Boat operator charged in 100 mph Hudson River chase

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. -- The operator of a catamaran power boat on Sunday led police boats on a chase reaching 100 mph on the Hudson River from the Tappan Zee Bridge to Yonkers, Westchester County police said Monday.

A police boat first tried to stop Marcus Lomghitano, 48, of Orange County, at about 3:15 p.m. for going more than 5 miles per hour in the regulated zone near the bridge construction area. Lomghitano instead began speeding south in the 30-foot boat, police spokesman Kieran O'Leary said.

The chase eventually included a second Westchester County police boat that intercepted the catamaran as it arrived minutes later in Yonkers, O'Leary said. A New York City Harbor Unit vessel came up the Hudson to assist.

The officers arrested Lomghitano on charges of reckless operation, failure to obey a police officer and operating an unregistered vessel.

Lomghitano, who lives in Highland Mills, N.Y., was released pending a scheduled appearance Sept. 25 in Greenburgh Town Court.

The U.S. Coast Guard created an area around Tappan Zee Constructors' mooring fields that is off-limits to boaters, and police marine units from Westchester and Rockland counties have stepped up patrols to keep sightseers and inexperienced boaters in the main channel. The regulations are meant to control recreational boat travel to ensure the waves don't rock the barges and other equipment on the river.