MINEOLA, N.Y. – Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced charges today against a Nassau County Correction officer for possessing amphetamines with the intention of selling them.
Daniel Lanigan, 29, of Levittown, was arraigned today and charged with Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the 5th Degree, With Intent to Sell (a D felony) and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the 7th Degree (an A misdemeanor). He faces up to 2-1/2 years in prison. Nassau District Court Judge Scott Siller released Lanigan on his own recognizance. He is due back in court on Aug. 14.
“The public has a right to expect that employees put in positions of authority and paid with their tax dollars do not put themselves above the law,” DA Rice said. “My office will continue to investigate anyone who violates that sacred trust.”
During the course of an investigation in cooperation with Nassau County Sheriff Michael Sposato, DA investigators observed Lanigan in a drug-related transaction on Aug. 11 at approximately 1:42 p.m. in the rear of 64 Division Avenue in Levittown, one block away from a school. Lanigan was then arrested by DA investigators.
DA investigators recovered 10 capsules of an amphetamine known as Adderall. Lanigan picked up the drugs less than two hours before he was to report to work at the Nassau County Correctional Center in East Meadow. The investigation into the case is ongoing.
Assistant District Attorneys Christiana McSloy, deputy chief of DA Rice’s Public Corruption Bureau, and Kimberly D. Stevenson are prosecuting the case. Lanigan is represented by Michael Annibale, Esq.
The charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless found guilty.