June Hall of Southold died at her home Nov. 1. She was 89.

Funeral arrangements, which are incomplete at presstime, are under the direction of DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home in Southold.

A complete obituary will follow.

The Long Island Science Center announced Tuesday that it has officially moved to a new location in Rocky Point. In 2013, the organization revealed its plan to move to a larger building from its location at 11 West Main St. in Riverhead.

“We’re hoping that we can use the space to do more programming,” Judy Isbitiren, coordinator of program operations, said Tuesday. “We want to offer hands-on science to more age groups.”

Center officials hope to host lectures and guests speakers that would appeal to high school students. In the past, programs have typically catered to elementary school students.

Moving has been a long process for the center. When officials announced they were moving three years ago, they planned to sell their space and use the money to buy the former West Marine building on East Main Street in Riverhead. After that plan fell through last year, center officials declined to comment about what happened.

Ms. Isbitiren said it took longer than expected to find a new home because they had hoped to stay in Riverhead, where the center had been for more than a decade.

“Riverhead was like our home, but now this could be a fresh start,” she said.

The new location at 21 North Country Road in Rocky Point formerly housed a furniture store. There is no official date for when the center’s doors will open, but Ms. Isbitiren said they are nearly moved in and hope to begin offering programs this month.

“We’ve been hearing about this move for quite some time,” she said. “It’s exciting to see it all come together.”

kmassa@timesreview.com

Mildred Kiernan of Cutchogue, formerly of Farmingdale, died Oct. 31 at her home. She was 92. 

The daughter of Harry and Mary Annabel, she was born April 6, 1924, in Queens.

Ms. Kiernan was a homemaker and a member of the Sacred Heart Rosary Society and a Cedars Golf Club “Cedarette.”

Family members said she  enjoyed golfing, sewing, gardening, painting and cooking.

Predeceased by her children, Patricia and Brian, Ms. Kiernan is survived by her husband, Thomas; her children Kathy Dowton of Florida, Terry Brockmeyer of California and Barbara Nagle of Cutchogue; her brother, Raymond Annabel of Cutchogue; 10 grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.

The family will receive visitors Friday, Nov. 4, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at Coster-Heppner Funeral Home in Cutchogue. A funeral Mass will take place at noon Saturday, Nov. 5, at Our Lady of Good Counsel R.C. Church in Mattituck. Interment will follow at Sacred Heart Cemetery.

Memorial donations may be made to East End Hospice.

If Southold Town wants to make progress in repairing its deteriorating roads, the highway department will need to spend about $2 million per year until 2020.

That determination comes from Highway Superintendent Vincent Orlando’s in-depth presentation of problematic roadways, the cost to fix them and when work could be completed. Mr. Orlando detailed the plan to the Town Board at its Tuesday meeting as a blueprint for how to address the problem over the next few years.

The issue with Southold’s roadways began when a string of harsh winters — complete with blizzards and freezing cold snaps — buckled the asphalt. Constant cycles of freezing and unfreezing forced water into cracks in the roads that expanded when the water froze.

The result was devastating, Mr. Orlando has said. The North Fork experienced a relatively mild winter this year, but that only prevented the problem from getting worse.

In its proposed 2017 town budget, the Town Board set aside $2.4 million in appropriations for highway repairs — hundreds of thousands more than the current budget permits. That jump is one of the major reasons for a proposed tax rate increase of 7.57 percent.

According to Mr. Orlando’s plan, next year’s paving would total 21.33 miles, with more than half the work scheduled to be in Mattituck, including sections of Sound Avenue, Cox Neck Road and New Suffolk Avenue.

Next year’s $2.4 million budget remains roughly the same in 2018 through 2020 and prioritizes roads according to need. It also takes into account how much paving highway crews could theoretically finish in a year before winter strikes.

The proposal reveals another 13.75 miles planned for 2018 at a cost of $2.4 million. In an interview Tuesday, Mr. Orlando said roads set to be paved that year are wider than standard roads, driving up costs per mile. In 2019, 19.9 miles would be repaired for roughly $2.5 million, with major roadwork concluding in 2020 for $1.77 million.

Mr. Orlando told the board he was able to save money on the budgets by fixing flooding issues with asphalt instead of creating new storm drains.

“That was very successful on Peconic Bay Boulevard,” he said.

In the past, Supervisor Scott Russell has suggested taking out a bond to cover the expense of further roadwork, but the board didn’t reach a decision about how to fund potential roadwork plans at Tuesday’s meeting.

Mr. Orlando also noted that the plan was tentative and subject to change. Another harsh winter, he warned, could damage even more roads, creating new priorities for the town to address.

Photo caption: Highway Superintendent Vincent Orlando speaks at Tuesday’s Town Board meeting. (Credit: Paul Squire)

psquire@timesreview.com

A Suffolk County grand jury has indicted the suspect in last week’s attack in a wooded area of Greenport on felony rape and kidnapping charges, according to online court records. 

