Deficit doesn't prevent big raises in Nassau (34 hits)
18 Apr 2007 at 9:25pm
Despite predictions of a looming budget deficit in Nassau next year, County Executive Thomas Suozzi has handed out $1.1 million in pay raises and promotions to his patronage appointees, with the largest salary increase going to a former campaign worker.
Report: Crowds, not gap widths, cause LIRR injuries (14 hits)
18 Apr 2007 at 10:56pm
A state report released Wednesday found no link between the number of gap falls and the width of the gaps — finding instead that big crowds and high passenger volumes led to gap accidents at Long Island and Metro-North railroad stations.
State blasts 4 LI fire districts for sloppy spending (20 hits)
18 Apr 2007 at 11:26pm
Until recently, taxpayers in the West Islip Fire District were footing the bill for subscriptions to the Playboy channel, "Strip Night NY" and "Naked News TV" for volunteers at the firehouse.
Finnerty seeks investigation of Duke DA (15 hits)
18 Apr 2007 at 10:54pm
Collin Finnerty wants to turn the tables on the North Carolina district attorney who pursued wrongful charges against him.
Push to meet land buy target (11 hits)
19 Apr 2007 at 12:00am
Despite a strong past record on land preservation, Long Island will fail to meet targets for buying up open space and development rights unless local and state governments pick up the pace — and funding — of such efforts dramatically, according to a report to be released today by the Long Island Pine Barrens Society.

Youth minister sex abuse civil suit begins (19 hits)
16 Apr 2007 at 2:24pm
The Rev. Thomas Haggerty looked on sternly Monday morning as a lawyer accused him of turning a blind eye to a child molester who had been working as a youth minister at his East Meadow church.
Duke lacrosse players appear on '60 Minutes' (5 hits)
15 Apr 2007 at 8:06pm
Even as the North Carolina attorney general said there was insufficient evidence to pursue a criminal case against them, the three Duke lacrosse players waited to hear the one word that would end their nightmare.
LIRR probing spike in accidents (11 hits)
16 Apr 2007 at 1:42pm
A Long Island Rail Road safety committee is examining a spike in customer accidents since January, LIRR Acting President Ray Kenny said Monday.
Robber leaves credit card at crime scene (13 hits)
16 Apr 2007 at 1:21pm
A brazen robber who police tracked down after he left his credit card at the scene of the crime was ordered held Monday in the Nassau County jail $200,000 bond or $100,000 cash bail, court officials said.
Body of man found in Merrick (45 hits)
16 Apr 2007 at 2:30pm
The body of a man who police believed to be homeless was found early Monday outside residences along Preston Lane in Merrick, authorities said.

Terrier killing prompts call for pit bull ban (21 hits)
13 Apr 2007 at 8:11pm
Winston the small brown dog was a carrot fanatic who zealously guarded his Upper Brookville home against rabbits and squirrels.
Region gets ready for the storm (9 hits)
14 Apr 2007 at 7:42am
New York City and surrounding areas braced Saturday for a wallop from a winter storm well into what was supposed to be spring.
For Duke DA, it's not business as usual (6 hits)
13 Apr 2007 at 10:19pm
Hours after being humiliated on television in front of millions by North Carolina's highest prosecutor, Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong arrived to the county's judicial building on Main Street at 8:30 a.m., walked past a group of reporters crowding the hallways outside his office, stepped inside and locked the door, his administrative assistant said.
Lottery winner in a whole new ballgame (24 hits)
13 Apr 2007 at 10:11pm
Gilberto Bueno played the lottery almost every day for 17 years, dreaming of a fortune that would bring an end to his nights stocking shelves in a Key Food supermarket in Queens.
CA to pursue civil claim against Wang (9 hits)
13 Apr 2007 at 11:25pm
Charles Wang, the co-founder and former chairman of Computer Associates, directed and participated in the massive $2.2-billion accounting fraud at the company, according to a blistering report issued late Friday by a committee of outside directors of the company now known as CA.

LI student at Iona College found dead (19 hits)
12 Apr 2007 at 9:15am
A 19-year-old Iona College student from Long Island, who police said had a medical condition which they would not detail, was found dead in his dorm room on Wednesday morning by his roommates in his on-campus dorm.
Report: Lax permit review for water polluters (6 hits)
12 Apr 2007 at 12:55am
New York state's environmental agency is violating the federal Clean Water Act by allowing facilities that discharge into state waters to go decades without thorough permit review, according to a report issued Thursday by a state environmental advocacy group.
Rain Thursday, more to come this weekend (6 hits)
12 Apr 2007 at 9:58am
It's raining outside — and generally miserable. The roads are jammed with morning rush-hour delays. And the weather Thursday has also had an effect on the big local airports, already causing delays of more than an hour.
Famed journo tells students to "dig, dig, dig" (6 hits)
12 Apr 2007 at 1:31pm
Bob Woodward, the Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist of Watergate fame and beyond, stressed to Stony Brook University journalism students Thursday that they strive for journalism's "ideal" of finding out "exactly what happened," by continuing to "dig, dig, dig."
LIRR gap fall at Syosset station (11 hits)
11 Apr 2007 at 8:31pm
A 73-year-old Queens Village woman Wednesday morning was the latest victim of the notorious gap at the Syosset Long Island Rail Road station.

