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complete coverage: oheka castle shooting

Suffolk County police released a portion of surveillance video Thursday that shows Oheka Castle owner and political power broker Gary Melius being shot — a move police made in the hopes of finding new leads in the unsolved case.
The video’s release and an appeal to the public, announced in Yaphank by Police Commissioner Tim Sini, comes two years after an assailant sneaked up to the driver’s side of Melius’ black Mercedes-Benz and shot him in the head. Melius sustained a head and eye injury.
Sini said police hope releasing the video of the Feb. 24, 2014, shooting could aid them in making an arrest in a case that has frustrated authorities.
“We are not where we want to be, we’re not going to be where we want to be, until I’m standing here announcing an arrest,” Sini said.
He urged anyone with information on the case to call 800-220-TIPS.
The released video shows Melius, at about 12:30 p.m., walking toward his car in the Oheka employee/valet parking lot. He enters the car and, when he starts it, white smoke is seen emanating from the tailpipe. 
A dark figure is seen leaving a parked Jeep Cherokee from the driver’s side. The suspect crouches down and moves between parked cars, then heads toward Melius’ car from behind and pauses at the driver’s side window. Police say that is when the shooting occurs but it can’t be seen in the video, which is of poor quality.
Afterward, the suspect appears to fumble with something, and heads back to the Cherokee. Melius can’t be seen and the released video ends there.
Also seen in the video is a black sedan driving in the parking lot and landscapers with leaf blowers in the background. Months after the shooting, investigators announced that they ruled out that black vehicle as an accomplice and interviews with landscapers yielded no clues. 
The commissioner said a portion of the video was withheld for “evidentiary purposes.” 
“It’s sometimes helpful to know information and to not release that information to the public in order to test the credibility of the witnesses,” Sini said. 
Shortly after the shooting, Newsday reported on the contents of the video — both the portion released Thursday by police and more footage from after the shooting.
According to sources, the video shows the shooter tried and failed to fire at least three more times after Melius stumbled out of his car and headed toward the castle’s employee entrance. 
Sources said the suspect is seen going back into the Cherokee after the initial shooting, then getting out of the vehicle again and aiming a gun at Melius, as he was moving toward the entrance. The suspect tried to clear a malfunction in the weapon three times, sources said. It is unclear what the suspect or Melius did next.
Chief of Detectives Gerard Gigante said Thursday it was undetermined whether the gun malfunctioned. 
Early on in the investigation, criminal justice experts said Suffolk police should have released the video because it could have helped in capturing the shooter.
When asked why the department was releasing it two years after the shooting, Sini said: “We think at this point in time, we have to start doing things differently in this investigation in order to move it along. That’s not to second guess any decisions that have been made up to date, it’s just that, listen, we don’t have someone in handcuffs. That’s not acceptable.”
Sini said he wants police to partner with several federal law enforcement departments to help tackle other Suffolk crime. The FBI is already assisting in the investigation into the killings that resulted in the discovery of human remains in 2010-11 in the Gilgo Beach area. 
“They have expertise in violent crime. So bringing on another law enforcement agency to take a fresh look at this with the particular expertise that’s necessary is key,” he said.

Crime

LITAPE0226

Oheka Castle shooting video released, police say

Oheka Castle shooting video released by cops

Police release Melius shooting video

Newsday

The Suffolk County Police Department has asked the FBI to assist in its two-year old investigation of Oheka Castle owner Gary Melius’ unsolved shooting, according to Commissioner Tim Sini.
The attempted murder of Melius is the second major open investigation in which Sini has asked the federal agency for help following the arrest of former SCPD chief James Burke. Sini announced in December that the FBI would be assisting in the investigation of the Gilgo Beach killings, which have been unsolved since the discovery of human remains there five years ago.
Sini said involving the FBI in the Melius investigation was part of his “top-to-bottom assessment of the department,” which included scrutinizing all significant open cases.
Though he would not specify what role federal agents would play in the investigation, Sini said they would provide “certain resources and the ability to capitalize on technology that might not be available to a local department.” 
An FBI spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.
Melius, a real estate developer and political power broker known for his close friendships with top politicians and law enforcement officials, survived a masked gunman’s bullet on the grounds of Oheka, the Huntington hotel estate where he lives, on Feb. 24, 2014. The shooting occurred in broad daylight, and surveillance cameras captured two vehicles believed to be involved, yet no arrests have been made.
Melius has advertised a $100,000 reward for information in the shooting and late last year publicly called for the FBI to step in and help solve his case after Burke was indicted on federal charges that he covered up his beating of a detainee.
In an interview Tuesday, Melius said that he had asked the department to work with the FBI for a year, but Burke refused his requests.
“Apparently, I understand he didn’t like the FBI,” Melius said of Burke.
Melius also expressed frustration with Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, who he said has ignored his calls for help. Melius provided Newsday with emails dating back to mid-November in which he asked Bellone for a security detail and assistance from the FBI.
“You are aware that someone still wants to murder me, and I have only asked you to help and see that your police department does the right thing by me,” one of Melius’ emails to Bellone states. “I believe that if you were in my position, you would have round the clock security, have brought in the FBI as I asked, it has now been almost 2 years since I was shot.”
Bellone’s spokeswoman declined to comment.
Melius said he could not explain why the investigation into his shooting has been so difficult, blaming “bad luck” and low-quality surveillance cameras.
Sini, confirmed as police commissioner two weeks ago, said he could not comment on what difficulties have been encountered by the department’s investigators. But Sini said that solving Melius’ shooting is a “top priority” for the department.
“It is active and we’re doing everything we can to solve it,” Sini said.

INGMYR0224

Gary Melius’ shooting may be investigated by FBI, cops say

Cops: FBI asked to assist in Melius’ shooting probe

John Valenti

One year after Oheka Castle owner Gary Melius was wounded in the head outside the historic Huntington catering hall, he released a video statement Tuesday saying he was confident police will eventually catch the shooter.
The police "give me great confidence that they'll find out who did this," Melius said in the video. The political power broker said, "Suffolk County police have been terrific."
He said "the district attorney, everybody, but especially the police, have been in constant contact with myself, my family, my staff."
Melius was in his Mercedes-Benz in a parking lot at the castle when a light-colored Jeep Grand Cherokee pulled up. A masked assailant got out and shot at Melius through the closed side window.
Melius suffered head and facial wounds in the attack, which was caught on video by a surveillance camera.
Since then, police have received "a handful of tips" and "investigated several persons of interest in the case," Suffolk police said in an emailed statement Tuesday night. 
Sources said the surveillance video shows Melius stumbling out of his car after being shot. The assailant, who had started to flee, tried to shoot Melius again but the gun jammed, the sources said.
Criminal experts have said Suffolk police should release the video because someone might recognize the shooter. In the statement, the Suffolk police said it "is a key piece of evidence . . . At some point, portions of it may be released when deemed appropriate."
Friends and family of Melius have offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the shooter. Suffolk police have issued a reward of "up to $5,000" through Crime Stoppers, the statement said.
Melius said in the video that the shooting "changed my life."
Getting shot, Melius said, made him realize "in a nanosecond, everything can change -- and you're dead."
With Tania Lopez

LIMELI25

Gary Melius says he is confident police will catch shooter

Melius: I'm confident cops will catch shooter

LIOHEKA CROPPED

A light-colored Jeep Grand Cherokee enters the parking lot. A masked assailant gets out and approaches the nearby Mercedes-Benz with a gun. A Long Island political power broker is wounded in the head. 
One year ago Tuesday, Gary Melius was ambushed while sitting in a car at Oheka Castle, his historic Huntington catering hall. No arrests have been reported and police have gone silent on the status of the investigation. 
Yet criminal justice experts familiar with the inquiry's public profile say the case is solvable. One suggested renewed publicity could generate new leads, including, for example, if police released video of the shooting. 
"All surveillance video has investigative value. It's very important to get that information out there, especially a year into the case," said Joseph Giacalone, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, who once commanded the NYPD's Cold Case Squad in the Bronx and directed the agency's school for homicide investigators. 
"They should be releasing the video," Giacalone added, saying someone might recognize the shooter's mannerisms or clothing. 
Suffolk police answered a recent inquiry by saying nothing will be released until or unless they have "some additional information pertaining to the investigation that serves the investigation by its release." 
On Monday, Melius' daughter, Nancy, said in a statement that friends and family are offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever is responsible for the shooting. 
Anniversary opportunity 
Giacalone said anniversaries of crimes are a great chance to remind the public that a case is still open -- especially if an investigation has gone cold, as he said it appears this one has. 
"This is a very high-profile case," Giacalone said. "There is no better way to breathe life into a cold case than to give it media attention. The police have a herculean task here because this guy has so many connections and so many business dealings." 
Six months into the investigation, a source said that Melius' adopted son, Thomas, now 35, was among those questioned by police as a "person of interest." 
Thomas Melius -- a recovering drug addict -- had left a monthslong jail stint five days before the shooting to go into a rehab program. 
Attorney Dennis Lemke, who has represented Thomas Melius, said recently that the younger Melius had been cleared by authorities and "is not at all a suspect at this point," echoing comments the elder Melius made in an August interview. 
The Feb. 24 shooting, which police called an apparent assassination attempt, happened around lunchtime in Oheka Castle's employee parking lot as video surveillance cameras rolled. 
Afterward, Melius, now 70, stumbled from his sedan, according to police sources. The attacker, who had begun to flee, saw Melius was alive and tried to shoot him again, but the gun malfunctioned, the sources have said. 
A relative rushed Melius to a hospital, police said, and the shooter escaped and was last seen driving east. 
"Being shot was a life-changing experience, and certainly not something that I was prepared for," Melius wrote in a <a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/gary-melius-statement-to-newsday-1.9969357">statement to Newsday.</a> 
Melius said he had surgery to his skull and also to his left eye, where doctors had to remove glass that had lodged there. 
"I had to lay on my side for weeks," Melius said in an email. 
He plans to release a video statement about the shooting Tuesday. 
Emotional trauma 
Living with the trauma of the crime a year later has become challenging in a different way. 
"Now that his physical wounds have healed, emotionally, he's living with the idea that there's somebody out there that tried to kill him. And that's difficult to live with," Lemke said. 
The ambush also drew attention to the elder Melius' various political and business affairs, with Newsday publishing several stories about these dealings. 
Among them was a series of pieces in which Newsday found that Melius and a network of his associates were awarded $900,000 in fees from state court appointments. 
State Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman cited Newsday's stories in naming a monitor to oversee the system of court appointments in which judges select lawyers to carry out court directives in foreclosures and other matters. 
These days, Melius -- who has donated more than $700,000 to Long Island politicians from both major parties since the late 1990s -- considers unfavorable news coverage more painful than the shooting itself. 
Melius criticized Newsday for a "malicious attack against me and my family." 
Newsday Editor Deborah Henley said the newspaper stands behind its coverage. 
Sources said the surveillance video showed the suspect getting out of an older model Jeep Cherokee and heading straight to Melius, who at that point appeared to be in his Mercedes-Benz with the window rolled up. It's unclear whether anyone else was in the Jeep. 
The suspect was seen pressing the gun onto the driver's side window before firing the first round, which investigators believe is the shot that hit Melius, the sources said. 
The kickback from the shot caused the gun to malfunction and jam, the sources said. 
Jeff Noble, a former police deputy chief in Irvine, California, and an attorney who co-wrote a book about police accountability, said police may have run out of leads. 
"Unless there is some type of active, workable lead in the case, after a year, it is a cold case that may or may not ever be solved," Noble said. 
Giacalone said two major cases on the department's hands -- the Melius shooting and the mystery surrounding the bodies found in the Gilgo Beach area along Ocean Parkway -- should be more prominently displayed on the department's website in order to get more tips. 
"Two major incidents and this has got to be more prominent," he said. "Somebody knows something and you want to be able to get to them."

