Felix J. Grucci Jr., ex-congressman, steps away from Brookhaven IDA role

Felix J. Grucci Jr., a former congressman, ex-Brookhaven town supervisor and retired fireworks executive, has stepped down from his post on the town's Industrial Development Agency.

Grucci, 74, a Republican from East Patchogue, had served for more than a decade on the seven-member IDA board. He said he resigned to focus on caring for his wife, Madeline, who has been in failing health.

Town officials did not immediately name a replacement. The IDA considers requests for tax breaks from developers and businesses seeking to relocate to Brookhaven.

“It has a lot to do with life’s challenges,” Grucci said of his resignation on Tuesday. “Her health care needs consume all my time, and I could not prepare and work productively as a member of the board.”

Grucci's resignation from the unpaid role had been announced Monday by Supervisor Dan Panico during a town board meeting. 

Panico recalled first meeting Grucci as a student about 25 years ago when Grucci was the town's supervisor.

"He was a gentleman then, and everyone I ever met says he is a true gentleman," Panico said.

Grucci's family operates Bellport-based Fireworks by Grucci, a world-renowned pyrotechnics company that has provided fireworks displays for presidential inaugurations and the Olympics. Grucci retired from the company in 2013 after serving as its chief financial officer.

After two years on the town council, Grucci was elected Brookhaven supervisor in 1995, succeeding fellow Republican John LaMura, who declined to seek reelection.

LaMura's administration had been marred by a corruption scandal linked to Port Jefferson auto dealer John McNamara, who pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges in 1992 for running a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme. The scandal led to guilty pleas by two former Brookhaven officials and the acquittal of two others, Newsday reported at the time.

Grucci was credited by some with restoring faith in town government in the scandal's aftermath. 

“He is one of the most important people who have ever served in the Town of Brookhaven and Suffolk County in a variety of different roles," said Mitchell Pally, a former executive director of the Long Island Builders Institute, and an ex-Metropolitan Transportation Authority board member who served on the IDA with Grucci. 

“I think the nature of Brookhaven has improved tremendously over the years in its services and its ability to provide for its citizens, and [much] of that started when Felix was supervisor,” Pally said in a phone interview.

Grucci was elected to an East End House seat in 2000 and served a single term before losing a narrow race to Democrat Tim Bishop in 2002. Bishop won by less than 3,000 votes out of 167,791 cast.

Bishop recalled Grucci was gracious in his defeat after a sometimes bruising campaign. “By today’s standards, it was a relatively tame race," Bishop said on Tuesday. "Our personal interactions were certainly civil.”

Suffolk County and Brookhaven Republican Chair Jesse Garcia said Grucci's political career was marked by a “big heart” and "attention to detail.”

“He always cared about what government could do to improve the lives and the economy of the residents of the Town of Brookhaven and really all of New York," Garcia said in a phone interview. “He brought his business acumen at a time when it was really needed.”

Grucci said he had no plans to reenter government, but added if offered a position he would "consider it seriously."

“I am most proud of the fact that the people of the town of Brookhaven and the First Congressional District have put their faith in me,” he said. “In the fireworks business, you learn to keep your head low. You learn to keep your head lower in politics.”

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.