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2 Suffolk Jail Officers Charged With Beating Inmate

Two Suffolk County Corrections Officers were indicted last month on charges of allegedly assaulting an inmate at the county jail in Riverhead three years ago, prosecutors said.

Vincent Cennamo, Mark Nicol
From left: Vincent Cennamo and Mark Nicol.

Vincent Cennamo, 53, of Moriches, and his co-defendant, 46-year-old Mark Nicol of Ronkonkoma, were charged with assault. Cennamo was also charged with falsifying business records, offering a false instrument for filing and official misconduct. Both men pleaded not guilty Thursday at Suffolk County court.

Prosecutors alleged the two officers assaulted 32-year-old Joshua Durkel, who was serving a sentence for a probation violation after a drug conviction, in the jail’s kitchen on Nov. 27, 2013.

Cennamo then allegedly made false entries in an incident report claiming Durkel, who now lives in Florida, slipped and suffered a cut above his right eyebrow when he hit his head on a stove, according to investigators.

Judge Timothy Mazzei released both men without bail. They are due back in court on March 29. Both officers were suspended without pay.