A single Mega Millions ticket, sold in Rocky Point to Richard and Mary Morrison of Miller Place, was worth $165 million.

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On the day <a href="/topics/Miller_Place%2C_NY">Miller Place</a> mega-millionaires Richard and Mary Morrison received a novelty $165-million check during a ceremony with lottery officials, <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County's comptroller released new information about the couple's debts to the county, and state officials said the Morrisons owe thousands in income taxes. 
The Morrisons dispute a <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> claim that they owe taxpayers nearly $1 million for overcharges to the county for homeless shelters they once ran. 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/photos-winning-mega-millions-ticket-sold-in-suffolk-1.1669186">&gt;&gt;PHOTOS: Click here to see the latest photos of Richard and Mary Morrison</a> 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/mega-millions-winners-receive-check-at-ceremony-1.1689646">&gt;&gt;VIDEO: Click here to watch Mega Millions winners receive check at ceremony </a> 
To counter the Morrisons, Comptroller Joseph <a href="/topics/Joseph_Sawicki">Sawicki</a> Thursday released a May 2, 2005, letter in which the Morrisons' attorney, Michael Solomon, made an offer to repay $10,000 a month for five years to satisfy a 2004 audit that found the Morrisons' owed the county money. The money was to be deducted from the county's ongoing payments to Love'M Sheltering Inc. The Department of Social Services canceled Love'M Sheltering's contract before a repayment agreement could be finalized. 
"The audit stands on its own. Their attorney agreed to pay back in 2005, and now it makes no sense to deny they owe the money," Sawicki said. "Hiding behind a corporate veil does nothing for their credibility. The fact is they misspent taxpayer money and they still owe it to us." 
The lottery winners also owe the state $18,371 in back income taxes, according to the State Taxation and <a href="/topics/Finance_Department">Finance Department</a>. The taxes are for 2007 and a warrant was filed with the secretary of state on March 5, 2009, according to tax department spokesman Brad Maione. 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/long-islanders-happy-for-mega-millions-winners-1.1687589">&gt;&gt;VIDEO: Click here to see what other LIers think about Mega Millions winners</a> 
Solomon said he does "not know what letter Sawicki is talking in reference to" and declined to comment on the Morrisons' state tax issue. 
During Thursday's ceremony in <a href="/topics/Garden_City%2C_NY">Garden City</a>, officials would not let the couple answer questions about the lawsuit with Suffolk County, or Richard Morrison's plans to write a book about the Constitution's Preamble. 
When a reporter asked if the Morrisons planned to repay the money, lottery spokeswoman Yolanda Vega took the microphone and said: "That is not about the check presentation." 
Another reporter asked about Richard's book, and Vega again took the microphone: "Could we talk about Yolanda and [lottery announcer] Ralph [Buckley] presenting a check for $165 million?" 
Lottery spokeswoman Jennifer Givner said the lottery commission "didn't want to address issues of a private nature at a check presentation ceremony." 
The Morrisons won the largest jackpot in <a href="/topics/Long_Island%2C_NY">Long Island</a> history on Dec. 22. The Mega Millions winnings, paid as a lump sum, are expected to be about $102 million before taxes, Vega said. 
With Rick Brand and James T. Madore 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/photos-winning-mega-millions-ticket-sold-in-suffolk-1.1669186">&gt;&gt;PHOTOS: Click here to see the latest photos of Richard and Mary Morrison</a> 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/photos-past-lottery-winners-1.1669483">&gt;&gt;PHOTOS: Click here to see photos of past LI lottery winners</a>

