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Fraudster Sold 266% Of NY Property He Never Owned, Stole $3 Million From Investors: Feds
A fraudster stole more than $3 million by selling properties across Long Island and Westchester County, including at least one he owned no part of, according to federal investigators.
Alberto Gomez, 48, of Boca Raton, FL, used a Queens-based accounting practice to carry out the brazen scheme, the Justice Department said Monday, Aug. 10.
Gomez’s most ambitious project centered on a Mount Vernon property, where he met with seven different investors and convinced them they were entering exclusive agreements to co-own the property with him, investigators said.
Through the scheme, Gomez effecti…
No Floors, No Refunds: LI Flooring Contractor Admits $90K Hamptons Rip-Offs, DA Says
A Long Island flooring contractor has admitted to stealing $90,000 and bailing on three projects, authorities announced Thursday, Aug. 13.
Leones Martins Rodrigues, 40, of East Islip, took the money for three jobs across Southampton and East Hampton from May 2022 to February 2024, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office said. Martins Rodrigues was the owner of Smart Flooring.
But instead of completing the work, Martins Rodrigues simply drained his accounts to pay down outstanding debts, investigators said. He never even purchased any hardwood flooring as promised, according to authori…
LI Dessert Shop Worker Scored Sweet Payday With $11K Theft Scheme, Police Say
A Long Island business lost $11,000 to a thieving former employee writing fake checks, police said Thursday, Aug. 13.
Leeanna Luke, 25, of Brooklyn, swiped $11,828.13 from Ralph’s Italian Ices in Melville by forging and depositing 15 checks into her personal account, the Suffolk County Police Department said.
The owner of the dessert shop noticed multiple unauthorized transactions on his bank account for checks to Luke, a former employee, investigators said. After cops looked into the case, they arrested Luke on Thursday around 7:15 a.m., according to police.
Luke was charged with first-de…
Fentanyl Dealing, Party Shooting Land LI Bloods Member Decades In Prison, Feds Say
A Long Island Bloods gang member who shot up a house party in the Hamptons and supplied fentanyl for a deadly overdose was sentenced Wednesday, Aug. 12 to prison time, authorities said.
Joshua Crowell, 32, of Huntington, got 27 years after pleading guilty to various gang-related charges, the Justice Department said.
Crowell was a proud member of the “Bloodhound Brims” set for years, participating in various acts of violence and drug sales, the feds said.
“His criminal conduct left three people wounded by gunfire, claimed one life through a fatal overdose, and caused two others to suffer ov…
20 Dogs Found In Feces-Filled Cages With No Food Or Water In New York: Police
An elderly person and 20 dogs were rescued from inhumane conditions at a home in New York, police said.
The dogs were living in feces- and urine-filled cages with insufficient ventilation, New York State Police said Thursday, Aug. 13. Additionally, the dogs did not have immediate access to food or water, authorities said.
Troopers responded to a complaint about the home in Argyle on Sunday, Aug. 9 around 1 p.m., according to state police. In addition to the dogs, they found an elderly person “in need of immediate assistance due to mobility issues.”
Carol Kiaer, 72, of Argyle, was arrested …
5 Cremation Urns, 70K Videos, 2 Missing Women; Inside 'Dark' Death Investigation: Police
Five urns believed to contain cremated remains, 70,000 videos, 600,000 images, and thousands of pages of writings are among a mountain of evidence recovered from a home now at the center of a death investigation involving two women who vanished years apart, police announced on Wednesday, Aug. 12.
The sprawling investigation centers on 44-year-old Eugene Horsch and 417 West Chew Avenue in the city's Olney section, where Philadelphia detectives reviewing digital evidence discovered recordings showing missing women Maribel Fresses and Gabrielle Amarando alive and, in later footage, apparently d…
$9.5K Debt Relief Payment Lands Man Grand Larceny Charge: Nassau County Police
A Long Island man is accused of taking thousands of dollars from a customer who thought the money would help settle his debts, police announced on Wednesday, Aug. 12.
Nitin Pal Singh, 43, of Hicksville, was arrested following an investigation into a $9,500 payment made to a debt relief company, according to Nassau County Police.
The case began when a 40-year-old man was contacted by a company called Wavepayz and offered debt relief assistance on Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, detectives said.
The victim agreed and was instructed to pay $9,500 to Purzue Care Inc., located at 64 Gardner Ave. in Hick…
Gotti Grandson From LI Lands In Lockup After Mom’s Kidney Transplant Drama
John Gotti’s COVID fraudster grandson has finally reported to prison, after delaying his report date for nearly half a year, authorities said.
Carmine G. Agnello, 40, of Oyster Bay, NY, is being held in federal prison in Fairton, NJ, according to Bureau of Prisons records.
Agnello was sentenced to 15 months behind bars in April 2026. He pleaded guilty to stealing $1.1 million in federal COVID relief funds and spending the money on cryptocurrency investments.
But Agnello insisted he needed to remain free to donate a kidney to his mother, Victoria Gotti, the daughter of notorious “Teflon Don…
LI Woman, 87, Found Dead In Backyard Pool After Drowning, Cops Say
An elderly Long Island woman drowned in her backyard pool on Wednesday morning, Aug. 12, police said.