Jose Amadeo Perez, 38, of Southold will be arraigned on the upgraded charges Friday in an appearance before Judge Barbara Kahn in Suffolk County criminal court in Riverhead, records show. The indictment will remain sealed until that time, prosecutors said.

Mr. Perez was previously charged with felony assault following the Oct. 25 incident, in which he was accused of dragging a 27-year-old woman into the woods by her hair, placing a set of cutting shears to her neck and telling her he was going to rape and kill her.

The initial charges and a victim statement attached to a criminal complaint obtained through the Southold Town Justice Court last week gave no indication a rape had occurred, though the indictment suggests some new evidence was likely presented to a grand jury.

Mr. Perez remains in custody at the County Jail in Riverside, where he is being held on $35,000 cash bail or $70,000 bond set in Southold Town Justice Court, where Judge Brian Hughes stated that Mr. Perez had been previously deported from the United States.

In her statement to police, the victim, whose name was not released due to the nature of the crime, stated that she first saw Mr. Perez about a week before the incident while she was walking to work. She said she ignored him after he passed her on his bicycle and told her, “You look good.”

Last Wednesday, the victim said in her statement, that she was walking to work east on Route 25 when she noticed Mr. Perez crossing the street and walking toward her. She said she cried as Mr. Perez dragged her while holding cutting sheers to her neck, telling her “I am going to rape, I am going to kill you,” the report states.

The victim was able to escape after a motorist stopped and yelled at Mr. Perez, officials said. When he loosened his grip, she was able to get away.

An order of protection granted last Wednesday against Mr. Perez bars him from contacting the victim. He agreed in court last week, through a Spanish interpreter, to stay away from her.

On Friday, Mr. Perez will be indicted on one count of first-degree rape with forcible compulsion and second-degree kidnapping, both class B felonies. A conviction on the rape charge carries a prison sentence of up to 25 years.

gparpan@timesreview.com

A memorial service for Harold and Clara Cross, formerly of Riverhead and Laurel respectively, will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 5, at Mattituck Presbyterian Church. Burial, with military honors for both, will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, Nov. 7, at Calverton National Cemetery. The procession will leave Mattituck Presbyterian Church at 10 a.m.

Mr. Cross died in 2014 and Ms. Cross died in 2016.

Peconic Lane was closed for about an hour this morning as the Highway Department painted a blue stripe between the  double yellow lines. 

The painted stripe, which was the idea of the Kenney’s/McCabe’s Beach Civic Association, was to show the town’s support of the Southold Police Department. The civic group paid for the paint and donated it to the highway department.

Highway workers sprinkled glass beads over the wet blue paint so the color would reflect, making it visible at night, highway superintendent Vincent Orlando said.

The idea was pitched by civic group president John Betsch at a Town Board meeting two weeks ago. He said his group was inspired by similar acts in towns in New Jersey this summer.

As of 10:30 a.m. about half of the road had been painted blue, but work ceased due to problems with the equipment. It wasn’t immediately clear when the blue line would be completed. 

nsmith@timesreview.com

The carousel at Greenport Village’s Mitchell Park has come a long way.

Built around 1920 in North Tonawanda, N.Y., the carousel was purchased by Grumman in Calverton, who used it for company picnics and community events. In 1995, the plant was closed, and Greenport — with the help of then-Mayor David Kapell — won a donation contest for the carousel.

Since then, it’s been moved about the village and touched up, said Gail Horton, a local history buff and member of the village’s carousel committee.

“It’s been a wonderful asset to our village,” she said.

But never before has it featured the work of local artists. That changed Wednesday, as the carousel committee installed the first in a series of paintings commissioned by local artists onto the carousel’s rounding boards above the horses.

“Oh my god,” Ms. Horton exclaimed as the first vinyl reproduction of a painting of a baymen pulling in a boat in local waters was attached to the carousel. “It looks like an oil painting!”

The project was part of a judged competition to create works of art that could be installed to the outside of the carousel around the top edge above the horses. Ms. Horton said three local prestigious artists helped to judge the artists applying for the work and ultimatly chose four artists to feature: Enid Hatton, Keith Mantell, Cindy Pease Roe, and Marla Milne, whose work was the first to go up Wednesday afternoon.

“These are artists with accomplished careers,” Ms. Horton said. “We love them all. They’re really wonderful.”

The artists were instructed to take photos from 1855 to 1955 as inspiration for their work in order to portray a classic Americana view of Greenport Village. Fourteen total works of art will be placed around the artwork by the early spring, Ms. Horton said.

Each work of art was digitized and blown up as a vinyl reproduction to be attached to the carousel by local graphic artist Bill Von Eiff and his son, Toby.

Ms. Von Eiff has lived in Greenport since 1999 and said it was special to work on a local landmark.

“It’s capturing the Village and the area,” he said of the artwork. As the reproductions were pasted to the carousel, many representatives of the committee, Mr. Kapell, Village Board members Julia Robins and Mary Bess Phillips, as well as administrators from Village Hall watched on and clapped.

