By: MIKE CAPUTO
Robert Zafonte, president of the East Meadow Civic Association, was arrested on Wednesday and slapped with 28 felony and 35 misdemeanor charges for writing letters to government agencies that contained false information about rivals, prosecutors said.
Zafonte, a special investigator for the Hempstead Town Attorney's office and a retired sergeant for the New York City Housing Police Department, was arrested on Wednesday morning and arraigned in First District Court later that afternoon. He was released without bail and is set to return to court on April 1. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in jail, officials said.
Prosecutors said Zafonte, 65, sent letters to government agencies accusing an East Meadow school administrator of stealing money from the district. Zafonte also submitted false reports to the state Office of Child and Family Services that accused several community members of child abuse, including his targeting of a woman who responded to a letter he wrote that was published in the Herald, prosecutors said.
Zafonte's attorney said his client pleaded not guilty to all charges.
District Attorney Kathleen Rice, whose office conducted the investigation and placed Zafonte under arrest, said the false claims contained in each letter were "thoroughly investigated and proven to be unfounded."
District Court Judge Angelo Delligatti issued six temporary court orders of protection that forbid Zafonte from contacting and going near several of his victims, including East Meadow Superintendent Leon Campo and his family.
Representing Zafonte at the court hearing was Gregory Peterson, a former Hempstead town supervisor whose law firm is a member of the East Meadow Chamber of Commerce. The attorney said some of the charges against Zafonte were "repetitious," and noted that the alleged incidents were reported between two and seven years ago.
Peterson said he intended on representing Zafonte only at Wednesday's hearing, and that the civic association president would retain different counsel for the rest of the case.
According to Peterson, Zafonte has colon cancer and was arrested by investigators on his way to a doctor's appointment to receive treatments.
For more on this story, read next week's print edition of the Herald.
