Crime & Safety

Cops: Supe Receives Threat at Home Over Ditch Witch

Police chief says suspect identified; no charges pressed.

Supervisor Bill Wilkinson received a threatening message at his home in Montauk just as news broke that the was about to lose its vending spot. 

Chief Ed Ecker confirmed on Monday morning that a threatening message had been left on the supervisor's and Pat Wilkinson's answering machine on Wednesday night. "It was all about the Ditch Witch," he said. 

Outrage built on Wednesday night and Thursday when it became known that request for proposals for vendors spots at beach-ends were not calculated in favor of the long-time food-truck on the east side of . The RFP because of a flaw in the analytical system that had been set up. 

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"It’s a shame that the supervisor and his family have to put up with that type of abuse at home," Ecker said.

Asked to comment, Wilkinson said his wife picked up the message and afterwards, sometime around 10 p.m., he filed a police report as it challenged "the safety and a feeling of security for my family."

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He said the suspect who left the message was identified and contacted by police.  

"It was important for the individual to know that I could have pressed charges, but I chose not to," Wilkinson said.

"I find it terribly harmful, disturbing and distasteful when it does come into the home," he said. "I have no problem with anybody coming into my office. I have an open-door policy as well as an open-phone policy. I will pick up the phone for anyone at the office and talk with those who are extremely pleased as well as those who are simply displeased."

Ecker said, "I think anybody in public office, we put up with a lot, sometimes during work hours or even after work hours at meetings, but when it comes into the house it’s really regrettable."

The incident report would be released with the rest of the police reports on Monday, according to the police chief. 


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