Long Island

Suffolk

LIMEGA08

Lottery winners get big check amid debt questions

Marty Corrigan and his wife were at a local Applebee's restaurant on Christmas Eve when they ran into their longtime Miller Place neighbors, Richard and Mary Morrison and their family, who promptly bought them a round of the Scotch they were drinking. 
Corrigan said his 20-year neighbors "seemed very happy" for some reason. 
Now he knows why. A day earlier, the Morrisons had found out they owned the largest winning lottery ticket in <a href="/topics/Long_Island%2C_NY">Long Island</a> history. 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/suffolk-wants-nearly-1m-from-mega-million-winners-1.1688211">&gt;&gt; READ: Suffolk demanding money from Mega Millions winners</a> 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/photos-miller-place-couple-wins-162-million-jackpot-1.1685840">&gt;&gt;PHOTOS: LI couple wins $165-million jackpot</a> 
Buying the drinks was a nice touch, Marty Corrigan said, but it wasn't out of character for the always gracious Morrisons. 
"I'm happy as heck for them," he said. 
The couple will be formally introduced as winners of the $165-million Mega Millions prize at the <a href="/topics/Garden_City%2C_NY">Garden City</a> lottery office Thursday. 
Some neighbors watched the Morrisons outside their house Wednesday talking to media members about <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County's claim that the Morrisons owe the county more than $950,000, a charge the couple denies. Most of those neighbors, along with co-workers and friends of the Morrisons, were excited to have discovered that the couple was now rich. 
Neighbor Kathy Ricciardelli recalled the time her mother was sick with cancer and Mary, a massage therapy student at the time, would come over and massage the mother's feet. 
"The massages really brightened her day," Kathy's husband, John, said. 
The Morrisons had a profound impact on many people who stayed at the Love'M Sheltering Inc. homeless shelters the couple formerly operated in <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a>, said Valerie Parker, a former shelter resident. Parker, who now lives in an <a href="/topics/East_Patchogue%2C_NY">East Patchogue</a> apartment, said she stayed at the shelters in 2000 and 2001 and found "the whole place was just like a family." 
Parker, a former domestic abuse victim who was pregnant and had three children at the time, said the Morrisons helped keep her safe and turn her life around. 
"It couldn't have happened to better people," she said. "They pulled me through." 
Mary Macqueen, of <a href="/topics/Manorville%2C_NY">Manorville</a>, said she was placed to work at one of the Love'M shelters through a welfare program in the 1980s. She said she had so much respect for the Morrisons that she went on to volunteer at another of their shelters from 1988 to 1991 while she went to college. 
Macqueen said she felt good when she learned of the Morrisons' winnings because "they are going to do something with the money." The couple plans a host of charitable endeavors for the money, which will be paid as a lump sum of more than $100 million before taxes, lottery officials have said. 
Donna Gaddis, 50, a neighbor who has known the family for about 17 years, remembered her daughter playing with the Morrisons' daughters. 
"I'm glad it happened to people who like and want to help others," Gaddis said. 
With Katie Serignese 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/photos-miller-place-couple-wins-162-million-jackpot-1.1685840">&gt;&gt;PHOTOS: LI couple wins $165-million jackpot</a> 
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LIMEGA07

Miller Place neighbors sing praises of lottery winners

Suffolk attorneys went to court late Wednesday to block the state from paying out nearly $1 million of the $165-million Mega Millions winnings to the <a href="/topics/Miller_Place%2C_NY">Miller Place</a> couple who won the lottery, because a county audit found taxpayers were overbilled for homeless shelters they once ran. 
State Supreme Court Justice William Rebolini did not rule on whether the county had a right to the money. Instead, a deal was reached in <a href="/topics/Riverhead%2C_NY">Riverhead</a>, in which the attorney for winners Richard and Mary Morrison agreed to temporarily hold the $950,921.90 in question in an interest-bearing escrow account while the case proceeds. 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/photos-miller-place-couple-wins-162-million-jackpot-1.1685840">&gt;&gt;PHOTOS: LI couple wins $165-million jackpot</a> 
The parties were ordered to return to court Jan. 20. 
County Attorney Christine Malafi had sought a temporary restraining order to keep the state from handing over to the Morrisons the part of their winnings equivalent to what is owed the county. 
Assistant County Attorney Brian Callahan said the Morrisons "personally benefited" from their control of both the nonprofit Love'M Sheltering Inc., which operated the homeless shelters, and Love'M Inc., which owned the shelter properties. Richard Morrison, as executive director of both companies, pocketed rent money paid by Love'M Sheltering to Love'M Inc., Callahan said. 
"Basically what the county is trying to recoup is taxpayer money," he said in court. The county, which is bound to house the homeless, contracts with agencies to provide that service. 
The Morrisons' attorney, Michael Solomon, complained that the county failed to try to recoup the money until the Morrisons won the lottery. 
"Because my clients have come into good fortune, the government is going to trample their rights," he said. After taxes, the Morrisons expect to collect $66 million, Solomon said. 
But earlier Wednesday he contended no money is owed because, he said, the audit involved the nonprofit corporation, Love'M Sheltering Inc., and the Morrisons are not personally liable for the corporation's debts. 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/mega-millions-winners-unveiled-1.1686209"> &gt;&gt; VIDEO: Mega Millions winners talk about their plans</a> 
The couple was not in court but they spoke to reporters outside their home Wednesday. Richard Morrison, who has always disputed the audit findings, said, "It's a lie. They stole from us." His wife, Mary said, "We're good people. We've done no wrong." 
The county says the Morrisons owe $612,000 from the original 2004 comptroller's audit plus interest costs, which at the time of the judgment last year was about $800,000. 
Comptroller Joseph Sawicki's audit found Love'M Sheltering Inc. overbilled the county in 2000 for retroactive raises, pensions never funded and equipment auditors couldn't find. 
"We're asking the Morrisons to do the right thing," said Gregory Blass, Suffolk's Social Services commissioner. 
"This isn't just a windfall for the lottery winners, it could be a windfall for our homeless housing programs, which are at a crisis level," Blass said. Auditors in 2004 disallowed payments because the rentals were "not an arms' length transaction" and the Morrisons charged the county market rates, when they should have based rents on their actual costs of operation. 
The county canceled Love'M Sheltering's contracts in 2005, putting the $2.3-million-a-year agency and its 55 employees out of business. 
Blass said Love'M Sheltering's contract was terminated in part because Morrison was found to be encouraging shelter residents to move into his private Section 8 properties, a violation of his county contract. Morrison later sued the county, challenging the comptroller's right to audit their agency, but lost the case in 2008. 
With Patrick Whittle 
and Katie Serignese 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/photos-miller-place-couple-wins-162-million-jackpot-1.1685840">&gt;&gt;PHOTOS: LI couple wins $165-million jackpot</a> 
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POMEGA07

