Suffolk prosecutors say they are about to hit former county Legislator Elie Mystal (D-Amityville) with criminal charges for allegedly living outside the district he represented during his time in office.

Mystal?s attorney admits his client was often away from Long Island to be with the late Maxine Postal, the legislator whose seat Mystal took over. Postal, with whom he had a personal relationship and later married, was dying in Florida, the attorney says.

Mystal had signed a document claiming to live in a house on Colonial Road, in Copiague, but neighbors told News 12 Long Island they don?t remember seeing him there.

Colleagues say they heard rumors Mystal was living in Huntington, which is out of the district he represented. Presiding Officer Bill Lindsay says there had been concerns over where he was living.

?He assured me that he was living in the district, but if the D.A. is going forward with charges against him, he usually doesn't make many mistakes so I guess that assurance wasn't correct,? Lindsay says.

Mystal resigned his post in May 2008. He is expected to face charges of offering a false instrument for filing, which carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison.