Anthony Capone, Republican nominee for Nassau Legislature, was arrested twice for assault, records show

Anthony Capone, the Republican nominee for a Nassau Legislature seat, was arrested twice in separate assault incidents over the last 12 years, according to court records and video footage.

Capone, 32, pleaded guilty to reduced charges in two separate criminal cases for misdemeanor assault. One of the incidents resulted in a civil lawsuit that he settled for an undisclosed sum. 

The candidate's arrest history has not been reported publicly until now. The cases stem from arguments over his work as a car repair shop owner and tow truck operator, and a bar fight.

The former Valley Stream fire chief is running in Nassau’s 14th Legislative District, which covers Valley Stream and Lynbrook. The district is currently represented by Cynthia Nuñez (D-Valley Stream).

Newsday previously reported that Capone’s campaign Facebook page featured derogatory comments about Black people and women that he posted in high school.

Capone declined to speak to Newsday about the incidents, but the Republican Party came to his defense.

Nassau GOP Chair Joe Cairo said Republicans are standing by Capone, calling him "a principled leader who will serve on the county legislature with integrity, vision, and dedication."

"Let’s set the record straight: Anthony Capone had a couple of minor altercations while he was very young. ... These minor, past incidents in no way define the character or dedication of the man standing before Nassau residents today," Cairo wrote in a statement. He continued on to say Capone was a "respected local business owner, a devoted husband, and a loving father."

Nassau County Executive and Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman, who endorsed Capone, did not respond to questions about whether he would reconsider his endorsement.

Capone has raised more than $57,000 for his campaign, records show. Those donations include money from the Lynbrook Police Benevolent Association, the campaign coffers of Hempstead Councilwoman Laura Ryder and former Republican Nassau Legis. William Gaylor III.

Local Republican clubs, including Valley Stream's, Lynbrook's, North Merrick's, North Massapequa's and Seaford's, contributed a total of $2,000.

First arrest

Capone’s first arrest for assault and disorderly conduct happened on Oct. 11, 2014, at Mary McNamara’s bar in Lynbrook, sealed police records obtained by Newsday show. At around 2:20 a.m., Justin Belfi, then 32, said that Capone, then 20, and two friends started harassing the bar’s bouncer, yelling, "Don’t you know who I am?" 

Belfi said that when he tried to break up the fight, Capone and his friends started punching and kicking him. "I kept trying to get up and at one point, they knocked me into a parked car, putting a dent in the driver-side," Belfi told police at the time.

Capone pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct months later, records show. Belfi could not be reached for comment about the incident.

Belfi's mother, Ann, told Newsday that Capone appeared at the scene of a car accident she had in June. When she told him she had chosen a different tow truck vendor, Capone informed her that he was running for office in the Nov. 3 election.

Second arrest

In 2018, Capone was arrested a second time for assault after hitting a man at a Speedway gas station on Atlantic Avenue in Oceanside, down the road from his auto body shop.

The conflict started when Dean Levitt, a customer, took his daughter’s car to Capone’s auto body shop for repairs, court records show. Capone deliberately caused more damage to the car as part of an insurance fraud scheme, Levitt alleged in a subsequent lawsuit. 

Gas station surveillance video obtained by Newsday shows Capone and Levitt running into each other at the station's coffee bar on Feb. 2 that year. The video shows the two tussling near the minimart, and Capone shoving Levitt to the ground. He then turns around and leaves. Levitt attempts to stand up, but falls back down. Another customer rushes to help.

A gas station employee called 911 and an unconscious Levitt, then in his 50s, was hospitalized, records show.

Capone spoke briefly with police who responded to the scene, but left shortly after, he said in a 2021 deposition. It was unclear why police did not arrest him at the scene. Capone was arrested two to three weeks later. 

The case resulted in Capone pleading guilty to a reduced charge of harassment involving physical contact, records show. Levitt later sued Capone in civil court, where he settled the case for an undisclosed amount.

Jordan Tucker, Levitt’s attorney, told Newsday this week, "Capone has a real temper and a problem controlling it."