CONCORD — Joan Illuzzi is vying to be Staten Island's next district attorney but, even if she wins, there are two defendants she won't get to prosecute — the guys suspected of looting her home.
Brett Hayward and Scott Todaro broke into Illuzzi's home in December, stealing watches, jewelry and cash belonging to her daughter and her husband, according to an indictment obtained by DNAinfo New York.
The two defendants were indicted on felony burglary charges and other counts in April in Staten Island Criminal Court.
But on June 19, three weeks after Illuzzi announced her candidacy on the Republican ticket, the interim Staten Island District Attorney, Daniel Master, submitted a request for a special prosecutor to take over the case to avoid any conflict of interest.
Master's wife donated $1,000 to Illuzzi’s campaign on June 15.
Illuzzi’s campaign manager and spokesman, Nick Iacono, also volunteered on the recent congressional campaign of Daniel Donovan, who was the Staten Island District Attorney when Hayward and Todaro were indicted.
Master became the acting DA in May when Donovan left the position after winning the House of Representatives seat vacated by former Rep. Michael Grimm.
Master's office said it initially submitted the special prosecutor request on June 15, but due to a clerical error, it had to re-submit the paperwork on June 19. The clerk's office for the Staten Island Supreme Court accepted the papers on June 23.
A state administrative judge signed off on the request for a special prosecutor in late July and assigned the case to the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office.
Hayward and Todaro only learned of the special prosecutor — and the position of the person whose house they are accused of burgling — at their last court appearance on Aug. 13, a lawyer for Hayward said.
The lawyer, Lance Lazzaro, said that the case against Hayward was thin and that prosecutors hit his client with stiff charges because Illuzzi was the victim.
"Maybe that’s the reason why they went so strongly against him,” Lazzaro said.
“Normally, a case like this would have been dropped to a misdemeanor."
Hayward was arrested on Dec. 29, the day of the burglary, when NYPD officers pulled him over in his car, according to court records. He wasn't indicted until officers arrested Todaro on April 21.
Hayward pleaded not guilty and was released on $10,000 bail.
Lazzaro said his client was far from Illuzzi’s Concord home when officers stopped him.
“It’s a very circumstantial case against my client with very little evidence,” Lazzaro said, adding that investigators didn't find Hayward's fingerprints or DNA at the crime scene. “My client maintains his innocence.”
The indictment said that Hayward had a gold Movado watch belonging to Illuzzi’s daughter. He was also accused of possessing heroin and having gloves to use for the burglary and a fake Alabama license plate.
Todaro was charged with two felony burglary counts as well as misdemeanors for petit larceny and possession of a forged instrument.
The indictment also said that Hayward and Todaro had watches and cash belonging to Illuzzi’s husband, John Orbon.
Todaro also pleaded not guilty and was released on $25,000 bond. He could not be reached for comment. His lawyer, John Rapawy, did not respond to a request for comment.
Doug Auer, a spokesman for the acting DA, said Master didn't personally know Illuzzi before she announced her candidacy. Auer said the request for a special prosecutor "is done out of an abundance of caution to prevent not only a clear conflict but even the slightest appearance of impropriety."
Iacono, Illuzzi’s spokesman, said in a statement that the burglary showed she was the right person for district attorney.
"Staten Islanders from across the borough have been affected by the rise in thefts and break-ins, including Joan and her family,” he said.
“This is exactly why Staten Island needs a professional prosecutor, not a career politician, as our next district attorney."
Illuzzi was a Manhattan assistant district attorney for nearly three decades. She was the lead prosecutor earlier this year in the high-profile trial of the accused killer of Etan Patz. The case ended in a mistrial.
Illuzzi faces former Democratic Rep. Michael McMahon in the district attorney race. The election is in November.
Master recently made another request for a special prosecutor because of his ties to Illuzzi.
He asked a judge on Aug. 7 to appoint a special prosecutor to look into allegations that members of McMahon’s campaign submitted designating petitions with forged signatures to the city’s Board of Elections.
Master said that a preliminary review of the paperwork showed that the matter warranted a criminal investigation.
The Brooklyn District Attorney's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
