Charges against men in cop holdup dropped

A Nassau grand jury has voted not to indict four local men who had been arrested for allegedly trying to hold up an off-duty New York City police officer in Carle Place last month, prosecutors confirmed Thursday.

The men had been charged by police with trying to rob an off-duty New York City police officer as he was bicycling home from the Carle Place Long Island Rail Road station shortly after midnight June 26. The officer, whose name was not released, told Nassau police he drew his service weapon after the four defendants -- Michael Tursi, 19, of Westbury; Al Ramclam, 21, of Mineola; and Kevyn Bustamante and Christian Anglarill, both 19, of Carle Place -- surrounded him and tried to pull off his backpack, Nassau police said.

The defendants said they got into an argument with the man, whom they did not know was a police officer. But they said they did not attempt to rob him.

Lawyers in the case said they're pleased that charges have been dropped.

"You know how they say you can indict a ham sandwich," said Larill's lawyer, James Galleshaw of Middle Village, Queens. "It's very telling that a police officer testified in the grand jury and no one believed him."

Galleshaw said he filed a complaint against the officer with the NYPD. An NYPD spokesman said the department would not investigate the case. John Byrne, a spokesman for Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice, said the office has no plans to bring charges against the complaining witness in the case.

Galleshaw; Chris Bechtle of Garden City, who represents Ramclam; Robert Latronica Jr. of Levittown, who represents Tursi; and Estella Roond of Brooklyn, who represents Anglarill, all said their clients' lives were turned upside down by the charges. Ramclam and Larill lost their jobs and have not found new ones, their lawyers said.

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"Everyone looks at me differently now because of something that was false," Ramclam said. "I'm just trying to understand how this could happen."