Motor Vehicle Crash Kills 17-year-old Kings Park Resident

Suffolk County Police Fourth Squad detectives are investigating a motor vehicle crash that killed a 17-year-old man in Kings Park today.  

Daniel Byrne, 38, of Kings Park, stated that he was driving his 2009 Volkswagen east on East Northport Road, he turned left onto Cedar Street when his vehicle was struck by a Yamaha dirt bike at approximately 5 p.m.  Nicholas Hein 17, of Kings Park was driving the dirt bike, which was unregistered and did not have a headlight, westbound on East Northport Road.  

Hein was transported to Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip where he died from his injuries. Byrne was not injured.  

Both vehicles were impounded for safety checks and the investigation is continuing.  

Detectives are asking anyone with information about this incident to contact the Fourth Squad at 631-854-8452 or call anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS. All calls will remain confidential.

Citizen Advisory Committee - Close Nesconset Elementary

By Stephanie Healion

John Nolan with committee membersAt the January 5^th Citizen’s Advisory Meeting on Instruction and Housing, the official vote was held for the closing of either the Nesconset Elementary School or Mills Pond Elementary.  Running the meeting was CAC co-chair and district director of curriculum Jennifer Bradshaw, and district director of technology and co-chair John Nolan. Despite seven absentee voters out of twenty-eight, the ballot came in as seventeen for closing Nesconset Elementary and four for closing Mills Pond Elementary.  Even with those seven votes, it would not sway Nesconset Elementary from being chosen although the vote will be finalized after those seven members vote.

Due to declining enrollment and an expected budget gap for the 2012-2013 school year, each of the district’s nine elementary schools were considered for closing, eventually getting narrowed down to Nesconset Elementary and Mills Pond Elementary.  Among the reasoning for choosing Nesconset Elementary over Mills Pond Elementary was the fact that Mills Pond numbers more classrooms than Nesconset, therefore able to accommodate future growth.  Decisions regarding what students would be relocated where if Nesconset were to be closed were not finalized in any way.

The Citizen’s Advisory Committee’s vote is a recommendation to the Board of Education, which ultimately makes the final decision.  During the meeting on January 5^th, theJohn Nolan and Jennifer Bradshaw tallying votes  Committee continued discussion on the Princeton Plan, which outlines grouping students in schools based on grade instead of where they live, grouping grades K through two together and grades three through five together.  A large part of the discussion of the Princeton Plan involved the issue of transportation.  One of the biggest problems with the bus transports was the seemingly inevitable increase of time the students would be on the bus, one plan detailing a possibility of over an hour for some students, another plan with a time increase of fifteen to twenty-five minutes.  Committee member Paul Graf laughed out loud at this, “Can we all agree this is a bad idea?”  Many other members were inclined to agree.   

In addition to the vote for which elementary school should close, a number of other items were voted on as well, including a recommendation for further study of the Princeton Plan.   Eleven members voted against the recommendation, content that enough time had been put into obtaining information for the plan.  Committee members questioned Bradshaw earlier in the meeting as to why they were still going over it when they had just about done away with the idea.  “I would say that we are doing this to meet the various constituency groups concerns, because we do have a majority of parents here and school community members and we need to meet everyone’s concerns,” Bradshaw explained.

Other issues that were voted on include the possibility of renting or selling the vacant elementary school, the relocation of the administrative offices from the New York Ave administration building to existing spaces within the district, the renting or selling of the vacant New York Ave building should relocation occur, and a recommendation for further study of the selling of vacant, undeveloped land.  In the cases of the rent or sell votes, majority voted to rent.  The rest of the items on the agenda were voted “yeses”, with only a few members who opted not to choose.

Present during the entire meeting was Superintendent Edward Ehmann.  Before the meeting began, he said “Ultimately, they are going to close a school.  The matter at hand is which one.”  After the vote, when asked on how he felt about the results, Ehmann replied, “We’ve been doing this for a year and a half, and we still have another six months to go.  I am very proud of our community here.  I’m proud of the decision they’ve made, and the time and input they have put in.”

