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RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (CBS/AP) ― The acting chief and three members of what a prosecutor called an "out of control" police department were charged in a grand jury indictment Tuesday with viciously beating a tourist who had been ticketed for littering.

Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota contended the officers "acted as thugs in police uniforms" and emphasized that the indictments represent the first phase of a widespread investigation into criminal activity by police in Ocean Beach, a popular summer vacation resort village.

Ocean Beach's population swells from dozens of year-round residents to more than 6,000 summer renters and day-trippers. It is one of about a dozen villages that dot Fire Island, a strip of beaches off Long Island's south shore. Accessible primarily by ferry, the village is nicknamed the "Land of No" because of odd ordinances intended to keep order; they once banned eating of cookies on public walkways. It was also the setting for an ABC reality show last summer.

The charges stem from the August 2005 beating of tourist Samuel Gilberd, who was then a Manhattan software executive. Assistant District Attorney Bob Biancavilla said the victim suffered severe internal injuries, including a ruptured bladder that required 10 days of hospitalization. He still visits a urologist and is undergoing psychiatric care, his lawyer said Tuesday.

Gilberd was at an Ocean Beach bar on Aug. 28, 2005, when a bouncer accused him of littering. Gilberd was taken immediately by the bouncer across the street to the police department, where he was issued a ticket, said the lawyer, D. Carl Lustig III. The lawyer said police "savagely attacked" Gilberd, kicking him in the gut and dragging him into a room.

"It was a police department gone wild," Spota said at a news conference. "There was no control at all."

He said Ocean Beach village officials should have been aware of problems at the police department, because several civil lawsuits alleging police brutality had already been settled quietly with plaintiffs before this alleged attack.

Ocean Beach Mayor Joseph Loeffler, who attended the proceedings, declined to speak to reporters.

The most serious charges in the indictment were filed against George Hesse, 38, the acting chief. He was released on $100,000 bail after pleading not guilty to gang assault, assault and other charges in an arraignment before Suffolk County Court Judge Barbara Kahn.

The three part-time officers were charged with a variety of other offenses, including unlawful imprisonment, reckless endangerment and hindering prosecution. Those officers -- Paul Carollo, 46, Arnold Hardman, 51, and William Emburey, 42 -- posted $10,000 bail. Hardman and Emburey had retired from the New York City police force after serving 20 years, their attorneys said. Carollo is a state court officer in Nassau County.

Attorney William Keahon, who represents Hesse, contended that Gilberd was drunk and under the influence of drugs when he was confronted by police and suggested that Gilberd was injured in a fall.

"This is about a fellow that was drunk, on drugs, injured himself and now wants to sue," Keahon contended.

Lustig did not dispute that his client had been drinking, but said medical reports indicated his client had no drugs in his system.

Lustig said on Tuesday that his client cooperated with the grand jury investigation and intends to testify against the officers. "My client is extremely pleased; this is a vindication of what he has said," Lustig said. "This indictment completely refutes the story concocted by police."

A week after the altercation with police, Gilberd was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, allegations the district attorney subsequently dismissed. Gilberd has filed a $22 million federal lawsuit.

Hesse is no stranger to controversy.

Last week, five fired Ocean Beach officers filed a federal lawsuit claiming Hesse had improperly fired them in April 2006 after he became concerned they were cooperating with the Suffolk County District Attorney's investigation into corruption at the department.

Doug Wigdor, a former prosecutor who is representing the five officers in a wrongful-termination lawsuit, claimed Hesse was "running the police department like a fraternity house" and alleged Hesse associated with a drug dealer, had sex in department headquarters and covered up cases of off-duty police officers being involved in bar brawls.

Keahon said of the officers' lawsuit: "They were all dismissed for incompetency. They're suing for $345 million. There's 345 million reasons to take the positions they are."

Ocean Beach is a unique place on Long Island. Cars are banned for the most part from the village, where most visitors either walk with ubiquitous red wagons, or travel by bicycle. Summer rentals can start at about $10,000 a month and climb from there. The police travel around the narrow lanes of the village in golf carts.

(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)