An off-duty Nassau County police officer unlawfully shot and beat an unarmed cabdriver in Huntington Station after a night of drinking in 2011, according to an NCPD Internal Affairs Unit report. <a href="http://data.newsday.com/long-island/crime/huntington-station-shooting/"> See a reconstruction of the events, based on official documents.</a>

News

cabbie

Attorneys for an unarmed cabdriver shot in Huntington Station by an off-duty Nassau police officer say investigators "fabricated evidence and falsified reports" in the case and have asked a judge to add the allegation to their federal lawsuit against Nassau County.
Former Nassau officer Anthony DiLeonardo shot the unarmed cabbie, Thomas Moroughan, on Feb. 11, 2011, after a night of drinking with another off-duty Nassau officer, Edward Bienz, officials have said.
In an Aug. 19 memorandum to federal court Judge Joseph F. Bianco, a lawyer for Moroughan asked him to amend the $30 million suit to include the claim that the Nassau police department's Deadly Force Response Team, which investigates all police-involved shootings, "falsified its report" to "justify an unlawful use of deadly physical force against Moroughan."
After it closed its investigation, the team cleared both DiLeonardo and Bienz of any wrongdoing. A conference on the request is set for next week.
In an email, Nassau County attorney Carnell Foskey said the "claims are frivolous, have no truth to them and all know the department has already taken appropriate action in terminating former Officer DiLeonardo."
In a statement, Moroughan's attorney, Anthony Grandinette, said the department's Deadly Force Response Team had "an unconstitutional pattern and practice of submitting factually false reports to the Commissioner of Police, attempting to justify the unlawful or improper use of deadly physical force. This practice was maintained in an effort to shield individual officers from potential administrative and/or criminal sanctions for their unjustified use of deadly physical force."
DiLeonardo was fired from the force in May -- more than three years after the shooting -- losing his benefits and pension as a result. Moroughan was backing away from DiLeonardo with his pregnant girlfriend in the passenger seat of his cab after a roadside dispute with the officer, according to a 2012 Nassau police internal affairs report. DiLeonardo fired five times at Moroughan with his service revolver, striking him twice, the report said. Moroughan also suffered a broken nose during the encounter, officials said.
In July, the police department created a Deadly Force Review Board to look over the work of the Deadly Force Response Team to determine whether the officer involved complied with department policy, whether training or tactical procedure should be modified and whether disciplinary action should be taken.

Long Island

Nassau

LICAB28

Lawyers: Probe into Nassau cop's shooting of Huntington Station cabbie included false evidence

cabbie scene comp - cropped

The Nassau County Police Department Monday fired officer Anthony DiLeonardo, who was off-duty and not in uniform when he shot a retreating, unarmed cabdriver in Huntington Station after a night of drinking with another cop, a department spokesman said. 
DiLeonardo's termination is effective immediately, Insp. Kenneth Lack, the spokesman, said in a statement. DiLeonardo, who was hired in November 2007, loses his pension and benefits as a result, a source said. 
DiLeonardo, who police internal affairs investigators found recklessly escalated a roadside dispute, was never suspended after the Feb. 27, 2011, incident in which he fired his service weapon five times at cabbie Thomas Moroughan. An internal affairs report said Moroughan was backing away in fear from the officer with his pregnant girlfriend in the passenger seat of his cab. DiLeonardo was most recently assigned to the Third Precinct in Williston Park on restricted duty, where he performed administrative tasks and was prohibited from patrol duty, a source said. 
"The egregious conduct and breach of public trust by former Police Officer Anthony DiLeonardo will not be tolerated by the Nassau County Police Department," said Nassau Police Acting Commissioner Thomas Krumpter in a statement to Newsday. 
Krumpter declined to comment further, citing the state's Civil Rights Law 50-a, which makes confidential all information used to evaluate police officers, including investigations into officer misconduct. 
It was that law that kept the case hidden from the public for two years, until a Newsday reporter last June found that the internal affairs report of the incident had been accidentally left unsealed in the court file of a $30 million federal civil-rights lawsuit Moroughan filed. 
Department charges urged 
The internal affairs investigation concluded in 2012 that DiLeonardo be brought up on 19 departmental charges, but disciplinary actions against the officer did not begin until after Newsday reported about the lawsuit. 
DiLeonardo's attorney, Bruce Barket, declined to confirm his client's firing, but vowed to sue the department if he was terminated. He said DiLeonardo would not comment. 
"Anything that happened with Anthony would be confidential," Barket said. "Our position remains that Anthony did nothing wrong. If he's terminated by the police department we will sue the police department to get his job reinstated. There's been no judicial review of any of the events that took place that night in Huntington." 
Lack declined to comment on Barket's threat of litigation. 
County records show that DiLeonardo was paid $103,119 last year, down significantly from the previous year's $110,316 and from the $118,000 he earned in 2010 and 2011. 
Nassau Police Benevolent Association president James Carver declined to comment on DiLeonardo's termination. A spokesman for County Executive Edward Mangano, who has said he wants a police commissioner who will serve as a disciplinarian, did not respond to a message seeking comment. 
The report also recommended five departmental charges be brought against officer Edward Bienz, who was with DiLeonardo the night of the shooting, for committing two unlawful acts and three counts of violating department rules. Bienz, hired in January 2007, earned $147,013 last year and remains on the force. He lost several weeks of pay as punishment for his involvement in the incident, according to a source. 
Both off-duty officers were found to have engaged in conduct unbecoming an officer and were unfit for duty by reason of intoxicants, among other violations of department rules. The report did not address whether the officers should be charged criminally, and it did not indicate whether the recommended departmental charges were ever brought. 
No criminal charges have been filed against either DiLeonardo or Bienz. Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota, who has jurisdiction over the case, empaneled a grand jury to investigate the shooting in July 2013, a few weeks after Newsday published details of Nassau's internal affairs investigation. A spokesman for Spota did not respond Monday to a request for an update on the status of the investigation. 
'That system is broken' 
Moroughan's attorney, Anthony Grandinette, said in an email that although he was "pleased" that DiLeonardo had been fired for the "unlawful and outrageous" acts he committed, his client remains "grossly disturbed that it took the department this long to take action. When it takes over three years for a police department to terminate an officer who shoots an innocent and unarmed citizen after a night of drinking, clearly that system is broken." 
The cabbie's criminal attorney, William Petrillo, added, "Tom was pistol-whipped, shot and falsely arrested. The only thing surprising about his assailant's termination is how long it took to happen."The department's internal affairs report on the case found that DiLeonardo shot at Moroughan five times with a .38-caliber Smith &amp; Wesson. The cabdriver was hit once in the left arm and once in the chest, as his girlfriend sat beside him in the front seat, according to the unit's report obtained by Newsday. 
Moroughan got into a dispute with the two officers just after 1 a.m. in Huntington Station while driving his cab to pick up a fare. The incident escalated when DiLeonardo shot at Moroughan's cab, striking him twice. Moroughan told investigators he didn't know the men were off-duty cops. 
DiLeonardo told investigators he shot Moroughan because the cabdriver tried to run him over, according to the report. 
A pair of Suffolk detectives wrote a statement for Moroughan and had him initial it while he lay in a hospital bed, on morphine, with two bullets still inside him and with a broken nose. 
Moroughan later told investigators that the statement included information he never said and that he was told he didn't need an attorney despite repeatedly asking for one. The statement, according to the report, helped exonerate DiLeonardo and incriminate Moroughan, who was arrested on charges of assault and reckless endangerment. 
Attorney: Report 'worthless' 
Barket blasted the internal affairs report, calling it "virtually worthless," and its chief investigator, who he said had never previously investigated a use-of-force case. He said the department's Deadly Force Response Team had found DiLeonardo's conduct appropriate. Any action by the department against DiLeonardo, Barket said, is a "political move" because the internal affairs report "embarrassed the commissioner." 
A Supreme Court judge last week upheld an earlier ruling by Nassau County's Indemnification Board that found DiLeonardo's actions on the night of the shooting weren't "within the scope" of his job; and therefore, Nassau's attorneys would not represent DiLeonardo in the Moroughan lawsuit and the county would not cover any judgments against him in the case. The same board ruled Bienz's actions fell within the scope of his duties. 
The last officer terminated from the department was Michael Incandela, who was fired June 3, 2013, after having "inappropriate communication" with a female defendant whom he arrested, a source said.

