Cabbie Doesn't Want to Testify, Lawyer Says

A Huntington Station cabbie shot by an off-duty Nassau County police officer two years ago doesn't want to  testify in front of a Suffolk grand jury, Newsday reported Friday.

Thomas Moroughan is "emotionally, mentally and physically scarred," attorney William Petrillo said in a letter to Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota.

Newsday reported that the grand jury had been empaneled  in the case of Nassau Police Officer Anthony DiLeonardo. The paper published a story based on a report by Nassau Internal Affairs investigators that found DiLeonardo unlawfully shot and beat Moroughan  on Feb. 27, 2011 after spending the evening drinking in Huntington with another off-duty Nassau officer, Edward Bienz. The cabbie and DiLeonardo got into a dispute on Oakwood Road and the officer shot into the cab, Suffolk police reported at the time, wounding Moroughan several times.

Newsday said that the "Nassau County Internal Affairs Unit recommended 19 departmental charges for what it found to be 11 unlawful acts and eight departmental rules violations by DiLeonardo. It also recommended five departmental charges be brought against  Bienz, based on the investigation's findings that he committed two unlawful acts and three counts of violating department rules."