Fugitive on 'America's Most Wanted' nabbed in Coney Island
In the aftermath of the homicide, Rodriguez was profiled on The Long Island Fugitive Finder

BY JOHN VALENTI
September 6, 2007

A fugitive from Rockville Centre, profiled in June on "America's Most Wanted," was captured late Wednesday night in Coney Island and arrested for his role in the October shotgun murder in Hempstead.

Ronald "Shorty" Rodriguez, 28, of 305 Langdon Blvd., Rockville Centre, was arrested at 10:46 p.m. by Nassau County Police Department Homicide detectives with the assistance of officers from the New York Police Department.

Police would not say early Thursday morning how they learned Rodriguez was in Coney Island -- or what led them to the arrest. Rodriguez was charged with second-degree murder. He also was charged with first-degree sexual assault, the result of an outstanding warrant, police said

He is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in First District Court in Hempstead.

Police had been searching for Rodriguez in connection with the shotgun death of Bilah McGraw, 27, of 1140 Front St., Uniondale, who was found dead in an alleyway next to 105 Terrace Ave. in Hempstead
on Oct. 3.

In the aftermath of the homicide, Rodriguez was profiled on The Long Island Fugitive Finder and then was profiled in an "America's Most Wanted" titled "What It's Like to Know An Alleged Murderer"
on June 17. According to the AMW Web site, the estranged wife of Rodriguez said the couple had "a rocky relationship" -- and that police had to remove him from their home "several times."

Magazine of LI's most wanted
If you're on the lam, watch out: Long Island Fugitive Finder, a free publication, aims to track down criminals who are on the run

BY CHRISTINE ARMARIO
Newsday Staff Writer
January 9, 2007

This is one magazine cover you don't want to make.

It's called Long Island Fugitive Finder, a new, free publication chock-full of information on men and women on the run and details of whom to contact if you spot them.

D&S Advertising Inc., the same company that created the Long Island Job Finder, Suffolk police's Crime Stoppers section and several legislators announced the magazine's launch yesterday afternoon.

"If we don't make the public aware ... we're not going to be able to help the cops get these bad guys off the street," Anthony Sce III, chairman of the Crime Stoppers board, said.

Michael Galgano, the fugitive whose mug shot graces the magazine's first front page, has a dangerous past. In 1989, he was twice convicted of luring women from lounges and then raping, beating and leaving them for dead, said Laura Ahearn, director of Parents for Megan's Law and Crime Victims Center, a Stony Brook advocacy group.

Ahearn said that when a third woman and her friend rebuffed his advances, he followed and fired a gun at them.

According to the magazine, he served 10 years in the California prison system for the attacks. He is now wanted by Suffolk and California authorities, who say he failed to register a change of address as required of sex offenders. His last known address was in Port Jefferson Station.

Also among the fugitive profiles is Carlos Gomez, a convicted sex offender who abused women in a group home. He is wanted for failing to register his address and for violating the terms of his probation.

The magazine can be found in grocery stores, delis and businesses, officials said. Anyone with information about Galgano or Gomez can contact Crime Stoppers at 800-220-TIPS. A cash reward of up to $2,000 is offered for information leading to an arrest, and all calls are kept confidential.

THE ISLAND;
He Has Fugitives Looking Over Their Shoulders

By ROBIN FINN
Published: February 4, 2007

FOR sure, the novelty of discovering your face -- or a neighbor's -- on the cover of the Long Island Fugitive Finder, nestled as of January among the real estate glossies on the racks of freebies at a few hundred local supermarkets, pharmacies and video stores, does not augur the same prestige as making the cover of Rolling Stone or GQ. But it may deliver a jolt.

''Can you imagine walking out of King Kullen with your bag of groceries and seeing your own face right there? Talk about an 'oh no' moment,'' chortled Dean Murray, the crime-busting owner of D & S Advertising, a niche publisher of nuts-and-bolts handouts like Long Island Job Finder and Long Island Apartment and Rental Finder. And now, in conjunction with the Crime Stoppers division of the Suffolk County Police Department, comes his handy Fugitive Finder.

