Thomas Valva's mother asks court for permanent custody of other 2 sons

The mother of Thomas Valva, the 8-year-old Center Moriches boy who authorities said was killed by his NYPD officer father and his fiancee, filed court papers Friday seeking permanent custody of her two other young sons.

Justyna Zubko-Valva, who is acting as her own attorney, filed the petition for sole physical and legal custody of Anthony, 10, and Andrew, 6, in Suffolk County Family Court.

She also pressed Family Court Judge Frank Tantone to cease any involvement — or to decrease the frequency — of social workers from Child Protective Services in the lives of her sons. CPS officials, she argued, failed repeatedly to protect Thomas from abuse and therefore should have no further contact with her family.

“CPS completely failed to protect my children,” Zubko-Valva, 36, of Valley Stream, told Tantone. “They should not be involved in any part of my life and my children’s life.”

Zubko-Valva, who lost custody of her children in September 2017 amid a contentious divorce proceeding, was granted temporary custody of the surviving boys after Thomas’ death from hypothermia on Jan 17.

Thomas’ father, Michael Valva, 41, an NYPD transit officer, and his father’s fiancee, Angela Pollina, 42, have been indicted on charges of second-degree murder and endangering the welfare of a child in Thomas’ death and the alleged abuse of both Thomas and Anthony.

Authorities allege Valva and Pollina forced Thomas to sleep in an unheated garage as temperatures outside fell to just 19 degrees. Both have pleaded not guilty to the charges and are being held without bail.

Tantone set an April 7 date to discuss Zubko-Valva’s custody petition but declined her request to decrease the number of monthly home visits by CPS from two to one.

“I’d like to have a longer track record of things going well,” Tantone said, adding that he would revisit the issue at the next court date.

Gary Rosenthal, an attorney for CPS, delivered a good status report on the boys and their mother Friday, saying Zubko-Valva had been cooperative and the boys were “well cared for.”

The newly appointed attorney for the boys, Thomas McNally, also said he had visited the boys at Zubko-Valva’s home.

“They are thriving,” McNally said.

He also briefly referenced a video that Zubko-Valva posted of Andrew on social media disputing claims that Valva’s criminal defense attorney made, saying it “just didn’t seem appropriate.”

Tantone told Zubko-Valva that the court generally discourages discussing "anything that happens in court"  with children.

Valva and Pollina, both in handcuffs, appeared separately with their court-appointed Family Court attorneys. Valva’s court-appointed criminal defense attorney, John LoTurco, has said Thomas’ death was an accident — not murder. LoTurco has said there was a large electrical space heater turned on in the garage the night before Thomas’ death and that the door separating the garage from the home was unlocked.

Pollina’s attorney, Matthew Tuohy, has said his client was not involved in Valva’s parenting of Thomas.

Rachel Camillery, the court-appointed attorney for Pollina’s three daughters, said in court the girls had requested contact with their mother, specifically to exchange cards and letters or to have video conference communication.

"It’s very difficult for them at this time,” Camillery told the judge.

Rosenthal said CPS opposes any contact between Pollina and the girls, who are now living with their fathers and also doing well.

Tantone denied the request but said he would consider it after he reviews results of the girls’ psychological examinations.

Zubko-Valva also railed against her estranged husband receiving another court-appointed attorney — this time Louis Sternberg, who was appointed to represent Valva in Family Court. She said  Valva was hiding his money and authorities had failed to investigate. LoTurco has called that assertion “absurd.”

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.