Mark Lesko
Mark J. Lesko[1] (born February 4, 1967) is an American politician and former Assistant U.S. Attorney. He recently won the special election for supervisor in the town of Brookhaven, New York. Lesko replaced former supervisor Brian X. Foley who was elected to the New York State senate in the November 2008 election.[2]
Biography
Lesko is a native of Washington D.C. He is a graduate of Yale University, where he was a quarterback on the varsity football team.[3] In 1994,[4] Lesko received his law degree from Georgetown University Law School, graduating on the Dean's list and serving as a Notes Editor of the Georgetown Immigration Law Journal.[3]
Lesko practiced law at firms in Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. He then served as Assistant U.S. Attorney for 10 years, from 1999-2002 in the District of Columbia and 2002-2009 in the Eastern District of New York.[5]
In 2009, Lesko was the Democratic candidate for the open Brookhaven Town Supervisor position, which was vacated by Democrat Brian X. Foley. Lesko's opponent for the special election to fill the seat was a town councilman, Republican Tim Mazzei.[6] The special election for town supervisor was held on March 31, 2009 and Lesko topped the sitting Councilman Mazzei with almost 55% of the vote.[7] Supervisor Lesko beat Martin Haley in the general election on November 3, 2009, receiving 56% of the vote. [8] Supervisor Lesko won his third term on November 8, 2011 against Republican Challenger Cecile Forte with nearly 60% of the vote. [9]
Lesko and his wife Karen reside in East Setauket, New York.
Career as Assistant United States Attorney
Lesko served as Deputy Chief of the Long Island Criminal Division, where he ran the U.S. Attorney's Office on Long Island leading all federal investigations and prosecutions in Brookhaven.
Some of his successful cases as Lead Prosecutor include:
- Muttontown Slavery Case[10] − a Muttontown couple were found guilty of abusing two Indonesian women and holding them as slaves in their home.[11]
- The Lawrence Aviation Environmental Pollution Case - The leadership of Lawrence Aviation Incorporated was convicted for dumping 12 tons of hazardous waste into the ground of Port Jefferson Station, New York.[12]
- The Symbol Technologies Fraud Case − Virtually all of the company's senior management were found to be involved.[12]
- A racketeering case involving the murder of an innocent man by gang members.[12]
Mark also has overseen and managed the federal prosecutions leading to conviction in:
- The "Asphalt Cartel" Case − Involving the owners of major asphalt companies in Suffolk County for conspiracy to rig bids.[13]
- The prosecution of officials of the William Floyd School District for tax evasion.
- The conviction of a sitting New York State Judge.[12]
Major Initiatives As Supervisor
As Supervisor, Lesko has made it a priority to take the politics out of Brookhaven government. Lesko has forged a partnership with a Republican Councilwoman, Deputy Supervisor and Councilwoman Kathleen Walsh, and has appointed a new bi-partisan management team. [14]
Lesko has applied fiscally conservative principals to Town government. He has froze property taxes for three years in a row and has cut spending in the General Fund by 26%. [15] [16]
Lesko supported a property tax cap, a spending cap, and a debt management cap for Brookhaven Town, and voters overwhelmingly approved all three measures, which were referendums on the ballot in November 2010. [17] Wall Street Rating agencies have affirmed Brookhaven’s high bond ratings eight times since Lesko has taken office. [18] [19] [20]
Lesko has focused on economic development in the Town and is the brainchild of "Accelerate Long Island", an initiative to connect research conducted at Long Island's major universities and research institutions and connect them with entrepreneurs to create start-up companies on Long Island. [21]
Lesko has also focused on redeveloping the blighted areas of the suburbs and redirecting development away from virgin land through a program he developed called "Blight to Light". [22]
A hallmark economic development project of Supervisor Lesko is the Ronkonkoma Hub Transit-Oriented Redevelopment, which seeks to create a live-work destination 50 acres of Brookhaven owned property adjacent to the busiest train station on the entire Long Island Rail Road and proximate to Long Island's major commercial airport, Long Island MacArthur Airport. [23]
References
- ^ Saslow, Linda (2009-04-02). "Supervisor for the Short Term in Brookhaven". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/05/nyregion/long-island/05brookli.html.
