Hampton Bays man charged with posting racist fliers reaches a plea deal with Southampton Town

A self-professed Ku Klux Klan member charged earlier this year with illegally posting KKK fliers at a Hampton Bays bank reached a plea deal with Southampton Town prosecutors last month, a court official said.

Douglas Munker, 34, of Hampton Bays, had been ticketed by Southampton Town police on April 3 for distributing a handbill, a town code violation punishable by a $5,000 fine or 30 days in jail. He pleaded guilty on Aug. 4 to a lesser charge of failing to maintain his property, a Southampton Town Justice Court official said.

Munker was released on the condition that he not repeat the handbill violation for a year, the court official said.

"I'm just happy the case has been resolved," said Munker's attorney, Christian Killoran of East Moriches.

Munker declined to comment in a text message yesterday.

Police said Munker taped three fliers to an ATM at a Capital One Bank in Hampton Bays on March 17. The fliers contained anti-immigration and anti-gay messages and read "America, wake up!" and "Stop AIDS."

Munker told Newsday in April that he was in an active Hampton Bays chapter of the Loyal White Knights, a North Carolina-based branch of the KKK. He said the Hampton Bays chapter had more than 100 members and other active chapters existed in Shirley, Babylon, Port Jefferson and upstate New York.

Southampton officials have repeatedly cast doubts on the claim that there is a significant KKK presence in Hampton Bays.

Since last summer, Long Island residents have reported dozens of KKK pamphlets appearing outside homes in Hampton Bays, Shirley and Babylon. Munker told Newsday in April that he was not involved in those incidents.