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Melville

Gift of hearing made possible through nonprofit program Senior Dreams Come True

Sally Lepis gets fitted for new hearing aids at the McGuire Hearing Center in Centereach. Photo from Seiden Communications

Thanks to a nonprofit program, one Selden senior is calling her new hearing aids a dream come true.

Sally Lepis, who lives independently at St. Joseph’s Village, a subsidized housing complex, was granted her wish for new hearing aids by Senior Dreams Come True. The nonprofit program founded and run by the elder law firm Genser Dubow Genser & Cona in Melville benefits low-income seniors on Long Island by granting wishes — from helping a senior meet basic needs to fulfilling a lifelong dream. The program especially looks to grant wishes for seniors who have given back to their communities or helped others in their lifetime.

With significant hearing loss, 102-year-old Lepis could not afford to replace her more than 25-year-old hearing aids. Whether speaking to one person or in a group, she has difficulty communicating.

To fulfill Lepis’ wish, Senior Dreams reached out to David Carr, owner and director of McGuire’s Hearing Centers, which is headquartered in Centereach with 10 facilities in the New York City and Long Island areas. He agreed to donate two of the most advanced, custom in-canal hearing aids plus four appointments with the audiologist to do testing, programming and fine tuning of the devices. The total cost for the hearing aids and services is $7,500.

“I was intrigued with this important program to help seniors and the amazing story of Mrs. Lepis and her family,” Carr said. For many years, he has helped seniors in need throughout the U.S. by donating hearing aids to the less fortunate through a program he started called the Foundation for Sight and Sound.

Often referred to as “Mother Teresa,” Lepis has remained the anchor for her family, maintaining a positive attitude no matter what personal hardships she goes through. When she was 57, her husband died. She also lost her twin sister at a young age and raised her then 14-year-old niece Olivia Schmidt in her home.

“No one is more deserving of a Senior Dreams wish than Sally,” Schmidt said. “[She] has devoted her life to caring for many family members and friends while coping with her own sadness and losses she has endured.”

Lepis worked as a seamstress from a young age and only recently got rid of her Singer sewing machine. When her husband died, she worked at B. Altman Department Store in Manhasset as a sales clerk before retiring.

Before she stopped driving at age 95, Lepis did her best to care for friends by driving them to doctor’s appointments. She even saved a friend’s life when she found her stuck in a bathtub for several days.

“Mrs. Lepis has given so much of herself over the years to friends, family and those in need in her community,” said Jennifer Cona, managing partner of Genser Dubow Genser & Cona. “She is exactly the kind of person for whom Senior Dreams Come True seeks to grant wishes.”

File photo

Suffolk County Police Homicide Squad detectives are investigating the drowning deaths of twins in Melville Wednesday morning, July 26.

Second Precinct officers responded to 10 Holly Court at approximately 8:40 a.m. after a woman called 911 to report she pulled her 3-year-old son, Nicholas Aurilia, from the home’s in-ground pool and he was not breathing. The mother began to perform CPR on Nicholas and reported his twin brother was missing. When police and rescue personnel arrived, they located the boy’s twin, Anthony, in the pool.

The boys were transported by Melville Volunteer Fire Department to Plainview Hospital where they were pronounced dead. An autopsy will be performed by the Nassau County Medical Examiner.

Personnel from the Town of Huntington were notified to determine compliance with town regulations regarding the pool.

 

Dr. Harry Boutis, Denise Marino, and Janet Russell and Melissa Negrin-Wiener from Senior Dreams Come True are all smiles after Marino’s new dentures were ready. Photo from Senior Dreams Come True

Thanks to Stony Brook dentist Dr. Harry Boutis, Denise Marino can smile again.

Boutis donated his services to replace Marino’s dentures. The two were connected through the elder law firm Genser, Dubow, Genser & Cona’s Senior Dreams Come True program, which grants the wishes of low-income seniors. Marino, 75, a former corrections officer, said her 45-year-old dentures, top full and bottom partial, were extremely worn down, and when she heard that her wish to get new dentures was going to be granted, she was thrilled.

