By Nicole Formisano
A former Nassau County probation officer was charged with concealing sexual relations with a probationer he was supervisor, District Attorney Anne Donnelly said Tuesday.
Matthew Albertson, 42, of Smithtown, was charged with offering a false instrument for filing, falsifying business records, and official misconduct after he was accused of giving a probationer $8,000, gifts, co-signing a car loan and falsifying records to cover up an improper relationship, Donnelly said.
Albertson also allegedly did not report her possible fentanyl overdose.
Albertson, 42, pleaded not guilty in district court. If convicted, he faces a maximum of four years in prison.
“Probation Officers are in a position of great trust, assisting people with criminal justice involvements to restart their lives and avoid reoffending,” said Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly. “This defendant allegedly exploited his power and compromised his sworn duties by pursuing and engaging in an inappropriate sexual relationship with a probationer that he was supervising.
“Albertson’s alleged actions flew in the face of the Nassau County Probation Department’s rules and failed the probationer he should have been lawfully and ethically supporting through this process.”
In August 2023, Donnelly said, an attorney for the probationer reported to the authorities that Albertson had sex with the probationer while she was under his supervision.
The attorney said screenshots of text messages showed the relationship began around November 2021 and continued through at least March 2022. On at least one occasion, Albertson allegedly had sex with his probationer during a home visit.
If true, the relationship violates written probation rules that prohibit intimate relationships between officers and their probationers.
A subsequent investigation by the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office revealed that Albertson allegedly gave his probationer a total of $8,000 across 18 separate dates. The money was for manicures, food, car payments and other expenses.
Prosecutors said that on Jan. 14 Albertson co-signed a loan on a car with the probationer’s family member.
The probationer texted Albertson on February 2022 that she feared she was suffering a fentanyl overdose.
But he allegedly did not seek medical assistance or emergency services for her — rather, he told the woman to stay awake, wake up her mother, and eat sugar.
Afterwards, Albertson allegedly did not report any drug use to the probation department, and later filed a case note reporting that the probationer stated she was doing well.
On nine separate occasions between January 2022 and August 2023, the former probation officer allegedly falsified case notes regarding drug tests, office visits, and home visits concerning the probationer.
Albertson had documented that his probationer was drug tested at her home and the Nassau County Probation Department — but the evidence revealed that no one from Probation administered a drug test to her, prosecutors said.
Albertson had also allegedly documented that phone call check-ins, home visits, and office visits were made on specific dates. Yet phone records, text messages between the defendant and probationer, and other evidence showed that these check-ins did not occur.
The former probation officer surrendered to NCDA Detective Investigators.
“We’re going to review the discovery and see what type of case the district attorney has, and see what the charges are and whether they can prove them,” said Lloyd Nadel, Albertson’s lawyer.
He is expected back in court on Nov. 6.
