Ex-NYPD. Donors. Private security. Who are Nassau's armed volunteer deputies?

A retired NYPD officer who abused his authority. A physician fired as CEO of Nassau's public hospital. An owner of a school bus company and GOP donor.

These are a few of the first graduates of Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman's provisional special deputies program. The volunteers — civilian gun owners and county residents — may be called on to secure critical infrastructure like water towers and power plants as well as monitor protests, threats to religious institutions and polling sites. 

Dozens more have answered the call since the program's inception in 2024, including a cohort of armed civilians from the Five Towns area, some of whom are already privately protecting synagogues there.

Nassau County officials had declined to share details about the program or identities of these armed volunteers, including by failing to respond to a request under the state's Freedom of Information Law. But Newsday obtained a photo of the December 2024 inaugural graduation pamphlet listing the names of 26 participants who completed a required course at the Nassau County Police Department's Center for Training and Intelligence in Uniondale. 

Newsday verified 22 of the 26 names as members of the program through public records, social media, professional profiles, genealogy information, news archives, campaign finance disclosures, tax filings, phone calls and in-person conversations with family members. 

Searches were conducted based on the program's initial criteria: applicants had to be residents or business owners in Nassau County between the ages of 21 and 72. The names easily matched those of Nassau residents and there were few duplicates. In fewer than five instances, there were two or more special deputies with the same name as other Nassau residents. Records show they were often members of the same family, such as a father and a son.   

The much-criticized group, which protesters have called a militia, is back in the spotlight as attorneys representing Democratic county Legis. Debra Mulé and Scott Davis as private citizens sue Blakeman to make the members' records public. Much of the program's details, including who has volunteered, has been under court seal in Mineola. State Supreme Court Justice Gary Carlton is expected to decide soon on whether their names and files remain confidential.

In their lawsuit, Mulé and Davis allege Blakeman is exceeding his powers as county executive, challenging the legality of the program and claiming its participants are unqualified. Blakeman, the Republican candidate for governor, said the members are fit for duty and that local law gives him and the county sheriff authority to mobilize this publicly funded group with a unilateral emergency declaration. The volunteers get a $150 per day stipend when activated. 

"No part of this court proceeding should be sealed. Courts are supposed to be open and the public has a right to know what the county is doing with taxpayer dollars. This is a dangerous and illegal program, the existence of which endangers the public," said Joshua Kelner, attorney for Mulé and Davis. 

Blakeman has said his special deputies are well-trained gun owners who have served in the military or in law enforcement. Critics including Democratic lawmakers, gun control groups, residents and police reform advocates said they fear the program could intimidate communities of color and lead to shooting accidents or improper use of authority. 

In response to Newsday's questions, Blakeman said through a spokesman he expects "the case will be dismissed as a matter of law."

"Unlike other jurisdictions our program is only a list of willing, qualified and trained individuals who would be willing to step up to the plate and volunteer their time to protect our communities," Blakeman said in an emailed statement.

His spokesman, Chris Boyle, said there are currently a total of 60 members of the special deputies program and they have not been deployed. He said personnel records are always confidential. When asked how the volunteers were selected and vetted, Boyle responded: "There was an advertisement in Newsday for volunteers."

Inaugural class 

Nassau County held a swearing-in ceremony for its new special deputies on Dec. 30, 2024, inside the County Executive and Legislative Building in Mineola. Blakeman administration officials invited select news organizations to cover the event. Newsday was not invited. 

In that inaugural class was Cesar Dorado, 59, of Glen Cove, who retired in January 2023 from the NYPD's 109th Precinct in northeast Queens. Dorado was disciplined for what the city's Civilian Complaint Review Board considered abuse of authority in connection with a 2014 fatal shooting of a Queens man, according to an online tracker of police disciplinary records. It was the only substantiated incident in his file, which includes more than a dozen complaints. 

Also among the group is Dr. Victor Politi, 68, of Bellmore, who in 2018 was fired "for cause" as president and chief executive of Nassau University Medical Center, leaving with a payout of $215,000, equal to seven months of his salary. 

Before being tapped to lead the safety-net hospital in 2014, Politi, an emergency department physician, served as a police surgeon and deputy county executive of public safety where he oversaw the Health Department and Medical Examiner's Office under former Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano, a Republican. He also served in the NYPD for 20 years, retiring in 2001 with the rank of lieutenant. He's donated more than $22,000 over the years to Republican political campaigns, according to state Board of Elections reports.

Michael Tornabe, 60, of East Atlantic Beach, is the owner of Logan Bus Co., based in Ozone Park, Queens. The company contracts with the New York City Department of Education and serves schools throughout the state. He has contributed more than $30,000 to Republican political campaigns, mostly through the Nassau Republican Committee, state filings show.

Dorado, Politi and Tornabe did not respond to calls and messages from Newsday.

Private security

At least seven of the 26 graduates in the first class are involved in firms dedicated to protecting religious institutions, particularly Jewish houses of worship.

Joshua Farkas, 55, and Yehuda Schiffer, 52, both of Cedarhurst, run a nonprofit called Six13 Guard, based in Lawrence. The nonprofit's mission is "to provide security support and education to local houses of worship and schools regarding security matters," according to a Form 990 tax filing from 2024, the most recent available online.

The statement also notes its secondary purpose is to assist law enforcement by "serving as the eyes and ears of the communities" and that it provides armed and unarmed guards to the entities it serves "and education and training for volunteer guards," according to the tax filing. 

Two other special deputies in that first class co-founded a company in 2023 called Team OTO, based in Lawrence, that trains individuals and groups in firearms use, self-defense and medical response, according to its website.

Howard Kafka, 63, of Lawrence, is a co-founder, as is Justin Wertman, according to the company's website. Wertman's LinkedIn profile describes him as a "Security Consultant; Firearms and Tactics Instructor" in the metropolitan area who has also worked for Six13 Guard.

Newsday visited the homes of Farkas, Schiffer and Kafka seeking comment and leaving messages with family members who came to the door and acknowledged the program when asked. It was unclear whether Wertman, who has a profile on the Team OTO company website matching that of his LinkedIn, still lives in Nassau County.     

In court documents filed earlier this month, attorneys say four members appear to have arrest records or had warrants issued for their arrest.

A Blakeman relative working in real estate with no prior law enforcement experience is also among the members of the program, court documents show. 

Neither Kelner nor plaintiff's co-counsel Carey Dunne would comment on Newsday's findings, citing the court-imposed confidentiality agreement. Dunne said the litigation was motivated by the Blakeman administration's continued secrecy. That a county executive would have the sole authority to create and mobilize an unidentified group of gun owners without a legislative vote is also a major problem, Dunne said.

"Putting aside the identities or qualifications of any particular person and putting aside the fact that there's just no need for this squad of new armed guards, we've now seen across the country what happens when untrained or wrongly trained people with guns are given badges and unleashed on the domestic population rather than local, trained law enforcement," Dunne said. "We have no confidence that what is put in place here will be any different or any better."

Newsday's Laura Mann conducted research for this story.