November 2006

Back to Albany - Tracy Baxter @ 11:34 am EST
Governor Pataki has called the state legislature back to Albany for a special session in December. It'll mark the closing days of Pataki's 12 years in office. He wants the Senators and Assemblymen to consider laws that would allow confining sex offenders in psychiatric facilities after they have finished serving prison sentences. Another issue is the possible override of the Governor's veto of an early retirement plan for public workers. Both Senate and Assembly leaders deny there is any discussion about raising the pay for legislators.

Tower Trouble - Tracy Baxter @ 11:30 am EST
Three Monticello High School students got in trouble Tuesday afternoon....and not just for skipping class. Monticello Police say the teens cut class then slipped through a space around a fence and climbed a 100 foot tall water tower that stands near school property. School officials noticed the teens on the tower and called police. They were charged with criminal trespass after they climbed down.

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Identified - Tracy Baxter @ 11:58 am EST
A Narrowsburg man has been identified as the victim of Monday's power line accident in Liberty. 33 year old Todd Panich was electrocuted when the construction boom he was operating, came in contact with a high-voltage power line. Panich died instantly. He was employed with Sullivan Structures which has been working on Liberty's roundabout traffic project.

Lloyd Fatal - Tracy Baxter @ 11:56 am EST
In Ulster County, a Highland man was killed Monday afternoon when his car ran off a road and hit a tree. 46 year old John Delcastillo lost control of his car on Chapel Hill Road in the Town of Lloyd. He was pronounced dead at St. Francis Hospital. Police say he was not wearing a seat belt.

Dutchess County Clerk - Tracy Baxter @ 11:54 am EST
Fishkill Town Supervisor Joan Pagones has been chosen by the Dutchess County Republican Committee to become county clerk. Pagones would replace Collette LaFuente, who is retiring at the end of the year. Pagones would serve the final year of LaFuente's term and then run in 2007. Governor Pataki is expected to appoint her before he leaves office.

Friday, November 17, 2006

Rape Charge - Tracy Baxter @ 12:36 pm EST
A Middletown teenager has been sent to Orange County Jail after being charged with first-degree rape. 17 year old Curtis Ellington is accused of sexually assaulting a girl who is less than 11 years old. Police say there were several incidents in the past year and that they occurred at a residence in the Town of Deerpark. A call to the child abuse hotline led to Ellington's arrest.

Stabbing - Tracy Baxter @ 11:14 am EST
State Police in Ulster county have arrested a man for stabbing a woman at a residence in the Town of Hurley. Investigators say 49 year old Lawrence Wagner of Hurley stabbed the woman in the chest and when they arrived he dropped the knife but reportedly fought with officers. The woman was treated and later released from Kingston Hospital. Wagner was charged with assault and menacing a police officer.

Bank Robber Pleads - Tracy Baxter @ 11:11 am EST
Shawn Wells admitted to having a busy summer....robbing banks in Dutchess County. The 36 year old Fishkill man pleaded guilty to three counts of robbery for bank heists he pulled in Fishkill and the Towns of Poughkeepsie and Wappinger in July and August. His take in the three robberies totalled about 11 thousand dollars. Wells told police he used the money to pay off his debts. He faces up to 9 years in prison when he's sentenced December 7th.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Camp LaGuardia Closing - Tracy Baxter @ 12:23 pm EST
Orange County Executive Ed Diana was holding a news conference Thursday afternoon to announce that the Camp LaGuardia men's homeless shelter will be closing by next July. The closing is part of New York City's restructuring of its homeless shelter system. Orange County will reportedly buy the complex in Chester for 8 million dollars. The county and local communities have battled for years with New York City officials over Camp LaGuardia due to repeated quality of life crimes that were traced back to some of those housed at the shelter.

Surrender - Tracy Baxter @ 12:16 pm EST
Bail has been set at 150 thousand dollars for the 4th suspect connected to the beating of an off-duty N-Y-P-D officer last weekend in Port Jervis. 24 year old Michael Gurliacci of Sparrowbush turned himself in to Port Jervis police. He'd fled to the state of Virginia but returned to Port to surrender. He's been charged with gang assault and parole violation. Three others were arrested shortly after the incident.

Body Recovered - Tracy Baxter @ 12:13 pm EST
The body of a Saugerties man who had been missing for nearly a month was found Wednesday afternoon in the Hudson river. An Ulster County Sheriff's Department diver discovered the body of 39 year old Mark Perri in the river near Germantown in Columbia County. He'd been duck hunting in the area. Perri's relatives say the circumstances surrounding his death remain a mystery.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Fake Bomb - Tracy Baxter @ 1:48 pm EST
It was back in August when someone placed a package outside the Starbuck's Coffee Shop in the village of New Paltz. It had wording on it that indicated it was a bomb. The device was a fake but New Paltz Police say they now know who put it there. Police say fingerprints led them to 23 year old Timothy O'Keefe of Middletown. He was arrested Monday evening and charged with the felony of placing a false bomb. He's due in New Paltz court next Monday.

