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Press Release

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Suffolk County Police Major Case Unit Detectives are investigating a bank robbery that occurred in Central Islip on May 30.

A man entered Bethpage Federal Credit Union, located at 233 South Research Place, at 9:36 a.m. and passed note to a teller demanding cash. The teller complied and the suspect fled on foot with cash northbound through the parking lot.

The robber was described 5 feet 6 to 5 feet 7 inches tall with dark skin. He was wearing sweatpants, a plaid hooded sweatshirt and a medical mask.

Detectives are asking anyone with information on the robbery to call the Major Case Unit at 631-852- 6555 or anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS.

Kara Vertucci stars as the rebellious Princess Ida in the Gilbert & Sullivan Light Opera Company of Long Island’s 2023 production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s Princess Ida. (Photo by NanMagna. Copyright 2023 The Gilbert & Sullivan Light Opera Company of Long Island.)

The battle of the sexes will break out into open warfare when the Gilbert & Sullivan Light Opera Company of Long Island brings its 2023 production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s classic Princess Ida to the Smithtown Performing Arts Center on Saturday, June 17, at 8 p.m.  The production will feature a 23-piece orchestra.

 Princess Ida—which debuted in 1884 at London’s Savoy opera, with book and lyrics by W.S. Gilbert and music by Arthur Sullivan—is a favorite with Gilbert & Sullivan aficionados, with its score in particular regarded as perhaps Sullivan’s greatest.  The current production is the Light Opera Company’s first since 2007.

More dramatic in tone than any other Gilbert & Sullivan work, c In the end the story boils down to whether the opera’s young people are doomed to grow into their parents, repeating all their mistakes, or if they can escape the machinations of their parents, move beyond hatred and violence, and forge a new future for themselves.

In the new production of the opera, Kara Vertucci of Lindenhurst plays Princess Ida and Joseph Anthony Smith of Freeport plays Prince Hilarion, with Chris Jurak of Brightwaters as King Gama and Ben Salers of Northport as King Hildebrand.  Lady Psyche is played by Patricia Gallagher of West Hempstead, and Lady Blanche by Terry Hochler of East Meadow, with Alyssa M. Mener of Massapequa Park as Melissa; Jordan Breslow of Bellmore plays Florian and Richard Risi of Locust Valley plays Cyril.  Ida’s brothers, the formidable Warriors Three, are played by Henry Horstmann of Lindenhurst (Arac), John Benvenuto of Floral Park (Guron) and Marc Eliot Stein of Brooklyn (Scynthius).  Tamara Shyngle of Brentwood plays Sacharissa, Claudia Arroyo of Port Washington is Chloe and Hanna Roth of Upper Brookville plays Ada.  The director is Gayden Wren, and the music director is Leonard Lehrman.

Princess Ida is unlike any other Gilbert & Sullivan opera,” said Wren, a longtime member of the company and also the author of an acclaimed book about Gilbert & Sullivan.  “It’s Shakespearean in its scope, and its humor—which combines farce, slapstick, satire and burlesque—is in the service of a story of unique emotional power.  Ida and Hilarion are two sides of the same coin, young aristocrats who’ve been pawns in their fathers’ rivalry almost since they were born.  The story pits them as enemies, but as the opera progresses they begin to see something of themselves in each other, and to sense the outlines of a future different from the one they’ve always been told awaits them.

“Ultimately this is a story of generational conflict, of young people trying to get past the mistakes and hatreds of their parents, trying to forge a new world they might actually live in together,” Wren concluded.  “When people ask me what it’s about, I say it’s about a prince, a princess and an arranged marriage … but also about climate change, racial and ethnic rivalries, inequality, social justice and pretty much anything else that’s going on in the world today.  It’s funny, it’s beautiful, but there’s no Gilbert & Sullivan story that’s more directly relevant to the world of today.”

Princess Ida will be presented on Saturday, June 17, at 8 p.m. at the Smithtown Performing Arts Center, 2 East Main Street in Smithtown.  Admission is $30, seniors and students $25.  For further information, call (516) 619-7415 or visit www.gaslocoli.org.

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Police car. Stock photo

Suffolk County Police Fourth Squad detectives are investigating a crash that killed a woman and seriously injured her passenger on May 29 in Islandia.

Erika Figueroa was driving a 2010 Ford Edge eastbound on the Long Island Expressway, between exit 58 and exit 59, with her boyfriend Juan Reyes in the front passenger seat, when the vehicle left the roadway, struck the center median, spun around, and struck the right guardrail at approximately 2:40 a.m.

