By:Jerry Burke
According to Detective John Keteltas of the Sixth Precinct, the 40-year-old victim and her daughters, ages 13 and 1, were returning to their parked car in front of the Port Washington train station on Main Street at 4:45 p.m. on Sept. 16 when Lucia, who works as a uniformed code enforcer for the Town of North Hempstead, came up to her car.
Keteltas said that Lucia threatened to give the unidentified Glen Cove woman a parking ticket unless she followed him. "He convinced her he's going to give her a ticket, which he led her to believe would be expensive," said Nassau County Police spokesman Lt. Kevin Smith, "But he said he'll take care of it if she follows him."
Police say the victim complied, believing she was driving to a police station, and followed Lucia's marked code-enforcement vehicle, a white Jeep, for five miles to Roslyn Pond Park. Smith said Lucia stopped his car, got out and approached the car again.
Keteltas reported that Lucia then told the mother to stay in the car while her 13-year-old daughter accompanied him into a nearby bathroom. "She refuses immediately and becomes very upset," Smith said. "Her 13-year-old daughter overhears and becomes hysterical."
At that point, according to police, Lucia drove off. Smith said the mother wrote down the Jeep's number as he fled, and soon afterward she flagged down a passer-by with a cell phone. She called 911 but, Smith said, Lucia had already left the scene by the time police arrived.
After a weeklong investigation, Sixth Precinct police officers arrested Lucia last Thursday. He was charged with second-degree coercion, official misconduct and third-degree receiving of a bribe. Smith said that at no time did Lucia touch either the mother or the girls in the car.
Lucia pleaded not guilty to the charges at his arraignment at First District Court in Hempstead on Friday. His bail was set at $15,000, but he was released after posting $5,000 cash.
Lucia's lawyer, Bruce Barket, of Garden City, could not be reached for comment as the Herald went to press on Monday, but has publicly stated that his client is not guilty and that the allegations against him are "false."
Lucia, who has worked for the Town of North Hempstead for 17 years, the last seven as a safety officer, was accused of molesting a 6-year-old girl at an August 2000 Franklin Square Munson Fire Department pool party that he hosted. No charges were filed in the allegation, although the girl's family is suing him. The case, which is currently pending in Nassau County Supreme Court, also names the fire department. Barket has previously dismissed the allegation as "unfounded."
The Town of North Hempstead released a statement saying that Lucia had been suspended with pay on Friday, pending the resolution of the charges.
Comments about this story? JBurke@liherald.com or 569-4000 ext. 234.
