Two Levittown men were arrested this week and charged with 4th degree criminal mischief after Barbara Bubin-Buonagura, Democratic candidate for the 14th assembly district, reported she saw them destroying her campaign signs.

Both men were released, following the processing of their arrests, pending arraignment in First District Court on Nov. 2. The class A misdemeanor they are charged with covers the intentional damaging of property that is valued at under $250. According to Bubin-Buonagura, her signs are valued at about $35 each.

The candidate said while working on her campaign at her Hicksville home at 1 a.m. on Oct. 16, she and her campaign manager saw two men on her front lawn destroying her billboards and other signs. Upon seeing the men destroying the signs, she said, she ran out the door, chasing after them. "I went right out the front door, because I was right near the front door when I saw it. They were ripping the signs down," Bubin-Buonagura said. As she followed the men's vehicle to take down its license plate number, she said, a Nassau County patrol car was passing by.

Bubin-Buonagura flagged down the police officer, who conducted a brief investigation. Although the candidate did not file a formal complaint at the time, she did so about 11 hours later, at 12:20 a.m., according to Nassau County Police Sergeant and Public Information Officer Kevin Smith.

Bubin-Buonagura noted that she later discovered a total of six of her campaign signs were destroyed that night throughout Hicksville. These, she said, were erected only a day earlier. She has requested an investigation into the matter by the New York State Board of Elections. Tom Wilke of the New York State Board of Elections Investigations Department said last week that a decision on whether the matter will be investigated would be available this week. In addition, late last week the candidate told this newspaper of more missing signs.

The Democratic candidate expressed suspicion that the crime was not a random act of vandalism, but rather that her signs were targeted. "Only my signs in this assembly district were damaged," she said.

And, amid reports that one of the arrested men works for the Nassau County Republican Party - and previously worked for Bubin-Buonagura's opponent, Republic incumbent Marc Herbst - the party's leaders denied any part in the crime. "We absolutely abhor that type of behavior. We don't condone it in any manner whatsoever. However, I also don't believe that anything occurred," Eric Rosenblum, Republican executive leader for Levittown South said last week. In a written statement, Anthony J. Santino, spokesperson for the Nassau County Republican Committee, said, "The Nassau County Republican Committee abhors this type of conduct. Such thuggish behavior has no place in our political system. If the charges turn out to be true, you can be assured that we will take the sternest possible action."

Herbst said last week that he, too, has had political signs destroyed in the past, and condemned the behavior. "I certainly don't condone the act, and find it is a distraction from the real issues in the campaign," he said. "It's juvenile behavior." He added, "I think it happens to all candidates - unfortunately. It's a pathetic act. It certainly doesn't go by party persuasion."

This story was reported by Susie Trenkle and Andrea Morale and written by Morale.