LICOP06

Nassau cop who shot unarmed cabbie in 2011 fired

The Nassau County Police Department has filed departmental charges against Officer Anthony DiLeonardo almost three years after he shot an unarmed cabdriver in Huntington Station after a night of drinking off-duty. Department officials could ultimately fire DiLeonardo after a hearing scheduled for Feb. 10, according to a source with knowledge of the department's plans. 
It's the department's first attempt to discipline DiLeonardo for the shooting, the source said. 
County comptroller payroll records show that neither DiLeonardo nor Officer Edward Bienz, DiLeonardo's barhopping companion on the night of the shooting, were ever suspended for their roles in the February 2011 incident. Both officers remain on the job. DiLeonardo was paid $110,316 in 2012, the year after the shooting, and Bienz made $145,877. 
Bienz has already been punished, according to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because department discipline is supposed to remain secret. It is unknown how Bienz was disciplined. 
DiLeonardo's attorney, Bruce Barket, disputed that DiLeonardo "hasn't been disciplined for any alleged violation to this date." He declined to elaborate. 
What happened 
Nassau police Internal Affairs investigators recommended in 2012 that the department administratively charge DiLeonardo with 11 counts of unlawful conduct -- seven of which they labeled felonies -- after he shot and beat Thomas Moroughan during a February 2011 road-range incident. 
The investigation recommended two unlawful conduct charges against Bienz. 
The details of the shooting were hidden from the public for two years by state Civil Rights Law 50-a, which makes all information used to evaluate police officers -- including investigations into officer misconduct -- confidential. Those details were revealed last June after a Newsday reporter found that Nassau's Internal Affairs report of the incident had been accidentally left unsealed in the court file of a $30-million federal civil rights lawsuit Moroughan filed. 
The lawsuit -- which names Nassau and Suffolk counties, DiLeonardo, Bienz and numerous other officers as defendants -- is pending. 
"Their conduct was absolutely outrageous, and the fact that it has taken this long to punish them is equally as outrageous," said Anthony Grandinette, Moroughan's civil attorney. 
Nassau County and its police department declined to comment Thursday. 
DiLeonardo and Bienz did not respond to messages left with the police department and the Nassau Police Benevolent Association. 
"Everybody's entitled to their due process," said Nassau PBA president James Carver. He declined to comment further. 
In March 2012, Nassau County's Indemnification Board found that DiLeonardo's actions on the night of the shooting weren't "within the scope" of his job. As a result, Nassau's attorneys are not representing DiLeonardo in the Moroughan lawsuit and the county won't cover any judgments against him in the case. The same board ruled Bienz's actions fell within the scope of his duties. 
Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota, who had jurisdiction over the shooting, did not file criminal charges against either DiLeonardo or Bienz in the months after the incident. However, Spota empaneled a grand jury to investigate the shooting in July 2013, 2 1/2 weeks after Newsday published details of Nassau's Internal Affairs investigation. 
Where the case stands 
That grand jury's term was set to expire Jan. 6, according to court documents Spota's office filed in December. 
Spota did not respond to multiple inquiries about the status of the grand jury, which can be extended. 
DiLeonardo's disciplinary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 10, the source said, although he is allowed to request a one-month delay. Barket declined to confirm that a hearing was scheduled, but said he did not expect the hearing to occur on Feb. 10. 
The disciplinary action against DiLeonardo comes as the department is searching for a permanent leader and is under fire over a series of high-profile police misconduct scandals. 
Thomas Dale resigned as commissioner on Dec. 12 after a Nassau district attorney's report criticized his role in a politically charged arrest. 
Interim Commissioner Victor Politi, who stepped in for Dale, left the department Wednesday to run the Nassau Health Care Corp. 
The decision to discipline DiLeonardo could fall to new interim Commissioner Thomas Krumpter, who was also interim commissioner when the department began its investigation of the Moroughan shooting in 2011. 
It is unclear whether Dale or Politi initiated the disciplinary action against DiLeonardo. 
For much of his tenure, Dale struggled with the police union -- first in the county legislature and then in the courts -- for increased powers to discipline officers. On Dec. 5, a judge ruled that the county's charter puts the commissioner in charge of discipline. 
"Dale was a disciplinarian," County Executive Edward Mangano told Newsday after Dale's resignation. "The next commissioner will be a disciplinarian, too." 
With Sandra Peddie

INDILEO31

Officer Anthony DiLeonardo faces Nassau police charges in cabdriver shooting, says source