“Having a full set of teeth is of the utmost of importance due to function for chewing and eating, facial support and soft tissues. Just as importantly the patient’s mental well-being and self-confidence.”

— Dr. Harry Boutis

“I was very surprised, and I thought, ‘Gee, I’ll try it and see what happens,’” she said in a phone interview.

Boutis, who helped with a previous wish, said he became involved with the program through his patient Melissa Negrin-Wiener, a partner in the Melville law firm and one of the founders of Senior Dreams Come True. Marino said she heard about the organization from her niece, who told her all she had to do was write a letter to the nonprofit.

Marino said before receiving the new dentures she was hesitant to smile, and it looked like she didn’t have any teeth and her top lip was sinking in. Boutis, who has been practicing dentistry for 23 years, said a full set of teeth is required for much more than smiling.

“Having a full set of teeth is of the utmost of importance due to function for chewing and eating, facial support and soft tissues,” the dentist said. “Just as importantly the patient’s mental well-being and self-confidence.”

The dentist said Marino needed to visit the office eight times for appointments that lasted 30 to 45 minutes long. During the time Senior Dreams Come True was helping Marino get her dentures made, the great-grandmother said she was also having car problems so the firm’s legal assistant Janet Russell would pick her up and take her to all her appointments.

Marino, who raised six children and got her first dentures when she was 30, said she is a “chicken” when it comes to going to the dentist but Boutis made her visits pleasant ones.

Dr. Harry Boutis and Denise Marino before the dentist began her denture work. Photo from Senior Dreams Come True

“Dr. Boutis is such a wonderful, wonderful man,” she said.” He makes you feel so comfortable and he talks to you, and he’s just a real person.”

Marino said after receiving her new dentures she can’t stop smiling.

“It’s so wonderful to have teeth,” she said.

Boutis said he was also pleased with the outcome.

“I was ecstatic with the result we achieved for Denise,” the dentist said. “Being such a nice person that she is, her happiness and new smile are the rewards that make practicing this profession what it’s all about,” the dentist said.

Negrin-Wiener said Senior Dreams Come True started after she and her fellow elder law attorneys, who are involved with many different medical causes such as Alzheimer’s research, realized there weren’t any organizations to raise money for seniors’ basic needs.   

The lawyer said in order for a person to qualify for a wish they must be over 65 years old, and a couple cannot make more than $2,000 a month and a single person can make no more than $1,500. The organization just asks the hopeful wish-recipient to write a paragraph about his or her life, and they also look for people who have been involved in their communities. 

“What they’ve done for me is just amazing. They’re my little guardian angels.”

—Denise Marino

She said when it comes to requests, “They aren’t asking for lavish things.”

The attorney said people have wished for simple items such as mattresses and ramps, and dentures have been a popular request. She said the program will even help pay for a trip, which was the case with a Smithtown woman who couldn’t afford to go see her new grandchild.

The program also brought Marino’s car to a mechanic to get it repaired. Negrin-Wiener said there are no limits on the amount of granted wishes one can receive.

“We fundraise throughout the year, and we grant wishes on a rolling basis,” she said. “It just depends what the wishes are, if we get help from the community. What we are able to do financially in that point of time.”

Marino said she has been telling everyone she knows about Senior Dreams Come True and handing out pamphlets.

“I couldn’t have done it without them, because I’m on Social Security,” Marino said. “I just get a little over a $1,000 a month to live on, and what they’ve done for me is just amazing. They’re my little guardian angels.”

Anthony Stack. Photo from SCPD

A Huntington man was arrested in connection with burglarizing more than half a dozen businesses this month.

Anthony Stack was allegedly caught on surveillance video captured on May 22 after he broke into Si Yuang Kitchen, located at 232 Wall Street in Huntington. A Second Squad detective reviewed still photos taken from surveillance video and identified the suspect as Stack.

