Quarterback Brandon Ventarola in traffic in the Mustangs semi-final playoff win against Babylon Nov. 15. Bill Landon photo
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Mount Sinai quarterback Brandon Ventarola shakes off a Babylon defender in the semi-final playoff round at home Nov. 15. Photo by Bill Landon
Quarterback Brandon Ventarola throws deep against Babylon in the semi-final playoff win at home Nov. 15. Bill Landon photo
Quarterback Brandon Ventarola in traffic in the Mustangs semi-final playoff win against Babylon Nov. 15. Bill Landon photo
Quarterback Brandon Ventarola takes off for the end-zone in the Mustangs semi-final playoff win against Babylon Nov. 15. Bill Landon photo
Mount Sinai’s Matthew Graffeo gains yardage following a block in the Mustangs semi-final playoff win against Babylon Nov. 15. Bill Landon photo
Teammates celebrate after a touchdown run in the Mustangs semi-final playoff win at home Nov. 15. Photo by Bill Landon
Mustangs take the field in the semi-final round against Babylon at home Nov. 15. Photo by Bill Landon
Mount Sinai takes the field in the semi-final round against Babylon at home Nov. 15. Bill Landon photo
Mount Sinai senior Joseph Balzano splits the uprights in the Mustangs D-IV semi-final playoff win at home Nov. 15. Bill Landon photo
Mt. Sinai junior quarterback Brandon Ventarola scrambles out of the pocket in the semi-final playoff round at home Nov. 15. Photo by Bill Landon
Mount Sinai’s Matthew Graffeo in on the tackle in the Mustangs semi-final playoff win against Babylon Nov. 15. Bill Landon photo
Mount Sinai senior running-back Matthew LoMonaco drags a Babylon defender out of the back field in the semi-final playoff round at home Nov. 15, 2019. Photo by Bill Landon
Mount Sinai senior defensive back Matthew LoMonaco breaks up a pass play in the Mustangs semi-final playoff win at home Nov. 15. Photo by Bill Landon
Mount Sinai senior defensive back Philip Johnson #10 breaks up the play in the Mustangs semi-final playoff win against Babylon Nov. 15. Bill Landon photo
Mount Sinai linebacker Ryan Jones puts a hit on the Babylon QB in the Mustangs semi-final playoff win at home Nov. 15. Photo by Bill Landon
The No. 1 seeded Mustangs of Mount Sinai outran Babylon, the No. 4 seed, in the Division IV semi-final round overwhelming their opponent 28-6 to punch their ticked to the County Championship. Mount Sinai quarterback Brandon Ventarola led the way for the Mustangs with two rushing touchdowns and a 45-yard touchdown pass to Derek Takacs. Sophomore Joseph Spallina scored on short yardage to keep the Mustang’s undefeated record intact at 10-0.
The County Championship will be a rematch of week five where Mount Sinai will replay the No. 2 seeded Wildcats of Shoreham Wading River at Stony Brook University Sunday, Nov. 24 at 1 p.m. Tickets at the gate are $10.00 or are available for $8.00 online here: https://gofan.co/app/school/NYSPHSAAXI
Indian Hills Country Club. File photo by Sara-Megan Walsh
Officials in the Town of Huntington have scheduled a special cluster development hearing for Nov. 20 on The Preserve at Indian Hills. The draft environmental impact statement hearing ended Nov. 5, but concerns continue.
The 55-and-over housing development is proposed to be built on the Indian Hills Golf Course in Northport and have 98 town houses, a new fitness center and an expanded clubhouse alongside the existing golf course.
The special subdivision hearing was scheduled due to the public’s high level of interest in the project. The draft environmental impact hearing was held in September, and typically that would have been the only hearing for the environmental impact report and its subdivision application. The planning board scheduled a separate public hearing in an effort to provide transparency and extend more time for the public to submit comments, according to town officials.
