Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Suffolk County Police Sixth Precinct Crime Section officers are seeking the public’s help to identify and locate the woman who allegedly stole merchandise from an East Setauket store in November.
A woman allegedly stole LEGO sets from Walmart, located at 3990 Nesconset Highway, on November 15 at approximately 12:45 p.m.
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.
County Legislator Steven J. Flotteron (R-LD-11.) Courtesy www.facebook.com/steveflotteron
Suffolk County Legislator and Deputy Presiding Officer Steven J. Flotteron (R-LD-11) commended his colleagues for their collaborative work in revising and approving the County Executive’s 2025 operating budget last week. Flotteron, who chaired the Operating Budget Working Group, said the changes reflect bipartisan priorities and sound fiscal planning.
The amended $4 billion budget does not alter the overall fiscal balance but adjusts spending and revenue by $8.3 million. This includes a $1 million reduction in 2024 and a $9.3 million increase in 2025 offset by higher projected revenue for both years.
“County Executive Romaine’s budget was fair and responsible,” Flotteron said. “It addressed our needs without relying on the financial gimmicks used in the past.”
Flotteron noted that previous budgets leaned on unreliable revenue sources referred to as “one-shots” and overly optimistic projections. He credited the County Executive for improving Suffolk’s financial standing which has already earned two bond rating upgrades this year. “This reflects the same approach he used in Brookhaven where he raised the town’s bond rating to triple-A,” Flotteron said.
The Legislature unanimously approved the budget changes which fixed overstated revenue, corrected understated expenses and addressed technical errors. The budget also added funding for legal aid, health facility maintenance, recreation programs, contracted agencies and legislative equipment. It included funding tied to Tax Anticipation Notes and capital projects funded by the Vanderbilt endowment.
The Legislature’s Budget Review Office adjusted revenue projections increasing the 2024 sales tax estimate and raising expected interest and earnings in 2025 to cover the net cost of these changes. The budget also distributed Hotel/Motel tax revenue to various agencies.
Flotteron highlighted the challenges of crafting a budget under tight constraints. “Staying under New York State’s 2% property tax cap is even more impressive given rising pension costs, higher health insurance and prescription drug expenses and the loss of $8 million from red light camera revenue,” he said.
He said the budget prioritizes public safety including hiring new police officers, improving cybersecurity after the 2022 ransomware attack and investing in employee recruitment and retention.
“This budget reflects our commitment to public safety, maintaining a strong workforce and supporting vital community services,” Flotteron said. “With two bond rating upgrades already this year, Suffolk County is heading in the right direction.”
Update: Arthur Ziomek, the man who was injured in a fire at his Middle Island home on November 20,
has died.
Below is the original press release:
Suffolk County Police Arson Section detectives are investigating a fire that seriously injured a man in
Middle Island on Nov. 20.
Seventh Precinct officers responded to 35 Monet Court on November 20 at 8:12 p.m. after a 911 caller
reported a fire at the location. An elderly man, Arthur Ziomek, 79, was located in the home and transported to Stony Brook University Hospital for treatment of serious injuries.
A preliminary investigation determined the cause of the fire to be non-criminal in nature.
Detectives are asking anyone with information on the fire to call the Arson Section at 631-852-6024.
A unique aspect of the whale is that the public will be able to step inside to view its internal organs. Photo courtesy of the Whaling Museum
The Whaling Museum & Education Center of Cold Spring Harbor hasannounced the new fabrication and acquisition of a life-size inflatable whale, which will travel to locations across Long Island in a new “Whale on Wheels” educational program.
This will be the only whale of its kind in the state of New York and will serve as a crucial educational tool to address the needs of children from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade in the museum’s traveling programs.
Photo courtesy of The Whaling Museum
The inflatable whale is a 45-foot Sperm Whale. A unique aspect of the whale is that the public will be able to step inside to view its internal organs. The inflatable is a custom piece fabricated by the company Landmark Creations in Minnesota, and will use pressurized air with a blower. The whale’s design was modeled utilizing multiple sperm whale images.
