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Acting Nassau County District Attorney Joyce A. Smith announced on Tuesday, Dec. 7, the arrest of Thomas DeMaria, age 67, of Floral Park, for allegedly instructing a subordinate to void a ticket of a Town of Hempstead colleague in 2018.
DeMaria was indicted by a grand jury in November on three counts, including tampering with public records in the second degree; obstructing governmental administration, and official misconduct.
He faces a maximum of 364 days incarceration if convicted of any of the counts.
“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 Smith.
According to the indictment, in July 2018, a woman – whose father worked for the Town of Hempstead – illegally parked her car in a handicapped parking space without the proper permit at Harold Walker Memorial Park on Woodfield Road in Lakeview.
A Town of Hempstead Public Safety Officer observed the parking infraction and issued the vehicle a ticket.
When the Town of Hempstead employee discovered his daughter received a ticket, he allegedly asked DeMaria to void the ticket, according to the charges.
Later in July 2018, DeMaria allegedly instructed another employee to void the ticket. The employee logged into the Town of Hempstead computer system and voided the ticket, ensuring that it would not be processed by Nassau County Traffic Court.
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