A State Supreme Court justice ruled Wednesday that a defense lawyer in a murder case may be entitled to police and prosecutors' reports about a Suffolk detective who investigated the shooting of an unarmed taxi driver by an off-duty Nassau police officer who had been drinking. 
 The decision came after the attorney argued that he needed the reports because those internal probes raised questions about the conduct of the detective in the taxi driver case. That detective, Ronald Tavares, took the defendant's statement in the murder case. 
 In the taxi driver case, off-duty Nassau Officer Anthony DiLeonardo shot taxi driver Thomas Moroughan by the side of Oakwood Road in Huntington Station during a traffic dispute in February 2011. Suffolk police arrested Moroughan and charged him with assault. 
 The Suffolk district attorney's office dropped the charges three months later. Tavares was one of two detectives who took the cabdriver's signed statement, records show. 
 In the murder case, Aston Barth, 33, of Central Islip, is accused of killing next-door neighbor Jason Campbell, 35, with an ax and stuffing the body in Barth's closet for nearly a week in December. 
 Defense attorney Scott Gross of Mineola told Justice William Condon that he needed the police internal affairs report and a Suffolk district attorney's report on Tavares' conduct in the Moroughan case. 
 Detectives "forced or coerced or made up a confession in a very serious investigation," Gross said. If Tavares was found to have committed misconduct, that would affect his credibility as a witness now, Gross said. 
 Condon allowed Gross to subpoena the reports, saying he would review them and give them to him if he deemed them relevant. Gross argued he was entitled to them under the Brady rule, which requires prosecutors to give the defense potential exculpatory material. 
 Prosecutor Glenn Kurtzrock said he didn't know whether the reports existed, but would comply with the Brady rule. 
 County spokeswoman Vanessa Baird-Streeter, Suffolk police and the county attorney's office declined to comment. 
 Lawyers and experts said there's little doubt Gross is entitled to such files. "It seems to me that a previous case involving misconduct in taking a confession would be favorable evidence to a defendant that these cops behaved wrongfully in taking a confession from him," said Bennett Gershman, a professor at Pace Law School. Suffolk police and the county attorney's office didn't respond to requests for comment. 
 The Internal Affairs report found that Moroughan signed a sworn statement Suffolk homicide detectives wrote for him while he lay in a hospital bed, on morphine, with two bullets still inside him and with a broken nose. Moroughan said the Suffolk detectives did not allow him to consult with an attorney before signing it. 
 The statement helped exonerate DiLeonardo and incriminate Moroughan and was later shown to include events contradicted by the department's own investigation, the report states. 
 DiLeonardo has not been charged in the shooting. Nassau Police Commissioner Thomas Dale said in June that his department has "an active internal affairs investigation open regarding this incident."

Suffolk

LIBART15

Judge: Defense lawyer in murder case can seek internal reports in taxi driver shooting

Moroughan - cropped

The unarmed cabdriver shot by an off-duty Nassau cop who had been drinking does not want to testify before the grand jury empaneled by Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota to hear evidence in the 2011 case, his lawyer said Thursday. 
 The lawyer for Thomas Moroughan, William Petrillo, said his client has not been subpoenaed and, if he is, "he will not be held in contempt of court, but we will address any and all legal issues if the district attorney fails to honor our request and victimize him further by seeking to compel his testimony." 
 In a letter to Spota, Petrillo said his client had been "emotionally, mentally and physically scarred" by the incident and is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. 
 "He has spent the last two years and four months trying to heal by placing these events behind him, regaining public trust in his character and reputation, and attempting to move forward with his life. He has had quite a struggle," Petrillo said in the letter. 
 In addition, Moroughan "feels skeptical regarding this process almost two and one half years after the fact," Petrillo wrote. He also said a subpoena would "victimize" his client further. 
 The empaneling of a grand jury in the case of Nassau Police Officer Anthony DiLeonardo comes after Newsday published a story based on a report by Nassau Internal Affairs investigators that found DiLeonardo unlawfully shot and beat Moroughan in Huntington Station after a night of drinking on Feb. 27, 2011. 
 The report by the Internal Affairs Unit recommended 19 departmental charges for what it found to be 11 unlawful acts and eight departmental rules violations by DiLeonardo. It also recommended five departmental charges be brought against Nassau Officer Edward Bienz, who accompanied DiLeonardo to several bars that night, based on the investigation's findings that he committed two unlawful acts and three counts of violating department rules. 
 DiLeonardo's lawyer, Bruce Barket, said Thursday that Di-Leonardo had not been subpoenaed and that his client committed no crime. 
 "Moroughan tried to run him over, and Officer DiLeonardo defended himself by firing his weapon," Barket said. "Those facts are not going to be changed." 
 Suffolk County police arrested Moroughan the day of the altercation on charges of felony assault and misdemeanor reckless endangerment. Three months later, a judge granted a motion by the Suffolk district attorney's office to drop the charges, citing evidence that the officers had been drinking, and the disputed version of events. 
 "Obviously, one can understand his lack of trust in the police and the system," Petrillo wrote of his client. 
 Prosecutors said last month that criminal charges had not initially been filed against DiLeonardo and Bienz because Moroughan and his girlfriend -- who was with him during the shooting -- refused to cooperate. 
 Responding to Petrillo's letter, Spota issued a statement saying: "We are surprised and disappointed that the cabdriver, Mr. Moroughan, and his girlfriend, continue -- as they did two years ago -- to refuse to cooperate with this office, including requesting that we not subpoena or attempt to compel them to testify before a grand jury. 
 "Nevertheless, based upon the facts and circumstances of the case, and even more importantly, the failure of the Nassau County Police Department to follow our recommendation that they discipline or remove the police officers involved in the incident, we have requested a special grand jury be empaneled, we will consider all of our options and this investigation will move forward." 
 Nassau police said state law bars the department from commenting on whether either of the officers has already been disciplined. Department spokesman Kenneth Lack declined to comment on Spota's statement. 
 Stephen Scaring, a Garden City defense lawyer who was chief of the Homicide Bureau in Nassau County from 1969 to 1977, said that Moroughan would be required to testify in the grand jury if Spota subpoenas him. 
 "It's not really up to the cabdriver as to whether he has to testify," Scaring said. "If subpoenaed, he must give truthful testimony" or be subject to contempt charges. 
 By testifying truthfully in the grand jury, Scaring said, Moroughan would automatically be granted immunity from any possible criminal charges. 
 "The issue is, does the DA want to go forward on a case in which his key witness is not cooperating . . . and objecting to appearing and testifying?" Scaring said. "Most prosecutors are not excited about going forward with a case where the victim is uncooperative. It makes it difficult to win." 
 Bennett Gershman, a law professor at Pace Law School and a former Manhattan prosecutor, challenged statements by the district attorney's office about not prosecuting the case because Moroughan wouldn't testify before a grand jury. 
 "Prosecutors use strong-arm tactics all the time when they want to indict someone," he said. "It raises all sorts of questions about cover-up, about favoritism, about police misconduct."

