Official: Slurs in letters to Riverhead schools chief who resigned

Aurelia Henriquez, Riverhead’s now-former schools superintendent, told police she received letters containing anti-Hispanic and anti-Black slurs, around the time of her sudden resignation in June, the town supervisor said Wednesday.

The supervisor, Yvette Aguiar, told Newsday that on Monday she referred the matter to the FBI’s Melville office, an announcement she said she made initially Tuesday in response to a resident’s inquiry at a public town meeting.

The letters were sent to Henriquez’s home and to the district’s office, Aguiar said. They contained no direct threats but included the racial slurs, according to Aguiar, who said, “they said things like ‘we’ll win, we’ll get you out of here.’ ”

Henriquez could not be reached for comment.

“The message sent goes against the moral value and the fabric of our society,” Aguiar said. “I will not tolerate threats or any acts of hatred in our community. I will do whatever’s possible to identify the author or authors of these letters and hold them accountable.”

According to documents released by the Suffolk County Police Department, Henriquez did not want to proceed with the investigation after reporting it.

The documents say the letters had messages such as, “Resign you will suffer if you won’t leave. We hate your kind” and the racial slurs. One letter was in an envelope, which was placed on the windshield of her vehicle and contained a Barbie doll’s head and arm, according to the documents. At one point, the documents describe the letters as “non-threatening.”

“Complainant did not want any Police Officers to go to her neighborhood or contact any of her neighbors regarding surveillance cameras,” according to a document dated July 24, about occurrences June 21 and June 22.    

Asked what crime the letters constitute, Aguiar, a retired NYPD counterterrorism sergeant, said they were “pursuing hate and to cause unrest.”

“It’s false reporting and targeting an individual, harassment and creating a sense of fear,” she said.

A man who answered the phone Thursday at the FBI in Melville referred a reporter’s inquiry to the FBI office in New York City, where the press line rang unanswered.

Henriquez, whose tenure began in 2017, handed in a letter of resignation June 29, days after voters rejected the district’s $147.1 million budget proposal, Newsday reported in July.

A joint public statement written as part of a separation agreement said her resignation was due to “certain irreconcilable differences” and for “the best interests of her family.”

The town does not control the school district.

“In June, unfortunately, the superintendent, prior to graduation, abruptly resigned, and she stated for irreconcilable differences,” Aguiar said.

With Michael O'Keeffe 

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.