Long Island

bias crimes story gallery

Several Ku Klux Klan fliers in resealable plastic bags were found outside Rockville Centre and Wantagh homes Wednesday, and police are investigating whether they were targeted against any specific person.
In Rockville Centre, a resident first alerted police, and an officer who responded found several other fliers, blown by the wind, said Lt. Chris Romance of the Rockville Centre police. 
The fliers were dropped along Hempstead Avenue, near Lakeview Avenue, Romance said, and about 10 to 12 fliers have been collected as evidence.
"They were found on the curb lines and sidewalks of residential homes," he said. 
Nassau police said four to five fliers in ziplocked bags, with rice inside to weigh down the bags, were also discovered on Stratford Road in Wantagh. 
"We're going to be investigating it as an unusual incident," Det. Vincent Garcia said.
It's the latest distribution of fliers purporting to be from the KKK. In the past few months, several were found in Hampton Bays, Babylon and Shirley, prompting Suffolk County officials last month to gather publicly in denouncing the message behind the fliers. 
Romance said detectives and Nassau police are investigating the origin of the fliers and why they were dumped on Hempstead Avenue. The fliers would be protected under freedom of speech, he said, but not if they were dumped in an effort to target someone. 
"It's a crime to deliver and disseminate that type of information out there if you're targeting a specific person," Romance said.
So far, there's no evidence that a specific person was targeted, which would be considered a bias crime, he said.
Romance declined to detail what the fliers said.
The ones found in Suffolk were purportedly from a North Carolina-based group called the Loyal White Knights of the KKK and some referenced the recent shooting of an unarmed, black teenager by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri.

Nassau

LIKKK18

KKK fliers found outside Rockville Centre, Wantagh homes, cops say

Suffolk County police say they have investigated 236 hate crimes since the start of 2012, about 74 percent more than in Nassau County during the same time period, records show. 
Suffolk documented 87 hate crimes last year, down from 111 in 2012 -- the year Suffolk recorded the second-highest number of bias crimes of any county in the state. Through the end of July this year, Suffolk has investigated 38 hate crimes. 
Nassau police recorded 26 cases this year through the end of July, 43 hate crimes in 2013 and 67 in 2012. 
Suffolk police said the high 2012 numbers can be attributed to new recording standards and don't indicate a spike in hate crimes. 
The new standards came in the wake of a 2011 federal Justice Department letter to the county that said Suffolk police were inconsistent in the reporting and tracking of hate crimes. 
But police acknowledge high-profile incidents, such as the 2008 stabbing death of Ecuadorean immigrant Marcelo Lucero in Patchogue and the recent indictment of Suffolk Police Sgt. Scott A. Greene for allegedly targeting Latinos in a theft spree, may have given some communities pause to report hate crimes to law enforcement in the past. 
Lucero's death eventually resulted in an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to overhaul policing policies in Suffolk's minority communities. Greene pleaded not guilty in June to several counts of grand larceny as a hate crime after he was accused of repeatedly targeting and stealing from Hispanic motorists. 
"There are probably groups that don't think we're doing enough, but we are trying to make ourselves as accessible to as many communities as possible," said Suffolk Det. Sgt. James Brierton of the Hate Crimes Unit. "Sergeant Greene's alleged actions did not help us in the Hispanic community. I haven't found anybody in the police department that wasn't shocked and sickened by his alleged actions." 
Irma Solis, an organizer at the immigrant advocacy organization Make the Road New York, which has an office in Brentwood, said the allegations against Greene indicate there's still a need for "real, systemic change" in the department. 
She said a thorough investigation must be completed to determine if any other officers were involved. "It doesn't really encourage anyone who might be the victim of a crime or experience a hate crime to go and report it to police," Solis said. 
Usually graffiti 
Hate crimes on Long Island are typically graffiti featuring swastikas or other hateful messages but can sometimes escalate to violent attacks, authorities said. 
The recent distribution of recruiting fliers purportedly from the Ku Klux Klan in some Suffolk communities, though not a crime, has riled residents and caught the attention of law enforcement. 
Brierton said a renewed emphasis in training, brought on by the DOJ agreement, has paid dividends. Patrol officers frequently check in with Hate Crimes to confirm whether incidents rise to being hate crimes, which Brierton said indicates a new level of alertness to the issue. 
Additionally, the department had completed the curriculum for DOJ-mandated "bias-free policing" training and is awaiting DOJ approval before it begins in November. 
In both Nassau and Suffolk, authorities said, most of the hate crimes are anti-Jewish, typically graffiti scrawled in public places. Last week, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Long Island established a reward fund with a $1,000 donation from Roslyn resident and political consultant Brad Gertsman for anyone who provides information that leads to an arrest and conviction in anti-Semitic crimes. 
Israel's impact 
Gertsman said the strife in Israel was "fueling more anti-Semitism" in Europe and other parts of the world. On Tuesday night, Nassau police received a report of anti-Semitic graffiti on a Sleepy's mattress store in Oceanside. Police were investigating. 
Nassau Det. Lt. Gary Shapiro, commanding officer of Community Affairs, which tracks hate crimes, pointed to Nassau's figures, which have declined year to year since 2012. 
Nassau police statistics from 2013 show 25 anti-Jewish and nine anti-black incidents among its total. 
"It just takes one hate crime to unsettle a community," Shapiro said. 
While he said the department has a "zero tolerance" policy regarding hate crimes, it has to balance community concerns with the law, including the right to free speech. Shapiro said in 1979 Nassau was the second police department in the country -- after Boston -- to begin tracking bias crimes. 
"People think it's the thought police," Shapiro said. "It's not against the law to dislike or hate someone. It's against the law to victimize someone or hurt them because of who they are." 
Suffolk Legis. Kate Browning (WF-Shirley), one of a bipartisan group of legislators who held a news conference last week to denounce the KKK fliers that were first distributed in Hampton Bays and later in West Babylon and Shirley, said the fliers can be attributed to anti-immigrant sentiment. Police are investigating. 
"I don't want to say that Suffolk County is hateful or racist," Browning said. "I think it's a small faction of people who want to keep that fueled. You can't continue to fuel something like that. But it can continue to be fueled when you have people in government who are so anti-immigrant." 
Doreen Brennan was among the Shirley residents who found a KKK flier on her lawn this month. "It was just a big shock," she said. "You're blown away. I've never seen that on our block and I've lived here well over 35 years. We have a great neighborhood, a diverse block. Nobody knows why all of a sudden this popped up on our block." 
Brennan, 50, said she and other neighbors want police to figure out who's doing it and why. "I'm afraid if they get away with this, then they want to get away with something bigger, and it will just escalate," she said. 
LONG ISLAND HATE CRIMES 
Nassau 
2008 99 
2009 82 
2010 65 
2011 58 
2012 67 
2013 43 
Suffolk 
2008 57 
2009 75 
2010 48 
2011 38 
2012 111 
2013 87 
Source: Nassau and Suffolk police

