News: Long Island Killers

(Long Island, N.Y.) While police and authorities handle the investigation of the ten sets of human remains found along Long Island’s south shore, followers of the case are gathering information to understand these killings from different sources. Along with investigators, Long Island residents who have been shaken by the findings have tried to link different cases to the ones at Gilgo Beach. Until more information is released and evidence analyzed, speculation will take over the minds of Long Islanders.

Reports have stated that the two women found in Manorville, one of whom was identified as twenty-year-old Jessica Taylor, led to the reopening of two other cases. The first was from 1997 and the other was a case from ten years later. Since 2007, no progress has been made or updates given to either case.

The total known Manorville victims is four, the same number of victims first found at Gilgo Beach in December of 2010. Remains were found along Halsey Manor Road, which cuts through the western edge of the Central Pine Barrens. The Long Island Expressway and a shooting range are among the nearby destinations in the desolate hamlet of Manorville.

The Central Pine Barrens is a hundred-thousand acres of protected wilderness that’s thickly wooded and remote. Reports stated that the killings were attributed to a murderer dubbed “The Butcher of Manorville” by America’s Most Wanted. Like the harsh terrain and heavy brush along the South Shore’s Ocean Parkway, the Central Pine Barrens serve as an ideal backdrop for the dumping grounds of an elusive serial killer.

As Long Island’s largest natural area and one of the last remaining wilderness spots, the Central Pine Barrens also serve a beneficial purpose for Long Island residents. It helps to keep an aquifer for Long Island’s supply of drinking water. The entirety of Long Island’s drinking water comes from ground wells instead of reservoirs.

The Peconic River and Carmans River, two of the four biggest rivers on Long Island, run through the Central Pine Barrens. In 1995 Long Islanders suffered a catastrophic environmental loss when late summer brush fires destroyed an estimated seven thousand acres of the Central Pine Barrens. About four hundred people were forced to evacuate their homes and the Hamptons tourist season suffered an economic blow when many fled the area.

Thankfully, no one was killed in the fires and Long Island’s fireman teamed up with FDNY to help extinguish them. It’s believed that this history of the Central Pine Barrens could have resonated with the Manorville killer, and that he felt the area represented some kind of significance. Like what has been inferred of the Gilgo Beach serial killer, the murderer responsible for the deaths in Manorville most likely knew the location and felt comfortable in the spot he chose to dispose of his victims.

So much is unknown about the possible links between these two areas of dumping grounds. Police and authorities handling the case are questioning exactly what caused the killer to travel forty-five miles before disposing of the rest of his victims.

News: Peahen Missing from Bronx Zoo

(Long Island, N.Y.) A three-foot-long female peafowl escaped restraints, just months after the Bronx Zoo made headlines for claiming that one of its Egyptian Cobras went missing from captivity in the zoo’s Reptile House. The cobra, who had been named ‘MIA’ for “missing in action” by an interactive naming contest, attracted a band of Facebook and Twitter followers during its weeklong parade from capture. Fans had even suggested that the snake make an appearance on a late night television show.

A similar response has been given to the peahen, which is the term for peafowl that distinguishes females from peacocks. This peahen, who is yet to be named, is green and shows up the cobra with a greater spirit for adventure. City goers have spotted her at numerous locations, including the ledge of an elevated section of the Bronx River Parkway.

Pictures have been taken of her perched on the top of a home and posing with one of the neighborhood cats. The interaction between the animals was uneventful until the peahen flew and the cat darted. She had been missing for a day and a night when zoo workers found her in a garage after being spotted near East 180th Street and Morris Park Avenue.

Zoo officials say that she is safe and resting comfortably in the Wildlife Health Center. Prior to her rediscovery she had been caught running through traffic and visiting a local subway station. City goers watched her eat a discarded hamburger bun for a makeshift meal.

Followers of this case wanted to know exactly how far she was able to wander. The zoo’s director didn’t reply, but simply informed the concerned public that she was being examined by vets and in good health. He also informed that there will be no changes to the policy that allows the peafowl to roam freely after some city goers questioned whether the supervision of the zoo’s birds has become too relaxed.

The zoo, which is run by the Wildlife Conservation Society, tends to believe that escaped peafowl will want to return home and learn never to leave again by the setbacks of their excursions. Disturbance to the peahen would have only caused her to venture further from home. Peafowl do not pose any sort of threat to humans, and zoo officials urge city goers to avoid following and harassing the animals.