Both Ms. Pease Roe and Ms. Milne are Greenport residents, while Mr. Mantell lives in Riverhead. The final artist is a Connecticut resident, but has spent time teaching and exhibiting her work in Greenport, Ms. Horton said. All the artists were compensated for their work.

Ms. Milne, a former graphic designer and art director who’s begun a painting career in her retirement, said she and her husband were drawn to Greenport because of its arts scene.

“There’s such a wonderful culture of artists around Greenport,” she said. Ms. Milne’s first work was modeled by her husband, who pulled a boat onto the shore near Hallock Bay to simulate a historical photo. Ms. Milne, an observational artist, also toured the local beaches to compile the scenes in the painting.

She was proud that her neighbors had appreciated her artwork.

“You’re always really happy when someone that you don’t know likes your work and you get to have it up for a long time,” she said. Ms. Horton said the committee is planning an exhibition of the original works of art sometime next year, as well as a silent auction to sell the pieces.

Proceeds will go towards funding a new round of commissioned artwork for the inside of the carousel, she said.

psquire@timesreview.com

Here is the Suffolk Times Service Directory for Nov. 3, 2016. If you are interested in placing an ad, please call Karen, 631-354-8029 or email kcullen@timesreview.com.

Suffolk Times Service Directory: Nov. 3, 2016

Here are the classifieds for Nov. 3, 2016. If you are interested in placing an ad, please call Karen, 631-354-8029 or email kcullen@timesreview.com.

Times Review classified: Nov. 3, 2016

Fresh-pressed apple cider isn’t a luxury on the North Fork. In fact, those who shop at Wickham’s Fruit Farm in Cutchogue — which has been pressing its own juice for more than 50 years — might consider it a necessity. 

At 112 years old, Wickham’s cider press is a few years older than the nearly century-old barn in which it resides. 

“It was built in 1904 and has never missed a season of operation,” said farm manager Tom Wickham.

The press was originally owned and operated by the former Billard Farm in Cutchogue, where a King Kullen supermarket is now located. The Wickhams brought their apples to be pressed at the farm on an annual basis until the early 1960s, when owner Irving Billard sold them his press.

Read more at northforker.com

Photo: Geraldo Rais supervises as apple pulp drops onto a waiting canvas tarp, where it is prepared for the cider press. (Credit: Monique Singh-Roy)

You might want to say the luck of the Irish was with five students at Mattituck’s My Pulse My Passion dance studio earlier this month. But it was really just skill.

The girls — Katie O’Connor, 11, of Moriches; Naomi Cichanowicz, 12, of Peconic; Maeve Bailey, 9, of Jamesport; Victoria Alesi, 18, of Manorville; and Hailey Brown, 11, of Manorville — all qualified to dance in Sussex, England, next year as part of an Irish step dance competition hosted by the Celtic Association of Irish Dance.

“It was overwhelming,” said dance instructor Kyleen Vernon of having nearly half her students qualify for the international competition in November 2017.

“I started to cry immediately, because I brought them hoping they’d qualify but I didn’t know what to expect,” she said. “I didn’t know whether this would even be something we could get done our first time doing it.”

The girls, who began entering competitions last fall, performed at an Irish step dance competition in New Jersey in October. Each of the five who qualified received a cumulative score of 150 points on three dances, which were chosen based on the level the girls competed in — beginner, intermediate, novice and champion.

Naomi said she danced at the intermediate level and had to perform three different reels, or jigs.

“It’s fun because no one’s yelling at each other,” Katie said of the relaxed, friendly atmosphere. “It’s a nice competition.”

Each dance is scored on a 100-point system, Ms. Vernon said. She explained that judges often “scrutinize a lot,” making it much more difficult than it may appear to achieve a score of 50 on each dance, which is essentially what it takes to qualify.

Ms. Vernon believes the competition abroad will be structured similarly to the one in New Jersey, where each girl will again have to perform three dances.

Typically in a competition, dancers can choose from six to eight different styles. This choice allows them to tailor their performances to their strengths, she said. However, the national qualifying competition this month and the international one in England only have three options, therefore each performer is required to do all three styles.

At a lesson last Monday, the 11 girls in the class, who range in age from nine to 13 — with the exception of Ms. Alesi, who teaches the class alongside Ms. Vernon — excitedly shared their hopes for their time abroad.

“I’m excited to see all the different dresses,” Naomi said. “We wear these fancy dresses and it’s cool to see because each dress, or most of them, are designed for a special dancer, so it’s cool to see different colors to show every dancer’s personality.”

“I’m excited to spend time with my buddies and teacher and learn to be better at what we do,” Maeve said.

For the six students who didn’t qualify at the October competition, the chances of competing in an international level are not over. Instead, in August 2017, they are slated to perform at a competition in Pennsylvania.

As in the competition in New Jersey, girls who receive a cumulative score of 150 in the Pennsylvania competition will be able to compete in England with their friends next year.

“I said to the girls, ‘If you qualify, what an accomplishment that is just to qualify, how cool would that be!’ ” Ms. Vernon said. “I didn’t think anyone would go. Now I’m like ‘OK, I guess we’re going!’ ”

nsmith@timesreview.com

The Greenport businessman accused of causing a fatal car crash while driving drunk in 2014 pleaded guilty Thursday morning to vehicular manslaughter as part of a plea deal.

