Long Island priest busted for drugs at motel

NEW YORK (FOX5NY) - A priest whose sister was brutally murdered in 2014 was arrested on drug charges at a Long Island motel early Wednesday morning.

Nassau County police arrested Fr. Robert Lubrano, 63, of Farmingdale just after midnight at the Bethpage Motel.

Police say they were at the motel on Hempstead Turnpike, when they saw a man exchange money with the priest in the parking lot.

The man, identified as Michael Oyola, 32, of the Bronx, then drove out of the parking lot without using his turn signal. This allowed police to conduct a traffic stop. They say he had a cigar and a clear bag of a substance believed to be marihuana in his car and they arrested him.

Lubrano was seen going into a motel room and was arrested. Officers say a small white/yellowish rock like substance believed to be crack cocaine and a silver colored metal pipe with what appeared to be crack cocaine residue was found in the room.

Lubrano, who police say is not assigned to a parish, is charged with drug possession.

In October 2014, his sister, Patricia Ward, was stabbed and decapitated by her son who then jumped in front of a train and died, the AP reported. Newsday reported that Lubrano told cops that he has been smoking crack since his sister's murder, according to court documents.

He was set to be arraigned Wednesday in Hempstead.

Oyola was ticketed for marijuana possession.