Tuesday, December 14, 2010

State Controller Thomas DiNapoli Asks for Resignations of 15 High-level Aides by Ken Lovett - NY Daily News

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State Controller Thomas DiNapoli has asked for resignation letter of 15 senior-level aides.


State Controller Thomas DiNapoli, who narrowly won election last month, is planning a major shakeup in his office, the Daily News has learned.
DiNapoli has asked for resignation letters from 15 senior-level aides. Among them are top deputy Mary Louise Mallick, chief investment officer Raudline Etienne and spokesman Dennis Tompkins.
Not everyone who submits a letter will automatically be gone, though one source said Mallick, who used to work for former Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno, is on the chopping block.
Tompkins admitted a shakeup is coming, but wouldn't elaborate.
"He's looking to strengthen the operations and get a team in place for the next four years," Tompkins said.
While it's not uncommon to ask for letters of resignation upon taking office, it usually happens only when an office changes hands.
DiNapoli put in place nine of the 15 people he asked to submit resignation letters. The rest date back to disgraced former Controller Alan Hevesi's regime.
Stung by campaign attacks that he did not aggressively go after waste and fraud, DiNapoli is prepared to "step up the intensity" of state agency audits, a source said.
The Legislature appointed DiNapoli, a longtime lawmaker close to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, in 2007, after Hevesi pleaded guilty to using state workers to drive his sick wife around.
DiNapoli spent his first term in office dealing with the fallout from a massive pay-to-play scandal that erupted under Hevesi's watch. Hevesi and key aides eventually pleaded guilty in the scandal.