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Former Library President and CEO Thomas Galante
By Michael V. Cusenza
The Queens Library and its former President and CEO, Thomas Galante, have agreed to settle the federal lawsuit he filed against the non-profit in November 2015 after he was forced out over questionable use of expense accounts, the Library confirmed on Wednesday.
The settlement amount is $1.5 million – approximately half of which is covered by insurance; $300,000 of the settlement is being paid to Galante. A stipulation of dismissal of the case was filed Monday evening in Brooklyn federal court.
“It’s in the best interest of this institution and the public to put our time and resources towards our future, rather than litigate this matter to conclusion,” said Queens Library President and CEO Dennis Walcott, who took the reins from interim President and CEO Bridget Quinn-Carey in March. “I look forward to continuing our work of providing outstanding service to all of our customers.”
In November 2015, Galante filed a lawsuit seeking approximately $2.275 million in severance pay and approximately $7.2 million in other damages to contest his December 2014 termination for cause.
The 19-member Library Board of Trustees voted unanimously to ax Galante, 55, who pulled down $392,000 per year. In July 2015, City Comptroller Scott Stringer released an audit and investigative report that painted a vivid picture of a disingenuous and reckless Library under Galante.
According to Stringer, Galante and other Library executives spent more than $300,000 on prohibited items such as extravagant meals, alcohol, Apple TVs, smokeless ashtrays, airline upgrades, and tickets to a Maroon 5 concert and Disneyland, all while claiming that the Library was running a deficit.
Galante has said he believes ulterior motives were behind his termination.
“After giving 27 years of my life to the Queens Library and raising millions of dollars to make it better, the political winds changed overnight and my name was dragged through the mud,” he told the New York Post after filing the lawsuit.
