By SARI ZEIDLER
Inside, authorities said, they found the child, beaten with two leather belts that were designed "to administer punishment."
The boy suffered cuts to his hands, legs, buttocks, groin and torso, police said. There were older bruises on the boy's body as well. One of the belts used to inflict the beating had its buckle removed, and the other was a three-inch-wide weight-lifting belt that was partly covered in duct tape.
The boy's mother, 29-year-old Jessica Muniz, and her boyfriend, 31-year-old Anthony Badalamenti, were charged with second-degree assault, child endangerment and weapons possession in connection with the beatings, Detective Lt. Kevin Smith said.
When police arrived at the Meadowbrook Road apartment, no one answered the door. The Emergency Services Unit forced its way in, and the boy was rushed to an area hospital, where he was placed in the custody of a relative.
A 1996 New York Times story reported that Badalamenti, then 19 and living in Bellmore, had been hospitalized after drinking homemade gamma-hydroxybutyrate, or GHB, that he and three friends had concocted to enhance body-building performance. GHB, which stimulates the release of growth hormones, was banned in the U.S. in 1990.
Reportedly, Badalamenti is a personal trainer and bodybuilder. He gained brief fame late last year when Jim Germanakos, a Freeport village police officer and a contestant on NBC's "Biggest Loser," said Badalamenti had helped him shed 186 pounds for the show and win the $100,000 consolation prize. Germanakos's brother, Bill, made it to the show's Final Four.
A Freeport police representative said that Jim Germanakos was on vacation through Nov. 19.
Germanakos spoke glowingly of Badalamenti to CNN's Larry King in December 2007. He told King that Badalamenti was a former bodybuilder and gym owner, adding, "He just did a hell of a job with me."
In February 2008, Germanakos told Livin' La Vida Low Carb, a blog site, that Badalamenti had been his trainer for the final five and a half weeks leading to the "Biggest Loser" finale. For five months before that, Germanakos said, he had trained at home on his own. He also said that Badalamenti was a national bodybuilding champion. Calls to the National Physique Committee, bodybuilding's governing body, turned up nothing on Badalamenti.
Newsday reported that Badalamenti's landlord, Joe Salerno, had said he was a personal trainer at Titans Fitness and Boxing Club in Merrick. But Doug Tator, the gym's manager, told the Herald that Badalamenti had never been employed there.
A second Newsday article reported that Badalamenti had bragged to Salerno that he had taken part in Ultimate Fighting Championship matches. UFC spokeswoman Jennifer Wenk, however, told the Daily News that Badalamenti had no links to the mixed-martial-arts association.
Muniz and Badalamenti were arraigned in First District Court in Hempstead last Sunday. Muniz's bail was set at $25,000, and Badalamenti's at $50,000. As of Monday, neither Muniz nor Badalamenti had posted bail. Legal aid attorneys for the pair could not be reached for comment.
Scott Brinton contributed to this story. Comments about it? SZeidler@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
