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Photo: SCPD. On February 15, 1990, Suffolk County Police Detective Dennis Wustenhoff left his home in Patchogue and got into his undercover police car. That morning, at around 11:50 am, his vehicle exploded when a bomb went off as soon as he turned the ignition. Wustenhoff was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital but his injuries were too severe and he died three hours later. On the anniversary of his death this year, the Suffolk County Police Department said it has increased a reward for the information leading to the arrest of the person or people responsible for the death of Detective Wustenhoff in 1990. The reward is now at $30,000.
LongIsland.com
Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart and Suffolk County Crime Stoppers have announced an increase to $30,000 in reward money for information leading to the arrest of the person or people responsible for the death .
Photo Credit: LI.com News Team Detective Wustenhoff died shortly after a bomb exploded as he attempted to start his unmarked police vehicle that was parked in front of his Patchogue home on February 15, 1990. Detective Wustenhoff, who was assigned to the Narcotics Section at the time of his death, was survived by his wife, Fran, two daughters, Melissa and Jennifer, and a son, Kevin, who joined the department in 2005.
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The bomb that exploded 31 years ago this week when Suffolk County police Detective Dennis Wustenhoff started the engine of his white Cadillac, killing the undercover narcotics cop, is still heard in the mourning and answers that have followed. Leaving behind his wage and three children, they have been left to grapple with why it happened and that no one has been brought to justice. His son, Kevin, now serves as a Suffolk County police officer and he was 10 years-old on that tragic day.
“I was 10 years old and I felt like my whole life was ripped apart in minutes,” Scelsi said in a recent interview. “You grow up quick and you realize there are bad things in the world.”