Museum educators will use the whale to bring the sperm whale’s story, history, and biology to life. Sperm whales are the largest of the toothed whales, and are found in all deep oceans worldwide. With their massive, square-shaped heads, adult males can weigh 90,000 to 100,000 pounds, which is more than 700 people combined. From the height of Yankee whaling in the 19th century through the 1970’s, sperm whales were heavily targeted by American and international whalers, pushing the whale to the brink of extinction. An international ban on whaling went into effect in 1987.
Today, sperm whale populations are still slow to recover, and are currently listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Sperm whales are threatened by vessel strikes, entanglement in fishing gear, marine debris ingestion, and other threats from human impacts on the ocean environment.
Similar to real whales, the inflatable whale is designed with realistic scars on its body, such as propeller scars on its tail, to help demonstrate the pressures whales face today.
Main support for this project comes from a $16,050 grant from The Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation, which primarily supports the study of Long Island history and its role in the American experience. Robert D. L. Gardiner was the 16th Lord of the Manor of Gardiner’s Island until his death in 2004. The Foundation is inspired by Gardiner’s personal passion for New York history.
“We are very thankful to the Gardiner Foundation for partnering with our Museum to enable our education team to provide schools and libraries with the greatest teaching tool of all — a traveling life-size whale,” noted Nomi Dayan, Executive Director of the museum.
Additional funding for this project comes from an Innovation Grant awarded from the Long Island Library Resources Council, which supports unique and new projects in cultural institutions in the region.
The whale will arrive at the museum at the end of November, and the museum plans to introduce the whale to the public in Spring 2025.
Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced on Nov. 21 that Brian Cordovano, 50, of Ronkonkoma, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for killing two men – Ian Saalfield, 45, of Lake Grove, and Robert Julian, 59, of Selden, in April 2022.
“Any justice obtained in this case does not allow Mr. Saalfield and Mr. Julian to see their families again, nor allow their families to say goodbye,” said District Attorney Tierney. “Justice does, however, allow us to keep a violent individual like this defendant from harming others for a long time. Today, we hope that this sentence brings some form of closure to the victims’ families and loved ones.”
On April 26, 2022, Saalfield was reported missing by his wife. She advised police that she last saw her husband the day before with Cordovano, his childhood friend. Saalfield’s wife saw her husband leave their home with Cordovano at approximately 8:00 p.m., when he drove off in Saalfield’s white 2015 Lexus. Saalfield never returned home.
A few days later, on May 2, 2022, law enforcement found Saalfield’s Lexus abandoned in a parking lot in Holtsville. On that same day, police responded to a call from a Ronkonkoma motel where Cordovano was suffering from an overdose.
While Cordovano was being transported to Stony Brook University Hospital, the Suffolk County Police Department was able to link a silver 2004 Toyota Corolla left in the motel parking lot to Cordovano. A registration check revealed that the car belonged to Robert Julian. Police responded to Julian’s home and found the bodies of Saalfield and Julian inside, each dead due to gunshot wounds to the head. Investigators later determined that Cordovano killed the two on April 25, 2022.
On October 9, 2024, Cordovano pleaded guilty before County Court Judge Stephen L. Braslow, to:
Two counts of Manslaughter in the First Degree, Class B violent felonies;
Three counts of Robbery in the First Degree, Class B violent felonies; and
Two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, Class C violent
felonies.
On November 20, 2024, Judge Braslow sentenced Cordovano to 30 years in prison. He was represented by Christopher Gioe, Esq.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Frank Schroeder of the Homicide Bureau, and the investigation was conducted by Detective Michael Repperger of the Suffolk County Police Department’s Homicide Squad.
Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Suffolk County Police Fourth Squad detectives are seeking the public’s help to identify and locate the man who allegedly committed a lewd act at a Commack store this month.
A man followed a female while allegedly committing a lewd act at Walmart, located at 85 Crooked Hill Road, on November 19 at approximately 3:55 p.m.
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.
Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Suffolk County Police Fifth Precinct Crime Section officers are seeking the public’s help to identify and locate the woman who allegedly stole merchandise from a Patchogue store.
