Two cadets at the Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point were unfairly and harshly punished after they were accused of lying to school administrators about alleged drinking at a 2024 beach outing for the academy’s soccer players, according to a lawsuit filed by the students.
Marina Ronzoni and Morgan Mitchell, members of the academy’s soccer team who were slated to graduate as part of the class of 2026, argue in the lawsuit that the academy didn’t follow its own rules and procedures during the disciplinary process and that they were penalized for appealing the academy’s initial decision.
Ronzoni, who graduated from Riverhead High School, and Mitchell, who hails from Mississippi, were initially slapped with penalties that included completion of an honor remediation program for 45 days and 50 hours of extra duty by the academy’s superintendent, who affirmed the findings of the academy’s internal judicial process called the honor board, the lawsuit says.
But after they appealed the decision and Ronzoni and Mitchell appeared before a new honor board, Capt. Anthony J. Ceraolo, the academy’s acting superintendent, ruled that Ronzoni and Mitchell’s penalty would be a year setback, meaning they could not graduate until 2027.
No other cadets received that penalty, the lawsuit says.
“Midshipmen who admitted drinking alcohol after initially lying about it received far less punishment than Ronzoni and Mitchell,” the lawsuit says. “In fact, the only midshipmen who received such a harsh penalty were [Ronzoni and Mitchell], who are the only two who had to undergo a second Honor Board, supporting the conclusion that the severe punishment imposed is restriction for merely exercising their rights.”
The academy did not respond to a message seeking comment Thursday.
Michael Cassell, the Jericho-based attorney for the midshipmen, declined to comment when reached by phone.
The lawsuit, filed in December in the Eastern District of New York against the academy, its superintendent and the federal Transportation Department, alleged the rights of the midshipmen to due process were violated and seeks monetary damages. The lawsuit does not list an amount.
The cadets denied seeing anyone consuming alcohol on the beach on Aug. 17, 2024 when questioned afterward, but were not provided with exculpatory evidence that could have exonerated them, the lawsuit said.
They sought another honor board due to alleged procedural errors in the process, the lawsuit says. But they were told that if they attempted to submit new evidence and witnesses, the investigation into their conduct would be reopened, according to their claim. The suit also alleges it was not clear if they were being accused of lying about merely being in the presence of alcohol, providing alcohol or consuming it.
Their lawyer has submitted to the court multiple written statements from other cadets who said they were not drinking — but spent the majority of their time at Point Lookout Beach playing volleyball.
But in court papers, other witnesses are said to have seen them drinking on the beach and allege that Ronzoni collected everyone’s cellphones in an attempt to cover up the drinking. Ronzoni denies that claim, saying the cellphone collection was an attempt to foster community and connection during the outing.
In a December letter to Mitchell, Ceraolo said she had received a fair hearing.
“I find that you were afforded multiple opportunities to present your case and that two separate Honor Boards (comprised of two different sets of midshipmen) unanimously found you in violation of the Honor Code based upon a preponderance of the evidence presented,” Ceraolo said.
Nicole Fuller is Newsday’s senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.