August 3, 2006

NCPD Inspector Arrested for DWI

DA, IAU investigation into car crash continues

MINEOLA, NY - Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced today that Nassau County Police Inspector Vincent Muscarnera has been charged with Driving While Intoxicated, Reckless Driving, Reckless Endangerment in the Second Degree and Criminal Mischief in the Fourth Degree. The charges are all misdemeanors and stem from an auto crash the night of July 11.

“Drunk driving is an epidemic in Nassau County,” said District Attorney Rice. “I will not sit idly by as we lose loved ones, friends and colleagues to this preventable crime.”

It is alleged that on July 11, 2006, Inspector Muscarnera, a 36-year veteran with the NCPD, was returning home from a gathering at a Williston Park restaurant when he became involved in a one-car crash on Jericho Turnpike in Westbury. Eyewitnesses report seeing the defendant’s automobile at excessive speeds and traveling in an erratic fashion without headlights on before striking a telephone pole. The defendant was ejected from the automobile and received medical attention for his injuries. He was transported to Nassau University Medical Center where he was treated for his injuries and remained for two days.

After an initial investigation into the circumstances of the crash by the NCPD’s Internal Affairs Unit, the case was referred to the District Attorney’s Office, which obtained a search warrant that the Internal Affairs Unit executed at the Nassau University Medical Center for blood taken from the defendant shortly after the incident for purposes of treatment. A test conducted afterwards by the Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s Division of Medical-Legal Investigations and Forensic Sciences indicated the defendant’s blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) after the incident was .21.

The investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash by the District Attorney’s Office, in conjunction with the NCPD’s Internal Affairs Unit, will continue.

The defendant was arraigned this morning at First District Court, Hempstead.

Handling the case for the District Attorney’s Office is Assistant District Attorney Peter Mancuso of the office’s Public Corruption Bureau. Inspector Muscarnera is being represented by Brian Davis, Esq., of Garden City.

The charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

Name: Vincent Muscarnera
Age: 57
Address: 1490 Franklin Avenue, Mineola, NY 11501
Charges: Driving While Intoxicated, Reckless Driving, Reckless Endangerment 2°, Criminal Mischief 4°