Crime & Safety

Crimes Nearby: LIRR Disability Doc Convicted

The top charge of second-degree gang assault has been dropped against all five defendants in the Roxen Road assault case in Rockville Centre.

A spokesman for the Nassau County District Attorney’s office confirmed Thursday that along with the dismissal of the class E felony of gang assault, the charges of assault in the second degree have also been reduced to attempted assault in the second degree.

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The charge of assault in the third degree remains in place for all five defendants, the spokesman said.

According to police, the assault happened when the wife of the victim was walking her dog on Nottingham Road and was verbally accosted by five to eight young men. She ran home and told her husband of the incident, and the two drove around the neighborhood looking for the men to demand an apology.

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They found the group on Roxen Road, which is where the assault took place, police said. Neighbors who heard the disturbance called police at 11:55 p.m.

The man was transported by Rockville Centre police to Mercy Medical Center where he was treated for broken ribs, multiple contusions and injuries to the face and jaw.

RVC Resident Convicted in LIRR Fraud Scheme

A Rockville Centre doctor was one of three people convicted Tuesday in Manhattan federal court for his participation in the massive Long Island Rail Road employee fraud scheme.

The three defendants — Peter Lesniewski, 62, of Rockville Centre, Marie Baran, 65, of East Meadow, and Joseph Rutigliano, 66, of Holtsville — were convicted on all counts charged following a three-week trial before U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero, bringing the total number of defendants convicted in this case up to 28.

Lesniewski, described as the "disability doctor" by Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, recommended more than 130 LIRR workers for disability benefits, in exchange for $850 to $1,000, often in cash. He used his East Meadow-based orthopedist practice as a disability mill, preparing fraudulent medical narratives for LIRR retirees well before the employees’ planned retirement dates so that the narratives could be submitted to the Railroad Retirement Board.

The medical narratives were fabricated or grossly exaggerated in order to substantiate the LIRR employees’ bogus claims of disability, according to Bharara.

Lesniewski was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and health care fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, one count of conspiracy to defraud the RRB, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, two counts of health care fraud, two counts of mail fraud and four counts of wire fraud.

$38K Car Stolen from Lynbrook Lot

The controller of Legacy Infiniti, located at 855 Sunrise Highway in Lynbrook, reported to police on July 22 that one of their loaner vehicles — a 2012 Infiniti G37 — was missing from the lot. The value of the vehicle is $38,366.


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