News: Search Continues At Oak Beach

(Long Island, N.Y.) Police and authorities determined to find more about what happened to missing person Shannan Gilbert continued to search the thick brush this week for clues in her disappearance. According to reports, Friday marked the fourth day of the search which resumed after months of waiting for the optimum conditions. Throughout the week-long search, items belonging to Gilbert have been retrieved and there have been new developments in the case.

Monday began with a search of many places of interest for police and authorities on the case. Sources stated that ninety specific points between Ocean Parkway and Tobay Beach were searched in the attempt to obtain more information about Gilbert’s whereabouts. Places along the Robert Moses Causeway were also investigated as part of the overall search.

Tuesday’s search uncovered items belonging to Gilbert such as a pocketbook. According to reports, the pocketbook contained Gilbert’s identification and her family recognized it as her property. Sources also claimed that jeans and shoes were discovered, and matched the description of what Gilbert had been wearing on the night of her disappearance over a year ago.

Police and authorities believe to have found Gilbert’s cellphone during their search along the brush on Wednesday. Reports stated that Gilbert’s relatives consider the new findings as steps to uncover the truth about what happened to their beloved Shannan. While feeling that it is better to know that she may be alive, family members have also hoped to obtain answers in the case.

It was reported that Thursday’s search of the area involved heavy machinery used to dig in a specific spot. While it is not believed that the machinery will be used in further searches, sources claimed that a bone was discovered this morning. The alleged finding was retrieved along a drainage pipe and near a parking lot.

There has also been much talk about whether Gilbert’s disappearance might have been a result of an accident. Gilbert’s family, located in Ellenville, has claimed that they believe Shannan’s disappearance was not accidental. Gilbert lived in Ellenville before she relocated to Jersey City prior to her disappearance.

News: Police Resume Gilgo Beach Search

(Long Island, N.Y.) The search for missing person Shannan Gilbert has resumed this week. Police and investigators will pick up where they left off while searching the thick brush of the sandy dunes along Ocean Parkway. Their goal is to find out what happened to the twenty-four-year-old who disappeared on May 1st, 2010.

Authorities on the case are resuming the search after the thick foliage of spring made it difficult to navigate the rough terrain. They hope to complete their investigation before the winter’s snowfall makes it nearly impossible to search the area. New information about the case has also been revealed this week, and police and investigators are claiming that only one killer is responsible for the remains of ten victims.

It’s been reported that the fate of Gilbert is not likely related to what happened to the ten victims discovered along the parkway in the last year. The circumstances surrounding Gilbert’s disappearance were not similar to those of the other girls on the night of their murders. Authorities on the case have information linking the Gilgo Beach killer to what happened to victims over fifteen years ago.

All of the victims are believed to have worked in the sex trade, with the exception of a two-year-old girl who was linked to one of the other victims. The remains of the only male were discovered along with women’s clothing. The ages between the victims were similar, and investigators have claimed that serial killers often “evolve” to change their methods of killing.

What unites the victims is the dumping ground, which will be searched along Gilgo, Cedar, and Oak Beach. Authorities on the case assure the public that theories on a killer change as the murder investigation continues. Experts still believe the killer is likely a Long Island resident, and some of the remains found along Jones Beach last spring matched remains found at Davis Park, Fire Island in 1996.

The man Gilbert was meeting on the night of her disappearance is not a suspect and has allegedly put his beachfront house for sale at $400,000. The last person to have reportedly seen Gilbert alive, a resident in the gated Oak Beach community, has claimed that Gilbert was headed for the water after screaming for her life and likely fell before drowning; he doesn’t believe she was murdered. A vigil for the victims will be held on December 13th and is being organized by their family members and loved ones.

News: Thanksgiving Fire Injures Five

(Long Island, N.Y.) A fire that began in the back of a Brooklyn apartment caused five people to be treated for injuries. The fire, which occurred in the early afternoon of Thanksgiving Day, was likely caused by careless smoking in bed. The location of the fire was on President Street in Park Slope.