Figueroa, 26, of Medford, was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital where she was
pronounced dead. Reyes, 34, of Medford, was transported to the same hospital for treatment of serious injuries. The vehicle was impounded for a safety check.

Detectives are asking anyone with information on the crash to contact the Fourth Squad at 631-854-8452.

The Jazz Loft

The Jazz Loft, 275 Christian Ave., Stony Brook will present three special performances of Duke Ellington’s Far East Suite by The Jazz Loft Big Band on Thursday, June 1; Friday, June 2; and Saturday, June 3.

The Far East Suite is a 1967 concept album by Ellington, inspired by his group’s 1963 tour of Asia. Ellington and longtime collaborator Billy Strayhorn wrote the compositions. The album won the Grammy Award in 1968. The concerts are sponsored in part by the Olivia and Harlan Fischer Concert series and a grant from New York State Council on the Arts.

“Here at the Jazz Loft, we are always striving to bring our audience unique and significant works of Jazz and to keep those works alive and well,” said Tom Manuel, founder of the Jazz Loft. “Duke Ellington’s Far East Suite is the result of an ambitious tour that the band undertook back in the 60’s. I am excited to be sharing this work nearly 60 years after it won a Grammy award.”

All three performances of the Far East Suite will be at 7 p.m. Tickets are $40 adults, $35 seniors, $30 students and $25 children. To order, visit www.thejazzloft.org.

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Shyma Dahoui

Updated on May 27: Shyma Dahoui has been located, unharmed.

Below is the original press release:

Suffolk County Police Seventh Squad detectives are seeking the public’s help to locate a Ridge teenager who was reported missing on May 24.

Shyma Dahoui, 15, of Valley Forge Court, was last seen in front of her home on Wednesday, May 24 at approximately 6 p.m. She was reported missing by family yesterday at 7:58 p.m.
Dahoui is a Black female, approximately 5 feet tall and 115 pounds. She has black hair and brown eyes and was last seen wearing gray sweatpants and a gray sweatshirt.

Detectives are asking anyone with information on her location to contact the Seventh Squad at 631-852-6751 or 911.

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Do you recognize this man? Photo from SCPD

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Suffolk County Police Fourth Precinct Crime Section officers are seeking the public’s help to identify and locate a man who allegedly stole from a Ronkonkoma store in May.

A man allegedly stole alcohol from Lake Liquor, located at 299 Hawkins Ave., at approximately
12:30 p.m. on May 20.

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward for information that leads to an
arrest. Anyone with information about these incidents can contact Suffolk County Crime
Stoppers to submit an anonymous tip by calling 1-800-220-TIPS, utilizing a mobile app
which can be downloaded through the App Store or Google Play by searching P3 Tips, or
online at www.P3Tips.com. All calls, text messages and emails will be kept confidential.

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Police car

Suffolk County Police Seventh Squad detectives are investigating a motor vehicle crash that killed a motorcyclist in Rocky Point on May 25.

Timothy Ross was operating a 2007 Honda motorcycle southbound on Rocky Point Yaphank Road, north of Whisky Road, when the motorcycle struck rumble strips on the edge of the roadway, causinghim to lose control of the vehicle, which left the roadway and crashed into a tree, at 10:52 p.m.

Ross, 19, of Shirley, was pronounced dead at the scene by a physician assistant from the Office of theSuffolk County Medical Examiner. The motorcycle was impounded for a safety check and the investigation is continuing. Detectives are asking anyone with information on the crash to contact the Seventh Squad at 631-852-8752.

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Joseph Scalafani. Photo from SCPD

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Suffolk County Police Homicide Squad detectives
are seeking the public’s help to locate a Mastic Beach man who is wanted for shooting a
man to death.

Joseph Scalafani shot Alex Smith in the parking lot of 373 Neighborhood Road in Mastic
Beach, on May 20 at approximately 2 a.m. Smith was pronounced dead at the scene.
Scalafani, 32, is known to frequent Mastic, Mastic Beach and Shirley.

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward for information that leads to an
arrest. Anyone with information about these incidents can contact Suffolk County Crime
Stoppers to submit an anonymous tip by calling 1-800-220-TIPS, utilizing a mobile app
which can be downloaded through the App Store or Google Play by searching P3 Tips, or
online at www.P3Tips.com. All calls, text messages and emails will be kept confidential.

