NY State Employees Indicted on Drug, 'Man Cave' Charges

Glad to see the taxpayer money going to good use.

Two state employees were indicted Thursday on charges of setting up a "man cave" at work to sleep, smoke pot, watch TV and deal drugs - while they were supposed to be working.

Office of General Employees workers Gary Pivoda, 48, of Latham, and Louis Marciano, 50, of Rennselaer were accused of transforming a storage area at a Capitol parking garage into their own private getaway.

"Instead of working, these state employees allegedly used public property and taxpayer-funded time to nap and party in a den of illicit activities," Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said.

"New Yorkers expect state employees to obey the law, act in a professional manner and carry out their assigned duties. This office ... will continue to root out the corruption to restore faith in government."

This Cuomo is a real cut-up. He said faith in government. Heh.

More here.

The latest allegations were revealed as the men were arraigned on a 22-count indictment unsealed before Judge Stephen Herrick in Albany County Court.

It comes three months after state Inspector General Joseph Fisch's office raided the reputed party den -- located inside a maintenance area of the East Garage off Phillip Street.

The new charges from state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo accuse both workers of grand larceny, defrauding the government, official misconduct, criminal nuisance, cocaine and marijuana possession, using drug paraphernalia and filing a false instrument for allegedly turning in phony time sheets.

Pivoda is also accused of selling cocaine July 2 and selling marijuana on April 21, April 28, May 19, May 26, June 11 and July 8, the indictment said.

The men, both of whom surrendered to police this morning, pleaded not guilty.

The salt-and-pepper-haired Pivoda, a slim man with glasses and a mustache, was released on $10,000 bail. Marciano, a stocky man with glasses and a graying beard and mustache, was released on $5,000 bail.

"Lou Marciano and I are shocked that he would actually be prosecuted for this," said his attorney, Lee Kindlon, "when there was actually a more publicized and egregious waste of tax money last spring as our state Senate sat around proud doing nothing while Rome burned."

But a prosecutor for the attorney general's office left little to the imagination when discussing the case in court, starting the allegations against Pivoda.

"Watching TV, sleeping, using marijuana, weighing, packaging and selling marijuana, using cocaine, weighing packaging and selling cocaine and literally hosting parties where others -- some of whom were state employees, some of whom were not -- were invited onto state property, into this enclosure where they used cocaine and marijuana throughout the night," Prizzia told the judge.

I wonder what union these two belong to?

As a special added bonus just for our readers, note these two state employees also come with rap sheets.

Prizzia noted Pivoda has prior convictions that include possession of stolen property in 1977, unauthorized use of a vehicle in 1979, petty larceny in 1980, attempted burglary in 1982, misdemeanor assault in 1988 and burglary in 1992.

Prizzia said Marciano was convicted of attempted first-degree criminal contempt in 1997 after being arrested for felony criminal contempt and misdemeanor assault.