Firefighters and an emergency response team rushed to the scene between Fourth and Fifth Avenues. Reports stated that the five injured were initially listed in serious and critical conditions but were later classified to be in stable conditions. Sources claimed that a child, woman, man, and two sisters were those injured in the unexpected blaze.

According to reports, the man broke through a third floor window to escape the fire and was photographed on top of a neighbor’s awning. He was shirtless and bloodied and allegedly appeared to neighbors as a man attempting suicide. Police and authorities were quickly called to the scene and the man slipped on his own blood while shouting for help and for a baby trapped inside.

A woman also appeared at the third floor window and was rescued by emergency responders with the use of a ladder. The three others injured in the fire were brought on stretchers, including the baby. Some reports stated that the child was dressed in only a diaper and received CPR by personnel at the scene.

Sources also claimed that neighbors became alerted to the fire after hearing glass breaking and screaming. They allegedly saw white smoke coming from the windows and the top of the roof. The owner of the building had lived there for over forty years and was absent at the time of the fire.

This incident is one of many tragedies to occur on Thanksgiving Day. Last Thanksgiving, a twenty-seven-year-old man shot and killed his twenty-two-year-old ex-girlfriend. Her father was also shot and killed before the gunman took his own life.

Thanksgiving Day two years ago involved a tragedy in Florida when an uninvited family member shot and killed four people after dinner. According to reports, two sisters were murdered, one of whom was pregnant. A six-year-old girl was shot in her bedroom, days shy of her seventh birthday.

News: New Info on Medford Shooter

(Long Island, N.Y.) Information has been released concerning the drug habits of the thirty-four-year-old man responsible for killing four people in the Medford Pharmacy Shooting. Approximately ten-thousand painkillers were stolen during the robbery massacre, and sources have claimed that a large amount of pills had been given to the shooter just days prior. According to reports, the husband and wife involved in the robbery visited doctors for drug prescriptions over ten times a month.

Over twelve-thousand pain pills were filled from prescriptions given by over ten doctors in the four years leading up to the incident. In the six months that passed prior to the incident, from January to June, between four and five thousand pills had been given to the couple from various pharmacies. A bulk of the pills came from prescriptions from three different doctors, one of whom treated both husband and wife as patients without knowing that they were a married couple.

Four hundred pills from six different prescriptions and five different doctors were given to the couple during an eleven day period in the month of the shooting. Days prior, the shooter’s wife filled a prescription for over a hundred pills. According to reports, the initial pills given to the couple should have been more than enough for a four-month supply.

The thirty-four-year-old shooter filled a prescription for hydrocodone at Haven Drugs four days before he robbed the pharmacy and murdered employees and customers. One doctor, who treated the shooter’s wife, claimed that she couldn’t pay for visits but wanted the medicine anyway. According to research, there are more overdose deaths from oxycodone than there are from heroin on Long Island.

Prior to the shooting, the State Department of Health has organized a database precaution designed to allow doctors to perceive if a patient is abusing drugs. Doctors are able to see if multiple prescriptions for drugs have been given to patients by other doctors in a short period of time. Unfortunately, very few doctors use the system and much support is needed to get them to continually check patients through the search tactic.

Part of the issue is irresponsible prescribing and the existence of patient privacy laws that may discourage the exchange of information between professionals. There is also a time gap in which pharmacies don’t have to report patients to the system until the following month of the prescription process, resulting in a lack of accurate information about potential drug abusers. There is also the concern that such abusers may make it difficult for those with genuine need to obtain painkillers and prescription drugs.

News: Life in Prison for Medford Shooter

(Long Island, N.Y.) The man responsible for taking four innocent lives last Father’s Day while robbing a Medford pharmacy has been sentenced to life in prison. The man will serve consecutive life sentences for the crimes committed on June 19th when he attempted to collect thousands of pills to fuel a drug addiction. Last September he had been charged with five counts of first-degree murder.