A woman allegedly stole a Breville coffee machine, valued at approximately $300, from Home Goods, located at 499-1 Sunrise Highway, on October 30 at 11:20 a.m.
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 Stony Brook women’s basketball team held Yale to just 6.2 percent from deep in a 1-for-16 shooting performance on the way to a 62-48 victory over the Bulldogs at the historic John J. Lee Amphitheater in New Haven, C.T. on Nov. 15.
The Seawolves (2-1) had three players score in double figures, led by Janay Brantley, who scored a career-high 17 points, while adding seven rebounds. Zaida Gonzalez tacked on 15 points and six rebounds as Breauna Ware chipped in a career-high 14 points and two steals. Chloe Oliver also tallied a career-high nine points through 36 minutes of play. Brantley pulled down three offensive rebounds to lead an offense that racked up 12 second chance opportunities for Stony Brook, turning them into seven second chance points. Defensively, the Seawolves forced 17 Yale turnovers, and used those takeaways to score 13 points on the other end of the floor
“Proud of our fight and grit on the road against a very good Yale team. Road wins are never easy, and I’m happy we were able to keep our composure down the stretch and finish out the game. We were focused on getting stops on the defensive end, and I’m most proud of the multiple effort plays that disrupted their offense. This was a great step in continuing to build on our identity which centers around toughness,” noted head coach Joy McCorvey postgame.
The team celebrates their victory after Saturday's game. Photo courtesy of Stony Brook Athletics
The Stony Brook volleyball team earned a three-set sweep (25-22, 26-24, 25-19) against the Campbell Fighting Camels on Nov. 16 on the road at Gilbert Craig Gore Arena in Buies Creek N.C.
The victory moved the Seawolves’ record to 16-12 overall and 9-9 in CAA play to close out the regular season. Stony Brook would clinch their third-straight CAA postseason berth after securing the win.
Kali Moore finished with 14 kills on the day to lead the Seawolves as Abby Campbell, Leoni Kunz, Quinn Anderson, and Ayanna Pierre Louis each contributed to the Stony Brook attack. Defensively, Madison Cigna and Julia Patsos each tallied double figure digs with 16 and 11, respectively.
The team will head to Towson University for the CAA Championships beginning on Nov. 21. Stony Brook earned the No. 6 seed and will face the No. 3 seed with the race for the top spots still being determined in either Charleston, Delaware, Hofstra, or Towson. The match is set for 6 p.m. with coverage available on FloVolleyball.
ON FIRE: #3 CJ Luster scored 30 points during Saturday's game at Island Federal Credit Union Arena.
Photo courtesy of Stony Brook Athletics
CJ Luster scored 30 points to help lead the Stony Brook men’s basketball team over St. Joseph’s (L.I.), 93-45, at home on Nov. 16.
Luster added nine rebounds and two steals to his 30-point game to lead the Seawolves. Nick Woodard helped out with 11 points, eight rebounds and two blocks, while Joe Octave chipped in with 15 points.
Stony Brook’s defense held Saint Joseph’s (L.I.) to only 16 percent shooting from beyond the arc and 25.4 percent from the field.
After jumping out to a 13-9 advantage, Stony Brook went on a 9-0 run to increase its lead to 22-9. The Seawolves added eight points to that lead by the end of the period and entered halftime with a 40-19 advantage. Stony Brook did most of its first half damage in the paint, scoring 24 of its 40 points close to the basket.
Following the intermission, Stony Brook kept widening that lead, expanding it to 68-34 before going on a 7-0 run, finished off by Jeremiah Nyarko’s layup, to grow the lead to 75-34 with 9:18 to go in the contest.
The Seawolves kept expanding the margin and coasted the rest of the way for the 93-45 win. Stony Brook shot well from three-point range in the second half, connecting on eight shots from deep to account for 24 of its 53 second-half points.
“Good win for us. I thought that we played hard defensively… What we were looking for tonight was elite communication, elite huddles on free throws — we had that. We are still learning each other, we are trying to make each other better. We have a lot of good players. We’ll get there,” said head coach Geno Ford postgame.
Prev
