Paying With Gift Cards Scam Did someone tell you to pay them with a gift card? It's a scam. The Suffolk County Sheriff's Office has become aware of scams involving gift cards. One such scam involved a caller who said he was from the Suffolk County Sheriff's Office and there was an arrest warrant issued for the victim. This warrant could be satisfied by paying over the phone with retail gift cards. The caller ID information even showed the Suffolk County Sheriff's Office phone number. This is a scam- the Suffolk County Sheriff's Office will never request that you satisfy a fine or warrant over the phone with a retail gift card. Likewise, the IRS, local government entities, and the federal government will not request payment by gift card either. if you receive a call like this, hang up and contact the agency back using a known number or email, not one provided by the caller. For more information, visit https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2020/09/did-someone-tell-you-pay-gift-cards-its-scam or https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/paying-scammers-gift-cards.

Pastor Alex W. Bryant Chaplain Pastor Alex Bryant is the founding Senior Pastor of Evangelical Praise House of Deliverance, also known as EPHOD Ministries, located in Central Islip, NY. A retired Suffolk County Correction Officer, Pastor Bryant served more than 29 years with the Suffolk County Sheriff's Office working with our inmate population in various capacities. Pastor Bryant also worked for 7 years as a Secure Care Therapy Aide at Central Islip Psychiatric Hospital and Kings Park Psychiatric Hospital. He has also worked at Suffolk Developmental Center where he worked with mentally and developmentally challenged individuals. Pastor Bryant currently works as a consultant for Council For Unity where he encourages at-risk youth to become more productive citizens in the community.

Father Joseph J. D'Angelo Chaplain The eldest of five children, Joseph J. D'Angelo was born on April 12, 1943 in Brooklyn, NY. He attended St. Malachy's Parochial School and St. Francis Prep High School, and began his studies for the priesthood at Cathedral College in Brooklyn. He received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Philosophy from St. Bonaventure University in Olean, NY in 1964 and completed his post-graduate studies in Theology at Christ the King Seminary at St. Bonaventure. Father D'Angelo was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Rockville Centre in June of 1968 and went on to earn his Master's of Divinity Degree in 1975. Father D'Angelo became a Police Chaplain in 1984 and served as a Chaplain for several different federal, state, county, and village policing agencies throughout New York. In April 1990, he was appointed as a Chaplain for the Nassau County Police Department and currently serves on the NCPD Peer Support Team. In 1996, Father D'Angelo assisted the Port Authority of New York and the New Jersey Police Department in establishing it's new Chaplaincy program, which he continues to serve on as one of its departmental chaplains. Father D'Angelo is a member of the International Conference of Police Chaplains and received a Master Chaplain Certification in 1997. He is also a member of the National Center for Crisis Management and the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress and received a Board Certified Diploma in Traumatic Stress in 1999. Father D'Angelo has written several articles in law enforcement publications for the FBI's Academy of Behavioral Science Unit. Father D'Angelo previously served as the Pastor of the Campus Parish of Long Island and as the Director of the Office of Campus Ministry for the Diocese of Rockville Centre in 1997, working out of Hofstra University's Interfaith Center. He also served as the Chaplain for Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, NY in 2004 as well as the Associate Pastor at the Parrish of Sacred Heart in North Merrick. Although retired from full-time ministry, he assists by serving mass on weekends while maintaining his service as a law enforcement Chaplain.

Sister Michelle Bremer Chaplain Sister Michelle Bremer is a native of Norwich (The Rose of New England), CT. She entered the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth in January 1962, and received a BA “cum laude” in Spanish, with a minor in Education from Holy Family University in Philadelphia, PA, in addition she holds an MA in Religious Studies with a concentration in Scripture from St. Charles Seminary in Overbrook, PA. During her 56 years as a religious, she has ministered as a classroom teacher, director of the formation, catechist, parish director of faith formation, and most recently as a full-time jail chaplain for 25 years. Her years of service have been carried out in NY, NJ, CT, and Puerto Rico, besides two years in Rome Italy, two in the Philippines, and 14 years in Peru, SA. In her religious community, Sister Michelle's community has participated in various chapters and committees. She has a special interest in and appreciates the wonders of nature and melodious classical music, and loves to sing.