LIMELI24

Gary Melius: One year later, no arrests in Oheka Castle shooting

1 year later, no arrests in Melius shooting

The son of Oheka Castle owner and political donor Gary Melius has emerged as a "person of interest" in the shooting six months ago that left Melius seriously wounded, a source said. 
Investigators have looked at Thomas Melius, 34, who is the son of Melius' wife, Pam, and who was adopted by Gary Melius, while conducting scores of interviews and also combing through thousands of pages of records connected to Melius' businesses and finances. The source said the investigation is ongoing. 
Thursday night, Gary Melius said he believed that police spent at least four months looking into his son because of his problems with drugs, but found "not one shred of evidence that points to him." 
"They have questioned him. They have questioned his wife, everybody," he said in an interview. "They have not one thing to physically connect him to this. Not one phone call, not anything." 
Melius said he also doesn't believe his son could have hired someone to shoot him. "He's been an addict for many years and hasn't been hanging out . . . with top-notch people. . . . But there is nothing leading to Thomas in all these six months." 
Police should be looking at a political foe in connection with the shooting, Melius said. He said he sent an email to investigators about the foe Thursday. Suffolk police did not respond to a request for comment. 
Melius has given more than $700,000 to Long Island politicians of both parties since the late 1990s. 
Records show that Thomas Melius was released from a monthslong jail stint on Feb. 19, days before his father was shot on Feb. 24. 
Thomas Melius' attorney, Dennis Lemke of Mineola, said his client is on probation while continuing to seek drug treatment on an outpatient basis. 
Court records show Thomas Melius was sentenced in June in connection with five cases in Nassau County going back to 2012: On April 13, 2012, he was charged with operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. He later pleaded guilty. On Aug. 9, 2012, Melius was arrested on charges including assault on a police officer, to which he later pleaded guilty. 
On April 26, 2013, Melius was arrested and charged with three misdemeanor counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance and later pleaded guilty to a single count. 
On May 26, 2013, he was arrested on a felony grand larceny charge and later pleaded guilty to that charge. On Nov. 20, 2013, he was charged with the felony of introducing dangerous contraband in the jail and later pleaded guilty to the charge. 
Lemke acknowledged Thursday that there's been "speculation all over the place" about the shooting. The son's whereabouts during the shooting "have been well documented" and it's been verified that he was in an inpatient drug program at the time, Lemke said. 
"There's nothing linking him to the shooting," Lemke said. "There's no proof of this whatsoever and we deny it." He added that there is nothing linking Thomas Melius to anyone else who might have been involved in the shooting. 
Melius, 70, was in his Mercedes-Benz at the Oheka Castle parking area in Huntington when he was ambushed and shot once in the forehead about 12:30 p.m. Law enforcement sources at the time said surveillance video showed what appeared to be a black Infiniti pulling into the valet area, followed by the Jeep that carried the shooter. 
The shooter was described as wearing a mask, a black hooded sweatshirt, dark blue jeans and white sneakers. 
Melius was shot once through the driver's side window. The video, according to sources, showed the person who shot Melius tried and failed to fire at least three more times after the politically influential developer stumbled out of his car and headed toward the castle's employee entrance. Suffolk police have yet to release footage of the surveillance video. 
With Tania Lopez

LIMELI29

Gary Melius' son Thomas Melius a 'person of interest' in his Feb. 24 shooting, says source

oheka comp - cropped

Suffolk County prosecutors asked that a civil case be hidden from the public to protect their investigation into the attempted murder of Oheka Castle owner Gary Melius, a judge's order from the recently unsealed case shows. 
District Administrative Judge C. Randall Hinrichs in February sealed the business dispute between Melius and Joseph Ruocco, the founder of a DWI ignition lock company that Melius sought to control, saying he did so "to avoid impairing the integrity of an ongoing criminal investigation of an attempted murder in Suffolk County." 
Although the judge did not name him in his May 15 unsealing order, Hinrichs acknowledged in an interview last week that he was referring to Melius, who was shot outside Oheka Castle on Feb. 24 by an unidentified assailant. 
The unsealing order is the first official confirmation that investigators examined the civil case for connections to the shooting and the first tangible evidence that investigators are reviewing Melius' business relationships for clues to who wanted him dead. 
Ruocco's attorney in the civil case, Peter Kaiteris, said his client had nothing to do with the botched murder attempt. 
Kaiteris said that after the case was sealed, Ruocco complied with a request by the Suffolk County district attorney's office to answer questions. Police from the Second Precinct, which is based in Huntington, met with Ruocco in Riverhead, Kaiteris said. 
A spokesman for the Suffolk County Police Department declined to comment. The district attorney's office did not respond to a request for comment. 
The civil case between Melius and Ruocco involves control of Interceptor Ignition Interlocks, which sold devices to curb drunken driving. Records from the case show Ruocco reached an agreement with Melius to help win government contracts but that the partnership grew bitter. Melius filed a lawsuit in 2013 alleging financial improprieties and accused Ruocco of mismanaging the company. 
Suffolk County Supreme Court Justice Thomas Whelan effectively awarded Melius control of the company in December, and Melius held the first shareholder meeting after that decision on Feb. 21. He was shot three days later. 
Case's impact 
Newsday's scrutiny of the case, which a reporter was able to retrieve from court files just before it was sealed, has revealed ties between Melius and several public officials that have raised questions about financial and political relationships since they came to light: 
* State Police Senior Investigator Thomas Hughes owned shares in Interceptor and was among those Melius appointed to the board of directors after gaining control of the company. Kaiteris said Hughes ultimately declined the post, although he did not know whether it was after Newsday reported his involvement in the company. Hughes said Wednesday that he was not on the board but declined to comment further. 
* Suffolk Conservative Party chairman and county Correction Department Lt. Edward Walsh said he attended the Interceptor shareholder meeting before the Melius shooting. Newsday reported that Walsh submitted a time sheet with the sheriff's office indicating that he was at work during the meeting. The report prompted an internal investigation, which is ongoing, of allegations of wage theft by Walsh and other department employees, including an officer facing criminal charges. 
* Shortly after Melius joined Interceptor in a deal that required him to secure government contracts, Nassau and Suffolk counties tailored their policies on combating drunken driving in ways that boosted business for Interceptor. 
* Whelan, the justice who presided in the civil case, effectively handed control of Interceptor to Melius after the Oheka Castle owner sought to appoint Whelan's friend and political benefactor, state Independence Party chair Frank MacKay, to the company board. Whelan did not disclose his ties to MacKay during the litigation. 
Whelan ultimately recused himself from the case, according to a transcript of a May 23 hearing. 
Whelan made no mention of his ties to MacKay. Instead, the justice defended himself by pointing out that in a conference with attorneys from both sides he disclosed a relationship to Melius, who plays a "prominent role in political life in Nassau and Suffolk County, in particular, the Independence Party," according to the transcript. 
He pointed to a letter that attorneys for both parties wrote to state Chief Administrative Judge Gail Prudenti a week after Newsday first reported in March on Whelan's potential conflicts in the case. In the letter, the attorneys said Whelan had disclosed his ties to Melius and that they were comfortable with him presiding. 
Whelan said at the hearing that news reports had failed to accurately reflect the "full disclosure" he made of his relationship to Melius. 
"I take my oath of office very seriously and have always performed my duties with complete impartiality," Whelan said. "Yet in light of the inaccurate publicity . . . I will recuse myself from this case to avoid even the appearance of impropriety." 
Newsday's report, however, never focused on Whelan's potential conflict because of his links to Melius. The report detailed the justice's ties to MacKay. 
Whelan is godfather to MacKay's daughter, and the justice advised MacKay during his rise to party boss. MacKay, in turn, cut political deals that helped Whelan win his judgeship in 2000. 
At the hearing, Whelan noted Melius' association with the Independence Party but did not mention any specific ties between Melius and MacKay. MacKay holds Independence Party fundraisers at Oheka, and Melius' former son-in-law, Rick Bellando, is the party's Nassau chairman. 
In addition, MacKay is an Oheka employee paid between $100,000 and $150,000 annually, according to a state financial disclosure filing. 
Although MacKay ultimately was not appointed to Interceptor's board, Bellando took a seat on the board three days before Melius was shot, according to Kaiteris, the attorney involved in the civil litigation. 
Bellando did not respond to an email or calls for comment. 
When Newsday first reported Whelan's ties to MacKay, Monroe Freedman, an expert on judicial ethics at Hofstra University Law School, said there was "no question" that Whelan should have recused himself due to "the unacceptable risk" of him continuing to hear the case. 
Whelan did not respond to a call this month seeking comment. State court spokesman David Bookstaver said Whelan did not disclose his relationship to MacKay because the justice said MacKay was not an issue in the case. 
MacKay did not respond to a call and email seeking comment. 
Sealing unusual 
Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota asked to seal the civil case under criminal procedure rules. Newsday spoke with 10 lawyers and legal scholars who called the move highly unusual. 
Bookstaver said Hinrichs told him he never before encountered such a request. Bookstaver also said that in his own 18 years with the court system, he never heard of a prosecutor requesting or being granted a sealing in such a fashion. 
Hinrichs did not explain his decision to grant Spota's request but said, "I would not have signed the order if I did not feel there was a legal basis." 
Spota's explanation for why the case should be sealed remains hidden because Hinrichs said the application to remove the file from public view would stay sealed. 
Peter Davis, a criminal law professor at Touro Law School, said he had never heard of a prosecutor seeking to seal a civil case and found it "legally dubious." 
However, Davis said, it was hard to make a judgment without the facts presumably found in the sealing application. While appearing legally questionable, the request may not be illegal, Davis said. 
"One has to wonder what the motivation of the DA was," he said. 
James Cohen, a criminal law professor at Fordham University, said although he had never heard of a prosecutor sealing a civil case, Spota might have done it because he feared a risk to public safety. 
"It's possible the DA felt that there was something in the file that if someone got ahold of, it could prove dangerous to someone else," he said. "That would be the only justification for sealing a civil lawsuit." 
Litigation continues 
The Interlock litigation is continuing, with lawyers for both parties arguing over company property. Three legal experts said Whelan's recusal would not affect his previous rulings in the case. 
For much of the litigation, James O'Rourke, a law partner of Spota's before he was elected district attorney in 2001, represented Ruocco. O'Rourke withdrew from the case in January because Ruocco "completely failed to abide by the fee arrangement" and owed him $21,000, according to a court filing. 
O'Rourke also stated in the filing that the attorney who had the corporate books and records, whom he did not name, would not release them. 
After O'Rourke withdrew from the case, Kaiteris took his place. 
Kaiteris said Ruocco plans to appeal Whelan's previous rulings, such as the one in December in which the justice awarded Melius 3.5 million Interceptor shares and wiped out all but 500,000 that Ruocco owned. 
"We have a lot of work to do," Kaiteris said.

