It's not everyday that you meet an author from Farmingdale. It's also not common for that author to be the village prosecutor, who also runs multiple community and charity organizations.

This individual is Tom Sabellico, co-author of book The Twelve Black Aces. The title refers to the 12 African-American pitchers who posted 20-win seasons in major league baseball history.

Sabellico, involved in news and sports since 1974, wrote the book in collaboration with one of the Black Aces himself, Jim 'Mudcat' Grant.

The book details several topics, including the integration of African Americans into baseball in America, the prejudice and hardships faced by the Black Aces, and their road to success.

Sabellico said that writing the book was a fascinating project, spanning three years. He said he learned much about not only baseball, but American history, different parts of the country, racism and discrimination.

"I learned more about American history doing this than I did in college," he says.

The book, which was just released on May 18, and has received positive reviews thus far.

Along with being the Farmingdale village prosecutor and president of the Farmingdale Baseball League, Sabellico gives much of his free time to various community programs and organizations.

He is also involved in the Black Aces Foundation, a program that promotes sports such as baseball among kids in inner cities.

Sabellico is also the founder of Winning Beyond Winning, a New York non-profit corporation dedicated to helping young athletes make the right choices. Among the programs the organization runs are baseball camps, and annual conferences with high school kids that deal with topics such as drugs and alcohol.

He also founded the Farmingdale Community Summit Council, which was created in 2001 following the September 11th attacks. It is a group of 57 organizations whose goal is to coordinate activities for the community.

The school district and library are very involved in the Council, coordinating a literary program such as Farmingdale Reads, and building a monument outside of the Farmingdale library to the victims of September 11th.

When asked what makes him so committed to the community, Sabellico cites his love for Farmingdale.

"I love it here," he says. "I graduated from Plainedge High School and raised three kids here in Farmingdale."

He also thinks that each individual has a responsibility to make his or her community better.

"If everyone sits around and does nothing, nothing will happen," he said. "It just doesn't work like that. If you want something to happen, you've got to get out there and do something."

To order The Twelve Black Aces visit www.theblackaces.com or call 249-2800.