Other project updates include the town voting to hire an outside consultant for the environmental review process on Oct. 10. Melville-based engineering firm AECOM will be tasked in assisting the planning board in evaluating the environmental impact statement.
John Hayes, president of the Fort Salonga Property Owners Association, said they are anxious for the next stage in Preserve’s development process.
“We were glad the town extended the public comment period, the more input we can put in the better,” he said.
The association sent in 180 pages of input to the town planning board.
Critics of the development have pointed to environmental impacts and negative effects on property values, as well as concerns on watershed quality and the surrounding wetlands.
“Not much has changed [since the last hearing]. It is still overwhelmingly opposed by residents,” Hayes said. “There are pollution and environmental issues from the DEIS [Draft Environmental Impact Statement] that the developers need to understand.”
The president of the association also was concerned about the eroding bluffs near the proposed development.
Previously, the group asked town officials to place a moratorium on new developments in the Crab Meadow Watershed area, which includes Indian Hills. Others have urged the planning board to complete the Crab Meadow Watershed study before making any conclusions on the project.
“We’re hopeful that the planning board will listen to our concerns,” Hayes said.
After the preliminary subdivision hearing, there will be a final environmental impact statement hearing and then a final subdivision hearing. The planning board cannot vote on the development until the environmental statement process is complete. The application review period will extend into 2020, according to town officials.
Many battling the autoimmune disease APS type 1 and their families, above, are shown attending a symposium at Stony Brook University in 2017 organized by Dave and Sherri Seyfert of Stony Brook. Photo from the Seyferts
By Leah Chiappino
After a house fire this summer, one Stony Brook family learned a valuable lesson.
“People come first, things a distant second,” Dave Seyfert said.
Firefighters respond to a fire at the Seyferts’ home in July. Photos from the Seyferts
He and his wife Sherri are two of the founders of the APS Type 1 Foundation, which aims to make physicians more aware of the rare disorder. APS type 1 is a rare autoimmune disease that affects one in two million people in the United States.
The couple arrived home one day to the house fire shortly after the foundation’s third symposium in National Harbor, Maryland, in July. The family is currently renting a house and is hoping to return to their own home in a few months.
The Seyferts said that their spirits were not diminished by the tragedy, in which everyone, including the family dog, was safe, because they are pleased with the research and outcome of the symposium. When discussing how well they were coping, Dave Seyfert said, “APS puts things in perspective. When you have a child that’s sick your whole world stops. Nothing else is important — it doesn’t matter what you look like or if you’ve slept.”
He added in a follow-up email, “Sherri and I also share a deep faith in God which again helps put things in perspective.”
As reported by TBR News Media in 2017, the Seyferts’ son, Matthew, was diagnosed with autoimmune polyglandular syndrome type 1, known as APS-1, in 2006. The condition causes vitamin D, which provides calcium to the bones and muscles, to have a difficult time metabolizing. While symptoms can include bone mass problems, cramping and an irregular heartbeat, all patients are plagued with Addison’s disease, hyperthyroidism and candidiasis.
According to Dave Seyfert, APS-1 is unique among other genetic disorders because there is only one gene mutation, so researchers think there is a link to discovering cures for other autoimmune diseases, such as diabetes.
The symposiums are meant to be a haven for APS-1 research, as well as a meetup for families and patients to build a community of support.
“There are a lot of families going through a rare diagnosis, and you feel like you are all by yourself,” Dave Seyfert said. “We want to share with other families that it’s amazing what we achieved [in terms of research] by working together.”
“We want to keep going until we find every APS patient.”
— Sherri Seyfert
The foundation, whose mission involves research, education and raising awareness, became a 501(c)(3) in 2014. That was eight years since the Seyferts had started hosting basket raffles. Also, Todd and Heather Talarico of New Jersey, the former being the current foundation president, organized their first golf outing in 2006 that raised approximately $35,000 for the National Organization for Rare Disorders, known as NORD, which was used to grant research. According to Sherri Seyfert the foundation recently funded its seventh research grant for $100,000 through NORD, which takes the organization’s grant funding to more than $500,000.
