As Criminal Probe Continues, Port Chester Hires New Building Inspector

In the latest move to re-haul and rebuild a beleaguered building department, Port Chester's trustees a new building inspector Monday night.

By a unanimous vote, the board hired Peter Tringali for the $95,000-a-year position.

Tringali is a Port Chester native who graduated from SUNY Albany and has three decades of experience in construction management and administration, Village Manager Christopher Russo said. Tringali, who placed second among all candidates in the county's civil service test, was hired after a series of interviews with Russo and Code Enforcement Director Christopher Steers.

"In terms of full disclosure and transparency, he did not attend Port Chester High School, but we will not hold it against him that he went to Stepinac," Russo joked.

Monday's vote came 11 days after Port Chester police while clerical functions were moved to the clerk's office. A criminal investigation of the building department began in April of 2010, and this month marked the second time police temporarily shut down the building department as the investigation continues.

Police authorities said the building department – and its records – would remain locked until an announcement from village hall, and last week Mayor Dennis Pilla said the office would be re-opened pending significant staffing changes, including the appointment of a new building inspector.

Tringali is expected to work closely with his counterparts in code enforcement, and will have his work cut out for him. For years, the building department was of mismanagement and corruption, and village officials say the department was a poorly-run mess of haphazard paper records, missing documents and cases that were never addressed or resolved.

In their criminal investigation, detectives have been working their way through a daunting paper trail – some 3,000 building permits spanning more than a decade, including by the former building inspectors. The last building inspector, Frank Ruccolo, was suspended when police launched their criminal investigation, and retired in June of last year after 10 years as a village employee; longtime former Building Inspector Leonard Cusumano died in 2007.

In May of 2010, Port Chester hired a former White Plains building inspector, Daniel Gray, as interim leader of the building department. Gray is well-liked among the staff and trustees – Trustee John Branca said his vote for Tringali was conditioned on giving Gray a glowing letter of recommendation for his next job – but did not meet the civil service requirements to apply for the full-time position.

"We've been barraged with calls from people who have been doing work with the village...and said they have never seen this level of professionalism," Trustee Sam Terenzi said.

Although police won't comment on the status of their investigation, Port Chester cleared a major hurdle in restructuring the building department with Monday's appointment. With major , and consistent for the first time in years, Port Chester is refining its crack-down on illegal housing, overcrowding and fire hazards. Trustees say they hope a re-hauled building department will amplify those efforts.

"Welcome Mr. Tringali," Pilla said after the vote. "I'm sure you're going to live up to your reputation, and good luck."

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