The Town of Hempstead’s former commissioner of Public Safety was arrested on charges he instructed a subordinate to void a ticket that a town colleague’s family member received in 2018, Nassau County prosecutors said.
A grand jury indicted Thomas DeMaria on counts of tampering with public records, obstructing governmental administration, and official misconduct.
“This defendant abused his authority as a chief public official in Hempstead when he allegedly instructed his employee to make a colleague’s daughter’s parking ticket disappear,” said Acting Nassau County District Attorney Joyce A. Smith.
Prosecutors said a woman whose father worked for the town was ticketed by a town public safety officer for illegally parking her car in a handicapped parking space without the proper permit at Harold Walker Memorial Park in Lakeview on July 20, 2018. The father then allegedly asked DeMaria to void the ticket, which DeMaria had an employee do a week later, according to the indictment.
DeMaria, 67, of Floral Park, faces a maximum of 364 days in jail if convicted. He is due back in court on Jan. 10.
Sign up for Long Island Press’ email newsletters here. Sign up for home delivery of Long Island Press here. Sign up for discounts by becoming a Long Island Press community partner here.