Further investigations revealed that Stack was also responsible for burglarizing the following businesses:

  • Kerber’s Farms at 309 West Pulaski Road in Huntington May 12
  • Golden Express at 66 Broadhollow Road in Melville May 14
  • Golden River Chinese Kitchen at 340 East Jericho Turnpike in Huntington May 15
  • Yhum Yhum Chinese at 1200 East Jericho Turnpike in Dix Hills May 16
  • Country Hot Bagels at 361 Fort Salonga Road at Northport May 16
  • The Great Wall Chinese at 574 Larkfield Road in East Northport May 21

Second Squad detectives charged Stack, 57, with six counts of third-degree burglary and third-degree grand larceny. He is scheduled to be arraigned today at First District Court in Central Islip.

File photo by Victoria Espinoza

Suffolk County Police have arrested a man for driving while intoxicated following a motor vehicle crash that critically injured his passenger in Melville April 14.

Alvarado Barrios-Martinez was driving a 1996 Honda Accord north on Route 110 when he hit a 2014 Subaru Outback, which was stopped at the red light at the intersection of Route 110 and Arrowwood Lane. The Subaru was forced into a third vehicle, a 2016 BMW X3, which was also stopped at the red light.

A male passenger from the Honda was transported to Huntington Hospital in critical condition with a head injury. A female passenger was treated for non-life threatening injuries at Huntington Hospital.

Barrios-Martinez, 26, of Huntington Station was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated. He was scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip.

All vehicles were impounded for safety checks and the investigation is ongoing. Detectives are asking anyone with information to call the Second Squad at 631-854-8252.

Kieran Bunce mugshot from the SCPD

A man previously convicted of a sexual offense against a minor was arrested on Thursday after allegedly being caught undressed inside a vehicle with a 14-year-old boy.

According to the Suffolk County Police Department, an officer was on routine patrol when he spotted the car in a dark area of the parking lot of the Fort Salonga Shopping Center on Route 25A, near Bread and Cheese Hollow Road, shortly after midnight.

Police said the 4th Precinct officer, Dennis Lynch, approached and saw two people inside with their clothes off: registered sex offender and vehicle owner Kieran Bunce, 48, and a 14-year-old boy.

The pair had arranged their meeting over a cell phone application, police said, and sexual contact did occur.

Bunce is a registered Level 1 offender. According to the database of Parents for Megan’s Law, a nonprofit advocacy and victim support group that monitors sex offenders, Bunce was previously convicted on a 2003 sexual misconduct charge stemming from an incident with a 16-year-old girl.

That charge, a Class A misdemeanor, is a crime of sexual intercourse with someone without their consent, whether it is because the victim is a minor, mentally incapacitated or forced, according to state penal law.

According to the Parents for Megan’s Law database, Bunce was sentenced to six years of probation for that 2003 offense.

The Melville resident was charged with two felony counts of second-degree criminal sex act, as well as the misdemeanor first-degree endangering the welfare of a child.

Attorney information for Bunce was not immediately available. He was scheduled to be arraigned on Friday.

An aggressive crocodile was found in an open cardboard box in a Melville parking lot and handed over to officials at the Suffolk County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals on Tuesday, officials said.

The three-foot-long croc, discovered at 25 Melville Park Rd., was “very aggressive and its mouth had to be taped shut,” according to a statement from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Chief Roy Gross said that Jerry Mosca, the director of the Huntington Town Animal Shelter, and another animal control officer, responded to an anonymous call about the crocodile. Mosca didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment on Tuesday afternoon.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Police and Suffolk County SPCA investigators will team up to get to the bottom of who left the crocodile in the parking lot, according to the statement.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Suffolk County SPCA at (631) 382-7722. All calls will be kept confidential.

Dodge ATM
On March 27, a resident of Market Street in Port Jefferson Station reported that a wallet had been removed from a 1997 Dodge Ram.

