By KIMBERLY ACEVEDO
One candidate claims a sign was stolen right off her front lawn, while another candidate said his sign was defaced in magic marker two days in a row. Several candidates claim they have lost more then two-dozen signs, while another candidate said his car window was smashed.
While the school board candidates may not agree on all the issues, they are unanimous when it comes to this: they don't know who is responsible.
The latest series of thefts occurred on Tuesday night, May 14 on
Kerrigan Street in the canals, a source close to the incident said. Police were called to the scene when a suspect was cornered, by a resident, while allegedly stealing a Pat Gallagher campaign sign.
Gallagher's campaign manager, Steve Candon, said six signs were stolen from his front lawn on Thursday, May 2 between 2:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. When he turned out the lights, the signs were still there, he said. But when he went to drop off his son for a middle school trip, the signs were gone. When he returned home, Candon said, he heard a beeping on his lawn and made an interesting discovery: a ringing Nextel phone.
Suspecting the owner of the phone was the sign thief, Candon brought the cell phone to the police. Candon and police searched the phone for information that might have led to the owner. What they found in the received calls list was a list of calls that came into the phone from a phone number of one of the other candidates.
But after an interview, the suspect, a 22-year old male, admitted nothing, LBPD Det. Howard Domitz said. The suspect is a friend of Chris Robinson, the brother of board candidate Mike Robinson, Domitz said. The suspect alleged that he was jogging and lost his cell phone, Domitz said. But a family member at Candon's house said, that's impossible since Candon's house is surrounded by a brick retainer wall.
People don't just jog across my lawn, Candon said, especially since the lawn is elevated approximately 2 feet in height. Many of Gallagher's signs were allegedly stolen that night, and Candon alleged that it was planned sweep. No charges have been brought against anybody, however.
Robinson claims to have lost almost 50 signs during the election, but did not report it to the police. Robinson said it just didn't seem necessary to report the incidents because they are petty.
[The police department] has more important things to do then worry about someone stealing a sign here and there, Robinson said.
But, while no arrests have been made, the chief of the special investigations bureau from the Nassau County district attorney's office, Frank Quigley, said, It is a crime and we are prepared to prosecute any person who steals or destroys an election sign. And, he noted the crime would be, at the least, petty larceny a class A misdemeanor. We are fully prepared to carry the ball on a criminal prosecution, he said.
As Robinson referred to the thefts as the sign wars, he said he has replaced several signs just to have them stolen all over again.
While Domitz was investigating this stolen sign caper, he noticed a sign for candidate Joe Sinnona disappeared. The property owner hadn't realized it was gone, he said, until he asked them about it.
For Sinnona, election time has been eventful. Aside from 30 of his signs walking off on their own, he had his car window smashed on Saturday, May 11 in the middle of the night. While witnesses reported seeing two men with a baseball bat, no arrests have been made, Sinnona said.
But as for his missing signs, he, like other candidates, hasn't reported it to the police because he sees it going across the board.
People have told me worse things and that this generally happens during an election, he said.
For Lynn Gergen, this is her second election and she remembers the first one quite well. She had tons of signs stolen then, and they are being stolen now, she said. While her signs were deeply rooted into the ground, Gergen said they still disappear. Though not as bad as other candidates, Gergen has lost at least 15 signs-including one right on her front lawn.
And for Kaleko, who is running for re-election, her signs haven't been safe either. Her larger signs have been vandalized. In one case, the wood planks, which support the sign, were been broken in half, she said. And the vandal didn't waste time breaking the wood planks on another sign the suspect just removed it all together. Years ago, Kaleko said, sign stealing wasn't the case and feels it's just a waste.
This sign business should stop, Kaleko said. It's an expensive thing where the money could be used for something more constructive.
And Lester, also running for re-election, remembers a different time, one not too different from the present. He referred to the telephone pole wars when candidates signs were posted on top of each other's or just ripped down.
He hasn't escaped unscathed during this election either. One of his signs, located in Point Lookout, was vandalized two days in a row, he said. The bandit used magic marker to re-write the sign. He said about 20 percent of his signs have disappeared but not much can be done. Lester has been involved with campaigns before and said, it happens. But he is replacing the signs that have been removed.
While most candidates are worried about their signs, Lester hasn't let it get to him.
I'm used to this and it's certainly not something to waste the police's time on, he said. It happens.
