Long Island crime briefs

MINEOLA

Contractor bilked seniors

An unlicensed contractor pleaded guilty yesterday to bilking several seniors and other clients out of more than $300,000 with false promises to repair driveways, the Nassau district attorney's office said.

Robert Cohan, 27, of East Rockaway, admitted to defrauding seven victims, including 89-year-old twin brothers in Seaford, failing to pay sales tax on the money he took and failing to pay personal income taxes for several years, prosecutors said.

He faces a civil judgment of $316,000 for his victims and a maximum of 11/3 to four years in prison when he's sentenced March 18 on three counts of second-degree grand larceny, two counts of third-degree grand larceny, two counts of fourth-degree grand larceny, fourth-degree tax fraud and fifth-degree tax fraud, authorities said.

"Today's plea brings justice for the seniors and other victims this defendant thought would be easy marks, but who instead fought back to reclaim their hard-earned money," District Attorney Kathleen Rice said in a news release.

Cohan took $77,890 in installments from a 78-year-old Woodmere woman in 2012, telling her he'd repair her driveway and get her a state rebate, netting her $10,000 and a new driveway, prosecutors said.

He also took $118,000 from the twin brothers without doing any driveway repairs for them, a case that resulted in his arrest last May, prosecutors said.

Cohan's attorney, Ed Jenks of Mineola, said his client did minor work for some of the clients but far less than what he was paid to do. "He gambled the money on sports and horses," Jenks said. "I think he's been tortured with this for a long time -- he doesn't have the money to pay for the restitution. The money is long gone."

Anyone who thinks they may have been victimized by Cohan or his company, All About Driveways, should contact the district attorney's Criminal Complaints Unit at 516-571-3505.

NEW HYDE PARK

Man hit by LIRR train dies

An unidentified man struck by a Long Island Rail Road train near the Queens Village station Sunday has died, a railroad official said yesterday.

Officials said about 350 passengers were aboard the Manhattan-bound train when it struck the victim at about 4:20 p.m. just west of the station.

The train, operating on the Port Jefferson line, was headed from Huntington to Penn Station. Officials identified the victim only as a trespasser -- and could not provide additional details regarding his presence on the tracks, saying yesterday that the case remains under investigation.

Officials suspended service on the Port Jefferson line for about an hour between Queens Village and New Hyde Park, and passengers remained aboard the affected train for nearly two hours as authorities interviewed the conductor and passengers. Service was back to normal by 6:30 p.m.

ISLANDIA

Cops: Wrong-way and drunk

A 51-year-old man was arrested after he drove drunk the wrong way on the Long Island Expressway early yesterday in Islandia, police said.

Steven Brill, of 33 Daremy Circle in Medford, was charged with driving while intoxicated and reckless driving after being stopped by Suffolk County Highway Patrol Officer Todd Collier and Sgt. Michael Baranek between Exit 59 and Exit 58 on the eastbound LIE at 2:35 a.m., police said.

Police said the officers were responding to a series of 911 calls reporting that a 2006 Honda Civic was headed westbound in the eastbound HOV lane.

The calls first reported the Honda, which police said was driven by Brill, headed the wrong way near Exit 64 in Medford. The car was stopped between Exit 59 and Exit 58 in Islandia, police said.

Further details were not immediately available.

Brill was also charged with three infractions -- refusal to take a breath test, failure to stay in a single lane and violating one-way driving rules.

At arraignment yesterday, bail was set at $50,000 cash or $100,000 bond. He was represented by Legal Aid.