The results of the initial investigation of the six employees of the Nassau County traffic court for ticket-fixing revealed the following allegations:
Angela Petty, a clerk, improperly used the computer system to make changes in cases relating to her relatives and/or friends. She changed the plea status of cases, altered times on cases and even dismissed cases. She also removed fines/surcharges from the computer system. The tickets included allegations of both moving and non-moving violations, including un-inspected vehicles, driving without a license, uninsured vehicles and parking offenses.
Celia Capozzoli, a clerk, altered case records in the computer system on cases relating to her son. These alterations included moving case dates and case dismissal. The tickets involved both moving and non-moving violations including speeding, running a red light, no seat belt, unreasonable speed and parking offenses.
Mary Green, a secretary, accessed the computer system to make changes to the status of tickets and case proceedings that related to her nephew. The changes including delaying the case for up to 3 years and also dismissing charges and eliminating all fines and surcharges in a case that had been adjudicated by the traffic court. These tickets included moving and non-moving allegations including speeding, unreasonable speed, driving on the sidewalk, uninsured vehicle, driving the wrong way down a one-way street, equipment violations and parking offenses.
Roseanna Alveari, a clerk, entered the system to review files relating to tickets issued to her son. A review of the case records indicate that although Ms. Alveari’s son had certain matters dismissed by the court, no appearance – on the case record – was made by the defendant. The defendant also seems to have received lenient treatment by receiving dismissals in the interest of justice that would not, according to TPVA prosecutors, have been warranted in light of the driver’s significant DMV record.
Priscilla Jordan, a keyboard operator improperly dismissed numerous summonses against herself, her daughter and her friend. These included unlicensed operation, no insurance, no registration, running a stop sign and parking offenses. Ms. Jordan is alleged to have misled the court system in a case involving an uninspected car by “purchasing” the uninspected car from her friend changing the plates on the car, then inspecting the car and producing the inspection to show that the car was, in fact, an inspected vehicle. Ms. Jordan altered status dates in the system in order to keep postponing matters. Additionally, the friend’s adjudication for illegally using a cell phone while driving was vacated in the computer system, the fines were deleted and a refund was issued to him by TPVA.
Joseph Butindari, an assistant director, used his position to help his niece and his brother. Those tickets involved moving and non-moving violations. Mr. Butindari monitored these dismissals by accessing the cases in the system the same day that each case was dismissed. These cases included speeding tickets, running a stop sign and parking tickets issued to Mr. Butindari himself. In the speeding ticket matter, the record states that the ticket was defective, but a review of the ticket by two prosecutors, including the TPVA chief prosecutor, shows no infirmity with the ticket. Mr. Butindari had two parking tickets issued to his vehicle and both were dismissed with no evidence of any appearance by the defendant before the hearing court.
Roughly 100 tickets were improperly dismissed at teh Nassau County Traffiv Violations & Parking Agency as a result of the above shenanigans.