Dial S for stolen
Two unknown males stole a cell phone from a victim on Main Street in Port Jefferson Station. According to police, the incident occurred at around 4:30 a.m. on March 27.

Unlocked
A resident of Lincoln Avenue in Port Jefferson Station reported cash had been stolen from a wallet that was left in an unlocked 1997 Honda on March 25.

Jeepers!
A 2011 Jeep was stolen from a residence on Crescent Drive in Port Jefferson Station. Police were notified of the grand larceny on March 25.

Tased and confused
A 48-year-old Port Jefferson man was arrested for resisting arrest and criminal possession of stolen property on March 29. Police said the man was found at 7-Eleven on Old Town Road in possession of a stolen 1994 Jeep Wrangler, and lunged at an officer when confronted. The officer deployed their TASER.

Faking it
A resident of Thames Street in Port Jefferson Station fell victim to identity theft, and notified police on March 23 that an unknown person had used personal info and made financial transactions.

Keg stand
An unknown person or persons removed an empty beer keg from Port Jefferson-based Schafer’s storage yard on March 25.

Needed directions
An unknown person took a GPS, cash and paperwork from an unlocked 2008 Honda on Sheep Pasture Road in Port Jefferson on March 24.

Double the drugs
A 25-year-old Port Jefferson Station man was arrested in Port Jefferson on drug charges on March 26 after police found him seated in a 2004 Chevy with an electronic smoking device that contained marijuana. In addition, police discovered cocaine in his possession.

Off-roading
A 48-year-old Mount Sinai woman was arrested on multiple charges on March 25, after police said she drove a 2002 Mercury Mountaineer in reverse and into a neighboring home on Osborne Avenue in Mount Sinai. The woman was charged with reckless driving, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief.

Feeling deflated
A woman reported her 2005 Honda Accord’s two rear tires had been punctured while parked outside the Applebee’s on Route 25A in Miller Place. The incident occurred on March 23.

We’ve been hit!
A resident of Rockledge Court in Rocky Point reported their home had been struck with several paintballs and a window screen had been broken on March 29 between 11:15 a.m. and 12:15 p.m.

Master of disguise
A 32-year-old Rocky Point man was arrested on a false impersonation charge on March 27. Police said the man, who did not have his license on him, was stopped at Prince Road and Harding Street for a traffic violation and gave police a false name.

Smashed
A resident of Harrison Avenue in Centereach reported the window of a 2000 Chrysler had been smashed at some point between March 25 and March 26.

DWI on road to Independence
Police arrested a 53-year-old Centereach man in Selden for aggravated driving while intoxicated after he was involved in a March 29 car crash by Independence Plaza.

Rockin’ Robin
Four Selden residents were arrested on March 27 for criminal possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell. According to police, three men, ages 31, 34, and 43, and a woman, age 33, were arrested at a residence on Robin Road. The defendants had heroin in their possession.

Civic responsibility
A 1997 Honda Civic parked at a residence on Hawkins Road in Centereach was discovered stolen between March 28 and March 29.

Thief won’t listen
Numerous headphones were stolen from the Centereach CVS on Middle Country Road on March 28 between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.

Out of the closet
Two unknown males broke into an apartment on Stanley Drive in Centereach and took items from a bedroom closet on March 23. According to police, the complainant said the men had a handgun and fled through the front door in an unknown direction.

Bad reality check
A 37-year-old man from Brentwood was arrested at the 4th Precinct in Smithtown on March 28 and charged with issuing a bad check while knowing he had insufficient funds. Police said he wrote a bad check to Side Lumber & Supply Co. The man was arrested at about 10 a.m.

Disenchanting
A 25-year-old man from Islip was arrested in Smithtown on March 26 and charged with petit larceny. Police said the man stole Magic the Gathering cards from a location on Route 454 in Islandia on Jan. 28.

Driving outside the lines
A 23-year-old woman from Centereach was arrested in Commack on March 28 and charged with driving while intoxicated. Police said that at about 2:30 a.m. she was driving a 1999 Dodge on Route 14 in Commack when police pulled her over for failing to maintain her lane.

