Gaetano 'Guy' Savia, member of Bruce Blakeman's special deputies program, pleads guilty to disorderly conduct in JFK arrest

A member of Nassau County’s controversial provisional deputies program who was arrested last month after authorities found a loaded handgun in his carry-on bag at Kennedy Airport pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in Queens criminal court on Wednesday.

Judge Jennifer Saint-Preux ordered Gaetano "Guy" Savia to complete a firearms safety course and return to court on July 2 for sentencing. The charges will be dismissed if Savia provides proof that he completed the training and avoids further legal issues.

Savia and his attorney, Christopher Renfroe, of Forest Hills, declined to discuss the case with Newsday following Wednesday’s hearing.

Savia, 68, of Bellmore, was arrested on May 28 at Kennedy Airport when a TSA officer spotted a loaded Ruger .38 caliber pistol in his carry-on luggage as it moved through the X-ray scanner at the security checkpoint at Terminal 4, according to a Port Authority police report.

Savia was carrying a provisional deputy sheriff's shield and a special deputy ID, sources told Newsday last month. He was charged with unlawfully possessing a firearm in violation of the terms of his license and released on his own recognizance.

Savia holds a license to carry the gun for business, hunting or target shooting but not "with the magazine containing 10 rounds of ammunition in the gun at an airport," according to court documents provided after his arraignment.

Blakeman spokesman Chris Boyle did not immediately return requests for comment on Wednesday.

Blakeman said last month that Savia has not been asked to resign from his provisional deputies program, but his role with the program will go through an administrative review. It was not clear on Wednesday if that review had been completed.

Blakeman said shortly after the arrest that Savia had rushed to the airport last month to catch a flight to Syracuse to attend the graduation of a grandchild. The gun was in Savia’s duffel bag, and he failed to secure it before heading to the airport.

"He obviously made a mistake," Blakeman said. "It wasn’t intentional on his part."

Blakeman, the Republican candidate for governor, created the provisional special deputies program in 2024 and has recruited and trained volunteers who could be called on to assist professional law enforcement in the event of an emergency. Critics of the program have argued the incident raises questions about the vetting and qualifications of volunteer deputies, whose identities were under court seal until last month.

Savia was appointed to the Hempstead Industrial Development Agency in 2024 by the Hempstead Town Board. He owns a medical supply company, a hospitality management company and a commercial real estate holding company on Long Island, according to a January 2025 news brief on his appointment published in the Long Island Press.

The IDA website calls Savia a business owner and real estate developer who has collaborated with local businesses and international corporations.

Savia also is a longtime donor to the Nassau GOP and Republican candidates, including Blakeman.

"I know Guy Savia very well and he's a hardworking, good member of our community," Blakeman said in May. "He's not a criminal."