Sources: Ex-cop told to surrender to face charges

A Nassau cop who quit amid allegations that he visited his mistress' Massapequa home at least 57 times while on duty has been told to surrender to face criminal charges early this morning, sources familiar with the case said.

The sources identified the former officer as Michael Tedesco, who had been on the job for 18 years before his abrupt retirement this spring.

The sources would not give the specific charges Tedesco is facing, and spokesmen for the police department and prosecutor's office declined to comment.

A message left at Tedesco's home was not returned. It was not clear whether an attorney represents him in the criminal case.

Tedesco -- a former officer at the Seaford-based Seventh Precinct, whose jurisdiction includes Massapequa -- was investigated earlier this year by the police department's Internal Affairs Unit on the allegations that he visited the mistress, Tara Obenauer, during a seven-month period ending in February, sources have said. During some visits, he removed his gun belt and left it unattended near Obenauer's children, according to legal papers she filed earlier this year.

Obenauer, 42, said in legal papers that Tedesco -- a married father of two -- would usually visit her in uniform while on duty, leaving his patrol car in front of her house.

Sources have said Tedesco was caught when neighbors reported seeing a police cruiser parked at Obenauer's home for hours almost every day.

The authorities are also investigating whether Tedesco and other officers had sex while on duty with a second woman in a van that she drove to their assignments, a law enforcement source has said. It was unclear whether these officers were paying for sex, a source has said.

Obenauer's lawyer, Frank Perrone of Garden City, said at a news conference this spring that his client had been contacted by two other women who had also had relationships with Tedesco. Perrone said he is unaware of whether either of those women drives a van. Neither Perrone nor Obenauer could be reached Thursday for comment.

Tedesco retired on April 6 without permission. A source said he will not receive a severance package, but he will get his pension. Details of the department's internal affairs investigation were never released publicly.

Obenauer's legal papers say that she plans to sue Nassau County for $10 million for failing to supervise Tedesco by allowing him to visit her home during his shifts.

The papers say Obenauer has "suffered severe . . . emotional and psychological damages" and is "too scared to leave her house fearing that Tedesco or other officers may retaliate against her."

The papers, which also name Tedesco and the police department, claim other officers covered for Tedesco during the affair.

The claims against Tedesco were one of several high-profile misconduct allegations that buffeted the police department in 2012 alone, including the indictment of three former high-ranking supervisors, the demotion of a precinct boss for falsifying crime statistics and a ticket-writing slowdown by disgruntled officers.