Man who shot officer in 1971 gets 1 to 3 years (16 hits)
10 Apr 2007 at 1:39pm
A fugitive arrested in 2005 for the shooting of an unarmed Stony Brook University police officer more than 35 years ago was sentenced Tuesday to 1 to 3 years in prison.
Nassau wants to mount cameras at red lights (14 hits)
10 Apr 2007 at 3:01pm
The corner of Merrick Avenue and Old Country Road in Westbury is the most dangerous in Nassau County and would become vastly safer with a red-light camera, County Executive Thomas Suozzi said Tuesday.
Nassau's county wheels being used by many (10 hits)
9 Apr 2007 at 11:08pm
Nassau's Off-Track betting agency provides take-home cars and free gas to 17 employees, including some Democratic Party operatives, according to a report by the Legislature's fiscal watchdog.
Cops kill pit bull, arrest owner on drug charges (14 hits)
10 Apr 2007 at 4:27pm
An East Meadow man unwilling to accept a ticket for an unlicensed pit bull was arrested on assault charges after he released the dog on two officers, causing them to shoot and kill the animal, police said Tuesday.
Wednesday deadline for Suffolk police exam (8 hits)
10 Apr 2007 at 1:18pm
Want to become a police officer?

Part-time board members get big-time benefits (17 hits)
8 Apr 2007 at 11:08pm
Katuria D'Amato, wife of former Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, gets free family health insurance as a member of the part-time Hempstead Zoning Board of Appeals.
Islanders fans stunned, elated by win (6 hits)
8 Apr 2007 at 10:36pm
Even for die-hard local fans, the New York Islanders' dramatic Easter Sunday clinch of a final National Hockey League playoff berth seemed touched by something other-worldly.
Shoreham resident killed in crash (14 hits)
8 Apr 2007 at 9:14pm
A Shoreham arborist was killed when he lost control of his pickup truck and crashed into a fence in Rocky Point, police said.
Island Park blaze injures one (5 hits)
8 Apr 2007 at 9:12pm
Fire officials are investigating a predawn blaze Sunday in Island Park that left one resident injured with burns.
Two assaulted in Manorhaven (23 hits)
8 Apr 2007 at 8:20pm
A man followed a group of friends home early Saturday in Manorhaven, then punched two of them in the face and threatened them with a gun, Nassau police said.

A martial thwart (21 hits)
6 Apr 2007 at 12:00am
Teen uses karate he learned from dad to ward off 4 attackers carrying crowbars at Smith Haven Mall

They were taller, older, stood four abreast and carried crowbars.
Good Friday reenactment in Central Islip (10 hits)
6 Apr 2007 at 3:46pm
Jesus Christ walked down Carleton Avenue in Central Islip Friday, carrying a cross as Roman guards shouted "cobarde!" and "Rey de los Judios, salvate!" - "Coward!" and "King of the Jews, save yourself!"
Westbury man arraigned on fake check charges (8 hits)
6 Apr 2007 at 3:20pm
A Westbury man was arraigned Friday on charges alleging that he tried to steal $47,000 from a man trying to sell a house, authorities said.
Outrage flows over Spykes (8 hits)
6 Apr 2007 at 12:00am
WASHINGTON - Campaigners against underage drinking have condemned a new cheap, small and colorful alcoholic drink they say is targeted at teenagers, and are writing to local retailers asking them not to sell it.
Fluid cleanup in Port Washington marshlands (9 hits)
6 Apr 2007 at 1:23pm
Crews from LIPA and the DEC Friday continued the clean up of some 30,000 gallons of a mineral oil-like fluid that seeped into marshlands adjacent to Hempstead Harbor in Port Washington after a crew drilling in the area struck an underground high-voltage power line, officials said.

For LI businesses, visa snag could be summer bummer (8 hits)
4 Apr 2007 at 10:03pm
Year after year, Dune Management depends on dozens of Dominican and Jamaican housekeeping and laundry workers to get through the summer season in the Hamptons.
LIRR shrinks gaps at end-of-line stations (5 hits)
4 Apr 2007 at 10:16pm
The Long Island Rail Road is shrinking gaps at most of its end-of-the-line stations to 5 inches — 2 inches less than the railroad industry's minimum gap standard.
Leg washed ashore in Nassau match torso found in Westchester (11 hits)
4 Apr 2007 at 9:50pm
The leg washed ashore on Nassau County's North Shore last week and a woman's torso found weeks earlier off the coast of Mamaroneck in Westchester County share the same DNA, authorities said Wednesday.
Woman agrees to $800K settlement with grandkids whose mom was killed (14 hits)
4 Apr 2007 at 3:21pm
The mother of a Merrick man imprisoned for hacking his wife to death with a meat cleaver 11 years ago settled a civil lawsuit with her grandchildren for $800,000 on Wednesday.
Hundreds mourn LI man killed in Hawaii crash (10 hits)
4 Apr 2007 at 9:02pm
Hundreds turned out Wednesday to mourn John O'Donnell, the East Rockaway man killed in a helicopter crash last month in Hawaii while celebrating his 25th wedding anniversary.

