Police News

Renter Seeks Deposit,

Gets Cuffs

A landlord-tenant dispute in Mahopac has led to the arrest of the tenant.

Carmel Police arrested Phuong Huynh, 32, last week after Chief Michael Johnson said Officer Michael Sheil responded to a report of a “violent” dispute at an apartment complex on East Lovell Street.

The chief said Huynh became irate when the unidentified landlord advised he would not give him back a $1,250 deposit made on an apartment: “Mr. Huynh reportedly swung a mop stick at the landlord and threatened to kill him.”

Police were called and Huynh was charged with menacing. Following arraignment, the man from Vietnam was released without bail pending a hearing March 23 before Carmel Justice Joseph Spofford.

Chief Johnson said an important lesson was learned from the incident: “Never take matters into your own hands no matter how angry or agitated you may be. If you believe you have been dealt with wrongly, call police.”

Probation Violators

Following their arrests for violating the terms and conditions of their probation, a Putnam Valley man and a resident of the Bronx face court action that may result in incarceration

Putnam Probation Director Gene Funicelli announced the arrests last week of Ciaran Strong, 23, of Putnam Valley, and Nelson Sepulveda, 25, of the Bronx.

According to Funicelli, Strong was arrested in Port Jervis by Senior Officer John Mulreany and by Officer Dianne Holland on a violation of probation warrant issued by the Putnam County Court.

Strong is serving a five-year sentence of probation following his conviction in 2006 for leaving the scene of an accident that involved personal injury. The Putnam Valley man had faced a four-year state prison term after being found guilty of the felony.

Meanwhile, Senior Officer Amy Dehais and Officer Michele Perrini arrested Sepulveda after a warrant was issued by the Kent Justice Court. The Bronx man is serving a three-year sentence of probation following his conviction in 2008 for criminal mischief.

Dangerous Women

Two 38-year-old residents of western Putnam are facing charges of drunken driving.

State Police arrested Theresa Castaner of Putnam Valley last week while Yorktown Police arrested Shannon Bushell of Travis Corners Road in Garrison.

Troopers reported Castaner’s car was stopped on Oregon Road in Cortlandt for committing a traffic violation. A trooper observed alcohol on the woman’s breath, glassy eyes, and slurred speech, and when Castaner failed several field sobriety tests she was placed under arrest. Additional charges of operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol level of .16 percent or twice the legal limit for intoxication were also lodged.

Castaner was released to the custody of a family member pending a hearing Thursday in Cortlandt Town Court.

Bushell was arrested after she allegedly was observed driving erratically on Crompond Road in Yorktown at 10:30pm and, according to Lt. Richard Malan, when the woman made an unsafe U-turn and narrowly missed striking a police cruiser, the officer stopped the car and arrested its driver for both DWI as well as operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol level in excess of .08 percent.

Bushell was also released to the custody of a family member pending a hearing in Yorktown Court March 25.

Arrests Galore

Following their arrests by Yorktown Police, a number of Putnam residents are facing charges in Yorktown.

Cops charged Jose Figuereo, 34, of Mahopac, last week for aggravated unlicensed operation as well as for operating a vehicle with a suspended registration and for operating an uninsured vehicle. His car was stopped on Route 6 at the Taconic State Parkway when an officer observed sparks coming from the undercarriage at 10:45pm. A computer check revealed the violations and the Putnam man was placed under arrest. After posting $175 bail he was released pending a hearing March 25.

Police also arrested Michael Gomes, 21, of Putnam Valley, for aggravated unlicensed operation after a woman called police headquarters and reported that her son had allegedly allowed Gomes to drive her car, which was involved in a property damage crash, without her permission.

Lt. Richard Malan said an investigation determined that Gomes had operated the vehicle with a revoked license. Gomes posted $100 bail and was released pending a March 23 hearing.

Lauretta Iuso, 45, of Mahopac, was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation along with operating a vehicle with a suspended registration, passing a red light. and operating a vehicle that was uninsured, unregistered, uninspected, and bore no license plates, when it was stopped on Route 6 outside the Jefferson Valley Mall. Iuso was released without bail pending a March 23 hearing in Yorktown Town Court.

Three local residents were also charged with larceny in recent days. Anthony Manicco, 43, of Putnam Valley, was arrested for allegedly removing a portable heater from the John Hart Library in Shrub Oak without permission.

Two-16-year-olds from Mahopac were also charged after allegedly taking merchandise from Sears at the Jefferson Valley Mall without paying for the sunglasses valued at $24 and assorted underwear valued at $88.

Both youths were released to the custody of their parents pending hearings on March 25.

Brothers Do Time for

Botched Robbery

Two Mahopac men will remain incarcerated at maximum security penitentiaries for shooting a Mahopac tavern owner during a botched robbery almost nine years ago.

A three-judge federal appeals court panel last Friday upheld the 16-year sentence imposed against Salvatore Savoca, 38, and a 30-year sentence compelled against his younger brother, Lawrence.

The two men were convicted in Putnam County Court of shooting Michael Geary as he returned home from his place of business—the Rhino Grill on Route 6 in Mahopac— in the early morning hours of June 21, 2001.

Testimony at trial revealed the brothers owed a bookie $70,000 and believed Geary would be carrying cash from the bar after it closed. Instead, Geary had deposited the money in a night box at a local bank before heading home and being accosted by the two men.

Lawrence Savoca copped a guilty plea and testified on his brother’s behalf in an attempt to exonerate his sibling. He told the court that a bookie was his accomplice but investigators determined the socalled accomplice had been in Las Vegas at the time of the shooting.

Lawrence Savoca, who had just been released from state prison days before the attempted robbery and shooting, where he served time for felony robbery, was sent away for 30 years due to his long criminal record that included five felony convictions.

Salvatore Savoca appealed the sentence charging that Judge Stephen Robinson was incorrect for not crediting him with accepting responsibility for the crime. The panel disagreed. Salvatore Savoca is scheduled for release in April 2017.

Driver Crashes into

Ambulance

A crash involving the Mahopac Fire Department ambulance has resulted in the arrest of the driver who hit the rescue vehicle.

Carmel Police reported the incident last week that occurred at 9am at the intersection of Route 6 and Church Street in Carmel when the ambulance was en route to Arms Acres under mutual aid to the Carmel Volunteer Ambulance Corps, which was covering a previous emergency in the county seat.

Chief Michael Johnson told the COURIeR that Officer Kevin Murphy, who investigated the crash, conducted a New York State DMV check of both drivers and determined the operator of the car, Nicholas Albanese, 53, of Mahopac, was operating his vehicle with a suspended license. Albanese was arrested for aggravated unlicensed operation and for being an unlicensed driver. Additional charges of failing to yield to an emergency vehicle were also lodged since police reported the ambulance was proceeding with its red lights and siren activated.

Albanese was arraigned on the charges, and, after posting $50 bail, he was released pending a hearing March 23 before Carmel Justice Thomas Jacobellis.

The chief said no injuries were reported and after the ambulance was checked out it returned to service.

The Brewster Fire Department ambulance was summoned and transported the patient in need of medical care to Putnam Hospital Center.