LONG ISLAND CRIME BRIEFS

MINEOLA

Deliberations continue in

car race manslaughter case

Jurors continued to deliberate yesterday in a Nassau County trial involving a deadly parkway race in the government's manslaughter case against a 22-year-old East Meadow man.

Prosecutors have said defendant Jonathan Lopez should be held responsible in the death of NYPD Officer Keith Jessup, who was killed in the crash.

Authorities have said the 25-year-old off-duty cop was driving drunk Sept. 11, 2011, when he and Lopez raced each other on the Southern State Parkway near Bethpage State Parkway.

Jessup of Massapequa died after their cars collided, and an FBI official was hurt when her car also was hit.

Jurors sent questions to the judge amid their deliberations yesterday. Among them, they asked for a reading of some eyewitness testimony, to see photos of tire marks, and to examine the defendant's statements to authorities.

The panel of 12 has spent about three and a half hours in deliberations so far, and the families of both Jessup and Lopez, along with the defendant, have waited for news from opposite sides of a courtroom in Mineola.

Lopez faces up to 15 years in prison on the manslaughter charge, if convicted. Prosecutors have also brought lesser charges against him, including assault, reckless endangerment and reckless driving.

ISLANDWIDE

Hotline open to report

suspected disaster fraud

The U.S. Department of Justice yesterday warned of the "potential for disaster fraud" and urged anyone who "suspects fraudulent activity pertaining to relief efforts associated with Typhoon Haiyan" to report it.

The toll-free National Center for Disaster Fraud hotline is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, "for the purpose of reporting suspected scams" after disasters, the Justice Department said in a news release.

The Justice Department set up the National Center for Disaster Fraud in 2005 "to investigate, prosecute and deter fraud associated with federal disaster relief programs" after hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma, according to the news release.

More than 20 federal agencies participate in the center.

Anyone who believes they may be a victim is urged to call the center at 866-720-5721, fax at 225-334-4707 or send an email to disaster@leo.gov.