Several attempts of zoo workers to capture the peahen had failed before she was finally brought into custody. Reports stated that other failed attempts came from three zoo workers who used nets to aid in her recapture. The renegade fowl was able to capture over a thousand followers on Twitter before finally being found.

One of the jokes came from a postal worker who commented about the occupational hazard of running into all sorts of animals during her rounds in the area because of the zoo’s lapse in control. Some city goers felt as if they had been watching Animal Planet and were concerned about potential poachers or animal hoarders. A Twitter update talked about the peahen’s intention to make a nest out of Donald Trump’s hair.

News: Long Island Searches for Missing Teen

(Long Island, N.Y.) A sixteen-year-old girl from North Bellmore was reported missing and a Silver Alert has been issued to aid in her recovery. The girl was last seen at around six yesterday evening near Lincoln Boulevard in Bellmore. Police and authorities who have been conducting the search urge anyone with information to call anonymously on the Crime Stoppers hotline.

The sixteen-year-old is Caucasian and four-feet-eleven-inches tall with blonde hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, and flip-flop sandals. She can be distinguished by scars on both of her arms. She had been traveling by foot to an unknown destination.

At least one witness responded to the alert by claiming that a vehicle with an out-of-state license plate was seen driving suspiciously in the area. Though such information can often be considered less than substantial, police and authorities on the case stress the importance of coming forward with even the most minor details. In many cases it’s the information that has been deemed unsubstantial that aids in a rediscovery.

In one year’s time an estimated fifty-five persons have been issued on the Silver Alert throughout the country. Such an alert is like the Amber Alert, which deals with missing or abducted children, and results in an immediate search. Reports have stated that the speed of the search depends on the amount of information about the last known whereabouts of the missing person, and that the search often goes faster when more information is available.

According to one source, the Silver Alert requires the search of a missing person of any age who is dealing with dementia or cognitive impairment. Also, a missing persons report must be filed by the subject’s legal guardian. The local law enforcement agency must file the report with the state.

A website that features a weekly television program for missing persons claims that the show has led to the reunion of over six-hundred individuals with their families. In addition to working with local, state, and federal law enforcement, the program deals closely with the FBI and National Center for Exploited and Missing Children. It handles the cases of both children and adults.

Some of the cases featured on the program include kidnappings, runaways, and family abductions. The website informs viewers that thousands of people across the country are reported missing each week. It also informs of local television/radio stations and networks that air the show. It provides quick links to their websites for residents in a variety of counties.

The website also includes a long list of success stories and a video message from the president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. He labels children as a precious resource that constitutes the most vulnerable sector of society. He asks for help and for those with information to call 1-800-LOST. Through the use of photo distribution, one in six children featured have been recovered.

News: Victims of the Gilgo Beach Case

(Long Island, N.Y.) After the Suffolk County District Attorney spoke at a news meeting held yesterday in Hauppauge, new information about the Gilgo Beach victims was made known to the public. Speakers at the meeting also announced that the multiple victims, believed to have been murdered by multiple killers, complicate the investigation. The case is multi-jurisdictional and authorities estimate that it will not be solved within the time frame preferred by Long Island residents.

Police and authorities on the case are still hoping to catch a break in the investigation. Reports have stated that more manpower is needed in the handling of the case and in future searches. Time does not seem to be on the side of detectives, as the memories of potential witnesses have been lost along with evidence. The years that have passed since some of the victims went missing makes investigating the case especially difficult for authorities.

If detectives on the case are successful in the investigation and eventually identify the unknown victims, as well as capture their killers, the impact of the discoveries will be momentous. Ten sets of remains means possible closure for ten different grieving families, the solving of ten cases, and possible justice to those who have taken multiple lives. In the pursuit of one woman, with the missing person investigation of Shannan Gilbert, police and authorities have stumbled upon tenfold the amount of potential success.

Reports have stated that the two sets of remains found in Nassau County have not been identified but have also been ruled as homicides. Police and authorities on the case are awaiting forensic results that may lead to identification. However, it is also believed that the Nassau County remains are not related to any of the sets of remains found in Suffolk County.

Photographs have been taken of a Suffolk County Police Department sign that has been placed along the southbound side of the Robert Moses Causeway. The sign asks drivers for any tips on the Gilgo Beach homicides. Police and authorities on the case are still hoping that people may come forward with information that will aid in their investigation.

A vigil for the Gilgo Beach victims will be held on June 11th along Ocean Parkway. Reports have stated that detectives are still looking into similarities between the Gilgo Beach/Manorville victims and the four women found dumped near a motel in Atlantic City. All of the women appear Caucasian; eight were prostitutes, and eight appear to have died by strangulation. Many of them were mothers who left behind young children.

