Thomas Galante
© Christie Farriella/New York Daily NewsQueens Library CEO Thomas Galante, shown, is in Queens Borough President Melinda Katz's crosshairs after his $2 million golden parachute, $392,000 salary, $200,000 secret job and bill for $140,000 in renovations to his executive offices came to light.
An incredible story of shameless corruption by a "public servant" has been exposed by the New York Daily News. Sure we've all heard of banksters and Congress getting away with wild amounts of theft and lawlessness at the public's expense and then walking off even wealthier for it, but it appears the epidemic of theft is spreading fast throughout society.

Meet Thomas Galante, head of the Queens Library. As "chief executive" of the library, we find out that his many duties consisted of a taxpayer funded $329,000 salary, a sports car, $140,000 in renovations to his office, including a $26,000 private smoking deck.

Oh, but that's not it. No, that's just the tip of the iceberg. Galante was also working a side job as a "business consultant" for the Elmont Union Free School District in Long Island, a role that earned him an additional $143,000 annually. Wait, it gets even better. Now that all of this has been uncovered, he is set to receive a $2 million golden parachute if he is fired. $2 million for a head librarian.

This guy has learned very well from his proximity to Wall Street.

From the Daily News:
Queens Borough President Melinda Katz is demanding that trustees of the Queens Library rein in their out-of-control chief executive, Thomas Galante, and eliminate a secret $2 million golden parachute in his employment contract.

The Daily News reported earlier this month that Galante received a whopping $392,000 salary in 2013, plus a sports car, to run the borough's taxpayer-funded library system. And The News was first to report that he spent nearly $140,000 on renovations to his executive offices - including a $26,000 private smoking deck.

At the same time, Galante has been raking in nearly $200,000 annually while moonlighting as a business consultant to a Long Island school district, new documents obtained by the The News show.

This, while veteran employees who got laid off two years ago at the underfunded Queens library system were lucky to collect 10 weeks of unused sick pay.

How in the world did the trustees of a publicly funded library approve such a deal? Gabriel Taussig, the chairman of the board, couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday.

On Feb. 9, The News disclosed that Galante was paid an average of $143,000 annually between 2008 and 2010 by the Elmont Union Free School District in Long Island as a $150-per-hour business consultant.

He was paid $200,100 by Elmont during the 2010-2011 school year; $189,387 during 2011-2012; and $190,387 during 2012-2013. Over those three years, he billed Elmont for an average of 25 hours per week of work. He was essentially running the day-to-day finances of that $80 million school system while also directing the Queens Library.
We shouldn't be surprised. When a culture of lawlessness, corruption and thievery is evidenced from the very top of our society, it's only a matter of time before it infects all aspects of society at all levels.

Here's Galante's smoking deck:
Smoking Deck
© Liberty Blitzkrieg
Full article here.

In Liberty,
Michael Krieger