$108K Scam: Long Island Bank Employee Ran Check Scheme, Police Say
A Long Island woman was arrested after she used her position as a bank employee to pull off a hundred-thousand-dollar scam.
Cricel A. Santamaria, age 24, was arrested on Tuesday, Oct. 3 for the crime she allegedly committed while working at a Jericho bank, according to Nassau County Police.
Santamaria, a resident of Hauppauge, was working at Webster Bank, located at 1 Jericho Plaza, on February 4, 2022, when authorities allege she fraudulently accessed check images.
She then sold them on the messaging app Telegram.
In total, the bank lost approximately $108,000 due to Santamaria’s sche…
Baldwin Man Forced Women Into Sex Trafficking Ring, Bribed Addicts With Drugs, Feds Say
Two Long Island men are facing federal charges for allegedly running sex trafficking rings.
Lamont Young, age 41, of Hauppauge, and Michail McKen, age 35, of Baldwin are named in separate indictments that were unsealed in federal court in Central Islip Wednesday, Sept. 27.
According to prosecutors, both men forced women to engage in prostitution by subjecting them to violence.
Young spent a decade recruiting victims, beginning in 2011, by promising them financial stability, prosecutors said. He allegedly then used violence, fraud, and coercion to force them into performing commercial sex a…
Scrap Metal Scheme: Long Island Employee Stole, Sold Traffic Poles, More For Cash, DA Alleges
A Long Island employee of the New York State Department of Transportation is accused of taking thousands of the department's scrap metal and selling it for his own profit, authorities announced.
Anthony Agornyo, a 52-year-old Oceanside resident, was arraigned on Monday, July 10 for charges including grand larceny for his alleged actions, the Nassau County District Attorney announced.
Agornyo, an NYSDOT Traffic Services Technician, is accused of stealing metal from the department’s Hauppauge yard on more than 10 separate occasions beginning in April 2022 and lasting through June 2023, acco…
Long Island Expressway Crash: 38-Year-Old Killed In Collision With Tractor-Trailer
A 38-year-old man was killed in a crash involving a tractor-trailer on the Long Island Expressway that snarled traffic for hours during the morning commute.
The crash happened at around 3:15 a.m. Monday, June 12, in the westbound lanes of I-495 in Hauppauge.
According to Suffolk County Police, Brian Nieves, of Bay Shore, was driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee in the middle westbound lane when he struck the rear end of a tractor-trailer near Exit 56.
Nieves, who was alone, was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene, police said.
The tractor-trailer driver, a 55-year-old Medford man, wa…
