Police: Southampton highway employee from Riverhead stole from town

A Riverhead man who works for the Southampton Town Highway Department was arrested Friday for allegedly using a town-owned loader to steal materials from his employer.

New York State Police Sgt. John Dolezal said investigators received a call late last month from the Southampton highway department, which believed someone had used a loader without town authorization after hours at its Corwith Avenue yard in Bridgehampton.

Upon further investigation, police allegedly found that material from a milling pile had been taken through use of a town-owned loader.

Riverhead resident Roosevelt Sykes, 47, was arrested Friday and placed under arrest, according to Sgt. Dolezal. He was charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle without its owners’ consent and petit larceny, both misdemeanors. He was also given a trespassing citation and released on an appearance ticket.

He is due in Southampton Town Justice Court May 4.

Southampton Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said he had not heard many details of the case by Saturday night. However he added, “I don’t have much tolerance for people who steal. But I’ll need to get all the information about the case before I can comment further.”