Community upset over precinct plan
Newsday Coverage
Precinct's history handling cruel crimes
Officers in the Sixth Precinct patrol an area replete with quiet streets, manicured lawns and spacious homes.
Violent crimes are rare in the precinct that includes Manhasset, Great Neck and other parts of North Hempstead, according to Lawrence W. Mulvey, Nassau County Police commissioner.
Past this quiet suburban appearance, however, are a handful of tales of cruel crimes that have rocked Long Island.
Take the case of Lawrence Lever, an Old Brookville millionaire real estate developer who was shot to death in 1978 during a burglary by Alan Golder.
Golder, dubbed the "Dinnertime Bandit," burglarized millions in jewels from homeowners before he was caught in 1980 and later convicted of second-degree murder.
And then there's Jack Teich, a Kings Point business executive who was kidnapped in his driveway in 1974 and held for $750,000 ransom. He was released unharmed after the ransom was paid.
Mulvey, who earned a police Purple Heart after he was stabbed three times in the chest while serving in the precinct, knows firsthand that the area's looks can be deceiving. He worked at the Sixth from 1973 to 1984 and said while the area is tranquil, officers there also face the same dangers as others in more violent precincts.
"The Sixth Precinct has a long and cherished history," he said.
"It is a more affluent demographic," Mulvey said. "Their needs and issues are different."
The area has seen notorious killers such Ricardo Caputo, dubbed "Ladykiller," who confessed to killing four women including his fiancee - a 19 year-old Flower Hill woman in 1971. Oliver Petrovich shot and killed his parents in their Great Neck home in 1988 after, he said, they objected to his having a black girlfriend.
Nikolaos Kotsopoulos was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison after a jury found him guilty of shooting his wife in the face as she was preparing dinner for Greek Orthodox Easter at their Manhasset home in 2002.
The Sixth Precinct, which started out in 1930 in an old house on Northern Boulevard, has moved three times in its history.
Its last move, in 1972, took it to 100 Community Dr. in Manhasset, where the building's vast square footage makes it stand out, Mulvey said. "It was the flagship police precinct."
News 12 Coverage
Nassau's top cop: Consolidation poses no threat to public safety
(08/10/10) MANHASSET - Nassau County’s police commissioner today tried to allay the fears of local leaders concerned about a proposed consolidation plan.
Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey and County Executive Ed Mangano want to consolidate the administrative staff at Manhasset’s 6th Precinct and Woodbury’s 2nd Precinct.
Mulvey says all of Nassau’s precincts will remain open. However, he says 125 officers retiring early won’t be replaced. Mulvey says the changes are necessary to keep the same number of officers patrolling the street.
Minority Leader Leg. Diane Yatauro (D-Glen Cove) says she doesn’t believe Mulvey’s claim that the plan won’t increase police response time.
Mangano says details of the plan are still being worked out.
Posted Tuesday, August 10, 2010
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