John Costello, 73, was sentenced to one year on interim probation with another 5 years probation to follow, according to Suffolk County Judge Fernando Camacho.

Judge Camacho ordered Mr. Costello to pay the Guatemalan family of the victim, 34-year-old Bartolone Miguel of Peconic, during his 6 years on probation in order to compensate them for the money that Mr. Miguel was sending home.

Mr. Costello will also be required to volunteer for 1,260 hours of community service at local organizations that assist Hispanic migrant workers. He will avoid jail time as part of the plea deal.

The crash occurred on Dec. 6, 2014, when the pickup truck driven by Mr. Costello collided head-on with another vehicle. Mr. Miguel, who was a passenger in that vehicle, died of injuries caused by the crash.

Mr. Miguel worked at Pellegrini Vineyards as head of the grape picking crew and supported a wife and child in Guatemala.

Both Mr. Costello and the driver of the other vehicle were also injured in the collision.

During sentencing in Suffolk County Criminal Court, Judge Camacho said an accident reconstruction showed the collision occurred in Mr. Costello’s lane of travel.

Mr. Costello’s pickup truck following the December 2014 fatal crash in Greenport. (Credit: AJ Ryan, Stringer News Service)

That would have caused a “very serious obstacle” to prosecutors, he said, since they would need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Costello caused the crash.

“[That issue,] is in my view, is a substantial hurdle the people would have had to overcome in this case,” Judge Camacho said.

Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Miller said prosecutors found a witness that claimed to see Mr. Costello first swerve into the opposite lane. Ms. Miller alleges that the victim then drove into the opposite lane to avoid Mr. Costello. When Mr. Costello drove back into his normal lane, the two collided, she contended.

Mr. Costello’s attorney, William Keahon, had previously argued against that claim, stating there were questions as to who was at fault in the case.

In approving the plea deal, Judge Camacho noted Mr. Costello’s age and that he had never had a run-in with law enforcement before. The judge also said the court had received “numerous letters” from the Greenport community supporting Mr. Costello.

The stipulation about compensating Mr. Miguel was not originally part of the plea agreement, but was added by Judge Camacho Thursday. Mr. Keahon said his client was “more than willing” to compensate the victim’s family.

During sentencing, Mr. Costello — dressed in a brown suit jacket — said he hoped to “move ahead” from the tragedy.

Mr. Keahon did not immediately provide comment on the case. Civil litigation is still pending between the drivers and the estate of Mr. Miguel. Mr. Costello had denied responsibility for the crash, according to online court documents related to the civil cases.

Photo caption: John Costello is led out of court in December 2014. (Credit: file photo)

Correction: An accident reconstruction showed the collision occurred in Mr. Costello’s lane of travel, not the victim’s.

psquire@timesreview.com

Lifelong Greenport resident Thomas O. Monsell died Nov. 1. He was 83.

The family will receive visitors Friday, Nov. 4, from 2 to 6 p.m. at Horton-Mathie Funeral Home in Greenport. A funeral service will take place at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 5, at the funeral home, officiated by the Rev. Ben Burns. Burial will follow at Sterling Cemetery.

Memorial donations may be made to Floyd Memorial Library.

A complete obituary will follow.

Thomas Monsell was many things, friends said: a former Lindenhurst schoolteacher who wrote a book on how to teach Shakespeare, a director of local theater who expanded Greenporters’ horizons and devoted local historian.

But foremost, like his family before him, he was a proud native son of Greenport Village.

“He was a Greenporter to the marrow of his bones,” said Thomas DeWolfe, a neighbor who would meet with Mr. Monsell in his later years.

Mr. Monsell, who helped to write a popular book on local history with Southold Town historian Antonia Booth, died Tuesday from complications of Parkinson’s disease, friends said. He was 83.

Gail Horton, who was a close friend of Mr. Monsell, said his influence could best be measured by the friendships he kept, many from his childhood years or as an English teacher.

“He still has friends from Greenport High School that come to see him when they come home,” Ms. Horton said.

A Greenport alumnus, Mr. Mansell first gained a librarian degree before returning to school to learn teaching. For years, he taught in the Lindenhurst School District and directed the school’s plays.

One of his former students, Alfred Doblin, later wrote in a newspaper column in praise of the impact Mr. Monsell had on his career.

“I used to think great teachers inspire you,” Mr. Doblin wrote of the continuing support Mr. Monsell shared. “Now I think I had it wrong. Good teachers inspire you; great teachers show you how to inspire yourself every day of your life. They don’t show you their magic. They show you how to make magic of your own.”

After a stint in New York City, Mr. Monsell eventually moved back to Greenport, where he continued his passion for theater, leading productions of unique plays for the local historical society, library and churches and the local theater troupe, “The Stirling Players.”

“I really learned a lot being in his plays,” Ms. Horton said. “I feel the reason I can deliver good speeches nowadays is because of Tom. He taught me how to punch a line and which words to accent.”