Two board members, Robin Finch and Jennifer Orange, both of whom have a child with APS-1, joined in 2016, after the foundation held its first symposium, which was located in Toronto in 2015.
“Researchers from all over the world came and spoke on APS type 1,” Sherri Seyfert said. “It was the first time this community of patients and families were able to come together and met each other.”
A second symposium in 2017 was hosted personally by the Seyferts at Stony Brook University.
The board has grown to its current six members and, in addition, they have quarterly conference calls with physicians from all over the world so they can collaborate.
Dave Seyfert said he is pleased with the outreach of the foundation. He said Todd Talarico was on the TV show “Mystery Diagnosis,” and a grandmother watching realized her granddaughter suffered from the disease. An American serviceman stationed in Italy was in the hospital with his son and, upon doing research, came across the foundation’s website and realized his son had APS-1. Patients at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital were diagnosed upon a doctor reading a research article on APS-1 written by physicians all over the world, who connected at past symposiums and were published in The New England Journal of Medicine. The article was funded by the foundation.
Furthermore, NORD has granted the foundation funding for a comprehensive study of APS-1, logging patients and their symptoms. While 95 percent of the condition is treatable, experts estimate that a thousand patients are living
undiagnosed.
“We want to keep going until we find every APS patient,” Sherri Seyfert said. “People pass away from not knowing, and so many struggle with so many health issues and organ damages for years because they are not diagnosed quickly enough.”
Finch, a California-based attorney who was assisted by Todd Talarico in getting her daughter diagnosed, is the foundation’s recording secretary and feels as though she owes a lot to the Seyferts.
“The passion and the time and energy they gave to the symposium at Stony Brook was just invaluable,” Finch said. “They’re both just the kind people who try so much to make Matthew and other kids’ lives better. Dave, in particular, feels so deeply about things, and his commitment to my family and the disease’s community is so incredible. They’re the heart and soul of this group.”
Orange, the foundation’s vice president, added praise for the Seyferts.
“The Seyferts are community builders and have a great way of bringing people together and getting people to realize what a community can do,” she said.
Carolyn and Rich Mora stand inside Mora’s Fine Wine & Spirits. Rich Mora holds a bottle of bourbon made specially for the store’s 30th anniversary. Photo by Rita J. Egan
What started as an interest in wine has led to a store that has become a staple in the Three Village area.
On Nov. 30, Rich Mora will celebrate 30 years as owner of Mora’s Fine Wine & Spirits. His wife of 16 years Carolyn, a retired children’s librarian who helps her husband run the store, credits its success to Mora’s passion for locating smaller production wines and different spirits customers tell him about. She said patrons, many of whom find the store through its website, come from all over including a gentleman recently all the way from Tennessee.
“We have great customers, but basically it’s Rich’s passion for fine wine and for staying his course and not selling out to big companies,” she said. “I’m very proud of him. Thirty years is a big thing. It’s all about community here.”
The exterior of Mora’s Fine Wine & Spirits
Mora’s Fine Wine & Spirits continues the legacy of a liquor store at the location of 280 Route 25A in East Setauket. Mora said in 1989 he bought the building from Robert Eikov, who was in his 80s at the time and also ran a liquor store. The Eikov family lived in the area for decades, and elder Eikov originally opened a cut-to-order butcher shop at the location. Three Village Historical Society historian Beverly Tyler said Eikov, along with his wife Blanche, constructed the building shortly after they were married sometime in the 1930s, and lived in an apartment at the rear of the store. Decades later, Eikov reopened his business as a liquor store.
“Robert Eikov told me that he was having trouble cutting meat due to the cold temperature and because his hands were not as flexible as in his youth, so he had to give up the butcher shop,” Tyler said.
Today the building looks pretty much the same as it did when Eikov owned it, Mora said, even including a green awning and a neon liquor sign that has been there since 1965.
