Suffolk DA: East Farmingdale Man Acquitted

An East Farmingdale man was acquitted on charges of fatally stabbing a neighbor back in 2010, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney's office.

Bobby Costic, of East Farmingdale, was found not guilty of manslaughter on Wednesday in the death of neighbor William Scott.

The Suffolk County jury deliberated for hours and ultimately backed Costic's testimony that he acted in self-defense. The two men allegedly got into an arguement after Costic didn't join a party in the street outside Scott's home.

Costic, 44, told Newsday he had just stopped drinking and was about to enter a rehabilitation program and that Scott was drunk, high and aggressive.

"He pushed too much that day, and I had to defend myself," Costic told Newsday. "If I didn't pull the knife, I would have been on the other end of the stick." Costic stabbed Scott in the abdomen, severing his aorta, according to the case.

Costic is an Army veteran who served in Kuwait and Iraq and a stockbroker, but spent most of the last two years in jail awaiting trial.