Luminati to move upstate as legal troubles and money woes imperil Riverhead deal

Canadian conglomerate Triple Five Group, which is in the process of buying the Enterprise Park at Calverton, has agreed to pay more than $46,000 in debt owed by its partner in the deal to the Town of Riverhead, Long Island Business News reported. Luminati Aviation has operated out of the Enterprise Park and partnered in the $40 million purchase with Triple Five under a new entity called Calverton Aviation & Technology. Luminati, which has been struggling amid financial and legal battles, now plans to move its operations from the Calverton site to the upstate New York city of Little Falls. “I just made the complete decision that my life is really here, not there,” Luminati’s owner Daniel Preston told local news site My Little Falls. “I’m going to be a landowner and investor on that property [in Calverton], but I’m two feet out the door and I don’t really enjoy being there.” Riverhead officials, however, are trying to hire a law firm to review Luminati’s role in the purchase of the Enterprise Park in light of Luminati’s various legal and financial troubles. Judge Jerry Garguilo ruled that Connecticut-based Hexcel Corporation can seize Luminati’s $7.4 million property at the park because it hasn’t paid taxes on a $10 million loan, according to the Riverhead News Review. No one from Luminati or Hexcel showed up to a Central Islip courtroom, so Garguilo ruled on submitted documents that sheriffs can search Luminati’s Enterprise Park buildings located at 400 David Court and 300 Burman Boulevard. The ongoing legal drama, and others, has led to some disagreement among Riverhead officials about which outside law firm to hire. Town supervisor Laura Jens-Smith wanted to hire Stagg, Terenzi, Confusione & Wabnik, but Republicans balked, calling the selection “political patronage” because the law firm has donated to Democrats, Riverhead Local reported. [LIBN]