$10M Civil Suit Tied to Doctor’s Murder-For-Hire Plot Filed Against Nassau County, DA

A man who was arrested in connection to a reported murder-for-hire scheme involving a Sands Point cardiologist has filed a $10 million federal lawsuit against Nassau County, the Nassau County District Attorney, and multiple detectives and police officers.

James Kalamaras, 43, of Huntington, and his lawyer filed a complaint Friday, Feb. 24 in U.S. District Court claiming he was unlawfully searched, arrested, detained and held in custody for more than a year before he was acquitted of all charges.

Kalamaras was arrested in April 2015 after authorities claimed he and another man were hired by Dr. Anthony Moschetto to commit arson to a competing cardiologist’s practice. Authorities were able to quickly extinguish the fire, which damaged the office but caused no injuries in February 2015.

Moschetto was found guilty of conspiring to have the rival doctor seriously injured and was sentenced to five years in prison on January 31. In a recorded conversation that was quoted in court, Moschetto said, “I think if you put him in the hospital for a few months I think we are done. If he’s stupid enough to come out after that then you’ll make more money 'cause then you have to kill him.'”

Patch reached out to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office and the Nassau County Attorney for comment. The NCDA declined comment. County Attorney Carnell Foskey said “the County does not comment on pending litigation.”

Kalamaras was held from April 15, 2015 to Feb. 5, 2016 on third-degree arson, third-degree burglary and third-degree criminal mischief charges. At his trial, Executive Legal Assistant John Dowling of the Law Offices of Christopher J. Cassar, P.C., said a cross-examination of a suspect on the stand led to the man becoming “tangled up in his own words.”

“It was very clear this guy was lying,” Dowling said.

Kalamaras was found by a jury to not be at the location of the arson when it occurred.

Kalamaras' lawyer Christopher Cassar said there was "no reasonable cause" to keep him in prolonged custody and he was "falsely seized, falsely arrested and falsely detained."

In the complaint, Kalamaras is seeking more than $9 million in damages he received from being arrested, interrogated and held without probable cause, which he claimed deprived him of his liberty without due process and exposed him to public humiliation.

Christopher J. Cassar, a criminal defense attorney based in Huntington, said he will aggressively pursue this suit to make sure Kalamaras is compensated for his suffering.

“Police officers and government officials are legally required to observe constitutional protections guaranteed to all Americans,” Cassar said in a statement. “Mr. Kalamaras was not only denied critical constitutional guarantees, but was further subjected to civil rights violations when the officers unlawfully arrested and held my client for over a year despite them knowing that he was in fact innocent of all the charges.”

Image via NCPD