Probe started with lawsuits
Suffolk police and prosecutors opened an investigation into Bernagozzi after 45 former district students filed Child Victims Act claims against the school district, alleging that administrators were neglectful in allowing the teacher to remain in the classroom despite reports of the abuse.
He was arrested in December 2023 when prosecutors determined at least two of the abuse claims fit within the current statute of limitations and secured an indictment against the teacher. The possession charges were added after police found lewd images of a student inside the teacher’s home while executing a search warrant on the day of his arrest.
Politi, of Central Islip, defended the images at trial as clean fun and sought to portray the witnesses as untrustworthy and motivated by the prospect of money damages. Bay Shore has paid at least $75 million in legal settlements resulting from the Child Victims Act claims.
Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.
Updated 35 minutes ago Rex Heuermann has been sentenced to life in prison without parole in his admitted killing of eight women between 1993 and 2010. NewsdayTV has live team coverage from the sentencing.
