A member of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corp. is suing Nassau County to get back nine rifles and 15 handguns seized from his Freeport home by police after he made repeated visits to the office of Rep. Carolyn McCarthy to complain about what he believed to be "illegal aliens" in his neighborhood."Freeport gun seizure." Now there's an oxymoron.
Aides to McCarthy (D-Mineola), whose husband was one of six people slain by Colin Ferguson in the 1993 Long Island Rail Road massacre, eventually called police, which led to the seizure of the weapons.
We discussed this story the other day.
I've been in touch with Mr. Razzano. I spent about 20 minutes on the phone with him yesterday afternoon, and he briefed me on the background of the case as well as sent me some corroborating information. Here's the thing: because there is a case pending, we need to make sure his legal interests are protected and not jeopardized by premature or imprudent disclosures. As such, I've promised him that no information will be released here without his express consent, allowing him to vet things with his lawyer to make certain our desire to share the truth doesn't harm his chances of having his property returned or that his ability to obtain justice isn't diminished.
I'd also like to add that I was the one who volunteered presenting things this way--Mr. Razzano made no demands. I don't want to be responsible for hurting someone I'm trying to help.
It's a story of official arrogance and abuse of a citizen's rights that I still have trouble accepting, only because it is so outrageous and un-American. I hope to be able to disclose more next week, but will be playing everything by ear. All I can say now is stay tuned, and please understand the need for these self-imposed constraints.
In the mean time, after reading the title-linked NewsDay piece, feel free to leave a comment on their site--the more reader interest they see, the greater the likelihood they'll stay on top of this story.