Inn trouble
A 19-year-old man from Brentwood was arrested in Commack on March 28 at 12:30 a.m. and charged with two counts of grand larceny in the fourth degree. Police said he stole more than $1,000 in cash from someone’s wallet at the Commack Motor Inn and stole a credit card from a different person at the inn. He was also charged with unlawful possession of marijuana.

Cut short
Police said a 38-year-old man from Bay Shore was arrested in Commack on March 28 and charged with third-degree burglary. Police said the man stole razors from Costco on Garet Place after being prohibited from entering the store.

Identity stolen, phones purchased
An unknown person used the identity of a Larson Avenue man from Smithtown to purchase cell phones and equipment from Verizon Wireless worth more than $2,400. The crime was reported to happen sometime on March 28 at 7:30 p.m.

Not so safe
A safe was looted on March 28 at Developmental Disabilities Institute on Hollywood Drive in Smithtown.  The cash belonged to the residents of the location.

Window damaged
An unknown person threw a bottle of wine through the rear window of 3 Guy’s Hobbies on Lawrence Avenue in Smithtown. The incident was reported to police on March 28 at 3:05 p.m.

Egged
A Roy Drive home in Nesconset was egged, according to police. The incident was reported on March 29 at 10 p.m.

Mean streets
An incident of road rage took place in St. James on March 25. Police said a male complainant reported that he was driving west on Route 347. As traffic was merging, someone cut him off, he said, and a shouting match between both drivers ensued. The other driver threatened to kill the complainant and then drove away.

Gimme my pizza
Police said two men were arrested in connection to an incident that occurred at Little Vincent’s pizzeria on New York Avenue on March 29. At about 1:29 a.m., a 20-year-old from Commack was arrested and charged with criminal mischief, with intent to damage property, after he punched the front door of the pizzeria after being asked to leave. A 20-year-old from Smithtown was also arrested in connection to the incident and charged with second-degree obstructing governmental administration, as he tried to obstruct officers making an arrest.

Check it
A 34-year-old woman from Melville was arrested in Huntington on March 28 at the 2nd Precinct and charged with third-degree grand larceny. Police said that between Nov. 1 at noon and Dec. 31 at noon, the woman attempted to steal money by altering checks.

What a pill
Police said a 31-year-old man from Huntington was arrested in Huntington and charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. Police said that on the corner of New York Avenue and Gerard Street, on March 27 at 8:26 a.m. he was driving a 2004 Jeep with a suspended or revoked license. The man also possessed prescription pills without a prescription.

Busted with drugs
A 22-year-old woman from East Northport was arrested in Huntington Station and charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and loitering. Police said she was loitering at about 11:55 a.m. on March 26 at a location on West Jericho Turnpike, where she was later arrested. She was also found in possession of heroin.

Fake checks
An unknown person took two checks from a Huntington female complainant, forged signatures without permission and attempted to cash them sometime between March 16 at 9 a.m. and March 18 just before midnight. The incident was reported on March 28.

7-Eleven brawl
A male complainant reported that he and another man got into a verbal dispute at 7-Eleven on New York Avenue in Huntington. Both men fell to the ground and got into a fight, and both were transported to Huntington Hospital. The incident was reported on March 26 at 7:40 a.m.

Items stolen
An unknown person entered a 2005 Toyota Tundra on Joseph Court in East Northport and stole sunglasses, a GPS and cash sometime between March 21 at 8 a.m. and March 29 at 8 a.m.

Missing jewelry
Police said assorted jewelry was stolen from a home on Dalton Lane in East Northport sometime between 9 a.m. on March 24  and noon on March 25.

Purse taken
Someone removed a purse containing cash, a driver’s license and a credit card from a 2009 Honda Pilot parked on Croley Street in Greenlawn. The incident was reported on March 28 at 8:23 p.m.