$19.7M Medicaid Fraud Got Mount Sinai Taxi Boss Ferrari, BMW — And Now Jail Time, Feds Say
A Long Island man who led a $19.7 million Medicaid fraud scheme has been sentenced to several years in prison, authorities said.
Adnan Arshad, 47, of Mount Sinai, got eight years and one month in prison, the Justice Department announced Tuesday, July 21.
The plot “siphoned millions from Medicaid, depriving vulnerable patients of resources and fueling a lavish lifestyle built on fraud,” IRS agent Harry Chavis Jr. said.
Arshad owned two companies — MTK Taxi in Montauk and All-Star Taxi in Ronkonkoma — that claimed to provide transportation service for patients to hospitals, then billed Medic…
Daycare Worker Arrested For Spanking Child In Cairo: Police
A Capital Region woman has been arrested for spanking a child at daycare, according to state police.
Amanda Orser, 28, of Catskill, disciplined the child at Precious Tots Nursery and Daycare in Cairo on Thursday, July 16 with authorization to do so, New York State Police said.
Cairo police began investigating shortly afterward and turned the case over to state troopers, who arrested Orser on Friday, July 17, authorities said.
Orser was charged with child endangerment and second-degree harassment, state police said. She pleaded not guilty and was issued an appearance ticket for her next hea…
NJ Fisherman, 38, Dies Suddenly On Boat 130 Miles Off Montauk: Police
A fisherman died suddenly while on board a vessel off the coast of Long Island on Tuesday, July 21, police said.
Sean Smida, 38, of New Jersey, fell unconscious just before 10 a.m. Tuesday when the ship was about 130 east of Montauk Point, the East Hampton Police Department said.
The ship, a private fishing vessel, immediately headed for the U.S. Coast Guard station in Montauk and arrived around 1:30 p.m., authorities said. People on board attempted to revive Smida during the journey, cops said.
“Based on the preliminary investigation, it appears Mr. Smida may have suffered a medical emerg…
Year's Most Popular Meteor Shower Under Way: Peak Viewing Coming
The wait for summer’s most anticipated sky show is over, but its biggest act is still ahead.
The Perseid meteor shower became active Friday, July 17, and will continue through Monday, Aug. 24, according to the American Meteor Society.
Activity will build toward the peak overnight from Wednesday, Aug. 12, into Thursday, Aug. 13.
This year’s timing could hardly be better. The peak will coincide with a new moon, eliminating lunar glare that might otherwise wash out faint meteors.
The moon will be zero percent full during the peak, the American Meteor Society said.
NASA considers the Perseid…
Oceanside Woman In Deadly DWI Case Tried To Bribe Immigration Judge With Tequila, $3K: Feds
A Long Island woman already charged in a deadly DWI crash is now also accused of attempting to bribe an immigration judge to free someone in ICE detention.
Diana Kutateladze, 37, of Oceanside, had her bail revoked in her Long Island case on Tuesday, July 21 after the feds unsealed the bribery charges, Newsday reported.
The change in status followed a Wednesday, July 15 indictment in Louisiana federal court, in which Kutateladze was accused of trying to bribe a judge with Patron tequila and $3,000 back in January 2024, according to the Justice Department.
Kutateladze was trying to free some…
Superintendent Who Tried To Torch Poughkeepsie Building With Tenants Inside Learns His Fate
A Hudson Valley apartment building superintendent who attempted to light the building on fire with tenants inside learned his fate on Tuesday, July 21, authorities said.
Lorgio Hernandez Quevedo, 69, got 15 years in prison for the attempted arson, the Dutchess County District Attorney’s office said.
Hernandez Quevedo, of Poughkeepsie, attempted to set the building on fire on April 18, 2025, by pouring gasoline down the stairs to the basement apartment, investigators said. He then tried to ignite the fuel with a lighter, according to prosecutors.
