Tags Posts tagged with "Arrest"

Arrest

Suffolk County police car. File photo

Suffolk County Police arrested a Selden man on Jan. 20 at approximately 6:15 p.m. for three alleged robberies that occurred in Huntington Station during an eight-day span.

Following an investigation by Second Squad detectives and Second Precinct Gang Unit officers, Kristian Falterman was arrested on January 20 for allegedly committing three robberies between January 11 and January 19.

Falterman forcibly stole money and two cell phones from an employee at Sugar Pine Spa, located at 953 New York Ave. in Huntington Station, on January 11 at approximately 11:15 a.m. One week later, Falterman returned to the location, armed with a knife, and stole money from an employee on January 18 at approximately 8:40 p.m. The following day, Falterman robbed an employee of cash at knifepoint at Venom Smoke Shop, located at 469A East Jericho Turnpike in Huntington Station, at approximately 9:10 p.m.

No one was injured during the robberies.

Falterman, 40, of 95 Abinet Court, was charged with two counts of Robbery 1st Degree and one count of Robbery 3rd Degree. He is scheduled to be arraigned today at First District Court in Central Islip.

A criminal charge is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

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Stock photo

Suffolk County Police arrested a woman for unlicensed massages during a raid at a massage parlor in Miller Place, Tuesday, Sept. 21. 

In response to numerous community complaints, 6th Precinct Crime Section officers, in conjunction with Town of Brookhaven Building Inspector, Town Fire Marshal and Town Investigator conducted an investigation at This Oasis Spa, located at 595 Route 25A, Suite 20, Miller Place, at approximately 8:45 p.m.

Guping Duan, 52, of Flushing, Queens, was charged with two counts of Unauthorized Practice of a Profession, a Class E Felony under the New York State Education Law. She is scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on October 8, 2021. 

The Town of Brookhaven documented numerous violations and condemned the premises. 

A criminal charge is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

Suffolk County Police arrested a Selden man after he targeted Hispanic men and brought them to remote locations and attacked them.

Christopher Cella drove to the vicinity of La Placita, located at 711 Horseblock Road in Farmingville, and picked up a 52-year-old Holbrook resident at approximately 8:15 a.m. on Friday, September 17. Cella brought the man to an abandoned construction site on Blue Point Road in Farmingville, where he attacked him.

Photo from SCPD

Cella then left the construction site and drove to the vicinity of 7-Eleven, located at 3000 North Ocean Ave. in Farmingville, where,  just after 9 a.m., he picked up a 60-year-old Medford resident. Cella brought him to the Blue Ridge Condominium Complex, located on Granny Road in Medford. There, Cella attacked and choked the man before the victim was able to escape.

The following morning, at approximately 8 a.m., Cella went back to the North Ocean Avenue location and picked up a third victim, a 47-year-old Brentwood resident. Cella attempted to bring him to an unknown location. The man became suspicious and was able to get out of the vehicle. 

 Suffolk County Police Hate Crimes Unit detectives, in coordination with 6th Squad detectives and Sixth Precinct Crime Section officers, arrested Cella, 19, of 254 Adirondack Drive, without incident at his home at approximately 10:15 a.m. on Sunday. He was charged with two counts of Aggravated Harassment 2nd Degree, two counts of Criminal Obstruction of Breathing, two counts of Unlawful Imprisonment 2nd Degree under the Hate Crimes Law, and one count of Reckless Endangerment 1st Degree under the Hate Crimes Law. 

“The defendant allegedly targeted these victims because of their ethnicity and lured them in under false pretenses before carrying out these violent attacks,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy D. Sini. “This is a highly disturbing case, and my Office’s Hate Crimes Task Force will work in collaboration with the SCPD Hate Crimes Unit to investigate and prosecute these incidents thoroughly.”

Cella was arraigned on the charges today in Suffolk County First District Court and was released on supervised release with GPS monitoring. He is being represented by the Legal Aid Society and is due back in court on Sept. 24.

