(LONG ISLAND, NY) The Homicide Squad reports the arrest of a Coram man for Murder on Friday, March 07, 2014 at 1:00 P.M.

According to detectives, on Saturday, March 1, 2014, John Frankowski, 71, of New Hyde Park was reported missing by his son who resides in Florida.  During the investigation, Missing Person detectives determined the victim’s nephew, Jonathan Roman, 42, of 5 Grove Avenue, Coram had an argument with his uncle which escalated causing the death of the victim.  On Friday, March 07, 2014 the Homicide Squad along with a Suffolk County K9 unit recovered the victim’s body buried in a wooded area behind the suspect’s home.  The victim was pronounced deceased at 2:45 P.M. at the scene.

Jonathan Roman, 42, of 5 Grove Avenue, Coram is charged with Murder 2nd degree and was arraigned today, Saturday March 8, 2014 at First District Court in Hempstead

Roman is charged with Murder 2nd degree and will be arraigned on Saturday March 8, 2014 at First District Court in Hempstead.

(LONG ISLAND, NY) Suffolk County Police today arrested a man for robbing three banks and attempting to rob another in Mastic, Center Moriches, and Patchogue over an eight day span.

Utilizing video surveillance as well as tips, Pattern Crime Unit detectives identified the suspect as John Harvey. Harvey was arrested with the assistance of 7th Pct. Crime Section and Cope Units at the corner of Winters Drive and Kameo Drive in Mastic without incident at 3:24 p.m.

Investigations by Pattern Crime Unit detectives revealed that Harvey was responsible for the following:

• Robbing a Capitol One Bank in Mastic on February 27
• Attempting to rob a HSBC in Mastic on March 3
• Robbing a Chase Bank in Center Moriches on March 3
• Robbing a Chase Bank in Patchogue on March 6

Harvey, 21, of 22 Applegate Dr., Mastic, was charged with three counts of Robbery 3rd Degree and one count of attempted Robbery 3rd Degree and is scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip March 8.

Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to call anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS. All calls will remain confidential.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. Defendants are entitled to a fair trial with the burden on the prosecution to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

(LONG ISLAND, NY) The Homicide Squad reports the details of a fatal motor vehicle accident that occurred on Friday, March 7, 2014 at 4:00 p.m. in Hicksville.

According to detectives, a female victim, 81 years of age, was driving a 2001 Toyota eastbound on Princess Street when the vehicle accelerated and crossed the southbound lanes of North Broadway, continuing over the center median into the northbound lanes, striking a 2014 Ford Focus, being driven by a 31 year old male.

The vehicle was redirected into the path of a 2012 tractor trailer traveling northbound being operated by a 45 year old male. The impact of the collision caused the victim to be ejected from her vehicle. She was transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced deceased by hospital personnel.

A brake and safety check was conducted on the tractor trailer at the scene and the other vehicles were impounded. No other injuries were reported. The victim’s identity is being withheld pending family notification. The investigation is ongoing at this time.

(Queens, NY) On Monday, March 10, 2014, Queens Council on the Arts mixes up dance and food at Senses Transport, the second Moveable Feast Artist Dinner Series to raise money for a stop gap scholarship fund.

Senses Transport is a special one-night event that will take guests on a journey of the five senses! Through experimental and improvisational dance accompanied by a solo violinist, Queens based choreographer Emily Berry and her dance collective, Beyond Third Wave, will inspire Manducatis Rustica Chef Gianna Cerbone-Teoli’s culinary menu for the evening.

Food is like a dance. The movement portrays the passion. And the passion is what feeds my soul. What feeds yours? – Mamma Gianna

Participants experience all five senses as they are moved through a multi-course meal that places them in the performance space with dancers, a violinist, and a chef. This is a rare opportunity to get up close and personal interactions with artists as they take you on a journey of the senses.

Proceeds will support scholarships for QCA’s High School to Art School Portfolio Development Program. Give underserved high school juniors and seniors the ability to attend nationwide art colleges by literally closing the gap of their financial assistance for their 1st year of college.

Monday, March 10, 2014 at 6:30pm

Manducatis Rustica Restaurant
46-33 Vernon Boulevard
Long Island City, NY 11101

Admission: $150
Buy your tickets here!

The mission of the Queens Council on Arts is to foster, and develop the arts in Queens County and to support individual artists and arts organizations in presenting their cultural diversity for the benefit of the community. For more information visit: www.queenscouncilarts.org

For more information please contact Jackie DeDios, 347-505-3013, JDeDios@queenscouncilarts.org.