After initially targeting the stairs, Hernan…
Boozy Family Party Ended In Fatal Elmont Highway DWI Wreck: Authorities
A drunk Long Island driver whose one-car wreck killed one of his passengers has been indicted, authorities said.
Deodat Ramotar, 35, of Queens, lost control on the Southern State Parkway in Elmont during a snowstorm on Dec. 14, 2025, the Nassau County District Attorney’s office said Tuesday, July 21.
Ramotar had spent the previous night and into the morning drinking at a family party before he got behind the wheel, prosecutors said.
Ramash Boodnie, 58, was riding in the backseat of Ramotar’s Hyundai Sonata along with two others, according to investigators. At around 4 a.m., Ramotar was tra…
Murder: Ex-Police Chief's Son Charged In Wife's Killing After Fleeing To Colorado
For months, authorities believed that Karen Kistle died by suicide. But brand-new evidence suggests that her husband, Anthony Kistle, whose father is a retired New Jersey police chief now living in Colorado, may be to blame.
Kistle, 46, was taken into custody just before 11 a.m. during a traffic stop on northbound Interstate 25 near Castle Pines, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation said earlier this month.
Kistle was wanted by police in Pennsylvania on charges of criminal homicide in the May 22, 2024, death of his wife, Karen Kistle, at the couple's home in Pike County. He also faces charg…
Hempstead Dogfighter Busted With 1,100 Fentanyl Pills, Loaded Gun Gets Prison Time: Prosecutors
After a dogfighting operation and 1,000 fentanyl pills were discovered at a Long Island man’s home, he was sentenced Tuesday, July 21 to prison time, authorities said.
Kevin Brown, 39, of Hempstead, got seven years and six months after cutting a plea deal back in June, the Nassau County District Attorney’s office said.
“This defendant had enough fentanyl in his home to kill tens of thousands of people, but his stockpile of dangerous drugs was just the tip of the iceberg,” District Attorney Anne Donnelly said.
Cops raided Brown’s home in December 2024 after watching him for three months in …
Mount Vernon Murder Of Influencer Solved: Feds Link 6 Gangsters To Carjacking Gone Wrong
A violent street gang blamed for at least five murders was behind the killing of an influencer inside her car in Westchester County, authorities said Monday, July 20.
Ariela Mejia Polanco, 33, also known as Ariela “La Langosta,” was the victim of a carjacking gone wrong in Mount Vernon, the Justice Department said.
The feds said six members of the “Bad Boys 7” Trinitarios street gang targeted Mejia Polanco’s vehicle on Aug. 17, 2025, simply because it was a luxury SUV, not because they knew she was driving it, according to the Rockland/Westchester Journal News.
Mejia Polanco was a friend o…
Oyster Bay One Of Two Lirr Branches To Close Over Weekend, MTA Says — See The Details
Major chances to Long Island Rail Road service are coming for the weekend of Friday, July 24 into Monday, July 27, according to the MTA.
The Oyster Bay Branch and the Hempstead Branch will be shut down entirely, with Hempstead trains stopping at 8 p.m. Friday and Oyster Bay trains stopping at 10 p.m., the MTA announced.
Additionally, Ronkonkoma and Port Jefferson branch trains will only run from Hicksville to points east, with no service to Jamaica Station.
Normal service will resume at 4:30 a.m. Monday, July 27, according to the MTA.
The disruption is part of a long-term project to insta…
Man Stabs Sister To Death, Injuries Brother After Fight Over Barking Dogs In Lancaster County:
A brother admitted he stabbed his sister to death after becoming enraged by barking dogs, then showered before fleeing the home as his wounded brother confronted him with a handgun, prosecutors said.
Bryan Emeric Adolph, 26, of East Hempfield Township, was charged Tuesday, July 21, with criminal homicide, two counts of aggravated assault, and possessing an instrument of crime in the killing of his 28-year-old sister, Elyse Adolph, according to the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office.
The attack happened shortly after 10:30 a.m. Monday, July 20, inside the family's home in the 1100 b…