Nassau County Notebook: Inspector General to Investigate Crime Lab

The following is a look back at some of the top stories in Nassau County over the past week:

State Inspector General to Lead County Crime Lab Investigation

On Friday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo appointed State Inspector General Ellen Biben to lead an investigation into potential impropriety at the Nassau County crime lab.

The decision came as a favorable one to the Nassau County District Attorney's Office, which sought to have an outside party investigate the case to ensure "fairness and integrity in the eyes of the public." District Attorney Kathleen Rice's earlier recommendation of Eric R. Dinallo, an investigative bureau chief in the state Attorney General's office, was rejected in Nassau County Supreme Court just a day prior to Cuomo's announcement.

“We are pleased that Governor Cuomo has demonstrated such swift action and we applaud his decision as a clear sign that he is on the same page with the DA in seeking the absolute truth in this case,” said Carole Trottere, a spokesperson for the DA's office.

The county crime lab was closed down on Feb. 18 after it was discovered that some police supervisors may have had knowledge of some of the procedure and policy violations in the lab's drug chemistry section prior to a recent state audit. The violations apparently resulted in the inaccurate testing of drugs, including MDMA and Ketamine, on at least six occasions, according to Rice.

Nassau Doctors Help Young Victim of Egypt Crisis

On Tuesday, Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano , who was injured in the recent chaos in Egypt and traveled to America with her family to get medical attention on Long Island.

When bombs began falling around her village of Rafah, Nebal became frightened and accidentally ran into a tea kettle, spilling scalding hot water all over her lower body. Nebal's family, unable to get adequate medical attention in Egypt, decided to travel to America. They made it out just days before the border was closed due to riots and protests. 

When the family arrived in America, Nebal received numerous skin grafts at South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, followed by surgery to reduce scarring on her lower legs at  in East Meadow. 

Nebal is to return home sometime next week.