- ^ Confessore, Nicholas; Hakim, Danny (2008-11-05). "Democrats Are Poised to Control Albany". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/05/nyregion/05york.html.
- ^ a b Bio from LeskoForSupervisor websitePDF
- ^ Georgetown Law: Class of 1994: Mark J. Lesko (Page 28), includes photo
- ^ Whittle, Patrick (2009-03-10). "Power brokers eye Brookhaven supervisor". Newsday.com. http://www.newsday.com/iphone/local/pinebarrens/ny-lisupe106063909mar10,0,7641505,iphone.story.
- ^ Strickler, Andrew (2009-01-11). "Mazzei, Lesko kick off campaigns". Newsday.com. Archived from the original on 2009-01-17. http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:e6pXf_evNQgJ:www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/sunday/longisland/ny-lirace115995190jan11,0,3944490.story.
- ^ "Final Results of Special Election on Tuesday, March 31, 2009". Suffolk County Board of Elections. http://www.co.suffolk.ny.us/boe/eleres/09s1/.
- ^ "Suffolk County Board of Elections, FInal Results of General Election on Tuesday, November 9, 2009". Suffolk County Board of Elections. http://www.suffolkcountyny.gov/boe/eleres/09ge.
- ^ "Suffolk County Board of Elections, Final Results of General Election on Tuesday, November 8, 2011". Suffolk County Board of Elections. http://www.co.suffolk.ny.us/boe/eleres/11ge/.
- ^ Kessler, Robert E. (2007-11-15). "Alleged slavery victim's son says mother was threatened". Newsday.com. http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bzslav1116,0,6599358.story.
- ^ Kessler, Robert E. (2007-09-19). "Housekeeper: Couple tortured, humiliated me". Newsday.com. http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bzslav0919,0,106703.story.
- ^ a b c d "Results That Matter...". LeskoForSupervisor.com. http://www.leskoforsupervisor.com/results.htm.
- ^ Lutz, Lee (2009-01-07). "Lesko in supervisor race". Times Beacon Record Newspapers. http://www.northshoreoflongisland.com/Articles-i-2009-01-08-77572.112114_Lesko_in_supervisor_race.htm.
- ^ "Mark Lesko Biography". http://www.marklesko.net/bio.
- ^ "Mark Lesko Biography". http://www.marklesko.net/bio.
- ^ "Brookhaven Town Board Adopts No Tax Increase Budget". http://www.northshoreoflongisland.com/Articles-News-i-2011-11-24-90474.112114-sub18235.112114-Brookhaven-Town-Board-adopts-notaxincrease-budget.html.
- ^ "Suffolk County Board of Elections Final Results of General Election on Tuesday, November 2, 2010". http://www.suffolkcountyny.gov/boe/eleres/10ge/.
- ^ "Supervisor Mark Lesko Announces that Wall Street Agency Affirms Brookhaven’s High Bond Rating". http://www.brookhaven.org/PressRoom/tabid/56/mid/970/newsid970/1025/dnnprintmode/true/Default.aspx?SkinSrc=%5BG%5DSkins%2F_default%2FNo+Skin&ContainerSrc=%5BG%5DContainers%2F_default%2FNo+Container.
- ^ "Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s Rating Agencies Both Affirm the Town’s High Bond Ratings". http://www.brookhaven.org/PressRoom/tabid/56/mid/970/newsid970/898/dnnprintmode/true/Default.aspx?SkinSrc=%5BG%5DSkins%2F_default%2FNo+Skin&ContainerSrc=%5BG%5DContainers%2F_default%2FNo+Container.
- ^ "Mark Lesko Biography". http://www.brookhaven.org/Departments/OfficeoftheSupervisor/Supervisor/tabid/197/Default.aspx.
- ^ "Group Effort to Rev up Economy". http://www.newsday.com/opinion/group-effort-to-rev-up-economy-1.2645227.
- ^ "Blight to Light". http://www.brookhaven.org/Departments/OfficeoftheSupervisor/BlighttoLight.aspx.
- ^ "Rethinking Ronkonkoma". http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/18/opinion/18mon4.html?scp=2&sq=Lesko&st=nyt.
External links