Rev. Charles A. Coverdale Chaplain Rev. Charles Coverdale is Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Riverhead, NY where he has served for the past 36 years. Formerly he served for 7 years as the Pastor of the historic Pond Creek Baptist Church in Providence Rhode Island. Rev. Coverdale is the father of 2 children, the grandfather of 8, and the great-grandfather of 3, and resides with his wife, Shirley, in Aquebogue, NY. He is a multi-faceted individual who has made major contributions to the life of his local community as well as having contributed positively on the county, state, national, and international levels. ​Rev. Coverdale was formerly an Assistant Professor of Business Administration at Simmons College in Boston and Bentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts. He also taught at Lesley College in Cambridge, Massachusettes. He served as an Adjunct Professor at the American University in Washington D.C. and taught at the Harvard Divinity School Center for the Study of Values in Public Life. The Reverend has also founded 3 non-profit organizations: the Family Community Life Center, the Open Arms Care Center, and FBC Housing Corporation. Rev. Coverdale is best known in Suffolk County for his pursuit of the vision given to him by God to develop the Family Community Life Center. FCLC is a community-based agency, which through social, educational, recreational, and cultural programs, promotes quality family life and a greater sense of community. FCLC allows the diverse cultural elements of the community, as well as the disparate socio-economic groups, break down barriers that perpetuate Long Island's status as one of the most segregated suburbs in the country. He is looking to expand the vision for FCLC and build affordable housing to accommodate working families in the community. Rev. Coverdale serves on numerous boards and committees, representing the community and charitable concerns and causes. Some of the capacities in which he has served include the Commissioner of Human Rights for Suffolk County, President of the Long Island Council of Churches, Protestant Chaplain to the Suffolk County Correctional Facilities, Member of the Suffolk County Martin Luther King Jr., Commission, National Vice President of the Community Reinvestment Network, and as a member of the East End Arts Council, the American Baptist Churches of Metro NY, the National Institute for Community Empowerment, the Organization for a New Equality, the Urban League of Long Island, the Center for Remembrance and Understanding, the Peconic Bay Medical Center, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, NAACP Diamond Life Member, and serves as a University Trustee for Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. In 2006, Rev. Coverdale was elected as President of the Long Island Organizing Network. Since October 2008, Rev. Coverdale has served on the Leadership Council of the Harvard Divinity School.

Amazon Scam The Suffolk County Sheriff's Office would like to take this opportunity to warn the public regarding a new identity theft scam involving Amazon. Please take a look at the attached photo. People have been receiving these letters by both regular mail and e-mail, indicating that a hold has been placed on their account and all pending orders until such time as billing information can be verified. Unsuspecting people will tap on the link, which directs you to a website that looks like it's Amazon. In reality, it's a data mining site that steals your identity in order to secure mail order merchandise under your name and bank account. Don't fall for this! If you have questions or real concerns about your Amazon account, contact Amazon directly through known and trusted links, and not through links provided in e-mails or text messages. For more information from Amazon, visit https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=G4YFYCCNUSENA23B

Waiting Package Scam This is a phishing scam that has been occurring recently. People have been receiving a text message stating that there is a package that is waiting for them and to click the link to arrange delivery. While this sounds innocent, there is no package and the link directs the user to a page that tricks him/her into giving personal information. A good rule of thumb is that when in doubt, contact the company using a phone number or email that you know is legit. Do not use the information in the text message. Some users report this scam to be happening as students return to college. The text says that a package has been waiting for them since they abruptly left last spring. Remember, if you get an unexpected text message about a package, don’t click on any links. To report fishing scams, forward it to SPAM (7726), and then report it to the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint.