Suspect in parents' homicide faced eviction (14 hits)
2 Apr 2007 at 10:36pm
Accountant Grace Thorpe wanted her jobless 20-year-old son out of her Elmont home. They had argued often about his lack of ambition, police say, and she was growing tired of his lack of respect.
Audit finds $6.4M deficit, possible fraud, in district budget (11 hits)
2 Apr 2007 at 10:22pm
The Patchogue-Medford school district is running a $6.4 million budget deficit, according to a new report from the state comptroller's office that also finds the district has virtually no documentation to support up to $4.1 million in "potentially fraudulent transactions."
Accident cleared on LIE, delays remain (10 hits)
3 Apr 2007 at 7:35am
A pre-dawn tractor-trailer accident that had traffic snarled for miles on the westbound Long Island Expressway was cleared at 7:06 a.m. Tuesday, New York State Department of Transportation officials said.
Lawmakers mull $2 cigarette tax (8 hits)
2 Apr 2007 at 11:33pm
It may not be long before cigarettes are just as expensive on Long Island as they are in New York City.
NYPD recruit guilty in murder-for-hire plot (12 hits)
2 Apr 2007 at 9:37pm
Sherry Nohar's testimony in support of the man who was caught on tape plotting her murder mattered little to jurors, "because she wasn't there," they said moments after convicting the former New York City Police recruit on conspiracy charges Monday.

Not guilty pleas in UConn hit-and-run (22 hits)
30 Mar 2007 at 9:05pm
Moments after a Lindenhurst teen pleaded not guilty to a slew of felony charges stemming from a hit-and-run accident that killed a University of Connecticut freshman in January, his attorney said Anthony Alvino and his parents had "heartfelt sympathy" for the family of the dead girl.
Doughnut prank yields criminal charges for teens (27 hits)
30 Mar 2007 at 10:17pm
Deanna Tarasco didn't think twice before reaching into the big box of doughnuts her friends brought to Sequoya Middle School in Holtsville and taking a bite of a chocolate frosted with sprinkles.
Southampton to have day laborer hiring site (5 hits)
30 Mar 2007 at 9:34pm
The Village of Southampton will help establish the fourth formal hiring center for day laborers on Long Island, in a local spot where many workers gather waiting for employment, Mayor Mark Epley announced Friday.
Three LI colleges reach deals in kickback probe (9 hits)
30 Mar 2007 at 8:00pm
Three Long Island colleges confirmed late Friday they have received "settlement agreements" from New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who has been investigating what he has called "kickbacks" from student loan providers to colleges.
Chief remains on job (12 hits)
30 Mar 2007 at 12:00am
Indicted officer, accused of beating NJ tourist in '05, is still on Ocean Beach's village payroll

Acting Police Chief George Hesse is continuing to work in Ocean Beach despite his indictment this week for felony assault in 2005 of a tourist accused of littering, officials said.

Cops: Suffolk soccer coach had sex with teen-ager (17 hits)
29 Mar 2007 at 11:53am
The Suffolk Community College women's soccer coach was arrested Wednesday for having what police called "a sexual relationship" with a 15-year-old girl.
Southampton house fire kills 35 dogs, cats (9 hits)
29 Mar 2007 at 9:21am
A house fire in Southampton Wednesday night killed at least 35 cats and dogs owned by the woman living there, Southampton Town Police said.
Lack of headlights leads to larceny arrest (4 hits)
29 Mar 2007 at 12:54am
Don't do the crime if you can't remember to drive the getaway car with your headlights on in the middle of the night.
Severed limbs wash up in two locations (9 hits)
28 Mar 2007 at 9:29pm
Severed human legs were found washed up in two locations on the North Shore over the past two days, including on a private beach belonging to Cablevision Systems chief James Dolan, and police believe they may match a headless torso found almost a month ago across Long Island Sound.
High-rise residents battle another one across street (9 hits)
29 Mar 2007 at 12:00am
Residents of a six-story beachfront high-rise in Long Beach are trying to block the construction of a six-story high-rise across the street, where small homes now predominate.

Ocean Beach chief, cops in court on assault charges (12 hits)
27 Mar 2007 at 1:25pm
Four members of the Ocean Beach Police Department, including the acting chief, were arraigned Tuesday morning in connection with what prosecutors say was the brutal beating of a New Jersey man in police custody in 2005.
Bohemia fire victim dies (8 hits)
27 Mar 2007 at 12:02am
The 46-year-old Bohemia woman critically burned in a house fire earlier this month died of her injuries late Monday night, Suffolk Police said.
Islanders' DiPietro out tonight, maybe longer (6 hits)
27 Mar 2007 at 12:23am
The Islanders' tenuous playoff hopes might just have suffered a crippling blow. Goaltender Rick DiPietro has been ruled out of tonight's game against the Devils and goaltender Martin Brodeur, who has yielded one goal in the past three meetings with the Isles.
Suffolk DA sends warning letter to fire districts (7 hits)
26 Mar 2007 at 8:43pm
In wake of arrests, Thomas Spota calls for more auditing and a better system of documenting the use of taxpayer money.

