Nassau Democrats are calling on the FBI to probe what they’re claiming is a “cover up” surrounding the sudden firing of the county’s top hospital official after documents tied to a federal investigation were stolen from his home.
In a new letter to FBI Director Kash Patel, Nassau Democrats are urging the agency to investigate Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s unexpected ousting of Nassau University Medical Center chair Matthew Bruderman — who was booted from his post in April just hours after someone broke into his home and stole a batch of files.
“We’re laying out and raising questions that no reasonable government would ignore,” Minority Leader Delia DeRiggi-Whitton told reporters Monday at a press conference in Mineola.
”We want the truth, and we want it now,” she said, calling on the FBI to uncover whether Bruderman’s dismissal was politically motivated.
At the time of the firing — four hours after The Post broke the news of the burglary — Blakeman declined to explain his reasoning for removing Bruderman, but is now denying that the break-in had anything to do with it.
“Matt Bruderman did an outstanding job of reducing the hospital’s deficit by $120 million and the County Executive replaced him with Health Commissioner Dr. Irina Gelman,” Chris Boyle, a Blakeman spokesperson, told The Post, “primarily because he felt that the leadership should shift from concentrating on financial issues to medical and patient care issues to which Dr. Gelman was eminently qualified.”
County Legislator Seth Koslow, a former prosecutor who is challenging Blakeman in November, isn’t buying his explanation — likening the county executive’s actions to “obstruction 101.”
“As a former prosecutor, something doesn’t add up,” said Koslow, a Democrat. “Whichever way you slice it, this smells like a cover-up and the public deserves an explanation.”
Dems also said they submitted a Freedom of Information of Law request for the since-recovered documents stolen from Bruderman’s Oyster Bay home — not knowing what they may reveal.
Those documents are tied to an FBI investigation, according to Long Island pols, into allegations that state and local officials diverted more than $1 billion in federal hospital funds over decades as part of a scheme to financially cripple NUMC and pave the way for its closure.
The FBI declined to confirm that investigation.
Meanwhile, Nassau County police has since taken over the April burglary from Center Island PD but declined to comment since the case remains part of an ongoing investigation.
Bruderman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At the time of his firing, Bruderman told The Post he was used as a political pawn, alleging that Blakeman orchestrated a backroom deal, although he did not offer specifics.
The FBI did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.