Sheriff Errol D. Toulon, Jr. On January 1, 2018, Dr. Errol D. Toulon, Jr. became Suffolk County, New York’s 67th Sheriff and the County’s first African American to be elected to a non-judicial countywide office. Now serving his second term as Suffolk’s highest-ranking law enforcement official, he continues to work to serve and protect the county’s 1.5 million residents through innovative programs to reduce crime and recidivism, and by implementing sound fiscal policies. Early in his first term, he reorganized departments into multi-disciplinary teams focused on corrections intelligence gathering, violent crimes, gang activity, and human trafficking. In 2021, he was reelected to a second term and remains highly focused on using data and technological assets to capture crime patterns and ultimately maintain public safety across Suffolk County. In his first year, Sheriff Toulon launched the Sandy Hook Promise School Safety Initiative in the wake of heightened violence in schools nationwide. Since then, more than 30,000 students, faculty, and community members have been taught to recognize the signs of distress, especially on social media, and how to report concerning information to a trusted adult. He has also prioritized getting to the root causes of youthful delinquency and inter-generational crime. In October 2018, Sheriff Toulon launched a task force named Deconstructing the Prison Pipeline to study these issues, drive policy discussions, and implement solutions. Simultaneously, he greatly expanded correctional rehabilitation programming aimed to reduce recidivism and improve offenders’ desistance from crime. In just two years, he launched Choose Your Path for young adults, Choose to Thrive for incarcerated women, a Senior Citizen Program POD, and made significant improvements to the Sheriff’s Addiction Treatment Program. He also launched the nation’s first jail-based Human Trafficking Initiative, which assesses all county inmates for signs of victimization and trafficking. In line with Sheriff Toulon’s commitment to rehabilitation and reducing recidivism, he launched The Sheriff's Transition and Reentry Team (also known as the START Resource Center) in February 2022. The fully staffed center aims to assist justice involved individuals re-enter the community, starting on day one of incarceration. The program has become a national model for rehabilitation and reentry, assisting inmates with services include employment assistance, mental health and addiction support, identification and housing to immediately help put them on a better path upon finishing their sentence. Sheriff Toulon has been recognized by countless law enforcement agencies, distinguished organizations and publications across the nation for his work in corrections and law enforcement. This includes accolades from Corrections USA, Long Island NAACP, ASIS International, Touro Law Center, Times Beacon Record, City & State Magazine, Long Island Business News and NOBLE NY. He is an active member in several renowned organizations including the Major County Sheriffs of America where he was recently assigned to their Intelligence Commanders Committee to work on ways to beneficially share intelligence nationwide. Toulon also serves on several advisory boards including the National Association of Counties, New York State Municipal Police Training Council, Sandy Hook Advisory Board, Stony Brook University Council and the Center for Criminal Justice Studies at Farmingdale State College. Sheriff Toulon has more than 30 years of criminal justice experience, heavily centered upon corrections intelligence and combating gang violence. Prior to serving as Suffolk County Sheriff, Toulon worked for 25 years with the New York City Department of Correction beginning his career as a NYC correction officer and culminating as the Deputy Commissioner of Operations. He was assigned to the Emergency Service Unit as a captain during a challenging time when the department housed almost 25,000 inmates. He was a captain assigned to the Firearms & Tactics Unit when the World Trade Center was attacked. In July of 2014, he was named Deputy Commissioner of Operations for the New York City Department of Correction. Sheriff Toulon is certified through the Department of Homeland Security in Emergency Planning, Radiological Emergency Management, Incident Response to Terrorist Bombing, WMD Threat and Risk Assessment and State Disaster Management. In addition, he is certified to teach courses in weapons of mass destruction awareness, National Incident Management Systems (NIMS), domestic terrorism and hate crimes. He received his bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Monroe College, a master’s degree in Business Administration and a doctorate in Educational Administration from Dowling College; an advanced certificate in Homeland Security Management from Long Island University, and he attended leadership courses at the JFK School of Government at Harvard University. He is a frequent law enforcement contributor to various media outlets including Fox & Friends, Fox News, Newsmax TV, News12 LI, Newsday, CBS NY and Court TV.