Missing swimmer arrested … again

Raymond Roth, the Massapequa man who turned himself in to police on Wednesday after he allegedly attempted to fake his own drowning death, was arrested Thursday in Long Beach for violating an order of protection that his wife filed against him.

Nassau County police said that Roth, 47, was released on $100,000 bail Wednesday after he was charged with insurance fraud, conspiracy to commit insurance fraud and falsely reporting an incident on July 28 after he was reported missing in the waters at Jones Beach. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said that Roth’s 22-year-old son, Jonathan, called 911 and reported his father missing, setting off a massive search for days by state and county police, lifeguards, the Coast Guard and others. Jonathan Roth reportedly told authorities that he saw his father go into the water around 3:30 p.m. near Field 6, but never saw him get out.

In what became a story that made national headlines, Roth turned up alive after he was pulled over for speeding through South Carolina on Aug. 2. Rice said Roth was identified by his driver’s license, which he had removed from his wallet before disappearing from Jones Beach.

Rice said that after he staged his disappearance, Roth had fled to his timeshare in Florida. She added that Roth and his son were involved in a scheme to collect on a life insurance policy, saying that Roth believed that by faking his death, his son and wife would be able to collect $410,000 in benefits, and that he could make a new life for himself.

Less than 24-hours after he turned himself in, however, Roth was arrested again in Long Beach at 12:50 a.m. on Aug. 16, after he allegedly contacted his estranged wife, Evana, by phone at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, violating a Nassau County Family Court order of protection she filed against him on Aug. 6.

According to the criminal complaint, the order of protection, which expires in 2013, states that Roth must refrain from any communication with his wife, but had allegedly called her three times on her cell phone.

“He was staying at somebody’s house in Long Beach, he called his wife, the order was violated, and she contacted the 7th Precinct,” said Nassau County police spokesman James Imperiale, adding that Roth did not threaten his wife. “Just by calling her, he violated the order of protection.”