LIPROB12

Lawyer: Cabbie who was shot won't testify before grand jury

Thomas Moroughan - cropped

The Suffolk County district attorney's office is convening a new grand jury and has served subpoenas in the case of a Nassau County police officer who internal affairs investigators found unlawfully shot and beat an unarmed cabdriver in Huntington Station after a night of drinking in 2011, according to court records and law enforcement sources. 
Information is being sought about the actions of Officer Anthony DiLeonardo, who fired the shots while off duty, and Officer Edward Bienz, his off-duty, barhopping companion, that would be presented to a&nbsp;grand jury that could consider criminal charges in the case, law enforcement sourcesa said. Other law enforcement officers involved in the investigation are also expected to be called to testify, the sources said. 
A court filing Wednesday as part of a $30 million civil suit filed by the cabdriver indicates that an earlier grand jury had been convened and that a new one will get underway. 
The grand jury will be empaneled and begin to hear testimony in the next few weeks, the sources said, and will likely consider charges ranging from assault to attempted murder. 
The Suffolk County district attorney's office declined to comment. 
Bruce Barket, DiLeonardo's attorney, said, "Officer DiLeonardo was cleared by the investigation completed immediately after he was attacked. We are confident that any fair review will result in his exoneration." 
Neither DiLeonardo nor Bienz could be reached. A Nassau police spokesman declined to comment on the subpoenas. 
"He's represented by his own counsel in this matter," Nassau Police Benevolent Association president James Carver said of DiLeonardo. 
A Nassau Police Department Internal Affairs Unit report on the Feb. 27, 2011, case found that DiLeonardo recklessly escalated a roadside verbal dispute when he shot at cabdriver Thomas Moroughan five times with a .38-caliber Smith &amp; Wesson. The cabdriver was hit once in the left arm and once in the chest, as his girlfriend sat beside him in the front seat, according to the unit's report obtained by Newsday. 
The report recommended 19 departmental charges for what it found to be 11 unlawful acts and eight departmental rules violations by DiLeonardo. It also recommended five departmental charges be brought against Bienz, based on the investigation's findings that he committed two unlawful acts and three counts of violating department rules. 
&nbsp; 
Found unfit for duty 
Both off-duty officers were found to have engaged in conduct unbecoming an officer and were unfit for duty by reason of intoxicants, among other violations of department rules. The report did not address whether the officers should be charged criminally, and it did not indicate whether the recommended departmental charges were ever brought. 
Both men remain on the police force. 
Suffolk County police arrested Moroughan the day of the altercation on charges of felony assault and misdemeanor reckless endangerment. Three months later, a judge granted a motion by the Suffolk district attorney's office to drop the charges, citing evidence that the officers had been drinking, and the disputed version of events. 
Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota said last month that criminal charges had not been filed against any of the involved officers because Moroughan and his girlfriend "refused to speak" to his investigators. A court filing Wednesday indicated that an earlier grand jury had been convened in the case. 
Last month, the DA's spokesman, Robert Clifford, said: "We could not proceed further criminally because Mr. [Thomas] Moroughan and his girlfriend refused to cooperate with the district attorney's office . . . despite repeated requests." 
Newsday found the internal affairs report on the Moroughan shooting in court records from a $30 million lawsuit Moroughan filed in U.S. District Court in Central Islip against the Nassau and Suffolk police departments, both counties, and 18 named officers and supervisors. 
Moroughan's lawyer, Anthony Grandinette, declined to discuss the subpoenas. He also refused to say whether his client would testify before the Suffolk grand jury. 
"I have no comment on what the Suffolk DA may or may not be doing in this case," Grandinette said. 
The internal affairs report was the result of a yearlong investigation, ordered by then acting police Commissioner Thomas Krumpter, and includes materials from the Suffolk district attorney's office and the Suffolk Police Department. 
The report concluded that DiLeonardo fired at Moroughan and approached his cab with gun in hand as the cabbie tried to retreat, then beat him about the head with the butt of his gun numerous times. The finding contradicted statements by DiLeonardo that Moroughan revved his car engine and tried to run down DiLeonardo, who said he drew his weapon only when the cab was coming toward him. 
&nbsp; 
Statement in dispute 
Moroughan signed a sworn statement Suffolk County homicide detectives wrote for him while he lay in a hospital bed on morphine, with two bullets still inside him and with a broken nose, according to the report. Moroughan said the Suffolk detectives did not allow him to consult with an attorney before signing it. The statement helped exonerate DiLeonardo and incriminate Moroughan, and was later shown to include events that were contradicted by the department's own investigation, the report states. 
Though DiLeonardo did not mention drinking in his initial post-shooting statement, he later told Suffolk district attorney investigators that he'd had eight to 10 drinks, and Nassau internal affairs investigators that he had six drinks, over a roughly 41/2-hour period before the shooting. 
Within 12 hours of the shooting, Nassau County's Deadly Force Response Team cleared DiLeonardo of wrongdoing, allowing him to continue making arrests after two weeks of paid sick leave. However, a Suffolk crime scene analyst later reported the events couldn't have occurred as DiLeonardo had described, and a Suffolk district attorney investigator determined that the shooting was "unjustified." 
Nassau Police Commissioner Thomas Dale, in a statement emailed to Newsday last month, wrote of the shooting, in part: "I have an active internal affairs investigation open regarding this incident, and there is a pending civil trial in Suffolk County. These two factors prevent me from commenting further about this issue at this time. It is important to note that departmental sanctions can be as punitive as criminal proceedings." 
Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano said he expects Dale to investigate and dole out "appropriate" departmental discipline. 
With Gus Garcia-Roberts and Sandra Peddie 
Correction: A previous version of this story contained incorrect information. Nassau Police Officers Anthony DiLeonardo and Edward Bienz have not been subpoenaed to testify by a Suffolk County grand jury, which Newsday reported based on incorrect information from a law enforcement source.