The investigation is ongoing, and Sini urges anyone who believes he or she may be a victim of Cella to contact the Suffolk County Police Department’s Hate Crimes Unit at 631-852-6553.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Sheetal Shetty, of the Felony Offense Bureau’s Major Crime Unit, who is a member of the District Attorney’s Office’s Hate Crimes Task Force.

Suffolk County Legislator William "Doc" Spencer. File photo

*Updated to include information about actions by the Suffolk County legislature.*

Suffolk County Legislator William “Doc” Spencer (D-Centerport) was arrested Tuesday for allegedly attempting to trade oxycodone for sex.

Spencer, who is a legislator for the 18th district and was in a Suffolk County vehicle at the time of the arrest Oct. 20, allegedly planned to meet a prostitute in the parking lot of a Goodwill store in Elwood to trade sex for the pills, which were reportedly oxycodone, a legal form of an opioid. Authorities had arranged a sting operation.

Spencer, who had two oxycodone pills in his possession at the sting operation, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, a class B felony, and criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, a class B felony.

Spencer, 53, was arraigned on Wednesday at the John P. Cohalan Jr. Courthouse in Central Islip. The man has been a legislator since 2012 and serves on the county’s opioid task force.

Spencer is due back in court on Feb. 26th. If convicted of the top count, he could face a maximum of up to nine years in prison.

Assistant District Attorneys Kevin Ward and Laura de Oliveira, of the Public Integrity Bureau, are prosecuting the case.

“The message here is that the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office will continue to work in partnership with all of the law enforcement agencies operating here on Long Island, including the DEA and members of the Long Island Heroin task Force, to hold criminals accountable no matter who they are or what their walk of life is,” Suffolk DA Tim Sini (D) said in a statement.

“Law enforcement officers follow the evidence and this time, the evidence led to a prominent member of the community,” Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said in a statement.

Spencer was the chief of otolaryngology at Huntington Hospital. In a statement, a Huntington Hospital spokeswoman said Spencer is “not an employed physician at Huntington Hospital but has privileges as a voluntary physician with his own private practice. His privileges at the hospital have been temporarily suspended pending further investigation.”

Spencer is also Associate Clinical Professor at Stony Brook University Hospital. Spencer has not had medical privileges at Stony Brook University Hospital since 2014, a hospital official said.

Spencer runs a private practice, Long Island Otolaryngology & Pediatric Airway in Huntington.

Suffolk County Republican Committee Chairman Jesse Garcia was quick to jump on the news, calling in a release for Spencer to step down “immediately” as a county legislator.

In a statement, Garcia called Spencer’s alleged actions a violation of his oath as a doctor and elected official.

“This alleged act was an attempt to abuse his position of power and trust, prey on women, and take advantage of those he believed were prisoners of addiction,” Garcia said in a statement. “His legislative record of sponsoring dozens of resolutions focusing on health and drug abuse makes this alleged drug-for-sex trade all the more evil, because he clearly knew the consequences of his behavior on his intended victim.”

Suffolk County Legislature Presiding Officer Rob Calarco issued a statement in response to Spencer’s arrest, saying he has stepped down as Democrat majority leader.

Calarco said, “Legislator Spencer has stepped down from his position as Majority Leader of the Legislature’s Democratic caucus. He is also being removed from his post as chair of the Legislature’s Health Committee which subsequently removes him from any assignments linked to that chairmanship, including serving on the Legislature’s Heroin and Opiate Epidemic Advisory Panel.”

“There is nothing in the law that requires a legislator to resign while charges are pending, and while the allegations against Legislator Spencer are serious, he is entitled to his day in court,” Calarco continued. “My colleagues and I remain focused on continuing the business of the people. The Democratic caucus will convene in the future to select a new Majority Leader, and a new health committee chair will be chosen in due time.”

Spencer is married and has three children.

Prior to his arrest, Spencer had been involved in several legislative efforts, including to combat the effects of the opioid epidemic. Spencer proposed a resolution that passed unanimously to make Narcan, which reverses the effects of narcotics, available to policy emergency responders in the Second Precinct.

