Man drove 130 mph while drunk and high on cocaine, Nassau prosecutor says

Testimony began Wednesday in the trial of a Bayville man who is accused of driving 130 mph while drunk and on cocaine before causing a crash that paralyzed his friend — a proceeding happening more than a year after the pandemic sparked a mistrial.

Anthony Chiantella’s case is the first jury trial in Nassau County Court since November, and only the court's second since jury trials first stopped in March 2020 because of fears of the coronavirus spread. Acting State Supreme Court Justice Terence Murphy had declared a mistrial in Chiantella's case that month as most courthouses across the state shut down as the pandemic descended.

But on Wednesday, special precautions were in place to protect against viral infection. Socially-distanced jurors were seated across an entire side of the Mineola courtroom instead of being contained to the jury box. Containers of Clorox wipes and hand sanitizer bottles were on display on the prosecution and defense tables.

Clear plastic barriers were erected on the judge's bench and on the prosecution and defense tables — areas where trial participants sit in proximity. Court officials also livestreamed the proceeding, which Murphy said would provide the public with access to the Mineola trial.

Prosecutor Alexander DePalo told jurors in his opening statement that Chiantella drove a Honda Accord at 130 mph while intoxicated by alcohol and cocaine on Feb. 2, 2019, before crashing on the Wantagh State Parkway and turning his passenger, Nicholas Mustakas, then 24, into a quadriplegic.

Mustakas, who'd also been driving the Accord while drunk before getting into the passenger seat, was "paralyzed because of the heinous and despicable conduct" of Chiantella, DePalo said.

The two passed a bottle of Captain Morgan rum back and forth while Chiantella was driving on Ocean Parkway and then Wantagh State Parkway "at racetracks speeds," according to the prosecutor. He told jurors "the most powerful evidence" would take them inside the Honda as Chiantella was driving it, because the defendant — who drove for more than 20 miles — also took videos with his cellphone that he posted on social media.

"You'll see him drinking alcohol. You'll hear him boasting about his absurd driving. You'll see how little he cared about anyone else on the roadway," DePalo said.

A grand jury indicted Chiantella, now 29, on felony charges of assault, vehicular assault and reckless endangerment, along with other offenses that included drunken-driving and driving while under the combined influence of alcohol and any drug.

But the defendant, who suffered a broken pelvis and lacerated liver in the wreck, maintains his innocence.

His attorney, Robert Schalk, told jurors Wednesday in his opening statement that prosecutors have to prove that his client was driving at the time of the crash.

"There are witnesses and there is evidence that contradicts that," the attorney said.

Authorities previously have said Mustakas, a Port Jefferson Station resident, was the Honda's owner.

Schalk said Wednesday that police did little investigating before arresting Chiantella, with the lead investigator only spending 8 to 10 minutes at the crash scene. The defense attorney also said police used an expired blood kit to test Chiantella's blood.

Later Wednesday, a state Department of Transportation official testified about seeing the Honda speed by him on the parkway — shaking his pickup — before he came upon the crash scene and saw one body in the middle of the parkway and another on the adjacent bike path. Jurors also heard the 911 call he placed.

Chiantella is facing up to 25 years in prison if the jury convicts him of the top indictment count. The trial will continue Thursday.