INSEAL20

In Gary Melius shooting probe, civil case was sealed at DA's request

liMeliusjp020 - cropped for #2 spot

Suffolk County Thursday released surveillance photos taken in February when politically connected developer Gary Melius was shot in the head outside his Huntington catering hall.
The photos show a light-colored, four-door Jeep Grand Cherokee, which the assailant is suspected to have used in the shooting at Oheka Castle. Det. Sgt. John O'Sullivan of the Second Squad, in a news conference Thursday in Yaphank, asked for the public's help in locating the vehicle.
The Grand Cherokee has five-spoke rims and a thin black molding strip on both the passenger's and driver's sides, he said.
Police initially believed a black Infiniti that pulled into the valet area shortly before the shooting may have served as a lookout for the Jeep. Thursday, O'Sullivan confirmed that police had dropped that theory, saying "our investigation reveals that the Grand Cherokee was the sole vehicle that was used on the day of the shooting."
O'Sullivan said Thursday police decided to confirm the make of the vehicle nearly four months after the shooting because they want the public's help. Newsday first reported the make of the vehicle in March.
The Jeep was last seen the day of the shooting traveling eastbound in the area of West 11th Street in Huntington Station just west of New York Avenue, O'Sullivan said, adding that police are certain it was the same vehicle seen at Oheka Castle during the shooting. 
"It's less than two miles from the castle. And the time frame that we have -- the vehicle in that location and the description from both the castle and the location -- assures us that that is the location for the vehicle," he said.
Police released the photos after Newsday inquired about surveillance video on Monday. Suffolk police confirmed they have the video but have not released it. The department released a surveillance photo of the Jeep through Nixle, a Web-based public notification system, and a three-picture release of the car through its public information office Thursday before the news conference.
Veteran outside investigators had mixed reactions to the release of the photos, which show the vehicle at the shooting scene. The shooting had all the hallmarks of a targeted hit, but releasing crime scene photographs before an arrest usually indicates that an arrest is not imminent, the experts said.
Jeff Noble, a police consultant and former deputy chief of the Irvine, California, police department, said when authorities release such images, investigators may lose potential leverage over an individual whose cooperation they need, or cause a suspect to flee.
"The only reason to release it is if you really have no idea who the person is and you really need the public's help," Noble said.
O'Sullivan denied that the decision to release the pictures meant investigators had hit a dead end.
"Absolutely not," O'Sullivan said. "This is an ongoing, very active investigation."
Melius survived the Feb. 24 shooting by a masked assailant and has said he doesn't know the identity of the shooter.
Melius, owner of Oheka Castle, was in his Mercedes-Benz in the rear parking area of the Huntington facility when he was ambushed and shot once in the forehead about 12:30 p.m., according to police.
Scores of detectives from at least three Suffolk police sections and the Suffolk district attorney's office were initially looking at Melius' business dealings and associations in an effort to find the shooter, sources have told Newsday.
Anyone with information on the case can call Crime Stoppers at 800-220-8477. All calls will be kept confidential.

LIMELI13

In Gary Melius shooting probe, cops release surveillance photos of SUV

LIMELI13 CROPPED mg

Gary Melius said in his first interview since being shot outside Oheka Castle recently that he "cannot excuse" Nassau's top Democrat for the sharp attacks he directed at him and the Independence Party.
Melius was wounded on Feb. 24 by an unknown gunman. Since then, Nassau Democratic chairman Jay Jacobs has called the Independence Party a corrupting influence in state politics. Jacobs noted that the Huntington estate, where Melius lives, often hosts Independence Party events, saying "all evil in Nassau County politics goes through Oheka Castle." Melius is an influential Independence member.
"I cannot excuse what he did," Melius said yesterday by telephone.
Jacobs "could have waited" until he'd fully recovered from the gunshot wound to his head before beginning political attacks, Melius said. "I don't know what his urgency was to do this to me."
Melius, 69, who has given more than $700,000 to Long Island politicians of both parties since the late 1990s, has feuded with Jacobs over local Independence Party endorsements and Melius' role last year in a political influence case that led to the ouster of a Nassau police commissioner, Thomas Dale.
Melius said he found it especially "disingenuous" that last week -- as Jacobs named Melius in a letter calling on gubernatorial candidates to reject the Independence Party endorsement -- Jacobs phoned to wish him well.
In a March 12 voice mail, Jacobs told Melius, "I know that we're in a battle and the battle is politics. It's certainly not personal. I've always enjoyed the times we've had together, and I'm glad that you got lucky," in surviving the shooting, according to a transcript of the message provided by Melius.
"How could he say that it's not personal while I'm lying in a sickbed?" Melius said.
Jacobs said Wednesday that he made the call at the recommendation of Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano, a Republican and a close friend of Melius.
Mangano and Jacobs spoke at a recent wake, and when Jacobs said he had no personal animus toward Melius, Mangano told him "it would be nice" if he let Melius know that himself, Jacobs said.
Mangano thought the call was "the right thing to do," his spokesman, Brian Nevin, said.
"I could have made the call earlier," Jacobs said. "What this boils down to is that just because you're in a political fight -- and it can be a fight to the death, the political death -- it doesn't have to mean you can't see each other as human beings. I don't wish anything but good things for Gary, outside of politics, of course."
Frank MacKay, chairman of the state and Suffolk County Independence Party, assailed Jacobs' call to Melius because it came at the same time Jacobs was citing Melius' party connections as a reason that candidates should shun the party. 
"It's bizarre and beyond disturbing," MacKay said.
Jacobs spokesman Jeff Guillot said the timing of Jacobs' letter criticizing the Independence Party was based solely on the political calendar.
"Decisions regarding party nominations are going to be made shortly and it's imperative that candidates across the state know the truth about the Independence Party before the nominations process begins in earnest," said Guillot.
Melius, whose only previous comments since the midday shooting were in a news release and a video statement, said Wednesday that he has "no idea" who shot him.
Melius was in his Mercedes-Benz in a back parking lot of Oheka when a masked shooter put a gun to one of the car's windows and fired several times, striking Melius once in the head, according to police.
Suffolk police have made no arrests and have released little information on the attack. Asked whether police have informed him about any investigative leads, Melius said, "they don't tell me anything."
Melius said he's still dealing with health issues -- one reason he has bristled at political attacks.
"I still have very bad eyesight, I have a wound I have to dress every day and I have to go to the doctor's," Melius said. "That's why I take all of this [political fighting] personally."
Melius also disputed news media stories about a court decision in his favor in a legal dispute over an ignition-lock company he recently gained control of.
Newsday reported on March 2 that Justice Thomas F. Whelan backed Melius' efforts to seize control of the private company at the same time Melius sought to name MacKay, Whelan's longtime political benefactor, to the company's board.
Melius said Wednesday that neither he nor MacKay exerted improper influence in the court case. He referred to a March 6 letter, signed by attorneys for both Melius and the business partner he is battling, indicating both sides were made aware of Whelan's connections to Melius, and that both sides rejected Whelan's offer to recuse himself from the case. The letter did not mention MacKay.
"Both sides agreed to use that judge and knew that I knew him," Melius said. "And I know most people."

Nassau

POMELI20

Melius: 'I cannot excuse' criticism by top Nassau Democrat

LIOHEKA cropped

Nearly three weeks have passed since Oheka Castle owner Gary Melius was shot on his estate by a mysterious masked assailant.
While Suffolk County police have made no public statements since the day after the Feb. 24 shooting, law enforcement sources said that scores of detectives from at least three Suffolk police sections -- the Criminal Intelligence Unit, Pattern Crimes Unit and Second Squad detectives -- and members of the Suffolk district attorney's office are involved in the investigation.
These investigators, who have preliminarily classified the shooting as a first-degree assault, are looking at Melius' business dealings and associations in an effort to find the shooter, the sources said.
Melius, 69, a well-known political donor and developer, was wounded in a daytime attack outside Oheka's main building in Huntington. He was in his Mercedes-Benz about 12:30 p.m. when the shooter put a gun to one of the car's windows and fired several times, Suffolk police said. 
Detectives said Melius was hit once. Surveillance footage appears to show two vehicles may have been involved in the attack, law enforcement sources said.
The video shows what appears to be a black Infiniti pulling into the valet area, followed by a taupe Jeep that carries the shooter, sources said, leading investigators to believe that whoever was in the black car was a lookout.
Sources said the video shows that after the suspect shot Melius with a heavy-caliber semiautomatic, the shooter returned to the Jeep but got out after noticing that Melius had stumbled out of his car and headed toward the castle's employee entrance. The attacker then tried and failed to fire at least three more times, sources said.
In the days after the shooting, police set up a Jericho Turnpike checkpoint, stopping motorists to ask whether they saw anything unusual the day before and around the time of the shooting. In addition, sources said that police are scouring a state registration database to try to find the vehicles, and a Nassau police official said images from a red-light camera farther west on Jericho Turnpike were being reviewed.
Suffolk police said last week that they will not release the video, and referred to the blanket response they are giving to all press inquiries: "Since this crime is an active ongoing investigation, the Suffolk County Police Department will not be making further comments at this time until unless we have some additional information pertaining to the investigation that serves the investigation by its release."
Melius was discharged from North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset on March 4 and has returned to Oheka.
He has not agreed to press interviews, but put out a video last week that lasted a little more than seven minutes. The video contained nothing about the afternoon attack in the parking lot of the sprawling estate he purchased in 1984.
"I have a lot to say," Melius said at the beginning of his video, which was produced by a Hauppauge-based film production company. "But I'm not going to say much."

