By Rachel Lutz, Assistant Editorial Editor
On campus, the rumor goes that there are five buildings that are named after criminals. Well, maybe not five, but at least two.
Kushner Hall houses the School of Law and was dedicated to Charles Kushner and his wife Seryl on Aug. 26, 1996. Kushner was a New York University and Hofstra Law graduate.
Kushner was a top-dog in the world of political campaign donations, as well as a prime real-estate developer in the tri-state area. He helped raise money for Jim McGreevey, former governor of New Jersey, US Senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton, and former-mayor Rudy Giuliani. At one point, he was poised to buy the third-largest bank in Israel, the New Jersey Nets, and almost chaired the Port Authority. He was also a part of The University Board of Trustees.
His accomplishments are respectable, and presumably that is why The University named a hall after him. In March 2005, he was sentenced to two years in federal prison for the charges of hiring a prostitute to seduce his brother-in-law (and sending the tape to the man's wife, Kushner's sister, to extort him), who was testifying against him in another court case; his business and personal finances were being looked into for being over the legal limit of campaign donations. He donated about half a million dollars to various campaigns, despite the limit of $25,000. Kushner was also linked to the McGreevey sex scandal.
While Kushner was not a criminal when The University named the law school after him, it is noted that the name of the school hasn't changed since the time of the incident.
Margiotta Hall is the field house of the James M. Shuart football stadium, and also home to the athlete's work out center. Joseph Margiotta is a graduate of The University and played on the football team, too. It was dedicated to him Oct. 2, 1992.
In the 1970's, Margiotta was a Republican political machine. He linked the city council members to the President of the United States, and was being compared to legendary political leaders. He centralized fundraising, introduced polling techniques, and penned a political handbook, "How to Run and Election District."
On Dec. 9, 1981, Margiotta was convicted for allowing nearly $700,000 in county insurance commissions be kicked back to politically connected brokers. His sister, mother-on-law, and sister-in-law were all also working for the county at the time. Originally, in an 8-4, the judge considered it a mistrial and was tried again in front of Rudy Giuliani, where he was found guilty on all counts.
In 1991, he regained his license to practice law, and worked in Uniondale for a while. In this case, the building was named after the honoree had already been convicted.
Two buildings on Hofstra’s campus are known to be named after criminals. (Sean M. Gates/The Chronicle)