Community Corner
Homicide Detectives Investigating Boater's Death
Ninive Petrocelli's husband John Petrocelli reported her missing just after midnight Sunday, police say.
Suffolk County Police Homicide Squad detectives and the East Hampton Town police are looking into the circumstances surrounding Ninive Petrocelli's death, the county police said in a statement.
The woman, whom they reported was 40 and lived in New York City, was reported missing from a 45-foot pleasure craft "In the Clutch" just after midnight on Sunday. She and her husband, John Petrocelli, 54, were boating in Block Island Sound off Montauk Point when he noticed she was not on the boat, police said.
"He notified the United States Coast Guard and they immediately conducted a thorough search of the area," police said in the statement.
The Coast Guard reported Petrocelli said his wife fell over the stern of the boat, while it was anchored, and that he was unable to rescue her.
At around 11:30 a.m., a boater reported finding a body in the water, about three nautical miles southeast of Montauk Point in the Atlantic Ocean. Ninive Petrocelli's body was recovered.
The Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s office is investigating the cause of death.
According to Newsday, the boat is registered to Frank Monte of North Bergen, N.J.
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Monte is the general manager and CFO of John Petrocelli Construction, a Palisades Park, N.J., construction management and general contracting firm with high-end residential and commercial projects in its portfolio.
The couple were docking the boat at Montauk Marine Basin until Monday, according to Carl Darenberg, the owner.
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Ninive Petrocelli was the principal in Cristol, an architectural glass company with a 5,000-square-foot showroom in the New York Design Center. Her husband is listed as the CEO of the company. Works in her portfolio included Bacarrat, Brown University, Saks 5th Avenue, Chanel, and the Miami Dade Cultural Center.
According to Cristol's website, Ninive Petrocelli worked as the director of business development with Cesar Color, helping to increase the net profit by an additional $10 million.
Previously, 4:30 p.m.: The woman who was reported missing from a boat off Montauk Point was found Sunday afternoon, and police are investigating her death.
A Good Samaritan discovered the 39-year-old's body three nautical miles southeast of Montauk just after 11:30 a.m., according to Petty Officer Erik Swanson, a spokesman with the Coast Guard.The woman, whom the Coast Guard said was from Palisades Park, N.J., was reported missing from the 45-foot pleasure craft "In the Clutch" just after midnight on Sunday. Her name has not been released.
Swanson said the woman's husband said she fell overboard and he was unable to rescue her. They were the only two on the boat and she was not wearing a life vest, he said.
The boat was anchored two and a half miles off Montauk in Block Island Sound when she went over the stern of the boat, Swanson said.
Swanson said the Coast Guard's case has been closed, and the East Hampton Town Police Department has taken over the investigation into the woman's death. Suffolk County police detectives and the Crime Scenes investigations van were also at the scene.
The Coast Guard searched by air and sea all night, using a Coast Guard cutter, helicopters from the Coast Guard Air Station in Cape Cod, and local police boats.
The town police department did not immediately respond to requests for comments.
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