''It sounds corny, but this is a win-win proposition for everybody except the fugitives,'' Mr. Murray said. ''They lose.''

At his own expense ($10,000, an amount he hopes will be eventually offset by advertisers), Mr. Murray printed 25,000 copies for the January debut of Fugitive Finder, distributed them at 200 locations in Suffolk County and didn't have to wait long for the payoff: eight solid tips, one successful arrest, one pending.

When arrested on the basis of a Fugitive Finder tip, Keith Hertik of Medford had seven outstanding warrants for crimes including criminal impersonation and petty larceny. He was also charged with possession of marijuana and a weapon, said Officer Carol Rivadeneyra, who has run the Crime Stoppers division since 1994 and handpicks the culprits for Fugitive Finder, which she deems a brilliant intervention innovation.

Informants who call (800) 220-TIPS (800-220-8477) are assured of confidentiality and, if their tips help the police, a cash reward. Every other month, $2,000 to $4,000 in reward money raised by the Crime Stoppers civilian board is distributed.

''Crime Stoppers figured out a long time ago that if you dangle money, the phone will ring,'' Officer Rivadeneyra said. ''Sometimes it's rats ratting on rats, sometimes it's family members, often it's a jilted ex. I don't care who the caller is; I just want accurate information. The philosophy behind Crime Stoppers is that people can be responsible for their own neighborhoods, aid the police and remain anonymous.''

Mr. Murray, 43, working out of a barebones office suite amid the strip malls that clutter Middle Country Road, dreamed up Fugitive Finder even before the late December afternoon when a petty thief slipped into his office, rummaged through his secretary's pocketbook, then bolted with one of her credit cards after she surprised him in the act. The secretary hollered, and Mr. Murray said he gave chase, collared the suspect with help from a passer-by and retrieved the credit card. Then he let the guy go, like a catch-and-release fish too small to fry -- even though he was a full-size adult with a goatee.

When his adrenaline returned to normal, Mr. Murray regretted not phoning the police.

''What kind of a crime fighter am I?'' he said. ''First, because I was so mad that the office had been violated, I chase the guy myself, which you aren't supposed to do.'' (Page 2 of Fugitive Finder includes a disclaimer with an explicit warning: do not attempt to apprehend any of these subjects on your own.) Bad boy, Mr. Murray, giving chase outdoors while coatless and in your best dress shoes!

''Then, because I figure nobody's been hurt and my secretary has her credit card back, I let him leave,'' Mr. Murray said. ''I did everything wrong. It's embarrassing.''

Less than two weeks later, he put out the first issue of Fugitive Finder. The response has been positive, he said, from elderly ladies titillated by the chance to play Miss Marple to the business associate who told him the magazine ''makes great bathroom reading.'' Briarcliff College, advertising its criminal justice program, is its first sponsor. The Nassau County Police Department wants in: Mr. Murray said Nassau's most-wanted fugitives would join Suffolk's in March.

Michael Galgano, a paroled rapist whose last known address is Port Jefferson Station and whose mug shot bears a resemblance to Jackson Browne from his ''Running on Empty'' decade, is on the January cover because he has not registered as a sex offender. ''We give the feature spot to someone we really want to catch,'' Officer Rivadeneyra said.

He will be in the February issue, too, though not on the cover. That spot belongs to Donald S. Crosby, a goateed, 5-foot-9-inch man who the Suffolk police say is wanted for stealing purses and credit cards. Uh oh.

''When I got his photo, my heart fell to my feet,'' said Mr. Murray, stung by a case of bad kismet.

Could the February cover boy be the December thief? This time, he's letting the police give chase. Best-case scenario: Fugitive Finder does the legwork.

New Police Mag Has Fugitives Covered

By John Lauinger
Published: January 9, 2007

WATCH OUT, fugitive criminals of Suffolk County – police are publishing your mugs in a new magazine.

The inaugural edition of Long Island Fugitive Finder, a monthly magazine dedicated to helping police apprehend criminals on the lam, was published this month.

The magazine, which will be distributed free to hundreds of businesses in Suffolk and Nassau counties, is a joint effort of Suffolk County Police Department Crime Stoppers and D & S Advertising Inc. of Coram.