LIHATE14

Hate crimes in Suffolk far exceed Nassau total

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Suffolk County lawmakers and political leaders Tuesday denounced KKK fliers that have been distributed recently in three residential neighborhoods, calling for those responsible to come forward. 
"There is no place for discrimination in Suffolk County. The KKK has a history of hatred and violence and we will not allow it to take root in Suffolk County. We need to stand together to oppose the voices of intolerance," said Legis. Jay Schneiderman (I-Montauk) at a news conference Tuesday. 
Fliers purporting to be from the North Carolina-based Loyal White Knights of the KKK were reported by residents of Babylon Village and Shirley on Sunday morning. KKK material also was found in Hampton Bays in July and August. 
"They are cowards who hide behind a veil and are too ashamed to stand by their beliefs publicly," said Legis. Kate M. Browning (WF-Shirley). "I call on these individuals to have the guts to put a face to their views." 
"I was very disappointed and disturbed to learn that such a hateful piece of material was found in our area as well as elsewhere on Long Island," added Babylon Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer, also the chairman of the county Democratic Party. "Whether it is here at home in the Town of Babylon or in society at large, there is simply no place for the intolerant viewpoints espoused in these pamphlets." 
About two dozen elected officials gathered in the lobby of the Suffolk County Legislature in Smithtown to decry the fliers. 
"Regardless of one's concerns and beliefs on immigration or any other legitimate public policy issue, there is absolutely no place for hatred or prejudice in Suffolk County ever," said Legis. Tom Cilmi (R-Bay Shore). 
Brookhaven Supervisor Edward P. Romaine called the distribution of the fliers a "despicable act that cannot be condoned." 
Browning asked that anyone who gets a pamphlet call the Suffolk County Police Department hate crimes unit at (631) 852-6323.

