Long Beach Ax Attacker Sentenced To 22 Years In Prison After Pleading Guilty To Attempted Murder, DA Says

MINEOLA, NY — A Long Beach man was sentenced to 22 years in prison Friday after he pleaded guilty to his role in a 2025 ax attack that left his former coworker with life-threatening injuries, prosecutors said.

Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said 35-year-old Anthony Calvo was sentenced Friday after entering a guilty plea on a second-degree attempted murder charge March 20.

The charge, Donnelly’s office said, stemmed from a Feb. 13, 2025 incident in which Calvo’s coworker was walking home from an overnight shift as a taxi dispatcher at about 5:50 a.m. During the man’s walk home, Calvo ran up behind him and struck him at least three times with an ax — once in the face, once in the head and once in the arm, prosecutors said.

After the attack, prosecutors said the man Calvo had attacked dragged himself to the back yard of his home, banged on the door for help and was taken to Mount Sinai South Nassau after a family member called 911.

In statements made Friday, Donnelly called Calvo’s attack a targeted one spurred by a workplace dispute; Calvo had previously worked at the same Long Beach taxi company as the man he attacked, ending his employment there in 2022.

“Anthony Calvo’s vicious attack last year set Long Beach residents on edge, fearing that an assailant with an ax was threatening their streets. Calvo’s attack, however, was targeted. Spurred by a workplace dispute that this defendant decided to end with brutal violence,” Donnelly said. “Calvo will spend the next two decades in prison, but his ruthless actions condemned an innocent man to round-the-clock medical care and a very long road to recovery. We wish the victim and his family well, and hope that today’s sentence provides them with the justice they deserve.”

Donnelly’s office said the man suffered serious injuries to his head and jaw that required multiple surgeries to fix.

As for Calvo, Donnelly’s office said he was spotted on surveillance footage riding a white e-bike away from the scene. On Feb. 19, 2025, police executed a search warrant at Calvo’s apartment and found a white e-bike and a full facemask, prosecutors said. Calvo was arrested almost a month to the day after the attack, on March 12, 2025.

When reached for comment Friday, Calvo’s attorney, Jason Russo, called his client’s case a “very sad” one.

“It’s a very sad case. Mr. Calvo accepted responsibility,” Russo said. “Ultimately, it took him some time to come to grips because of his mental illness. He suffers from schizophrenia and psychosis, and that’s what happened on the day of the incident. It’s just a sad case all around.”