Previously Published in The Messenger
For all the grief that blue state living gives many people, we’re at least fortunate enough to have the A-Team here in Suffolk.
District Attorney Ray Tierney (R) regularly tops that list, along with Sheriff Errol Toulon (D) and County Executive Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches), we find.
Tierney needs no further introduction past Gilgo Beach. The historic breakthrough in the decades-long cold case came within less than two years of his first term. Rex Heuermann then pled guilty just months after Tierney was re-elected.
While Tierney and company deserve all the accolades they rightly receive for that case, it’s the rank-and-file cases and prosecutions of local losers that really improves Suffolk’s quality of life.
This week, Tierney announced the indictment of a Ridge man who allegedly purchased child sexual abuse material (CSAM) using cryptocurrency. Not only is a member of the Ridge Volunteer Fire Department and an Airforce Reservist, he’s also a County Corrections Officer.
No favoritism or back-room deals for fellow law enforcement to be found, and Tierney and Toulon made that abundantly clear in their statements.
The ironic part is, this alleged predator gets a temporary slap on the wrist because of New York’s backward bail laws. Believe it or not, the charges in this case are not bail-eligible in New York State.
Another win for progressive ideology…
Also this week, a Salvadoran national faces multiple weapons charges for possessing a loaded and illegal firearm. He was found collecting scrap metal near the abandoned Kings Park Psychiatric Center in Nissequogue River State Park. A nature preserve in the heart of Smithtown that is revered by families and outdoor enthusiasts was faced with what Smithtown Park Rangers called an “uncommon” event in the arrest.
Moreover, the federal immigration authorities have already lodged a deportation detainer for the alleged defendant.
It’s one thing to commit such crimes in a peaceful, public space – allegedly. It’s another to not have the proper paperwork allowing one to reside in the country in which the crime was committed – allegedly.
While seemingly minute, cases like these can have massive reverbations in just one or two lives. Trauma from sexual exploitation or a potential fatality from possessing an illegal firearm might not affect every Suffolk resident, but they sure can affect just one resident’s entire world.
Suffolk is ever so fortunate to have competent leadership at the helm in people like D.A. Tierney.
If only we could say the same about Albany…