Suffolk wants nearly $1M from Mega Millions winners

The Morrisons didn't win a $162-million Mega Millions prize - the actual prize will be $165 million, New York State Lottery officials said Wednesday. 
The $162-million figure was the guaranteed minimum jackpot prize. After sales closed for the drawing last month, the 12 Mega states determined total sales and were able to increase the pot by $3 million because of increased sales. 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/photos-miller-place-couple-wins-162-million-jackpot-1.1685840">&gt;&gt;PHOTOS: LI couple wins $165-million jackpot</a>

TXTMEGA07

A few more millions for the Morrisons

The winners of the $162-million Mega Millions jackpot are a <a href="/topics/Miller_Place%2C_NY">Miller Place</a> couple who consider their big score a victory for the people - "We the People." 
Winners Richard and Mary Morrison have a lot of plans for their newfound wealth - including opening a seafood restaurant and paying off their mortgage - but top on the list is financing Richard's book about the Preamble to the Constitution. 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/photos-miller-place-couple-wins-162-million-jackpot-1.1685840"> &gt;&gt; PHOTOS: Richard and Mary Morrison win $162M Mega Millions jackpot</a> 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/mega-millions-winners-unveiled-1.1686209"> &gt;&gt; VIDEO: Mega Millions winners talk about their plans</a> 
Richard, a psychotherapist, said in an exclusive interview Tuesday he considers the Preamble to be not an introduction at all, but a legally binding statement and "the most magnificent constitutional sentence in the history of mankind." 
The Morrisons, native Long Islanders who met 40 years ago at <a href="/topics/Carle_Place%2C_NY">Carle Place</a> High School, also plan a host of charitable endeavors with the winnings, which lottery officials have said will be a lump-sum payment of more than $100 million before taxes. 
"We're common folk, we're part of 'We the People,' " Richard said, adding the couple has been "called up to a higher stage" of service by the prize. 
Richard, 59, and Mary, 57, a massage therapist, said they have not always been fortunate, saying they reached the brink of bankruptcy in recent years. Sitting shoulder to shoulder Tuesday, giggling occasionally, the couple said they have "multiple children" between the ages of 14 and 38 - declining to say how many - and that they have spent most of their lives with little money. 
Richard said he grew up in a single-parent household with eight siblings, and lost his childhood home in a fire. Years later, as a young married couple with a baby, the Morrisons scraped by on Mary's waitress wages while Richard worked toward his degree at <a href="/topics/Long_Island_University">Long Island University</a>'s <a href="/topics/Brooklyn_Bridge%2C_NY">Brooklyn</a> Campus, the couple said. 
The Morrisons said the lessons they learned during those hard times served them well in their careers as social service providers. The couple worked as house parents for juvenile delinquents in the 1980s and ran homeless shelters in <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County for 20 years. 
Richard said their new charitable endeavors will support programs that encourage disadvantaged people to work their way off public assistance. 
"If you give people a job, you give them dignity," he said. 
<a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> canceled its contract with the Morrisons' shelters in 2005 after Comptroller <a href="/topics/Joseph_Sawicki">Joseph Sawicki</a> found that the shelters owed the county $612,700 for improper charges such as retroactive raises and unfunded pension charges in 2000. A 2008 State Supreme Court order indicated the Morrisons' Love'M Sheltering Inc. would be responsible for repaying <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a>, plus interest and other costs. The grand total owed the county was $809,417.91 at the time. 
The money has not been paid, county attorney Christine Malafi said Tuesday. 
The Morrisons declined to comment about the lawsuits beyond Richard saying that dealing with the county fueled his interest in the Constitution and increased his desire to make it easier to find jobs for homeless people. 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/mega-millions-winners-unveiled-1.1686209"> &gt;&gt; VIDEO: Mega Millions winners talk about their plans</a> 
The Morrisons said winning the lottery reaffirmed their commitment to providing service to the poor, and "especially to disadvantaged children," Mary said. 
But she said the winning ticket almost wasn't purchased. 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/photos-miller-place-couple-wins-162-million-jackpot-1.1685840"> &gt;&gt; PHOTOS: Richard and Mary Morrison win $162M Mega Millions jackpot</a> 
Mary bought the ticket at Cards and Things, a <a href="/topics/Rocky_Point%2C_NY">Rocky Point</a> store. She was only in the store because it is next to a Michael's craft store, where she had to do some shopping. 
Even then, she wasn't going to buy a lottery ticket until one of her younger children's pestering got to her. 
"And I said, I never win, but OK," she said. 
Said Richard: "It felt like divine justice." 
With Kathy Kerr and Rick Brand 
&nbsp; 
What the Morrisons are doing with their jackpot 
 HIS BOOK:&nbsp;Financing the completion of Richard’s book about the Preamble to the Constitution. 
 A NEW RESTAURANT:&nbsp;Opening a seafood restaurant that will hire “unemployable” people with the goal of giving them a job, dignity, and taking them off welfare. They plan to hire a professional chef but use Richard’s sauces. &nbsp; 
A FOUNDATION:&nbsp;Starting a foundation that will set up projects to help find people work and get them off public assistance. 
 HOSPICE:&nbsp;Opening a&nbsp; palliative care&nbsp; facility to help&nbsp; terminally ill&nbsp; people enjoy&nbsp; their final days. &nbsp; 
THEIR KIDS:&nbsp;Helping their&nbsp; children financially. &nbsp; 
THEIR HOME:&nbsp;Paying off the&nbsp; mortgage on their <a href="/topics/Miller_Place%2C_NY">Miller Place</a> house. 
 WHEELS:&nbsp;Buying a new car. &nbsp; 
BUT NOT:&nbsp;A vacation. 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/lottery/complete-coverage-mega-millions-on-long-island-1.1679080"> &gt;&gt; COMPLETE COVERAGE: Miller Place couple strikes it rich</a> 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/mega-millions-winners-unveiled-1.1686209"> &gt;&gt; VIDEO: Mega Millions winners talk about their plans</a> 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/photos-miller-place-couple-wins-162-million-jackpot-1.1685840"> &gt;&gt; PHOTOS: Richard and Mary Morrison win $162M Mega Million jackpot</a>

