East Quogue woman files $70 million lawsuit against Suffolk County and Southampton Town

HEMPSTEAD—An East Quogue woman is seeking $70 million in damages from Suffolk County and Southampton Town law enforcement agencies, charging that she was wrongfully arrested and detained after taking photographs near the entrance to the Air National Guard base in Westhampton last July with two guns and dozens of rounds of ammunition in her car.

Filed in U.S. District Court in Central Islip last Thursday, July 29, the federal lawsuit also alleges that Nancy Genovese, 54, a mother of three who has lived in East Quogue for more than three decades, was the victim of assault and malicious prosecution when she was detained by authorities on the shoulder of Old Riverhead Road for nearly six hours on July 30, 2009, before being arrested. The criminal charge was later dropped.

The litigation charges that the arresting officers—who included Southampton Town Police Lieutenant Robert Iberger and Suffolk County Undersheriff Joseph T. Caracappa, among others—repeatedly referred to Ms. Genovese as “a right-winger” and “tea bagger” because of her political beliefs. “They saw the cross around my neck and asked if I had been to any tea parties,” she said. “I went to a tea party—I told them that.”

Ms. Genovese said she is a registered Democrat, though Suffolk County Board of Election records do not list her as registered with any political party, according to Suffolk County Democratic Party Commissioner Anita Katz.

Ms. Genovese, who was returning home from a shooting range on the night of her arrest, said she stopped near the base’s entrance to take photos of the decommissioned helicopter there for a patriotic “Support Our Troops” website that she had been working on at the time. Authorities said they found 500 rounds of ammunition as well as an XM-15 assault rifle and a shotgun inside her car.

Ms. Genovese noted that both weapons, which are legal firearms, were properly stored inside her car, and that the responding officers illegally searched her car—a point also made in the lawsuit. The litigation also notes that there were closer to 140 rounds of ammunition in her car.

“To be labeled a terrorist isn’t right,” Ms. Genovese told reporters during a press conference held last Thursday morning at the law office of her attorney, Frederick Brewington, in Hempstead. “I’m a patriot,” she added, becoming emotional almost immediately after addressing the media.

Neither Lt. Iberger nor Mr. Caracappa returned calls seeking comment this week.

When reached earlier this week, Southampton Town Attorney Michael Sordi said that he had not yet been served with a copy of the lawsuit and declined to comment further. Christine Mamalfi, attorney for Suffolk County, said that while she has not yet seen the lawsuit, the county will “vigorously defend itself and the taxpayers in court.”

Ms. Genovese, who says she is retired, was eventually charged with one count of criminal trespass in the third degree, a misdemeanor, and spent five days in Suffolk County Jail in Riverside, including four days on suicide watch, before posting $50,000 bond. The charge was dropped by the Suffolk County district attorney’s office in November.

The lawsuit itself outlines 14 specific complaints that she is leveling against the defendants, and states that Ms. Genovese, who says she suffered both physical injuries and emotional distress during the ordeal, is seeking $5 million in damages per count—a grand total of $70 million. If she is successful, Ms. Genovese said she would invest all of her money into her website, patriotlegaldefense.com. She said it is a resource for those who are wrongfully arrested.

“The dollar amount is representative of the importance of Ms. Genovese’s case,” Mr. Brewington said. “What a jury would award is yet to be seen, but we’re allowed to put an amount in.”

He explained that the case will probably not go to trial for at least a year. The defendants have 30 days from the filing of the lawsuit to respond to the charges before the proceedings can continue, according to Mr. Brewington.

“Ms. Genovese has decided to engage in what will be a long process to seek justice,” he said.

According to Ms. Genovese, officers interrogated her for six hours near the entrance of the Air National Guard base before arresting her on the trespassing charge. She said she was also questioned by officials with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security, but they did not charge her with a crime.

“They kept asking me why I was there, what about the guns and why I was taking the pictures,” Ms. Genovese said. “I had no intention of going into the base.”

Once taken into the custody of local authorities, Ms. Genovese said her legs were shackled together and she was told that she would be charged with being a “terrorist.”

The lawsuit states that Lt. Iberger, who was not in uniform and driving a minivan at the time, confronted Ms. Genovese along the shoulder of Old Riverhead Road. The document also notes that Lt. Iberger contacted the Suffolk County sheriff’s office and Air National Guard base and “wrongfully” informed them that she “posed a terrorist threat.”

According to Ms. Genovese, she was on the west side of the road, across from the base’s entrance, when she took two or three photographs of the helicopter. A short time later, Lt. Iberger, who was driving a gold minivan, pulled up beside her and ordered her to stop, she said.

Sergeant Paul Salas, press secretary for the Air National Guard, said that a federal law established during the Korean War makes it illegal for people to photograph bases unless they first secure permission from the military. He also said that security will detain only those who take pictures of the base’s entrance.

“If you were a potential adversary and trying to get intelligence, then we would take action,” Sgt. Salas said. “The helicopter is a monument, and we want the public to see it. It’s not an issue. The issue is if they want to capture the main gate and guardhouse out front. Otherwise, we encourage [the taking of photographs].”

Ms. Genovese was never charged for taking photographs that night, according to her attorney and records. The lawsuit also charges that Lt. Iberger removed the memory card from Ms. Genovese’s camera, and it has still not been returned.

Additionally, the lawsuit states that before being placed in handcuffs, Ms. Genovese tried to give her two sons a shopping bag with her cell phone and wallet, the latter of which contained approximately $13,000 in cash. When it was returned to her, the wallet was missing $5,300, according to the lawsuit.

The document states that Ms. Genovese had such a large amount of cash on her because she was going to use it to pay the college tuition for her sons and Catholic school tuition for her daughter. “I usually carry more than that,” she said. “I was a corporate executive of sales ... I worked on salary but got good commission.”

Earlier on the day of her arrest, Ms. Genovese said she went to the doctor to receive treatment for a large gash on her leg. She said she suffered the injury while making breakfast when she accidentally scraped her leg against a kitchen cabinet door.

When she was detained on the side of the road that evening, Suffolk County Deputy Sheriff Robert Carlock, another defendant in the lawsuit, asked to examine the wound, which Ms. Genovese had covered up with a bandage. According to her, other officers at the scene stated that: “This looks like an unreported gunshot wound. Let’s get her for that, too.”

She was placed under arrest at around midnight and transported to the Suffolk County Jail in Riverside. After complaining about her injury—Ms. Genovese said the leg shackles were placed over her wound—she was taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead and given antibiotics. She said she was never allowed to take them and, as a result, developed a staph infection, according to the lawsuit. She said she now has a 2-inch-long scar on her leg.

“The shackles made my legs bleed,” said Ms. Genovese, who added that she also suffers from rheumatoid arthritis. “Any excess weight or injury will make it swell. It wasn’t until January that the wound on my leg closed and the swelling went down.”

Also, the lawsuit states that she was placed on suicide watch and forced to weary a heavy “suicide gown” during her time in prison.

The litigation also charges that Mr. Carlock placed cameras on the roof of his vehicle and aimed them at Ms. Genovese and her two sons after they arrived at the scene. Mr. Carlock was the officer who confiscated Ms. Genovese’s rifle that day; it was returned six months after the trespassing charge was officially dropped.

The suit alleges that it was Mr. Carlock who allegedly told Ms. Genovese during her interrogation that they would “find something in order to teach all right-wingers and tea baggers a lesson.”