LIINVE16

Sources: Scores of investigators look into Gary Melius shooting

melius cropped

Oheka Castle owner Gary Melius praised his family in a video released Monday, thanked his friends and credited God with letting him survive a gunshot to the head. But he said nothing about the shooter or the attack that nearly killed him.
Melius, 69, a well-known political donor and developer, said in the video that he broke down when relatives and friends gathered at his Manhasset hospital bed after the Feb. 24 shooting and said he was "looking forward to just starting over again."
His statements on the video, which is just over seven minutes long, were his first made public since the shooting and contained nothing about the afternoon attack in the parking lot of the sprawling estate he purchased in 1984. He issued a statement after his March 4 release from North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, but has declined requests for comment on the shooting.
"I have a lot to say," Melius says at the beginning of the clip, which was produced by a Hauppauge-based film production company. "But I'm not going to say much."
In the video, Melius appears stoic and reflective but anxious to get his business back on track.
At times, a male voice is heard asking questions in the background and, at other times, questions over a black screen replace Melius' image before he appears again to answer.
"I was pretty lucid all the time," Melius said in response to a question written on the screen asking what it was like in the hospital. 
Asked if it was "an emotional moment" having friends and family see him after the shooting, he said: "It made me break down a little bit, which I don't normally like to do, but I did . . . "
He tells the camera that he made the video mainly to let his friends know how he is doing.
"I just want everybody to know, mainly just for my friends to know, everything is OK," Melius said, casting his eyes down. "I haven't had a chance to talk, talk to them." 
Police have not disclosed a motive or made an arrest in the shooting. Melius was the intended target, investigators said.
He was in his Mercedes-Benz when the shooter put a gun to one of the car's windows and fired, Suffolk County police said. Detectives said Melius was hit one time. Surveillance footage appears to show the suspect making another attempt to fire the weapon at a wounded Melius as he stumbled from his car, law enforcement sources said. The gun jammed, sources said.
Of his surviving and of the support he received from those close to him, from friends, family, business associates, doctors, nurses, other hospital staff and police investigators: "There's just nothing I could say . . . It's just disingenuous to make this a monumental thing. It's just so big," Melius says. "There's no way for me to put it in words. It's just great, everybody is great. I got a break. Whatever the reason, what happened. But I guess God looked out for me, he's always looked out for me."

LIOHEK11

Gary Melius interview: 'I guess God looked out for me'

Suffolk police are scouring a state registration database to try to find the vehicles used in the shooting of politically influential developer Gary Melius, law enforcement sources said. 
A statewide search is being conducted through the state's LAWMAN Database, sources said, to narrow down leads on the getaway vehicles used after Melius, 69, was shot on Feb. 24 in the valet parking lot of his sprawling estate. 
The database contains descriptions and other information on all New York State registered vehicles. It was originally run by the New York State Police, but now is accessible to all law enforcement. Sources said two vehicles, a Jeep and a black Infiniti, were caught on surveillance video during the midday attack. 
Investigators have learned that one of the cars, the Infiniti, had plates, but it's not clear if police actually know any of the numbers, the sources said. If police knew all the numbers, one law enforcement source said, a LAWMAN's search would probably not be underway. 
The database, which was opened up to local law enforcement agencies in 2012, contains millions of files. Because the database is so vast, searches are generally conducted by ZIP codes. Having identifiers such as the year, color and the particular model vehicle will narrow the search. 
Sources have also said that the weapon used to shoot Melius is a heavier-caliber semi-automatic pistol. 
Investigators have not released video footage of the shooting to the public, saying it is part of the ongoing probe. 
Suffolk police Thursday had no updates on the investigation. 
Melius was in his Mercedes-Benz in an Oheka Castle parking area when he was ambushed and shot once in the forehead about 12:30 p.m., Suffolk police have said. 
The video shows what appears to be the black Infiniti pulling into the valet area, followed by the Jeep that carries the shooter, sources said, leading investigators to believe that whoever was in the black car was the shooter's lookout. 
Sources said the suspect shot Melius once through the driver's side window of his Mercedes-Benz before returning to what is being described as "an older model Jeep Cherokee." 
Police found at least two full rounds on the ground at the shooting scene, a source said. 
Melius was discharged from the hospital earlier this week and has returned to Oheka.

LIOHEK07

In Melius case, Suffolk cops scour vehicle database

Surveillance video shows the person who shot Oheka Castle owner Gary Melius tried and failed to fire at least three more times after the politically influential developer had stumbled out of his car and headed toward the castle's employee entrance, law-enforcement sources said Monday. 
The suspect, wearing a mask, black hooded sweatshirt, dark blue jeans and white sneakers, is seen on the video returning to a Jeep Cherokee after the initial shooting and then exiting the vehicle and aiming a gun at Melius, who was moving toward the entrance, sources said. 
The suspect tried to clear a malfunction in the weapon three times, sources said. It is unclear what the suspect or Melius did next. 
Melius, 69, was in his Mercedes-Benz in a castle parking area when he was ambushed and shot once in the forehead about 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 24, Suffolk police said. 
The video shows what appears to be a black Infiniti pulling into the valet area, followed by the Jeep that carries the shooter, sources said, leading investigators to believe that whoever was in the black car was the shooter's lookout. 
Sources said the suspect shot Melius once through the driver's side window of his Mercedes-Benz before returning to what is being described as "an older model Jeep Cherokee." 
Police found at least two full rounds on the ground at the shooting scene, a source said. 
Suffolk police would not comment on the case, releasing a statement that says, "Since this crime is an active ongoing investigation, the Suffolk County Police Department will not be making further comments at this time until unless we have some additional information pertaining to the investigation that serves the investigation by its release." 
Sources have said that the weapon may have malfunctioned because it was pressed against the glass of Melius' car. 
Suffolk police have not said what type of weapon was used to carry out the shooting. 
Daniel O'Kelly, a retired agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and director of the Texas-based International Firearm Specialist Academy, said only a semi-automatic pistol -- not a revolver or any other type of pistol -- could malfunction after being pressed against an object. 
O'Kelly said the malfunction also could have been caused by defective ammunition or a gun that has not been cleaned. 
"At that point, the person is trying to clear it, trying to get it back in action," O'Kelly said. "And if he's not familiar with how to properly clear a jammed gun, he's just guessing and playing with it, and who knows what he did." 
Suffolk has at least three police department units working on the case, including its Criminal Intelligence Unit, Pattern Crimes Unit and Second Squad detectives, sources said. 
Melius is recovering from eye surgery at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset. 
Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington), who has known Melius for 20 years, visited him Monday. "He seems to be recovering nicely," he said. "He was talking about the care that he has received and how extraordinary it has been. 
"He would have liked to have been out of here three days ago," Israel said. "I asked him when he thought he'd be out of here; he said he didn't know and said that he was getting impatient and would like to be able to leave." 
Four uniformed Suffolk County police officers are guarding Melius at the hospital, sources said. 
With Darran Simon

LIOHEK04

Sources: Video of Melius attack shows gunman trying, failing to shoot victim

Oheka Castle owner Gary Melius, who survived a gunman's bullet last week, was recovering from eye surgery over the weekend, and laughing and joking, family members said Sunday. 
Melius was in his Mercedes-Benz in the parking lot of Oheka, an upscale hotel and catering hall, about 12:30 p.m. Feb. 24 when at least three shots were fired at him, Suffolk County police said. He was struck in the head by one. There have been no arrests. 
In a brief interview Sunday at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, Kelly Melius, 46, one of Gary Melius' four children, said: "He's recovering well. He's perfect." 
Her father was in "good spirits," she said. 
Fabian Santibanez, 26, a son-in-law who also was at North Shore Sunday, said: "He's up. He's laughing. He's making jokes. He's being himself." 
Kelly Melius said she didn't know when her father would be released. 
The eye surgery Saturday at North Shore was to "address damage done during the attack," Gary Lewi, a friend of Melius and a former spokesman for ex-Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, said Saturday. 
Surveillance video from the shooting shows a masked person getting out of a Jeep Cherokee and walking up to Melius' car. The shooter fired through the window, hitting Melius, law enforcement sources said. Authorities think a second vehicle, a black sedan seen on video accompanying the shooter's Jeep, appears to be an Infiniti, law enforcement sources said. 
Kelly Melius said the family is "really overwhelmed by the love and support" from a stream of visitors. She said they have included not only friends -- some politically connected -- but also "brides, grooms, hotel guests."

LIOHEK03

Gary Melius, Oheka Castle owner, 'recovering well,' daughter says

The large number of visitors to Oheka Castle owner Gary Melius' hospital room and the kinds of detailed questions some asked about a failed attempt on his life led Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota last week to ask Melius' family to ban visitors and telephone calls. 
"I saw too many elected and other officials, like you wouldn't usually see in a situation like this, and a lot from Nassau County, like a former senator, the county executive, the sheriff, the head of the police department," Spota said in an interview Friday. 
"Some of the visitors were asking Gary very specific questions about the shooting that were, in my view, improper and we stopped all visitors," he said. 
Spota said Melius and his family were cooperative and decided to stop visitors and telephone calls. 
Even at that, "I have been told that at least one or two individuals still tried to get in and they were stopped by police and asked to leave." 
On Friday, U.S. Rep. Peter King did pay a short visit to Melius. "My understanding is that Mr. Melius, as is his right, said he wanted the congressman to come in and there is nothing we can do if that is what he wants," Spota said. 
One potential issue, Spota said, is that some of Melius' visitors have shared information that is inaccurate. 
Or that, perhaps, investigators did not wish released. 
Suffolk County police, who are investigating the case, last week declined to specify the number, type or location of injuries Melius received. 
King told reporters Friday that Melius was in great spirits -- and that he was wearing a bandage on his left eye, the first public confirmation of an injury near the eye. 
Melius' visitors last week included both county executives, Steve Bellone of Suffolk and Edward Mangano of Nassau. Mangano visited several times. 
Other visitors included at least two judges, the Nassau County sheriff and former U.S. Sen. Alfonse D'Amato -- who, hours after the shooting, called it an "attempted assassination." The acting Nassau police commissioner visited too. The last county police commissioner had to step down in a scandal set off by a telephone call from Melius. 
According to one estimate, some 40 visitors had streamed to Melius' hospital room within a few hours early last week. 
Melius' extraordinary draw -- some of his visitors have been saying all week -- lies in his generosity and popularity; and in the wide web of political and business contacts he's built over the years. 
A Newsday story about a fallout between Melius and a business associate, John Ruocco, last week illustrates the depth of those connections. 
According to the report, the pair entered into a consulting deal in which Melius would gain 2.8 million shares of Ruocco's ignition-locking device company in exchange for Melius' pledge that he would help the firm win public contracts -- by getting laws passed that would require use of technology Ruocco's Interceptor device could provide. 
According to a court document in the case, one such law passed in Suffolk in 2010. 
There's no doubt Melius has friends; and he's also made enemies, including at least one willing to make an attempt on his life. 
For now, as investigators continue scouring through Melius' business and other connections, he remains under police protection. 
And Spota -- who on Friday declined to give even a snippet more of new information on the case -- said he intended to speak to the family again about all of those high-powered visitors.

