Nassau judge rules Long Island fire district must turn over court records from lawsuit that alleged sex assault

A Nassau judge has ordered the Wantagh Fire District to release the agreement that ended a female volunteer medic’s lawsuit that accused a fire chief and a captain of plying her with alcohol and raping her at a firehouse party.

The two men had gone to court last month seeking to stop the fire district from releasing the document after Newsday requested it under the state’s public records law.

The men argued that the negotiated deal promised them confidentiality.

Acting Nassau County Supreme Court Judge Anna Grimaldi, in her written ruling issued on Wednesday, said public agencies cannot "immunize" settlement agreements from public release by calling them confidential. She dismissed the men’s concerns about potentially facing "public harassment and scorn," saying they provided no evidence.

Newsday sought the release of the settlement agreement, citing the fire district's potential use of taxpayer money to settle civil sexual abuse claims. The Wantagh Fire District has an $8.6 million budget funded by taxpayers. The financial terms of the lawsuit settlement are not revealed in public court papers.

The judge gave the fire department 20 days to release "an unredacted copy of the settlement agreement" to Newsday. An attorney for the fire department did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Newsday is not publishing the names of the men because they have not been charged with a crime.

Michael Cassell, an attorney for one of the men, declined to comment. He had said in court papers that neither of them contributed to the financial terms of the settlement. He wrote that both men expected only to receive confidentiality in exchange for dropping their counterclaims of libel and slander against the former volunteer medic.

Thomas Foley, the attorney for the other man, also declined to comment.

Newsday is not disclosing the woman's name because she alleges she is the victim of sexual assault. Her attorney, Vess Mitev, has said she reported the alleged assault to the department and never filed a police report.

A Wantagh Fire District official said in court papers they had decided to "remove" the chief and captain from their volunteer ranks after they had failed to cooperate with their investigation into the woman's claims.

The fire district confirmed to Newsday last month the two men are no longer members.

The settlement, reached in September, ended years of litigation. The woman said the assault happened at a January 2022 party and filed a civil lawsuit a year later claiming that the two men planned to get her drunk so they could "take advantage of her impaired state and sexually assault her."

It’s not known whether the fire district admitted liability in the settlement.

By Jim Baumbach

jim.baumbach@newsday.com

Jim Baumbach is an award-winning investigative reporter at Newsday, where he has worked since 1998. He spent two decades in the sports department, where he covered every professional team and league, including events such as the Super Bowl and World Series.