The CAC still has two meetings left, and will be busy drafting their report to the Board of Education regarding the elementary school vote, as well as the rest of the issues they discussed.  They will meet next on Thursday, January 12^th at 7 p.m in room 222A at the New York Ave administration building.

Dix Hills Tax Preparer Pleads Guilty to Preparing False Tax Returns

New York Return Preparer Pleads Guilty to Preparing False Tax Returns

WASHINGTON – The owner of a Dix Hill, N.Y., tax preparation business pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of New York in Central Islip, N.Y., to endeavoring to obstruct the internal revenue laws and aiding in the preparation of false income tax returns, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.

According to court documents, Howard Levine owned and operated Milaur Associates, also known as Milaur Inc. Many of the tax returns prepared by Levine for 2004 through 2009 were false and contained fictitious deductions, business expenses and corporate losses created by Levine. Levine admitted to preparing no fewer than 56 false returns, resulting in a tax loss of $620,844.

In order to obstruct and impede the IRS from determining his role in preparing the returns, Levine included false information in the paid preparer section of the return he prepared.  Despite the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York issuing an injunction in 2009 that barred Levine from preparing federal tax returns for anyone other than himself, Levine violated the injunction by continuing to prepare false returns.

Levine faces a potential maximum sentence of six years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000. U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Bianco, who is presiding over the matter, set a sentencing date of April 26, 2012.

The case was investigated by IRS - Criminal Investigation and is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Mark Kotila and Jeffrey B. Bender of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

County Exec. Bellone Creates Bipartisan Government Operations Task Force

On January 3, 2011 Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone spoke at the organization meeting  of the Suffolk County Legislature.  Bellone took the opportunity to announce a bipartisan Government Operations task force.  

During the election candidate Bellone spoke regularly about the need to increase the efficiency of government. “Doing more with less” was a theme of the campaign. The task force is charged with reviewing the county’s operations and reporting the results at the end of January. The results will serve as the foundation for the creation of action plans to help the County Executive reform government. 

The chairperson on the Task Force is Eric Kopp. Mr. Kopp served twelve years as Chief Deputy Suffolk County Executive for County Executive Bob Gaffney.  Mr. Kopp is currently working in the executive office.

The Task Force includes Legislators DuWayne Gregory, Kara Hahm, Lynne C. Nowick (Smithtown) and Ed Romaine.  There are two advisors to the Task Force, Dr. Lee Koppelman and Dr. Peter Salins both come from the public policy program at Stony Brook University.

Smithtown Fire Department Responds To Fire On Main Street Smithtown

Information and Photos by Smithtown Fire Department PIO Jeff Bressler

OVERNIGHT BAR FIRE

The Smithtown Fire Department was toned out for a signal 13 (Structural Fire) at 02:32 (2:32am) on January 4, 2012 with the location of 43 East Main Street. The call was quickly upgraded to a signal 13-35 (Working Structural Fire).

Upon arrival units were confronted with a store fire in the old Molly Bloom’s bar now known as the Artful Dodger. Flames were emanating from the roof of the Artful Dodger and the adjacent hair salon.

A search was conducted for any possible residents in or around the building.

Units on scene attacked the fire from the ground and with a tower ladder. At 03:00 (3:00pm) visible fire was knocked down (extinguished) and overhaul of the building began to look for fire extension.

The fire appeared to be electrical in nature and started above the front doors of the business.

Units on scene were Chief’s 4-2-30 (Hansen), 4-2-31 (Sisino), 4-2-32 (Murphy)Engines 4-2-2, 4-2-3, 4-2-4, Ladder 4-2-7, Rescue 4-2-9, Ambulance 4-2-61 and equipment from Nesconset, Hauppauge, St. James, Kings Park  and Commack.Click here for Smithtown Fire Department