News

LIJOY02

As Gary Melius recovers in hospital, DA stops visits

Gary Melius and Oheka

Gary Melius, the Oheka Castle owner shot Monday in an apparent attempt on his life, had eye surgery Saturday morning at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, according to a family friend.
Melius, 69, underwent the surgery to "address damage done during the attack," said Gary Lewi, a friend of Melius who once served as a spokesman for former U.S. Sen. Alfonse D'Amato.
Following the procedure, the politically connected businessman was returned to his room, Lewi said.
North Shore spokesman Terry Lynam said Melius remains in stable condition.
Legis. David Denenberg (D-Merrick) attempted to visit Melius Saturday afternoon and bring him a get-well balloon but was turned away by security.
Denenberg spoke briefly with Melius' wife, Pam, who told the lawmaker that balloons were not allowed in her husband's room.
When approached by a reporter, Pam Melius said, "I need to get back upstairs."
Melius was in his Mercedes-Benz in the parking lot of Oheka, which includes a high-end hotel and catering venue, about 12:30 p.m. Monday when at least three shots were fired at him, Suffolk police said.
Surveillance video shows a masked person getting out of a Jeep Cherokee and walking up to Melius' car. 
The gunman fired through the window, striking Melius in the head, law enforcement sources said.
Investigators think a second vehicle, a black sedan seen on the video accompanying the shooter's Jeep, appears to be an Infiniti, law enforcement sources said.
Police have yet to make an arrest.
With Paul LaRocco 
and Kevin Deutsch

LIOHEK02

Oheka owner Gary Melius stable after surgery Saturday

Gary Melius, the Oheka Castle owner who was shot Monday, remained in the hospital with a patch over his left eye Friday as police continued to probe the attack.
Surveillance video shows Melius was wounded when someone apparently stepped out of one of two cars that had pulled into the Castle's grounds, walked up to the facility's owner as he sat in his car, and fired through the window, striking Melius on the head, law enforcement sources have said.
Friday, Melius, who is recovering at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, was visited by Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford).
"He's great," King said after his brief visit. "If you saw him, you'd thought he got hit in the eye playing handball or tennis."
Melius' left eye was covered by a bandage, King said. 
When King walked into Melius' room, Melius was laughing and joking, telling King he could have some of his French fries but warning him not to "steal" his hamburger.
King, who said he's known Melius for more than a decade, said he considers him a supporter and a loyal friend.
"If you're involved at all in Nassau County politics and government, you know Gary Melius," King said. "He's very active."
According to the surveillance video, the shooter appears to get out of a Jeep Cherokee in the Huntington castle's parking area and shoot Melius once before the gun apparently jams, sources said.
Investigators think the second vehicle, a black sedan seen on the video accompanying the shooter's SUV, appears to be an Infiniti, law enforcement sources said.
On Thursday, Nassau Det. Sgt. Patrick Ryder, commanding officer of Asset Forfeiture and Intelligence, said there's a red-light camera on South Oyster Bay Road near Oheka Castle and that "Suffolk is now running it to see if we caught the car."
Police have yet to make an arrest.
At the time of the shooting, King was at the nearby Crest Hollow Country Club with Jeb Bush, Florida's former governor, who was speaking to business leaders. "It was something like out of the 'House of Cards,' " King said. "You have a political heavyweight, Gary Melius; possible candidate for president Jeb Bush, brother of the [former] president, all of us there, and the guy was shot less than a mile away."
With Nicole Fuller
and Tania Lopez

LIOHEK01

Wounded Melius is doing 'great,' says Rep. King

liOHEKhs cropped

Long Island developer Gary Melius, who survived an assassin's bullet Monday, has recently been embroiled in a legal feud over control of a company that makes ignition locking devices designed to curb drunken driving. 
A pivotal event in the struggle between Melius and John Ruocco, founder of Interceptor Ignition Interlocks, occurred last Friday. Melius said he planned to name new directors at a shareholders meeting that day, according to a letter Melius sent to investors. It's unclear whether Ruocco attended the meeting or if he was ousted. 
The two had exchanged accusations as part of the legal fight over the company, with Melius accusing Ruocco of mismanagement and financial improprieties, and Ruocco calling Melius a duplicitous "political fixer." On Dec. 24, a judge sided with Melius and stripped Ruocco of much of his ownership of Interceptor. 
Investigators Thursday were still searching for the masked gunman who shot Melius at Oheka Castle, the ornate North Shore estate Melius bought in 1984. Police have said that Melius told investigators he does not know who shot him. 
Police would not give updates on the status of the investigation and have released no information that would suggest the dispute over Interceptor played a role in Melius' shooting. Melius controls dozens of companies, and police are examining his business dealings for clues. 
Ruocco said Thursday that investigators had not spoken to him about the Melius shooting, which he called "terrible." He declined to answer further questions from Newsday. 
Ronald Rosenberg, Melius' close friend, said he was aware of the Interceptor business dispute. 
He said Melius did not seem worried about anything in the weeks leading up to the shooting. "I don't recall Gary expressing in words or in any way concerns about his safety," he said. 
The details of the rift between Melius and Ruocco are spelled out in court records filed in Suffolk County Supreme Court last year. 
Records show Melius, 69, signed a consulting agreement between his company, KNET Inc., and Ruocco in June 2010 pledging to get laws passed that would help Interceptor win public contracts. According to the agreement, Melius would get 2.8 million shares in Interceptor in exchange for "the enactment or amendment of laws" that would require use of the technology that Interceptor could provide. 
Judge Thomas Whelan's ruling stated, "such a law was passed in 2010 in Suffolk County." 
Ruocco, 66, got into the ignition interlock device business because a relative was killed by a drunken driver, he stated in court. He was previously senior executive vice president of Alcohol Sensors International Ltd., a publicly traded Islandia-based company. 
The company, which produced a product called a Sens-O-Lock, was forced to recall roughly 700 of the units in 1996 due to "manufacturing, design and quality control problems," according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Ruocco resigned the following year and the company went bankrupt in 1999. 
According to state records, Ruocco founded the Shirley-based Interceptor Ignition Interlocks in 2000. 
Melius secured money for Interceptor in the form of a $1.5 million credit line from the Flushing Federal Savings Bank, with a loan guarantee signed by Melius, records show. KNET also advanced more than $500,000 to Interceptor to "keep the company solvent," court filings state. 
Interceptor repaid the loan to KNET by March 2011. Records show that in May 2013, Melius was in default on the Flushing Federal Savings Bank loan and the payoff amount was $1.18 million. It's not known whether Melius is still in default. 
Melius sought an injunction to compel Ruocco to hold a meeting last May to select a board of directors. Melius alleged that Ruocco had mismanaged the company and had never undertaken "any valid acts of corporate governance." In an affidavit, Ruocco said the "baseless unfounded lies alleged by Gary Melius are profoundly insulting." 
In his ruling, Judge Whelan sided with Melius. Whelan called Ruocco's statements in the case "some of the most confusing and uncooperative testimony imaginable." 
Ruocco stated at various points that he owned 8 million or 10 million shares in Interceptor, the judge wrote. Some of the shares were issued to Ruocco and his sister, Rosemarie Sylvester, for a penny a share or for free. Meanwhile, other investors paid $2 a share. 
Ultimately, the judge awarded Melius 3.5 million shares in Interceptor and wiped out all but 500,000 of Ruocco's shares. Last Friday's shareholders meeting was the first since the judge's December ruling. 
Ed Walsh, Suffolk Conservative Party leader, said he attended the shareholders meeting at the company's headquarters in Shirley. He said he is not a shareholder but attended to provide "moral support" to his friend Melius. 
"I expected some drama, but it didn't really give it," Walsh said. "It was pretty blah, pretty uneventful." 
In a later interview, Walsh confirmed that new directors had been named at the meeting but that he'd been told not to say anything more. 
<h3>WHAT IS AN IGNITION INTERLOCK DEVICE?</h3> 
In some cases, convicted drunken drivers are mandated to keep a device on their cars for at least 12 months. 
To start the car, a driver must blow into a device and his or her breath must register a blood-alcohol content below .025. 
The drivers are required to pay for the installation and maintenance of the device themselves. In 2010, Intercept Ignition Interlock president John Ruocco estimated the cost at $90 a month.