Suffolk

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KKK fliers, given out in 3 neighborhoods, condemned by Suffolk officials

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Suffolk police are investigating the origin of what they said appeared to be recruitment fliers for the Ku Klux Klan that several West Babylon and Shirley residents found on their property Sunday morning, police said. 
A resident of Mason Avenue in West Babylon brought a flier to the First Precinct, police said. Hate crimes unit detectives found two more fliers on Mason Drive and three more on a nearby street, police said. 
The fliers, purporting to be from the North Carolina-based Loyal White Knights of the KKK, referenced last month's shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. The fliers, which included "racist messages," police said, listed a website and phone number. 
In Shirley, at least one resident called the police to report the fliers. About a dozen fliers in total were found on Musket Drive, Happy Acres Drive and Cypress Lane, police said. 
Police said they are investigating whether the same person or group that distributed the fliers also dropped materials purporting to be from the KKK in Hampton Bays in July and August.

LIKKK08

Purported KKK fliers left in West Babylon, Shirley probed by cops

Two Suffolk County men were indicted on bias charges after they targeted senior citizens and burglarized their homes in a chimney repair scam, prosecutors said Wednesday. 
Bruce Wimmer, 32, of Bohemia and Michael R. Windland, 28, of Holbrook stole jewelry, cash and prescription medication in the burglaries last month, according to an indictment filed against them. Neither company the men claimed to represent existed, prosecutors said. 
Each is charged with second-degree burglary as a hate crime, fourth-degree attempted grand larceny as a hate crime and fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property. 
Windland confessed and told police he and Wimmer purchased marketing lists and targeted people 70 and older living in their homes for years, District Attorney Thomas Spota said at a news conference. 
"Today, seniors are indeed an enticing target," Spota said. 
Prosecutors said there are at least two, but likely more, elderly victims, and Suffolk police have established a task force to target "the jackals of this world . . . who are fleecing people," Spota said. 
Lawyers for the men entered not guilty pleas before Judge John J. Toomey in Riverhead. Each was held on $500,000 cash or $1 million bond. Their next court date is Sept. 24. 
Wimmer's record includes a grand larceny conviction in 2011 for fleecing a Queens woman of $24,000 in a roofing scam, and Windland's record includes a 2005 attempted robbery conviction, prosecutors said. 
Windland is licensed and worked for Wimmer, said Windland's attorney, Craig E. McElwee of Hauppauge. He realized "people were being taken advantage of" but didn't realize there had been burglaries, McElwee said. 
Wimmer's attorney, Jack Piana of Hauppauge, said his client, who also is licensed, denies any wrongdoing. 
A third man, Christopher Washington, 25, of Patchogue pleaded not guilty Wednesday to second-degree burglary of a Lindenhurst home March 18 in the same scam, prosecutors said. He is charged with stealing property from a homeowner, 87, who paid him $1,300. Bail was set at $25,000 cash or $75,000 bond. 
Spota said Wilmer and Windland visited a 92-year-old Bellport woman Aug. 16 after someone had called saying she might need chimney work done. 
The men quoted her a price of $3,000 and offered to drive her to the bank, which was closed. They promised to return Aug. 18. Police arrested them when they returned. 
Marie Compere, 77, of Huntington learned about the Bellport burglary from the news and notified police that she, too, was a victim. Spota said the woman received a call for a free chimney inspection and the pair visited her Aug. 14. The woman told them to leave after she found one man in her bedroom. 
Her stolen necklace and a bracelet was recovered from a Centereach pawnshop. 
"We're glad that she was able to recover what bit of jewelry they did recover," Karlyne Blain, said of her aunt's possessions, adding that a piece of a necklace, a family heirloom, was not recovered. 
Windland, who had been released on bail on the Bellport burglary, was charged in the Huntington case. 
In his confession, Spota said, Windland told police: "I know we took advantage of people, but I had to feed my kids and put food on the table."