Spencer had sponsored 35 resolutions, with close to 1/3 of them related to health and safety, including prohibiting smoking at county beaches and county parks. Spencer’s bills include a 5-cent fee for single use plastic bags, which stores started charging in January, 2018.

During his time in office, Spencer had worked to ban the sale of powdered caffeine to minors, raise the age of selling tobacco products, helped pass a measure to stop companies from manufacturing energy drinks to youth and led a ban on flavored e-cigarettes.

Last fall during the run up to his reelection, Spencer told the Times Beacon Record Newspapers he was committed to finding treatment and addiction solutions for people affected by the opioid crisis.

Spencer won reelection in 2019, defeating Republican Garrett Chelius and Independent Daniel West for a seat in a district representing Huntington, Halesite, Centerport, Northport, East Northport, Cold Spring Harbor, Lloyd Harbor among other towns.

An ordained minister, Spencer serves as the Pastor of Willow Manor Fellowship in Centerport.

Spencer was released on his own recognizance. He has to hand over his passport and a legal firearm.

This story was updated to include details about the number of pills Spencer had in his possession, the specific charges, the potential prison sentence if convicted, the names of the attorneys prosecuting the case, and comments from DA Sini and SCPD Commissioner Hart. The update also indicates that Spencer was released on his own recognizance and that Spencer is no longer the chief of otolaryngology at Huntington Hospital.

This story was updated Oct. 22 to update the statement by Rob Calarco.

Photo from Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office

An East Setauket man faces a multicount indictment for allegedly receiving more than $400,000 through insurance fraud.

On Feb. 28, Suffolk County District Attorney Tim Sini’s (D) office announced the unsealing of a 70-count indictment against former health care worker Joseph Basile, 50. It is alleged he fraudulently received more than $400,000 through a health insurance fraud scheme where he would file claims for unperformed procedures and list a former employer, a colorectal surgeon, on the forms.

“This was an act of pure greed,” Sini said. “He used his knowledge of the health care insurance system to illegally pocket hundreds of thousands of dollars, money that would have otherwise been used to care for people who were sick and in need.”

Basile was charged with insurance fraud in the first degree, three counts of health care fraud in the second degree, two counts of grand larceny in the second degree, health care fraud in the third degree, grand larceny in the third degree, scheme to defraud in the first degree and 60 counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree.

Basile was employed as an office manager for a private health care practice by a colorectal surgeon in Port Jefferson before the practice closed in 2013, according to the DA’s office. From January 2014 through July 2016, Basile allegedly fraudulently filed insurance claims for medical procedures, including colorectal surgeries, to Empire BlueCross BlueShield in excess of $3.8 million on behalf of himself and others, listing his former employer as the provider. The medical procedures had not been performed.

Basile then allegedly forged the signature of his former employer and deposited the checks into his own account. The more than $400,000 received was paid by both the insurance company and John T. Mather Hospital.

The former health care worker also allegedly filed fraudulent insurance claims on behalf of another individual whose health care is provided through Teamsters Local 1205’s welfare fund, according to Sini’s office. Basile allegedly stole more than $3,000 from the fund by filing false health care insurance claims.

Basile was released on $5,000 bond and is due back in court March 12. If convicted of the top count, he faces a maximum sentence of eight and one-third to 25 years in prison.

He is being represented by Legal Aid of Suffolk County attorney Kathleen Evers who could not be reached for comment.

Suffolk County Police arrested a man for allegedly endangering the welfare of a child after he allowed his 13-year-old daughter to drive with a 3-year-old child in the backseat.

Alejandro Noriega. Photo from SCPD

A 2nd Precinct community support unit officer observed a 1995 Toyota Camry being driven erratically while traveling northbound on Oakwood Road in Huntington Station Jan. 27 at approximately 6:30 p.m. The officer initiated a traffic stop of the vehicle and noticed a young girl was driving. The girl’s father, Alejandro Noriega, was in the front passenger seat. The 3-year-old male child was in a child safety seat in the back of the vehicle. Noriega had been entrusted by a friend to baby-sit the boy.