He once invited a favored New York City theater critic, John Simon, to Greenport to host a lecture. The critic agreed, Ms. Horton said.

Mr. Monsell also became a repository for local history. In 2003, he collaborated with Ms. Booth on “Images of America: Greenport,” a photographic history book detailing the village’s history.

“He was invaluable,” Ms. Horton said. “You could always go say, ‘Who lives on the house at 527 Manor Place?’ and he could go and tell you the history.”

The two became close friends through Ms. Horton’s husband, to the point where her children referred to him as “Uncle Tom.”

Mr. Monsell was also an avid biker and once went riding across Europe. While living on the North Fork, Mr. Monsell would often bike across the ferry to Shelter Island and then south to East Hampton to attend shows there, Ms. Horton said.

He traveled to England to see plays, she added. But as Parkinson’s robbed him of his mobility, Mr. Monsell longed to return; until his dying day he kept a travel credit card account open and paid, hoping to one day travel again.

In his final years, Mr. Monsell lost control of his hands and couldn’t hold a book or newspaper to read. Still, he asked friends to hold up the papers and turn the pages so he could continue to read.

“He still kept his mind alive,” Ms. Horton said. Friends were inspired by how well he reacted to his disease.

“In spite of all his suffering he never got bitter about his fate,” Mr. DeWolfe said. “He didn’t complain about it.”

Mr. Monsell died “peacefully” Tuesday morning, Ms. Horton said.

“It hasn’t really sunk in,” she said. “He’s a large part of my life.”

Visitation for Mr. Monsell is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 4, from 2 to 6 p.m. at Horton-Mathie Funeral Home in Greenport. A funeral service will take place at 11 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home, officiated by the Rev. Ben Burns.

Burial will follow at Stirling Cemetery. The family has asked memorial donations may be made to Floyd Memorial Library.

psquire@timesreview.com

Photo caption: The cover of a history book cowritten by Mr. Monsell in 2003, “Images of America: Greenport.”

A wave of emotion swept over the members of the Mattituck High School girls volleyball team Monday when they heard the disturbing news that their beloved coach, Frank Massa, had suffered a heart attack on Saturday. Tears were shed, players said.

On Thursday, the Tuckers responded in a different way when they stepped on the court for their playoff match against perennial power Elwood/John Glenn. The consensus was that had Massa been present to watch the match, he would have been beaming with pride.

Massa, who is in his 29th year as Mattituck’s coach, was home recuperating. He had sent a text message to the players before the Suffolk County Class B outbracket match in East Northport, wishing them well, said Kelly Pickering, the junior varsity coach who ran the team in Massa’s absence.

Although Massa wasn’t present, the manner in which he prepared his team was evident. Facing the fury of Glenn’s hard-hitting drives, Mattituck’s defense was stellar as the Tuckers turned in their best match of the season, albeit a 25-20, 25-17, 25-19 loss. Glenn (12-2), seeking its 17th straight county championship, will face top-seeded Bayport-Blue Point (13-1), the team it shares the League VII title with, in the county final Monday at Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood.

Mattituck (9-6) turned in an impressive performance in the well-played, entertaining match. As good as the Tuckers were at digging out Glenn’s powerful hits and keeping balls in play, the Knights were just too much for them, with 36 kills, twice as many as Mattituck.

Glenn throws an awful lot at opponents, with balls coming from just about every direction. Mia Cergol (28 assists) spread out the wealth. Maggie McGuckin put away eight kills while Sarah Weitman, Isabella Sansanelli and Caroline Garretson had seven apiece. Emma Hines chipped in six.

Pickering sent out a starting lineup of Sam Husak, Kathryn Zaloom, Viki Harkin, Riley Hoeg, Madison Osler and Ashley Chew. They all played well. Most notably, Osler slammed down 10 kills, Chew had 16 assists and libero Jaimie Gaffga turned in the sort of fine defense that the Tuckers needed in order to hang with a team of Glenn’s caliber.

Mattituck has won Long Island Class C championships in five of the past six years before being reclassified as a Class B team for this season.

bliepa@timesreview.com

Photo caption: Mattituck junior varsity coach Kelly Pickering ran the team in Frank Massa’s absence for Thursday’s playoff match at Elwood/John Glenn. Massa suffered a heart attack on Saturday. (Credit: Garret Meade)

A local story has been waiting five decades to be told. For the past four years, much of the narrative has been sitting on my desk. Before that, it spent decades in files at Suffolk County police and district attorney’s offices.

It’s the tale of Carlos DeJesus, a 27-year-old Greenport fisherman who was last seen alive the night of Nov. 4, 1966, and whose body washed ashore at the state park in Orient more than a month later. Mr. DeJesus likely died from “loss of blood from wounds in the rear of his scalp,” according to an initial autopsy report. His death was initially investigated as a homicide.

Different versions of Mr. DeJesus’ story have been told in local papers over the years. Even The New York Times published a pair of articles, the first of which, in February 1967, was headlined “L.I. DEATH IS LAID TO RACIAL ACTION; N.A.A.C.P. Urges U.S. Inquiry on Slaying of Negro.”