LICHIM04

Pair accused of scamming seniors called 'jackals' by DA

LIBURG21 CROPPED mg

Community advocates suggested Monday a cautious response to the recent appearance of Ku Klux Klan recruitment pamphlets in Hampton Bays, vowing to rally against the group if more appear. 
Southampton Town police this weekend cited at least four complaints -- more anecdotally -- from residents who received the pamphlets in the past month. They advertised the Loyal White Knights, a KKK branch based in North Carolina, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, an Alabama-based organization that tracks hate groups. 
Local advocates say they will be watchful of anything more from the group. 
"We're hoping and praying this is an isolated little phenomenon by a small group of people who are living in the past," said Sister Mary Beth Moore, who works with Centro Corazon de Maria in Hampton Bays and the advocacy group Neighbors in Support of Immigrants. "It seems a rather small distribution; it's sneakily done, it's done at night." 
Robert Jones, the Knights' Grand Dragon, has said he was unaware of the Hampton Bays effort but noted the community hosts one of three New York chapters. He has said, "Everybody's fed up with immigration . . . That's why we have so many people from New York calling right now." 
Rabbi Steven Moss, co-chairman of the Suffolk County Inter-Faith Anti-Bias Task Force, said, "You always have to be careful not to over-respond to something; that's exactly what some of these hate groups want." 
Moss said leaders should be on guard for more pamphlets, and if they appear, a "stop the hate" rally might be wise. 
The issue has riled the community of Hampton Bays, the most populous hamlet in Southampton Town, with 13,000 residents. Its Hispanic population has grown in recent years, and according to the 2010 Census the community is 68 percent white and 29 percent Hispanic. 
Corey Dolgon, a sociology professor at Stonehill College in Massachusetts and the author of "The End of the Hamptons: Scenes from the Class Struggle in America's Paradise," said, "There's always been a Klan presence in the Hamptons . . . Historically, issues of race and ethnicity, especially around immigration, trigger Klan organizing." 
Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst said, "As deplorable as the action is, it does not rise to a crime at this point." 
But she added, "I'm sure the good citizens of the Town of Southampton will do what they should do with this material and put it in the garbage can."

News

TOHAMP26

Advocates will remain watchful for additional KKK pamphlets in Hampton Bays

Hampton Bays residents have found Ku Klux Klan recruitment pamphlets tucked next to their mailboxes and in their driveways over the past month, Southampton police and town officials said Saturday. 
Police have received four complaints from residents who've received the materials but have heard anecdotally of many more, Sgt. Todd Bennett said. 
The most recent incident was Friday, when a Columbine Avenue resident reported finding a KKK pamphlet in his driveway, inside a plastic bag with some candy, Bennett said. 
The first instance was July 25, when a Wakeman Road resident reported finding a pamphlet wedged between her mailbox and its flag. Other reports have come from Bay and Fanning avenues, officials said. 
Hampton Bays, Southampton Town's most populous hamlet with 13,000 people, is 68 percent white and 29 percent Hispanic, according to the 2010 Census, and has seen its Hispanic population swell in recent years. 
Some residents have complained to town officials about an influx of immigrants, though most objections have pertained to illegal apartments and increasing enrollment in local schools. 
The KKK pamphlets include illustrations of racial and ethnic caricatures and warn recipients to "beware" people looking to steal their jobs, Bennett said. 
Police have notified Suffolk County's hate crimes unit and will continue to document the incidents, though distributing the materials is not a crime, he said. 
The pamphlets advertise the Loyal White Knights, a North Carolina-based KKK branch active across the nation, including New York State, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit that tracks hate groups. 
Robert Jones, Grand Dragon of the Loyal White Knights, said in a phone interview Saturday that he wasn't aware of the recruiting effort but that Hampton Bays is home to one of his group's three New York chapters. He said a chapter, or klavern, must have at least 15 members. 
"Everybody's fed up with immigration," Jones said. "That's why we have so many people from New York calling right now." 
Southampton Town Councilwoman Bridget Fleming, who sits on the town's Anti-Bias Task Force, said Jones' claim isn't credible. "It would surprise me if there was a real presence there," she said. "There's no question that there are tensions in the community that are at times fueled by people who see things along racial lines, but that is a minority." 
The majority of people are good, salt-of-the-earth people."

LIKKK24

KKK recruitment effort sparks complaints in Hampton Bays

A Setauket man who yelled "anti-Muslim" remarks at another man before running him over with his pickup truck in Queens is facing hate crime charges, authorities said Tuesday. 
Joseph Caleca, 55, was arraigned Tuesday night on second-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault charges as hate crimes and ordered held without bail. 
Authorities said the attack occurred shortly after midnight on July 30 as Sandeep Singh, 29, of Valley Stream was getting out of his parked car in Ozone Park. 
Singh, a Sikh, was blocking Caleca's way on 99th Street near 101st Street, prompting Caleca to yell at Singh and his three friends, police said. 
Caleca shouted "Osama" and "Go back to your country," according to Queens prosecutors. 
After parking his pickup and confronting the group, Caleca returned to his truck and drove head-on into Singh, prosecutors said. 
After bumping Singh, prosecutors said, Caleca accelerated, running over the victim. 
Singh, caught in the pickup's undercarriage, was dragged for several feet before his body became dislodged, authorities said. Caleca then allegedly sped away. 
The victim was taken to Jamaica Hospital with injuries to his back and abdomen and abrasions, police said. 
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said Singh had to undergo surgery to stem internal bleeding. 
Brown called Caleca's insults "vile" and said the man faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted. 
Caleca also was charged with leaving the scene of an injury accident. He did not enter a plea Tuesday, and his attorney could not be reached for comment afterward. He is due back in court Sept. 10. 
According to the criminal complaint, Caleca admitted to police that he ran the victim over but denied that it was racially motivated. 
Caleca asked if the victim was all right and said the last time he saw him the man was conscious, the detective in the case wrote in the complaint. 
Prosecutors said police arrested Caleca on Monday after looking for his GMC Sierra pickup, and they said Singh's friends identified him in a lineup. 
-- With Gary Dymski

