Robert Macedonio case records raise questions

On the surface, the Suffolk district attorney’s office’s prosecution of Robert Macedonio appears to be a routine drug possession case. But an examination of the available records raises several questions about what happened:

1. How did a financial crime investigation turn into a drug charge?

The available court records show that Suffolk investigators were examining Macedonio for financial crimes, and he allegedly used his escrow account to launder money in a mortgage fraud scheme. However, he was ultimately charged with felony drug possession.

2. Why the gap between the crime and the conviction?

Although Macedonio pleaded guilty in 2008 to possessing a half gram of cocaine, records show he possessed the drug in 2004. Court records do not explain how this happened. Macedonio’s lawyer said he thinks it’s because the 2004 possession was the best evidence prosecutors had, but he did not elaborate.

3. What’s on the recordings?

Macedonio’s attorney said he believes the investigation of his client included wiretaps or other audio recordings. It’s unknown who or what those recordings captured, and if they included wiretaps, what basis prosecutors had for obtaining them.

4. Why are these records not public?

When criminal cases result in a conviction, many of the case records should be publicly accessible. Yet the district attorney’s office has not provided its Macedonio case files, and key court records remain sealed, without explanation.

5. How did Macedonio get his unique deal?

The Suffolk district attorney’s office says there is nothing unusual about Macedonio’s case, or the way in which he turned his felony into a misdemeanor. But experts who reviewed the available court records, as well as Macedonio’s own attorney, say they have never seen a case like it. And a Newsday computer analysis of more than 400,000 court cases on Long Island shows Macedonio’s case is unique.