Cocuzza: Alleged log “errors” did not cost taxpayers any money

Rockland County Corrections Union President John Cocuzza was recently arrested by Sheriff Louis Falco over alleged discrepancies in a log book while he was watching inmates on suicide watch.

Cocuzza told the Rockland County Times his supposed errors did not affect his pay, but had to do with times he checked a box on a log sheet within a given period of time. While watching inmates on suicide watch, Cocuzza explained, the typical log-in procedure is to mark once every 15 minutes. He said during suicide watch, however, officers cannot take their eyes off the inmate, so typically they will fill in the logs later.

His charges supposedly relate to his marking boxes at times he is not on video writing in the log book. The hours he was paid for, however, are not in question, he said.

Cocuzza was told by Falco that he could either accept a deal or face numerous felony charges for his supposed letter fraud. Sources have told the Rockland County Times that the charges are unusual as they could have easily been dealt with at an administrative level.

Cocuzza was not popular with Falco due to his support of opposing sheriff candidate Richard Vasquez (R) in the 2015 election. Cocuzza received over $200,000 in pay in 2014 because he volunteers for extensive overtime hours, working up to 100 hours per week.