LILOTT06

Mega Millions $162-million couple unveiled, reveal plans

Mega Millions winner Richard Morrison, who is writing a book about the Preamble to the Constitution, believes it to be “the most magnificent constitutional sentence in the history of mankind.” We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general WelRichard Morrisonfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

ny-book-0106

Constitution Preamble inspires Richard Morrison

The winners of the $162-million Mega Millions jackpot have been identified and will meet the public in a news conference later this week, lottery officials said Monday. 
The ticket was handed in by the winners, who were accompanied by their attorney, at a lottery office in upstate Fishkill about 11:30 a.m., lottery spokeswoman Jennifer Givner said. Officials have validated the ticket, she said. 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/photos-winning-mega-millions-ticket-sold-in-suffolk-1.1669186"> &gt;&gt; PHOTOS: Mega Millions winner on </a><a href="/topics/Long_Island%2C_NY">Long Island</a> 
Givner declined to release the names of the winners, saying they will be identified, possibly on Thursday, at a news conference on <a href="/topics/Long_Island%2C_NY">Long Island</a>. 
"They came into our Hudson Valley office," Givner said, adding that "security features associated with the ticket confirmed it was the winning ticket." 
Lottery commission policy requires the winners to participate in the news conference, Givner said. 
The winners also filled out a battery of financial paperwork after turning in the ticket, she said. Givner said the winners are not in possession of the money yet and declined to say exactly when they would get the prize, which will be a lump sum expected to be more than $100 million before taxes. 
<a href="/topics/Greenport%2C_NY">Greenport</a> attorney Michael D. Solomon, who has said he represents a <a href="/topics/Suffolk_County%2C_NY">Suffolk</a> County couple who won the jackpot, confirmed that the ticket was validated Monday. He declined to identify the couple, saying only that they were "ecstatic." 
Solomon said the winners spent Monday afternoon with family members and were getting their financial house in order. He added: "Reality is starting to hit." 
The winning ticket was purchased last month at a <a href="/topics/Rocky_Point%2C_NY">Rocky Point</a> card store. 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/mega-millions-winners-are-a-couple-from-suffolk-county-1.1679218">&gt;&gt;VIDEO: Click here to get an inside look into the Mega Millions winner</a> 
Solomon has described the couple who claimed the record-shattering jackpot as lifelong <a href="/topics/Long_Island%2C_NY">Long Island</a>ers - high school sweethearts who have been married for 39 years and are "just getting by" financially. 
At one point in their marriage, they were "extremely poor," Solomon said Friday. And since about 2004, he said, they've again found themselves on the brink of poverty. "They were almost forced into a survival existence for the last four or five years," Solomon has said. 
With Matthew Chayes 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/photos-winning-mega-millions-ticket-sold-in-suffolk-1.1669186"> &gt;&gt; PHOTOS: Mega Millions winner on </a><a href="/topics/Long_Island%2C_NY">Long Island</a> 
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LIMEGA05