INMELI28

Gary Melius clashed with businessman, won control of firm

ruocco melius comp - cropped

Suffolk County investigators have reviewed dramatic surveillance video of a masked, hooded person shooting Oheka Castle owner Gary Melius that shows two vehicles that cops believe may have been involved, law enforcement and Nassau government sources said Wednesday. 
The Huntington facility's video shows the suspect getting out of a Jeep Cherokee and heading straight to Melius, who at that point appeared to be in his Mercedes-Benz with the window rolled up, the law-enforcement sources said. It's unclear whether anyone else was in the Jeep. 
The suspect is seen pressing the gun onto the driver's side window before firing the first round, which investigators believe is the shot that hit Melius, a major political donor to both political parties, the sources said. 
However, the kickback from the shot caused the gun to malfunction and jam, said the sources. Police found two full rounds on the ground at the shooting scene, a source said. 
The suspect is then seen trying to fix the malfunction, the sources said, and it appears the suspect keeps aiming at Melius and trying to shoot. 
The video seems to show a black sedan pulling into the valet area first on Monday, followed by the Jeep that carries the shooter, the sources said. 
Investigators believe whoever was in the black car was the shooter's lookout, sources said. 
Neither vehicle seen in the video appeared to have license plates, sources said. 
Suffolk Deputy Chief Kevin Fallon said the sources' account was incorrect but declined to elaborate. 
Melius, 69, was in his car in the parking lot of the mansion, which includes a high-end hotel and catering venue, about 12:30 p.m. Monday when at least three shots were fired at him, Suffolk police said. 
Suffolk police declined to provide updates Wednesday on the status of the investigation, while Melius remained hospitalized in stable condition at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, a hospital spokesman said. 
Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota, who went to the hospital, declined to comment. 
Former Freeport Mayor Andrew Hardwick visited Melius and said he's "doing well. He's a fighter . . . He's in great spirits." 
A pair of police cars remained outside the gated main entrance to the venue Wednesday. While that entrance of the sprawling estate is protected by a security guard and includes an intercom system, others with knowledge of the grounds say there's a rear entrance for employees that isn't guarded. 
Gary Krupp, 66, of Wantagh, who describes himself as a friend and business associate of Melius, said he had always entered through the gates but was aware of the back entrance. He said he had left that way only a few times when visiting the Castle. 
Melius serves on the board of directors of the Pave the Way Foundation, of which Krupp is the president and founder. The organization promotes tolerance among the world's religions. 
Krupp and his wife last saw Melius and his wife a few weeks ago at the Castle over dinner with business associates visiting from Monte Carlo, he said. 
Since the shooting, Krupp said he's only spoken to one of Melius' daughters through email, but once Melius is home, he plans to visit. 
He has a special gift for his friend, he said -- a bottle of grappa, a grape-based brandy from Italy -- one of Melius' favorites, he said. 
With Robert Brodsky, Celeste Hadrick and Darran Simon

LIOHEK27

Source: Melius shooting organized, used two cars

Oheka Castle owner shot in the head

A masked, hooded shooter fired "potentially three shots" at Oheka Castle owner Gary Melius while he was in his car on Monday, striking him once in the head, but not impacting his skull, Suffolk police said Tuesday.
The identity of the shooter remained a mystery in a case with no witnesses, suspect or motive, police said. Investigators weren't even sure if the shooter, wearing a sweatshirt with the hood pulled up, is male or female. Police said Melius had not filed any reports recently of being threatened or harassed.
Melius was in his car 12:30 p.m. Monday when the shooter, without saying a word, attacked, police said. The shooting occurred in the parking area of the historic mansion, a high-end hotel and catering venue and also the home of Melius, 69, a developer and major political donor.
"Mr. Melius was seated in the car," Det. Sgt. John O'Sullivan said. "The window was up. . . . We have potentially three shots fired. It's still part of the investigation, how many were fired."
A law enforcement source said investigators believe the gun may have malfunctioned because they found two full rounds on the ground.
Police interviewed Melius and family members at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset Tuesday, O'Sullivan said, adding that all aspects of his life will be investigated to determine who shot him. Suffolk officers and security guards were stationed on his floor, but a police spokeswoman said that was "protocol" and not an indication of a threat.
Because Melius went into shock upon being shot, his recollection of the details is unclear. He was physically improving and resting comfortably Tuesday, but he was concerned for his welfare and that of his family, O'Sullivan said.
Second Precinct detectives have cast a wide investigative net to solve the case, from looking at the victim's business deals to requesting the public's help in finding the suspect's getaway vehicle, a "neutral" colored, four-door, SUV-type captured on surveillance video, police said. They set up a Jericho Turnpike checkpoint Tuesday, stopping motorists to ask if they saw anything unusual the day before around the time of the shooting.
Melius was the "target" of the shooting, said O'Sullivan.
"There was one shot that hit Mr. Melius," the detective sergeant said. "There was no bullet to be removed."
Melius sounded upbeat in a statement issued by his family, saying he was ready to go back to work. "From the bottom of my heart, I will be forever grateful to the people who have offered prayers and best wishes, to the doctors who worked on me and, most of all, to my family, who are clearly made of very strong stuff," Melius said in the statement.
He added that the attack has helped him get perspective on life. "If this near-death experience has done anything, it is a reminder to live each day, celebrate life and embrace your family," Melius said. "I happen to be blessed with a very, very large extended family who rallied to my side during the past 24 hours."
The checkpoint Tuesday on Jericho Turnpike, between Avery and Plainview roads, was set up about noon to seek tips in the shooting. About 10 officers and detectives spoke to drivers in both the eastbound and westbound lanes. 
"We're just stopping cars to see if anyone has any information about the shooting yesterday," Det. Henry Valerio said.
Shortly before wrapping up the checkpoint about 1:30 p.m., Valerio said that so far they hadn't culled any leads as a result.
A police spokeswoman said another checkpoint may be set up in the future.
Interviewed by phone Tuesday, Rick Bellando, Oheka's longtime catering director, said Melius was focused on concern for Oheka's employees. "He's checking in to make sure we're up and running," said Bellando, who also is the chairman of Nassau's Independence Party. "He said, 'Make sure you take care of everyone.' "
Former Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, a close friend of the high-profile Long Island political player, released a statement and tweeted about Melius' condition Tuesday.
"He is thankful for the grace of God that saved his life and is grateful for your prayers and good wishes," D'Amato said in his statement.
Phyllis Aurrichio attempted to visit the castle Tuesday afternoon, but was turned away at the gates. She wanted to check out the facility for her nephew, who hopes to get married there. 
Aurrichio, 52, a business owner from St. James, said she had only learned of Monday's shooting from the security guard, who advised her to call in a few days. But, she said, it wouldn't deter her family members from celebrating at the castle. 
"I'd still come here," said Aurrichio. But, she added, "I feel terrible."
With Paul LaRocco, 
Tania Lopez, Robert Brodsky and Darran Simon

LIOHEK26

Police: Gunman fired 'potentially 3 shots' at Melius

Oheka Castle, the wedding palace owned by Long Island power broker Gary Melius, has faced financial struggles in recent years. 
Melius negotiated a modification of Oheka's $27.9-million mortgage loan and received a five-year extension in August, according to Trepp, a Manhattan-based company that tracks commercial mortgages. A year earlier, Melius defaulted on the loan when it came due, Trepp reported. 
The complexities of Oheka's finances are not immediately evident to visitors who marvel at its luxurious interiors and expansive views. 
The Huntington estate hosted the 2010 wedding of then-Rep. Anthony Weiner and Huma Abedin, a close aide to Hillary Clinton, officiated by former President Bill Clinton. Former Sen. Alfonse D'Amato and singer Kevin Jonas of the Jonas Brothers are among the celebrities who have been married at Oheka. Named for the initials of its former owner, Otto H. Kahn, Oheka's website advertises suites for up to $1,095 a night. 
During the 1920's Gilded Age, Kahn -- a financier and philanthropist -- threw lavish parties at the 127-room estate, where he hosted royalty, heads of state and Hollywood celebrities. 
Reportedly the country's second-largest private residence at 109,000 square feet, Oheka was in shambles when Melius bought the French-style castle in 1984 for $1.5 million. He sold it to a Japanese businessman in 1988 for $22 million, started leasing it back in 1993 and took back full ownership a decade later. In 2012, Melius told Newsday he had spent $37 million restoring it. 
Oheka's 2007 mortgage is part of a package of loans that were securitized and sold to investors. When Melius got his extension last year, the loan was split into two pieces -- a $22.75-million portion whose investors get first priority in getting repaid, and a $5.14-million portion with lower priority, Trepp reported. 
The property's net operating income was $1.55 million in the first nine months of 2013, Trepp reported. If business continued at that pace through the end of the year, Oheka would have generated net operating income of just over $2 million in 2013. 
By comparison, Oheka's net operating income was just under $2.6 million in 2010 and nearly $2.8 million in 2009, Trepp reported. 
In an interview with Newsday in 2012, Melius said Oheka's performance for the year was on track to be the best in its history. He disputed a data report by Bloomberg indicating that the property's finances were in decline. 
He also cast doubt on appraisals showing that Oheka's value had fallen. 
When Melius took a mortgage on Oheka in 2007, the property's value was pegged at $43.8 million, according to Trepp. Morningstar Credit Ratings estimated its value at $30 million in 2012. 
At the time, Melius dismissed that valuation. 
"It's like having the Hope diamond," Melius said in 2012. "What do you appraise it next to?"

Business

BZLOAN25

Behind the luxury, Oheka Castle faced financial struggles

bzloan25  2.25.14 crop

The first call was routine. 
Former Sen. Alfonse D'Amato was on his way to meet his longtime card-playing buddy Gary Melius for lunch Monday at a local steakhouse when Melius phoned to say he'd be a bit late.
Shortly after, however, came the jarring news from Melius' daughter: the gregarious and well-connected Oheka Castle owner had been shot in the head as he went to his car. 
"Total surprise. Gary's reaction was, 'Why would somebody do this?' " D'Amato said in an interview Monday after leaving Melius' bedside at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, where he spent several hours with Melius' family. 
D'Amato simultaneously updated political figures of both parties on the condition of one of Long Island's most-influential power brokers. "I cannot imagine what kind of dispute would trigger this kind of maniacal attack," D'Amato added.
Befitting someone who has spread the nearly $1 million he's given politicians during the last two decades between parties, Melius' well-wishers included D'Amato, a Republican; Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, a Democrat; Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano, a Republican; and former Freeport Mayor Andrew Hardwick, a Democrat.
D'Amato is the political figure closest to Melius. The two go back more than 30 years, to when D'Amato was rising from Nassau politics to the U.S. Senate, and Melius was transitioning from an aide to local police unions to a real estate powerhouse, with Oheka Castle his centerpiece.
"To know him is to love him," D'Amato said. "He's a terrific person and this is a terrible, horrific thing."
But as is fitting for a survivor -- Melius has previously acknowledged that he is fortunate to be where he is now, after a youth spent in trouble with the law -- D'Amato said his friend will surely recover.
"He's very lucky, and we're all very lucky that we're going to have him for a long time."