The warning letter Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota sent to all county fire districts began arriving in mail boxes this week, but fire officials said the better-run districts already do what Spota says they should do when handling taxpayer funds.
Police eye drivers passing school buses (6 hits)
27 Mar 2007 at 9:15am
Red means stop.

Police: Both drivers drunk in Selden head-on crash (24 hits)
25 Mar 2007 at 8:45pm
One car was headed north, the other sped south.
To pump or not to pump in Huntington (6 hits)
26 Mar 2007 at 12:00am
John Grillo, of Melville, says he likes the service he gets from a full-service gas station.
Brentwood man killed crossing street (10 hits)
25 Mar 2007 at 11:11pm
A Brentwood man crossing the street in Bay Shore was struck and killed by a motorist Saturday, Suffolk police said.
Budget cuts could reduce staff at NUMC (10 hits)
26 Mar 2007 at 12:00am
About 60 department heads from Nassau University Medical Center filed into the hospital auditorium for a budget update.
Pilot's historic journey stops on Long Island (8 hits)
25 Mar 2007 at 11:16pm
Barrington Irving, a Jamaican-born pilot, traveled from Cleveland to Long Island yesterday, the second stop of a journey that would make him the youngest pilot and the first black to fly solo around the world.

Effects of tainted pet food can be long-term (16 hits)
22 Mar 2007 at 5:50pm
If your cat or dog ate any of the pet foods recalled last week by Ontario-based Menu Foods and isn't showing any dramatic symptoms of kidney failure — including vomiting, refusal to eat, lethargy or increased drinking or urination — that doesn't necessarily mean you are out of the woods, veterinarians warn.
Soldier killed weeks after return from Iraq (31 hits)
22 Mar 2007 at 10:06pm
Paul Hawkes, a U.S. Air Force security expert, returned to Bay Shore from Iraq less than two weeks ago after managing to survive the shelling, guns and chronic threats of life in a war zone.
Fatal helicopter crash pilot reported power loss (24 hits)
23 Mar 2007 at 4:22pm
In the minutes before a tour helicopter crashed in Hawaii earlier this month, killing a Long Island man and three others, the pilot radioed he was having "hydraulic problems" and then "hydraulic failure," according to a preliminary report released Friday by the National Transportation Safety Board.
Swastika painted on Valley Stream synagogue (21 hits)
23 Mar 2007 at 3:15pm
Vandals spray-painted a swastika on a glass-enclosed bulletin board outside a Valley Stream synagogue and Jewish outreach center, Rabbi Yitzchak Goldshmid said.
Glen Cove OKs fines up to $50K for cutting trees (17 hits)
23 Mar 2007 at 8:55am
Glen Cove officials have amended the city's tree ordinance to raise penalties significantly for felling trees without a permit.

Eight fire and ambulance officials arrested (24 hits)
21 Mar 2007 at 12:00am
A year-long criminal probe of Suffolk fire and ambulance districts yielded a parade of suspects in handcuffs Tuesday, all accused of plundering public funds in a "pattern of thievery" District Attorney Thomas Spota called "shameful."
McDonald wins in upset for Malverne mayor (13 hits)
21 Mar 2007 at 12:00am
Paralyzed cop s wife wins by a wide margin over the incumbent; 18 villages across LI had contested races

Patti Ann McDonald chose to return to Malverne two decades ago to care for her husband, a New York City police officer shot and paralyzed in the line of duty.
Police: Teen was abducted, handcuffed to tree (26 hits)
21 Mar 2007 at 1:10pm
A teenaged boy was apparently abducted on his way to school Wednesday morning on Staten Island and handcuffed to a tree by the abductor, New York City Police said.
Average gas prices up again on LI (16 hits)
21 Mar 2007 at 11:39am
The average price of regular gasoline on Long Island rose another 3 cents a gallon this past week, continuing an upward trend that began in mid-February. Average home-heating oil prices rose slightly.
LIRR president welcomes new security initiative to patrol trains (21 hits)
21 Mar 2007 at 11:44am
Saying there is "no current threat" to the rail road, but admitting it remains an "open system," acting Long Island Rail Road president Ray Kenny said he welcomed a new security initiative that will deploy teams of federal security officers — including air marshals and certified canine teams — to patrol trains.