Reports have also stated that the remains of two unidentified men were also found in Manorville between the years of 2000 and 2003. There is not believed to be a connection between their deaths and those of any of the victims. However, it does appear the remote areas in Manorville and Gilgo have been used for a long time as a dumping spot.

Another case that has been frequently discussed in comparison to the cases of the Gilgo Beach victims is that of a woman found in the summer of 1997. Her torso was discovered in Hempstead Lake State Park missing hands and legs. She was wrapped in a black plastic garbage bag and placed into a dark Rubbermaid container with a floral pillow sham and frayed red towel. The only marker of her identity was a heart-shaped peach tattoo on her left breast with two drops underneath.

News: Killers in the Gilgo Beach Case

(Long Island, N.Y.) Police and authorities handling the investigation of a serial killer at Gilgo Beach announced the identity of one of the victims. Two of the sets of human remains belonged to women who were found dumped along the Long Island Expressway in Manorville in 2000 and 2003. This brings a turn in the case, leading officials to believe that at least three killers have used the Gilgo dunes as dumping grounds.

While one of the Manorville women is still unknown and referred to as Jane Doe No. 6, the other belongs to a twenty-year-old prostitute named Jessica Taylor. Both women had been dismembered, and only their torsos had been initially discovered in plastic bags near the woods of Halsey Manor Road. Their heads, arms, hands, and other body parts were found in plastic bags forty-five miles away at Gilgo.

The vast distance between the Manorville findings and the discoveries of the body parts that would potentially identify the women suggests that their killer went through lengths to keep their identities concealed. Taylor’s tattoo, by which she was later identified, had been partially mutilated with what authorities believe was a razor blade. They also believe that her torso, which was found among shrubs and sticks underneath a plastic sheet, was dumped out of the side of a car.

This new information about the Gilgo Beach victims tells authorities and police handling the investigation that they are dealing with at least one killer who prefers to dismember and decapitate his victims, conceals their identities, and uses plastic bags as a mode of disposal. The killer responsible for the deaths of the first four identified women had a different style. No additional attempts were made to hide their identities; they were strangled and found intact while wrapped in burlap.

One theory suggests that a single killer is responsible for the Manorville and Gilgo Beach victims. Followers of the case who support this theory believe that the identifying body parts were dumped at Gilgo because of the remoteness of the location. However, once the killer got confident in his ability to evade authorities and in the security of the location, he cared less about taking measures to conceal his victims’ identities. The Gilgo Beach victims were murdered years after the women found in Manorville, suggesting that time may have promoted carelessness in the killer.

The other sets of remains, now believed to be a one or two-year-old baby girl and a young Asian man, suffered deaths that were considered distinctly dissimilar to those of the women. The toddler’s death has not been ruled a homicide, and reports say that she was found wrapped intact within a blanket and showed no signs of trauma. However, the young Asian male, believed to be in his late teens or early twenties, suffered from a violent death that has been ruled a homicide.

The two sets of remains found in Nassau County have not been identified, but are also believed to have suffered at the hand of a different killer. In a case such as this, when so many sets of remains have been found, many attribute the amount of discoveries to a lack of searches conducted in the area. Perhaps if more of Long Island’s remote areas had been investigated more often, police would have discovered the remains of these missing persons before some of their cases grew cold.

Taylor’s remains were found seven years after her initial body parts were discovered in Manorville by a woman walking her dog. Even more time has passed since the remains of Jane Doe No. 6 were first discovered by hunters in the woods on the morning of November 19th, 2000.

News: Trial for Fatal LI Road Rage Incident

(Long Island, N.Y.) The trial began for the twenty-four-year-old Oceanside resident who was arrested for striking and running over a thirty-four-year-old with his vehicle. The incident occurred about two years ago on the Friday morning of May 15th, 2009. Prior to his death, the deceased had experienced a fit of road rage and had used his vintage Porsche to block the young man’s vehicle.

The incident occurred at roughly ten in the morning in the center of town in Long Beach. It attracted a bulk of witnesses who had heard the commotion from their work offices on the busy street of West Park Avenue. Reports at the time of the incident claimed that the young man was headed to Queens College that morning and had intentions of soon graduating.

After being arrested, he was released on $500,000 bond and pleaded not guilty to manslaughter charges. Additional charges of criminally negligent homicide were later brought against him. He could face a maximum sentence of five to fifteen years if convicted. The deceased was a six-foot-five well-built man who worked as an athletic engineer, and was driving a 1978 yellow Porsche at the time of the incident.

