Politics & Government

Lawsuit Clears Former Westhampton Beach Trustee

A suit slapped against the Village of Westhampton Beach and cops says former trustee Joan Levan did not trespass.

Westhampton Beach resident James Arrasate has filed a lawsuit against the Village of Westhampton Beach, its police department and an individual officer that attempts to clear former trustee Joan Levan's name in an alleged trespassing incident.

In the suit, which was filed in October 2011 in the State Supreme Court and asks for punitive damages, Arrasate claims that the he "never identified" Levan as the person who trespassed on his property at 145 Beach Road on June 17, 2010, and questioned his 12-year-old daughter just two days prior to a village election.

Arrasate, who ran against Levan a year prior to the alleged incident, alleges that Officer Ken Bigora, who was dispatched to the report of a trespassing incident on his property "either deliberately or negligently, falsely reported that"  Levan is the person who trespassed.

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No charges were ever filed against Levan.

The suit states: "The plaintiff never identified Ms. Levan as the person who committed the trespass, only identifying the person as a 'heavy-set blonde woman.'"

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The suit also claims that as a result of the negligence and "false and inaccurate" on the part of the police officer, Arrasate has been sued by Levan for defamation.

Levan filed suit against Arrasate in August 2010 after a report of the alleged incident appeared on 27east.com. In the article, Arrasate, did not deny that he made the report to police, and the June 17 police report, accessed by a Freedom of Information Law request, showed that Arrasate had identified Levan as the trespasser.

Levan, who did not seek reelection in 2011, could not be reached for immediate comment and Arrasate nor his attorney Domenik Veraldi Jr. of Islandia or officer Bigora returned calls.

Westhampton Beach Mayor Contrad Teller and Westhampton Beach Police Chief Ray Dean said they could not comment on pending litigation.

Editor's Note: The spelling of the plaintiff's name has been changed since the original publishing of this article.


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