Monday, November 13, 2006

Toddler Assaulted - Tracy Baxter @ 2:12 pm EST
An Ulster county man is being held without bail for seriously injuring a 3 month old child. 28 year old Roger Rotella Jr. of West Shokan was charged with felony assault, reckless assault of a child and endangering the welfare of a child. The 3 month old is being treated at Albany Medical Center. State Police say the assault occurred last Thursday and that the Ulster County Family Violence Unit aided in their investigation. Rotella is currently under indictment on charges of official misconduct and bribe receiving. While working with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection at the Ashokan Reservoir, he's accused of trying to extort 30 thousand dollars from a man....in exchange for influencing the outcome of his drunk driving case.

Sex Abuse Charge - Tracy Baxter @ 2:03 pm EST
State Police have arrested a Kerhonkson man on charges that he sexually abused a 17 year old girl at his mother's residence in Accord last Thursday. 20 year old Arthur Roe was being held on 20 thousand dollars bail after being arraigned on the felony charge of first degree sexual abuse. Investigators say Roe was the son of the victim's legal guardian.

Campbell Hall Fire - Tracy Baxter @ 2:01 pm EST
A fire Monday morning gutted the residence at the Dembeck Farm on Route 207 in Campbell Hall. The lone occupant was not home when the fire broke out at around 8AM. There were no injuries reported although a pet dog died in the blaze. A problem with the kitchen stove is being looked at as the possible cause.

Friday, November 03, 2006

Still At Large - Tracy Baxter @ 12:09 pm EST
An Ulster County grand jury has handed up an indictment against a man who remains on the loose after allegedly causing the death of an Ulster County woman. 23 year old Teeson Whitted of the Bronx was indicted on charges of criminally negligent homicide, assault, and leaving the scene of an incident. District Attorney Donald Williams says Whitted was driving on Broadway in Kingston last June when he struck and killed Eileen Slater as she was trying to cross the street. Whitted then drove off and later contacted police but he never turned himself in.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Stolen Property - Tracy Baxter @ 12:41 pm EST
State Police say inspectors found more than they expected when they came to Old Liberty Road in Livingston Manor to check out damage done from the flooding in the region last June. Police say at the home of Old Liberty Road resident Frank Digravina, they discovered a utility trailer and an A-T-V. Both had been reported stolen from a residence in Ferndale back in 2003. Digravina is facing a charge of criminal possession of stolen property.

Paintball Vandals - Tracy Baxter @ 12:39 pm EST
Police in Ulster County have caught up with two teens who...they say...were involved in Halloween vandalism. Sheriff's deputies say 16 year old Douglas North of Accord and another boy whose name wasn't released were firing paintballs from a moving vehicle. They were charged with reckless endangerment and criminal mischief. Authorities say there were at least 7 incidents including two houses hit on Berme Road and Granite Road in the Accord area of the Town of Rochester.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Liberty Cameras - Tracy Baxter @ 1:54 pm EST
The Village of Liberty will become the latest area community to beef up police surveillance through the use of cameras. Liberty has received a 50 thousand dollar state grant that it'll put towards setting up cameras in its downtown sector, specifically in areas where there has been vandalism and criminal activity. Officials say the camera surveillance will be similar to what is currently in place in Middletown.

Security Breach - Tracy Baxter @ 1:10 pm EST
Town of Newburgh Police are trying to get to the bottom of an incident that happened at the Air National Guard Base at Stewart. Police say at around 9:30 Wednesday morning, a man driving a car failed to stop at the Air Guard security checkpoint off Route 17K. 36 year old Eric Brignoni of Fort Montgomery reportedly sped through the checkpoint despite the armed security. Base officers eventually blocked him in and had to use pepper-spray to subdue him. Officers say before that, Brignoni tried to hit a security officer with his vehicle. He's been charged with criminal trespass and reckless endangerment. Police say Brignoni was taken to St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. Police don't know of any connection between Brignoni and the base.

Fraud Charges - Tracy Baxter @ 11:07 am EST
Town of Poughkeepsie police say she was managing a donation campaign for a friend who is confined to a wheelchair. About 30 thousand dollars was raised for the 46 year old woman...money that would go towards the purchase of a new handicapped-accessible van. But police say the problem was...that money was never turned in. Police have since charged 39 year old Wendy Miller of Hopewell Junction with felony grand larceny and forgery. Police say none of the money has been recovered.

Halloween Spree - Tracy Baxter @ 11:03 am EST
Town of Poughkeepsie police say 3 Millerton residents went on a Halloween shopping spree Tuesday in the Poughkeepsie Galleria and at stores along Route 9. But police say they did more than 3 thousand dollars worth of shopping with credit cards stolen from a woman's purse earlier in the day. Charges against 24 year old Brian Cook, 21 year old Austin Lovett and 18 year old Kendra Hinds include grand larceny, forgery, conspiracy and possession of stolen property.