Suffolk County police say that a man was drunk driving a stolen SUV in Patchogue when he crashed the vehicle into a Patchogue home last night. Well, actually Frank Dawson wasn't in the car; Newsday reports that he "leaped from the sport utility vehicle on Clark Street -- as the big GMC Yukon was still moving -- and ran off... the truck continued to roll until it hit the home, going into the living room......

Long Island waiters who provide a tantalizing description of the daily specials while omitting such vulgar details as price may have to change up their patter if a proposed law in Nassau County gets passed. Of course, resistance is coming from the New York Restaurant Association, which in recent years has failed to block regulations on calorie info and bans on artificial trans fat. The executive vice president of the group maintains, "It’s good business......

Remember Kristine Anzalone, the Long Island hairdresser who, inspired by Owen Wilson in Wedding Crashers, tried to poison her roommate with Visine? For those just joining us, Anzalone was pregnant and sharing a house with her husband plus a roommate, Joseph Gentissi Jr., in North Bellmore, Long Island back in 2006. Anzalone came to believe that Gentissi's cigarette smoking was harmful during her pregnancy, so she tried to drive him from the home by serving......

When Andrea Sangermano crashed into two cars on Long Island one night last May, she assured the arresting officers she wasn't drunk or high. And even though she could barely stand up, her breath test registered a blood-alcohol level of .00 percent. Only later did it occur to her to inform the cops that her behavior might have something to do with her being a diabetic in need of insulin. But that didn't stop Nassau......

A 20-year-old woman, spending the day with her family at a water park, "mistakenly drove" a Chevy Avalanche forward, striking three relatives. Yerardin Gil's action killed her aunt, Rosa Ortiz and also injured other relatives Dolcina Ortiz and Tomas Esquerdo. The incident occurred at Splish Splash in Calverton, Long Island; the three had been sitting on a grass median, having a picnic, when Gil drove over the curb and into them. According to Newsday, police......

The retired detective accused of being the "Bling Bandit" is awaiting a psychiatric evaluation, but Athelson Kelson's mother seems to confirm the "suicide-by-cop" hypothesis. Referring to her son's terminal liver cancer, she told the Daily News, "He just didn't want to live like that. He just wanted to die." Kelson allegedly held up banks in Queens and on Long Island, while making no attempt to disguise himself or to wear gloves--and wearing flashy jewelry, including......

Newsday reports that the "elusive alligator" that has been seen in Hewlett creek for weeks was caught by Ron Settino, a 63-year-old bass fisherman. He said, "I've been hunting this guy for a while now. Considering the fact that he doesn't belong here, I really wanted to get him out." Apparently the 33-inch (but very dangerous) alligator bit an artificial lure, and another fisherman helped pick it up. Settino added, "The alligator was good. He......

Authorities have questioned a retired and respected NYPD detective of holding up banks in Queens and on Long Island. The suspect was dubbed the "Bling Bandit" by Newsday after surveillance footage showed "he repeatedly flashed an abundance of gold jewelry on both hands. " Athelson Kelson, a Vietnam veteran who worked on the Joint Terrorism task force, reportedly surrendered at a Queens precinct house last night, and Daily News sources say it seemed like he......

A high-speed boat race in Great South Bay turned deadly when two men died after their boat overturned. The men were pronounced dead at the hospital, and the incident occurred during the "Battle of the Bay," for the second event of the MIss Geico Triple Crown. An investigation is being conducted, but Newsday reports witnesses said "the boat appeared to overturn while it made a southeastern turn on the race course." Patchogue Mayor Paul Pontieri,......

A family tells Newsday that they spotted a manatee while fishing at Smithtown town park on Long Island. The family is pretty certain, because they had lived in Florida for two years where they saw the large mammals all the time. Tara Inzone said, "I was untangling my line at the end of the dock and I heard a spouting sound -- a psffft. I looked over and I said 'What the hell is that?'......

Newsday reports that Robert Infantino, who calls himself "Long Island's Favorite Magician, was arrested for allegedly "secretly videotaping" a woman and her two daughters "during a 'free photo shoot' at his home." Oh no, not the "free photo shoot" scam! Infantino's other business, Infantino Productions offers "Family Photography, Modeling, Headshots, and more" and adds "If you'd like a FREE photo shoot...contact me and we'll go over the details of what you're interested in doing (family,......

A man dressed as a postal worker and an accomplice robbed a home in East Meadow, Long Island yesterday. When the 32-year-old homeowner opened the door, she saw the uniformed man holding a package, but then he showed a gun. The woman was handcuffed and she and her two young daughters were forced into a bathroom. Then he claimed, per WABC 7, he was a "police officer and wanted to know where the valuables were......

The Girls Gone Wild employee accused of sexually assaulting a woman last week aboard a GGW bus was released; Newsday reports it's "because no indictment was filed within the time limit for a felony charge." Michael O'Sullivan, who did not need to post the $100,000 cash bail, was in Smithtown to film part of the GGW's Wildest Bar video. The Suffolk DA's office said, "After reviewing the facts and circumstances of Mr. O'Sullivan's arrest, the......

A Westhampton couple were killed in a plane crash in Massachusetts; a third person was also killed. The flight was an "angel flight," via Angel Flight, the non-profit that flies people to medical centers for free; the couple (the husband had cancer) was headed to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. The plane is described as either a single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza or Cessna crashed into a Hannaford grocery store's parking lot in Easton, MA.......