NYHATE20

DA: Joseph Caleca charged with hate crimes after hitting, dragging Sandeep Singh in Queens

A 3-foot pentagram, which can sometimes be associated with devil worship, was painted on the entrance door of a Franklin Square church during the weekend, Nassau police said. 
The scrawling at the Bethel Assembly of God, at 194 Courthouse Rd., is being investigated as a bias incident by Fourth Precinct detectives, police said. 
A senior pastor at the church said someone painted a green star inside a circle on the door some time between 9 p.m. Saturday and 7:30 a.m. Sunday, police said. 
"I was really saddened by it," said Richard Catapano, the senior pastor. "I recognized that as something done purposefully on our front door . . . so that whenever people come in, they had to be confronted by this." 
The symbol was painted underneath a cross on one of the double doors. Usually, an inverted five-pointed star, with two points on top inside a circle, is a symbol associated with evil and Satan. 
Catapano said he has warned other Assembly of God churches of the incident so they can keep a "watchful eye." 
To hide the pentagram on Sunday, he said, he kept the doors open as about 125 parishioners started arriving for classes and services, and explained during the service why police cars were outside. 
"I don't understand why people would do this, no matter what you believe," said church secretary Kathy Balich, who has been a parishioner for 31 years. 
She said she was shocked and struggling to make sense of the vandalism when she went to look at the pentagram just before Sunday service: "I didn't know if it was a joke. I didn't know if it was serious." 
The symbol was erased with a steel scrubbing pad and the doors have been repainted white, church officials said. 
At Sunday's service, the pastor asked the congregation to pray for the vandal and police investigators, and for God's protection, church officials said. 
"We prayed for that individual who did it," Catapano said, and asked God to help "change their hearts." 
Detectives ask anyone with information to contact Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 800-244-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.

LIBIAS01

Pentagram painted on Franklin Square church investigated as bias crime

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Nassau County police are investigating two swastikas drawn on North Hempstead traffic signs as a bias incident, authorities said Sunday.
A woman walking in Roslyn Heights on Saturday morning saw a swastika with the word "death" written in black marker on the back of a stop sign at the corner of Warner Avenue and Edwards Street, police said. She saw another swastika, drawn in black marker, on another sign down the block, Nassau police said.
Detectives said anyone with information about the swastikas could contact Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 800-244-8477.

LISWAS07

Roslyn Heights swastikas a bias crime, Nassau police say

Someone drew swastikas on the outside walls of the Martin Avenue Elementary School, 2616 Martin Ave. in Bellmore over the weekend, Nassau police said. 
 Police said two pink swastikas and other graffiti, including a racist epithet, were found. 
 Detectives are investigating the graffiti as a bias crime and ask anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 800-244-TIPS. Callers will remain anonymous.

LIGRAF01

Swastikas, racist graffiti found at Bellmore school

Suffolk County police Hate Crimes Unit investigators are trying to determine who drew swastikas and wrote racial slurs on several vehicles in a Holbrook neighborhood. 
 Police on Monday released photographs of the vehicles on Springmeadow Drive. The cars were marked sometime between 9:30 p.m. on Aug. 29 and 7:30 a.m. Aug. 30, police said. 
 Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers at 800-220-8477. All calls will be kept confidential.