But even The Gray Lady lost sight of Mr. DeJesus’ story at some point. And the full truth never surfaced.

There was, however, one man who ached to bring to light Mr. DeJesus’ fate. His name was Reynolds Dodson. A journalist from Water Mill, he penned a column in The Southampton Press from 1996 until his death in September 2012.

If you’re unfamiliar with Mr. Dodson but want to get a sense of who he was, I’d like to point you to the first line of his obituary, published in The Press.

“For Reynolds Dodson, telling the truth was a priority,” the paper wrote, “even if it made people turn up their noses or go red in the face.”

A missing person report filed days after Carlos DeJesus was last seen alive.

One of those instances was his dogged pursuit of what really happened to Mr. DeJesus, whose death he detailed in a January 2011 column. Former Suffolk Times publisher Troy Gustavson also wrote about Mr. Dodson’s investigation into Mr. DeJesus’ death, calling on locals with information to come forward. Few ever did.

I never met Mr. Dodson, but I was copied on his exchanges with Mr. Gustavson, the last of which was a frustrated memo pleading with us to do more to assist him in obtaining information from Suffolk County police about the case.

I thought of that email and of Mr. Dodson’s agitation when I read his obituary the day it was published on the Press’ website. Mr. Gustavson had filed a Freedom of Information application with police in 2010, but was told the department’s resources were tied due to its investigation into the Gilgo Beach killings.

Inspired by the first line in Mr. Dodson’s obituary, I filed my own FOIL request the week he died and later that month obtained 114 pages related to the homicide inquiry into Mr. DeJesus’ death. I would later receive an email from Mr. Dodson’s wife, Susan, who said she found my contact information in his notes for a book he was planning to write about the slaying. She asked if I would be interested in keeping his files.

In the four years since, this newspaper has started and stopped working on a piece about the investigation several times. Most efforts were stalled by current events or the lack of a hook for a story about a decades-old crime.

This week, however, marks 50 years since Mr. DeJesus died — and I’d be remiss not to acknowledge his death, recognize Mr. Dodson’s efforts or share some of the information we collectively obtained.

Although this isn’t the revelatory story we once envisioned, some of the following information has never been reported. It was obtained through the homicide file, research I conducted with the help of colleagues Jen Nuzzo and Paul Squire, and, of course, the notes of the late Mr. Dodson.

Nearly every story ever written about Carlos DeJesus suggests he was likely killed by white men who were angry about his reputation for sleeping with young white women. It’s a thread first mentioned in the missing person report filed by his parents six days after he was last seen.

“Due to the many enemies [Mr. DeJesus] has, his mother believes that bodily harm might have come to him,” the report reads. It includes testimony from Mr. DeJesus’ mother and his friend Herman Shelby of Greenport, who was also sometimes referred to in the reports by his birth name, Herman Reynolds.

“Both told long stories of how and why Carlos DeJesus was unpopular with local persons because of his belligerent attitude and because he, a Negro, was courting white girls,” the report states.

Specifically, some reports stated, Ms. DeJesus and Mr. Shelby believed the father of a young white woman Mr. DeJesus had intended to marry was behind the killing.

It’s a theory police dismissed from the very beginning.

Instead, authorities identified a different suspect. But while investigators built a case for a grand jury, no one was ever indicted in Mr. DeJesus’ death.

On Jan. 12, 1967, a report prepared by a pair of Suffolk County homicide detectives stated that moving forward, the investigation would be centered on one person.

“We feel now that we have reached that point in the investigation where we have eliminated the outside possibilities and that it has now focused down to one subject, Herman Shelby,” detectives wrote. “The investigation shows that only one person keeps the racial aspect going and that is Shelby.”

Police pointed to witness testimony that alleged Mr. Shelby was seen searching for his friend in the woods in Orient days before his body was found nearby. He also reportedly made references to several witnesses of a scenario in which Mr. DeJesus was cut up and thrown overboard before his body ever washed ashore. Several letters indicating possible death threats referenced to police by Mr. Shelby and Ms. DeJesus also never surfaced.

Perhaps the most damning evidence police found was that Mr. Shelby had removed the passenger seat of his truck in the days following his friend’s death and that his boat had been moved to Shelter Island the day Mr. DeJesus’ body was found. Police would later find the boat submerged in water, portions of it freshly painted, according to case file reports.

Mr. Dejesus’ body was found more than a month after he was last seen alive by a couple on vacation from Michigan.

Mr. Shelby also failed a police polygraph test, but investigators determined he was unfit for such questioning due to his distressed demeanor. Police said his motive might have been jealousy over a girl Mr. DeJesus had been seeing. The reports indicate the two also had a dispute over money.

In June 1967, the status of the investigation was officially downgraded from a homicide to a suspicious death.

Months earlier, Newsday had reported there were a record eight open homicide cases on Long Island. This was attributed to the 1966 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Miranda v. Arizona, which police say limited their ability to question certain suspects.