Early yesterday morning, a woman stopped a police car in Smithtown, Long Island, claiming she was sexually assaulted on a Girls Gone Wild bus. Police ended up arresting the GGW crew supervisor Matthew O'Sullivan and charging him with first degree sexual assault\. Girls Gone Wild is currently looking for the wildest bars, and the crew had been filming a wet T-shirt contest at Nubar tavern. Apparently O'Sullivan asked a 20-year-old woman at the bar (not......

Some of the victims struck by lightning on Sunday spoke to Newsday about their ordeal, with one describing how, "The lightning came out of my body through the foot, and my shoe exploded." A group of men who had been playing and watching soccer in a Hicksville park took shelter under a tree during the storm. But lightning struck, injuring five men. Elber Guerra has second- and third-degree burns on 35% of his body (his......

It turns out that Diamond Mircea and his wife Monica had gotten into a fight that culminated in her climbing on top of her husband's car's roof in an attempt to stop him from leaving. But Mircea kept driving, and Monica Mircea was still on the roof, per WNBC, "for a short distance before she fell on the pavement and suffered a head injury." Mircea was charged with DWI an vehicular assault (authorities don't think......

Lightning strikes from NJ to Long Island hit twelve people. One of those people was fatally hit--a 38-year-old NJ man who was laying on a Sandy Hook beach with friends (two of them were also hit). Five men who had been playing soccer in HIcksvile but took shelter from the storm under a tree were also hit when lightning struck the tree. Four other were injured during a lightning strike in Cape May, NJ. While......

Newsday called yesterday a "deadly day for the Island's ocean beaches," given two people drowned and two are still missing after being dragged into the waters. Two men went missing off Jacob Riis Park in Queens; one 21-year-old was rescued by divers, bu a 23-year-old is still missing. At Long Beach, 18-year-old and 22-year-old cousins were swept out; the older cousin was rescued but later died while the younger is still missing. And 25-year-old man......

A woman was shot to death by the ex-boyfriend who had recently violated her order of protection against him. The violence occurred yesterday afternoon at the Aflac Insurance sales office in Bohemia, where William Lynch shot Tiana Stokley dead, but not before shooting the supervisor who tried to protect her. On Monday, Lynch allegedly punched Stokley in the face, but police were unable to find him. Then yesterday, according to Newsday, Lynch went to Stokley's......

Last Friday, Rev. Timothy Wright, the pastor of the Grace Tabernacle Christian Center in Crown Heights, was critically injured in a car crash in Pennsylvania that fatally injured his wife and 14-year-old grandson. As the pastor remains hospitalized at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, PA, NY1 is reporting that Wright's family has spoken out from their Long Island home. His five sons stated that their father knows of the death of his grandson, DJ, but......

After serving 17 years in prison for his parents' 1988 murders until charges were dropped in January, Martin Tankleff learned today that he won't be retried for their murders. Tankleff's had lawyers claimed that the then-17-year-old Tankleff was tricked into confessing and pointed to evidence that suggested Tankleff's father's business associate could have been been behind the killings. Today, Attorney General Cuomo's office said, "The issue in this case is not whether there is evidence......

A boy who recently graduated middle school drowned yesterday afternoon after jumping into the Reynolds Channel off Long Beach. Leo Vann and his friends had been at the skateboard park, and Vann decided to jump in to cool off. Though Vann reportedly could swim, it's believed he got caught in the undercurrent. Witnesses were unsuccessful in saving him and it took rescuers over 30 minutes to pull Vann from the water. His mother questioned why......

Six teenagers, ranging in age from 14 to 18 years old, were arrested yesterday for mugging, attacking, attempting to carjack, and overall menacing in Nassau County. And the police say they were inspired by Grand Theft Auto IV. ...

When 8-year-old Jaiden Haber appeared at her Amityville elementary school wearing a pink shirt reading "N the 'N-word'! It's Time!", Newsday reports she was sent to the principal's office and asked to change her shirt. Now, her mother and school officials disagree about whether or not an 8-year-old and her shirt should be what prompts dialogue on race. The ACLU says students should be allowed to wear whatever they want (like that Staten Island kid......

Over the weekend, Natalie Ciappa's parents became worried when their daughter hadn't returned home. After calls to her friends, they found her unconscious in a converted garage-rec room in Seaford, Long Island. The 18-year-old who was days away from graduation was later pronounced dead at a hospital. Now, the party's host, a 19-year-old, was arrested for evidence tampering. The police say Seewong Sung was cleaning up beer and vodka bottles from the rec room. In......

Ugh: A Lake Beach in Southold, Long Island is closed due to "high levels of bacteria caused by waterfowl droppings and storm-water runoff." Luckily no one has reported any illnesses. It's unclear if officials will require the services of the Geese Police.......

All-American supermodel Christie Brinkley is playing tough when it comes to her forthcoming divorce from architect Peter Cook. Brinkley's lawyer says the press should be allowed to attend the proceedings, in spite of the recommendation of a court-appointed guardian for her children, who say it's not a good idea. In 2006, Brinkley split from Cook after she found out he had an affair with then-18-year-old Diana Bianchi who was his assistant. (Cook originally met Bianchi......

A shoe boutique on Long Island is causing some controversy with their Sex and the City signage. Newsday reports that Steven Dann, owner of the shop in Great Neck Plaza, is offering items seen in the movie -- shoes, belts and bags with hefty price tags reaching the $4,000 range. Cashing in on the movie is fine, but he placed a sign in his window that read: "Who's having sex in this city? Either way......

The family who found a California King snake wrapped around a 7-month-old baby's leg on Monday has decided to sue the mattress manufacturer and store where the mattress was purchased. ...