Lawyers for embattled Orange County government IT contractor StarCIO refuted corruption allegations against the firm in a Dec. 26, 2023, letter obtained by The Epoch Times.
The letter was addressed to New York state Sen. James Skoufis (D-Orange County), who initiated the allegations two months ago that the $800,000-plus StarCIO contract was designed to financially benefit a relative of a high-ranking county official.
Langdon Chapman, former county attorney and current county human resource commissioner, and StarCIO owner Isaac Sacolick are brothers-in-law.
The letter, penned by attorneys Benjamine Allee and Russell Yankwitt from a Westchester-based law firm, asserted that Mr. Sacolick, a respected digital transformation expert, was hired by the county in times of need and performed his work in a satisfactory manner.
It said the initial StarCIO contract, along with the following extensions and expansions of services at the request of the county, was legally acted upon and in accordance with county procurement policy.
The letter disputed the substandard company image painted by Mr. Skoufis, including the claim that its liability insurance had expired at the time of a contract amendment.
StarCIO did have an expired business registration with the state government at the time of the contract, which was fixed by Mr. Sacolick immediately following the corruption allegations.
The letter also highlighted a claim about Mr. Sacolick’s house under foreclosure, which was proven unfounded during a subsequent review by county legislators.
During an interview with a special county legislative committee on Nov. 20, 2023, county legislator Mike Anagostakis, who helped Mr. Skoufis’s investigation into the StarCIO contract as a senior adviser, didn’t deny that he mistook a legal procedural document for a foreclosure notice.
“I am not a lawyer. I have no idea,” Mr. Anagostakis told committee members at the meeting.
Mr. Skoufis had cited the foreclosure claim at an Oct. 25, 2023, press conference as a likely motive for Mr. Sacolick to enter into a large county contract.
In the letter, attorneys asked Mr. Skoufis to stop defaming StarCIO and Mr. Sacolick and to preserve all related documentation.
“I referred this matter to law enforcement, so, to the extent the company wants to twist themselves in knots trying to explain away the alleged criminality, they should do so to authorities, not my office,” Mr. Skoufis told The Epoch Times in response to the letter.
He referred the case to the FBI and state attorney general on Oct. 30, 2023.
On Dec. 11, 2023, Mr. Skoufis’s office produced a report based on the committee’s work, which highlighted what it saw as irregularities in the selection of StarCIO, including giving the company confidential county information before a formal contractual relationship was formed and only reaching out to StarCIO for a quote while getting the rest passively through a “piggyback” method.
The special legislative committee is due to produce a report at the end of its investigation.