The then twenty-two-year-old was in a black Nissan Altima when the pair began to drive aggressively for an estimated distance of two miles. The young man’s defense attorney claims that his client was “reckless but not intentional” and had been chased by the deceased who displayed “unreasonable anger.” Defenders of the victim claim that the chase ensued because he had been trying to obtain the number of the young man’s license plate.

The pair then began exchanging words from their vehicles and the young man made a U-turn to flee the area. In response, the deceased ran a red light, blocked the young man’s car, and got out of his vehicle. The defense claims that he left his vehicle twice before pounding and kicking the Nissan and threatening the young man with screams and obscenities.

The victim’s outburst attracted witnesses, some of whom claimed that the young man appeared to be afraid that he would break through the glass of the car and kill him. Some reports claimed that the young man tried to reverse his vehicle but was blocked by another car. Records confirm that he dialed 911 from inside his vehicle while the deceased was screaming behind the glass.

The young man’s defense attorney claims that his client panicked when he hit the accelerator and drove forward, striking the thirty-four-year-old Wantagh native and running over his body. He then drove a block south onto National Boulevard before he was apprehended by two pedestrian witnesses. He was later arrested by Long Beach police.

This case has drawn a lot of publicity and has divided public opinion on the guilt of the young man. Some peg him as a killer who was protected behind the glass of his vehicle. Others sympathize and consider his attempts to flee as signs of genuine panic. They claim they would have done the same, and wouldn’t have wasted time by attempting to drive away or three-point-turn during those crucial moments of danger.

Some say that the fear of the victim pulling a gun would have led them to keep their foot on the accelerator. They also believe that the deceased suffered from a classic case of road rage prior to his death. The trial is expected to last for a month, during which the defendant claims to be eager to clear his name.

News: Problems for LIRR Commuters

(Long Island, N.Y.) A derailed Amtrak train has caused a long list of issues for the Long Island Rail Road. The incident occurred yesterday evening when a broken rail led the train to be derailed. The derailed train later blocked one of the four East River tunnels, causing over twenty-three cancellations for the westbound LIRR.

Workers claim to be dealing with re-railing the Amtrak train which contained no passengers at the time of the incident. Between four and six cars and coaches were derailed, but no injuries were sustained by the crew onboard. Nonetheless, cancellations are expected to carry on for LIRR trains until Wednesday or Thursday at the earliest.

Rush hour delays were experienced from Penn Station lasting up to twenty minutes. Penn Station, known as the busiest station in the country, canceled twenty of its eastbound trains. The twenty-three canceled this morning were in Queens and Brooklyn, and included the heavily-used Jamaica Station.

The LIRR notified commuters that westbound trains after four-thirty this afternoon, which are considered off-peak, will terminate at the Jamaica station. Users of the Port Washington line will be let off at Woodside Station. To continue on to Manhattan, New York City Transit subways will honor LIRR tickets on the No. 7 line.

In addition to these changes, users of the Far Rockaway lines will all depart from Atlantic terminal instead of Penn Station. The LIRR claims that a reduced schedule will be in effect for the afternoon rush hour during today’s commute. Workers estimate that at least a quarter of LIRR trains have been affected by the Amtrak train’s derailment.

Emergency repairs caused delays during the rush hour commute about a month prior to yesterday’s incident. The LIRR has also been known to delay commuters for weather-related obstacles in recent months. Some daily users of the LIRR claim that the frequent list of repeated delays date back to August of last year.

Yesterday’s incident also comes after a recent accident involving a PATH-train crash in New Jersey. The crash resulted in over thirty passenger injuries, most of which were considered minor. The commuter rail was headed for New Jersey when it impacted the bumpers at the end of the tracks as it was pulling into Hoboken Station.

The incident occurred at roughly eight-thirty in the morning. The injured passengers, most of whom suffered from neck injuries, were taken to Hoboken University Medical Center. Witnesses claim that the train had been screeching prior to impact and that the crash occurred suddenly. New Jersey Officials have already employed a Safety Board to conduct a thorough investigation of the accident.

The LIRR’s website advises commuters to allow for extra travel time and to continually check for updates. Traffic broadcasts and radio reports will be given information on the status of LIRR trains. The website also suggests that commuters sign up for the free service of E-alerts, which provide information directly from the LIRR Train Operations Center. Users are welcome to contact the LIRR’s Travel Information Center for additional requests.

