Three Commack HS Students Arrested

Suffolk County Police today arrested three Commack High School students in connection with unauthorized access of the district’s computer system during which student grades and schedules were changed.

Officials with the Commack Union Free School District contacted police in July after they determined an unauthorized person or people had accessed the school district’s network and altered the schedules of approximately 300 students. The district identified the alterations and corrected schedules prior to distribution to students. An investigation by Suffolk County Police Computer Crimes Section confirmed schedules were changed and two students’ grades were altered.

Three students, who surrendered to detectives, were arrested in connection with this incident:

•           Daniel Soares, 17

•           Alex Mosquera, 17

•           Erick Vaysman, 17

Soares was charged with two counts of Burglary 3rd Degree, three counts of Computer Tampering 3rd Degree, three counts of Identity Theft 2nd Degree, one count of Computer Trespass and one count of Eavesdropping.

Vaysman was charged with one count of Computer Tampering 3rd Degree and one count of Criminal Solicitation 4th Degree.

Mosquera was charged with one count of Computer Trespass and one count of Criminal Solicitation 4th Degree.

The teens are being processed at the Fourth Precinct and are scheduled to be arraigned today at First District Court in Central Islip.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Computer Crime Section detectives at 631-852-6279 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS.

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

KP Has Two Siemens Competition Finalists - Julian Ubriaco And Kameron Sedigh

“This is an amazing accomplishment for Julian and Kameron, Mrs. Fay, our science department, Kings Park High School, and our district.” School Supeintendent Timothy Eagen. 

Founded in 1998, the Siemens Foundation “ignites and sustains today’s STEM workforce and tomorrow’s scientists and engineers” through a variety of programs.  Their flagship initiative is the Siemens Competition, which promotes excellence in math, science and technology. High school students submit innovative individual and team research projects and vie for college scholarships ranging from $1,000 up to $100,000.The Siemens Competition honors the best and brightest students for their accomplishments in math and science – students who are changing the world for the better. New York State has five individual finalists and five teams that will go on to compete at the regional level.  I am happy to report that Kings Park High School has two of the five individual finalists from NYS!  They are Julian Ubriaco and Kameron Sedigh. 

Julian has been performing research on the detection and treatment of pancreatic cancer at Cold Spring Harbor Lab, and Kameron has been researching a new approach for the design of antibiotics that could be used to fight bacterial infections such as MRSA at Stony Brook University.  Mary Ellen Fay is the faculty member that oversees the Independent Science Research (ISR) Program. This is an amazing accomplishment for Julian and Kameron, Mrs. Fay, our science department, Kings Park High School, and our district.  Over the years we have worked hard as a district to support our ISR program and eliminate any barriers for our students and their participation in this program. 

***Silver Alert Rosemary Malner***

Silver Alert-Rosemary Malner

 

Rosemary MalnerThe Suffolk County Police Department has issued a silver alert for a missing Farmingville woman who suffers from dementia. 

 

Rosemary Malner, 79, of 308 South Bicycle Path, was last seen leaving her home today in her gray 2010 Toyota Camry, NY plate ENL 2071, at approximately 5 p.m. Malner is white, 5 feet tall, approximately 115 pounds with brown eyes and short gray hair. In addition to suffering from dementia, Malner is also diabetic. 

 

Malner was wearing a black wool coat with gray pants, a blue and gray striped shirt and black shoes when she left her home. 

 

Anyone with information on Malner’s whereabouts is asked to call 911. 

 

As a reminder, Silver Alert is a program implemented in Suffolk County that allows local law enforcement to share information with media outlets about individuals with special needs who have been reported missing.

***Silver Alert Ariel Guzman - Lake Ronkonkoma***

Ariel GuzmanThe Suffolk County Police Department has issued a Silver Alert for a missing Lake Ronkonkoma teenager who is bipolar and maybe off her medication and has mentioned suicide in the past.

Ariel Guzman, 15, of Lake Ronkonkoma, was last seen at her residence on Thursday October 15. She was recently released from South Oaks Hospital in Amityville. Guzman is 5 feet 1 inch tall and weighs 115 pounds. She has brown eyes and long brown hair.

Anyone with information on Ariel is asked to contact the Sixth Squad Detectives at 631-854-8652 or call 911.

As a reminder, Silver Alert is a program implemented in Suffolk County that allows local law enforcement to share information with media outlets about individuals with special needs who have been reported missing.

OpEd- Experience Without Results Helps No One

By Larry Vetter

There are two aspects to the quality of a candidate for office. They are ability and strength of character. Often people mistake time in office for ability. Time does not necessarily equate to success. Strength of character begins with the obvious; integrity and honesty and extends to the not so obvious: work ethic and persistence.

All candidates, including myself, believe they have the ability to “get the job done”. What does that actually mean? I believe that all candidates and elected officials begin with a desire to make their jurisdiction a better place to live. All are filled with good intentions. Good intentions are a necessity in the beginning, but become useless if they are not carried out.

During my years in Smithtown, there have been a number of proposals and issues discussed in the political arena, some good and some bad. More often than not, ideas wither on the vine and instead of moving forward, they stagnate. Too often we all hear these common excuses: “One person blocked my proposal. I was prevented from fulfilling my promise. It wasnʼt my fault. It was the stateʼs or the countyʼs responsibility. There was too much infighting and we could not work together”. Whether or not that may be true, we do not elect officials for good intentions, but rather results. Regardless the circumstances, if an official is not fulfilling his/her promise or not performing his/her duty, it behooves us all to find the alternative. That is why we have Election Day.

In my business, I am ultimately responsible for everything. By the end of the day I need to show results or I might be out of business very soon. It is not enough to blame someone else or some unforeseeable snag. I need to discover a way around it, resolve the situation and move forward. If our elected officials had that degree of commitment, Smithtown would be a much better place to live.

Work ethic, integrity and strength of character are all intangibles. It is an easy process to tell everyone you possess these qualities, but quite another one to exhibit them. As a young man, I spent a number of years in the trucking industry in the time before computers, cell phones or GPS. Even CB radios were rare because of cost. Work was performed essentially on a promise made over the phone, or a handshake or simply via word of honor. There were no contracts drafted by the legal department, signed and notarized and accompanied by a “hold harmless” signature and insurance forms with additionally insured. There was nothing to hold your feet to the fire other than your personal integrity.

That way of life and of doing business was ingrained in my psyche and to this day is the way I run my business and my life. If only our public officials had the same principals and commitment. The time has come to stop making excuses. Experience without results does not help this town and the families living here.

We live in an era of readily available information. A click of the mouse and you can discover much about a person. I urge all readers to take advantage of that free information and really learn about all prospective candidates. Make on informed choice this November, not one based on emotion or perception or habit. Choose the right people to guide this town into the future and make sure that our kids, grand children and even great grand children have an opportunity to enjoy life and nature in our community.

Larry Vetter is the Democratic Candidate for Town Council