'Amityville' Director Rosenberg Dies (18 hits)
19 Mar 2007 at 3:46pm
Cops: Vault teller stole $90K from bank (15 hits)
19 Mar 2007 at 3:51pm
When a West Hempstead bank branch came up $90,000 short, Nassau police determined it was an inside job, arresting an employee who worked in the vault.
Brentwood launches media blitz for firefighters (20 hits)
19 Mar 2007 at 1:50pm
Steve Levy joined members of the Brentwood Fire District on Monday to kick-off the department's newest recruiting measure and to ask residents to join the ranks of volunteers.
Mom, 3 children escape Bohemia blaze (21 hits)
19 Mar 2007 at 8:43am
A mother of three was critically burned in a house fire late Sunday night in Bohemia.
Crowded St. Patrick's party a bust (19 hits)
19 Mar 2007 at 12:00am
Five Stony Brook students, including rugby team members, charged with serving alcohol to minors

Members of Stony Brook University's rugby club are in trouble with the Suffolk County police, after allegedly serving alcohol to minors at a St. Patrick's Day party they hosted in Port Jefferson on Saturday evening.

Violent confrontation ends with suicide (19 hits)
16 Mar 2007 at 9:00pm
A longstanding friendship ended violently when a man held a gun to his neighbor's throat minutes before his own wife killed herself with a second handgun, police said.
Man shot in his Central Islip home (16 hits)
17 Mar 2007 at 10:11am
A 24-year-old Central Islip man was shot in the leg early Saturday morning when two armed men barged into his home and demanded cash, say Suffolk police.
Attack on three sisters leaves one dead (20 hits)
16 Mar 2007 at 7:38pm
No valuables were taken. There was no sexual assault. There is no apparent motive.
Roosevelt schools miss a payment (13 hits)
16 Mar 2007 at 9:05pm
Despite intense monitoring by state authorities, the Roosevelt school district has missed a loan-interest payment of nearly $20,000 and is legally required to notify potential investors of the lapse, Albany officials report.
Police: Driver failed sobriety test, left children home alone (21 hits)
16 Mar 2007 at 9:25am
The man involved in an accident on Route 110 in Melville late Thursday failed a field sobriety test, police said. But what he told them next was of even greater concern.

Woman says cop asked for sexual favor (34 hits)
15 Mar 2007 at 8:04pm
There was nothing wrong with her blinker.
Trial starts in ex-gang member's slaying (24 hits)
15 Mar 2007 at 8:58pm
Hykiem Coney's family members dabbed tears from their eyes Thursday as they watched a surveillance video that showed the last moments of Coney's life.
Bill to protect soldiers' credit (26 hits)
15 Mar 2007 at 8:00pm
The Defense department would stand between servicemembers and their creditors, under a bill to be introduced by Rep. Steve Israel that is designed to protect deployed soldiers from harassing creditors, rising interest rates and repossession.
Controversial anti-loitering bill moves on (27 hits)
15 Mar 2007 at 1:35pm
A Suffolk legislative committee Thursday morning narrowly approved sending a controversial anti-loitering bill aimed at immigrant workers to the full legislature for a vote Tuesday.
Keeping guns out of the wrong hands (27 hits)
15 Mar 2007 at 9:45pm
Danielle Baker was only 14 years old when she was killed in a shooting at a birthday party in North Amityville in April.

Swingers indicted on grand larceny charges (25 hits)
13 Mar 2007 at 1:21pm
The Long Island couple who allegedly trolled a "swingers" Web site for partners, videotaped them having sex and then blackmailed them to keep the tapes secret was indicted Tuesday on grand larceny charges.
LI jury rejects teacher's $2 million witch claim (33 hits)
13 Mar 2007 at 3:07pm
A federal jury quickly returned with a verdict Tuesday against a former reading specialist who contended the principal at the Hampton Bays school where she worked denied her tenure because he falsely believed she was a witch.
Thief steals from 'Jerry's kids,' runs out of gas (22 hits)
13 Mar 2007 at 4:17pm
A Coram man was arrested Tuesday morning for swiping a "Jerry's kids" collection bin from the counter of a Huntington Station 7-Eleven store, Suffolk police said.
Report: Huntington chamber bilked the state (23 hits)
13 Mar 2007 at 1:34pm
Huntington's Chamber of Commerce bilked the state economic development agency by double-billing on grants, claiming it purchased computers it never bought and taking money for Melville office space for a program that never got off the ground, a new state comptroller report revealed Tuesday.
State takes aim on Roosevelt's $12M deficit (12 hits)
13 Mar 2007 at 5:55pm
The state's top education official announced Tuesday a series of actions to reduce the Roosevelt school district's projected $12 million budget deficit.

LI eyes more school aid (20 hits)
11 Mar 2007 at 10:06pm
Nearly three-quarters of Long Island homeowners would get tax breaks under Gov. Eliot Spitzer's school-finance proposals, while wealthier residents and businesses would see rates go up, according to a new report from regional business and education groups.
Port Jeff man dies during yard work (29 hits)
11 Mar 2007 at 10:11pm
A Port Jefferson Station man was killed yesterday in his family's backyard when a tree he was trying to bulldoze jutted inside his machine's cab, crushing him, Suffolk police said.
Irish eyes smile on Rocky Point parade (24 hits)
11 Mar 2007 at 10:27pm
After the floats and bagpipes were gone and green ticker tape littered the streets at yesterday's St. Patrick's Day parade in Miller Place, one thing kept the celebration going: good weather.
Carbon monoxide ends Great Neck party early (25 hits)
11 Mar 2007 at 10:39pm
High levels of carbon monoxide forced the evacuation early yesterday of hundreds of guests celebrating Irish heritage at an annual ballroom dance in Great Neck after dozens of them fell ill, authorities said.
5 robbed at gunpoint in Hempstead (24 hits)
11 Mar 2007 at 12:00am
Five people were robbed at gunpoint outside their Hempstead home early Sunday morning, Nassau police said.