The farmers market will be run by the Three Village Historical Society staff this year. Photo from TVHS

The Three Village Farmers Market is open for business!

Now in it’s 9th season, the market will reopen on the grounds of the Three Village Historical Society (TVHS), 93 North Country Road, Setauket on Friday, May 26 from 3 to 7 p.m. featuring a variety of vendors selling farm fresh produce, artisanal bread and cheese, freshly brewed coffee and tea, local honey, nuts and spices, jams and jellies, baked treats, handcrafted goods, prepared foods, free hands-on activities for children and much more.

Tours of the Bayles-Swezey House circa 1805 featuring two current exhibits Spies! and Chicken Hill: A Community Lost To Time will also be offered free of charge.

The market will be run by the Three Village Historical Society this year, succeeding Linda Johnson, who has served as the market’s manager for the past eight years. 

“We look forward to stepping into our new role and continuing to grow this local treasure in the heart of the Three Village community,” said TVHS Director Mari Irizarry. With the continued support of the community and sponsors like Apple Bank, Brookhaven Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich, and Miller Mohr & Kelly Design Group, Irizarry knows that the market’s 9th year will stand out as a great one. 

The Three Village Farmers Market will be held every Friday from 3 to 7 p.m. through Sept. 1 and then from Sept. 8 to Oct. 27 from 2 to 6 p.m. Interested vendors can email [email protected]. For more information, call 631-751-3730 or visit www.tvhs.org.

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Photo from TOB Dan Panico Facebook

Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced on May 24 that Fabio Monasterolo, 51, and his wife, Judith Monasterolo, 55, of Holbrook, are accused of unlawfully disposing of broken cinderblocks and concrete in the Town of Brookhaven near tidal wetlands.

“Using our precious wetlands as a personal junkyard is as selfish as it is destructive,” said District Attorney Tierney. “This flagrant abuse of our delicate ecosystem is a crime against our wildlife and every law-abiding taxpayer who supports these public lands.”

“Illegal dumping in our wetlands is a crime in the Town of Brookhaven that we take very seriously. Those who commit these crimes will be caught, charged and prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” said Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Edward Romaine. “I commend the brave actions of the resident who took it upon themselves to photograph and report this activity to the Suffolk County Police. Together, we are committed to protecting our environment and we will not tolerate illegal dumping happening anywhere in the Town.”

“DEC does not tolerate illegal dumping of any kind particularly in Long Island’s ecologically important wetland areas,” said New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos. “This joint effort by DEC Environmental Conservation Police Officers and Investigators, the town of Brookhaven, and detectives from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Biological, Environmental, and Animal Safety Team is a prime example of how joint cooperation between state and local law enforcement agencies can hold polluters accountable.”

According to the investigation, on April 23, 2023, at approximately 2:03 p.m., the Monasterolos were observed allegedly illegally dumping solid waste, which included broken chunks of concrete and cinderblocks, from their black Dodge Ram pick-up truck, into the wetlands adjacent to the intersection of Jefferson Drive and Grove Road in Mastic Beach. That intersection and the surrounding areas are owned by the Town of Brookhaven and abut a tidal wetland. When a witness saw what the defendants were doing, she began taking several photographs of the couple and the waste that they had dumped. Defendant Judith Monasterolo, who was in the passenger seat of the Dodge Ram, allegedly then gave this witness two middle fingers as Fabio Monasterolo drove them away from the scene.

Pursuant to the District Attorney’s Quality-of-Life Town Coalition initiative, Brookhaven Town Officials contacted the District Attorney’s Office and provided the photographic evidence and information regarding the dumping crime. Detectives from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Biological, Environmental, and Animal Safety Team (BEAST) immediately began an investigation. The defendants were subsequently arrested on May 1, 2023. The Town of Brookhaven initiated the remediation of the protected site.

On May 23, 2023, both defendants were arraigned on the charges by the Honorable Mary Mullen for the crimes of Criminal Mischief in the Third Degree, a Class E felony, and multiple related Environmental Conservation violations. Under current New York State law, the offenses charged are not considered bail eligible, so the defendants were released on their own recognizance. The defendants are due back in court on June 13, 2023. Fabio Monasterolo and Judith Monasterolo are being represented by Jorge Macias, Esq.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney John Sciandra of the Biological, Environmental, and Animal Safety Team (BEAST), with investigative assistance from Suffolk County BEAST Detective Walter Justinic, DEC Environmental Conservation Officer Timothy Day, and DEC Environmental Conservation Investigator Jeremy Eastwood.