The store owner said he didn’t set out thinking he would own a wine store, even though he always felt like he would work for himself. Born in Central America, he grew up in Larchmont in Westchester County, and after going to college for a while in Oregon he decided to study at Stony Brook University. He holds an undergraduate degree in physics, but while studying at SBU, he decided to take a formal wine class and became interested in the art of fine wines. He started teaching after college but the wine tasting classes stuck with him, and he began researching how to acquire a liquor license and setting up the business itself before he bought the building he is in today.
While he was studying at SBU, Mora said the area reminded him a lot of Larchmont, where he lived near the Long Island Sound. He added he always loved the water, beaches and boating.
“It felt a lot like home here,” he said.
When it comes to running a successful business, Mora said a store owner needs to constantly reinvent the business as rules, shipping laws and the business world are constantly changing.
Through the years, Mora has offered events, such as tastings, for his customers as he said the universe of wine keeps expanding, and with the increased number of spirits brands out there, interest has grown.
“This community is very responsive to that,” he said. “They like to discover exciting new wines. They like our events. They like the people from the wine business that we introduce them to.”
To celebrate the store’s milestone, the Moras recently had a bourbon whiskey specially made by Garrison Brothers Distillery in Texas. The couple tasted samples to choose what they felt best represented the store. Rich Mora described it as “a honey barrel,” and bottles are available at the shop for purchase for a limited time.
Mock-up of the sign the Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce hopes its members will put up in their windows promoting inclusivity. Image from Barbara Ransome
Little more than a month after the Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce and Stony Brook University hosted a cultural humility panel for businesses, chamber members are looking to make good on a promise to promote the village as open to all.
Director of operations for the Port Jeff chamber, Barbara Ransome, announced it had produced placards for its member businesses to put in their windows reading, “All are welcome here.”
The item came as a suggestion from experts from SBU who presented in front of chamber members Sept. 24, and said simply putting a sign on a business noting it was open to all goes a long way toward making visitors feel welcome.
“We’re supporting being open and welcoming,” the chamber director said.
From left, Leg. Tom Muratore; partners Nick Haviaras, Peter Dilis, Corey Catechis, Gus Catechis and George Dilis of MVC Properties; and Councilman Kevin LaValle. Photo by Heidi Sutton
By Heidi Sutton
Local officials, members of the Centereach Civic Association, Middle Country Chamber of Commerce, family and friends were on hand to celebrate the grand opening ribbon cutting of MVC Properties’ latest venture − New Village Plaza in Centereach − on Nov. 2.
Above, Gus Catechis, center, accepts Certificates of Congratulations from Councilman LaValle on behalf of the Town of Brookhaven and Legislature Muratore on behalf of Suffolk County. Photo by Heidi Sutton
Located at 1707-1759 Middle Country Road across from McDonald’s, the shopping center will have over 75,000 square feet of space when the project is completed over two phases. Tenants include an Arby’s, Wingstop, an AT&T store, Swolehouse, Brownstones Coffee and Pacfe Nail & Spa. Cabo Fresh, Voodoo Crab and ProHealth are soon to follow.
Gus Catechis of MVC Properties thanked the community, Councilman Kevin LaValle, Legislator Tom Muratore and Diane Caudullo of the Centereach Civic Association before cutting the ribbon. “I just want you to know how grateful I am for all the support you gave me from the very beginning and to everyone who made this a reality,” he said.
“This special project has been a long time coming. We took something that was a blight in our area and Gus put the time in, put the money in, really giving back to the community to build this great shopping center that we have here with great brand names. It’s really going to be something we are proud of here in Centereach,” said Councilman LaValle, adding “This grand opening shows once again that Brookhaven is open for business.”
“I am always happy to support new businesses in our community, and an entire shopping center is a home run for the local economy,” said Leg. Muratore. “Congratulations to the owners, MVC Properties. We are happy to welcome them to our business community.”
Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Orange-Balsamic Vinaigrette
By Barbara Beltrami
Autumn brings with it a plethora of veggies that we too often think we have to cook to death in soups, stews and casseroles. But greens like kale, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower make a nice base for a salad. Root veggies like beets and carrots add color while nuts and seeds give a whole new dimension to salad dressings. Add autumn fruits with or without your favorite lettuces and you’ve got a great main or side dish. Add some protein like chicken, beans, salmon, shrimp or cheese and you’ve got a healthful one-dish meal, if you want. And there’s no reason you can’t try them with the dressing of your choice instead of the ones here.
Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Orange-Balsamic Vinaigrette
Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Orange-Balsamic Vinaigrette
YIELD: Makes 6 servings
INGREDIENTS:
Nonstick cooking spray
3 to 4 medium beets, washed, trimmed, peeled and cut into quarters
12 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 tablespoon minced red onion
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 cups baby arugula
2/3 cup crumbled goat cheese
½ cup chopped toasted walnuts
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400 F. Spray shallow baking pan with nonstick cooking spray; add beets, garlic, thyme and 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil; toss to coat thoroughly, then roast, turning once or twice, until beets are tender, about 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven. When beets reach room temperature, dice them. In medium bowl, whisk together remaining oil, vinegar, orange juice, zest, onion, mustard, and salt and pepper; add beet mixture; toss to thoroughly coat. Line salad plates with arugula; heap beet mixture evenly on top; sprinkle with goat cheese and walnuts. Serve immediately at room temperature with meat, poultry or a hearty soup.
Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Baby Spinach and Apple Cider Dressing
YIELD: Makes 8 servings
INGREDIENTS:
3 pounds butternut squash, peeled and diced
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
1½ cups apple cider
¼ cup cider vinegar
¼ cup minced shallot
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
½ pound baby spinach, washed and patted dry
3 sweet-tart apples, peeled, cored, diced and tossed with freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400 F. In a very large bowl toss the squash cubes with the quarter cup of olive oil, brown sugar and salt and pepper. Spread evenly on baking sheet and roast for 15 to 20 minutes, until squash is tender. Meanwhile in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat combine the cider, vinegar, shallot, and salt and pepper and bring to a boil; cook for about 6 minutes until liquid is reduced by half. Let cool a little, then add mustard and cup of olive oil. Let cool completely. Line a platter or large bowl with spinach; add squash; drain apples and place on top of squash; sprinkle with almonds and cheese, if using. Serve at room temperature with a meat, poultry, soup or pasta.
Brussels Sprout, Pear and Kale Salad with Mustard-Honey Vinaigrette
YIELD: Makes 8 to 10 servings
INGREDIENTS:
3 firm Anjou pears, peeled, cored and sliced into half-inch wedges
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 large bunches lacinato kale, center stem removed and leaves cut into thin strips
12 ounces fresh Brussels sprouts, trimmed and thinly sliced
2 cups dried cranberries
1 garlic clove
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
¼ cup white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS:
In a small bowl toss the pear slices with the lemon juice; remove pears and reserve lemon juice for another use, if desired. In a large bowl toss together the pears, kale, Brussels sprouts and cranberries. Cover with plastic wrap and chill to up to 4 hours until ready to serve, then remove from fridge and let sit at room temperature 30 minutes. Meanwhile in small bowl whisk together the garlic, oil, mustard, honey, vinegar and salt and pepper; let sit at least an hour, then remove garlic and toss dressing with salad. Serve at room temperature with poultry, meat or casserole.
Andrew Cerquira, left, plays midfield for the Patriots boys soccer team. Photo by John Dielman
This season Patriots soccer player Ben Perez, No. 26, played with an injury. Photo by John Dielman
The season may be over for the Patriots boys varsity soccer team, but they have a lot to be proud of this fall.