Jury finds 'Most Wanted' husband guilty (30 hits)
9 Mar 2007 at 9:19pm
Three hours was all it took for a Nassau jury Friday to decide that Stanley Osbourne was guilty of first-degree assault for attacking his estranged wife in a wooded part of Kings Point.
Nassau DA to probe Simon incident (20 hits)
9 Mar 2007 at 4:15pm
The Nassau County prosecutors have opened a preliminary probe into whether Islander Chris Simon committed a crime Thursday night when he decked a Ranger player in the face with his hockey stick, a spokesman said.
GOP leaders say guv should pick top school official (26 hits)
9 Mar 2007 at 10:41pm
As the Roosevelt superintendent and school board president met with the state Education Commissioner Friday in Albany to discuss how to close a projected $12 million budget deficit, Senate Republicans proposed shifting the power to select the commissioner from the Board of Regents to the governor.
Arrest made in October shooting of teen (18 hits)
9 Mar 2007 at 10:38pm
The man charged with killing a Rosedale teenager who was shot in the back as he tried to scale a fence last October insisted Friday that he had nothing to do with the crime, as he was led to court.
Teen faces assault charges for hitting ranger with ATV (22 hits)
9 Mar 2007 at 9:13pm
A 16-year-old Coram boy has pleaded not guilty to felony assault and other charges after officials say he struck a forest ranger with his all-terrain vehicle when the officer tried to stop him from riding illegally on state-managed land.

Arrest ends probe into teen's overdose (31 hits)
7 Mar 2007 at 9:42pm
When Joseph Devine died after ingesting a combination of Xanax, heroin and alcohol, he left behind two devastated parents and five siblings who struggled to comprehend how the quiet, good-humored honor student with no known history of drug abuse could have left them so suddenly.
Botched robbery was years in planning (12 hits)
7 Mar 2007 at 10:25pm
The plan to steal cash from a wealthy Upper Brookville woman was four years in the making before a three-man robbery team tried to pull off the heist earlier this week, investigators said Wednesday.
Accused witch says rumors cost her teaching job (10 hits)
7 Mar 2007 at 9:31pm
No one at Hampton Bays Elementary School thought former teacher Lauren Berrios cast spells, but rather that she told disturbing and conflicting stories, a lawyer for the school district told jurors in federal court Wednesday.
It's not Mega, but LI man wins Lotto millions (12 hits)
7 Mar 2007 at 9:53pm
No, it's not the Mega Millions prize, but a winning Lotto ticket for $34.5 million is no small haul for the Mikkin family of Hauppauge.
Legislator apologizes for 'gun' comment (10 hits)
7 Mar 2007 at 9:26pm
Calling it "a bad joke in bad taste," Suffolk Legis. Elie Mystal apologized again Wednesday for saying at a legislative hearing that he "would load up my gun and start shooting" if large groups of day laborers congregated in his neighborhood.

Son of top cop gets life for Virginia murder (15 hits)
5 Mar 2007 at 4:05pm
The son of a top Nassau police official was sentenced Monday to life in prison plus 5 years for the slaying of a Virginia woman seven years ago.
Elmont basketball coach "was a gift to us all" (16 hits)
5 Mar 2007 at 2:41pm
As pallbearers wheeled the coffin of fallen Elmont Memorial High School girls basketball coach Gregg Petrocelli out of St. Thomas More Roman Catholic Church Monday afternoon in Hauppauge, mourners in the overflow crowd dabbed their eyes and quiet sobs were muffled by the "Amazing Grace" played by an organist and accompanied by a female soloist.
Suozzi under fire for hiring during freeze (8 hits)
5 Mar 2007 at 4:45pm
The leader of Nassau's Republican county legislators Monday called for an investigation into County Executive Thomas Suozzi's moving of five former campaign aides onto the county payroll during a hiring freeze.
Reforms for Hempstead building dept. (18 hits)
5 Mar 2007 at 5:16pm
Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray Monday announced reforms in the town building department and a nationwide search to replace the recently disgraced building commissioner who resigned amid revelations that he remodeled his house without permits.
North Amityville man shot to death (14 hits)
5 Mar 2007 at 2:13pm
A 26-year-old North Amityville man was shot to death in his girlfriend's apartment Sunday night, Suffolk County police said.

