By Kelsey Durham
The two Republican candidates vying for a congressional seat in northeast Queens are facing off over a police report filed against candidate Grant Lally for allegedly intimidating a family that took part in the petitioning process for his opponent, Stephen Labate.
“Filing a false police complaint is a crime,” said Robert Nori, Lally’s campaign manager. “Mr. Labate has again made false charges against Grant Lally and is using them in his fund-raising solicitations.“
Both men are seeking the Republican Party line to oppose U.S. Rep. Steve Israel (D-Melville), who represents Little Neck, Glen Oaks, Douglaston and Whitestone in addition to parts of Long Island.
Labate’s campaign manager posted a narrative on his website earlier this week stating that a family on Long Island had filed a complaint with the Nassau County Police Department after allegedly being stalked and harassed at their home by two men, one of whom they believed to be Lally.
According to a letter written to the Nassau GOP Chairman by the father of the Bellmore, L.I., family, who asked to remain anonymous, a man in a dark gray SUV was seen driving by his home April 22 at a slow pace and staring down his wife as she left, causing her to worry he was scoping out the property for a home invasion or burglary.
The letter says the woman later identified the man in the vehicle as Lally after being shown a photograph of him.
The next day, the father said, another man claiming to be a private investigator approached the family’s home with papers on which his 19-year-old daughter had gathered signatures in support of Labate’s run for Congress. The letter says the man, whom the family believed to be working for Lally in some way, harassed the daughter and accused her of having forged her signatures.
The father of the family said he filed a police complaint about an “unusual or suspicious incident,” but the records obtained from the Nassau Police Department do not make any mention of Lally.
Lally’s staff said flatly he was not involved in the incident in any way and they had no idea who the men the family claims to have seen are. A representative at his office said that to Lally’s knowledge no one working for him took part in the reported incident.
Labate issued a statement on his website calling the actions “contemptible” and said that as a former solider in the U.S. Army, he would not back down to the so-called bullying.
“This is a well-orchestrated campaign by Lally for Congress to intimidate my volunteers,” Labate said. “Since Grant Lally can’t win on the issues, he has embarked on a sleazy campaign to attack and bully. This is a desperate act on the part of a desperate candidate whose campaign is imploding and it is an affront to our election process.”
Lally’s office also said it believes the accusations against him are in response to a lawsuit filed against Labate April 24, claiming Labate fraudulently obtained and forged signatures on the petitions he filed to run for office. Lally’s campaign office said they viewed the complaint against Lally as an apparent act of revenge.
John Ciampoli, the attorney representing Lally for Congress, also issued a statement calling Labate “delusional” and said he is suborning perjury with his false complaint.
Nori added, “People who make bizarre false charges are not serious candidates.”
Lally’s office said there is no hearing date scheduled yet to answer the lawsuit filed against Labate’s signatures.
Isaac Goldberg, Israel’s campaign manager, said the congressman has not gotten involved in the allegations swirling around his two opponents.
“While Grant Lally and Stephen Labate battle each other, Congressman Israel remains focused on fighting for New York’s middle-class families,” he said.
Reach reporter Kelsey Durham at 718-260-4573 or by e-mail at kdurham@cnglocal.com.
