Long Beach man indicted for role in loan sharking, narcotics operation

Posted

More than year after he was arrested for his involvement in an alleged narcotics and loan sharking operation in the West End, a grand jury indicted 52-year-old Long Beach resident Brian O’Neill.

O’Neill, of Minnesota Avenue, was arraigned in Nassau County Criminal Court in Mineola on Jan. 28, after a grand jury indicted him stemming from his arrest on Nov. 7, 2011.

O’Neill was one of four men arrested by Long Beach police that day, after investigators said that they uncovered what they described as a "lengthy" drug and loan-sharking operation that led to the seizure of more than $100,000 from a home on Minnesota Avenue, part of an extensive joint investigation that involved Nassau County police, the DEA and the District Attorney’s office.

Police executed search warrants that led to the arrests of O’Neill as well as 48-year-old Arthur Corso and John Amabile, both of Island Park, and Baldwin resident Richard Gould, 42. Investigators seized three automobiles and more than $100,000 during the course of the investigation.

“This is another example of a collective effort by law enforcement agencies that resulted in a successful end to this criminal enterprise, and we are confident that the end result will be a conviction,” Police Commissioner Mike Tangney said in a statement.

O'Neill was officially charged with two class C felonies, five class E felonies, and one class A misdemeanor at his arraignment. His bail was continued at $50,000 bond over $25,000 cash. O'Neill is due back in court on Feb. 13.