A nearly three-year investigation by the MTA inspector general found 36 Long Island Rail Road workers were involved in a plot to duplicate and distribute LIRR employee ID cards that were used to cover up employees' routine absences from work. From 2021 to 2024, the accused workers — including some railroad supervisors — cloned the cards using a device bought online and then sold them for $5-$40 to co-workers at three employee facilities in Suffolk, Queens and Manhattan. Alfonso A. Castillo reports in NEWSDAY that the LIRR immediately suspended most of the workers accused in the plot and has made some forfeit hundreds of thousands of dollars. In a statement, LIRR president Robert Free said the actions of the employees, including supervisors "responsible for making sure all employees play by the rules," were "nothing short of corrupt" and warranted "severe punishment."The scheme points to a "culture of fraud and time abuse" at the three railroad employee facilities, according to the report.Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said yesterday that his office conducted a 16-month investigation into the charges, following a referral from Metropolitan Transportation Authority inspector general Daniel Cort's office in May 2023, but ultimately found the evidence "was insufficient to bring prosecutions due to the lack of controls at the MTA facility," including, "no cameras on the employee entrance-exit, no biometric checks, and inadequate records."Free said the railroad has since implemented "enhanced technology and aggressive oversight" to ensure "that everyone is fully accountable for reporting only time actually worked."***The median price of a home in The Hamptons climbed 30% to $2 million in the third quarter, compared with the same stretch a year ago, as a surge in high-end sales lifted the market.On the North Fork, the median sale closed just above $1 million for the second quarter in a row, according to new data from real estate brokerage Douglas Elliman and appraisal firm Miller Samuel. A strong year for Wall Street in 2024 increased the size of the buyer pool on the East End, said Todd Bourgard, CEO of Douglas Elliman for Long Island, the Hamptons and the North Fork. The average bonus among workers in the securities industry rose to a record $244,700 last year, Newsday previously reported.“Wall Street and the Hamptons go hand in hand,” he said. “When the [stock] market is really good as it has been, our buyers are out here."Jonathan LaMantia reports in NEWSDAY that neither price level represents a record, but home prices rose in both regions compared with the year before. The median price in the Hamptons reached a high of $2.04 million in the first quarter, while the North Fork record was $1.09 million in the second quarter of this year.The higher median prices reflect the strength of the top end of the market, said Jonathan Miller, CEO of Miller Samuel. One reason is that buyers of luxury real estate often don’t use mortgages to buy homes and have access to alternative types of financing, so they are less affected by the average 30-year fixed rate staying above 6%.“The high end market over the last year and a half has been consistently outperforming everything,” Miller said.About 18% of deals in the Hamptons that closed in the third quarter sold for $5 million or higher, he said.***In a unanimous vote Tuesday night on a resolution that was not on its published agenda, the Riverhead Town Board set in motion the demolition of 127 East Main Street, which could begin by the end of this month. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the site is under contract for sale to a company owned by members of the Petrocelli family, the town’s designated master developer for the town square project. The two-story building on the property will be demolished to make way

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