4 THE COURIER SUN • DECEMBER 8, 2016 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com Cops find big drug & cash stash in St. Albans BY ROBERT POZARYCKI rpozarycki@qns.com @robbpoz Big bundles of dollar bills and an assortment of illegal drugs were recovered by detectives who raided a St. Albans home on the morning of Dec. 1, police said. The raid occurred at 6 A.M. on Dec. 1 at the home of 38-year-old Nelson Donigan on Brinkerhoff Avenue near Merrick Boulevard. Law enforcement sources said on Dec. 2 that the raid that the 113th Precinct conducted was the result of an ongoing investigation. In executing a search warrant at the location, detectives found more than $41,000 in cash; various quantities of heroin, marijuana and cocaine; drug paraphernalia; a loaded, .40-caliber Taurus firearm; and a bulletproof vest. Donigan, who was taken into custody at the scene, was charged with multiple counts of criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of marijuana and criminal possession of a firearm. Arraignment information was not immediately available. Deputy Inspector Frederick Grover, commanding officer of the 113th Precinct, took to Twitter to praise the results of the raid, writing, “Another search warrant yields crack, heroin, cocaine, pills, marij and $41K cash with an arrest.” Photo via Twitter/@NYPD113Pct Man charged for nearly decapitating girlfriend in Richmond Hill BY EMILY DAVENPORT edavenport@qns.com @QNS A man was arrested and charged for nearly decapitating his girlfriend on a corner in Richmond Hill early in the morning of Dec. 5 . Prem Rampersaud, 50, was taken into custody shortly after the attack. According to published reports, witnesses saw Rampersaud kneeling over the victim’s body, making sawing motions with a knife across the victim’s neck. The witnesses said it sounded like he was cutting through the victim’s bone. Officers from the 106th Precinct arrived at the scene at 12:15 a.m. on Dec. 5 and found the victim, described as a woman in her 40s, with several stab wounds in her neck and torso. EMS responded to the scene and transported her to Jamaica Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Her identity is being withheld pending family notification. Police sources said that Rampersaud and the victim were engaged in a dispute moments before the homicide took place. He was later arrested and charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon. The investigation is still ongoing. Woodhaven mom pays for stealing daughter's lawsuit funds BY ROBERT POZARYCKI rpozarycki@qns.com @robbpoz She cashed in on her daughter’s injury to pay for liposuction and a trip to Disneyland, but now she’s spending hard time for it. A Woodhaven mother was ordered on Nov. 30 to serve six months in prison after pleading guilty to embezzling more than $65,000 of her preteen daughter’s medical malpractice lawsuit for personal expenses. Megan Mele, 31, pleaded guilty in September 2016 to second-degree grand larceny charges for the theft which took place in 2015. Mele’s 13-year-old daughter was born in November 2004 and diagnosed with an injury to her right arm that left her with extremely limited function from her right shoulder to her hand. Mele brought a lawsuit against the doctor who treated her daughter that led to a January 2007 settlement. As part of the settlement, the girl would receive annual payments made to a savings account held at Cross County Federal Savings Bank until her 18th birthday in 2022. “Instead of safeguarding her daughter’s malpractice award — money set aside for the disabled youngster’s future — the defendant admittedly dipped into the account to finance a Disneyland trip, cosmetic surgery, online shopping and other splurges,” Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said in a statement on Thursday, Dec. 1. In March 2015, prosecutors said, Mele asked the court regulating the account for permission to withdraw $47,000. After a judge initially denied her request, Mele returned with a court order that later turned out to be forged. The fraudulent order indicated that the $47,000 was to be used in order for her daughter to undergo surgery at a children’s hospital in San Diego. The court authorized a check for $47,000 in Mele’s name. Law enforcement agents said Mele would submit other forged court orders seeking the release of a total of $19,500 in funds from her daughter’s settlement account between June and August 2015. The bank denied a final request for funds made on Sept. 22, 2015, in which Mele sought to access the remaining $633.74 in the account. An investigation revealed that Mele’s daughter was never admitted to any hospital in San Diego. Investigators found that Mele herself had used the proceeds to fund a trip to Disneyland in California as well as to make purchases through Amazon. com and other retailers. She also used some of the proceeds for a tummy tuck. Mele was ordered on Nov. 30 to serve six months’ incarceration, followed by five years’ probation. Photo: Shutterstock
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