- In 2020, Nick LaLota was disqualified from running for New York State Senate due to an "obvious conflict of interest"—he attempted to remain Suffolk County elections commissioner while running for office, which courts ruled was illegal and unacceptable (Newsday, DCCC).
- New York state courts determined that LaLota's leave of absence from his commissioner post did not resolve the conflict, resulting in his removal from the ballot and invalidation of his campaign petitions (Newsday).
- The Appellate Division barred Republicans from substituting another candidate for LaLota after his petitions were ruled invalid (Newsday).
- In other legal matters, LaLota was involved, as a trustee, in potential litigation concerning local zoning and business activities while in Amityville, and was named in a lawsuit involving alleged First Amendment violations after a firefighter was suspended for supporting his mayoral campaign (Newsday, Amityville Record).
- In December 2023, former Representative George Santos claimed he would file a House Ethics Committee complaint against LaLota, highlighting ongoing political vulnerabilities (Armonk Daily Voice).
2020: Nick LaLota Was Disqualified From Public Office For Conflict of Interest According to a press release from the DCCC, "In 2020, he was disqualified from running for public office for an ‘obvious conflict of interest’ as he illegally tried to oversee his own election." [Press Release - DCCC, 8/24/22]
Nick LaLota Tried To Run for State Senate While Holding County Elections Job According to a press release from the DCCC, "LaLota also tried to defend what was an ‘obvious conflict of interest’ when he tried to run for New York State Senate while keeping his taxpayer-funded job with a $152,906 salary as a county elections commissioner." [Press Release - DCCC, 8/24/22]
Nick LaLota Was Removed from State Senate Ballot By State Court for Conflict According to a press release from the DCCC, "A state court had to remove LaLota from the ballot because his actions were unacceptable." [Press Release - DCCC, 8/24/22]
July 2020: Appellate Division Barred Republican Substitution Of Nick LaLota With Norman Sammut According to Newsday, "The midlevel Appellate Division, in a 4-0 decision, said Republicans couldn't replace Nick LaLota with Norman Sammut. [...] 'Since we held LaLota's designating petitions to be invalid, substitution of another candidate is barred by virtue of our prior decision,' the judges wrote." [Newsday (New York), 7/24/20]
2020: New York Court Disqualified Nick LaLota From State Senate Ballot According to Newsday (New York), "Republicans originally nominated LaLota, a Suffolk County elections commissioner. But the court disqualified him, ruling he couldn't run for Senate because of an obvious conflict of interest - a candidate cannot also serve as a commissioner in charge of counting the votes." [Newsday (New York), 8/25/20]
2020: LaLota’s Leave Of Absence Did Not Remove Conflict Of Interest, Court Ruled According to Newsday (New York), "LaLota said he was taking a leave of absence as commissioner, but the court ruled that didn't remove the conflict." [Newsday (New York), 8/25/20]
May 2020: New York State Courts Disqualified Nick LaLota From Senate Run Due To Dual Roles According to Newsday, "LaLota originally was disqualified in May because state courts said he couldn't run for Senate while simultaneously serving as a Suffolk County elections commissioner." [Newsday (New York), 7/24/20]
May 2020: Courts Invalidated Petitions Collected For Nick LaLota's Senate Campaign According to Newsday, "The court also disqualified the petitions the Republicans gathered to get LaLota on the ballot." [Newsday (New York), 7/24/20]
2020: Court Disqualified Petitions To Get LaLota On The Ballot According to Newsday (New York), "Importantly, the court also disqualified the petitions the Republicans gathered to get LaLota on the ballot." [Newsday (New York), 8/25/20]
2020: State Appellate Court Removed Nick LaLota from State Senate Ballot Over Conflict of Interest According to a press release from the DCCC, "In 2020, LaLota ran for New York State Senate while still keeping his taxpayer-funded job with a $152,906 salary as a county elections commissioner, until a state appellate court ruled the arrangement was an 'obvious conflict of interest' and removed him from the ballot." [Press Release - DCCC Research Memo on Nick LaLota, 6/1/22]
2016: Trustee Nick LaLota Indicated Amityville May Seek Court Order Against Security Dodge According to Newsday, "Amityville may seek a court order to stop all Security activity at one of the lots, 335 Merrick Rd., according to trustee Nick LaLota, who said that village attorney Richard Handler is researching legal remedies." [Newsday (New York), 5/13/16]
2018: Firefighter Was Suspended After Endorsing Nick LaLota For Mayor According to Amityville Record, "The lawsuit alleges that the fire department infringed on Squicciarini's rights of free speech when it took retaliatory action against him for a Facebook posting he made supporting Trustee Nick LaLota, who was a candidate in last year's mayoral election. Squicciarini was suspended from the fire department for five days after the fire council determined he had violated department policy by posting the photo and comment, which included a photo of himself dressed in fire department bunker gear and holding his infant with the words: We are voting for Nick LaLota for mayor." [Amityville Record (New York), 2/27/19]
December 2023: Santos Vowed To File House Ethics Committee Complaint Against Nick LaLota According to Armonk Daily Voice (New York), "Another House Ethics Committee complaint would be filed against LaLota, Santos vowed." [Armonk Daily Voice (New York), 12/5/23]