Nicole Aloise, the Democratic candidate for Nassau County district attorney, called for stronger leadership to better prosecute crimes and keep communities safe amid statistics of rising crimes and lowered conviction rates.
“Every increase means another family who’s affected by theft, by violence, by death,” Aloise said. “It’s unacceptable and it’s time for change.
Aloise is running against Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly, a Republican elected in 2021, in the November election.
Aloise, a former 16-year prosecutor with the Queens and Nassau district attorney offices, said she left the Nassau department due to “failed leadership, morale, and the lack of practical experience to run an efficient office.”
She said she was one of 90 other prosecutors who had left the office due to errors and mismanagement.
“Cases that should result in convictions are often dismissed, there have been instance after instance of dropped or botched cases due to the office not turning over evidence, not filing the complaints in court and not announcing ready for trial on time,” Aloise said. “There is an increase in lax plea deals that is also alarming, especially problematic in DWI cases.”
Aloise attributed the problems to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office’s administration’s “weak leadership and lack of experience.”
“I’ve built my entire career on seeking justice, not tension,” Aloise said.
Donnelly said in a statement that Aloise “failed as a prosecutor in Nassau” and described her leaving the Nassau District Attorney’s Office as a flight to New York City.
“I, on the other hand, have worked hard with my team of prosecutors, earning Nassau County the designation of safest county in the U.S.A.,” Donnelly wrote. “I stand with law-abiding citizens who demand the repeal of the dangerous ‘cashless bail’ laws while she is ‘part and parcel’ of the extremists who embrace a ‘catch and release’ culture that is endangering our families and has made the City a haven for lawlessness [sic].”
Aloise cited New York State reported crime stats for Nassau County, which she said showed an increase in overall and violent crimes.
“Our police department is doing an exceptional job, but they need a partner and this district attorney is not one,” Aloise said of Donnelly.
According to state-reported data, index crime increased by 48% in 2022, Donnelly’s first year in office, and then fell 2.5% in 2023. Violent crimes also rose by 18.6% in 2022 and fell 0.6% in 2023.
Nassau County police reported a 6.5% drop in total major crimes in the first 11 months of 2023. However, data can be subject to change after being initially reported.
Data for 2024 has not been made available to the Long Island Press, which has filed a Freedom of Information Law request to receive it.
Aloise was joined at her press conference by a half dozen people who had been personally affected by crimes, including mother Denise Rakamaric, whose 18-year-old son died from an accidental fentanyl overdose.
Aloise was the Nassau County prosecutor for her son’s case, and convicted the man who supplied her son with the drug.
“He had no idea that one decision, one moment, would cost him his life,” Rakamaric said. “This was not an overdose. This was murder.”
Rakamaric thanked Aloise for her actions to bring justice to her family.
“If it weren’t for Nicole, he would still be out there today, free to kill someone else’s child,” she said. “This is the kind of leadership we need – someone with courage to stand up to a broken system, someone with a heart to fight for families like mine and the strength to actually get it done.”
