A Roosevelt man whose arrest last October led to the resignation of former Police Commissioner Thomas Dale announced on Friday that he has filed a federal lawsuit against Dale and several other people who allegedly had a role in his arrest.
“This is the opportunity for Randy to say that he’s fighting back,” White’s attorney Frederick Brewington said at a press conference at his law office located at 556 Peninsula Boulevard in Hempstead.
White, 30, was arrested on Oct. 5, 2013 while onboard a N41 bus that was boarded by Nassau County police at a stop in Roosevelt for failing to pay a $250 fine stemming from an outstanding warrant for a misdemeanor counterfeiting conviction.
The lawsuit, which was filed on Friday, alleges that White’s arrest was the result of the defendants trying to have White, a former county executive campaign worker, to change his testimony in an ongoing election law case in which he testified that he was paid per signature by the campaign of former Freeport Mayor Andrew Hardwick.
“What they did was mistreat [White] because politics played a role here,” Brewington said.
The lawsuit lists Nassau County, the Nassau County Police Department, Dale, former Nassau County Chief of Detectives John Capece, former Nassau County Police Sgt. Sal Mistretta and the owner of Oheka Castle Gary Melius as defendants.
Acting County Attorney Carnell Foskey and a spokeswoman for the Nassau County Police Department declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Efforts to reach Dale, Capece, Mistretta and Ronald J. Rosenberg, Melius’ attorney, for comments on the lawsuit were unavailing
The lawsuit lists 30 “John Does,” as defendants – 10 from the Nassau County Police Department, 10 from the Nassau County Sheriff’s Department and 10 “elected and appointed officials.”
“It’s possible that more people can be named in the future,” Brewington said.
In his complaint, White states that Dale, Capece, Mistretta and Melius violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act, by “using their power and authority” to “harm residents and deprive the Plaintiff of the right to depend on the government.”
Melius, who in February was shot in the face outside of the Oheka Castle, is being sued as a state actor in the case “since he caused or conspired to cause officers of official capacity to aid his request and invoke the force of law to wrongfully arrest [White],” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also alleges that White, an African-American man, was singled out because he is a minority.
“Had it not been for Plaintiff’s race and his being present in a minority community, it is believed that Defendants would not have acted as they did against him,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit also alleges that White was subject to strip and cavity searches while he was imprisoned at the 1st Precinct Jail in Baldwin.
“I felt like I was being treated like public enemy No. 1 or a terrorist,” White said of his time in police custody.
White is seeking $46 million in damages, stemming from “past an ongoing economic loss, compensatory and punitive damages, costs, and fees for violations of rights,” according to the lawsuit.
An investigation by Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice’s office into allegations that White’s arrest may have been politically motivated led to the resignation of Dale, who was hired as commissioner in January 2012.
The warrant for the arrest brought to Dale’s attention a day prior to White’s arrest after Melius, who contributed to Hardwick’s campaign for Nassau County Executive, informed the commissioner of the campaign’s desire to file perjury charges against White for testimony he gave in state Supreme Court that he was paid illegally to collect signatures on Hardwick’s behalf.
Melius told Dale the Hardwick campaign had an audio recording of White admitting he lied in a civil proceeding in October that he was paid per signature. State law permits campaign workers be paid per hour.
Hardwick has denied paying White per signature.
Dale referred Melius to the 1st Precinct in Baldwin and sent Capece to meet with Hardwick’s attorney and campaign staff to listen to the tape, which was found to be inaudible. No charges were filed.
While in police custody, White was served by Mistretta a civil subpoena from Hardwick’s attorney.
Mistretta, who resigned following an investigation into White’s arrest, has said he did not know what he delivered to White was a subpoena.
The investigation was detailed in a four-page letter from Rice to Mangano in which the district attorney wrote her office found no wrongdoing on part of Dale, Mistretta, Capece or Mangano. Capece announced his retirement after the letter was made public.
