Cops: Man smashed Oheka Castle's windows
The entrance welcomes guests to Oheka Castle on a stormy day in Huntington. (Oct. 14, 2010) Credit: Jesse Newman
A Huntington man was arrested Friday and charged with destroying $32,000 worth of windows at Oheka Castle, a nearly 100-year-old structural landmark in Huntington Town, police said.
Alex Moreno, 20, was arrested on burglary charges after a groundskeeper saw him in the hotel's indoor pool area smashing two massive windows, Suffolk police said.
Det. Lt. Tom O'Heir said, "He took an item from one of the bronze statues in the pool area and smashed two of the window doors, approximately 15 feet high," O'Heir said. "Fortunately one of the workers saw him, otherwise there might have been more damage."
Originally the home of banker and philanthropist Otto Kahn, Oheka Castle and Hotel is now a massive upscale luxury hotel and events center. As Long Island's most expensive wedding location, it was rumored earlier this year as a likely future wedding site for New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter and actress Minka Kelly.
O'Heir said detectives were still trying to determine the reason for the vandalism. Moreno lives on Oakwood Road, about a mile from Oheka Castle, but police do not think that he'd been there previously, O'Heir said.
Moreno was to be arraigned Saturday in First District Court, Central Islip.
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