Report: Nassau to pay $2 million for driver shooting – Huntington Now

A Huntington train station cab driver who was shot by an off-duty Nassau County police officer in a road rage incident has won a $2 million settlement from Nassau County, Newsday reported.
Thomas Moroughan was shot twice in the 2011 confrontation by then-officer Anthony DiLeonardo during an argument off Oakwood Road in Huntington Station. DiLeonardo was accompanied on a night of drinking by another off-duty officer, Edward Bienz, when they got into the argument, with one officer firing five bullets into the taxi, hitting the taxi driver twice. He was first charged with reckless endangerment 2n/a degree and aggression 2n/a diploma. The charges were later dropped.
Newsday reported Monday that Nassau County Legislative Committees approved the $2 million payment.
Newsday recently reported that the Suffolk County Police Department shielded DiLeonardo by wrongfully arresting Moroughan, and found that Suffolk county leaders blocked an attempt to hold two sergeants accountable for Moroughan’s arrest.
A settlement with Suffolk County is pending, Newsday said.
DiLeonardo was fired three years later; Bienz remains with Nassau Department and has been promoted.
In a statement, Newsday quoted Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman as saying, “I believe this is a reasonable settlement in light of all of the factors surrounding the 2011 incident. The officer , who was off duty at the time of the incident, was fired and institutional controls have been in place” since the shooting.