LIHATE24

Cops probe hate crime vandalism in Holbrook

Crime Alert-Wanted for Aggravated Harassment

An 18-year-old <a href="/topics//Brentwood,_NY">Brentwood</a> man is facing six years in prison for hate crimes after being found guilty of burglaries targeting the elderly, Queens prosecutors said Friday.
The three victims -- ages 92, 91 and 77 -- were burglarized separately on the same day in August, according to authorities.
Justin Frank pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary as a hate crime Thursday before Acting Queens Supreme Court Justice Barry S. Kron. Sentencing is scheduled for June 7.
Frank has been in jail since his arrest in October. A phone call seeking comment from his attorney was not immediately returned. 
The defendant "shamefully targeted his victims because their advanced age and frailties made them easy targets," Queens District Attorney <a href="/topics//Richard_Brown_(politician)">Richard Brown</a> said in a statement.
Under provisions of <a href="/topics//New_York_(state)">New York</a> State's Hate Crimes Act of 2000, enhanced charges can be filed when a defendant is alleged to have selected victims because they have a disability or are elderly, defined as 60 or older.
Prosecutors said Frank and "several other unapprehended male individuals" tricked a 91- year-old man in Flushing to gain access to his home on Aug. 28.
One of the individuals told the victim he was a former neighbor and asked to be allowed inside to write down his new address so that the victim could visit, prosecutors said.
The men pushed and slapped the victim and threatened to kill him, and then took his <a href="/topics//Cellular_Phones">cellphone</a> and cash from his pocket -- even his eyeglasses. They forced him into the basement, placing a pointed stick at his neck and threatened to kill him. They left after taking more cash, according to prosecutors.
About two hours later, a 92-year-old Woodside man was taking out trash when he was approached by some men who stated they were from the water company and needed to check a broken pipe. They pushed their way into the living room, and Frank and the others took money from the victim, pushing him to the floor before fleeing, prosecutors said.
Minutes later, a few blocks away, a 77-year-old man was home with his wife when some men knocked on his door and claimed to have done work for him years earlier. Frank asked for a glass of water and blocked the victim at his refrigerator while the other men roamed the house, prosecutors said.
Later, after the men left, the victim discovered that money was missing from the wallet he'd left on the dining room table, prosecutors said.
None of the victims suffered serious injuries, according to police.

LIHATE11

Man pleads guilty to burglaries targeting elderly

A teenager was arrested Tuesday in connection with graffiti found scrawled in Greenlawn, including a swastika on a tree, Suffolk police said. 
 The tree with the anti-Semitic symbol and other graffiti, as well as profanity on at least one street sign were spotted at Grafton Street and Taylor Avenue, police said. 
 A teenager, 17, was charged with making graffiti, including the profane words, but not for the swastika, police said. Police declined to release the suspect's name, citing the ongoing investigation. 
 Bias crime detectives are investigating. 
 Officers Tuesday morning could be seen cutting off the top of the corner street sign to preserve as evidence.

LIGRAF08

Cops: Teen charged with making graffiti in Greenlawn

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The <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a> district attorney’s office is asking county police to further investigate what it described as “the apparently unprovoked attack” on a couple at a Huntington pizza parlor as a possible hate crime. 
 Police charged restaurant workers and brothers Frank Meringolo, 25, and Michael Meringolo, 20, both of <a href="/topics//Melville,_NY">Melville</a>, with misdemeanor assault in the Nov. 24 incident. 
 But at a news conference with clergy and other supporters at their church in Huntington on Friday, the alleged victims, Willie Marshall, 60, and his wife, Alfie Jean Marshall, 65, of <a href="/topics//West_Babylon,_NY">West Babylon</a>, demanded more serious charges. 
 The Marshalls, who are black, said one of the men jeered, “This one’s for <a href="/topics//Barack_Obama">Obama</a>,” as they kicked Willie Marshall. 
 Richard Toscani, a Huntington attorney in the office representing the Meringolo brothers, said the two pleaded not guilty and were released on their own recognizance. They are tentatively due back in court on Dec. 19. 
 “Both of my clients deny all of the allegations and maintain their innocence,” Toscani said. 
 But in a statement, <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a> District Attorney <a href="/topics//Thomas_Spota">Thomas Spota</a> said he is asking police to revisit the case in an expeditious manner. 
 “Please be advised that the matter has been returned to the <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County_Police">Suffolk County Police</a> Department for a further and more complete investigation, and in particular, a determination as to whether hate crime charges should be brought against the defendants,” the statement said. 
 In a statement Friday night, Suffolk police said the department was “continuing its investigation to determine if additional charges are appropriate.” 
 The alleged victims said they had just finished cleaning Joshua Baptist Church — as they have on Tuesdays and Saturdays for years — when they went for takeout about a mile away, at Paesano II on Broadway, which they had visited in the past. 
 Willie Marshall said his $5 worth of takeout slices stuck to the bag, and one of the suspects refused his request for new slices. Alfie Jean Marshall said she then asked for new slices, and when refused, asked for a refund. 
 “That’s when they started yelling and cursing and saying things,” she said, referring to racial epithets. 
 As they started to leave without resolution, Alfie Jean Marshall said, she was hit in the head with a glass cheese container that had been thrown, opening a wound in her head. 
 Willie Marshall then fought with the two men, who he said were “stomping” him and fractured his cheek. During the fracas, one of the suspects made the <a href="/topics//Barack_Obama">Obama</a> comment, he said. 
 Part of the fight, which spilled outside, was caught on a nearby store surveillance camera, said J. Stewart Moore, the <a href="/topics//Central_Islip,_NY">Central Islip</a> attorney representing the Marshalls. He applauded <a href="/topics//Thomas_Spota">Spota</a> for seeking further investigation. 
 “It would appear to me to be logical for the DA’s office and police to find in fact there was a bias crime,” he said.

