Marian Serban

A Romanian citizen has been accused of stealing $9,700 from more than two dozen bank accounts by installing ATM skimming devices and hidden video cameras at two Suffolk County banks.

Suffolk County police said they had arrested Marian Serban in March when he was linked to devices that were found at the Astoria Federal Savings banks in Kings Park and Huntington Station.

Identity Theft Section detectives alleged that the 43-year-old used the devices to fraudulently withdraw funds from 25 accounts belonging to 13 different victims.

“Cloned” Debit Card Thefts New Fad Among Tech-savvy Thieves

ATM skimming devices allow scammers to copy the magnetic strips on debit and credit cards, which criminals can then use to create clones of the cards. The spy cams allow scammers to secure victims’ PINs so crooks can make withdrawals with the cloned cards.

Serban, who police said Serban has been known to stay at various hotels and has traveled to Miami and Las Vegas, was charged with grand larceny and identity theft. He will be arraigned Thursday at First District Court in Central Islip.

Long Island MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma.

A renewed push to establish international flights in and out of Long Island MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma has sparked mixed reactions among Suffolk County residents, including frequent flyers that use it.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) held a news conference Monday at the airport with local officials calling on the U.S. Department of Customs, Border and Protection to develop a plan that would allow flights to and from popular vacation destinations such as Aruba and the Bahamas.

“A customs facility at Macarthur could be a magnet for new carriers, helping the airport regain some of its lost flights and giving Long Islanders direct access to some of the most popular tourist destinations,” said Schumer.

He hopes such service would reverse the 46.4 percent loss of commercial flights at LIMA from 2007 through last year, he said.

International airlines like Interjet and FlyA have inquired about establishing routes at MacArthur, but airstrips would have to be lengthened and space would be needed for the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to enforce regulations designed to stop the introduction of exotic or foreign plants, animal pests and diseases, according to Schumer.

“This airport wasn’t meant to be heavily populated,” said Christina Monteleone, a Commack resident who regularly flies out of MacArthur. “Some of us live out here to escape the overpopulation. We already have JFK and LaGuardia.”

Islip Town Supervisor Tom Croci has begun to develop a plan in the event that it gets approval to add carriers in addition to Southwest Airlines, U.S. Airways shuttle service to Washington, D.C. and Pen Air flights to Boston.

“The addition of this customs and agriculture inspection capability brings our residents exactly what they have been asking for….more direct flights from the hassle free airport down the road,” he said.

James Owsinski, a Kings Park resident, believes that international flights the airport would be both convenient and help the economy.

“More planes coming in here would boost the economy,” he said. “Quite frankly, it would be easier for people who want to travel but don’t want to drive to JFK from the Hamptons just to get on a plane.”

The man was resuscitated after a Fourth Precinct officer discovered the unconscious man in the driver’s seat of a car with the engine running while responding to an unrelated incident at Kings Plaza, police said.

The officer unsuccessfully tried to wake the man up after spotting a hypodermic needle on his lap, police said.

Three other officers responded and that’s when they administered a dose of intranasal Narcan—a prescription drug used to reverse opiate overdoses—and performed CPR, police said. Another dose of the drug was administered before the 21-year-old man was transported to St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center in Smithtown where he was revived by a third dose of the drug, police said.

The drug has been used successfully 35 times since July 2012, police said.

The police department recently announced that they are expanding the New York State Department of Health Program to all of its precincts. The program was first rolled out at the Marine Bureau and Fourth, Sixth and Seventh precincts.

More than 800 members of the police department have been trained in the program. The drug can only be administered by a certified emergency medical technician.

Suffolk County police arrested 25-year-old Clarence Newcomb and charged him with first-degree manslaughter.

Police said he assaulted his grandmother, Kathleen Newcomb, early Friday morning at their Berg Avenue home.

Officers had responded to a 911 call of a woman lying on the floor at the house where they found the victim dead, police said.

Newcomb was taken to Stony Brook University Hospital for evaluation, postponing his arraignment at First District Court in Central Islip.