Bay Shore school board approves sex-abuse settlements of $35M in Thomas Bernagozzi case

The Bay Shore school board Wednesday approved settlements totaling $35 million to 12 former students who accused the district of failing to protect them from alleged sexual abuse decades ago by elementary school teacher Thomas Bernagozzi.

These settlements increased Bay Shore’s total expenditure under the Child Victims Act to $55 million — the most of any Long Island school district, according to a Newsday analysis of records.

“All decisions related to the Child Victims Act will continue to be guided by fairness and passion for those affected, fiscal responsibility to our Bay Shore-Brightwaters community and to ensure that our district continues to thrive,” board President Louis R. Bettinelli said in a prepared statement he read at the board's meeting Wednesday.

Bettinelli declined further comment.

An October verdict

Bay Shore also faces a $25 million judgment after a jury in October found the district liable for negligence in supervision, and acting with reckless disregard, for keeping Bernagozzi employed despite multiple sexual abuse allegations.

In that case, the district is asking to be granted a new trial or a “substantial reduction” of the $25 million verdict. The district, in court papers, said the jury finding “ignores the evidence and is illogical and irrational” because the jury of four men and two women placed all liability on the district and none on Bernagozzi

In all, the district faced 45 Child Victims Act lawsuits, all involving Bernagozzi — and 24 remain active, not counting the one that ended with the jury verdicts.

Suffolk County police arrested Bernagozzi, 76, of Babylon, in December 2023, weeks after a Newsday article revealed his place in the 45 lawsuits. Prosecutors have charged him with sodomy, sexual conduct against a child and possession of child sexual abuse material.

Bernagozzi pleaded not guilty and is being held at Suffolk County jail while awaiting trial. He has denied abusing children.

The Child Victims Act is a state law that temporarily permitted victims of child sex abuse to file lawsuits regardless of when the abuse was alleged to have occurred. The window to file suits ended in 2021. Before the law, victims of childhood sexual abuse could not file claims once they reached 23 years old.

Plaintiffs’ attorney Jeff Herman said he believed the jury’s $25 million judgment served as “a significant event” that motivated the Bay Shore board into negotiating the dozen new settlements. Herman represents 43 of the former students who filed Child Victims Act lawsuits against the district, including the plaintiff whose case went on trial.

“I'm glad the board stepped up to settle and I hope we will continue in the very near future to resolve the remaining cases,” Herman said in a telephone interview Wednesday. “Justice is overdue.”

Mounting legal bills

To pay for the $35 million, the board is expected to "approve a judgment bond to fund these settlements” at a future meeting, Superintendent Steven J. Maloney said in a letter to the school community Tuesday.

The board had already approved a judgment bond in October to cover five previous settlements totaling $20 million. Three other suits were resolved through insurance.

Bay Shore also faces mounting legal bills related to the Child Victims Act lawsuits. As of October, the district had paid $1.9 million in legal fees to three law firms, according to invoices Newsday obtained through open records requests.

In 2024-25, the district’s budget is $197 million.

A Newsday investigation published in March — including interviews with seven men who said Bernagozzi sexually abused them, three administrators who oversaw Bernagozzi, and a review of thousands of pages of court and school documents — found the district knew of at least five alleged incidents in his 30 years of teaching but never moved to fire him. Suffolk police said they had no record of being contacted.

Bernagozzi retired in 2000 after a 30-year teaching career.

Just a few months into his retirement, the district sent Bernagozzi a letter in November 2000 barring him from returning to school property and ordering him to stop using the personal phone numbers of his past students for his personal use. Newsday obtained the letter from the district under a public records request.

To date, Bay Shore is on the hook to pay the most of all Island districts. The $55 million in settlements so far eclipses that of Herricks, previously the district with the largest payout.

Herricks settled with 27 former students for $48.3 million, with individual settlements ranging from $50,000 to $5 million, according to a Newsday analysis of records obtained from the district.

Another case went to trial and ended with a jury finding Herricks was not negligent. It was the only other Child Victims Act case so far on Long Island that was completed in a trial.

Island districts have struggled with footing the costs associated with Child Victims Act cases. With limited options, districts often have to resort to borrowing money, which spreads the financial obligations over time but adds costs overall, or dipping into reserves.

The Port Jefferson district, for example, agreed to pay $16.5 million in settlements to seven former students, with its board approving a plan last month to borrow millions and tap into reserves to cover the amounts.

Prior to Bay Shore’s latest $35 million settlements, 39 Long Island school districts had paid $131 million to settle 109 cases, according to public records Newsday obtained.