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HERALD RECoRD
Babylon rises through 250 years
Ethel MacGill remembered
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VOL. 112 NO. 29
Pets: Can dogs get dementia? Page 9
AUGUST 12-18, 2026
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Town honors rescuers By CAROLYN JAMES cjames@liherald.com
Steve Gravano/ Town of Babylon
Town, County and State officials recently recognized Suffolk Police, first responders and fire department personnel from departments throughout Babylon who helped in the rescue of 16 people at Adventureland in Farmingdale June 19.
Babylon Town recently recognized the police officers, volunteer firefighters and emergency responders who safely removed passengers from a ride at Adventureland in Farmingdale on June 19. The incident involved the park’s Wave Twister ride, not the Ferris wheel. The ride malfunctioned and became stuck with 16 riders aboard — 15 children and one adult. According to Suffolk County police, the ride stopped about CONTINUED ON PAGE 12
Bipartisan opposition to former Suffolk DA Spota’s pardon request By CAROLYN JAMES cjames@liherald.com
Former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota’s bid for a presidential pardon is facing bipartisan opposition, with both the Suffolk County Legislature’s Republican majority and Democratic Caucus urging President Donald Trump to reject his request. Spota and his former chief investigator, Christopher McPartland, filed clemency petitions with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of the Pardon Attorney in July, asking Trump to pardon their federal corruption convictions. The petitions contend the two men were
unfairly prosecuted. Their requests remain pending. Suffolk County Presiding Officer Anthony Piccirillo, joined by the Legislature’s Republican majority, sent a letter to Trump urging him to deny clemency. The lawmakers argued that Spota and McPartland committed “a serious breach of public trust” by using their positions to obstruct a federal investigation into former Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke’s assault of a handcuffed prisoner. Piccirillo wrote that presidential pardons should be reserved for correcting miscarriages of justice or extraordinary circumstances, not for public officials convicted of corruption. He said
granting clemency would undermine years of work to restore public confidence in Suffolk County government following the Burke-Spota scandal. “The people of Suffolk County deserve to know that everyone is accountable under the law, regardless of title or influence,” Piccirillo wrote. County Legislator Steve Flotteron, who represents the 11th L.D., said it was important for the lawmakers to stand up to ensure the public’s trust in the system. “He (Spota) held one of the most powerful positions in the county and if we can’t trust the process and the penalties given to anyone are any of us safe,” he
said. “Too many times we get frustrated that the strong and connected always slip out the consequences of their actions. But the word public trust means that everyone must be treated equally and fairly.” The Suffolk County Legislature’s Democratic Caucus also urged Trump to deny the pardon request. In a separate letter, the caucus
noted that a federal jury convicted Spota and McPartland of conspiring to obstruct justice and tampering with witnesses to conceal the assault. “Rather than uphold the law, they used positions of public trust to shield a friend from accountability,” the letter stated. The Democrats also noted that their Republican colleagues had reached the same conclusion, CONTINUED ON PAGE 15