LIMARC01

Couple alleges hate crime at pizzeria

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A key job for <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a>'s new police commissioner, Edward Webber, could be to deal with the potential of an order from the <a href="/topics//U.S._Department_of_Justice">U.S. Department of Justice</a> on policing Latino residents. 
 Federal officials are still reviewing allegations of discriminatory policing against Hispanics in the wake of the 2008 killing of <a href="/topics//Marcelo_Lucero">Marcelo Lucero</a>. 
 This week, the New Orleans Police Department and the federal government reached a sweeping agreement to revamp that scandal-ridden force. Could <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a> face something similar down the line? 
 Not likely, because <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a>, beginning under former County Executive <a href="/topics//Steve_Levy">Steve Levy</a>, began implementing changes in how police deal with Hispanic residents, Webber said Wednesday. 
 "We implemented most of the suggestions they gave us before the county got the letter and more after the letter was received," Webber said, referring to a September 2011 recommendation letter from DOJ's civil rights division. 
 Among the changes: Police officers have been trained to better recognize potential bias crimes, and to call in the department's hate-crime unit when necessary. In addition, hate-crime reports are compiled, followed up and stored in a central location. 
 One of the many complaints that advocates for Latino residents lodged with federal officials was that <a href="/topics//Suffolk_County,_NY">Suffolk</a> police did not take, properly categorize or adequately follow up hate-crime-related reports. 
 In last year's letter, the federal government noted that it had not yet made any formal findings in its ongoing investigation into the Suffolk department. 
 And Webber said police have not heard from the justice department since County Executive Steve Bellone assumed office in January. Wednesday, a spokesman for DOJ's civil rights division in Washington declined to comment on the status of its investigation. 
 Unlike New Orleans, there were no allegations of misconduct by Suffolk police officers. The problem, according to the DOJ letter, was that the department had inadequate systems in place to gather or track, much less solve, alleged crimes against Latinos. 
 The lack of policies blinded the department to a series of assaults against Latinos that culminated in <a href="/topics//Lucero">Lucero</a>'s stabbing death. In response to the DOJ letter, the <a href="/topics//Steve_Levy">Levy</a> administration in November submitted a 60-page reply that included details of newly enacted policies, along with a few disagreements about the DOJ's preliminary findings. 
 Webber said the department's ongoing outreach to Latinos -- and all Suffolk residents -- will be bolstered by its new push for so-called enhanced community policing. And as for the response from the Latino community, Webber said, "I think it's positive." 
 Luis Valenzuela, of the <a href="/topics//Long_Island,_NY">Long Island</a> Immigrant Alliance, agreed. "The tone that has been set by this administration is totally different," said Valenzuela, who went from criticizing police a year ago to being invited to march with Bellone, Webber and other administration officials at last week's Puerto Rican/Hispanic Day Parade. 
 "There are still a few bumps in the road, but I think they are trying to reach out," Valenzuela said. "We expect to see improved relations between police and aspiring Americans and the Latino community."

Columnists

Joye Brown

LIJOY26

SCPD taking steps to revamp on bias crimes

poCOP25

Detectives are looking for whoever scratched a swastika into a car parked at an Oceanside school, <a href="/topics/Nassau_County%2C_NY">Nassau</a> police said Tuesday.
The criminal mischief incident is being treated as a bias crime, and it happened 7:30 a.m. Monday at the Oceanside School #5 on Oceanside Road, police said. 
The victim parked her 2004 <a href="/topics/Honda">Honda</a> in the school lot when she arrived for work and she later found a 3-by-5 inch swastika on the left rear door, police said.
Detectives ask anyone with information to call Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 800-244-TIPS.

LISWAS28

Cops probe swastika hate crime in Oceanside

A racist term was spray painted along with other graffiti markings on several fences in Rockville Centre, <a href="/topics/Nassau_County%2C_NY">Nassau</a> police said Thursday. 
 The racist term was discovered written in blue paint on a residential home's fence on <a href="/topics/Hempstead%2C_NY">Hempstead</a> Avenue Wednesday, police said, and additional spray-painted graffiti was discovered the same day on two other fences, one on Bulson Road and the other on Wright Road. 
 First squad detectives said they are investigating the spray painting as a bias crime and aggravated harassment. 
 Investigators asked that anyone with information call Crime Stoppers at 800-244-TIPS.

