Cops: Man stole tip, 9/11 charity jars

A Farmingville man snatched tip jars and a 9/11 First Responders charity jar from three fast-food outlets to support his drug habit, Suffolk County police said Monday.

Laurence Reilly, 47, of Hanrahan Avenue in Farmingville, faced three misdemeanor counts of petty larceny and was to be arraigned later Monday in First District Court in Central Islip, police said.

Reilly, who has a history of arrests for petty thefts, would place an order for food, then grab the jar and leave the store while the worker processed his order, Sgt. Todd Barone of the Sixth Precinct said.

The defendant stole tip jars from a Quiznos on Route 112 in Medford and the China 4 Restaurant on Main Street in Holbrook, and the 9/11 First Responders Charity jar from a 7-Eleven on North Ocean Avenue in Farmingville, Barone said, adding that he believed the heists occurred this month.

"The stores had pretty good surveillance cameras so we were able to identify him," Barone said. "He told the arresting officer he was strung out on crack."