Mega Millions winners claim $162M prize, say officials

For the Long Island couple who are ready to claim a $162 million jackpot - perhaps as early as Monday - finding good advice on what to do with their windfall may be tough. 
But several former lottery winners from Long Island said they know what it's like to stumble upon a life-changing sum of money. 
For many of Long Island's luckiest lottery players, winning the money meant being able to help those they loved, and spend more time with them. 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/photos-winning-mega-millions-ticket-sold-in-suffolk-1.1669186"> &gt;&gt; PHOTOS: Mega Millions winner on Long Island</a> 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/former-mega-millions-winner-remembers-her-winning-moment-1.1679244"> &gt;&gt; VIDEO: Janet Alnwick tells her Mega Millions story</a> 
In some cases the winners paid for fairy-tale weddings for their children. Others financed the educations of relatives. Many took dream vacations with their families. 
And most of them offered advice for Long Island's newest multimillionaires. 
"If I won what those people won," said Joanne Ponzi, of South Setauket, who split a $1 million lottery victory with her sister, "I'd buy a street with a lot of houses on that street to put my family in." 
Janet Alnwick still can't believe she won $22 million last January by buying a winning Mega Millions Quick Pick ticket at a <a href="/topics/7-Eleven">7-Eleven</a> in North Bellmore. 
"I still drive around and don't understand why me," she said Thursday. "It just boggles my mind." 
Alnwick, 53, still lives in the same Merrick house and devotes much of her energy - and some of her winnings - to caring for her ailing mother, 87. 
"I just love her so much that I took her out of a nursing home," said Alnwick, who pays her mother's medical expenses, including private nursing. 
Alnwick, who had already retired as a saleswoman when she won, opted for a $15-million lump sum, which after taxes was $10.3 million. 
So far, Alnwick has focused on helping others: donating about $20,000 to charities such as <a href="/topics/Amnesty_International">Amnesty International</a>, the Humane Society and <a href="/topics/People_for_the_Ethical_Treatment_of_Animals">People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals</a>; buying her church a $13,000 stove; financing her niece's college education; and giving $10,000 to her hairdresser. 
For herself, she's remodeling her kitchen and plans to buy a new <a href="/topics/Toyota_Avalon">Toyota Avalon</a>. Alnwick went on some vacations, including twice to <a href="/topics/Aruba">Aruba</a> and to the <a href="/topics/Dominican_Republic">Dominican Republic</a>. 
"I'm not the kind of person who needs a Mercedes or <a href="/topics/BMW">BMW</a> or Coach boots," she said. "I don't need those things to say who I am." 
Alnwick is excited about the future. "I have a lot of dreams that I want to do," she said. "I want to go to <a href="/topics/China">China</a>, <a href="/topics/Ireland">Ireland</a> and <a href="/topics/Tahiti">Tahiti</a>." 
Single with no children, Alnwick is also dating, she said, adding that she doesn't tell suitors that she's a multimillionaire. "If I ever marry, there would be a pre-nup," she vowed with a laugh. 
A million dollars, split with her sister, wasn't enough money to draw much attention, said Joanne Ponzi, but it helps their family remain close-knit. 
Ponzi, 42, of South Setauket, won on a $5 Bedazzled scratch-off ticket in 2007. She gave her sister, Lauren Cusumano, 41, of Holbrook, half. They each receive $25,000 payments every year. 
"I always called it a blessing," said Ponzi, who continues to be a stay-at-home mom. "We could make sure we can stay close. Now we have a little extra to do it. We never have to wonder where the next dollar will come from." 
The money helps do fun things like take their children bowling or to jaunts to New York City and Foxwoods casino. They're planning a <a href="/topics/Caribbean">Caribbean</a> cruise in August. 
"It really hasn't changed my life much," she said of the money. "It does help with a lot of nice things." 
Ponzi said she still cherishes the experience of winning, and the announcement at an <a href="/topics/New_York_Islanders">Islanders</a> game. "It was an amazing feeling," she said. 
Her advice to the Rocky Point winners: "Not to tell anybody. Only because when money comes around, a lot of people try to take advantage of you. I would just tell them, enjoy your life." 
"I personally would love to tell them that money doesn't change your life," she said. "Always keep family with you. Health is very important. You can't buy health with your money." 
She pondered what it would be like to be those winners. "If I won what those people won," she said, "I'd buy a street with a lot of houses on that street to put my family in." 
For Richard Giordonella of Cedarhurst, winning a million bucks wasn't a ticket to a new life - just a way to "keep my head above water now," he said. 
Giordonella still drives a truck for a living and still lives in the same home with his wife, Linda, who said the couple continues to relish time with their "big Italian family" more than anything. 
Richard won $1 million in a scratch-off game in November 2006, a month when he was one of several big winners in a record-setting year for the New York Lottery. 
Richard gets $50,000 per year, before taxes, for 20 years for his big win. 
The money comes every November, which Linda said is very helpful for holiday shopping. Richard said he has used much of the money to pay off bills and make minimal upgrades to his home, including a new boiler. 
"No bills. And I usually had $10,000 in the hole in credit cards," he said. 
The Giordonellas splurged on a big wedding for one of their two daughters this year, but they have stayed away from extravagant spending, Richard and Linda said. 
Richard, 50, said he drives a heavy industrial truck for a company that recently completed construction work at the <a href="/topics/Robert_F._Kennedy">Robert F. Kennedy</a> Bridge and will begin work on the Brooklyn Bridge in March. He said he has been driving trucks for 30 years. 
He has no plans to stop working, in part because he says the money "is not enough to retire - no way." 
But it is enough money to "make life a little easier," Linda said. 
"I wouldn't call it a ton," Richard said. "It's enough to keep you nice. A little ease." 
A week after Lydia Moore won $5 million with a Livin' Large instant game ticket purchased at a Bayville candy store in 2004, she was arrested and charged with grand larceny - accused of stealing more than $100,000 from an elderly blind man before winning the lottery. 
"We worked out a deal and my name was cleared," she said Thursday, declining to discuss the case. Records indicate she has no criminal history. 
The charge was dismissed, said her attorney, James Toner of Mineola, who hired an investigator to prove the alleged victim had given Moore the money as gifts. 
A spokesman for the Nassau district attorney's office said the disposition of the case was sealed. 
Meanwhile, Moore and her husband, Claude, moved from Glen Head and purchased a $640,000 home in Brookhaven, which she said still has a mortgage. 
The lottery changed their lives "tremendously for the better," she said. "We have a home of our own. We're living life one day at a time." 
The Moores receive their winnings in annual payments of about $250,000 before taxes, she said. They help their children and grandchildren financially and took some vacations to <a href="/topics/Las_Vegas">Las Vegas</a> and Trinidad. 
"We live a very humble life," she said while driving home from grocery shopping. "I think anyone who wins should do the same. They don't have to be splashy and get the most expensive jewelry." 
Looking back on winning $1 million in the New York Lotto in 2006, John Massaro wishes he hired a lawyer and an accountant. 
"You thought you were richer than you were," Massaro, 55, said Thursday. "The money went fast." 
His advice to the Rocky Point winners: "Don't go off on a binge before the money's in your pocket." 
After buying a new Mustang for his teenage daughter, who was recovering from cancer, Massaro was lured by companies that offered money upfront for his future earnings at a big cut, which he said was an unwise decision. 
"I got like $100,000 left at the end," he said. "I needed the money." 
He's not sure where the money went, he said, beyond the car, keeping up his Nesconset home and educating three children. 
The money did help put the family "on the right track," because Massaro's wife had died a year before he won. 
Massaro, a brick mason, said he's gained 20 pounds since the win and offered more advice to future winners: "You've got to continue to exercise and work." 
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ny-lottery-0103