The newly released booklet details personal and collected testimonies on the negative effects of fracking

(Bayside, Queens) Senator Tony Avella hosted a press conference today with Environment New York, a statewide, citizen-based environmental advocacy organization, on the release of latest evidence against the implementation of hydrofracking, an extremely dangerous practice of extracting natural gas from shale rock formations.

As Governor Andrew Cuomo continues to weigh a decision on whether to allow hydraulic fracturing in New York State, Environment New York presented Shalefield Stories, a booklet written by people on the frontlines of fracking who tell their own experiences of illness, water contamination, and damage to their livelihoods due to the drilling operations.  The collection includes testimonies ranging from negative health impacts to financial despair, loss of property and livestock, and agricultural ruin.

“Shalefield stories highlights the stories of victims of fracking, who live right next to us, in Pennsylvania,” said Heather Leibowitz , Director of Environment New York. “From stories of Judy Armstrong Stiles who found arsenic and barium in her water after signing the lease to allow fracking , and who later found it in her blood stream, to stories from June Chappel from Washington County who can tell you exactly what it’s like to live just 200 feet from a 15 million gallon waste fracking pit, these stories come at a critical time and we have the responsibility to listen to their words of wisdom.”

Senator Tony Avella stated, “When you hear from people about their own personal horror stories of the damages they have incurred to their homes and water supply as the result of hydrofracking, it stops you dead in your tracks and makes you wonder why this dangerous practice is even under consideration.”

This booklet is being released just a few weeks after President Obama called for more high-volume hydraulic fracturing of natural gas during his State of the Union Address.

Ms. Pramilla Malick, a resident of Minisink, New York, a town known for its organic farming, shared her own experience of being targeted for a huge gas compressor station by Millennium Pipeline to be built in the center of this pristine rural-residential community.

“My neighbors are now besieged by noxious odors, severe air pollution, and deafening noise from frequent blowdown events,” said Malick.  “We are all experiencing many symptoms that we have never had, prior to the facility being built.  Rather than putting the brakes on the permits until we understand the public health implications, which have shown to be extremely negative, our state agencies are handing out permits like candy on Halloween.”

“Anyone who doubts the damage of dirty drilling simply has to look next door to the nightmare unfolding in Pennsylvania. We have known this truth for some time. But now we are hearing it from the source, from the very people living on the frontlines of fracking,” added Leibowitz. “We urge our decision-makers in Albany to ban fracking so we can swiftly close the door on dirty drilling.”

“I think we all agree that hydrofracking has been a disaster in Pennsylvania and it is very important to share Shalefield stories in New York,” concluded Avella.  “This evidence should be enough for the Governor to say “no” and finally ban hydrofracking in the State once and for all.

Environment New York Research & Policy Center is a statewide, citizen-based environmental advocacy organization. Our professional staff combines independent research, practical ideas, and tough-minded advocacy to overcome the opposition of powerful special interests and win real results for New York’s environment. As part of Environment America, we fight to protect our air, water, and open spaces here in New York, in state capitals across the country, and in Washington D.C.

(LONG ISLAND, NY) Suffolk County Police Pattern Crime detectives are investigating a bank robbery that occurred in East Northport today.

A man entered the Capital One Bank located at 291 Clay Pitts Road, at approximately 1:50 p.m., approached a teller, and presented a note demanding cash. The teller complied with the demand and the man fled the bank westbound through the parking lot.

Dated view of the Capital One Bank located at 291 Clay Pitts Road, where a man entered at approximately 1:50 p.m., approached a teller, and presented a note demanding cash. The teller complied with the demand and the man fled the bank westbound through the parking lot.

The robber is described as a white male, approximately 5 feet 9 inches tall in his early 60s, with a thin build. He was wearing a knit cap, blue jeans and a black and white jacket.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS. All calls will remain confidential. Crime Stoppers offers up to a $5,000 cash reward for information leading to an arrest. You do not have to reveal your identity to help solve this crime. All calls will remain anonymous.

(LONG ISLAND, NY) Suffolk County Police Pattern Crime detectives are investigating a bank robbery that occurred in Patchogue this afternoon.

A man entered the Chase Bank, located at 472 Medford Ave., at 3:26 p.m., approached a teller, and presented a note demanding cash. The teller complied with the demand and the man fled the bank on foot in an unknown direction.

Dated view of the Chase Bank, located at 472 Medford Ave., where at 3:26 p.m., a man entered, approached a teller, and presented a note demanding cash. The teller complied with the demand and the man fled the bank on foot in an unknown direction. Image credit: Google Street Views.

