BAYPORT, NY — The co-owner of a Long Island funeral home accused of spraying a police officer with insecticide during the Jan. 6 insurrection announced this week that he has transitioned away from the family business.
In a joint statement emailed to Patch, Moloney Family Funeral Home president Dan Moloney Jr. and his brother, Peter G. Moloney, vice president, said they reached a mutual agreement for the transfer of Peter’s interests in the company to Dan.
“As a result of this decision, Peter and his son, Connor Moloney, have fully transitioned away from involvement in the Moloney family business,” the statement said.
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The business has seven locations, including, Lake Ronkonkoma, Holbrook, Bohemia, Hauppauge, Central Islip, Port Jefferson, and Center Moriches.
Peter Moloney was arrested in June and accused of spraying foam insecticide at a law enforcement officer during the breach of the U.S. Capitol 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
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Moloney, 58, of Bayport, was charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers, civil disorder, assault by striking, entering, and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, and other charges, officials said.
Moloney was among the early members of a mob that illegally converged on the West Plaza of the Capitol during the initial breach of the grounds, and as the police officers used barricades to attempt to keep the rioters back, Moloney put on a helmet, protective eyewear, gloves, and a face covering, court documents show.
At around 1:30 p.m., Moloney took out a can of hornet and yellow jacket killer spray from his backpack and used it on officers, spraying it in the direction of their faces and bodies, and sprayed the officers with the insecticide on at least one other occasion, officials said.
On two separate occasions, he joined other rioters in surrounding and striking people whom they believed were news media members, according to officials.
His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress which had convened to count the electoral votes related to the presidential election, officials said.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In a statement along with his son, Connor, on Thursday, he said it has been “a privilege to care for the community and to work with great people throughout our years at Moloney’s.”
“While our commitment to serving the communities of Long Island remains steadfast, after much consideration we have decided to pursue other opportunities on our own, and we are excited about our future,” he said.
Peter Moloney’s attorney, Charles Haskell of Washington, D.C., declined comment for this story.
Dan Moloney noted his family has served the Long Island community for over 90 years.
“We look forward to continuing this relationship for generations to come,” he said.
When asked if the departure was at all related to the arrest, Dan Moloney, through a spokesman, said that it was “in the best interest of all involved” that they came to the decision “mutually.”
After Peter Moloney’s arrest, officials said the investigation was ongoing.
The case against him is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s New York Field Office, Long Island Resident Agency, and the FBI’s Washington Field Office, which identified Moloney as No. 199 on its seeking information photos, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
More than 1,000 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 270 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.
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