Advice from other lucky LIers for Mega Million winners

Show me the money, says a <a href="/topics/Greenport%2C_NY">Greenport</a> lawyer who said Thursday he represents the winners of the record-setting $162-million Mega Millions jackpot. 
Show us the winning ticket, says the <a href="/topics/New_York%2C_NY">New York</a> Lottery Commission. 
Attorney Michael Solomon said Thursday he represents a Suffolk County couple who won the jackpot and have already said they want the money in a lump sum, expected to be more than $100 million before taxes. Solomon said the couple chose to remain anonymous until they collect their fortune. They are a married couple who bought the winning ticket at a <a href="/topics/Rocky_Point%2C_NY">Rocky Point</a> store, he said. 
Lottery spokeswoman Jennifer Givner said Thursday that the winners need to bring the winning ticket to a lottery office in <a href="/topics/Garden_City%2C_NY">Garden City</a> to claim their prize. Solomon said that could happen as soon as Monday, when lottery offices reopen after the holiday. 
At his office, Solomon produced a photocopy of the winning ticket, which was dated 10:41 a.m. Monday, Dec. 21, and included the winning numbers - 3, 33, 35, 39, 45 and Megaball 13 - on its fifth and final line. The original ticket is in a secure location, he said. 
State lottery officials declined a reporter's request that an official look at an e-mail of the photocopied ticket, saying the agency only authenticates original tickets. 
Givner said lottery officials would like the winners to come forward to "get the validation process started." A news conference with the winners will likely be held a few days after they come in, she said. 
Solomon is a lawyer with Solomon &amp; Herrera, with offices in <a href="/topics/Greenport%2C_NY">Greenport</a>, <a href="/topics/Levittown%2C_NY">Levittown</a> and Marathon, Fla. He said his clients have spent the past several days meeting with financial planners and tax consultants, and that preparing for the life-changing award has been "a very tremendous undertaking" for the couple. 
The winning numbers, drawn on Dec. 22, represent the largest-ever single ticket Mega Millions jackpot winner in New York and the largest <a href="/topics/Long_Island%2C_NY">Long Island</a> winner in the history of the <a href="/topics/New_York%2C_NY">New York</a> Lottery, officials have said. At Cards and Things, the <a href="/topics/Rocky_Point%2C_NY">Rocky Point</a> store that sold the ticket, the big win has been the source of speculation about the winners since last week. 
Solomon described himself Thursday as a longtime friend of the winners who has represented them legally for more than 30 years. 
He described the winners' feelings as "hysteria and a beautiful thing."

LIMEGA01

Lawyer alleges he represents winners of $162M Mega Millions jackpot

liMEGA

One story goes that the big winner in last week's $162-million Mega Millions game was a kindly priest who plans to give all the money to the church. 
Another popular rumor at Cards and Things in <a href="/topics/Rocky_Point%2C_NY">Rocky Point</a> - where the winning ticket was purchased - is that the big ticket remains unclaimed because it blew away in the wind. 
Customers at the store theorize that the winner is an elderly man - possibly with a glass eye - who worked for years as a janitor at <a href="/topics/Stony_Brook_University">Stony Brook University</a> Medical Center and has gone into hiding. 
Perhaps no one hears more speculation than Joyce Hegedus, who works the counter at Cards and Things. Some theories overlap, Hegedus said, but you hear new ones every day. 
"Have you got a big pad?" Hegedus told a pair of reporters Tuesday. 
Another day passed and no one came forward to claim the prize, said lottery spokeswoman Jennifer Givner. Eight days have gone by since someone - or some group of people - became the holder of the largest single winning ticket on <a href="/topics/Long_Island%2C_NY">Long Island</a>. 
Still, patrons at Cards and Things floated numerous possibilities at the store Tuesday. Debbie Nappi-Gonzalez, an offset press operator at <a href="/topics/Stony_Brook_University">Stony Brook University</a> Medical Center, said that at one point she heard a rumor that she was the winner. 
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LIMEGA30

