Former Queens Public Library head Thomas Galante is still holding onto a library-provided desktop computer, tablets, and an iPhone—and he deleted records from a laptop he did return after being fired over allegations that he lavished library money on himself, according to a court filing by the public library system. Galante is suing his former employer, claiming that he was fired without cause, and that the allegations of corruption and mismanagement against him were the result of a baseless smear campaign played out in the media by politicians and board trustees who violated employee confidentiality.
The Daily News first reported the latest salvo in the legal fight. Galante is seeking $2.27 million in severance pay that he says he's contractually entitled to.
The library's response to Galante's suit offers further specifics about his alleged misappropriation of funds, which famously include money spent on Maroon Five tickets, a smoking deck adjacent to his former office, and $12,396 on gas. The new filing alleges more than $200,000 in bogus expenses, including meals, drinks, parking tickets, amusement park admissions, home furnishings, and books for his Kindle.
Galante argued that the library signed off on each of his expense reports, and that library officials are asking him to repay tens of thousands for such officially sanctioned functions as board meetings at restaurants, and a library gala. The library countered that his card purchases include items that "cannot conceivably" be for library business, including things like "a bottle of water at Duane Reade and a cup of coffee and a donut at Dunkin’ Donuts."
Also at issue is Galante's years of moonlighting as a consultant for the Elmont school district on Long Island, for which he says he brought in $146,693 in 2002 alone. Galante says that the board agreed to allow him to work for the school district, but lawyers for the library say his bosses didn't know he was double-dipping, logging 6-10 consulting hours during regular work days, and 4-9 1/2 hours while he was attending American Library Association conferences.
The library is demanding that the disgraced exec pay back the $200,000-plus in supposedly questionable expenses, as well as $260,000 it spent on legal fees when the FBI started investigating Galante in 2014. It also wants its two tablets, iPhone, and desktop PC back.
Library lawyers say Galante "willfully and maliciously deleted, erased or manipulated information and documents" from the one Sony laptop he did return after being put on paid leave, potentially destroying evidence in the process.
His lawyer disputed all the latest allegations.
