Mother of Nikita Pertsev, inmate who died in Nassau jail, files $20M lawsuit against county, court papers show

The mother of a Brooklyn man who died of a fentanyl overdose at the Nassau County Correctional Center in 2022 is suing the county for what she argues was a failure of officials to curb the flow of drugs through the jail and to offer treatment to her drug-addicted son during his incarceration, court records show.

Anastasiya Nikishkina, of Brooklyn, alleged in the $20 million federal civil rights claim filed in Eastern District Court, Friday that staffing, budget and training issues prevented Nassau correction officers from providing adequate care to 29-year-old Nikita Pertsev before he overdosed in his East Meadow cell on Nov. 23, 2022.

"The failures to provide appropriate health and medical treatment and to provide for inmate safety at the NCCC have been legion, and, all too often, become death sentences, as was the case with Pertsev," attorney Randall Lazzaro, of Lazzaro Law Firm, in Brooklyn, alleged in the complaint that names the county, jail, sheriff’s department and Sheriff Anthony LaRocco as defendants.

Pertsev, who had pleaded guilty to a drug charge a year earlier, had a history of drug addiction that was known to officials at the 1,900-bed jail, the suit alleges. An autopsy revealed Pertsev died of "acute fentanyl intoxication" and found he suffered brain damage and had pneumonia in his lungs, according to the complaint.

Correction officers did not treat him with Narcan, an opioid overdose reversal drug, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit references 19 other deaths at the facility dating back to 2010 and a 2021 Newsday investigation that found jail officials had seized drugs or drug paraphernalia 237 times between 2016 and 2019. In 2021, a state Commission of Correction report found jail officials failed to do enough to remove drugs from inmate housing after "a pattern of drug-related contraband" activity, Newsday previously reported.

"The United States Constitution requires governmental agencies and prison officials to provide all prisoners and pretrial detainees with adequate health and medical care and to provide and maintain facility conditions to protect and keep inmates safe from harm," the complaint filed Friday reads. "These inmates, by virtue of their deprivation of liberty, cannot provide such care and safety for themselves."

Lazzaro could not be reached for comment on the lawsuit.

A spokesperson for Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Pertsev’s death occurred just two days after a former president of Nassau's Correction Officers Benevolent Association criticized the county executive at a meeting of the county legislature for his decision two months earlier to bring back former Sheriff Michael Sposato as commissioner of corrections despite controversial cost-cutting measures he instituted during his previous tenure, Newsday reported at the time. The remarks preceded a hearing that was held in which union leaders criticized Sposato for making cuts without regard for inmate safety.

In a statement, Pete Lilli, the current president of Nassau County COBA, called Pertsev's death a "tragedy."

"Anytime there is an overdose of any individual while in our custody it's a tragedy and our hearts go out to the family of the victim," Lilli said. "Our Correction Officers work diligently every day to confiscate drugs and other contraband that are smuggled into our facility and have helped to prevent many overdoses before they happen." 

Sposato, who was not named as a party in the lawsuit, was replaced as commissioner last year.

By Grant Parpan

grant.parpan@newsday.com@GrantParpan

Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.