PODAMA25

D'Amato shocked by attack on Melius

liSHOT cropped

In a bizarre coincidence, Gary Melius - the owner of Oheka Castle in Huntington who was wounded in a daytime shooting while he was in his car Monday - had also appeared on "Treasures of New York: Gold Coast Mansions" on WNET/13 just a few days before. (The WLIW/21 series, which premiered Feb. 17 on Channel 21, repeated last &nbsp;Friday on Ch. 13.) Melius, suffice it to say, is not a regular presence on TV. 
Ch. 21, which provided a few clips, said this first one was cut from the program and did not air - it has Melius talking about Otto Kahn, who built Oheka (its name derived from Kahn's - "O"tto "He"rmann "Ka"hn.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;The one that follows did.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;Newsday app readers should (I hope) be able to watch at Newsday.com/tvzone.&nbsp; 
<iframe frameborder="0" height="376" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" seamless src="http://watch.wliw.org/viralplayer/2365189009" width="500"></iframe><iframe frameborder="0" height="376" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" seamless src="http://watch.wliw.org/viralplayer/2365189018" width="500"></iframe>

Entertainment

Gary Melius was on 'Treasures of New York: Gold Coast': Clips

Gary Melius, a major political fundraiser and owner of Oheka Castle in Huntington, was shot in the head Monday on the grounds of his Gold Coast estate-turned-wedding-venue by a masked gunman who drove off, Suffolk police said.
Melius, 69, was shot about 12:30 p.m. in the Castle's valet parking area as he was entering his vehicle, police said. The shooter wore a mask and a sweatshirt with the hood pulled up, police said, and video footage showed the suspect fled the scene in a four-door SUV-type vehicle.
From the initial investigation, "it appears Mr. Melius was the target," said Det. Sgt. John O'Sullivan.
Police did not say how many shots were fired or what kind of weapon was used.
On Monday night, Melius was in stable condition after undergoing surgery, police said. Suffolk officers have been stationed at the hospital as a protective measure, police said.
Friends, who were shocked at the shooting, said Melius was being treated at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset.
"It was not a robbery. It was an attempt at assassination," said former U.S. Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, a close friend who was supposed to meet Melius for lunch but instead rushed to the hospital. "He was at the Castle, outside. Nobody put a gun to him or said, 'We want your money.' They just shot him. The guy had a mask on."
Before going into surgery, Melius was alert but "he wasn't able to describe who shot him," O'Sullivan said.
A bullet hit Melius in the forehead, a wound that is "not superficial," said a high-ranking law enforcement source familiar with the investigation.
"He will make it. He's very lucky," the source said.
Investigators had no motive for the shooting on the grounds of the historic estate that Melius purchased in 1984 and has now made his home. There were no immediate witnesses, police said.
By the time 911 had been called and police arrived, a family member had taken Melius to a hospital, police said.
Patrol officers, police dogs and a police helicopter "immediately saturated" the area, O'Sullivan said. 
A surveillance camera could be seen at the entry gate to the grounds, and O'Sullivan said experts were looking at all the surveillance video from the Castle.
Late last year, Melius found himself in a post-election controversy involving Nassau police Commissioner Thomas Dale, triggering the events that led to the top cop's ouster in December. He had called Dale to say he wanted to file perjury charges against a campaign worker who had raised allegations of election impropriety against county executive candidate Andrew Hardwick, who Melius supported. 
In recent years, Oheka has faced financial struggles and Melius negotiated a modification of Oheka's $27.9 million mortgage loan in August, according to public records. A year earlier, he had defaulted on the loan.
The law enforcement source said investigators looking into Melius' background "are learning a lot about him. There are many deals he was involved in. But this is all very early and the effort now is to find the shooter and the car."
Nassau Democratic chairman Jay Jacobs, who has clashed with Melius over candidate endorsements and the Dale case, called the shooting "surreal."
"We've had our differences," Jacobs said, "but I've known Gary a long time and to have this happen to someone as important and influential as him is a tremendous shock."
Melius has frequently opened his own wallet for political candidates of all parties. In the past decade, he and his wife Pam have donated more than $700,000 to local and state committees, elections board records show. Since the late 1990s, about $170,000 to federal campaigns, according to records. State records show that Melius typically donates to officials in power at the time, regardless of party. 
Melius has said that his development business took off after he borrowed $10,000 in 1979, just before one of the Island's real estate booms, to build a Great Neck office complex. 
His company at one point owned more than a million square feet of building space but hit hard times in the early 1990s, when Melius recalled "rolling quarters" just to pay bills.
Melius' attorney, his close friend Ronald Rosenberg, also saw him in the emergency room and called the shooting victim "indomitable." 
He "looked at me, cracked a joke at my expense and said he was sorry he was putting so many people through a tough day," Rosenberg said in a statement.
"There is an extreme sense of relief here because you know he is going to recover. His spirit is strong, his sense of humor is just as off-color as ever."
Anyone with information may call detectives at 631-854-8252.

LIOHEK25

Oheka Castle owner Gary Melius shot in head by masked gunman

Gary Melius is a longtime player in the Long Island development and political worlds who is best known for hosting political fundraisers and smoke-filled poker games for top public officials at his Oheka Castle in Huntington. 
Melius, 69, who lives at the hotel/catering hall, has had as guests former Republican Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, among other power brokers, and has held fundraisers for officials including Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano, a Republican. 
D'Amato and Mangano visited Melius Monday at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, where he is recovering after being shot at Oheka. Democratic Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone also visited. 
In the past decade, Melius and his wife, Pam, have donated more than $700,000 to local and state committees and, since the late 1990s, about $170,000 to federal campaigns, according to elections board records. 
Melius most recently was in the news after a phone call he made to Nassau Police Commissioner Thomas Dale triggered events that led to the top cop's ouster. 
Melius told Dale in the Oct. 4 call that the third-party county executive campaign of ex-Freeport Mayor Andrew Hardwick wanted to file a perjury charge against Randy White, a witness in a lawsuit challenging many Hardwick ballot petition signatures. 
Police never charged White with perjury, but when a misdemeanor warrant for White was discovered, Dale ordered that he be arrested, according to an investigation by Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice, a Democrat. An off-duty county police sergeant later served White with a civil subpoena, drafted by Hardwick's lawyer, while White was in custody. Rice called it "a deeply troubling aspect of this case," but said no criminal laws were broken. 
Mangano forced Dale out on Dec. 11. Democrats said Hardwick's campaign -- Melius was its sole donor, giving $23,139 -- was meant to siphon votes from former County Executive Thomas Suozzi, a Democrat who ran an unsuccessful rematch against Mangano this fall. Melius says he did nothing wrong. 
Born in Jackson Heights, Queens, the truck driver's son moved to West Hempstead as a boy, and as a young man worked odd jobs including plumber's helper, tree trimmer and bowling alley pin setter. 
Melius bought his first building in 1975, but has said that his career took off after he borrowed $10,000 in 1979, just before Long Island's real estate boom, to build a Great Neck office complex. 
"I started with a dollar-fifty," Melius told Newsday in 1990. 
His company at one point owned more than a million square feet of buildings, but hit hard times in the early 1990s, when Melius recalled "rolling quarters" just to pay bills. 
He bought Oheka for $1.5 million in 1984, sold it in 1988 for $22 million, leased it back in 1993 and reclaimed full ownership a decade later. 
He estimates that he has put $40 million into the property, allowing it to attract guests from around the world and host weddings for celebrities such as one of the Jonas Brothers, and politicians including former Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner and his wife, Huma Abedin, a longtime aide to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. 
Between frequent weddings and charity events, Oheka is known as a hangout for local power brokers. Besides the poker games, Melius has annual Super Bowl parties that blend his working-class roots with the luxuries of affluence: top-shelf liquor alongside White Castle hamburgers. 
"I once asked him why he would buy this huge place and call it your home, and he'd always respond that it was just fun," said former Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy, a Democrat turned Republican who received more than $60,000 in contributions from Melius, according to state records. With Paul LaRocco

LIPROF25

Gary Melius a veteran in politics and development

poMAMAhs cropped

News of the Gary Melius shooting Monday jolted political Long Island with an eerie kind of force. 
By several accounts, the list of people visiting the businessman and developer at North Shore University Hospital through the afternoon reflected the mix of prominent contacts and friendships that he cultivated and attracted in recent years. 
Among them: Nassau Executive Edward Mangano, Suffolk Executive Steve Bellone, former Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, state and Suffolk Independence Party Chairman Frank MacKay and former Freeport Mayor Andrew Hardwick. 
Steve Schlesinger, whose roles include law chairman of the Nassau Democratic Committee, said by phone, "I think he's touched a lot of people's lives, and just seeing what's happening here at the hospital, you can tell that people are dumbfounded." 
Suddenly, in the early afternoon, Oheka Castle, the catering mecca where Melius for years has fraternized and socialized and hosted poker games with friends and acquaintances, became a cordoned-off crime scene. For some friends, the reasons for standing vigil showed a fealty that went beyond the large checks he's written to charity groups and political candidates. 
His has been a rich mix of social, political and business ties. 
In electoral politics, friends say MacKay and Melius have been particularly close allies for years. Rick Bellando, an Oheka manager who chairs Nassau's Independence Party, is the father of Melius' grandchildren. Before Melius, 69, underwent surgery for head wounds, MacKay declared on his Facebook page: "A quick update -- Gary is alert, and joking around -- toughest man I know. Love you brother!" 
Best wishes followed from a range of figures. Brookhaven Town GOP Chairman Jesse Garcia's comment was typical of these: "Gary is in all of our prayers and thoughts." 
Some of those who keep alert to local civic life got early reports of the incident on their cell phones as they departed the Long Island Association luncheon, featuring former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, at the Crest Hollow Country Club, only a mile from the Oheka grounds where Melius was shot. 
It was two months ago that Melius and his network of cordial relationships drew hard public scrutiny, in an indirect way. 
Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice said Melius, financing Hardwick's third-party candidacy for county executive, called then-county police commissioner Thomas Dale, saying he wanted to file perjury charges against a campaign worker who'd testified Hardwick paid him illegally -- a charge Hardwick denied. Dale's subsequent handling of the case led to his resignation. 
But no criminal charges resulted from what Rice, now seeking a congressional seat, called a case of "politically motivated policing."

