News 12 published June 22, 2026: Hidden camera video shows alleged abuse of veteran inside NY state-run home. Shocking hidden camera video, obtained exclusively by News 12, appears to show a Gulf War veteran being assaulted inside a New York state-run veterans home in Westchester County. The veteran’s wife is now speaking out for the first time with News 12's senior reporter Tara Rosenblum in the hope that her story helps protect other residents.
News 12 published July 12, 2026: Hidden camera caught alleged veteran abuse. Now records are emerging about VA aide's past. New records are raising questions about whether warning signs were overlooked before a former aide was hired to care for veterans at the state-run Montrose Veterans Home. The Turn To Tara team uncovered court records spanning decades involving Matthew Cox, the aide accused of assaulting Gulf War veteran Albert O'Toole. Investigators say hidden camera video showed Cox striking O'Toole, who was living with a traumatic brain injury. The state Department of Health says required background checks found no prior record of negative conduct and that Cox was removed from duty and later terminated. Legal expert Bennett Gershman says the records reviewed by News 12 raise concerns about whether a more thorough background check should have been conducted.
News 12, Long Island, NY local
written by Tara Rosenblum and Lee Danuff
Wednesday July 8, 2026
The Turn To Tara team dug deeper into the background of an aide accused of abusing an injured Gulf War veteran - and what was found is raising serious questions about whether warning signs were missed before he was hired to care for some of the state's most vulnerable veterans.
Senior reporter Tara Rosenblum exposed the alleged assault that was caught on hidden camera video inside the state-run veterans home in Montrose - and shared first on News 12 last month.
The aide, Matthew Cox, was arrested after the video appeared to show him assaulting Gulf War veteran Albert O'Toole.
The Turn To Tara team has since obtained a federal statement of deficiencies, which describes the incident in even greater detail.
Investigators found that Cox hit O'Toole, who was living with a traumatic brain injury, with a broom on the head, grabbed him by the neck, roughly placed him into his wheelchair and then struck him.
The war hero is then heard screaming in pain.
While the video appeared to show what happened, Rosenblum wanted to find out who was responsible. The Turn To Tara team spent the last two weeks filing public records requests and scouring through court records in multiple states.
Records indicate that Cox has been involved in both civil and criminal court proceedings - spanning nearly three decades, including:
- A 2017 drug case in which he was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell or deliver
- A public urination charge that was later dismissed after he agreed to take a diversion program
- A second-degree trespass conviction at a high school. An "assault on a female" case that was later dismissed after the complaining witness chose not to proceed.
News 12 spoke to Bennett L Gershman, one of the tri-state's leading criminal scholars, to review the findings.
"When you see somebody getting diversion or the victim doesn't want to testify - to me -that raises a red flag. That doesn't do away with the charge, and maybe they are too scared to testify. You don't just sit back and say, 'Well, there was one conviction, and that's the end of it," said Gershman. "When you look at the background, you get a sense that this person hadn't had a very good, clean...blameless life. He's been in trouble a lot."
Gershman's opinion raised an even bigger question: Were any of these records identified before Cox was hired to care for New York's most vulnerable veterans?
So the Turn To Tara team tried to get in touch with the agencies that are responsible.
The federal DA hasn't responded yet, and the state Department of Health says it is "outraged" by Cox's alleged conduct, that he was removed from duty, later terminated and that required background checks found no prior record of negative conduct.
Gershman says that explanation doesn't hold up.
"To me, this facility - terribly dropped the ball - either they didn't do a thorough background check, or they did a very minimal background check. They seriously engaged in - to me - gross negligence in what happened here," he says.
The scrutiny is only intensifying, with Cox set to return to court next month.
News 12 also reached out to Cox and his attorney multiple times but has not heard back.
If you or your loved one has a story to share about the facility, share your story with the Turn To Tara Team.
No comments:
Post a Comment