Nassau cop’s testimony contradicts statements by Al D’Amato

The estranged wife of former U.S. Sen. Alfonse D’Amato did not wield a shotgun the night she summoned police to her Lido Beach home, a Nassau officer who responded to the 911 call testified Friday at a child custody hearing in Mineola.

Officer Vincent Adamo testified that on Sept. 30 police recovered a 20-gauge shotgun from the residence Katuria D’Amato had shared with her estranged husband and their son, 9, and daughter, 7, but he said the weapon was locked in its box and stowed in a closet on the second floor.

Adamo’s testimony contradicts what Alfonse D’Amato said in a sworn affidavit when the ex-senator successfully petitioned state Supreme Court Justice Joseph Lorintz in October for temporary custody of the children, said Joseph De Simone, attorney for Katuria D’Amato.

“The affidavit showed that Mr. D’Amato obtained his order on false pretenses,” De Simone said in an interview after Friday’s hearing. “He told the court that he was informed by the police that she was loading a shotgun that evening.”

Judge Lorintz — who issued an emergency order in October giving the ex-senator custody of the children — is holding the hearing to determine whether the children should remain living with their father or whether they should live with their mother while the couple finalizes their divorce.

The D’Amatos married in 2004, and in 2014, publicly disclosed that they were working through “personal issues.” On Oct. 3, Katuria D’Amato, 51, filed for divorce in Manhattan from Alfonse D’Amato, 80, using an “Anonymous v. Anonymous” caption.

Adamo said the 911 call came in as a possible domestic incident, but he classified it as a “mental aided” case.

The ex-senator, in his affidavit, also alleged that his wife was mentally unstable, telling Adamo that Katuria D’Amato had previously suffered from a “psychotic” break and was taking lithium, assertions she said were false.

Adamo testified that he included both pieces of information in his official police report, although he admitted under cross examination by De Simone that it was the ex-senator who supplied him with the information. And, Adamo testified that he never asked Katuria D’Amato about the prescription medication or her mental state. He accepted the ex-senator’s words.

But Adamo said Katuria D’Amato told him that she thought people had planted secret listening devices in her home, shining green lasers through her windows, and kidnapping her and the children.

The custody hearing continues Monday.