Crime & Safety

Crimes Nearby: Paralegal Arrested on Embezzlement Charges

Police say Joseph Abramski worked for a Southampton law firm and stole more than $250,000 over three years.

• Joseph Abramski, 63, of Greenport, was charged with second-degree grand larceny and second-degree forgery, both felonies, on Oct. 10 at approximately 3:05 p.m., after an investigation revealed that Abramski, a paralegal with the Southampton law firm Bourke, Flanagan, & Asato, P.C., alleged to have embezzled more than $250,000 over a three-year period, according to Southampton Village police.  

Abramski was arraigned Oct. 12 at the Southampton Village Justice Court before Village Justice Barbara Wilson. He was remanded to the Suffolk County Correctional Facility in Riverside in lieu of $50,000 cash bail, police said.

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•  Rodrigo Tocay, 25, of East Hampton, was charged with felony DWI on Oct. 13 in Water Mill at 8:45 p.m. after his car was stopped on Bay Avenue. Police say Tocay was also operating the vehicle without a required interlock device that’s designed to stop a car from starting while the driver is intoxicated. The DWI charge was elevated to a felony because of a prior DWI conviction within the past 10 years, police said.

•  Linda L. Curry, 69, of Southampton was arrested Oct. 12 at 7:13 p.m. and charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree, a felony. Police said Curry altered a prescription for Oxycodone in which she doubled the strength and increased the amount by more than 130 pills. At arraignment, she was ordered held at the Suffolk County jail in Riverside in lieu of $10,000 bail.

NORTH FORK

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• Raymond L. Sanwald, 33, of Shelter Island, was charged with felony driving while intoxicated under Leandra’s Law on Oct. 15 at 5:05 p.m., after police stopped him on Route 48 in Southold for speeding and obstructed view while he drove a 2002 Dodge with his 3-year-old son in a child seat in the back of the vehicle, police said. Sanwald was found to be intoxicated and was arrested and transported to Southold Town Police headquarters in Peconic where he was held overnight to await arraignment. Passed in 2009, Leandra’s Law is a New York State law making drunk driving with a person age 15 or younger inside the vehicle an automatic felony.

• Elogario Pirir Chamale, 37, of Peconic, was charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated and driving without a license on Oct. 15 at 12:45 a.m., after Chamale crashed into a Long Island Power Authority utility pole with his car on Route 25 in Cutchogue, police said. He was found to be intoxicated and was arrested and held at Southold Town police headquarters until arraignment in the morning. No injuries were reported.

• Anthony Toy, Jr., 47, of Greenport was charged with third-degree grand larceny this week, after investigation revealed that he stole copper wire, a truck radiator and Christmas lights from a Greenport Village utility yard on Oct. 1, police said. The value of the stolen items was reported to be over $5,000. Toy turned himself in and was arraigned at Southold Justice Court.


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