Arson is the cause of a roaring fire that gutted the former landmark Bellmore restaurant, Smithville Café, early Monday morning, police and fire investigators say. more

Nassau County Police Commissioner Lawrence W. Mulvey has announced that on Nov. 25 and Nov. 27, additional DWI patrols will aggressively seek out alcohol- and drug-impaired drivers on the county’s … more

I've recently written a series of articles chronicling what it's like to be arrested for drunk driving in Nassau County. Though I've had the participation of the district attorney's office, Nassau County police and a number of defense attorneys, as well as input from many readers, one voice has been noticeably absent. Until now. more

Frank Carney, a 16-year-old from Bellmore, was arrested on Nov. 6 and charged with committing a hate crime in Merrick, police said. According to authorities, a dark Nissan pulled up in front of a 22-year-old man walking on Alice Avenue in Merrick. Two people got out of the car, one armed with a knife, and began to chase the man, yelling anti-gay slurs. more

Anthony Badalamenti, the personal trainer accused of severely beating his girlfriend's 6-year-old son with a belt in their Merrick apartment last October, was given the maximum sentence of seven years in prison last week. Jessica Muniz, the boy's mother, was sentenced to two years, according to the District Attorney's Office. Badalamenti, 31, was convicted by a jury of three counts of second-degree assault, two misdemeanor counts of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and endangering the welfare of a child. Muniz, 30, pleaded guilty to the same charges. more

Freeport resident Johnny Cerda was arrested yesterday by Nassau County police and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms this morning for allegedly conspiring to "obstruct, delay and … more

Police charged Leonidas Cotsifas, 50, of Bethpage with attempted murder and several other crimes on Thursday afternoon after he allegedly struck a 71-year-old man on the head with a paving stone in his Nassau Street home in Bellmore, critically injuring him. more

A crash or a death. When caused by a drunk driver, the media is often all over it. But last week I went behind bars at Nassau County Police Headquarters to get an inside look at the less-publicized side of a DWI arrest. more

"Four DWIs [is what] it took before that woman killed my child," said Deena Cohen, president of the Long Island chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Cohen was speaking before an assembly of about 50 students at Seaford High School, arranged by State Sen. Charles Fuschillo Jr., a Republican, and Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice, a Democrat who is up for re-election. Cohen’s 21-year-old daughter, Jodi, was killed by a drunk driver 20 years ago. "I need you to understand the importance of [not] drinking and driving and drugging and driving," Cohen told the students. "The pain never goes away, ever ... The pain is still here. The 20-year number did something to my head. Jodi is gone almost as long" as she was alive. Tears were welling up in students' eyes as Cohen spoke. more

An elementary school teacher from Merrick already accused of one sex crime now faces charges in two counties. Daniel Rothbard, 28, was arrested Sept. 3 for allegedly forcing a 13-year-old girl from Suffolk County to engage in oral sex at his Meadowbrook Avenue home on July 7, authorities said. Police learned about the encounter after Rothbard was arrested July 21 in Suffolk County for allegedly sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl in the parking lot of Westbrook Elementary School in West Islip, after meeting her on MySpace. Believing there may have been more victims, authorities began a probe into his online life. more