The robber is described as a white male, between 5 feet 8 inches tall and 5 feet 10 inches tall, in his mid-20s, with a thin build. He was wearing a knit cap and a red sweatshirt.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS. All calls will remain confidential. Crime Stoppers offers up to a $5,000 cash reward for information leading to an arrest. You do not have to reveal your identity to help solve this crime. All calls will remain anonymous.

(HAUPPAUGE, NY) Star Communications, one of Long Island largest commercial printing and marketing solutions companies located in Hauppauge, has announced that America’s VetDogs®, the Veterans K-9 Corps® of Smithtown, has been awarded the company’s Star Printing Grant, a grant to be used for printed materials valued at $5,000. America’s VetDogs will use this grant to produce two separate marketing and informational pieces.

Star Communications, one of Long Island largest commercial printing and marketing solutions companies located in Hauppauge, has announced that America’s VetDogs® – the Veterans K-9 Corps® has been awarded the company’s Star Printing Grant, a grant to be used for printed materials valued at $5,000. Pictured from left to right is Wells B. Jones, CEO of America’s VetDogs® and Joe Crook, Vice President at Star Communications.

Star Communications will design and produce 20,000 copies of each piece. These full color materials, printed on the Star Communications newly installed 10 color Heidelberg Speedmaster, will be distributed nationally to organizations that work with veterans and the visually impaired who can benefit from the America’s VetDogs programs and utilize their guide and service dogs. Star Communication’s Heidelberg Speedmaster enables the company to rapidly and efficiently produce a wider-range of high-quality cost-effective full color and other print products, by printing both sides of the sheet simultaneously.

America’s VetDogs provides guide dogs for veterans who are blind; service dogs for veterans with other physical disabilities; physical and occupational therapy dogs to work with amputees in military and VA hospitals; and combat stress control dogs to be deployed in combat zones. The organization prides itself in working diligently to ensure that each veteran is matched appropriately with a dog to meet their needs and lifestyle, and serves individuals and veterans from across the United States.

Wells B. Jones, CEO of America’s VetDogs, states, “America’s VetDogs is honored to receive this grant. It will provide an opportunity to raise awareness nationally for our programs. This Star Communications produced printed material will help us increase knowledge and benefits of having an assistance dog from America’s VetDogs.”

“After carefully considering the over 50 applications we received from not-for-profit charitable organizations, America’s VetDogs was awarded the $5,000 grant,” Star Communications Vice President Joe Crook shared. “A committee of five reviewed all of the applications. Their mission statement and clarity of purpose for the grant weighed heavily in our decision. Taking care of veterans from all eras is obviously a high priority with all Americans today, and we at Star Communications want to be a part of it.”

For information about the programs and services provided by America’s Vet Dogs, visit www.vetdogs.org or call 1-866-VETDOGS (838-3647). For more information about Star Communications services and marketing capabilities, visit www.starcommunications.us or email info@starcommunications.us.

(LONG ISLAND, NY) Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Suffolk County Police Third Squad detectives are seeking the public’s help to identify and locate the men who stole merchandise from a store in Bay Shore in January.

Two men entered Lowes, located at 800 Sunrise Highway, and stole 18 rolls of copper wire that has an estimated value of nearly $1500 on January 30. The men, who were described as Hispanic, were seen leaving in a white work truck possibly a Ford.

Two men entered Lowes, located at 800 Sunrise Highway, and stole 18 rolls of copper wire that has an estimated value of nearly $1500 on January 30. The men, who were described as Hispanic, were seen leaving in a white work truck possibly a Ford.

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.

(LONG ISLAND, NY) Suffolk County Police have arrested a man for committing a series of residential burglaries over the past several months.

As a result of an investigation into a series of residential burglaries occurring in the Ronkonkoma area, Fifth Precinct Gang Unit officers at the direction of Fourth Squad detectives arrested Vincent Heilig on March 5, for six residential burglaries. Further investigation by Fifth Squad detectives revealed Heilig was responsible for four additional burglaries in Ronkonkoma and Medford.

Vincent Heilig, 30, of Ronkonkoma, is charged with 10 counts of Burglary 2nd Degree and one count of Attempted Burglary 2nd Degree. He is scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on March 7.

Heilig entered houses when the residents were not home and stole jewelry and money. The first burglary occurred in April of 2013, and the rest came in December of 2013, and January 2014.

Heilig, 30, of 2363 Ocean Ave., Ronkonkoma, is charged with 10 counts of Burglary 2nd Degree and one count of Attempted Burglary 2nd Degree. He is scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on March 7.

The investigation is continuing.