The operator of the Malibu Beach Club owes more than half a million dollars in rent, according to Hempstead town records.

The records show that Dover Gourmet Corp. hasn't paid rent on the property for nearly a year after signing a 5-year contract extension with Hempstead's comptroller and parks commissioner.

Hempstead Town Supervisor Laura Gillen is outraged.

As News 12 has reported, Gillen criticized what she calls a back room deal that gave the Dover Group the contract to operate the toll booths at the park.

"This back room deal that was negotiated by the comptroller and by the parks commissioner was done without any involvement from my office," says Gillen. "It was not authorized."

Butch Yamali, the chief executive of Dover, says he has not paid because the town owes him millions of dollars for capital improvements he made at the park.

Yamali issued a statement to News 12 saying in part, "The Dover Group has spent over $12 million on improvements at Malibu Beach Park, and is still owed over $2 million from the town. We are filing a defamation lawsuit against Laura Gillen for providing false information to local residents."

Gillen says the town doesn't owe Yamali any money. She's ready to take him to court over the back rent.

Gillen plans to hold a news conference Wednesday to announce steps in the investigation into the contract given to the Dover Group.