The tumultuous primary for Huntington Town Supervisor culminates next week in the Tuesday primary that pits incumbent Town Supervisor Ed Smyth (R-Huntington Bay) against Councilwoman Brooke Lupinacci (R-Lloyd Harbor).
Recent reports concern the Save Huntington 2025 committee, composed of Lupinacci and her running mates for Town Board, former Councilman Eugene Cook (R-Greenlawn) and former Zoning Board of Appeals Chairman John Posillico (R). Reports show a pattern of financial non-disclosures, late filings, and likely concealment of fundraising activity.
On April 10, 2025, Lupinacci, Cook, and Posillico held a fundraiser with sponsorship levels up to $1,000. No contributions from that event were disclosed. New York State Board of Elections shows the committee having last received a donation April 10, 2025, the date of the event itself, totalling $575.00 in contributions, all from corporate entities. No receipts are listed after that date.
A search of the candidate/committee disclosures also comes up with nothing.
The event was held from 6:00p.m. to 8:30p.m. at the American Legion Post #360 in Halesite. The minimum suggested donation was $75 per person, with Bronze, Silver, and Gold levels fetching $250, $500, and $1,000, respectively.
The well-attended event (see photos) was clearly publicized, but there are no evident filings as of press time, June 19, 2025.
However, where listings are not sparse is the expenditures log, which shows a total of $38, 923.92, according to the final summary. Total receipts for the campaign total $15,570, totaling out at a campaign that’s $23,348.92 in the red. The two largest donations were in the form of checks made out to Garri Promotions in the amounts of $12, 747.11 and $12,766.86 for campaign mailings. The first check cleared on March 28, the other on April 14.
Garri Promotions, located at 330 Lenox Road in Huntington Station, and claims to be a “leading event management company…specializing in organizing pet expos across various locations including Greater Philadelphia, Lehigh Valley, Long Island, Morgantown, and Greater Boston.” The vendor seems to be more aligned with pet expos than politics. Details were obtained from their MapQuest listing; the associated URL – www.familypetshows.com. – shows the website, listing Karen Garetano as the Entertainment and Program Coordinator. Garetano’s – presumably short for “Garri” – bio on their website says she was employed by the Town of Huntington Department of Parks and Recreation for thirteen years, “she was responsible for planning and scheduling many of the programs and activities in the town.”
Each of the candidates loaned themselves $5,000, which were paid back in full, making up the $15,000 income besides the $575 in corporate contributions. Garri Promotions also received a collective $11,884.92 in checks from the committee for campaign literature. The committee also paid the Halesite VFW Post $697 for the April 10 fundraiser, and James Cook $500 for bookkeeping.
“The original filings were due at the end of May; all of our candidates filed on time,” Huntington Town Republican Committee Chairman Tom McNally told The Messenger, referring to the slate consisting of Supervisor Smyth, Councilman Dr. David Bennardo (R-Greenlawn) and attorney Greg Grizopoulos (R-Melville). “They’re fully transparent. We kept an eye out and clearly, nobody filed anything from the Lupinacci slate.”
McNally adds that a “legitimate campaign committee” for John Posillico, one of Lupinacci’s running mates, does not return a search.
“They probably have fifteen mailers. In my experience, mailers are going to be well over six figures’ worth of expenses,” said McNally. “They have published at least a dozen mailers and that doesn’t align with the expenses.”
The Save Huntington 2025 committee filed its paltry disclosures three weeks past the deadline.
“The whole thing [filings] is absolutely incomplete. It’s obvious it was thrown together. It flies in the face of the purpose of these campaign disclosures,” said McNally. “They’re campaign style has been to slander Ed Smyth and send out mailers that are,without a shred of evidence, accusing him of violating ethics and laws. Only Lupinacci filed disclosure statements that are late, full of omissions, clearly inaccurate – and I’m being generous by saying inaccurate.”
McNally adds that Cook and Psillico haven’t filed anything.
“A sitting Councilwoman has an obligation to be truthful and adhere to the laws and file her campaign disclosure in a timely and complete fashion. She has done neither,” said McNally. “If you can’t trust them to follow election laws, how can you trust them to be in elected office for the Town of Huntington?”
Penalties can reach $1000 for each disclosure filing that a candidate/committee fails to make. The State Board of Elections has the prerogative of making those determinations.
“The voters deserve to be able to know what’s going on in their campaign; that’s the whole purpose of the laws. She’s doing a Joe Biden-basement campaign. She’s not coming out in public, she won’t give quotes to the press, or do interviews.”
McNally says that somebody is “obviously” funding the campaign, but he believes the mystery is intentional. A possible suspect, McNally says, is Greg DeRosa, a builder who has “gone to great lengths to tie Smyth to DeRosa.”
“As we know from her prior filings, she has taken thousands of dollars from builders, including DeRosa. The thing that she’s accusing Ed Smyth, she’s guilty of. She clearly is hiding something.”
The failure to document rental or lease payments for their campaign office headquarters on Main Street in Huntington Village also warrants question.
McNally has filed a complaint with the NYS Board of Elections’ Office of Independent Enforcement Counsel, claiming the irregularities are in violation of State election law.
He is requesting a full investigation into the unreported campaign funds; a subpoena of relevant bank records, event bookings, and vendor payments, if necessary; the assessment of civil penalties or referral for prosecution under the law, and; a mandate for the committee and candidates to immediately file accurate and complete disclosure reports.
Under New York State election law, the legally responsible party is Treasurer James Cook, who was paid $500 for bookkeeping.
Early voting runs until Sunday, June 22. Election Day is Tuesday, June 24.
