Former Suffolk County Legislator Elie Mystal pleaded guilty last week to scamming the public out of more than $80,000 in salary and benefits by purporting to live in the 15th district he represented at least from June 2007 through May 2008. Throughout that time, he actually maintained homes in Florida and Huntington, he acknowledged last week. His lies and denials, as well as those of others who also lied to protect him, have finally been confirmed. The former lawmaker will serve five years probation and be required to return his salary to the county.

Elected in 2004 in a special election, Mystal was the first African-American to sit in the Suffolk County Legislature. Whatever money Mystal now pays back to the county should go to the people of the 15th district, who did not get what they paid for.

Mystal rose to his position on the wings of the late lawmaker Maxine Postal who served that district with honesty, integrity and hard work. As he walked in Postal’s footsteps, Mystal strayed on another path entirely, concerned more with his personal and political life than with the people he swore to serve.

Perhaps the best use of those funds now would be to complete the Maxine Postal memorial park in Amityville. That park represents all that Mystal had the opportunity to witness up front and personal from Postal. It’s unfortunate that when it came time for him to put all of that into practice, he shamed her legacy.