Eileen Specht, 87, of Northport, was found unresponsive in the pool just before 8 a.m., the Suffolk County Police Department said. She was pronounced dead at the scene, and police do not suspect criminal involvement in her death.
Specht is the third person to drown in a backyard pool on Long Island in the past week, according to authorities.
Former NYPD chief Anthony Izzo, 75, was found dead in a pool at his Stony Brook home on Friday, Aug. 7 around 7:45 p.m., police said. Then on Sunday, …
Green Card Marriage Ring: 11 New Yorkers Charged In 1,000+ Sham Wedding Scheme, Feds Say
Eleven New Yorkers have been charged in an alleged international immigration fraud scheme that arranged more than 1,000 sham marriages and collected tens of millions of dollars, federal prosecutors said.
The defendants were arrested on Wednesday, Aug. 12, after a two-count federal indictment was unsealed, according to the US Department of Justice. The network operated for more than a decade and arranged sham marriages between foreign nationals, primarily citizens of China, and US citizens to fraudulently obtain immigration status, prosecutors allege.
Those indicted inc…
0.18-bac Driver Hit 106 MPH Before Deadly Freeport Crash, Pleads Guilty: Authorities
A drunk Long Island driver who hit 106 mph seconds before causing a deadly crash has pleaded guilty, authorities said.
Bryan Mizhirumbay, 24, of Lindenhurst, admitted his role in the death of 55-year-old Craig White on Sept. 3, 2025, the Nassau County District Attorney’s office said.
Mizhirumbay will likely be sentenced to 7-15 years in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide, second-degree manslaughter, second-degree assault, and aggravated DWI, according to prosecutors.
After drinking on the job while working at a restaurant, Mizhirumbay drove home around 11 p.m. tr…
NY Child Rapist Violated Sex Offender Parole Rules, Locked Up Again: Cops
A convicted New York child rapist was rearrested Tuesday, Aug. 11 for failing to meet the conditions of his parole, police said.
John G. Coler Jr., 46, of Beacon, created several new social media and email accounts without notifying authorities, the Saratoga County Sheriff’s office said Wednesday, Aug. 12.
Coler was required to provide notice of all his activities after he was convicted of raping a 16-year-old girl he knew in 2018 in Clifton Park, according to the New York sex offender registry.
But between May 2024 and December 2025, Coler created at least 10 new accounts without letting …
Teenage Daughter Killed In Intentional Explosion Dad Admitted To Setting: Court Docs
A Pennsylvania father accused of intentionally blowing up his family's home, killing his 19-year-old daughter and injuring his estranged wife, has admitted to killing the teen.
Brian Jeffrey Shelleby, 47, of Castle Shannon, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and aggravated arson causing bodily injury in a negotiated plea before Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Judge Bruce R. Beemer on Monday, Aug. 10, court records show.
Shelleby is awaiting sentencing, which is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 10 at 9 a.m. in Courtroom 510, according to his docket. He remains in the Allegheny C…
2 Killed In Head-On Crash Near Hersheypark Identified: Police (Update)
The two men killed in a head-on crash near Hersheypark have been identified, Derry Township police announced in a correction update on Wednesday, Aug. 12.
Ronald Lindenmuth, 57, of Phoenix, Arizona, was driving the minivan and was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, which happened at West Hersheypark Drive and North Hockersville Road on Tuesday, Aug. 11, police said.
James Eyerly, 63, of Harrisburg, was a passenger in the minivan and was taken to Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, where he later died from his injuries, according to police.
The 17-year-old Harrisburg boy dr…
Boozed-Up LI Driver Who Killed Four In Nail Salon Crash Gets Max After Rejecting Deal: DA
The Long Island man who killed four people in a drunken car crash into a nail salon and then rejected a plea deal got the maximum prison sentence on Wednesday, Aug. 12, authorities said.
Steven Schwally, 66, of Deer Park, was sentenced to 25 years to life on four second-degree murder convictions, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office said.
Schwally “drank until his blood alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit,” District Attorney Ray Tierney said. “Four families are now living with the deadly consequences.”
Off-duty NYPD officer Emilia Rennhack, 30, of Deer Park, was ki…
NY Man Raped Four Girls, Committed 50+ Sex Offenses In Pennsylvania: Prosecutors
A New York man accused of sexually abusing four girls for years in Lancaster has been convicted of more than 50 sexual offenses following a four-day jury trial, prosecutors announced.
Dennis Iluminado Martinez, 40, of Brooklyn, was found guilty on Thursday, July 16, of more than 50 offenses, including two counts of rape of a child, four counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, and 15 counts of indecent assault of a person less than 13 years of age, according to the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office.
The jury returned the guilty verdict after about an hour of …
23-Year-Old LI Man Killed In NYC ‘Melee’ Outside Bar, Police Say
A Long Island man was stabbed to death in northern Manhattan early Monday, Aug. 10, police said.
The NYPD said Steven Bodnar, 23, of Holbrook, was killed in a “melee” on Nagle Avenue in Washington Heights around 12:45 a.m., Newsday reported.
Investigators said Bodnar was one of two 23-year-old men stabbed outside a bar, Karamelo, according to amNewYork. He was wounded in the abdomen and pronounced dead at Harlem Hospital, according to authorities.
The other man was taken to New York-Presbyterian Allen Hospital in stable condition following a stab wound to the torso, News 12 Long Island rep…
