Suspect ‘promised to marry’ elderly Westhampton man
The Riverhead woman accused of trying to steal more than $1 million in assets from the estate of an elderly Westhampton Beach man who died last May had been promising to marry him — but only if he willed his estate to her first, according to the Suffolk County DA’s office.
Asli Dincer, 44, first made headlines last year after she and her ex-husband were arrested for allegedly emailing “terroristic” threats to a Jewish house of worship in the Hamptons.
She’s now being charged in the alleged scheme against the estate of Murray C. Frank, who died last year at age 82, court records show.
“Ms. Dincer promised Frank that she would marry him after he executed a will,” said Bob Clifford, a spokesman for Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota. “There’s no indication that he did [marry her].”
He did, however, execute a will naming Ms. Dincer as the executor and sole beneficiary of his estate, Mr. Clifford added.
(Correction: An earlier version of this report incorrectly indicated Ms. Frank did not execute the will.)
Previous Report: Suspect in Jewish Center threat charged in $1M scheme
Mr. Frank was a retired Air Force officer and colorful character who used to frequent Westhampton Beach Village meetings, village residents said.
Westhampton Village Police Chief Trevor Gonce said this week that Mr. Frank approached the department for help in December 2013, saying a woman, whom Mr. Frank named only as Asli, was “using false pretenses to attempt to acquire his property.”
“He thought someone had rummaged through his stuff,” Chief Gonce said.
A source close to the investigation said many people had also been approaching Mr. Frank around that same time, indicating Ms. Dincer was up to no good with him.
“There was a lot of talk in the community,” the source said. “[Mr. Frank] was warned of her ultimate desires, which many alleged was to get her hands on his money.”
Westhampton police officials turned their information over to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office, the chief said.
“When we were dealing with it, we didn’t even know who she was,” he added.
A DA’s office investigation then uncovered the attempted grand larceny, Mr. Clifford said.
Southampton Town tax records show that Mr. Frank owned three parcels on Old Riverhead Road valued by the town at more than $1.75 million in 2014.
Neighbors said Mr. Frank had never married and had no close family other than his sister, Joan, who died just days after him.
Ms. Dincer had been expected to plead guilty to two counts of grand larceny on Jan. 23, but backed out as the charges were being read to her, Mr. Clifford said.
She remains in the Suffolk County Correctional Facility in Riverside and is due back in court Feb. 10 before Justice Fernando Camacho.
Her husband pleaded guilty Jan. 23 to falsely reporting an incident in the third-degree, a Class “A” misdemeanor, Mr. Clifford said. He will be sentenced to the maximum one year behind bars and remains at the Suffolk County jail in the meantime.
Despite their divorce, the Dincers were living together at the Summerwind Square apartment building in downtown Riverhead, according to a previous Newsday report. They were stepping off an international flight together at John F. Kennedy Airport when they were first arrested July 11, 2014, in relation to threats made to the Jewish Center in East Hampton, according to a previous press release issued by the East Hampton Village Police Department.
Sources said an investigation failed to link Mr. Dincer to the scheme to target Mr. Frank’s estate.
A lawyer listed as representing Ms. Dincer did not return a request for comment.
