Syosset Central School District officials are accusing the father of a teenage school board candidate of stealing internal documents from a school building on Monday.
Jeffrey Lafazan, the father of Josh Lafazan, the 18-year-old Syosset High School senior running for the school board in Tuesday’s election, allegedly absconded with the district’s voter lists, officials said on their website and in robo-calls to the community.
The officials urged anyone with information about the alleged missing material to contact Nassau County police. But the teen candidate had a different spin.
“This is simply a smear campaign to put down my campaign,” Lafazan told the Press. “The accusations are inaccurate.”
His father, a stock broker, was not reachable for comment. According to the district, the middle-aged Lafazan outran a security guard.
Josh’s friend and classmate Ryan Jacobs told the Press that the allegation “made no sense.” But on the other hand, he found it hard to believe that the district “would make up something like that out of nothing.”
Lafazan, who would be the youngest elected official in New York State if he wins tomorrow’s school board election, has made no secret of his relationship with the school district.
The “resistance I’ve been getting from the administration is terrible,” the teenager said.
After news of the allegation started circulating in the district, Lafazan posted on his Twitter account: “Please stop calling, everyone—I’m OK!”
Asked for comment, the school district would not elaborate beyond the statement on its website, attributed to Syosset District Clerk Pro Tem Christine Costa.
The statement said Lafazan’s father was seen by a district employee removing district election records at 12:10 p.m. Monday.
“These records contained the names and addresses of residents who were provided absentee ballots by the Syosset Central School District,” the statement read. “Mr. Lafazan removed the records without permission and ran away. A chase by district security ensued. The resident escaped with the records and Nassau County Police were called.
“The District is seeking the return of the records, anyone with information please contact the Second Precinct,” the statement continued. “These records are crucial to the fair and impartial conduct of the school board election.”