Key Lupinacci Staffer Leaving Post

Deputy Supervisor Patricia DelCol’s last day on the job will be Jan. 29.

By Connor Beach
cbeach@longislandergroup.com

Longtime Deputy Supervisor Patricia DelCol is set to resign her position with the town at the end of the month.

DelCol was first appointed deputy town supervisor in 2010 by then-supervisor Frank Petrone. After seven years serving under Petrone, DelCol said she intended to leave the position when current supervisor Chad Lupinacci was elected in 2017. She agreed to stay on to help Lupinacci “get things up and running.”

“I made a commitment to him that I would do that, and I would do that for a year,” DelCol said in an interview Friday. “I think we have successfully transitioned a lot of the new department heads into their positions.”

The veteran town employee said she would be moving to a position in the private sector with Melville-based architecture and engineering firm H2M.

Lupinacci said DelCol has played an “instrumental role in this past year of transition.”

“We're going to miss Pat, and we are thankful for her dedication to the town,” Lupinacci said. “We wish her the best in her retirement from 24 years in government service.”

Lupinacci has not named any candidates to replace DelCol as deputy supervisor.

DelCol began her career with the town in 1986 as director of environmental control. After a spell in the private sector with Covanta Energy, she was again hired by the town in 2005 as the director of engineering services.

In her tenure as deputy supervisor, DelCol said the town’s “sound financial footing” and capital projects rank among her proudest accomplishments. She said the job of the deputy supervisor is “day-to-day management” of town projects and departments.

“Someone once told me the job of this position is to ‘keep the trains running on time,’ and that is very true,” DelCol said.

She said her time at town hall has been rewarding.

“We really focused on the residents and what their asks were,” DelCol said. “At the end of the day, you leave feeling like you really accomplished something.”

Councilman Mark Cuthbertson, who has served on the town board since 1998, called DelCol a “significant player at town hall” who “is very integral” to the town’s day-to-day operations.

“She understands all the town’s facets – finance, waste management, building department – she has a really acute understanding of all those areas,” Cuthbertson said.

DelCol said her last day at town hall will be Jan. 29.

Condos Gutted In Raging Blaze

A raging fire consumes two condos at The Greens in Melville. Photo/Melville FD

By Connor Beach
cbeach@longislandergroup.com

A raging blaze at a condominium complex in Melville damaged four units two days after Christmas, fire officials said.

Melville firefighters responded to reports of a fire at The Greens on Adriatic Drive just after 4 p.m., Dec. 27, according to fire officials.

Fire crews arrived to find the blaze raging out of the first and second stories of two condos in the 16-unit building. Melville firefighter began an aggressive attack on the fire and had it under control in about 40 minutes, fire officials said.

Fire officials said all of the residents were safely out of the condos, and no injuries were reported.

Smoke fills the afternoon sky as firefighters battle a blaze at The Greens in Melville, Photo/Melville FD

Two condos sustained heavy fire damage, and two others sustained water and smoke damage, according to fire officials.

Melville fire chief Chris Nolan and first assistant chief David Kaplan commanded 75 firefighters who battled the blaze. Firefighters from Dix Hills, Huntington Manor, Plainview, East Farmingdale, Farmingdale and Wyandanch helped fight the blaze.

Fire officials said the Suffolk Police Arson Squad and Huntington Town Fire Marshal are investigating the cause of the fire.

Firefighters assess the damage after a fire ripped through a condo complex in Melville on Dec. 27. Photo/Melville FD

Woman Charged In Christmas Eve Church Theft

Suffolk Police charged Michael Cuozzo and Tara Costello with multiple credit card thefts. Police additionally believe Costello was involved in the theft of a purse from St. Francis church on Christmas Eve. Photos/SCPD

By Connor Beach
cbeach@longislandergroup.com

Suffolk police arrested a Greenlawn woman Tuesday who they say stole a purse during Christmas Eve mass at St. Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Church.

Tara Costello, 45, and her partner Michael Cuozzo, 51, also of Greenlawn, have been charged with stealing multiple credit cards during a three-day span last week, according to Suffolk police.

Police arrested Costello and Cuozzo, who was not charged in connection with the theft from the church, at their home on Broadway in Greenlawn at around noon on New Year’s Day, police said.

The couple was charged with fourth-degree grand larceny for allegedly stealing purses or wallets containing credit cards from Blackstone Steakhouse in Melville and McKeown’s Pub in Huntington on Dec. 23, and from Jenny Craig in Huntington Station on Dec. 26, according to police.

Police additionally charged Costello for allegedly stealing the purse of a parishioner at St. Francis in Greenlawn during mass on Dec. 24. She was also charged with four counts of fourth-degree criminal procession of stolen property for using the stolen credit cards, police said.

Security footage from the church shows a pair of women stealing a purse from a pew as parishioners left their seats to receive Communion at the alter.

Suffolk police said no other suspects were arrested in connection with the church theft.

Suffolk police said Costello and Cuozzo were released on bail and will be arraigned at a later date.