Each edition of the magazine – whose banner includes a likeness of Sherlock Holmes – will include the names of roughly a dozen of Suffolk's most-wanted criminals, along with photographs and brief accounts of why each fugitive is wanted.

Each edition will also highlight a featured fugitive, whose mug will adorn the mag's cover. Crime alerts and reference information for police will also be published. The print edition will have a companion Web site (www.lifugitivefinder.com), where updates will be posted once a fugitive is collared.

Dean Murray, president of D & S, which also publishes Long Island Job Finder, said the new magazine will be funded entirely by ad sales.

He said initial circulation is 25,000 copies – but he indicated that circulation could increase. He said he hopes to expand the publication to include most-wanted fugitives from Nassau.

Crime Stoppers Chairman Anthony Sce said the new magazine will help raise public awareness of Crime Stoppers' criminal-catching mission.

"If we don't make the public...aware of what it is Crime Stoppers does, then we're not going to be able to help the cops in getting these bad guys off the street," Sce said at a press conference yesterday.

The magazine's first cover boy is Michael Galgano, 42, a parolee whose last known address was in Port Jefferson Station. In 1989, Galgano was convicted in California of raping two women and sentenced to 20 years in prison, said Laura Ahern, executive director of Parents for Megan's Law, citing police records.

She said Galgano was paroled after 10 years, then failed to notify the parole board when he moved back to Port Jefferson Station.

On Sept. 11, 2001, Galgano was arrested for menacing two people while waiting to donate blood in Manhattan, Ahern said, but "because computer systems were down [due to terrorist attacks], he was not kept in custody and he absconded."

Suffolk County Launches Crime-Fighting Magazine

Local News
Posted: Monday, 08 January 2007 6:56AM

HAUPPAUGE, Long Island -- Suffolk County has gotten into the business of publishing true crime. The county is launching a magazine that will profile most wanted felons and alert residents of local crimes.

"Fugitive Finder Magazine'' will be funded by advertisers and distributed to about 200 supermarkets, coin-operated laundries, video stores and other locations. The county says it will circulate 25,000 copies.

Suffolk County officials say the magazine is another tool for fighting crime.

Nassau County Publishing 'Most Wanted' Magazine

Local News
Posted: Wednesday, 14 March 2007 7:54AM

MINEOLA, N.Y. -- Nassau County Police are listing the county's "Most Wanted'' in a monthly publication.

The county executive, district attorney and police commissioner hold a news conference Wedday to announce the most wanted list. The publication -- called Long Island Fugitive Finder -- will be paid for by advertisers.

Copies will be free at local stores.

Police say the first issue has already resulted in an arrest. A Bayside, Queens man was arrested for a rape and sex attack back on April 2 last year.

When Crime Doesn't Pay

Publication The North Shore Sun
Date January 25, 2007
Section(s) Business
Brief Photo:35998,left,;Publication hits streets, focusing on criminals
By Frank Petrignani

A new publication called Long Island Fugitive Finder has helped the Crime Stoppers section of the Suffolk County Police Department capture two of the county's most wanted within its first two weeks on newsstands.

A new publication called Long Island Fugitive Finder has helped the Crime Stoppers section of the Suffolk County Police Department capture two of the county's most wanted within its first two weeks on newsstands.

The magazine, which hit stands on Jan. 5, is published by Coram businessman Dean Murray, who owns and runs D & S Advertising, Inc. The company also publishes the Long Island Job Finder, launched in 2000, and the Long Island Apartment Finder, which began publishing three years ago.

Mr. Murray used to work as the photo ad sales manager for TCI Cable in Brookhaven before it became Brookhaven Cable. While there, he worked on a dating network channel that also ran 15-second ads to help catch Suffolk County fugitives.

Mr. Murray thought the ads were a good idea, and he figured, why not start a publication that would make people aware of the fugitives among them?

"You're going to see these people," said Mr. Murray. "So if we can get them out to thousands of people, eventually people will see them, call police and tips would start rolling in."

And he was right.

"We brought a man off the street who had seven separate warrants," said Carol Rivadeneyra of Crime Stoppers.