News: Long Island Welcomes Betty White

(Long Island, N.Y.) The eighty-nine-year-old television legend known as Betty White was seen yesterday at the Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove. As the first stop in her book signing tour, Long Island was the place to welcome White with nearly a thousand screaming fans who had waited hours to get a glimpse of the star. True to her nature, the Golden-girl did not disappoint her audience and stayed long enough to satisfy the demands of the bulk of the crowd.

White was scheduled to visit the mall’s Barnes & Noble, which is located next to the Cheesecake Factory. She allegedly made a calm entrance from an elevator into a mob of claps and cheers while she went on to promote her new book. Released on Tuesday, the book, called “If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won’t),” is the fifth to be published by the star.

The book deals with White’s lifelong commitment to charity work and the saving of animals, as well as her television career and personal views on aging. The book is also said to explore her romances and flesh out the rumor that accused her of having a crush on actor Robert Redford. After receiving good reviews, the book is said to employ White’s trademark humor and straight-forward wit into getting her message across to readers.

The next stop on White’s promotional journey is the Fifth Avenue Barnes & Noble in Manhattan where she is scheduled to arrive around noontime today. The eighty-nine-year-old starlet has been on television since 1949, and has attracted everyone from teens to senior citizens to her Long Island appearance. Teens testified to having cut class to see the star while adults claimed to skip out on work, and whether by wheelchair or walker, White’s oldest demographic of fans attended the showing.

Reports stated that the manager of Lake Grove’s Barnes & Noble announced on the megaphone that White was overwhelmed at the support she received for her Long Island visit. The Lake Grove stop was the first of many for White, who gained a recent influx of esteem in Hollywood. Between the months of January and March over 500,000 Facebook fans successfully campaigned for White’s acceptance of Saturday Night Live’s offer to have her as the oldest host the show has ever seen.

White’s fans waited in line for hours to get a numbered ticket to see her during her Lake Grove visit. The line began in the wee hours, and an estimated five hundred people were waiting during the cold, cloudy morning an hour before tickets were scheduled to be handed out. The first four hundred were granted a meeting with star, and the rest waited on standby to see if White was able to extend her guaranteed hour-and-a-half visit.

White is a seven-time Emmy Award winner who turned down Saturday Night Live three times before accepting the host offer, which wound up boosting the show’s ratings to the highest they’ve been since 2008. She appears on a variety of sitcoms, and even on re-runs of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Attesting to her timelessness, it’s apparent that few celebrities could conjure such a diverse group of fans.

White is best known for her role as ‘Rose Nylund’ on the popular eighties sitcom series called “The Golden Girls.” White, along with Estelle Getty, Bea Arthur, and Rue McClanahan, starred in the sitcom, which some say served as the template for more modern female-cast series like “Sex and The City.” Though the oldest member of the cast, White is the sole survivor, as her co-stars passed consecutively between the years of 2008-2010. What has shocked some fans of the show is that Getty, who played Arthur’s mother, was not actually the oldest.

News: Cinco de Mayo on Long Island

(Long Island, N.Y.) Cinco de Mayo has long become an Americanized festivity, meant to be celebrated by drinking margaritas and eating burritos. Long Islanders have a variety of options, from Manhattan to the Hamptons, when it comes to where to spend the holiday. Regardless of where you party, Cinco de Mayo makes Long Islanders challenge the stigmas of drinking tequila and question the origins of such a festive celebration.

Many partygoers claim to stay away from tequila by saying “I just can’t drink the stuff,” and swearing that it causes angry, violent, or abnormal behavior. Many have wondered if the potency of tequila is really a fact or myth.

According to one report, it’s all an illusion. Unless you suffer from a specific allergy to something called a blue agave plant, the only thing potent about tequila is the quality of certain brands. Like wine, tequila can be rough on the body when it’s high in sugar, or blended with excessively sweet mixers.

For those of you bored with the traditional margarita, a good alternative is called “The Mexican Bulldog,” which adds in a miniature Corona. The “Toronja Habanero Margarita” blends grapefruit and orange liqueur, while the “Pina Con Chiles Secos” blends dried chili and pineapple juices. Both are available at Brooklyn’s Mesa Coyoacan restaurant, which is also known for its tasty entrees.

For Long Islanders wishing to celebrate the holiday in the city, reports have recommended places that are bound to be decked out in Cinco de Mayo garnishments. El Cantinero is a good venue for partygoers celebrating the festivities in larger groups. The Rodeo Bar and Grill is known for its large servings, ensuring that partygoers get the most drink for their buck.