LISUB11

Grand jury convened in Huntington Station cabdriver shooting

DiLeonardo & Bienz comp - cropped

Police officials and union representatives often say the bad apples are a tiny percentage of any force, and they're right: The majority of cops are good people trying to do a tough job honorably. 
 But police supporters also argue that good officers want bad ones off the force, because they tarnish the organization. There is little evidence that such is the case in the Nassau and Suffolk county police departments. An exclusive Newsday story published a week ago about an officer who still has his badge after drunkenly shooting another man, then lying about it, shows just how badly awry policing has gone in both counties. 
 On Feb. 27, 2011, according to a confidential Nassau County police internal affairs report obtained by Newsday, Officer Anthony DiLeonardo, off duty and drunk, shot at cabdriver Thomas Moroughan five times, hitting him twice, then beat the man with the butt of his gun. DiLeonardo had been barhopping in Huntington with his girlfriend, fellow Officer Edward Bienz and Bienz's wife. Moroughan, who was driving a Prius cab with his girlfriend in the passenger seat, had gotten into a roadside verbal dispute with DiLeonardo. 
 DiLeonardo's explanation for firing at Moroughan, which his companions backed up, was that he feared for his life because the cabbie revved his engine, then tried to run him down. The report debunks that story. A Prius can't be revved audibly, and a reconstruction concluded the car wasn't bearing down on DiLeonardo. 
 The Nassau police report, which included fact-finding by top homicide detectives in the Suffolk County district attorney's office, concluded DiLeonardo committed 11 unlawful acts, including assault, criminal use of a firearm and driving while impaired, and violated eight departmental regulations. It said Bienz committed two unlawful acts and violated three regulations. 
 Yet more than two years later, both are still officers and neither has faced significant discipline, although DiLeonardo cannot currently carry a weapon at work. Nor has any action been taken against the Suffolk County police officers that night who allegedly fabricated a confession and got a hospitalized Moroughan -- drugged with morphine and carrying two bullets in his body -- to sign it.The Nassau cops were on Suffolk's turf, but the distinction that night made no difference in the brotherhood of blue. 
 None of the facts of the evening would be known had a copy of the secret internal affairs report not been found by Newsday in a court file related to Moroughan's $30-million lawsuit against the two police departments, two counties and 18 cops. 
 There is plenty of blame to go around for this horrifying state of affairs. 
 Within 12 hours of the shooting, Nassau County's Deadly Force Response Team cleared DiLeonardo of wrongdoing and said he and Bienz had been "fit for duty," not mentioning that they were intoxicated. 
 The internal affairs investigation by Nassau was not begun for 99 days. In signing the statement by Suffolk officers, the medicated and injured Moroughan waived his rights. He was denied an attorney and charged with second-degree assault and second-degree reckless endangerment. 
 Both charges were dropped by Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota, who took over the investigation from the Suffolk police, four months later. Spota concluded the Nassau officers' version of the story was fabricated. But with Moroughan refusing to testify against the Nassau cops, Spota decided against prosecuting. 
 Moroughan is luckier than most people who've been assaulted by cops. The prominence and presence at the hospital of his highly regarded godmother, Suffolk Police Department Deputy Commissioner Risco Mention-Lewis, who agrees he was denied an attorney and railroaded into a confession of crimes he did not commit, had to have helped spur a response to his allegations. 
 What should be done 
 In Nassau: Based on the conclusions of Spota's and Nassau internal affairs' investigations, the Nassau police Deadly Force Response Team appears to have been remiss in its duties. What disciplinary actions do those cops face? Why are DiLeonardo and Bienz still wearing badges? Police Commissioner Thomas Dale should act swiftly to remove them. 
 In Suffolk: The Suffolk Police Department's investigation was, at the very least, shameful, and possibly criminal. Spota should seek a court order to obtain the Nassau police internal affairs report to determine whether there is evidence in there he can use against any of the officers involved in both counties. 
 Suffolk Executive Steve Bellone and Police Commissioner Edward Webber should tell the public what disciplinary action is being taken against their officers involved in the cover-up. 
 Moroughan and his girlfriend must seriously consider testifying before a Suffolk grand jury. Spota says he has not brought charges against the Nassau cops because the case can't be made without the victim's testimony. After Newsday's story broke and outrage mounted, Spota renewed efforts to get their cooperation in the hope of building a case. 
 In Albany: New York's police unions are protected by a law known as 50-a, which keeps hidden from the public any record used to judge an officer's performance, including misconduct. Had the 350-page internal affairs report not been left where it could be found, the truth might never have come to light. That law must be changed so that the facts become public when officers have committed crimes. 
 And the culture of the cops must change. Protecting each other from the truth and its consequences is not noble. It's a dereliction of duty. 
 Most police officers are good, it's true. But no law, custom or culture ought to protect the ones who aren't.

Opinion

VPCOPS30

Editorial: Long Island police cover-up demands justice

Cops

Nassau PBA president James Carver said Tuesday that the police union's lawyers will seek "the strictest of sanctions" against whoever allowed a confidential Nassau police Internal Affairs report detailing an off-duty cop's shooting of an unarmed cabdriver to remain in a federal court file. 
"This is egregious," he said in an interview. "How do you undo something that's already been out there? This is something we take very seriously."
Carver was referring to Newsday's Sunday article on an Internal Affairs report finding that Nassau police Officer Anthony DiLeonardo escalated a roadside verbal dispute on Feb. 27, 2011, when he shot cabdriver Thomas Moroughan five times with a .38 Smith &amp; Wesson, striking him in the chest and arm, as his girlfriend sat beside him.
The report recommended 19 departmental charges for what it found to be 11 unlawful acts and eight departmental rules violations by DiLeonardo. He has not been criminally charged and remains a Nassau police officer. 
The report also recommended five departmental charges be brought against DiLeonardo's companion that night, Nassau police Officer Edward Bienz. He also remains on the job. 
Nassau Police Commissioner Thomas Dale said in a statement that Moroughan's $30 million federal lawsuit against the department and the fact that an Internal Affairs investigation is still open prevented him from commenting.
Records show that the Internal Affairs report was submitted to Dale on July 31, 2012.
Moroughan's civil attorney, Anthony Grandinette, sent a letter to the court Monday, saying that he had taken pains to comply with the confidentiality order.

LIPBA26

Nassau PBA seeks sanctions over release of report on Officer Anthony DiLeonardo

james carver - cropped

INCAB23

Officer's account of shooting contradicted by Internal Affairs report

ipadcabbie

Cabdriver Thomas Moroughan filed a $30 million federal lawsuit against Nassau and Suffolk counties, both police departments and 18 named police officers and supervisors in February 2012. 
 The suit, which is in the discovery stage, alleges that off-duty Nassau police Officer Anthony DiLeonardo unjustifiably shot and beat him on the night of Feb. 27, 2011. 
 In addition, the lawsuit alleges that members of both police departments conspired to shield DiLeonardo and his companion, Nassau police Officer Edward Bienz, from charges by manipulating the facts and fabricating evidence. That led to Moroughan being falsely arrested for assault and reckless endangerment, the lawsuit states. 
 Moroughan's lawsuit alleges excessive force, conspiracy, false arrest, malicious prosecution, libel and slander. It also alleges violations of Moroughan's Fifth, Sixth and 14th Amendment rights for securing a false confession after interrogating him without reading the Miranda warning, depriving him of his right to counsel, and violations of due process by falsifying documents. 
 "It's one of the most disturbing cases I've ever handled," said Anthony Grandinette, Moroughan's civil attorney. "I've never seen anything like this in 26 years. It shocks the conscience." 
 Both Nassau and Suffolk counties have denied the allegations in court filings, which state any damages Moroughan suffered were due to his own negligence. 
 Officials from both counties and both police departments declined to comment.