Suozzi added campaign workers to county payroll (7 hits)
3 Mar 2007 at 10:13pm
Although Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi announced a hiring freeze more than a year ago to offset looming budget deficits, he quietly moved five workers from his failed campaign for governor onto the county payroll after he lost September's Democratic primary.
Elmont players: His lessons transcended sport (8 hits)
4 Mar 2007 at 12:00am
Former Elmont basketball players Maryam Greenidge and Olivia Worley laughed and finished each others' sentences Saturday as they recalled their time with their fresh-faced young coach.
No faith in Jesus film (4 hits)
3 Mar 2007 at 9:41pm
When they attend church Sunday, local Christians aren't likely to hear much about a controversial new film that claims Jesus was buried, but not raised from the dead.
NY man faces sentence for 2000 murder (6 hits)
3 Mar 2007 at 8:16pm
The son of a top Nassau police official is to be sentenced Monday after being convicted of first-degree murder and defiling a corpse in a 7-year-old Virginia case.
Drowning victim remembered as hero, friend (17 hits)
3 Mar 2007 at 8:53pm
In his eulogy of Eric Reistetter Saturday, a childhood friend recalled how the pair would often play street hockey while growing up.

Toddler pulled from LIRR gap (5 hits)
1 Mar 2007 at 9:28am
The Long Island Rail Road said it has been "aggressively" narrowing gaps at its stations to protect riders from falling through dangerous gaps between the platforms and train cars.
Judge revokes bail, postpones sentencing for driver in priest's death (5 hits)
1 Mar 2007 at 8:48pm
The plea deal Karen Fisher struck two weeks ago in exchange for her commitment to stay sober could be at risk amid new allegations that she was recently kicked out of a rehab center after being caught drinking again.
Nassau faces $164M budget gap (5 hits)
1 Mar 2007 at 1:56pm
Nassau faces a budget gap of $164 million for the its 2008 budget and will have to raise taxes or cut services to close it, county Comptroller Howard Weitzman said at a news conference Wednesday.
Store defends teacher accused of sex assault (18 hits)
1 Mar 2007 at 8:35pm
For 21 years, Nicholas Panos has given piano lessons in a basement studio at the Three Village Music Shoppe in East Setauket.
LI detective helps case for accused soldier (18 hits)
1 Mar 2007 at 9:07pm
When Nassau County Det. Richard Brusa got a call for help in investigating a fatal crash, it was way out of his jurisdiction but right up his alley.

Elmont coach collapses and dies during game (21 hits)
27 Feb 2007 at 11:41pm
Gregg Petrocelli, 38, was coaching his Elmont High School girls basketball team when he collapsed courtside on Tuesday.

Elmont High School's girls basketball coach Gregg Petrocelli died late Tuesday night after collapsing suddenly at a game.
Judge's rape sentencing draws ire (6 hits)
27 Feb 2007 at 8:55pm
The female victim in the vicious robbery and sexual assault of a young couple in Bay Shore said Tuesday that a judge's decision on how to punish two of her attackers made her feel like a victim "all over again."
LI counties sue to preserve AIDS funding (8 hits)
27 Feb 2007 at 10:11pm
Facing AIDS funding cuts that could reach into millions of dollars, Nassau and Suffolk counties filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Tuesday to halt the cuts and preserve use of the money for support services beyond core medical needs.
Family vows to press case in service dog fight (7 hits)
27 Feb 2007 at 10:32pm
A deaf Westbury teenager was distraught Tuesday after a judge ruled that his service dog, Simba, must stay home when the boy goes to school.
Building chief resigns after skipping permits (17 hits)
28 Feb 2007 at 12:00am
Embattled Hempstead Buildings Commissioner John Loeffel resigned Tuesday, on the same day town inspectors discovered an illegal apartment in the Levittown home he renovated without the required permits.

Here we snow again (6 hits)
25 Feb 2007 at 10:31pm
Long Islanders can expect a messy commute Monday morning as overnight storm expected to blanket area

Expect some snow and slush to go with that Monday morning coffee.
Mummified man was difficult, but loved (20 hits)
26 Feb 2007 at 12:00am
At 1:13 p.m. on Feb. 15, Johanna Nemeth's 3-year-old beagle mix, Hazel, strayed onto Vincenzo Riccardi's property. Nemeth called police because she saw a sheet of ice cascading down the front of the house and suspected a burst water main. When police broke down the door, Riccardi was seated in his patterned lounge chair beside his outdated 9-inch television set, which blared only static. His death made worldwide news — though most reports gave his last name, inaccurately, as Ricardo. From India to Los Angeles, people wondered how a 70-year-old man's death could have gone unnoticed.
He saves man from icy harbor (6 hits)
26 Feb 2007 at 12:00am
When a rogue wave swept Neil Maycock out to sea 37 years ago, only the bravery of a passing stranger saved the then-3-year-old boy's life.
After resigning, he still plays cop (5 hits)
26 Feb 2007 at 12:00am
A former New York City police officer was behind bars Sunday after he pulled over two civilians while in his darkly tinted Chevrolet TrailBlazer, which he had outfitted with flashing lights, while proclaiming to be from the State Department, Nassau County police said.
Cops working to ID crash victim (8 hits)
26 Feb 2007 at 12:00am
Investigators said Sunday they were using dental records to identify the burnt remains of a man killed in a weekend car accident on the Southern State Parkway.