If you’re headed out east for the holiday, Hamptons Coffee, located on Mill Road in Westhampton Beach, is known for its authentic food. It showcases everything from shrimp burritos to fish tacos and enchiladas. Bethpage‘s Mangoes Mexican Bar and Grill, located on Central Avenue, is known for its homemade guacamole. It will have raffles, specials, free jalapeno poppers, and a mariachi band.

The north shore’s Pancho Villas, located in Huntington, Glen Clove, and Huntington Station, should have more of the same kind of festivities in addition to a D.J. And the South Shore’s Don Ricardo’s, located in Babylon, is known for its unique menu. It cooks everything from veal to Spanish sausage.

Cinco de Mayo represents the Mexican underdog victory against the French during the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Four thousand Mexican troops took down eight thousand French troops and Mexican traitors, after a major military blunder led to a mass slaughtering. While Cinco de Mayo is commonly mistaken for Mexican Independence Day (which occurred on September 16th, 1810), it is a day of tribute to Mexican culture, victory, and pride.

So why should the United States take such a big part in the celebration? In addition to being known as an excuse to drink, Cinco de Mayo serves as a holiday that represents the cooperative efforts in history between the United States and Mexico.

While the United States was immersed in its own Civil War, France’s emperor Napoleon III planned on taking over the Mexican capital with the age’s finest weaponry. He also aided the United States’ rebel army. However, his struggles in Mexico made him unable to see to America’s demise.

Fourteen months after the Battle of Puebla, the United States fought in the Battle of Gettysburg, and virtually ended the American Civil War. Afterward, many American soldiers jumped the border to help their Mexican allies drive out the French in an effort that embodied freedom and liberty.

So, while you are sipping your cervezas and taking down tequila shots, think of this: it’s imagined that, had Cinco de Mayo been a day of defeat, America’s Civil War may have dragged on even longer and New Orleans could have extended to all of Mexico.

News: Nassau County’s Ticket Plan

(Long Island, N.Y.) Nassau County has made the headlines time and again for the financial crises that continually plague the county. Several plans have been designed by County Executive Edward Mangano to get Nassau County out of the hole. This time, Nassau County officials have proposed collecting up to $16.2 million on unpaid tickets.

The new program will go in effect this July and will attempt to use unpaid parking tickets to collect revenue. In previous months, Nassau County has also used roadway violations as a source of income. A new wave of red-light cameras was expected to be implemented throughout the county, which some say is another attempt to obtain money from Nassau County residents.

This time around, Nassau County Officials are targeting fourteen thousand motorists who haven’t paid three or more tickets during an eighteen-month period. The new policy will apply to unpaid parking tickets, as well as red-light violations. This, to many Nassau County residents, comes as a double-whammy.

In the meantime, Nassau County drivers will have the next two months to negotiate reduced settlements on outstanding tickets. The new program will also target cars parked at any public street or parking location in Nassau County. A locked boot will be placed on the wheel of the violator’s vehicle until the tickets are paid, and will have to be removed by the county.

Under the old system, the names of violators were turned over to a collection agency. This time around, Mangano claims to be cracking down on traffic violators and is determined to collect the money he believes is owed to fellow Nassau County taxpayers. Nonetheless, Nassau County residents wonder whether the new system will make people more or less likely to pay their tickets.

According to the Adopted Multi-Year Financial Plan Fiscal for 2011-2014, Nassau County Officials still claim that there will not be a property tax increase for residents. They also claim to have the lowest government staff headcount since the fifties and to be cutting waste/duplicate services. Their final promise is that Nassau County will live within its means.

Most of the legislation in the new plan is centered around the Tax Payer Relief Act. The Nassau County Interim Finance Authority, a state-run oversee program, will complete its review of the county on August 31st of this year. The review will focus on areas of the county’s operations that are most likely to produce savings and make the most out of federal and state aid.

During recent months Nassau County continues to be the subject of a variety of financial mishaps. Controversy over the development of a Long Island Bus has come to light, surrounding a scandal of money owed to the Metropolitan Transit Authority. Reports have stated that the struggle in court has resulted in favoring the side of the MTA.

Nassau County may eventually have to cough up $20 million to be paid to the MTA, which claims that it lent the county $51 million in 1996. According to some reports, Nassau County had promised to pay back double the amount it borrowed fifteen years ago, and has made good on $89 million. Though Nassau County tried to get out of the agreement and has claimed to appeal court rulings, it may soon have to fork over the difference in addition to interest and legal fees.