Putting a Face to the Name

Before March 9, John A. Spotola was just another name on lawsuit papers to Huntington Town Board members.

He was not content to keep it that way.

Spotola is one of ten defendants in the lawsuit filed February 3 by the town against, primarily, Highway Superintendent William Naughton. The suit accused Naughton of 'improper hiring proecdures" after  Naughton added eight to his payroll without authorization despite a hiring freeze approved by the board in December 2009.

In addition to Naughton and Local 342, Long Island Public Service Employees union, the eight men Naughton tried to hire were also named as defendants. Spotola was one of those eight.

So, at the March Town Board meeting, Spotola came to face the  members . He appeared to be someone who feels he was caught in the middle of a dispute that had nothing to do with him but was contrite nonetheless.

"I have been trying to get this job [in  the highway department] for years," he told the Board. "I still want this job and I just wanted to put a face to the name, since the process has now been slowed."
Supervisor Frank Petrone and the Board appeared to be sincerely moved by Spotola appearance in front of them.

Supervisor Frank Petrone urged Spotola to be patient. "Keep your hopes up," he said. "It's not an issue of you personally. It's an issue of when a job should be filled. The board has to deal with it financially. We have asked to have the lawsuit dropped. Right now it's not being dropped. We are hopeful that it will be. We are certainly not holding this against you or anybody. It's the process that we have to resolve."

Spotola said he was relieved to hear that. "I heard a rumor that, because I was involved in this, I  might now be barred from being hired ever," he said.

Supervisor Petrone said that the truth was quite to the contrary.

"That is absolutely not true. Plus, now you have more credibility than ever with us," the supervisor said.  The other board members appeared to indicate agreement.

Councilman Mark Cuthbertson brought levity to the situation when he then joked, "What was your name again?"