Rumors swirl, LI Mega Millions winner remains mystery

Long Island's biggest lottery winner is still a mystery. 
No one has come forward with the $162-million winning Mega Millions ticket, purchased at a <a href="/topics/Rocky_Point%2C_NY">Rocky Point</a> card store, officials said Thursday morning. 
"We're just like everyone else, waiting to see who it is," <a href="/topics/New_York%2C_NY">New York</a> Lottery spokeswoman Jennifer Givner said. 
The winner of Tuesday night's drawing bought the ticket at Cards and Things, lottery officials said Wednesday. In addition to being the largest Long Island winner, the winner - or group of winners - also is the largest Mega Millions single ticket winner in <a href="/topics/New_York%2C_NY">New York</a>. 
The winner in Tuesday's drawing matched all six numbers - 3, 33, 35, 39, 45 - and the Megaball, 13. The winner played a Quick Pick and chose a lump sum, Givner said. The cash value of the lump sum is expected to be more than $100 million before taxes, Givner said. 
It's not the first time a winning ticket was sold at the store. State lottery officials said on Dec. 15, 1993, the Lyon family of <a href="/topics/Bellport%2C_NY">Bellport</a> won a $7-million jackpot with a ticket purchased at the same location. 
The twice-a-week drawing prize started at $12 million on Nov. 13 and continued to build without a winner until Tuesday. 
New York is one of a dozen states that participates in the Mega Millions, which has had six game winners this year. Two were from Long Island: Janet Alnwick of <a href="/topics/Merrick%2C_NY">Merrick</a>, won $22 million in January; and Isabel Zelaya of <a href="/topics/Wyandanch%2C_NY">Wyandanch</a> won $26 million in March.

LIMEGA25

Mega Millions winner yet to come forward

The regulars at Cards and Things held their collective breath each time someone with an unredeemed Mega Millions ticket stepped to the counter: If the big winner wasn't one of them, they wanted it to be one of their own. 
The half-dozen or so assembled Wednesday at midday were waiting for the one lucky person - or group of people - who suddenly was a lot richer for the holidays, thanks to a $162 million Mega Millions ticket lottery officials said had been bought at the Rocky Point store. Whoever holds the ticket is the largest-ever single ticket Mega Millions jackpot winner in <a href="/topics/New_York%2C_NY">New York</a> and the largest <a href="/topics/Long_Island%2C_NY">Long Island</a> winner in the history of the <a href="/topics/New_York%2C_NY">New York</a> Lottery, officials said. 
"All of us, on the way to work, come here every day," said Sharon Murray, a Rocky Point postal worker who is among those who stop by the Route 25A store every morning for a lottery ticket, smokes or a friendly hello. "It'd be very exciting to see if it's someone I know." 
The winner in Tuesday's drawing, who state lottery spokeswoman Jennifer Givner said has not yet come forward, matched all six numbers - 3, 33, 35, 39, 45 - and the Megaball, 13. The winner played a Quick Pick and chose a lump sum, Givner said. The cash value of the lump sum is expected to be more than $100 million before taxes, she said. 
It's not the first time a winning ticket was sold at the store. State lottery officials yesterday said on Dec. 15, 1993, the Lyon family of <a href="/topics/Bellport%2C_NY">Bellport</a> won a $7 million jackpot with a ticket purchased at the same location. 
Sonny Zaveri, who said he has owned the store for 25 years, spoke while greeting regular customers and accepting congratulations. Selling the winning ticket means a $10,000 payout for his store, which is wedged between a Chinese restaurant and a liquor store in a strip mall. The money will pay bills, said Zaveri, who also owns stores in <a href="/topics/Miller_Place%2C_NY">Miller Place</a> and <a href="/topics/Ronkonkoma%2C_NY">Ronkonkoma</a>. 
"It's really perfect timing . . . and I hope it's one of my regular customers," Zaveri said. 
Veronica Young, who buys lottery tickets there every week, said she felt good for the owner. 
"Sonny, he's a real sweetheart," she said. 
Workers at Cards and Things spent much of Wednesday answering the same three questions: "Is it just one winner?" "Do you know who it is?" "Do you think they'll come in?" 
The oft-repeated answers: "Yes." "No." "Doubt it." 
The odds of the winner coming to the store Wednesday were, in fact, fairly low, but not lower than the odds of winning Mega Millions, which lottery officials put at 175,711,536 to 1. The prize can also be claimed at a lottery office in <a href="/topics/Garden_City%2C_NY">Garden City</a>. 
The twice-a-week drawing offered a $12 million prize on Nov. 13 that rolled over without a winner until Tuesday. 
New York, one of a dozen states that participates, has had six Mega Millions winners this year, with two from <a href="/topics/Long_Island%2C_NY">Long Island</a>: Janet Alnwick of <a href="/topics/Merrick%2C_NY">Merrick</a> won $22 million in January, and Isabel Zelaya of <a href="/topics/Wyandanch%2C_NY">Wyandanch</a> won $26 million in March. 
The state's biggest Mega Millions winner was Jimmy Groves of the <a href="/topics/Bronx%2C_NY">Bronx</a>, who got $168 million as half of a $336-million jackpot on Aug. 28. 
The record jackpot for the game was $390 million in March 2007, when two winning tickets were sold in Georgia and <a href="/topics/New_Jersey%2C_NY">New Jersey</a>. 
<a href="/topics/Stony_Brook%2C_NY">Stony Brook</a> resident Lou Koacci was among dozens buying tickets at Cards and Things Wednesday, hoping the Rocky Point store's luck would continue. 
Koacci hit a $2 winner. 
"Hey," he said, "it's better than nothing." 
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LIMEGA24