“Police sources believe that in [the DeJesus case] a suspect might now be in custody if Miranda rights hadn’t blocked attempts to question witnesses who refused to talk to them on the advice of attorneys,” Newsday wrote.

In March 1970, the DeJesus case was officially closed, with prosecutors stating “it would be impossible to criminally prosecute this case” based on the physical evidence, according to a report filed by detectives at the time. Mr. DeJesus’ body had spent more than 30 days in the water and the medical examiner said contributing causes of the lacerations found on it were unknown. DNA testing wouldn’t be used successfully in a criminal investigation for another 16 years.

No headlines were made when the case was closed and, based on the scope of our research, Mr. DeJesus’ name didn’t appear in a newspaper again until 2011, when Mr. Dodson and Mr. Gustavson wrote about the case.

In his piece, Mr. Dodson wrote that he learned of Mr. DeJesus’ fate in a 2010 phone call he received from a Riverhead man who thought he should pursue it as a civil rights story. The man told Mr. Dodson he would speak to him under the condition that his name not be published, according to a recording of the phone call. The man later said the same thing to me when we met in 2012.

During our meeting, the man was mostly focused on reviewing the homicide file I had obtained to see if he was ever considered a suspect. He had told Mr. Dodson that police tried to pin the murder on him and Mr. Shelby. The homicide case does reference the man, who was a teenager at the time, quite often. He was one of the last people to see both Mr. DeJesus and Mr. Shelby the night of Nov. 4 at a bar in the village. He was also one of only two people referenced in the case file as having consulted an attorney — the other being one of his relatives.

Police outlined several questions they would want asked of Mr. Shelby in an effort to secure an indictment in his friend’s death.

In the four years since we met, the man has not answered more than a dozen follow-up phone calls I’ve made to him, most recently this week.

When we met, he told me he believed someone might open up to me on their death bed and tell me the real story.

It won’t be Mr. Shelby. On May 2, 1977, he was killed by two gunshot wounds to the neck during a violent incident in Waterproof, La., according to a death certificate that identifies him as Herman Reynolds.

Although the local newspaper that covers Waterproof, the Tensas Gazette, lost a portion of its archives during Hurricane Katrina, it managed to secure for The Suffolk Times several years ago a copy of its brief article on Mr. Reynolds’ death from the Tensas Parish Library. The article states that Herman Reynolds was shot by a man after he was found in the bedroom of a woman, who suffered minor injuries in the shooting.

Mr. Reynolds, as he was referred to in the article, had been living in Waterproof for just three weeks after leaving his hometown of Greenport, the Gazette reported.

In a series of letters he sent Mr. Dodson from the Union Correctional Institution in Raiford, Fla., twice-convicted murderer Robert Waterhouse said he had driven Mr. Shelby to Louisiana.

“I just happened to run into him a couple weeks before I was leaving [for Monroe, La.,] and he said he had relatives in some little town called Frostproof or Waterproof and asked if I wanted company,” Mr. Waterhouse wrote in a handwritten letter to Mr. Dodson dated Sept. 17, 2010. “[Years later] my sister-in-law said my aunt called and said Shelby had been killed. Rumors had it a drug deal gone bad [or] he was caught with some other man’s woman [or] I had killed him.”

Mr. Waterhouse, who was in prison at the time of Mr. DeJesus’ death for his conviction of a previous murder in Greenport, was executed by lethal injection in Florida on Feb. 15, 2012. Following his second murder conviction, he spent more than 30 years on death row.

Despite attempts to find justice for Mr. DeJesus — the last by Mr. Dodson — our research tells us the possibility of anyone being convicted for his murder ended decades ago.

The truth is a local story that will likely never be uncovered.

The author is the executive editor of Times Review Media Group. He can be reached at gparpan@timesreview.com.

A merger between Suffolk County National Bank and Connecticut-based People’s United Bank will result in 76 employees losing their jobs at the Riverhead headquarters on Second Street and Griffing Avenue.

The layoffs are the result of the recently approved $402 million sale of Suffolk Bancorp, SCNB’s holding company, to People’s United Bank, which was approved by shareholders in mid-October. The merger is still awaiting approval by federal regulators.

Word of the layoffs came via the state Department of Labor on Oct. 28 through what is known as a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification. The WARN notice is required whenever a company is laying off more than 50 employees.

“There’s going to be, it looks like, 76 SCNB employees who will not be offered positions with People’s United Bank, and that will commence in the latter part of January,” said SCNB Chief Financial Officer Brian Finneran on Wednesday in a telephone interview.

“Some will be here a little bit longer,” he said. “Those jobs are all in what I would characterize as back office and administrative positions. They are mostly in technology, operations and finance. Unfortunately, this is what happens with merger and acquisition activities, particularly in the banking industry, but probably in almost any industries as well.”

The WARN notice indicates that the layoffs will occur during a 14-day period beginning on Jan. 27, 2017. It will involve 65 positions at the Second Street headquarters and 11 at the office on 206 Griffing Ave.

