A sexually explicit text message that appeared to have been sent from Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano was a hoax, the detective tasked with investigating the case said Thursday.
Detective Sgt. Patrick Ryder, the head of the department's intelligence unit, said that there wasn't any evidence to suggest Mangano had sent messages or had any contact with Karin Caro, a public relations consultant whose company had done business with the county.
"Mr. Mangano and Ms. Caro did not sext each other," he said.
Ryder said that he combed through phone records for the explicit text that another media outlet had reported was sent from Mangano to Caro earlier this year, but couldn't find evidence that the two had had any communications electronically or on social media. He said he wasn't sure who might have created the message, which he called a hoax.
"I don't know the answer to this riddle here," he said during an hourlong news conference where he broke down the two-week investigation hour by hour. "I wish I did."
Ryder said that Caro never received the message sent by an "Ed M." Rather, he said, it appears that someone had created a screen grab from a text conversation and made it look like Caro and Mangano were communicating.
But, he said, after reviewing data from Caro's phone, Mangano's cellphone records and social media and Apple accounts, he couldn't find any evidence the pair had ever communicated.
"On Feb. 4 I was handed this bag of crap," Ryder said, as he dismissed the message as a hoax.
Ryder said that his office found no evidence Mangano's or Caro's phones were hacked or "spoofed," as the county executive suggested last week. He said it's not clear that any crime was committed in the case.
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"I think I’ve wasted enough time in this sexting scandal and I need to get back to fighting crime," he said.
Mangano said in a statement Thursday that he was the victim of a "deranged individual."
"As I stated from the moment this matter was brought to my attention, my family and I are the victims of a hoax perpetuated by a deranged individual," he said.
The texts, sent to Karin Caro, were sent by an "Ed M." and appear to have been sent by county Executive Ed Mangano. Mangano has denied that he sent the messages, claiming he was "spoofed."
Caro, meanwhile, tweeted "Thank you" after the news conference.
