Police & Courts

East Hampton Town officials indefinitely closed the rickety asphalt-covered bridge above the Long Island Rail Road track on Cranberry Hole Road in Amagansett after a sizable hole appeared in it on Sunday.

A Montauk businessman, Mark Ripolone, was indicted yesterday on charges of grand larceny and identity theft for allegedly stealing nearly $400,000 over a three-year period from a payroll company and his own customers’ bank accounts.

Unable to deliver a package at a South Flint Street, Montauk, residence for four days straight, a FedEx driver called the police on the afternoon of April 26 to make sure everyone there was okay. Officers were told that the family’s dog is not well.

A fight at Murf’s Tavern Saturday night led to the arrest of a “highly intoxicated” 27-year-old Sag Harbor man who screamed obscenities, berated the security guard, and threatened to “kick everyone’s ass” and “kill you.” He forcefully resisted arrest, police said, but officers — including some from East Hampton and Southampton who responded to the village’s request for assistance — were able to wrestle him to the ground and handcuff him.

The East Hampton Village Police Department now has a newly promoted captain, lieutenant, and two sergeants, as well as a new full-time officer.

Just before 8 a.m. on Monday, a fire broke out in Stephen and Missie Hesler’s home on Carlisle Lane in Sag Harbor, causing heavy damage to the house. Mr. Hesler was able to rescue the couple’s two dogs, Gus and Gabbie, from the flames.

In simpler times, the most prevalent scam to be on the lookout for was the so-called "Nigerian Prince" email scam, in which a fraudster would send out an email that persuaded a potential "mark" — often an older adult — to wire them some money in order to trigger the release of a bigger pot of money that was coming the victim's way. More recently, scammers have gotten menacingly creative and even use technology to take advantage of victims.

Police officers conducted routine liquor-license checks of bars, restaurants, and liquor stores in Montauk, Springs, and East Hampton over the last two weeks, finding that all had up-to-date documentation.

The East Hampton Town Police Department responded this week to multiple calls about speeding drivers on residential streets.

A Sag Harbor resident witnessed a worker loudly draining a Porta-Potty on Meadowlark Lane before 7 a.m. on April 12 and called the police. The worker was done with his task by the time an officer arrived, and told the officer he was unaware that the village prohibits noisy work before 8 a.m.

Residents of Springs were jarred on Monday evening as a Suffolk County police helicopter and Southampton Village K-9 unit aided in a search for a man who had fled his house on Neck Path on a bicycle after brandishing what appeared to be a gun.

East Hampton Town police recently levied drunken-driving charges against two men who had been convicted of D.W.I. within the last 10 years.