Published: May 08, 2008 01:40 am            

NIAGARA COUNTY: Beilein's back on track for state job

The wait is apparently over for Niagara County Sheriff Thomas Beilein.

Gov. David Paterson will send Beilein’s nomination to become chairman of the state Commission of Correction to the state Senate for confirmation by early June, sources say.

The Senate is expected to act on the nomination before its summer recess at the end of June.

Former Gov. Eliot Spitzer announced Feb. 21 he was nominating Beilein to the chairman’s post on the three-member commission. However, in the aftermath of the sex scandal that drove Spitzer from office, Beilein’s nomination was put “on hold.”

Albany sources indicated Paterson wanted to review all of Spitzer’s pending nominations. Spitzer had not formally transmitted the Beilein nomination before his resignation.

State Sen. George Maziarz, R-Newfane, who is expected to guide Beilein’s nomination through the confirmation process, said he’s “been pushing to make (the nomination process) happen.”

“(Paterson) has slowed down a number of appointments,” Maziarz said. “If it’s happening, I’d like it to happen soon, because the (confirmation) process in the Senate takes a while.”

The senator said if the Beilein nomination is received in early June, the sheriff could be confirmed before summer recess. Maziarz also said he discussed Beilein’s nomination in a recent meeting with Paterson.

“I did mention to (Paterson) that I thought Tom Beilein was a good guy,” Maziarz said, “and that this whole prostitution thing was bogus.”

A published report suggested Beilein’s nomination “was in trouble” after a picture of him, shaking hands with two people later linked to a prostitution ring was found on the wall in a Third Street massage parlor. Federal agents investigating the prostitution ring said there were no links to the sheriff.

The picture was apparently taken when the pair was introduced to Beilein by Niagara County Coroner James Joyce.

The three-member correction commission is charged with providing for a “safe, secure and humane correctional system in New York state.” The commission sets minimum standards for the management of correctional facilities, evaluates, investigates and oversees correctional facilities, assists in developing new correctional facilities and oversees the training of correction officers, supervisors and managers.

Beilein would lead the commission as it monitors the care, treatment and discipline that inmates receive, conducts training programs for corrections personnel, approves plans for facility construction and prepares statistical reports.

The appointment is a full-time job, with a five-year term. The chairman’s post carries a $101,600 annual salary.

The commission is based in Albany and, in the past, commission members have lived across the state, traveling to the state capitol only for commission meetings. Beilein has said he would spend at least several days a week working out of an Albany office but did not plan to move his home there.

The sheriff’s vacancy could be filled by an appointment by Paterson, which would then need to be confirmed by the state Senate. However, sources tell Greater Niagara Newspapers that such an appointment is unlikely, because the Senate would not act on it until weeks before the November general election.

An election for a full four-year term for a new sheriff will be held in November.

Contact reporter Rick Pfeiffer at 282-2311, ext. 2252.

        

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