People’s United and SCNB announced the merger plans last June. SCNB was formed in Riverhead 126 years ago on Feb. 18, 1890 and now has 27 locations and $2.1 billion in assets.

People’s United, chartered in 1842 as Bridgeport Savings Bank and renamed People’s United Bank in 2007, has more than 400 locations, although most of the ones on the East End are located in supermarkets.

(Photo credit: Barbaraellen Koch, file)

tgannon@timesreview.com

If you’ve ever stepped foot inside Jerry and the Mermaid in downtown Riverhead, there’s a good chance you’ve noticed Lynne Andreotti. The 59-year-old greets most of her customers with a big hug.

The fact that Andreotti is one of Riverhead’s most beloved waitresses isn’t lost on general manager and executive chef Jerry Dicecco Jr., who calls her the establishment’s “ace in the hole.”

“People love her,” said Dicecco, whose parents opened Jerry and the Mermaid 23 years ago. “There are times where she gets twice as many tables as the other servers because every other table walking in the door wants her to wait on them.”

So, what is it about Andreotti that draws people to her in droves?

“The customers are like family to me,” she said, adding that it’s not uncommon for the restaurant’s regular guests to invite her to weddings, baby showers and barbecues.

Andreotti has been an employee at the East Main Street establishment practically since its inception. She moved to Riverhead in 1993 from Head of the Harbor and initially lived on a houseboat located at the marina next door to the restaurant. She was friendly with Dicecco’s family before Jerry and the Mermaid opened; when Dicecco was a boy, he went fishing with Andreotti’s son David.

Andreotti started her career at Jerry and a Mermaid as a hostess and didn’t think she would ever want to waitress. Before moving to Riverhead, she owned a nail salon in Miller Place and was a subcontractor for P.C. Richard & Son.

“But now, for 18 years, I’m a waitress,” she said, slapping her knee in jest. “I love it.”

You can find Andreotti at the restaurant at least five days a week. On Monday night, she greeted regular customers Nanci and Mickey Mildenberger of Baiting Hollow with hugs.

“I think she is outstanding because she treats you like family,” Mildenberger said. “And she must like her family because she treats us very well.”

Lynne Andreotti carrying plates of sea scallops and vegetables on Monday night at Jerry and the Mermaid. (Credit: Krysten Massa)

Mildenberger added that she appreciates Andreotti’s knowledge of the menu and that she can make good suggestions.

“You can tell she is happy about what she does,” she said.

Andreotti plans to move away from Riverhead soon, but she has no intention of leaving Jerry’s. She said she’s watched the community change over the years, but she likes how Jerry and the Mermaid remains a comfortable, casual place for tourists and locals alike.

Dicecco said that’s his family goal — and although he has an extensive fine dining background, the restaurant has stuck with the same recipes and menu items for as long as it has been open.

He said he thanks his father for creating the platform for Jerry’s to be what it is, and for employees like Andreotti, who keep customers coming back.

Andreotti said she never realized what an impact she makes on guests.

“I just want to make everyone happy by the time they leave,” she said. “And full.”

She’s humbled to hear how much customers respect her, saying it’s nice to know her efforts at the restaurant are appreciated.

“It definitely makes me feel good,” she said. “It’s like I’m making a mark.”

kmassa@timesreview.com

A Suffolk County grand jury has indicted the suspect in last week’s attack in a wooded area of Greenport on felony attempted rape and kidnapping charges, according to details unveiled at his arraignment Friday. 

Jose Amadeo Perez, 38, of Southold was arraignedbefore Judge Barbara Kahn in Suffolk County criminal court in Riverhead, where the judge ordered him held on $50,000 cash bail or $100,000 bond. Mr. Perez, who prosecutors said was previously deported from the United States, remains in custody at the County Jail in Riverside. A restraining order is also in place to prevent him from making contact with the victim.

Mr. Perez was previously charged with felony assault following the Oct. 25 incident, in which he was accused of dragging a 27-year-old woman into the woods by her hair, placing a set of cutting shears to her neck and telling her he was going to rape and kill her.

In her statement to police, the victim, whose name was not released due to the nature of the crime, stated that she first saw Mr. Perez about a week before the incident while she was walking to work. She said she ignored him after he passed her on his bicycle and told her, “You look good.”

Last Wednesday, the victim said in her statement, that she was walking to work east on Route 25 when she noticed Mr. Perez crossing the street and walking toward her. She said she cried as Mr. Perez dragged her while holding cutting sheers to her neck, telling her “I am going to rape, I am going to kill you,” the report states.

The victim was able to escape after a motorist stopped and yelled at Mr. Perez, officials said. When he loosened his grip, she was able to get away.

On Friday, Mr. Perez was indicted on one count of first-degree attempted rape and second-degree kidnapping, both felonies.

Clarification: An earlier version of this story said Mr. Perez was indicted on a rape charge. At his arraignment Friday, prosecutors said the charge was actually attempted rape, despite what the indictment stated. He was arraigned on the attempted rape charge instead.

gparpan@timesreview.com