6 arrested in raids at 4 Huntington Station bars

Suffolk County police raided four Huntington Station bars early Saturday, making one weapons arrest and arresting five others for gambling and drug offenses, authorities said.

Police raided the bars around 1 a.m. off New York Avenue and West Hills Road, working with Homeland Security and state liquor authority inspectors, police said.

Suffolk police said the raids were “targeted because of MS-13 and other illegal activity,” but authorities did not elaborate on what ties to MS-13 were found.

The raids came the day after President Donald Trump spoke on Long Island vowing to crack down on the Salvadoran MS-13 gang, wanted for up to 17 killings on Long Island since January 2016 in communities such as Brentwood and Islip.

Suffolk County and Huntington Town officials also met last week to discuss a strategy for steering youths away from gangs.

The Suffolk County Police Firearms Suppression Team led the raid at Santa Rosa Restaurant at 118 West Hills Rd., where five people were arrested on charges ranging from possession of a gambling device to criminal possession of a weapon.

Police said one person at Safiro Bar on New York Avenue was detained, but no violations were found.

The owner of the Santa Rosa Restaurant, Nelly Garcia, 42, was given 10 summonses for alcohol and fire code violations, police said.

At La Perfecta Bar & Restaurant, the manager, Jesus Rivera, was given four citations for alcohol and building code violations, according to police. The manager of El Triunfo Taverna, Nery Menendez, was cited for a fire code violation.

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.