The Top Five Powerful Men on Long Island, NY

When people think of Long Island, they often think of the notorious people associated with it: Amy Fisher, Joey Buttafuoco, Colin Ferguson (from the LIRR Massacre) and, most recently, David Laffer (accused gunman in the Medford pharmacy murders). What many people do not realize is that there are a lot of powerful people that live on Long Island. Here is a list of the five most powerful Long Islanders, as compiled by a relatively powerful and life-long Long Islander herself.

SEAN HANNITY

Love him or hate him, Sean Hannity is an extremely powerful American. Hannity happens to live in the village of Lloyd Harbor, on the North Shore of Long Island in the town of Huntington. Hannity is a political kingpin of sorts, gaining attention of both parties - bot good and bad - on his daily talk show and television show, "Hannity's America." While Hannity often broadcasts out of New York City, he also broadcasts from his home studio quite a bit. A true family man and upstanding member of the community, Hannity can be found going to church at St. Patrick's as well as bringing his kids to school and sporting events.

TOM SPOTA

While many people outside of Long Island may not know who he is, Tom Spota has been the Suffolk County District Attorney since 2001. Spota has brought down many corrupt politicians, while also being accused of corruption himself. Spota has been known to take down politicians (including county executives) that have defied him in true Godfather style-- Bringing them up on charges for crimes he knew they committed long ago, but waiting for the perfect time to strike. Spota lives in Mount Sinai in Suffolk County, but was raised further west on the Island, in New Hyde Park.

FELIX GRUCCI, JR.

Upstanding family man Felix Grucci, Jr. may be a former politician, but he is still certainly quite powerful. Grucci started on the Brookhaven Town council (1993), became Brookhaven Town Supervisor (1996), then served two years in Congress (2001 - 2003). The Grucci family is known as one of the wealthiest families on Long Island, running one of the most famous fireworks companies in the world. Felix Jr. happens to be the patriarch of that family.

CHARLES WANG

Money doesn't always mean power, but it certainly does for Charles Wang. Wang started out as the co-founder of Computer Associates, and now is the owner of the New York Islanders NHL team. Wang was born in China, but immigrated to Queens with his family when he was eight years old. He has lived in New York ever since, and currently resides in a mansion in elite Oyster Bay on the North Shore of Long Island.

BILLY JOEL

Billy Joel is one of Long Island's biggest claims to fame. Joel was born and raised on Long Island, and many of his songs are about places and events that have happened here. He docks his boat, the Alexa (named after his daughter), in Greenport. Do you really need an explanation? C'mon... He's Billy Joel!