Texts Include-“I Hope You Die”-“I’m Going to Beat You”
Acting State Supreme Court Judge Susan Capeci
Westchester County District Attorney Susan Cacace announced that a Yonkers man was arrested and charged with Aggravated Harassment of a Judge, a class E felony, for allegedly sending threatening communications to acting state Supreme Court Justice Susan M. Capeci.
Nicholas Leo, 57, of Yonkers, was arraigned Friday afternoon before White Plains City Court Judge John P. Collins Jr. He was remanded to the Westchester County Jail pending further proceedings. Judge Collins further issued a temporary order of protection on behalf of Justice Capeci.
DA Cacace said: “At a time of increasing threats to members of the judiciary, the defendant’s alleged conduct is especially alarming.
“As U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts observed in his 2024 report on the federal judiciary, ‘violence, intimidation, and defiance directed at judges because of their work undermine our Republic, and are wholly unacceptable.’
“We must never allow this type of conduct to become normalized. The sanctity of our legal process demands nothing less.”
Leo, a litigant before Justice Capeci in criminal and matrimonial proceedings, is accused of sending her electronic messages containing threatening communications. Justice Capeci presides over Westchester County’s Integrated Domestic Violence court.
In one message dated May 27, as alleged in a felony complaint, Leo told her, “I’m going to beat you.” In another message, dated May 30, he is accused of saying, “I wish you die tonight in a car fire.”
And on June 11, Leo stated in yet another message, “I warned you month after month after month. If you take my kids from me for no reason, which you did, it’s not gonna go well,” and “I hope you die,” according to the felony complaint.
Leo is a Yonkers-based attorney with an active registration status. He is scheduled to return to court on June 18.
The investigation was conducted by the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office.
Editor’s Note: Anyone who can find an online photo of Mr. Leo can email us at dmurphy@risingmediagroup.com.