On Oct. 29 Ward Melville, the No. 15 seed, made it to the first round of the playoffs where the Patriots took on Commack, the No. 2 seed. This year marked the second year in a row that the boys soccer team made it to the playoffs. The Patriots lost the game, 3-1, against the eventual losing finalists. Ward Melville ended the season in third place in League I at 6-4-2 and 6-7-2 overall.
Despite the Suffolk AA playoff elimination, the team had some high points this season.
Senior Christian Bell, a co-captain who played defense, said a highlight of the year was when the Patriots were on the road playing against Patchogue-Medford on their rival’s senior night. Ward Melville scored a winning goal to make it 2-1 with under two minutes remaining. Another memorable event for Bell was during the playoff game against Commack when they tied 1-1. He listed senior midfielder Sean McNight and sophomore forward Sean LaPeters as standout players.
Sean McNight, No. 8, became co-captain mid-season for the Ward Melville Patriots. Photo by John Dielman
“McNight did all the right things and was one of the hardest working players on the field,” Bell said. “Sean LaPeters is two years younger so he’s a sophomore, being not as big and as old as the other guys, but he really stepped up big this year for us.”
Giancarlo Serratore, another of the team’s co-captains who was a wide midfielder, also named Sean McNight as one of the top players. Midseason, McNight joined his fellow seniors as one of the team captains.
“He was really consistent at every
game,” Serratore said. “He went out there and played well.”
For Serratore, the highlight of the past soccer season was a win at home, 4-3, against William Floyd Oct. 16. He said the Patriots needed a couple of wins to get to the playoffs at that point, and they had lost to the school earlier in the season. He said the team enjoyed the win especially since their rivals had a big celebration after they beat the Patriots just weeks earlier.
Both Bell and Serratore said they admired Ben Perez for playing this season despite a hip injury. Serratore said the senior defense member showed a lot of courage for his teammates by playing through the pain.
Sean LaPeters, No. 27, has been one of the sophomores on varsity. Photo by John Dielman
Serratore said his team worked well together during the season full of ups and downs.
“I thought the team persevered well throughout the year so I’m proud of the boys,” he said.
Linda Ward, whose son Zack plays defensive, said she has been watching the games for the last two years, and the team’s defensive line, which includes her son, Perez, Bell and Jason Flynn, deserves a shout-out due to their calm temperaments and skills at tracking the ball and anticipating the play.
“They held the line and kept almost every game within one goal,” she said. “They played like a well-oiled machine.”
Both Bell and Serratore said they will miss playing with their team members when they graduate from Ward Melville in June after playing with them for years.
“It was such a great team, and I couldn’t ask for a better team,” Bell said.
Aventura in Commack was cited by feds for allegedly giving Chinese-made technology to the U.S. Govt. Photos from U.S. Attorney’s Office
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is charging a Commack company, Aventura Technologies Inc., and seven current and former employees with allegedly selling Chinese-made electronic equipment with known cybersecurity vulnerabilities to the federal government and private customers, while falsely representing the equipment as made in the United States.
Yacht seized from the owners of Commack business Aventura. Photos from U.S. Attorney’s Office
The individual defendants charged in the alleged scheme include Northport residents Jack Cabasso, Aventura’s managing director and de facto owner and operator, and his wife Frances Cabasso, purported owner and chief executive officer. The Cabassos were also charged with money laundering proceeds from the alleged schemes and fraud for falsely representing Frances Cabasso as chief executive of Aventura to gain access to government contracts set aside for women-owned small businesses. The government froze approximately $3 million in 12 financial accounts that contain proceeds from the alleged unlawful conduct and seized the Cabassos’ 70-foot luxury yacht Tranquilo, which was moored in the gated community where the Cabassos reside.
“As alleged, the defendants falsely claimed for years that their surveillance and security equipment was manufactured on Long Island, padding their pockets with money from lucrative contracts without regard for risk to the country’s national security posed by secretly peddling made-in-China electronics with known cyber vulnerabilities,” stated U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Richard Donoghue in a release.