LIGRAF20

Racist graffiti found in Rockville Centre

A swastika was found scrawled on the garage of a Sea Cliff woman's home, <a href="/topics/Nassau_County%2C_NY">Nassau</a> police said today.
The symbol was drawn in black permanent marker on a panel of the garage door sometime between Saturday evening and Sunday morning, police said. It measures 5 inches by 5 inches, police said.
The woman, 63, who is Jewish and lives on Glen Avenue, was not identified by police.
Officer James Imperiale, a police spokesman, said it is too soon to tell whether the incident, which was categorized as aggravated harassment and is being investigated by Sixth Squad detectives, is related to a rash of racist graffiti discovered nearby in recent weeks.
Two weeks ago, swastikas and the words "White Knight" were found in Sea Cliff on St. Boniface School and homes on Main Avenue, Littleworth Lane and Arlington Place, according to police.
Earlier this weekend, the vehicle of a man parked for Sabbath services at a <a href="/topics/Great_Neck%2C_NY">Great Neck</a> synagogue was scratched with swastikas, police said.
"It's still an ongoing investigation. It's too early to tell" whether the same person or people drew the swastikas, Imperiale said.
The most recent aggravated harassment incident has not yet been referred to the <a href="/topics/Nassau_County%2C_NY">Nassau</a> County Bias Crime Unit, Imperiale said.
Imperiale said police had no suspect in custody as of Sunday afternoon, but that anyone with information could contact Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 800-244-8477.

LISWAS09

Cops: Swastika scrawled on Sea Cliff home

<a href="/topics/Nassau_County%2C_NY">Nassau</a> County detectives are investigating how a Plainview man's <a href="/topics/Hanukkah">Hanukkah</a> menorah -- displayed on his lawn for many years during the holiday season -- came to be smashed. 
 The man, Burton Radish, a retired city schools assistant principal, had put up the 5-foot high and 5-foot wide candelabrum at his Gerhard Road home for about the last 10 years. Then Tuesday, his daughter came to visit and told him that his beloved holiday display was in many pieces. He raced outside and found the destroyed religious symbol. 
 "There it was at the curb. It was decimated. It was really smashed -- with a vengeance," said Radish, who called the police. 
 A police spokesman said <a href="/topics/Levittown%2C_NY">Levittown</a>-based Eighth Squad detectives were investigating the case, but further details weren't immediately available. But another spokesman said later Bias Crime detectives are looking at the case but haven't reached any conclusions yet. 
 Radish said the illuminated <a href="/topics/Hanukkah">Hanukkah</a> menorah, called a Hanukkiah, which was made of PVC and sprayed a gold color, had been affixed in a hole on his front lawn with a timer. 
 The destruction comes just after Radish had finished sitting shiva for his wife of 47 years, Roslee, who died Dec. 10. He had completed the traditional Jewish mourning period and then put up the menorah the same day, Dec. 18. 
 "This is particularly difficult," he said. 
 Radish said he plans to get a new menorah -- the vandalized Hanukkiah had been a gift from a friend -- for next year in case the damaged one can't be fixed. 
 "We'll have to build a new one for next year. I'm determined not to let this keep me from putting up another menorah."

LIMENO28

Cops probe smashed menorah in Plainview

menorah

The <a href="/topics/Nassau_County%2C_NY">Nassau</a> arson bomb squad is investigating an intentionally set fire Sunday morning at a church building under construction in <a href="/topics/Levittown%2C_NY">Levittown</a>.
The fire occurred at 4:25 a.m. at the St. Thomas Malankara Orthodox Catholic Church, at 100 Schoolhouse Rd. The building, which at the time of the fire consisted only of a shell and concrete work, suffered minor damage.
Police said fires were set to cardboard boxes and wood crates that held elevator materials in four separate locations within the structure.
The <a href="/topics/East_Meadow%2C_NY">East Meadow</a> Fire Department sent four fire trucks and 20 fire personnel to extinguish the blaze.
There is no evidence that the fire was a bias crime, but the investigation is continuing, police said.
Anyone with more information about this case is asked to contact Nassau County Crime Stoppers anonymously at 800-244-TIPS.

LICHUR10

Cops: Suspicious fires at church building

Bias incidents and hate crimes on Long Island

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