Cops: Civilian NCPD mechanic arrested

A civilian Nassau County police department auto mechanic pleaded not guilty Friday to charges that he was found in possession of a stolen van, and that he stole an inspection sticker and license plates off vehicles in a police impound lot, prosecutors said.

Steven M. Vitalo, 47, of Rockville Centre, was released without bail, and has been suspended without pay, police and prosecutors said Friday. If found guilty, he faces a maximum of 3 1/2 to 7 years in prison.

Vitalo's lawyer, Paul Delle, of Garden City, could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon.

Vitalo told investigators that he purchased the van in 2002 for $3,000, even though it was worth $20,000 at the time, prosecutors said.

He told police internal affairs investigators that he took an inspection sticker from a vehicle that had crashed and was being stored in the impound lot where he worked, prosecutors said. He told them he took the license plates from another vehicle that had been impounded after the driver was arrested for drunken driving, prosecutors said.

He told investigators that he did so because he did not want to go through the trouble of registering it, prosecutors said.

Vitalo has been a civilian employee for seven years, police said. He is not an officer.

Police said the arrest followed an investigation by the Internal Affairs unit in conjunction with the Nassau District Attorney's Public Corruption Bureau.