Officials Call for Town Clerk's Resignation After Arrest

Supervisor Kate Murray and other Hempstead Town officials are calling for the resignation of Town Clerk Mark Bonilla after his arrest Friday.

According to Newsday, the Republican town clerk "attempted to obtain intimate photos of a female subordinate who had filed a claim of sexual harassment against him."

The complaint, filed by Det. Investigator William Walsh, says that on Aug. 19 Bonilla tried to force one of his employees, Alex Desidoro, to supply him with compromising photos of a female employee who had filed the sexual harassment claim against Bonilla.

According to a release, the town attorney’s office investigated complaints against the clerk and contacted the Nassau District Attorney’s Office with information in this matter. Subsequently, detectives from the district attorney’s office arrested the clerk and charged him with three misdemeanors.

“I am personally offended and disgusted by the alleged conduct of the Town Clerk," Supervisor Murray said in a statement issued by the town. "Public officials must hold themselves above reproach, and the credible allegations that have come to my attention have undermined my trust and confidence in him. As a result, I am calling upon the Town Clerk to immediately resign.”

Bonilla, 50, is charged with official misconduct, second-degree attempted coercion and petty larceny. The charges are all misdemeanors.

Bonilla resides in Bellmore and was last elected to his post in 2011. He is also a former 25-year resident of Seaford who grew up in Levittown and graduated from Island Trees High School. The first Hispanic to be elected to a townwide position in the Town of Hempstead, Bonilla has been in office since 2003.

Information for Bonilla's attorney was not immediately available.