A Long Island cop who has been suspended without pay for 2 ½ years after he was accused of stalking his ex-fianceé is now free and clear of the criminal charges — and intends to file a $75 million lawsuit against Westhampton Beach police officials and Suffolk County authorities.
Police Officer Joseph Pesapane told The Daily News that he has lost more than $330,000 in salary while fighting the misdemeanor charge alleging that he was harassing the woman with text messages and phone calls.
The office of Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota dropped the charge last month as jury selection was about to get underway.
“The case against Mr. Pesapane was dismissed because after interviewing the victim and reviewing the (Suffolk County Police Department) paperwork in anticipating of a trial, prosecutors determined the case could not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt,” said D.A. spokesman Robert Clifford, declining further comment because the case is now sealed.
Pesapane's civil lawyer Eric Sanders said it is outrageous that it took authorities more than two years to figure out they didn't have a case while depriving his client of earning a living.
Under state civil service law, an officer must be reinstated to the payroll 30 days after a suspension. But according to the notice of claim filed Monday, Pesapane claims that Village of Westhampton Beach officials and his former union lawyer entered into an illegal agreement to suspend him without pay until the start of his disciplinary hearing.
“He must be legally restored to the payroll,” Sanders said. “It makes no legal sense that he would have agreed to the suspension.”
Village of Westhampton Beach Mayor Maria Moore, who is named in the notice, did not return a call for comment.
Pesapane, 32, who left the NYPD Police Academy in 2006 to join the suburban police force, claims that he's amassed evidence of corruption and coverups in his department and the Suffolk County Police Department. He has met with the FBI and federal prosecutors from the Eastern District of New York who are investigating wide-ranging allegations of corruption in the prosecutors' office and by former Suffolk County chief of police James Burke.
“I believe they are trying to silence me, they're worse than organized crime because they're police,” Pesapane told The Daily News.
The ex-girlfriend who filed the stalking complaint declined to comment. Pesapane said he's been supporting himself working for a private security company in New York City while he has been on unpaid hiatus from the force.
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Police Officer Joseph Pesapane told The Daily News that he has lost more than $330,000 in salary while fighting the misdemeanor charge alleging that he was harassing the woman with text messages and phone calls.
The office of Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota dropped the charge last month as jury selection was about to get underway.
“The case against Mr. Pesapane was dismissed because after interviewing the victim and reviewing the (Suffolk County Police Department) paperwork in anticipating of a trial, prosecutors determined the case could not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt,” said D.A. spokesman Robert Clifford, declining further comment because the case is now sealed.
Pesapane's civil lawyer Eric Sanders said it is outrageous that it took authorities more than two years to figure out they didn't have a case while depriving his client of earning a living.
Under state civil service law, an officer must be reinstated to the payroll 30 days after a suspension. But according to the notice of claim filed Monday, Pesapane claims that Village of Westhampton Beach officials and his former union lawyer entered into an illegal agreement to suspend him without pay until the start of his disciplinary hearing.
“He must be legally restored to the payroll,” Sanders said. “It makes no legal sense that he would have agreed to the suspension.”
Village of Westhampton Beach Mayor Maria Moore, who is named in the notice, did not return a call for comment.
Pesapane, 32, who left the NYPD Police Academy in 2006 to join the suburban police force, claims that he's amassed evidence of corruption and coverups in his department and the Suffolk County Police Department. He has met with the FBI and federal prosecutors from the Eastern District of New York who are investigating wide-ranging allegations of corruption in the prosecutors' office and by former Suffolk County chief of police James Burke.
“I believe they are trying to silence me, they're worse than organized crime because they're police,” Pesapane told The Daily News.
The ex-girlfriend who filed the stalking complaint declined to comment. Pesapane said he's been supporting himself working for a private security company in New York City while he has been on unpaid hiatus from the force.
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