Noriega, 45, of Huntington Station, was arrested and charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. He was also issued a summons for permitting unlicensed operation. The 13-year-old girl was released to her mother at the scene. The 3-year-old boy was released to his mother at the 2d Precinct.

Noriega was held overnight at the 2nd Precinct and was scheduled to be arraigned Jan. 28 at First District Court in Central Islip.

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John Scrofani Jr. Photo from SCPD

Suffolk County police arrested a Bohemia man Jan. 21 for allegedly robbing TD Bank in Smithtown.

John Scrofani Jr. entered TD Bank at 714 Route 347 at 10:57 a.m. Sunday and presented a note to a teller demanding cash. The teller complied and Scrofani Jr. fled. Fourth Precinct officers responded and located him in a vehicle on Route 347 at Brooksite Drive in Smithtown a short time later.

Major Case Unit detectives charged Scrofani Jr., 31, with third-degree robbery. He was  held overnight at the 4th Precinct and arraigned on Jan. 22 at First District Court in Central Islip.

File photo
Ricardo Vargas’ mugshot. Photo from SCPD

Suffolk County police arrested a Coram man after he robbed a pizza shop delivery person at knifepoint in Port Jefferson Station Nov. 11.

Ricardo Vargas ordered food from Bella Maria Restaurant and Pizzeria in Coram to be delivered to King Street in Port Jefferson Station. He selected the delivery address at random. When the delivery person arrived, at approximately 9:40 p.m., Vargas, who had been waiting nearby, approached him, displayed a knife and demanded money. The delivery person complied, and Vargas fled on foot with cash and the food.

The victim, a 61-year-old man, called 911, and 6th Precinct Police officers, 6th Squad detectives, Aviation Section officers and Canine Section officers responded, and after searching the area, located and arrested Vargas on nearby Hewes Street at 11:30 p.m.

Vargas, 27, of Selden, was charged with first-degree robbery, as well as an outstanding misdemeanor warrant.

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File photo

By Desirée Keegan

Suffolk County police arrested an Amityville woman, who is an employee of United Cerebral Palsy, for falsely reporting an incident about a sexual offense between an employee and a resident at the group home Sept. 13.

An anonymous caller made an allegation to the New York State Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs that a male employee of a United Cerebral Palsy residence, on Indian Head Road in Commack, inappropriately touched a female resident of the home. An investigation 4th Squad detectives determined the anonymous caller was another employee, Judy Campbell. Campbell, who had previously dated the male employee, admitted she lied about the allegation. A further investigation concluded no abuse occurred.

Campbell, 53, was arrested and charged with third-degree falsely reporting an incident. Campbell will be arraigned today at First District Court in Central Islip.

Paul Sommer mugshot. Photo from SCPD

A Mastic man in possession of drugs, who allegedly intentionally struck three police vehicles injuring a detective May 23, was arrested in Centereach.

Paul Sommer was sitting in his vehicle, parked in the Wendy’s parking lot at 2278 Middle Country Road in Centereach, when he was approached by 4th Precinct detectives and police officers who believed he was engaged in a drug transaction at approximately 2:30 p.m. Detectives identified themselves and Sommer attempted to flee, rammed a police vehicle and struck a detective. The detective, who was outside of his vehicle when he was struck, was transported to a local hospital where he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Sommer fled from the parking lot, and a short time later, he intentionally crashed into two police vehicles at the intersection of Hawkins Avenue and Nicholls Road in Centereach where he was taken into custody.

Fourth Squad detectives charged Sommer, 22, with third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, fourth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia, second-degree assault, three counts of third-degree criminal mischief, first-degree reckless endangerment, two counts of second-degree reckless endangerment and resisting arrest.

Sommer was held at the 4th Precinct and was scheduled to be arraigned at 1st District Court in Central Islip.