Luzio Apologizes in Facebook Post in Closing Stages of Village Board Race
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Mount Kisco Village Board candidate Tom Luzio issued an apology for a two-and-a-half-year-old social media post featuring college photos and a handwritten note with a swastika, saying he hadn’t noticed the image when he posted it but recognized the need to address it and make amends.
Luzio, who is vying for a Village Board seat next week and is currently the chair of the village’s Democratic Committee, issued the apology on Oct. 18 on his “Tom Luzio for a better Mount Kisco” Facebook page.
The images were posted in February 2022 on Luzio’s personal Facebook page where he displayed several photos of himself and friends from college.
The note, which was positioned next to a photo of himself at 21 years old while at Duquesne University in 1982, could be seen with the phrase “Death to Political Science.” The swastika, which appeared just below the phrase, was also hand drawn.
In his posted statement and in comments to The Examiner, Luzio stated, “I deeply regret my decision to post that collage and the harm that symbol caused.” He said although he failed to see the swastika when he made the post, he understood that it required an explanation and a mea culpa.
Luzio explained that as he remembers, the note was an attempt to condemn the skinhead movement at the time and dictators around the globe.
“That many of those brutal leaders espoused fascism was weighing heavily on my mind, as I was majoring in Political Science at the Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit. Again, I apologize for the pain this symbol has caused,” wrote Luzio, who spent about 30 years as a prosecutor, including time as the head of the Narcotics Bureau for the Westchester County District Attorney’s office. He also prosecuted hate crimes during his career.
“I had to apologize because it was a mistake that I didn’t see, and that symbol was used over and over again, even in popular culture,” Luzio said.
“As time passes it’s unnecessary,” he added. “It’s unnecessary. That’s why I issued the apology, I didn’t see it, and had I seen it, it was unnecessary.”
However, one of his opponents in next week’s election on the Village Inclusive Party ticket, Braille Diaz, called on Luzio to suspend his campaign. He also reached out to Democratic officials on Oct. 16, including Assemblyman Chris Burdick, state Sen. Peter Harckham and congressional candidate Mondaire Jones, to provide an explanation of why they were apparently sticking with their endorsements of Luzio. He never received a response, he said.
Diaz, a registered Republican despite running on an independent line, said Luzio demonstrated “an extreme lack of judgment,” particularly since he was 61 years old when he made the post. Given that Mount Kisco is a diverse community, including having a sizable Jewish population, Luzio should not be trusted to be in a position of leadership, Diaz maintained.
“I think it’s dangerous to have someone with this lack of judgment who can damage the community,” he said.
Luzio, who in the early 1980s was considering a career in law enforcement, said Diaz and his supporters are behaving in a “shameful” manner in trying to win political points on the matter.
If he was considered a danger, Luzio said he never would have been hired by the FBI because of the rigorous vetting process, which included the bureau reaching out to former high school teachers, the pizzeria owner he once worked for and his ninth-grade girlfriend. In college, he was hired as a clerk and later became an electronic technician.
“That’s what’s especially shameful about this because, like I said, the FBI doesn’t make those kinds of mistakes,” Luzio said.
Village Trustee Karen Schleimer, who is the other Democrat in the race but has not been campaigning with Luzio, declined to comment. Diaz’s running mate, John Mullen, did not respond to calls.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
