Mayor: Lynbrook's chief cop suspended

Lynbrook Police Chief Joseph Neve was suspended 10 days ago because he interfered in a village police investigation of a dispute between him and his girlfriend, Mayor Brian Curran said.

Neve was suspended without pay for two weeks on March 29 following an argument with his girlfriend early March 13 at the Lynbrook home he recently bought from her. His girlfriend, Denise Papania, called police four times to complain Neve was trying to evict her, Curran said.

Following a visit to the house by two village officers, Curran said, Neve called the village police department and told a desk lieutenant not to send a sergeant to the house that night, as planned.

The sergeant did not respond, but only because "it was at the conclusion of the incident," Curran said. The chief's request that the sergeant not go to the house was "the basis for the suspension," he added.

"The chief created the situation by trying to evict somebody from a house that he knew legally he couldn't do based upon 24-hour notice," Curran said. "The minute that he didn't leave the location after the complainant had called the police, he had to refrain from acting in any capacity as Lynbrook police chief or officer. And he failed to do that, and it's unacceptable."

No arrests were made or tickets issued. And the Nassau district attorney's office, which reviewed the matter after receiving an anonymous complaint, found no criminality involved, a spokeswoman said.

Last week, Curran told Newsday Neve's suspension was due to "poor judgment" and that it was not based on any specific violation.

Reached Thursday, Neve declined to comment.

Neve told Newsday on March 31 that his girlfriend "got impulsive" during the argument and called 911 because "she was scared that she had nowhere to go." He declined to say what the argument was about.

"It was an argument just like you'd have with your wife. There was no violence of any kind," Neve said.

Two officers arrived and spoke with her inside the home while he waited in his car, he said. "I told them 'Do what you have to do' and I waited outside. I didn't interfere in any way."

Neve is due back at work on Tuesday.