Rocky Point store patrons eagerly await Mega Millions winner

One lucky person - or group of people - is a lot richer for the holidays thanks to a $162 million lottery ticket bought at a <a href="/topics/Rocky_Point%2C_NY">Rocky Point</a> store, according to lottery officials. 
The winner, who has not yet come forward, played Quick Pick and chose a lump sum, said state lottery spokeswoman Jennifer Givner. 
One ticket in Tuesday's drawing matched all six numbers: 3-33-35-39-45 and the Megaball, 13. The cash value of the lump sum is expected to be more than $100 million before taxes, Givner said. 
It's not the first time that card shop owner Sonny Zaveri, 58, of <a href="/topics/Coram%2C_NY">Coram</a>, has sold a valuable winning lottery ticket. About 10 years ago, his store sold one worth $6 million, he said Wednesday. 
"Yesterday, we probably sold a thousand tickets," Zaveri said. 
Zaveri, who has owned the store for 25 years, greeted regular customers and accepted congratulations Wednesday. Selling the winning ticket means his store, wedged between a liquor store and a Chinese restaurant in a strip mall, will collect a $10,000 payout. 
Customer Isaac Clark, 77, of Rocky Point, said he wished he was the lucky one. "I would help a lot of people," he said. "I would take care of myself and my family." 
The twice-a-week drawing prize started at $12 million on Nov. 13 and continued to roll over without a winner until Tuesday. 
<a href="/topics/New_York%2C_NY">New York</a>, one of a dozen states that participates, has had six Mega Millions winners so far this year. Two were from <a href="/topics/Long_Island%2C_NY">Long Island</a>: Janet Alnwick, of <a href="/topics/Merrick%2C_NY">Merrick</a>, won $22 million in January; and Isabel Zelaya, of <a href="/topics/Wyandanch%2C_NY">Wyandanch</a>, won $26 million in March. 
The only other previous Mega Millions winner from <a href="/topics/Long_Island%2C_NY">Long Island</a> was Henrietta Henderson, of <a href="/topics/Uniondale%2C_NY">Uniondale</a>, who won $34 million in July, 2003. 
The biggest Mega Millions winner from <a href="/topics/New_York%2C_NY">New York</a> State was Jimmy Groves, of the <a href="/topics/Bronx%2C_NY">Bronx</a>, who got $168 million as half of a $336 million jackpot on Aug. 28. 
The record jackpot for the game was $390 million in March 2007, when two winning tickets were sold in Georgia and <a href="/topics/New_Jersey%2C_NY">New Jersey</a>. 
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ny-limega1224

Mega Millions winning ticket bought in Suffolk

Need a little holiday-season post-blizzard pick-me-up? How about a cool $162 million? 
Well, Tuesday night someone could become the next big Mega Millions winner - which, after 11 straight drawings without a winner, has swelled to a mind-numbing $162 million. 
Which is a lot of dough. 
All you have to do to win is correctly pick all five numbers - those are selected from a pool numbering 1-to-56 - and the correct Mega ball number, which is between 1 and 46. 
OK, so the odds are 175,711,536 to 1, according to the New York State Lottery. And the 12-state pool includes ticket buyers from <a href="/topics/California">California</a>, <a href="/topics/Georgia">Georgia</a>, <a href="/topics/Illinois">Illinois</a>, <a href="/topics/Maryland">Maryland</a>, <a href="/topics/Massachusetts">Massachusetts</a>, <a href="/topics/Michigan">Michigan</a>, New Jersey, <a href="/topics/Ohio">Ohio</a>, <a href="/topics/Texas">Texas</a>, <a href="/topics/Virginia">Virginia</a>, Washington and, of course, New York. But, it's certainly nice to dream, right? 
The last winner of Mega Millions was drawn Nov. 10, when two winners - one from <a href="/topics/California">California</a>, the other from Jersey - picked the correct winning numbers and split $77 million. 
The winning numbers in the last drawing, which no one won, were: 10-20-30-44-49 and the Mega ball, 24.

Nassau

LIMEGA23

Mega Millions jackpot up to $162M

Complete coverage: Couple wins $165M Mega Millions jackpot

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