Crimes Nearby: Montauk's Panoramic at Center of Alleged $100 Million Ponzi Scheme

The following information was supplied by the East End police departments and the US Attorney's office. A criminal charge is only an accusation and does not indicate guilt.

EAST HAMPTON

Two men from Old Westbury were charged Thursday as part of a nearly $100 million Ponzi scheme that involved funds to buy the Panoramic View Resort & Residences in Montauk, according to the US Attorney's office.

A 24-count indictment charging Brian R. Callahan, a 43-year-old investment fund manager, and Adam J. Manson, a 41-year-old real estate developer, was unsealed in federal court in Central Islip on Thursday morning.

The defendants — who are brothers-in-law — pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud. Arraigned on Thursday afternoon, Manson was released on a $1 million bond secured by $500,000 in equity in his father's home. Callahan was released on a $2 million bond secured by $500,000 equity in three homes owned by his sister and father.

WESTHAMPTON-HAMPTON BAYS

• A cab driver said he picked up a man at The Drift on Dune Road and dropped him off at Baywatch Motel, but when he told the man the fare was $20, he only paid with two crumpled up dollar bills. When the cab driver got out and told the man it was not enough money, the man punched him in the face and ran. According to the incident report the cab driver had a bloody nose but refused medical treatment.

• Suffolk County police are asking for the public's help to identify a woman who was caught on video stealing a cellphone from an employee at an Eastport grocery store last month.

According to police, on June 12 at 6:45 p.m., two women went up to an employee at the King Kullen on Eastport Manor Road, and while one engaged her in conversation, the other women stole her white iPhone 4.

SOUTHAMPTON

• A 32-year old Bridgehampton man faces two counts of third-degree assault after an argument escalated and he struck a man and a woman who both tried to intervene, according to Sag Harbor Village police.

The incident report stated that the man drove to his live-in girlfriend's place of work, the Sag Harbor Inn, on the morning of July 21 and they argued. He left their 10-month-old alone in the car, leading to an endangering welfare of a child charge, and he had alcohol his breath, the report stated.

The girlfriend's friend intervened in the argument and she was punched by the man and fell to the floor, police said. The husband of the first victim stepped in, and he was punched in the face, causing a laceration, the incident report stated.

According to the arrest report, the man turned himself in at police headquarters Friday and was arraigned before Sag Harbor Village Justice Andrea Schiavoni. He was released on his own recognizance until his next court date. All charges were misdemeanors.