She said by bringing his idea to Crime Stoppers and having the fugitives' information published, Mr. Murray is doing a great service to the community.

"I thought it was a fabulous idea right from the beginning," she said. "It's making people aware that there are fugitives in their areas and making them more proactive rather than reactive about their surroundings. He must have a real aspiration to make Suffolk County safer because he is investing a lot of time and money in this product."

The publication provides readers with a mug shot, date of birth, race, weight, description of the fugitive's crimes and the person's last whereabouts. Currently, Mr. Murray said his company is "swallowing the cost" of the publication. However, he thinks companies will start advertising more to help him cover costs and make a profit. The publication will benefit advertisers because it provides a community service. It also caters to a very specific market, especially local schools with criminal justice programs and businesses that sell home security and car alarm systems.

Mr. Murray also said he is hoping within the next month to begin working with Nassau County Crime Stoppers. With both Nassau and Suffolk County fugitives in the publication, he said, it could double its size and the number of fugitives it helps to take off the streets.

The publication includes a Crime Stoppers number for readers to call if they spot a fugitive. People who provide tips leading to the arrest of a fugitive will receive an award of up to $2,000 from Crime Stoppers.

Ms. Rivadenyera stressed that readers should not try to apprehend fugitives on their own. Instead, people should call Crime Stoppers and let the police handle the situation, she said.

Long Island Fugitive Finders is available in approximately 200 locations throughout the county, including supermarkets, laundromats and video stores. About 25,000 copies are distributed every month.

Nassau County Publishing 'Most Wanted' Magazine

Posted by Brandigal Mar 17, 2007 in Crime

A new magazine hits the streets of NY. It is about Most Wanted Fugitives. And it is totally free to the public.
A new magazine is released called Long Island Fugitive Finder. It is free and can be picked up at local stores.

The magazine will list the most wanted fugitives and will be a monthly issue.

The Nassau County police said the first issue has already resulted in a man being arrested for charges of a sexual attack and rape that happened last year.

The publication is being funded entirely by advertisements sold by D & S Advertising, Inc. No tax dollars are being spent on this project. Also they have has also launched the Fugitive Finder website, www.Lifugitivefinder.com.

I think this is a great idea. I hope this magazine will result in more of them being arrested.
Source: 1010wins.com

MEDIA ADVISORY FROM LEGISLATOR EDWARD P. ROMAINE

Legislator Romaine to Join With Other Elected Officials
to Announce the Launching of Long Island Fugitive Finder

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JANUARY 4, 2007

On Monday, January 8, 2007, Suffolk County Legislator Edward P. Romaine will join with other elected officials at a news conference to announce the launching of “Long Island Fugitive Finder,” a new publication designed to help law enforcement personnel catch criminals. This monthly publication, produced by D&S Advertising, Inc., will be distributed free of charge to the public at literally hundreds of locations throughout Long Island.

The news conference will take place on Monday, January 8, 2007 at 2 p.m. at the William H. Rogers Legislative Building, 725 Veterans Memorial Highway, Hauppauge.

Using information provided by the Suffolk County Crimestoppers, the publication puts the pictures and descriptions of some of Long Island's most wanted criminals and most serious crimes in front of thousands of people.

"We are hoping that with this kind of exposure, more tips will come in, and the chances of these criminals being apprehended and taken off the streets will increase dramatically," says Dean Murray, owner of D & S Advertising, Inc.

Added Legislator Romaine, “this is a great example of how the private and public sector can work together to make Long Island’s streets safer without a single tax dollar being spent.”

In addition to the publication, D & S Advertising, Inc. has also launched the Fugitive Finder website, www.Lifugitivefinder.com.

Magazine Publishers of America
The Definitive Resource for the Magazine Industry
Finance & Operations - Finance/Operations Trends & Magazine Handbook
New & Noted
2007

Fugitive Finder, The
February
Monthly

Police in Suffolk County, New York have a new way to keep the public informed of local crimes and the most wanted felons; a new magazine. Launching with a circulation of 25,000, The Fugitive Finder will be available at newsstands and supermarkets.