Man Arrested For Robbing 3 Suffolk Restaurants: Police

A Deer Park man has been arrested for robbing three different restaurants and attempting to rob another restaurant in Suffolk County in May, Suffolk Police announced at a press conference on Thursday.

The man, identified as 55-year-old Joseph Cassese, is accused of the following robberies/attempted robbery:

• May 1 - Robbery at KFC, 1617 Deer Park Ave. in Deer Park. Click here for more info.
• May 16 - Robbery at Subway, 39 Bay Shore Road in Bay Shore. Click here for more info.
• May 16 - Attempted robbery at Subway, 275 Walt Whitman Road in Huntington. Click here for more info.
• May 30 - Robbery at Subway, 1750 5th Ave. in Bay Shore. Click here for more info.

Cassese stole around $450 to $550 between all three robberies, police said.

On Tuesday, police released photos and a high-quality surveillance video from the May 16 robbery in Bay Shore.

After seeing the photos on the news, Cassese's neighbor called to inform him and Cassese went to the local station in an attempt to clear his name, police said.

However, after an investigation, detectives determined that Cassese was in fact responsible for the robberies, police said.

He was arrested and charged with three counts of first degree robbery and first degree attempted robbery.

Cassese apparently robbed the restaurants in order to "fuel his drug habit," according to a report in Newsday.