HAUPPAUGE -- Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota Monday announced the arrest of ex-Suffolk County Legislator Allan Binder for second degree bribe receiving, two counts of first degree offering a false instrument for filing and one count of official misconduct.

Binder, 47, of Kew Gardens, served as the 16th district legislator from 1990 through 2005.  In 2005, the Republican lawmaker was defeated in a race for Huntington Town Supervisor.

As a Suffolk County legislator, Binder is alleged to have accepted over $10,000 in bribes over a four-year period from Neal Trabich of Laurel Hollow, the president of Global Golf Inc., a company that won a contract in 1997 to operate a publicly-owned golf course in Northport.  For the bribes, Binder allegedly facilitated Trabich’s company’s selection as the operator of the nine-hole course in Northport located at the Veterans Administration hospital. 

Additionally, county government records show in 2002 Binder advocated for and voted to approve an extension of Trabich’s 10-year contract to operate the Bergen Point golf course in West Babylon. 

According to financial records, Binder did not report the payments he received from Trabich on financial disclosure forms filed with the county’s Ethics Board.

Second degree bribe receiving is a class “C” felony punishable by a maximum of five to 15 years imprisonment.  Offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree is a class “E” felony punishable by one and one-third to four years incarceration.  Official misconduct is a class “A” misdemeanor punishable by one year in county jail.

Neal Trabich, 56, was arrested by Suffolk governmental corruption bureau detectives last December and charged with three felony counts of filing a false instrument.  Trabich allegedly created and filed invoices reflecting purchases of golf course maintenance equipment from a firm a county audit proved to be fictitious.  Under the terms of Global Golf's 2002 deal with Suffolk County, the firm was contractually required to invest $750,000 to maintain and improve the taxpayer-owned Bergen Point golf course.