Cops: LI man arrested on child porn charges

A North Massapequa man is being held on $50,000 bail after being arraigned Tuesday on felony charges of sending child pornography over the Internet, Nassau County police said.

Michael Barletta, 45, of 103 N. Pine St., was arrested at his home around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday after an investigation by the Crimes Against Property Squad and the Internet Child Exploitation Section discovered his online activities, police said in a news release.

Detectives said Barletta "did possess and disseminate numerous videos containing sexual performances by a child while online," according to the release.

Barletta is a sanitation worker for the Town of Oyster Bay, a town spokeswoman confirmed Wednesday. He has been employed by the town since 1986, and town officials are aware of his arrest, said Phyllis Barry, the spokeswoman. She said the town would await the outcome of the case "to determine if any action is warranted."

The town said in a statement that "the allegations against Mr. Barletta do not involve his town employment. As always, the town stands ready to cooperate with law enforcement agencies in this matter."

Barletta is charged with three felony counts of promoting the sexual performance of a child and three felony counts of possession of a sexual performance of a child.

He was arraigned Tuesday and is scheduled to appear Thursday at First District Court in Hempstead.