A gathering was held at the Riverhead Criminal Court when families of the victims were provided with an opportunity to speak. While the family statements had no bearing upon the sentence, they were useful in providing the grieving loved ones with a therapeutic experience and a chance at closure. Family members of the thirty-three-year-old mother who was killed in the shooting were present, and a statement was given from the loved ones of the seventy-one-year-old victim.

According to reports, a statement was given from the sister of the seventeen-year-old pharmacy clerk killed in the shooting. Most of the family members of the deceased wished that the shooter and his wife, an accomplice to the crime, received maximum punishment for their senseless and abominable actions. According to the shooter’s attorney, the shooter listened to the statements without showing any emotion and didn’t appear to be remorseful during the proceedings.

As promised by officials in the case, the murderer received no leniency for the crime. His attorney, from Central Islip, claimed that he never saw anything like the lack of response he witnessed from his client. The family’s statements lasted for two hours while the defendant listened to their testimonies.

The Medford shooter also received four twenty-five-year sentences for the criminal use of a firearm. According to reports, he received the maximum sentencing for the charges. It’s unsure whether he will also receive solitary confinement in prison and if he poses a threat to his correctional officers.

The shooter’s twenty-nine-year-old wife was in tears in the courtroom and allegedly claimed she was sorry for her role in the shootings. She received the maximum of twenty-five-years in prison for having occupied the getaway car and playing a part in the disguise and attempt to evade authorities. Sources claimed that the murderer won’t ask for forgiveness or any mercy.

News: More Arrests for Occupy Wall Street

(Long Island, N.Y.) Sixteen protesters were arrested outside the Goldman Sachs headquarters as part of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Reports stated that those arrested had been sitting in the driveway that led to the building. The location of the incident was at West Street and police were called to remove them from the area.

Some sources claimed that Thursday’s arrests were part of a lunch hour demonstration. It was reported that roughly two-hundred people had walked for seven blocks with drums to display their support for the cause. Those who have spoken about the incident have claimed they were peacefully rallying in areas that weren’t prohibited.

At least fifteen of the protesters have been charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. The Occupy Wall Street movement, which has lasted for months and spread around various cities across the nation, dates back to September when fifty protesters were arrested for allegedly occupying Union Square. According to reports, those arrested refused to participate with prosecutors in a deal that would have dropped their charges.

Instead, the vast majority of the protesters denied the deal, which existed under the terms that they stay out of trouble for a six-month period. The new court date for those protesters is scheduled for January 9th of next year. Since the arrests, it has appeared that many others have taken the example and have refused to cooperate with police and authorities in order to strengthen their cause.

According to reports, part of the issue with the large crowds of protesters is the dangers in blocking traffic. There is also the issue of pedestrians who needed to navigate the occupied streets and for those who work in the buildings in the area. Nonetheless, protesters maintain that they have stayed on the sidewalks and have been keeping away from traffic so that pedestrians have room to travel.

It’s uncertain how long the protesters will continue rallying and whether the situation will escalate to require more police involvement. Sources claimed that police and authorities who have responded in the area have continued to handle the situation as peacefully as possible.

News: $1 Billion Estimated in Fraud on LI

(Long Island, N.Y.) The FBI is currently investigating former workers of the Long Island Rail Road for possible fraudulent claims to disability benefits. Reports stated that authorities and federal prosecutors on the case have stated that the investigation is ongoing and involves a decade-long scheme from several ex-employees. At least eleven people are involved in the case, including two doctors and ten Long Island residents.

The hundreds of disability claims had been made to a government agency known as the federal Railroad Retirement Board. A billion dollars was the expected total amount of dollars spent on fraudulent claims to disability benefits. Seven former Long Island Rail Road employees have been charged, calling many others into question.

Some of the claims have dated back to 1998, and sources stated that the benefits given to former Long Island Rail Road employees were at a rate twelve times greater than that of Metro-North workers. The head of the Railroad Retirement Board has been accused of preparing potential recipients of disability benefits for making false claims. The Railroad Retirement Board is funded by payroll and employer taxes.

