Former Nassau probation officer Matthew Albertson, 43, pleads guilty to misconduct

A former Nassau County probation officer pleaded guilty in court Monday to falsifying instruments and official misconduct after he allegedly entered a sexual relationship with a female probationer under his supervision.

Matthew Albertson, 43, of Smithtown, failed to report the woman used drugs while on probation, gave her thousands of dollars for personal use and co-signed a car loan with one of her relatives, Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly said in a news release.

The district attorney’s office opened an investigation into Albertson after the female probationer’s attorney reported the sexual relationship — which violated rules barring intimate relationships between officers and probationers under their supervision — in August 2023, Donnelly said. Screenshots of text messages and other documentation the attorney provided indicated the relationship began around November 2021 and lasted through at least March 2022, all while Albertson was her probation officer.

Albertson began working for the county in August 2008 and was fired in August 2023 after the investigation into his misconduct commenced, Newsday reported at the time.

On at least nine different occasions from January 2022 through August 2023, Albertson falsified case notes pertaining to visits at the probationer’s home and the probation office in Mineola, Donnelly’s office said. The former officer stated the woman was drug tested at both locations, but the investigation revealed this was false.

On Feb. 12, 2022, the woman texted her probation officer that “she feared she was suffering from a fentanyl overdose,” the district attorney’s release said.

“Albertson told the woman to stay awake, wake up her mother, and eat sugar, but did not seek medical assistance or emergency services for her,” the release reads. “After the incident, the defendant failed to report any drug use to Probation, and later filed a case note reporting that the probationer was doing well.”

The investigation revealed that on at least 18 separate days between Dec. 22, 2021, and Feb. 13, 2022, Albertson gave the woman, who Donnelly’s office did not identify, a total of $8,000 to pay for food, manicures, a rental car and other expenses, according to the district attorney.

Albertson also falsely documented home and office visits as well as telephone check-ins that never occurred, Donnelly said.

On or around Jan. 14, 2024, Albertson “entered into a vehicle purchase contract and financial loan obligation with the probationer’s family member to purchase a car for the probationer in another violation of agency rules,” the district attorney’s release reads.

On Monday, Albertson pleaded guilty in Nassau County Court in Mineola before Judge Robert G. Bogle to charges of first-degree offering a false instrument for filing and official misconduct.

“Matthew Albertson’s actions were an abhorrent abuse of power and a slap in the face to integrity and fairness,” Donnelly said in a statement. “When trust in the justice system is eroded, it casts a shadow over the important work done by so many professionals in Nassau County,”

Albertson is scheduled for sentencing on Nov. 14, when he is expected to receive a maximum of 6 months in jail and 5 years of probation, the district attorney said. Her office recommended a sentence of  1 to 3 years in prison.

Lloyd Nadel, Albertson’s defense attorney, told Newsday in a telephone interview Monday that he hoped his client would not serve any jail time for his actions, which he said were “totally out of character” for the former probation officer who “never had a complaint” against him before the misconduct that “he regrets.”

“I don’t think jail is appropriate here,” Nadel said. “He has no record. He’s already lost his job, lost his pension, lost his pistol permits.”

Officials with the Nassau County Probation Department did not respond to telephone messages Monday or Tuesday. 

Anyone who believes they or someone they know has been a victim of Albertson is asked to call the Nassau County District Attorney’s Public Corruption Bureau at 516-571-2100 .