Ex-Smithtown official arrested in drug bust

A former Smithtown building inspector -- convicted in 2009 of taking bribes in a corruption probe -- has been charged with buying heroin in a commercial parking lot in Farmingville, State Police said Wednesday.

Robert Bonerba, 62, of Nesconset, was charged Tuesday with criminal possession of a controlled substance and unlawful loitering, both misdemeanors.

He was released on an appearance ticket and is to return on March 22 to First District Court in Central Islip.

Bonerba had pleaded guilty in 2009 to taking thousands of dollars in bribes from builders while working for Smithtown, where he was chief building inspector from 1988 until 2006.

He was released Dec. 23, 2010, after serving 16 months of a 2-year sentence in Suffolk County jail.

The arrest on Tuesday shocked Smithtown officials.

"It is very sad to hear Bob Bonerba's life has been on a downward spiral . . . I am truly saddened to learn of this latest episode," Town Supervisor Patrick Vecchio said.

"I never thought I'd ever hear his name involved in anything like that," Town Councilman Edward Wehrheim said.

Bonerba's attorney, Anthony LaPinta of Hauppauge, said he learned about the arrest Wednesday in a phone call from a reporter.

"I know Robert Bonerba to be a very honorable and decent man," he said. "My opinion of him doesn't change because of this."

Police said Bonerba purchased 50 glassine envelopes of heroin, with a street value of $500, in a parking lot in the 2200 block of North Ocean Avenue in Farmingville.

Senior Investigator Peter McArdle of the State Police said two narcotics investigators were patrolling the area as part of an ongoing investigation when they saw Bonerba and Aaron Morgan, 32, of Mount Sinai, making a drug deal at about 5:30 p.m.

"These two were not targets of our investigation," McArdle said.

Morgan was charged with felony criminal sale of a controlled substance, misdemeanor criminal possession of a controlled substance and loitering.

Information on his arraignment was not available Wednesday.

In the bribery case, Bonerba had admitted accepting cash and improvements to his home, such as a fireplace and carpeting, in exchange for expediting paperwork for builders and misrepresenting the status of an illegal apartment. With Sandra Peddie