Charges dismissed against Staten Island condo owner who threatened board

Charges against a Staten Island condo owner accused of threatening to burn down the building will be dismissed, authorities said.

The Staten Island District Attorney’s office last week said Joseph Riccardi agreed to an adjournment contemplating dismissal, meaning the harassment charges against him will be dismissed if he is not arrested in the next six months. An order of protection was also issued and he was told to stay away from the condo board president who filed the harassment complaint.

But Riccardi, who had previously spent six months on Rikers Island for failing to renovate his penthouse condo under a court order, said that while he’s glad he’s not going back to jail he’s not going away quietly.

“I can’t wait to file my lawsuit,” said Riccardi, a 58-year-old foreign currency trader.

Riccardi has been at the center of a bizarre years-long row involving the board for the Ocean View Tower condo, which sits on the far northern end of Hylan Blvd. in Rosebank, near New York Harbor and across the street from the historic Alice Austen House.

Riccardi in 2006 bought the 14th-floor penthouse for nearly $1 million — then was later sued by the board because he wouldn’t remove the 1,500-square-foot addition that the city found violated the city’s building code.

Riccardi argued that the rooftop addition was built by a previous owner. But the board said all that mattered was that as the current owner, he was responsible for fixing the problem.

The suit went to trial. Riccardi lost in December 2020 and was ordered to pay $126,000 in legal fees plus $150 for each day that he failed to “legalize” the apartment.

Four months later, another judge held him in contempt for failing to meet the conditions of the verdict and a series of court orders that followed, leading to his sentence at Rikers Island.

Riccardi was released in December 2022 and said he has spent more than $1.6 million on legal fees and fines.

This past December he was accused of sending a threatening email on Nov. 17 to all nine members if the condo board. Riccardi and his lawyer, Mario Gallucci, said the email came from an AOL account made to look like Riccardi’s.

“I’ve never seen a case like this,” said Mario Gallucci, Riccardi’s lawyer. “It’s a complete injustice.”

Mary Nasso, the condo board president who filed the harassment complaint, did not respond to a request for comment.

Riccardi said the condo board will be named in the suit, as will police and the DA’s office.