 's job to educate him on financial forms he has to follow."

He pointed out that the State Board of Elections Board's Web site has all the forms needed on its Web site.

And as Canzoneri originally said, Hassett could have tapped into the knowledge of former mayor (Tony Panzarella), who is supporting his campaign, about the election procedures, one village official reiterated. 

"It’s sad that Dr. Hassett is clearly upset that he got caught breaking the law and is blaming everyone else but the person who is really to blame--himself," Canzoneri said. "It truly disturbs me because he wants to be a lawmaker in the village.  If he can’t follow the law now as a candidate, what type of mistakes would he make as an elected official?

"Blunders as a trustee could cost the village millions of dollars in grants or in litigation costs," he added. 

Canzoneri also pointed out that the Tea Party had failed to address the other complaints he brought forth in his letter to the village clerk and Nassau County Board of Elections.

"He still refuses to inform the voters of how he paid for his campaign, including lawns signs that have been placed illegally at the ramps to the parkway," Canzoneri said, alluding to the expenses missing from the paperwork Hassett and his party did submit.

He said, "These are not minor issues, but serious violations that shouldn’t be overlooked." 

Canzoneri had obtained copies of Hassett's financial forms by submitting a Freedom of Information Law, or FOIL, request to the village clerk on March 4, which Emmel responded to on March 7.

The Tea Party is accusing her of showing favoritism to the Independent Party by fulfilling Canzoneri's FOIL request for Hassett's paperwork by the next business day, saying that similar requests made by the Tea Party have taken longer.

In response to the claims, Emmel pointed out that she recently turned around a request received from Hassett's mother within the same day it was filed.

"I've worked so darn hard for this village for eight years," Emmel added. "Does he see the amount of hours I put in? This is an insult."


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here