INSUIT23

$30M lawsuit filed against Nassau, Suffolk in shooting

The details of the Moroughan shooting, and the department's response to it, come at a difficult time for Nassau police. One of their officers accidentally shot and killed an innocent 21-year-old Hofstra student last month in a home invasion, one of at least three deaths in recent years that have raised questions about officer conduct. 
 May 17, 2013: 
 Andrea Rebello 
 Nassau police Officer Nikolas Budimlic responded to a call about a home invasion burglary at a house on California Avenue rented by Hofstra students near the university, in Uniondale. Police say parolee Dalton Smith, 30, pointed a gun at Budimlic as Smith was holding Rebello as a human shield about 2:30 a.m. Police later said Budimlic fired eight shots, and Rebello was killed. 
 Nassau Internal Affairs is investigating. Police have said it is unclear whether Budimlic, a 12-year veteran, knew he was responding to a hostage situation. The department has refused Newsday's requests for a transcript of the 911 call and for a description of its procedures for hostage situations. Rebello's family indicated this month that it intends to sue the department. 
 Aug. 30, 2011: 
 Kurt Doerbecker 
 Nassau police Officer Shevach Berkovits shot and killed Kurt Doerbecker, 23, of Point Lookout. Police said he ran toward officers with a 12-inch knife. The family disputed that account, saying that Doerbecker was shot in the back of the head. In July 2012, the Nassau district attorney's office found that Berkovits was "entirely justified" when he shot and killed Doerbecker. The family has filed suit. 
 March 19, 2009: 
 Jo'Anna Bird 
 Bird, 24, was stabbed to death in a New Cassel home by her ex-boyfriend, Leonardo Valdez-Cruz. An internal Nassau Police Department investigation later found that at least seven Nassau officers, including a patrol supervisor, failed to properly investigate at least four domestic violence incidents in the days before her murder. 
 After reading the confidential Bird investigation, the late Nassau County lawmaker Peter Schmitt told News 12 Long Island that 22 police officers "ought to be ashamed to look at themselves in the mirror every morning." 
 Bird's family agreed to a $7.7 million settlement with the county in March 2012. The department has refused Newsday's requests to make its Bird investigation public.

INOLD23

Nassau police officers' actions in deaths questioned

Andrea Rebello--cropped

Feb. 27, 2011 -- Off-duty Nassau police Officer Anthony DiLeonardo shoots and beats cabdriver Thomas Moroughan in Huntington Station after a night of drinking with fellow police Officer Edward Bienz. Moroughan is arrested and charged with assault and reckless endangerment. The Nassau Deadly Force Response Team found DiLeonardo and Bienz fit for duty. 
 March 4, 2011 -- The Suffolk district attorney's office takes over the investigation from the Suffolk Police Department's homicide squad. 
 April 20, 2011 -- The Suffolk crime lab completes a shooting reconstruction report that contradicts DiLeonardo's story that Moroughan revved his engine and tried to run him down before the shooting. 
 June 6, 2011 -- A judge grants a motion by the Suffolk district attorney's office to drop the charges against Moroughan. Acting Nassau Police Commissioner Thomas Krumpter orders an Internal Affairs Unit investigation. 
 June 14, 2011 -- The Nassau Police Department puts DiLeonardo on restricted duty and, citing the administrative investigation, removes six guns from his home. 
 Feb. 3, 2012 -- Moroughan files a $30 million federal lawsuit against the Nassau and Suffolk police departments, both counties and 18 named police officers and supervisors. 
 March 6, 2012 -- The Nassau County Indemnification Board finds Bienz's actions were committed while in the proper discharge of his duties and that DiLeonardo's actions were not. 
 March 12, 2012 -- Nassau Internal Affairs investigators interview Bienz, who does not say Moroughan's cab charged at DiLeonardo. 
 March 16, 2012 -- Nassau Internal Affairs investigators interview DiLeonardo, who says Moroughan was yelling murderous threats, details that were not in his initial account. 
 July 31, 2012 -- Nassau Internal Affairs investigators complete their report, which recommends that DiLeonardo be charged departmentally with 11 counts of unlawful conduct and eight counts of violating departmental rules. The report recommends that Bienz be charged departmentally with two counts of unlawful conduct and three counts of violating department rules.

INTIME23

Key dates in cabbie, cop confrontation

As Commissioner I am committed to holding Nassau County Police officers to the highest standards of conduct. When I started my tenure as Commissioner there were 33 active internal affairs investigations. Since that time 30 have been resolved resulting in 1,000 days pay or $50,000 in fines being levied by the department. Two resulted in police officers being terminated. 
 It is critical to note that I lobbied the Nassau County Legislature for a change in county law that allows officers to choose arbitration when their penalty exceeded a certain number of days. The Nassau County Legislature approved this change with bipartisan support. As Police Commissioner I should be held strictly accountable by the County Executive and the people of Nassau County for police conduct. I have also started a "Disciplinary Probation'' period and "Counseling'' services as part of the discipline process. 
 The shooting incident that occurred on February 27, 2011 involving off duty Nassau County Police Officers was investigated by the Suffolk County Police Department and the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office. No criminal wrongdoing was found. However I have an active internal affairs investigation open regarding this incident, and there is a pending civil trial in Suffolk County. These two factors prevent me from commenting further about this issue at this time. It is important to note that departmental sanctions can be as punitive as criminal proceedings.

INCOMM23

Statement from Nassau Police Commissioner Thomas Dale

Nassau police brass have launched an investigation of two Nassau cops in the shooting of a taxi driver in <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> and ordered a review of department policy on when it is "appropriate" for off-duty officers to carry guns. 
 The policy examination was prompted by prosecutors' allegations that those two Nassau police officers, and another off-duty Nassau cop facing charges for drawing a gun in a bar, had been drinking before the incidents. 
 "In light of recent events, we will be reviewing our policy regarding officers carrying off-duty weapons, and under what circumstances they're appropriate and not appropriate," Nassau police Det. Lt. Kevin Smith said Tuesday. 
 The order from Acting Nassau police Commissioner Thomas Krumpter to investigate Officer Anthony DiLeonardo and another Third Precinct cop came late Monday, hours after Suffolk prosecutors dropped criminal charges against cabdriver Thomas Moroughan, whom DiLeonardo shot in <a href="/topics/Huntington%2C_NY">Huntington</a> on Feb. 27. The second officer has not been identified. 
 Following a roadside argument, Moroughan, 26, was charged with felony assault after the officers said he drove at them with his taxi. 
 Krumpter is considering changes to both officers' active-duty status, but no decision has been made, Smith said. 
 In the other incident, Nassau prosecutors say Officer Richard Hefferon, 46, had downed several drinks at a <a href="/topics/Farmingdale%2C_NY">Farmingdale</a> bar April 26 when he pulled a gun and aimed the loaded pistol at a bartender's head. The confrontation was captured by security cameras. Hefferon pleaded not guilty last week to reckless endangerment. 
 Department policy does not forbid officers to drink while carrying a weapon and cops are encouraged to carry one while off duty. "In the vast majority of cases, it aids the public because the officer can take police action as the need arises," Smith said. 
 Smith declined to comment on what, if anything, the officers told investigators about what happened before the shooting. 
 The Nassau Police Benevolent Association has declined to comment on the incident. 
 Moroughan's attorney, William Petrillo of <a href="/topics/Rockville_Centre%2C_NY">Rockville Centre</a>, said Tuesday a civil suit related to the shooting would be filed "in the near future." 
 The department's investigation "may very well bolster Mr. Moroughan's claims that they acted inappropriately," he said.

