$29.5 Million Cloud Hangs Over Airport

A $29.5 million Federal civil rights lawsuit alleging "political and personal favoritism" was filed on Nov. 5 by Sound Aircraft Services, one of two fixed-base operators at East Hampton Town Airport, along with Shoreline Aviation and Action Airlines, associated charter companies.

The suit names the Town of East Hampton, the Town Board as a whole, and its Republican board members, both as officials and as individuals, as defendants. It also names the airport's other fixed-base operator, Myers Aero Services, and Myers Aero Fuel, along with Ben Krupinski individually and two of his companies, Aviation Resources and East Hampton Airlines.

At issue is a 1996 Town Board decision granting Aviation Resources and Myers Aero Services a 20-year lease on the last vacant hangar at the airport and changes this year in the lease of commuter ramp and tie-down space around the airport's terminal building.

Familiar Criticism

In the suit, Sound, Shoreline, and Action Airlines assert that, after the bids for the hangar had been opened and reviewed, the town helped Aviation Resources and Myers Aero stay in the running by allowing them to join forces and resubmit a higher bid.

The suit echoes much of the criticism leveled at the three Republican board members -Thomas Knobel, Nancy McCaffrey, and Len Ber nard - at the time the bids were awarded by Democratic Supervisor Cathy Lester and Councilman Peter Hammerle. The Democrats accused the Republicans of steering the lease toward Mr. Krupinski because he was a major supporter of and contributor to the local Republican Party.

Republican board members have denied this from the first. Mrs. McCaffrey said her decision was based on the fact that Myers had worked out of a tiny hangar for many years, had been at the airport longer than Sound, and deserved the chance to expand.

Service Breakdown

Sound served some 80 percent of the airplanes coming in and out of the airport; Myers supplied about 20 percent.

Mr. Krupinski owns a controlling interest in Aviation Resources and in East Hampton Airlines. In the final count, Myers Aero Services, owned by Michael Myers, and Aviation Resources submitted a combined bid for the hangar of $50,000 for the first year's rent and pledged $250,000 to finish renovations on the facility.

Sound and Shoreline Aviation had made a higher bid, $54,000, for the first year's rent and also agreed to do $250,000 worth of renovations.

Mr. Knobel and Mr. Bernard said the deciding factors for them were Mr. Krupinski's experience as a commercial contractor and therefore his ability to renovate the building more extensively for the same money by using labor from his own contracting firm and getting materials at wholesale.

Influence Alleged

Were it not for the "influence" Mr. Krupinski exercised over the Republicans, the lawsuit states, Sound and Shoreline, as the highest bidders, would have been awarded the lease. Steven Tuma and Cindy Herbst of Montauk are the principals of Sound Aviation. Shoreline and Action Airlines are based elsewhere. They are being represented by Paul R. Levenson of Kaplan, Gottbetter & Levenson of Manhattan.

William Esseks, the attorney for Mr. Krupinski and Myers, however,aid that Mr. Krupinski had no more influence over the Town Board than any other citizen. Accusing him of "inducing the board to interfere with the plaintiffs' rights, doesn't make any sense," he said. It "is not believable. It's not true."

According to the lawsuit, when Myers and Aviation Resources moved into the hangar, they automatically gained 29,200 square feet of commuter ramp space around the hangar, where planes can taxi in to drop off or pick up passengers.

Ramp Issue

The ramp space around the old terminal had been divided on a more or less equal basis between Myers and Sound, some 22,400 square feet of space each.

Sound claims that the renovation was used to justify changing the allocation of ramp space around the new terminal, which is still under discussion. It also claims Republicans pushed for a proposed agreement that would give Myers 85 percent of the ramp space adjacent to the terminal and Sound just 15 percent.

Sound and the charter airlines it services would have use of only 4,900 square feet of ramp space around the terminal, according to the suit, while Myers and East Hampton Airlines would have some 62,000 square feet of combined space around the new terminal and the hangar.

Possible Expansion

In recent months, Sound has entered into contract to buy an interest in a hangar at the airport now owned by Pacific Air Transportation Services. Were the contract to go through, its ramp space would increase.

Sound, Shoreline, and Action Air allege that Mr. Krupinski and his business affiliates, including Myers Aero Services, have been making a concerted effort to drive the competition out of business and that the Town Board, and in particular the Republican board members, have been complicit in that effort, creating "an official town policy of favoring the business interests of Mr. Krupinski, Aviation Resources, East Hampton Airlines, and Myers. . . ."

Called "Meritless"

That policy, it says, "will ultimately result in a Myers Aero Service monopoly on aircraft tie-down, maintenance, and other F.B.O. services at the airport."

Michael Myers, who owns Myers Aero Services, said yesterday he had not yet seen the lawsuit and thus declined to comment. Mr. Esseks, however, spoke on behalf of Mr. Krupinski and Myers Aero. He characterized the suit as "woefully incorrect" and "an attempt to intimidate" the town to change its decision. Mr. Esseks will file a motion to dismiss the suit on behalf of his clients.

The civil rights claims in it are "meritless as a matter of law, legally insufficient, and should not have been brought," Mr. Esseks said.

Mr. Esseks had threatened legal action against the town this summer on behalf of Myers over the space his client was given in the terminal. The company alleges that it is put at a competitive disadvantage while Sound's "superior space" could be considered a gift of town funds. Mr. Esseks said yesterday that the legal action by Sound now may cause the suit "to be reconsidered."

The Town Board retained Richard Cahn of the Melville firm of Cahn, Wishod & Lamb, to represent the board, its members, and the town. Mr. Kahn was not available for comment by press time.