Bay Shore school board approves $13.1M to settle lawsuits involving Thomas Bernagozzi
The Bay Shore school board voted Wednesday to approve a $13.1 million payout former students to settle 16 lawsuits filed under the Child Victims Act. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
Payouts to former Bay Shore schools students who sued the district accusing administrators of failing to protect them from a third-grade teacher’s alleged sexual abuse now top $75 million after the school board voted Wednesday evening to approve a $13.1 million settlement of 16 lawsuits.
Three of the district’s former insurance companies will also pay the former students who filed the 16 lawsuits an additional $31 million, separate from the district’s financial payout, district Superintendent Steven Maloney said in a statement posted on the district website before the meeting.
No members of the public addressed the board after all five members approved the settlement at the sparsely attended meeting.
The settlements bring an official close to 42 of the 45 lawsuits filed by former students, all now grown men, under the Child Victims Act that alleged sexual abuse by longtime third-grade teacher Thomas Bernagozzi during his three-decade teaching career that ended in 2000.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
The Bay Shore board of education has approved a payout of $13.1 million to 16 former students who accused administrators of failing to protect them from a third-grade teacher’s alleged sexual abuse decades ago.
Approval at the board's regularly scheduled meeting puts the total amount at more than $75 million in payouts to settle dozens of lawsuits by former students.
The settlements bring an official close to 42 of the 45 lawsuits filed by former students, all now grown men, that alleged sexual abuse by longtime third-grade teacher Thomas Bernagozzi during his three-decade teaching career that ended in 2000.
In the statement, Maloney wrote, "We continue to approach all cases brought under the Child Victims Act with understanding and fairness for all those impacted. At the same time, we are guided by a fiscal responsibility for the entire Bay Shore-Brightwaters community and our mission to ensure our students and schools continue to thrive."
Maloney declined to comment further, through a spokesperson, to Newsday.
Attorney Jeff Herman, who represents most the men who filed lawsuits against Bay Shore, said in a statement to Newsday that the financial settlements represent the end of "a long journey for these survivors."
"We’re grateful they can finally have closure and move forward," said Herman, a nationwide sexual abuse attorney who has an office in Manhattan. "Our focus throughout has been on securing justice and accountability, and we’re glad to see that accomplished."
The lawsuits against the Bay Shore district, filed years ago under a state law that allowed alleged victims of childhood sexual abuse a temporary window to file claims seeking damages, also jump-started Suffolk police's criminal investigation that led to Bernagozzi’s December 2023 arrest on charges that he had abused two former students. He also later faced new charges in a 2024 indictment after investigators found negatives of nude photographs of a former student at his home.
Bernagozzi, 77, pleaded not guilty and has denied abusing former students. His criminal trial is scheduled to begin next month.
Suffolk prosecutors say most of the abuse alleged in the lawsuits occurred too long ago for Bernagozzi to face charges, but they are seeking permission to allow some to testify at his trial even though their claims fall outside the statute of limitations. Bernagozzi’s attorney, Steven Politi, has opposed the request.
A 2024 Newsday investigation — including interviews with seven men who said Bernagozzi sexually abused them, three administrators who oversaw Bernagozzi, and a review of thousands of pages of documents — found the Bay Shore district knew of at least five abuse allegations throughout his 30-year teaching career but never moved to fire him. Suffolk police said they had no record of being contacted.
Two of the 45 lawsuits remain outstanding. District spokeswoman Krystyna Baumgartner said this week that one of those lawsuits has been settled by a former insurance company but remains listed as active in the court system "pending final paperwork."
The lone case that completed a trial remains in flux. The jury awarded the former student $25 million in damages in November 2024 after finding the district acted negligently in its handling of Bernagozzi, but the district appealed and a judge has suggested the two sides reach a settlement of about $4 million. The appeal is ongoing.
The district also has paid law firms more than $3 million to represent them in Bernagozzi-related lawsuits, according to district records Newsday obtained via the Freedom of Information Law.
Newsday's Nicholas Grasso contributed to this story.
Jim Baumbach is an award-winning investigative reporter at Newsday, where he has worked since 1998. He spent two decades in the sports department, where he covered every professional team and league, including events such as the Super Bowl and World Series.