Father of slain teen urges McCain to speak against gun violence (9 hits)
23 Feb 2007 at 8:21pm
Before his daughter was shot to death in an Arizona parking lot last Sunday, Ronald Schiffman never considered himself a political person. Now he says he might be ready for a change.
HOV cheater says dummy companion 'just a goof' (8 hits)
23 Feb 2007 at 9:40pm
The passenger in the carpool lane looked odd.
State probes jail suicide (6 hits)
23 Feb 2007 at 7:59pm
No one saw any sign that Ymbert Santos, an Amityville man awaiting trial on a murder charge, might take his own life in jail — not when he was captured by Suffolk homicide detectives, who tracked him down in the Dominican Republic; not when he arrived at the Suffolk County jail in Riverhead in November; and not since.
Baldwin woman killed in DWI crash (9 hits)
23 Feb 2007 at 9:57pm
A woman making a left turn in Hicksville was killed when her car was struck by a black Ford Expedition driven by a man police said was driving drunk.
Frantic search ends after Haitian woman's 13-hour trek (6 hits)
23 Feb 2007 at 8:49pm
Lucie Jean-Baptiste knew she was going to be all right. She was walking to church, after all, so God would be with her.

Torn between slain children and the men who killed them (9 hits)
21 Feb 2007 at 9:42pm
Desi Lainez arrived in court one morning to be sentenced to 11 1/2 years in prison for punching his girlfriend's 2-year-old son Luis Moreira in the stomach so hard that he bled to death.
LI man killed in underground explosion (7 hits)
22 Feb 2007 at 10:17am
Waterbury police have identified the electrical contractor killed in an underground transformer explosion Wednesday afternoon.
Ruling coming in school service dog ban (6 hits)
22 Feb 2007 at 8:45am
A U.S. District Court judge is expected to rule Thursday on whether a deaf Westbury boy can bring his assistance dog, Simba, to class at W. Tresper Clarke High School.
Pedestrian killed on Southern State (6 hits)
22 Feb 2007 at 10:44am
A female pedestrian was struck and killed Thursday morning on the westbound Southern State Parkway near Exit 18, Eagle Avenue at 5:52 a.m. — and all westbound lanes were closed until 10 a.m. for the subsequent accident investigation, State Police said.
U.S. schools suspected of inflating reading test scores (5 hits)
22 Feb 2007 at 9:31am
Twelfth-graders show no improvement in reading skills on the latest national tests, but their grades continue to climb, according to federal officials who suspect the nation's schools are inflating grades.

Bellmore teen saves 3 from icy canal (18 hits)
19 Feb 2007 at 10:22am
Thomas Rosati dashed barefoot from his home to rescue three brothers, ages 8, 10 and 16, who had fallen into icy canal

Thomas Rosati is just a regular guy. He lifts weights, he plays sports, he delivers pizzas part-time.
LI siblings find lottery luck worth millions (4 hits)
19 Feb 2007 at 11:26am
The sisters were Bedazzled. The brothers are set for life.
DWI charged in fatal 1-car accident (9 hits)
19 Feb 2007 at 12:00am
A Sayville man was killed in a one-car accident in Hauppauge early yesterday, and the driver was charged with driving while intoxicated, Suffolk County police said.
Five groped in sex spree (7 hits)
19 Feb 2007 at 12:00am
Hicksville man with prior abuse charges is held after 30-minute rampage; parents say he's mentally ill

A Hicksville man grabbed and groped four women and a young girl during a half-hour spree in parking lots and convenience stores throughout the hamlet before he was arrested, police said yesterday.
LIPA will inspect LIRR lines, substations (7 hits)
18 Feb 2007 at 7:55pm
The Long Island Power Authority will inspect all transmission lines along Long Island Rail Road tracks and all electrical substations serving the railroad, after downed wires caused major delays twice in two weeks, LIPA President and chief executive Richard Kessel said Sunday.

Drunk driver kills man after dozing off (6 hits)
17 Feb 2007 at 10:24pm
A motorist stopped on the shoulder of the Long Island Expressway in Dix Hills was killed Saturday when a drunken driver fell asleep behind the wheel and slammed into the parked car, Suffolk County police said.
Spitzer's school aid plan baffles some districts (5 hits)
18 Feb 2007 at 12:00am
As homeowners struggling to pay their tax bills, many residents of the Middle Country school district initially welcomed Gov. Eliot Spitzer's promise to pump more state money into needy districts.
Lakeview man arrested after shooting at police (8 hits)
17 Feb 2007 at 11:51pm
A Lakeview man was arrested Saturday after shooting at a car, kicking a police officer in the face, and kicking out a window frame in a police car, Nassau County police said.
Chinese New Year has extra meaning for growing segment (7 hits)
17 Feb 2007 at 9:05pm
The lunar new year beginning Sunday is but one of three such celebrations each year for Jayne Hirsch and her daughter, Rebecca.