Nassau correction officers get more than a quarter of a million dollars after unfairly denied gun permits by ex-sheriff, judge rules

A Long Island federal judge awarded a group of Nassau County correction officers more than a quarter of a million dollars and threatened to appoint a monitor for the county sheriff's office after ruling that the guards were unfairly denied gun permits after retiring from the jail on disability.

U.S. District Court Judge Gary Brown said the behavior of Michael Sposato, the former Nassau County sheriff, was "disgraceful" and gave the lawyers on both sides in the case 30 days to weigh in on assigning a special master now that Sposato has returned to the jail as the Commissioner of Corrections.

In a blistering 32-page decision, the judge ruled that Nassau County and Sposato violated the equal protection clause of the Constitution by denying five former correction officers and one deputy sheriff recommendations for gun permits, also known as "good guy" letters, after they left the job because of injuries.

Several of the plaintiffs who sued were hurt in the county jail during altercations with inmates, court records show. They all eventually got their gun permits back.

Alexandros Perros, the lead plaintiff in the case, injured his back and knee while intervening to protect a hospital worker from a mentally ill inmate, according to court records.

Nicholas Lenoci wrenched his neck, back and hips during a fight with a prisoner trying to smuggle contraband into the detention facility, the judge noted.

Lenoci, who was on friendly terms with Sposato, reached out and asked him why he was denied his "good guy" letter.

"Well, you went out three quarters," he testified the sheriff told him, referring to the percentage of pension award for injured workers without 20 years on the job. Lenoci pointed out that he actually had been a correction officer for 25 years and Sposato agreed to look into it, but never did, the judge said.

Robert Lanier, whose neck was injured when a prisoner slammed his head in a cell door, spent 22 years on the job before his injury.

Sposato told him, "Your ability to possess firearms was restricted as a result of the injury that culminated in your disability retirement."

"It appears that Sposato harbored animus toward deputy sheriffs and officers who retired following an on-the-job injury, entitling them to an enhanced pension, and began routinely denying the issuance of handgun permit recommendations," Brown wrote in his ruling.

The judge notes that these gun permits were often necessary for the protection of the former officers.

Lenoci testified that he was confronted by former inmates that he had previous problems with while at a monster truck show at the Nassau Coliseum with his wife and children.

He said that the former inmates began singing "I Shot the Sheriff." Realizing he was unarmed, he left during intermission.

Lenoci testified that he had a similar run-in with a former prisoner while shopping at Home Depot.

"Sposato meted out petty, bureaucratic retaliation upon these officers irrespective of the undeniable risks these retired officers faced from encounters with former inmates — a risk which he reluctantly acknowledged," the judge wrote. "Thus, he denied these officers handgun permit recommendations, while remaining indifferent toward these risks."

Additionally, the officers faced the humiliation in the law enforcement community of carrying identification that indicates they are not able to carry firearms, they said.

"That letter is an attestation of your character," Perros testified. "It sums up your career. It’s not only for a pistol permit. It attests to who you are and your moral character. [It] holds a lot of weight in the law enforcement community."

Lenoci said it equates to a dishonorable discharge in the military.

Some of the officers said that they felt "humiliated" when Nassau County police arrived at their homes to confiscate the guns that they had previously been legally licensed to have.

The judge also emphasized Sposato’s lack of law enforcement experience or credentials in his post as sheriff or corrections commissioner.

 "Before embarking on a remarkable career in various appointed high-ranking law enforcement positions, Sposato had none of the experience, training or qualifications one might expect," Brown wrote. "He did not serve in the military. He did not work as a peace officer or police officer. Sposato took Civil Service exams in a bid to become both a police officer and a corrections officer, yet he was selected for neither position. In fact, he never was appointed to any Civil Service position as the result of a merit-based process. He does not hold a two- or four-year college degree. At some point, he became an operator in the sewage treatment plant run by the Town of Oyster Bay." 

Sposato went from being a jailhouse cook to a kitchen supervisor before being promoted to undersheriff and then sheriff from 2011 to 2017. The jail went through a number of contracting and inmate death scandals during his tenure, the judge noted.

He was appointed Commissioner of Corrections this year.

The judge also leveled his withering criticism at Nassau County for promoting him.

"Considering the history of and evidence in this case, the County’s appointment of Sposato as Sheriff and his subsequent appointment and reappointment as Commissioner of Corrections can be euphemistically described as surprising, though other adjectives spring to mind."

Nassau County spokesman Chris Boyle did not respond to a request for comment.

Frederick K. Brewington, who represented the corrections officers, said late Wednesday it was "an important decision for all civil rights plaintiffs and especially these men who sacrificed so much for the benefit of Nassau County and were then abused. The Plaintiffs are feeling a sense of satisfaction that they have fought for themselves and others that have been maltreated."

The decision goes deeper than the money awarded and sound the trumpet for Nassau County and its leadership to address the real concerns that their playing politics has created. We look forward to the Court fashioning injunctive relief against Nassau and Mr. Sposato.”

 "The correction officers involved in the case were all veteran officers, who served our county with honor for many years and were subsequently forced to retire due to being permanently injured in the line of duty," Peter Lilli, President of the Nassau Corrections Officers union said. "They never should have been denied their 'good guy' letters in the first place but we're very pleased that the judge recognized this and ruled in their favor."