According to reports, federal prosecutors have been asking those involved in the scheme to come forward while urging them to “find us before we find you.” Leniency has not been guaranteed to those who do so in either the ongoing civil or criminal cases. A complaint of over seventy pages long against the accused employees was presented in a New York City federal court.

If convicted, the guilty parties could face a maximum of twenty years in prison for conspiracy to commit heath care and mail fraud. The doctors involved in the case are Long Island residents in their early sixties who have been suspected of getting rich while approving almost all of the Long Island Rail Road applicants they saw, which amounted to an estimated eight-six percent of the claims made in over a decade. The employees, whose ages were between fifty and fifty-five, had typically worked heavy overtime to maximize their pensions.

The FBI used undercover tapes, statistical analysis, and video surveillance techniques to gather evidence against the workers who have the option of retiring at fifty. Long Island Rail Road Employees wishing to do so can opt for partial pensions after twenty years of work instead of waiting until sixty-five for a full pension. One worker, who is an avid golfer and tennis player, is accused of receiving over six figures a year in pension and disability; another worker retired as a signal operator at fifty-five but has participated in a four-hundred-mile bike tour while on disability.

News: Man Released After Crash That Killed Cop

(Long Island, N.Y.) A twenty-five-year-old man from Plainview was released from prison after a drunk-driving incident that killed a Suffolk County Police Officer. The incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning on February 22nd, 2009. According to reports, the man was also accused of operating his cell phone at the time of the crash.

The man returns to his wife and two kids after two years and eight months behind bars. He served nine months in a state prison, and reports stated that he was released from the Gowanda medium security facility in Erie County. Sources claimed that he had been driving a 2007 Dodge Magnum on the night of the fatal collision.

The crash occurred at Vanderbilt Motor Parkway and Commack Road in Commack during a time when the released man was out on bail. He had been arrested in Nassau County for a drunk-driving offense that occurred in January of that year. He pleaded guilty in March of the following year to driving while intoxicated, and served a year in prison according to his sentence.

The police officer killed was a forty-five-year-old man from Bayport who had been responding to a call in his police cruiser. The man who hit the officer caused the police cruiser to hit a utility pole. The vehicle exploded upon impact, killing the officer at a time when his lights and siren had been allegedly turned off.

The man’s blood alcohol level was over twice the legal limit at .19 and some reports questioned how fast the officer had been traveling prior to the crash. The twenty-five-year-old, who did not receive a plea bargain, pleaded guilty to the C-felony of vehicular manslaughter and aggravated driving while intoxicated. He had been indicted at the Riverhead Criminal Court and handled by officers from the Fourth Precinct in Hauppauge and the Third Precinct in Bay Shore.

According to reports, he was sentenced in January to up to four years in prison, two of which he spent in a Suffolk County jail before the sentencing. After being credited with time served, the man spent minimal time behind bars for his crime in the eyes of prosecutors who wrote the state parole board opposing his release from prison. He will be on probation until February of 2013, and allegedly had no disciplinary problems with a clean record during his time in prison.

According to reports, the man continues to be remorseful for his crime and has apologized to the grieving policemen. The officer’s family was allegedly disappointed with the sentencing in the case, but chose to accept the outcome. Sources claimed that the twenty-five-year-old has plans to work in his family’s restaurant business and may receive a license only after his probation period is complete.

News: Protests Continue on Wall Street

(Long Island, N.Y.) The hundreds of protesters who have gathered in a park owned by Brookfield Office Properties near Wall Street faced possible eviction during a scheduled cleanup. Reports stated that the cleanup was postponed, and that the rally-goers believed that it was designed as a plot to remove them from the area. Since the protests began there have been dozens of arrests, and an alleged seven arrests were made in the most recent hours of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

According to reports, the seven arrests occurred as hundreds of protesters left the park and proceeded to march south through the financial district. They continued to march north toward City Hall in order to further their cause and extend the movement. Since the movement began, more than three thousand protesters have occupied Wall Street and the financial district.