LITAXI08

Nassau cops to review off-duty gun policy

The <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County District Attorney's office Monday dropped charges against a <a href="/topics/Huntington_Station%2C_NY">Huntington Station</a> cabdriver shot during a roadside confrontation with two off-duty <a href="/topics/Nassau_County%2C_NY">Nassau</a> police officers who prosecutors said had been drinking. 
<a href="/topics/Nassau_County%2C_NY">Nassau</a> County acting police Commissioner Thomas Krumpter "will probably" launch an internal affairs investigation into the incident, said spokesman Det. Lt. Kevin Smith. 
"Before this, we didn't have any reason to believe that our officers' behavior differed from what was presented to us at the time," he said. No complaint was filed with the department, Smith said. 
<a href="/topics/Nassau_County%2C_NY">Nassau</a> police union president James Carver declined to comment on the officers' actions or the probable internal affairs investigation. 
The cabdriver, Thomas Moroughan, 26, had been charged with assaulting the officers in the Feb. 27 incident in <a href="/topics/Huntington%2C_NY">Huntington</a>. Moroughan will likely sue for damages, his lawyer said. 
In dropping the case against Moroughan, <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County Assistant District Attorney Raphael Pearl said his office wouldn't be able to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt, largely because the officers had been drinking beforehand. 
"There was evidence the officers had been drinking, but not that they were legally intoxicated" (under drunken driving statutes), Pearl told District Court Judge Gaetan Lozito. "That impacts their credibility. It undermines the people's ability to obtain a conviction." 
A law enforcement source said there were witnesses to the officers' drinking. The officers refused to give blood and urine samples when they went to the hospital after the incident Pearl said. 
Pearl also said there was evidence Moroughan was trying to withdraw from the confrontation, not escalate it, before it turned violent. 
In their account shortly after the incident occurred, <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> police said <a href="/topics/Nassau_County%2C_NY">Nassau</a> Officer Anthony DiLeonardo and another off-duty Nassau Third Precinct officer, who hasn't been identified, pulled over in separate vehicles on Oakwood Road near Stimson Middle School. Moroughan, apparently because of erratic driving by the officers, also pulled his taxi over. 
According to that account, there was a brief argument by the roadside, and then Moroughan got into his cab and drove toward the officers. DiLeonardo fired at Moroughan, striking him in the chest and left arm, police said then. Identifying himself as a police officer, DiLeonardo said he tried to subdue Moroughan, losing his gun in the cab in a struggle. 
As Moroughan pulled away, his cab struck the unidentified officer, police said then. <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> police arrested Moroughan at <a href="/topics/Huntington%2C_NY">Huntington</a> Hospital. 
Moroughan's attorney, William Petrillo of <a href="/topics/Rockville_Centre%2C_NY">Rockville Centre</a>, thanked the Suffolk DA's office "for correcting the injustice done" to his client by the Nassau and Suffolk police. 
"There was never a basis to have arrested him in the first place," Petrillo said, whose client hasn't described what happened that night. 
The cops went on sick leave after the incident but returned to active duty, Nassau police spokesman Smith said. 
District attorney's office spokesman Bob Clifford said Suffolk prosecutors will not pursue charges against the Nassau officers. Moroughan and his girlfriend, who was in his cab, have refused to testify before a Suffolk grand jury. 
Given those circumstances, Petrillo said he had no objection to the Nassau officers not facing criminal charges. Petrillo said Moroughan now likely will sue Suffolk police for false arrest and DiLeonardo for shooting him and breaking his nose. 
Suffolk Police Commissioner <a href="/topics/Richard_Dormer">Richard Dormer</a> cited the likelihood of a lawsuit in declining to comment. 
Outside court, Moroughan said, "I'm glad I can move on with my life. It's just nice to know I don't have to worry."

LITAXI07

Officers may face probe in shooting

liTAXI07

The cabbie shot by an off-duty <a href="/topics/Nassau_County%2C_NY">Nassau</a> cop last weekend said Friday that he was "doing my job" before a roadside argument escalated into gunfire. 
"I didn't do anything to deserve to be shot, pistol-whipped, beat up and then arrested," said Thomas Moroughan, 26, outside a <a href="/topics/Central_Islip%2C_NY">Central Islip</a> courtroom. 
The <a href="/topics/Huntington_Station%2C_NY">Huntington Station</a> man has pleaded not guilty to charges of assaulting a police officer and reckless endangerment. 
Moroughan's lawyer has described his client as a victim recklessly shot as he tried to escape two intoxicated men. 
Attorney William Petrillo said in court Friday that medical records exist that indicate the cops were drunk and urged the <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> district attorney's office to release the documents quickly. 
"I believe [prosecutors] are in possession of records that do show the officer was intoxicated," he said in court. 
Petrillo declined to describe the medical records or say how they established the officers were drunk. 
Assistant District Attorney Chris Turk said he was not part of the conversation Petrillo said he had with the district attorney's homicide bureau regarding records. A <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> district attorney spokesman did not respond to questions Friday about the existence of medical records or witness statements regarding alcohol. 
Anthony DiLeonardo, the <a href="/topics/Nassau_County%2C_NY">Nassau</a> officer who police say fired the gun, has told <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> investigators Moroughan was the instigator for pulling over and yelling before driving at him. 
<a href="/topics/Nassau_County%2C_NY">Nassau</a> PBA president James Carver said the officers, both of whom were accompanied by women at the time of the shooting, called 911 and remained at the scene. He said he had no information about where the officers were before the shooting. 
"Any allegation of any alcohol is intended as a distraction from the defendant's actions," he said. 
The altercation unfolded, Suffolk police said, at 1:15 a.m. Sunday as DiLeonardo and another off-duty Third Precinct officer pulled over in separate vehicles on <a href="/topics/Huntington%2C_NY">Huntington</a>'s Oakwood Road. 
Moroughan, with his girlfriend in the car, also pulled over. DiLeonardo later said he got out of his car after Moroughan yelled at him and began to exit his cab. Moroughan then backed up and drove at him, DiLeonardo said. 
The officer fired through the windshield with his personal weapon, striking Moroughan in the chest and left arm, police said. Identifying himself as police, DiLeonardo said he tried to subdue Moroughan, losing his gun in the cab in a struggle. 
As Moroughan pulled away, the cab struck the second officer, police said, knocking him down. That officer suffered a laceration requiring stitches. Moroughan drove himself to <a href="/topics/Huntington%2C_NY">Huntington</a> Hospital and his girlfriend called 911, Petrillo said. Suffolk police found DiLeonardo's gun in the taxi at the hospital. 
Moroughan is due back in court April 13.

