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Nassau County DA Hopeful Says Retweeted Threat Was A Mistake

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A candidate for Nassau County district attorney says a retweet from his account that included a threatening message toward Long Island Rail Road employees was a mistake.

As WCBS 880's Sophia Hall reported, a tweet went out on Wednesday during the LIRR service suspension that complemented Michael Scotto, but also threatened LIRR workers.

Nassau County DA Hopeful Says Retweeted Threat Was A Mistake

Scotto said a high school intern only saw the complement and missed the threat, and retweeted the message on Scotto's Twitter account.

"It's unfortunate that this gentleman had a tweet that was inappropriate. You don't want to joke about stuff like that. Just you know, as far as I can tell, he said it was a joke. It seems like a joke," he said.

Scotto said the retweet controversy is taking away from the real problems in Nassau County.

"We're not talking about the issues now. We're talking about a silly tweet and the guy who made the tweet now is drawn into the middle of the Democratic primary," he said.

Scotto is a former Manhattan prosecutor.

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