In addition to Aventura and the Cabassos, the company’s senior executives Jonathan Lasker of Port Jefferson Station, Christine Lavonne Lazarus of Shirley and Eduard Matulik of North Massapequa were charged in the complaint, along with Wayne Marino of Rocky Point, a current employee, and Alan Schwartz of Smithtown, a recently retired employee.
If convicted, the defendants each face up to 20 years imprisonment on each charge of the complaint, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. No trial dates have been set, according to John Marzulli in the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The attorney for Frances Cabasso was out of town. Jack Cabasso’s attorney did not respond before press time to messages left on his answering machine.
Equipment labeled with the Aventura logo. Photos from U.S. Attorney’s Office
“With the arrests, the defendants’ brazen deceptions and fraud schemes have been exposed, and they will face serious consequences for slapping phony ‘Made in the U.S.A.’ labels on products that our armed forces and sensitive government facilities depend upon,” Donoghue said.
Case documents state that the company lied to its customers, including the U.S. military, for more than a decade. Aventura reportedly generated more than $88 million in sales revenue from November 2010 and the charged scheme has allegedly been ongoing since 2006.
“Greed is at the heart of this scheme, a reprehensible motive when the subjects in this case allegedly put into question the security of men and women who don uniforms each day to protect our nation,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William Sweeney Jr.
The money laundering scheme allegedly entailed siphoning illegal profits out of the company through a network of shell companies and intermediaries, including transferring hundreds of thousands, and in some cases, millions of dollars into an attorney escrow account belonging to an unnamed Long Island-based law firm, where the funds were used to purchase homes, in some cases for relatives.
The FBI has established an email hotline for potential victims. Anyone with information regarding Aventura’s alleged crimes or anyone who believes they have been a victim can send an email to [email protected].
Enrico Scarda, owner of Danfords, with Jami Cohen at the fundraiser for her sister. Photo by Julianne Mosher
By Julianne Mosher
The Brookhaven Ballroom at Danfords was filled with hundreds of people to celebrate and support one of their own this week through the family’s bout with cancer.
Dara Cohen. photo from Dara’s GoFundMe health fund
Dara Cohen, originally of Dix Hills, has been living under the weight of cancer for years, battling Stage 4 breast, brain and lung cancer, and now friends said it has metastasized in her lower spinal cord. The actress and professional dancer works as a ballet teacher when she feels up to it, but the disease has had a lasting effect.
It was just a few months ago when Dara Cohen’s sister, Jami, who bartends at the hotel in PJ, came to work and asked her managers if they could help her create a fundraiser.
The goal was to raise $100,000 for the 46-year-old dancer, singer and actress.
“They immediately said yes,” Jami Cohen, of Port Jefferson, said. “I couldn’t ask for better people to work with.”
On Monday, Nov. 11, Danfords donated its space upstairs and an extensive menu at its buffet to the Cohen family.
“Obviously it’s an unbelievable cause,” Enrico Scarda, owner of Danfords, said, “And we do whatever we can to support our employees.”
Lamar Peters with Gail King and Shelly Cohen. Photo by Julianne Mosher
A DJ blasted music while people mingled. Lamar Peters, a tribute artist known for his Elvis, Johnny Cash and Buddy Holly impersonations, came out to play, and over 100 gifts were donated to the raffle table.
“All of us are here to unite and break course for Dara,” Dara’s father Shelly Cohen said. “We’re looking to make a difference and these people are coming out to help our daughter.”
Tickets were $40 for the three-hour event and the outcome was a huge success. Although Dara couldn’t be in attendance, she video-called in and was grateful for the response given in her honor.
Known for her popular social media posts chronicling her journey, Dara’s goal has been to help other people struggling as well.
“She’s an amazing person,” Dara’s mother Karen Deangelis, said. “Dara has made an impact on other people and has a tremendous amount of support … Hopefully we can help other people, too.”
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