LICOP05

Cabbie was 'doing my job' before cops shot

liTAXI

The attorney for a taxi driver shot twice by one of two off-duty <a href="/topics/Nassau_County%2C_NY">Nassau</a> cops in <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> said the officers, not his client, were at fault, and called on <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> investigators to learn whether the officers had been drinking. 
"The only crime committed in this case was committed by the off-duty officers," said attorney William Petrillo. 
Thomas Moroughan, 26, of <a href="/topics/Huntington_Station%2C_NY">Huntington Station</a>, was arrested after the Sunday altercation and arraigned Monday in a Suffolk court. 
Moroughan appeared disheveled, tired but alert as he pleaded not guilty to reckless endangerment and assault of a police officer. He was held on cash bail of $2,500 and is scheduled back in court Friday. 
According to Suffolk police, the two <a href="/topics/Nassau_County%2C_NY">Nassau</a> officers were lost when they pulled over in separate cars at 1:15 a.m. on Oakwood Road near Tippin Drive. Moroughan pulled up behind them, police said. The three men argued. Moroughan then drove his taxi toward one of the officers, who was outside his vehicle, Suffolk police said. 
One officer fired into the taxi, striking Moroughan in the chest and arm, before identifying himself as a police officer. The pair were in civilian clothes and driving private vehicles. 
Petrillo said he believed both officers had been drinking before the altercation but would not elaborate on the basis of that assertion. "As I said in court, we have a good-faith basis to believe alcohol was involved and the DA should find it," he said. 
Neither officer was given an alcohol test, Suffolk police said, nor does department policy require such tests following shootings by police officers. The possible involvement of drugs or alcohol "is part of this investigation on the part of anyone involved," the spokeswoman said. 
Moroughan still had two bullets lodged in his body Monday and doctors were deciding if or when they would be removed, Petrillo said. 
Nassau police declined to answer questions Monday about the officers or department policy related to alcohol or shootings. 
In a signed deposition, Nassau officer Anthony DiLeonardo said he was pulled over when Moroughan "pulled up driving a taxi and started yelling at me." As Moroughan started to exit his vehicle, DiLeonardo said he got out of his car, and the argument continued. Moroughan "backed up his vehicle and then accelerated toward me. I thought he was going to hit me with his car and I was in fear of my life," he said. 
DiLeonardo says he opened fire and then identified himself as a police officer while trying to arrest Moroughan. The car backed up, causing an open car door "to hit me and knock me to the ground." 
Moroughan's girlfriend was in the front seat during the incident and was prepared to testify, Petrillo said. She attended the hearing but declined to speak to reporters. 
Suffolk police said Sunday that Moroughan struck both officers with his car. Two criminal complaints against Moroughan name DiLeonardo alone as a victim. DiLeonardo's deposition does not mention a second officer or the nature of the argument. 
Petrillo described the officers' driving as "reckless and irate," which led to Moroughan stopping and arguing with them. Petrillo said Moroughan had no idea the pair were police officers until after he had been shot.In court, Petrillo said he was "very concerned" that Suffolk police did not give the officers alcohol tests and called on the district attorney's office to provide him with witness interviews, any surveillance footage, and medical records for the officers. 
"At this point it's a police investigation, and down the road we will see what it brings," said Robert Clifford, spokesman for Suffolk District Attorney <a href="/topics/Thomas_Spota">Thomas Spota</a>.

LICOP01

Attorney for shot cabbie: Two cops at fault

An off-duty <a href="/topics/Nassau_County%2C_NY">Nassau</a> police officer shot and wounded a <a href="/topics/Huntington_Station%2C_NY">Huntington Station</a> cabdriver early Sunday after, police said, the man drove his taxi toward the cop amid a verbal altercation. 
Taxi driver Thomas Moroughan was shot twice and hospitalized. 
Two <a href="/topics/Nassau_County%2C_NY">Nassau</a> officers had pulled over in separate cars on the side of Oakwood Road in <a href="/topics/Huntington%2C_NY">Huntington</a> Station when Moroughan, of West 19th Street, pulled behind them. Then, the men became engaged in a verbal altercation, <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> police said. 
Moroughan then drove his taxi toward one of the officers, who was outside his vehicle, <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> police said. 
One officer fired his personal weapon into the taxi, identified himself as an officer and told Moroughan to exit the taxi, <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> police said. Moroughan refused, they said, and struck both officers with his taxi when the second came to assist. Neither officer was named by <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> police. 
Moroughan went to <a href="/topics/Huntington%2C_NY">Huntington</a> Hospital for treatment of wounds to his chest and forearm, Suffolk police said. His injuries were not life-threatening, Suffolk police said. Moroughan was arrested and charged with second-degree reckless endangerment and second-degree assault. 
The police officers sustained minor injuries and were treated at the same hospital, Suffolk police said. 
The off-duty <a href="/topics/Nassau_County%2C_NY">Nassau</a> officers are patrolmen, Suffolk Det. Lt. Gerard Pelkofsky said. They had pulled over on Oakwood Road because they were lost, he said. 
But the circumstances surrounding the altercation remain under investigation, Pelkofsky said. Police are investigating "the legality of the incident," he said, adding that the officer's guns were legally possessed and that the investigation is "not an investigation of the men, it's an investigation of the circumstances surrounding the shooting." 
Pelkofsky added that the officer who fired the shot "was in fear of his life - he was in fear that he was going to get run over by this guy." 
The shooting occurred near Oakwood Road and Tippin Drive, near Stimson Middle School, at 1:18 a.m., a Suffolk police spokeswoman said. 
Moroughan was to be transferred into police custody once he is able to leave the hospital, police said, and is expected to be arraigned Monday at First District Court in <a href="/topics/Central_Islip%2C_NY">Central Islip</a>. 
William Petrillo, an attorney for Moroughan, said his client will plead not guilty. Petrillo, of <a href="/topics/Rockville_Centre%2C_NY">Rockville Centre</a>, said Sunday the shooting was unnecessary and his client did not behave as aggressively as police claim. 
"It's an unjustified shoot. These are fabricated charges in an effort to try to justify a bad shooting," he said. "There was a verbal dispute, which led to an overreaction on the part of the off-duty officer." 
A <a href="/topics/Nassau_County%2C_NY">Nassau</a> police spokesman would not comment on the shooting.

LICOP28

Cops: Off-duty officer shoots cabdriver

liSHOT

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