Ex-Huntington Town Employee Falsified Resume: Suffolk DA

HUNTINGTON, NY — Dominic Spada, a former Town of Huntington employee and Village of Huntington Bay trustee, was indicted after he falsified his work experience on an application with the Suffolk County Department of Civil Service, Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy D. Sini said Wednesday. Spada, 58, of Huntington, also conspired with someone to back up his false claims, Sini said.

In August 2018, while serving as the deputy director of maritime services for the Town of Huntington, Spada applied with the Suffolk County Department of Civil Service to take the open competitive examination for the position of bay constable, authorities said. The position requires applicants to have at least two years of maritime experience, Sini said. Spada falsely claimed on his application that he worked for a Huntington-based maritime towing company for five years, Sini said. Spada conspired with the company's owner to corroborate his false application, officials said.

Spada was charged with first-degree offering a false instrument for filing, a felony. He was also charged with making a punishable false written statement, second-degree falsifying business records and fifth-degree conspiracy, all misdemeanors.

Spada pleaded not guilty to the charges during his arraignment Wednesday, according to his lawyer, Raymond Perini, of Islandia-based Perini & Hoerger.

"This really comes down to whether someone embellished their resume or not, and truth be told, [Spada] never did get a civil service position," Perini told Patch. "Not because of this investigation. He just didn't get it. He went on to other things. I think this is much-ado-about-nothing at the end of the day.

"The embellishing of resume; if they lock up everybody who did that, we wouldn't have enough room to put real criminals away. We will defend this case, and we have entered our plea of not guilty. I think it's important that he never did get a civil service job, so even if their allegation is correct, what was the harm?"

Spada is a trustee in the Village of Huntington Bay; a harbormaster in the Town of Islip; and the first assistant chief of the Halesite Fire Department, officials said.

Spada has served as a volunteer firefighter in Halesite since 2003 and worked his way up to chief, Perini said. The lawyer said he's received "dozens" of calls from law enforcement people who said Spada was "very good" at his job and was "the best."

Spada was released on his own recognizance Wednesday after his arraignment. He faces up to four years in prison if convicted on the felony charge. He is due back in court on March 16.