The new Nassau County executive was elected last year on an anti-corruption platform — but she has appointed the scandal-plagued brother of a major donor to a plum $115,000-a-year parks job.
Laura Curran tapped Sean McBride for the post even though he was fired in 2016 as the Town of Hempstead’s sign-maintenance crew chief for violating its vehicle-use policy, insubordination and filing false records.
McBride’s government truck had a GPS tracker and town officials claimed he was not where he was supposed to be — and that he lied about it.
Charges of misconduct against McBride were upheld by a state arbitrator in a ruling last October.
“McBride was not interested in performing his job as required and keeping the trust of the town,” arbitrator Elliott Shriftman said in a 78-page ruling.
“The GPS showed he was not where he claimed he had been or at the time he noted . . . or was taking breaks well in excess of those allotted.”
The arbitrator also said McBride lied by claiming he left the town’s jurisdiction with the vehicle to aid a co-worker with a medical problem.
“Fabrication, even just once, constitutes egregious misconduct,” Shriftman determined. “Grievant was not terminated for only one act of falsification.”
After getting canned by Hempstead, McBride was hired by Nassau County as a seasonal, hourly employee, when it was still run by Republican former County Executive Ed Mangano — who faced a corruption trial earlier this year that ended in a mistrial.
But on Feb. 6 of this year, after Curran took over as county executive, McBride was promoted to the $115,000-a-year deputy park commissioner’s post, according to payroll records.
So how did McBride score the six-figure post? No one is saying.
But Sean McBride is the brother of Robert McBride, whose consulting firm this year gave $5,000 in donations to Curran’s campaign and $5,000 to the Nassau County Democratic Party.
Robert McBride confirmed his brother worked at the Parks Department and was fired by the Town of Hempstead, but defended him as a worthy employee.
“He’s a pretty hard worker,” Robert McBride said. “He worked with me for many years. He’s an asset.”
Curran’s office said of the hiring, “Sean McBride is a true professional who brings years of experience to our team.”
Sean McBride did not return requests for comment.



