Member found murdered near his Forest Hills apartment
By SHERRY HALBROOK
PEF members are mourning the loss of Division 260 Council Leader Lewis Shayne, 57, who was stabbed to death on November 21 near the Forest Hills apartment building where he lived in Queens.
Reportedly, Shayne was found by the building superintendent. So far, no one has been charged with the crime, which was the second murder in that area in 2005.
Shayne was a certified public accountant who worked 30 years at the state Insurance Department in New York City where he was a principal examiner at the department’s Beaver Street offices in Manhattan.
“It is deeply disturbing to lose a member of our union and a dedicated state employee in such a violent and brutal way,” said PEF President Roger Benson.
PEF Region 10 Coordinator Jennifer Faucher also decried Shayne’s murder as “a horrific crime and loss to PEF.”
PEF Secretary-Treasurer Jane Hallum remembered Shayne as a union leader who was never reluctant to speak out and had helped PEF identify wasteful contracting at the Insurance Department.
“If he didn’t think something was right, he would work and work to get it changed,” Hallum said.
The PEF Jewish Committee, which Shayne co-chaired, held a memorial service for him in early January. Shayne was the Jewish Committee’s representative to the NYS Brotherhood Committee and was creator and Web master of the Jewish Committee’s Web site, as well as the PEF Region 10 Web site.
An immigrant from Poland, Shayne was an avid hiker and cross-country skier.
He is survived by his mother, Jenny Shayne.
“Lewis was a very devoted son. His mother is an invalid and he worked day and night to take care of her,” said Ben Gameron, a PEF Division 240 steward and friend of Shayne’s.
Another old friend, PEF member Michael Singer, said Shayne often “went out of his way to help other people,” including co-workers who were preparing to take professional or promotional exams.
The Communicator February
2006
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