Sources have also claimed that similar protests have been occurring in over a thousand cities across the country. Areas like Boston, Denver, Seattle, and Philadelphia have reported rallies and arrests in correlation with the Occupy Wall Street movement. Globally, similar protests are expected to occur in over seventy countries, including two that are scheduled in Canada this weekend.

Reports stated that there have been over twenty arrests in Denver when dozens of protesters didn’t abide by the city’s eleven p.m. curfew. The rally-goers had gathered outside the state capital, as did six inside a senate office building in Washington. Sources claimed that over a hundred people were arrested in Boston after a rally occurred in an observed area for green space.

Cities like Trenton, Chicago, Austin, and San Francisco have also participated in the movement with rallying activity. Reports claimed that Houston, Los Angeles, Providence, Cincinnati, Salt Lake, and Atlanta were among the places involved in the protests in recent weeks. Many protesters claim to be executing their rights to peacefully object to the nation’s policies and to be exercising what is entitled to them under the First Amendment.

Protesters at the park near Wall Street believe that they have kept it clean and utilized brooms, mops, and buckets to work overnight at tidying the area. Nonetheless, neighbors and park officials have allegedly complained of unsafe and unsanitary conditions. Reports of odors, lewdness, harassment, and drug use have been made against the protesters that have occupied the area.

Many believe that the Wall Street protests are only the beginning of what’s to come as a movement against the billions of dollars spent in bank bailouts while unemployment and job insecurity still plagues the average U.S. citizen. The conditions of the protests- the lack of toilets and a shortage of garbage cans- illustrate the dedication rally-goers have to the cause of shifting more of the tax burden on the richest 1% of Americans. While the park is normally cleaned daily, it has not been serviced in the last four weeks of the protests.

News: Update on Gilgo Beach Murders

(Long Island, N.Y.) In recent weeks the victims of the Gilgo Beach serial killer(s) were brought into focus as authorities attempted to obtain the identities of the five remaining unidentified remains. So far, half of the identities have been revealed and police and authorities have released two composite sketches of the unknown victims. New details about the case and images of the victims’ jewelry have also been released.

The recent release of new information in the case has been the first press briefing since May. Police and authorities on the case are maintaining that there are still no suspects and are therefore treating the case as an open investigation. One of the victims is believed to have perished between five and ten years ago.

Investigators have identified that victim as an Asian man wearing women’s clothing, and are saying that he was likely a prostitute. He was found missing two molars and one of his top front teeth. Experts on the case have estimated that he is between the ages of seventeen and twenty-three-years-old and stood at five-feet-and-six-inches tall.

The other sketch released was that of Jane Doe No. 6, who perished a lot like one of the identified victims, twenty-year-old Jessica Taylor. Like Taylor, She is believed to have been a prostitute working in the New York City area in the fall of 2000. Also like Taylor her partial remains, what was left of her torso, was discovered in Manorville in November of that year.

A decade later and forty-five-miles away on the Long Island Expressway her head, hands, and right foot were found scattered along Ocean Parkway and later linked through DNA analysis. She is believed to have been Caucasian and between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five. She had a tattoo on her right ankle, which was mutilated by the killer to conceal her identity, and stood around five-feet-and-two-inches tall.

Images of jewelry on an infant girl found near Cedar Beach, who investigators have estimated is between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four-months-old, were released along with photographs of her relative’s bracelets. Police and authorities on the case say that there is a DNA link between the infant and other female remains, which were found ten miles away near Jones Beach State Park, and that the pair is likely mother and child. The jewelry was not distinct, and consisted of hoop earrings and a rope-style necklace found on the infant, with something that resembled snakeskin and X-O links between mock diamonds on the bracelets of the mother.

Investigators claimed that they were killed between one and five years ago. Also, partial remains found near Tobay Beach matched the severed legs wrapped in plastic that washed up thirty miles eastward fifteen years ago. On April 20th, 1996 those remains came ashore near the Davis Park Section of Fire Island.