Residents Call For AG Probe Of Suffolk Legislature: Report

HAUPPAUGE, NY — A group of Suffolk County residents are calling on New York Attorney General Tish James to open a probe into possible corruption linked to a legislator facing a domestic violence charge after the person who was reported to be the victim received a taxpayer-funded job, News 12 reports.

Newsday has reported that Suffolk Legislator Nick Caracappa, a Conservative from Selden, was arrested two years ago after being accused of choking his ex-wife, and his case is under consideration to be dismissed in court if he adheres to an order of protection and stays out of legal trouble this next year.

Some residents are now saying that Caracappa's colleagues in the Legislature gave the woman a taxpayer-funded job to silence her, according to a News 12 report that includes Patty Stoddard, of the Action Coalition, saying that the action sends a message to women in the county to continue to "suffer in silence."

"Because it appears here that powerful men will intervene on behalf of their abusers to pressure them into that silence," Stoddard told the outlet.

Residents are also calling on the Legislature to form a standing audit committee, News 12 reported.

On Friday, Acting Supreme Court Justice John Iliou adjourned the case against Caracappa for one year in contemplation of dismissal, and he set a one-year order of protection, Newsday reported.

Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly’s office, charged as a special prosecutor in the case, has agreed to a motion to the adjournment after prosecutors "reviewed the evidence and had extensive conversations " with Caracappa's ex-wife, who "fully supports the resolution," DA spokesman Brendan Brosh said.

Caracappa was arrested at his home in December 2020, and was charged with first-degree criminal contempt and criminal obstruction of breathing, Suffolk police said.

Donnelly's office was asked to step in as a special prosecutor in early February after Suffolk District Attorney Ray Tierney recused his office from prosecuting the case, citing his association with Caracappa on the campaign trail.

Caracappa holds the Legislature's 4th District seat, which includes the Brookhaven Town portion of Ronkonkoma, as well as Centereach, Coram, Farmingville, Holbrook, Holtsville, Lake Grove, Lake Ronkonkoma, Medford, Port Jefferson Station and Selden.

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Michael DeSantis contributed additional reporting to this story.