Ex-town investigator pleads guilty to bringing false charges

The Town of Hempstead's former chief investigator pleaded guilty Friday to bringing false charges against numerous people he believed had crossed him.

Robert Zafonte, 65, of East Meadow, falsely accused a school administrator of stealing money and said an East Meadow woman was abusing elementary schoolchildren, among other false allegations, prosecutors said.

He pleaded guilty before Nassau County Court Judge Jerald Carter to all charges against him, including seven counts of first-degree offering a false instrument for filing, eight counts of second-degree aggravated harassment and five counts of third-degree falsely reporting an incident, among other charges.

Carter is expected to sentence Zafonte to 6 months in jail at his next court date Nov. 1.

Zafonte's lawyer, Marc Gann of Mineola, said his client is truly remorseful. "This is a man who made a tragic mistake and is paying the price for it," he said.

Between 2002 and 2007, Zafonte made numerous false allegations, prosecutors said. He sent a letter targeting an East Meadow school district employee he believed had prevented his daughter from getting a job there, prosecutors said. An investigation revealed the employee did nothing wrong, Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said.

Later, he made anonymous complaints to the New York State Office of Child and Family Services accusing the employee of child abuse, prosecutors said.

Zafonte also anonymously alleged in letters to authorities that an East Meadow couple who did not support his school board candidate had "an illegal fence, apartment and tenants" on their property, prosecutors said. He said that the wife "abused children at an elementary school in town," Rice said.

Investigators later obtained a sample of Zafonte's DNA and compared it with samples taken from the anonymous letters, Rice said. She said the genetic profiles matched. Investigators also found Zafonte's fingerprints on two letters, Rice said.