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| Parents Allege Shakedown at Nassau Juvenile Facility |
| By Newsday |
| Published: 05/13/2002 |
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Parents who said they were shaken down for about $20,000 by officers supervising their teenage son at the Nassau County, New York, Juvenile Detention Center have taken the first steps toward filing a federal civil rights lawsuit against Nassau and Suffolk counties. The attorney for Teresa and Eugene Helmett have filed a notice of claim for unspecified money damages with both counties, saying their son's due-process rights were violated while he was incarcerated at the Westbury facility for more than a year. The center is home to anywhere from 22 to 25 youths who have been accused of anything from juvenile delinquency to serious crimes. Suffolk is being named in the suit in addition to Nassau because the boy was a ward of the county at the time, Helmett's attorney said. Because Suffolk didn't have its own center, county officials sent him to Nassau to await trial. Officials from both counties declined to comment on the pending litigation. An undercover operation in February by the Nassau County district attorney's office resulted in the arrest of two employees for collecting weekly 'protection money' from the Helmetts to ensure their son's safety, officials said. Both men, who have since been fired by the county, face second-degree grand-larceny charges, a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison if convicted. |
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