2 Arrests in L.I. Day School Carrot-Choking Death Case

MINEOLA, N.Y. (1010 WINS/AP)  -- The owner and assistant director of a Long Island day care center where a 2-year-old choked to death on a carrot stick were charged Wednesday with reckless assault, reckless endangerment and running an unlicensed day care for toddlers.


Mona Rivera reports

Carousel Day School owner and director Eugene Formica, 64, and assistant director Kathryn Cordaro, 51, were arrested Wednesday morning at the business, said Eric Phillips, a spokesman for the Nassau County district attorney. Formica and Cordaro pleaded not guilty at their arraignments in First District Court in Hempstead.

The same charges were filed against the Hicksville day care center itself, which could be subject to fines if convicted.

Marc Gann, the attorney for Formica and the school, called the death a ``tragic accident'' and said Formica and the school believed they were operating with the proper licenses.

``The charges against Mr. Formica are nothing short of grandstanding by individuals in the district attorney's office,'' Gann said.

Sal Marinello, who represents Cordaro, said she had no responsibility for licensing requirements and her duties ``did not include the supervision of any child.'' He predicted she would be exonerated.

The child, Olivia Raspanti, died March 17 after she and other toddlers began eating carrots found in a teacher's tote bag, prosecutors said. Moments later, the teacher noticed the child was choking, and CPR and other lifesaving efforts began.

District Attorney Kathleen Rice said Cordaro instructed an aide to call 911 but ask that the ambulance not use its lights and sirens, so as not to scare the rest of the children. The child was taken to Nassau University Medical Center, where she died.

Olivia's mother, who worked as an aide in an adjacent room at the day care center, was not told of her daughter's emergency until the girl was en route to the hospital. Formica then told a co-worker to drive the mother to the hospital, Rice said.

The prosecutor said investigators later determined that Carousel was operating an illegal, unlicensed toddler program for children under 3 years old. State law requires a facility caring for more than six children under the age of 3 for more than three hours a day to be licensed.

Investigators found that between 2006 and 2009, Carousel operated a toddler program for more than three hours a day and that some of the students enrolled were as young as 18 months. Even after Olivia's death, Carousel continued to illegally care for children younger than 3 years old, Rice said. Formica also refused to sign a cease and desist order issued by the Office of Children and Family Services a day after the accident, she said.

``By not getting a license, these illegal day cares can avoid oversight of their safety procedures and they can get around hiring staff that have the critical training needed to care for toddlers and small children,'' Rice said.