Mineola, NY - December 16, 2013 - Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced today that two officers of the Nassau County Sheriff’s Department – one active and one retired – have been arrested and charged with providing false testimony before a grand jury and making false statements on sworn documents.
John Andujar and Joseph Donlon were arrested this morning by DA Investigators and charged in a felony indictment with, in relation to their sworn false statements: Perjury in the First Degree (a D felony); Making an Apparently Sworn False Statement in the First Degree (an E felony); and Making a Punishable False Written Statement, Official Misconduct, and Conspiracy in the Fifth Degree (all Class A misdemeanors). The case was referred to DA Rice’s office by the Sheriff’s Department.
Andujar, 55, is retired from the Nassau County Sheriff’s Department and resides in Florida. Donlon, 48, of Ronkonkoma, is still employed as a Correction Officer by the Nassau County Sheriff’s Department. Both defendants were arraigned today before Judge Alan Honorof and face up to seven years in prison if convicted. They are due back in court Jan. 13, 2014.
“We expect to hold law enforcement officers to the highest standards of honesty and discipline,” DA Rice said. “When that trust is broken, it unfairly taints the vast majority of law enforcement who serve honorably and we must act to correct it.”
DA Rice also thanked Nassau County Sheriff Michael Sposato for his cooperation in this case.
DA Rice said that on Oct. 21, 2011, a physical altercation occurred between Officer Andujar and inmate David Page, which led to the involvement of Officer Donlon and other members of the Sheriff’s Department. On Nov. 26, 2011, both Andujar and Donlon provided statements on sworn documents alleging the altercation began when inmate Page spontaneously, without any warning or verbal communication, attacked Andujar in the jail’s transportation unit.
On Dec. 5, 2011, inmate Page was arrested for the alleged conduct and charged with three counts of Assault in the Second Degree (a D felony). On Dec. 13, 2011, both Andujar and Donlon testified before a grand jury that the physical altercation was the result of inmate Page spontaneously striking Officer Andujar. The grand jury indicted Page on felony assault charges and he was subsequently arraigned on said indictment on Jan. 10, 2012.
The case against Page was later dismissed by the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office after the Internal Affairs division of the Nassau County Sheriff’s Department conducted an investigation that revealed several witnesses observed Andujar and Page involved in a verbal dispute that escalated, wherein Andujar removed Page’s handcuffs and shackles and the two engaged in a mutual fight.
Assistant District Attorney Kimberly Stevenson of the Public Corruption Bureau is prosecuting the case under the supervision of the Public Corruption Bureau Chief Bernadette Ford. Andujar was represented by Michael Annibale, Esq. at arraignment; Donlon was represented by Marc Gann, Esq.
The charges are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.