An 18-year-old high school senior running for a seat on his Long Island school board says he's the victim of a smear campaign ahead of Tuesday's election.
Josh Lafazan says parents in Syosset received an automated phone call message Monday stating that his father, Jeffrey Lafazan, stole sensitive records right before the election.
The message said, "Jeffrey Lafazan unlawfully removed district records that contained the names and addresses of residents. He removed the records without permission and ran away."
"It's an obvious smear campaign tactic, a last-minute Hail Mary thrown by the school district administration," said Lafazan.
Jeffrey Lafazan, who works as a mortgage broker in Manhattan, insists those records weren't a full list of all the voters in Syosset, as the phone message implied. Instead, he told NBC 4 New York, he called the school in advance to get a copy of absentee ballot requests, which are publicly available, and got them.
"The only reason I had to leave quickly is I was late for an appointment," he said.
"This was just a list of the people who requested an absentee ballot," he added. "Open and available for anybody to see."
Josh Lafazan called the school's accusations that his father was in a chase with the security guard "absolutely outrageous," even though school officials notified Nassau County Police.
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Police confirmed they're investigating the matter, but would not release any other information.
Hours before Lafazan tries to become one of the youngest people ever elected in New York state, parents talked about the accusations leveled against his father.
"That definitely bothers me because they're our personal records in there," said David Soto.
Josh Lafazan is the class president at Syosset High School.
There are five candidates on the ballot for three slots on the board.
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