LI Town Official Abused Position To Help Friend: Nassau DA

FLORAL PARK, NY — The former commissioner of public safety for the Town of Hempstead was arrested and charged with abusing his position to get a parking ticket expunged for a colleague, the district attorney's office said.

Thomas DeMaria, 67, of Floral Park, was indicted by a grand jury on Nov. 16 with second-degree tampering with public records, second-degree obstructing governmental administration and official misconduct — all misdemeanor offenses. He is due back in court on Jan. 10, 2022. If convicted, he could face up to a year in jail.

“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 Smith. “Public corruption takes many forms — large and small — and NCDA is committed to rooting out this conduct no matter the scale and holding government officials accountable when their actions rise to the level of criminality.”

According to Smith, on July 20, 2018, the daughter of a Town of Hempstead employee illegally parked her car in a handicapped space at Harold Walker Memorial Park in Lakeview. A Town of Hempstead Public Safety Officer saw her car and gave her a ticket.

When the employee discovered his daughter got the ticket, Smith said he asked DeMaria to void the ticket.

On July 23, 2018, Smith said that DeMaria told another employee to void the ticket, ensuring it would not be processed by the Nassau County Traffic Court.

DeMaria was arrested by Nassau County District Attorney detective investigators on Dec. 7, 2021.