Opinion

Columnists

Dan Janison

POJANI25

Melius' wide reach on political LI

10.9.13 Spin Cycle CROPPED mg

Gary Melius, the prominent developer whose phone call to Nassau police Commissioner Thomas Dale triggered the events that led to the top cop's recent ouster, has spent years building a near-peerless network of political contacts. 
 His Oheka Castle in Huntington -- an old estate turned high-end hotel and catering hall -- has long been a site for lavish fundraisers for Long Island's most powerful officials. 
 At the same time, Melius, 69, who lives in the castle, has frequently opened his own wallet for political candidates of all parties. In the past decade, he and his wife, Pam, have donated more than $700,000 to local and state committees and, since the late 1990s, about $170,000 to federal campaigns, according to elections board records. 
 But when asked to assess his political influence, the grade-school dropout from Queens, who rose from plumber's helper to own one of the most prestigious Gold Coast properties, answered succinctly. 
 "Minimal," Melius said. "That's what I think I have." 
 Others, from close friends to those who have clashed with him, say Melius has had a significant impact on local government, even if he's more of a social than political animal. 
 "I think Gary has a great deal of respect among political people, and from that standpoint, he's very influential," said Frank MacKay, chairman of the state and Suffolk Independence Party, while noting that the money Melius gives to charities far outweighs his political contributions. "He's raised millions of charitable dollars, and doesn't seek attention for it." 
 Melius, who employs the Nassau Independence Party's executive director at Oheka Castle, may be best known for the cigar-smoke-filled poker games he hosts there. They feature a bipartisan roll of players culled from some 6,000 names in his address book, including former Republican Sen. Alfonse D'Amato and Steve Schlesinger, a Garden City attorney who represents Nassau Democrats in many matters. 
 "Al and I vie for his soul," Schlesinger joked of Melius. 
 Though he fought for Democrats in trying to discredit the third-party Nassau County executive campaign of Melius' friend this fall -- a campaign that ultimately prompted the call Melius made to Dale -- Schlesinger still considers the Oheka owner a good friend. 
 Nassau Democratic chairman Jay Jacobs, however, contends that Melius' ties to GOP County Executive Edward Mangano's administration led him to think he could ask Dale to arrest a witness in a politically charged elections case. 
 "Gary has made it his business to ingratiate himself with the top members of the administration," Jacobs said of Mangano's aides, while acknowledging Melius also gives to Democrats. "He hosts them at his castle regularly, he boasts about it, and he's entitled to -- but you can't shy away from it now." 
 Mangano, who backed Nassau's 2012 purchase of land from Melius, said the developer has had no influence on his administration. "I have known Gary for over 20 years and he is a good friend," he said. 
 Dale controversy 
 In the Oct. 4 call, Melius told Dale that the third-party county executive campaign of ex-Freeport Mayor Andrew Hardwick, a friend, wanted to file a perjury charge against Randy White, a witness in a lawsuit challenging many Hardwick ballot petition signatures. 
 Police never charged White with perjury, but when a misdemeanor warrant for White was discovered, Dale ordered that he be arrested, according to an investigation by Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice, a Democrat. Shortly after, an off-duty county police sergeant served White with a civil subpoena, drafted by Hardwick's lawyer, while White was in custody. Rice called it "a deeply troubling aspect of this case." 
 Mangano forced Dale out on Dec. 11, citing Rice's findings of Dale's involvement in locating White while on a county bus. 
 Democrats attacked Hardwick's campaign -- Melius was its sole donor, giving $23,139 -- as meant to siphon votes from former County Executive Thomas Suozzi, who ran an unsuccessful rematch against Mangano this fall. Melius, after backing Suozzi in 2009, supported Mangano this year. 
 Melius says he did nothing wrong in contacting Dale on behalf of Hardwick's campaign, calling Jacobs' complaints those of a "sore loser." 
 He added, however, that he was "deeply sorry" for causing trouble for Dale, whom he said he has known for years, and whom he recommended to Mangano when Dale was being considered for commissioner. 
 "If I was Tom Dale, I'd be mad at me," Melius said. 
 Melius has been a prominent figure since purchasing Oheka Castle, financier Otto Kahn's 127-room French chateau, for $1.5 million in 1984. The 120,000-square-foot gated estate, completed in 1921, once was Long Island's largest single-family home. 
 He came from more modest roots. Born in Jackson Heights, Queens, the truck driver's son moved to West Hempstead as a boy, and as a young man worked odd jobs including plumber's helper, tree trimmer and bowling alley pin setter. 
 "I'm pretty much a guy from the streets," Melius said in an interview last week from inside Oheka Castle's posh, Charlie Chaplin-themed bar. 
 His childhood, including dealing with an abusive father, Melius said, made him angry, leading to several brushes with the law. In 1963, an 18-year-old Melius was among a group arrested for robbery after a street mugging in West Hempstead. He was convicted of mischief as a youthful offender. 
 In 1971, Melius was arrested along with a Nassau police officer who tried to shake down a drug runner, and then again for his part in a scheme to steal and sell heavy equipment. He was charged with grand larceny in both cases, but pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors. 
 Throughout the 1970s, Melius was close with Richard Hartman, a well-known lawyer who wielded much influence with police unions in New York City and Long Island. In 1988, Hartman gave up his law practice after admitting misusing escrow funds to pay his personal gambling debts. 
 "We used to say that we would have done better with the bad guys," Melius said of his ties to figures like Hartman. 
 It was his career in real estate, Melius said, that helped straighten him out during the late 1970s and early 1980s, and led him to buy Oheka Castle. 
 "You know what I had?" Melius said. "God." 
 Building back Oheka 
 Melius bought his first building from Hartman in 1975, but has said that his career took off after he borrowed $10,000 in 1979, just before Long Island's real estate boom, to build a Great Neck office complex. 
 "I started with a dollar-fifty," Melius told Newsday in 1990. 
 His company at one point owned more than a million square feet of buildings, but hit hard times in the early 1990s, when Melius recalled "rolling quarters" just to pay bills. 
 Oheka was in disrepair when Melius first got it. He sold it to a Japanese businessman for $22 million in 1988 and began leasing it back in 1993, reclaiming full ownership a decade later. 
 The Town of Huntington ultimately gave Melius the zoning change he needed to turn the venue into a full service event hall. He estimates that he has put $40 million into the property, allowing it to attract guests from around the world and host weddings for celebrities such as one of the Jonas Brothers, and politicians including former Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner and his wife, Huma Abedin, a longtime aide to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. 
 At that 2010 ceremony, President Bill Clinton officiated. 
 Between frequent weddings and charity events, Oheka is also known for being a hangout for local power brokers. Besides the poker games, Melius has annual Super Bowl parties that blend his working-class roots with the luxuries of affluence: top-shelf liquor alongside White Castle hamburgers. 
 "I once asked him why he would buy this huge place and call it your home, and he'd always respond that it was just fun," said former Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy, a Democrat turned Republican who received more than $60,000 in contributions from Melius, more than any other candidate, state records show. 
 "He's a very affable guy, a fella who came up from nothing and made himself quite a success," Levy said. "He likes to share that with people." 
 Political influence 
 Melius said his campaign donations aren't meant to gain influence with local politicians. 
 "I like to think I try to [donate] for good government and do what's right," he said. "I'm not stuck with a party line." 
 He noted that his only active project is a 190-unit condominium development on the Oheka site in Huntington, which would be hooked up to the Nassau County sewage system, rather than local septic tanks. 
 But Melius has done business with Nassau before. In 2012, the county paid him $6 million for the former Brooklyn Water Works property in Freeport, intending to preserve it as open space. Melius had bought it from Nassau for $1.4 million in 1986, but never realized plans to develop it either as condos or a nursing home. 
 Mangano, who supported the county's purchase of the Water Works parcel, has had fundraisers at Oheka and received $16,500 from Melius since his 2009 election as county executive. Melius had backed Suozzi during his two terms from 2002 to 2009, holding fundraisers for him and donating $15,000 in 2008 and 2009. 
 Mangano recalled asking for Melius' support in his first race against Suozzi, "and I'll never forget his answer. It was 'no.' " 
 State records show that Melius typically gives to officials in power at the time, regardless of party. He gave Levy $60,100 during his two terms as Suffolk County executive, from 2004-2011. This year, Melius gave Levy's successor, Democrat Steve Bellone, $25,000. 
 On the federal level, Melius and his wife have given Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford) $22,800; Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington) $18,200 and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-Mineola) $14,700 since 2003. 
 "You'll have a hard time making me a partisan," Melius said. 
 'A real mover and shaker' 
 Jon Cooper, the Suffolk legislature's former majority leader, represented the district where Oheka Castle is located for 12 years, but said Melius was always a friend, not someone who sought political favors. 
 "I don't think I ever spoke to Gary about a political issue," said Cooper, a Lloyd Harbor Democrat who left the legislature in 2011. "But I know that there were probably a lot of elected officials who courted his support and his endorsement and financial backing." 
 Cooper called Melius a "genuinely nice guy with a great sense of humor -- and loyal." He recalled the Oheka Castle owner engineering a surprise 50th birthday for him about eight years ago, managing to hide the presence -- and vehicles -- of nearly 200 guests. 
 "Obviously, he's a real mover and shaker, and often portrayed as the power behind the scenes," Cooper said. "But I just consider him a friend." 
 One person who knows Melius and many Long Island political figures called Melius "a networker on steroids." The person, who didn't want to be identified in order to speak frankly, said Melius' influence comes most from his outgoing nature. 
 "He doesn't do it with money," the person said. "He does it with relationships." 
 During the interview, Melius noted that he had 6,300 names in his address book, and as he spoke, his iPhone rang a half-dozen times in an hour. 
 His role criticized 
 Jacobs, Nassau's Democratic Party leader, criticized Melius' involvement in the Randy White case that led to police commissioner Dale's ouster, but said he didn't actually fault Melius for developing relationships with public officials. 
 "That's not a crime; he's entitled to that," Jacobs said. "You can be someone who is influential and you can be someone who is engaged in the process. 
 "The limit is, you cannot abuse that authority." 
 Melius said everything he does comes from a desire to help people, whether it's calling Dale on behalf of Hardwick, or hosting regular fundraisers for the youth charities that he said he supports with his own upbringing in mind. 
 A therapist, Melius recalled, once suggested that he write a book about his life, with the cover showing Melius standing in front of Oheka Castle, under the title, "In Spite of Myself." 
 "I have no good reason to be here," Melius said from inside that castle, "other than that somebody looked out for me." 
 With Joye Brown

POMELI15

Gary Melius, Oheka Castle owner, downplays political influence

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The fire broke out at a house on Storz Place in Lindenhurst Thursday night.

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At least two people were injured after they jumped from a second-floor window in fire, police said.

Copiague home destroyed in fire

Firefighters are investigating the cause of a fire in a North Lindenhurst home that doubles as a day care center. NewsdayTV's Ken Buffa reports.

All safe in day care fire

Suffolk police officer Brendon Gallagher is making progress but remains in critical condition after Saturday's crash, according to police. NewsdayTV's Ken Buffa reports.

'On a ventilator and life support'

Suffolk police officer Brendon Gallagher remains hospitalized in critical condition after he was seriously injured in a crash on the Long Island Expressway Sunday. NewsdayTV's Shari Einhorn reports. 

'Hopefully he recovers and we can get him back out there'

Huntington's Naomi Rosenblum is a new tattoo artist who has been gaining popularity on social media for her portraits of WWE stars. NewsdayTV's Jamie Stuart reports.

'Challenges your ability to make something look realistic'

Kayla Masotto was recognized by Suffolk officials for rescuing a man who fell into the icy waters of the Poospatuck Creek on Thursday.

'I tried to get out to him'

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Long Beach's Dunia Sibomana-Rodriguez goes for his second state wrestling title, plus a family legacy continues at Division in Episode 4 of "Sarra Sounds Off."  

SARRA SOUNDS OFF: LI wins 12 state titles in boys and girls wrestling 

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