Ex-LIRR Worker Indicted On Charge Of Falsifying Report Pre-Derailment

SPEONK, NY — A former Long Island Rail Road employee who was accused of falsifying an inspection report before a 2019 derailment in Speonk that brought service to a screeching halt on Memorial Day weekend has been indicted — and pleaded not guilty, federal officials said.

Signalman Stuart Conklin, 64, formerly of Ronkonkoma and now of Magnolia, Texas, was indicted on one charge of making a false entry in a railroad inspection report required to be maintained by LIRR under U.S. Department of Transportation regulations, John Marzulli of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York, told Patch.

He faces up to two years in prison if convicted.

Conklin was indicted virtually before U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert, officials said. His bond remains at $25,000, federal officials said.

The derailment happened May 25, 2019, after a Montauk-bound train sideswiped another train east of Speonk as part of a passing maneuver, officials said. No one was injured.

The LIRR determined Conklin falsely indicated he inspected a broken rail bond about a month earlier on April 26, prosecutors said. The broken rail bond caused the derailment, prosecutors said.

Video footage from a LIRR camera showed Conklin did not inspect the rail bond, prosecutors said, adding Conklin submitted a letter of resignation six days after the derailment.

Anthony LaPinta, the Hauppauge-based attorney for Conklin, responded to a request for comment: "We have conducted our own extensive investigation into these allegations and continue to maintain that Mr. Conklin did not commit any crime as a track inspector," he said. "We are very troubled by the LIRR's conclusion that Mr. Conklin is responsible for the 2019 Speonk derailment. It is yet another example of the LIRR playing the blame game and failing to own up to its own organizational dysfunction."

Anthony M. La Pinta, Esq. Reynolds, Caronia, Gianelli & LaPinta, P.C.

"As alleged, Conklin's false inspection report endangered passengers on a heavily used line of the Long Island Rail Road and potentially placed scores of riders in harm's way," acting U.S. Attorney Seth DuCharme said in a previous statement.

"It was an unconscionable betrayal to all New Yorkers for this signal inspector to allegedly claim a critical piece of Long Island Railroad infrastructure was safe when he didn't even bother to look at it," MTA Inspector General Carolyn Pokorny said previous in a statement. "This is yet another example of why the MTA must stop relying on honor systems and implement systemic reforms to verify that claimed work was actually completed. By falsifying federally required documents, this individual put many riders at risk and it is a miracle no one was critically injured because of his actions."

The president of the Long Island Rail Road apologized to riders after the derailment put the brakes on many Memorial Day weekend plans for those heading to the Hamptons and Montauk in 2019.

Service was interrupted after a Montauk bound train that left Penn Station at 1:09 a.m., due in Montauk at 4:09 a.m., sideswiped a non-revenue train east of Speonk as part of a passing maneuver, according to the LIRR. The non-revenue train was on a side track, and the Montauk train was traveling at approximately 30 mph.

According to the Eastport Fire Department, the collision led to a "large fuel spill;" environmental crews arrived to begin the offload of the remaining fuel and cleanup of the spill, the Eastport Fire Department said.

The engine of the Montauk train and the last car of the non-revenue train derailed. While there were 32 passengers on the Montauk train, there were no injuries to passengers or LIRR employees, but damage to the tracks was "extensive," the LIRR said.