A Times news article begins: "Gary Melius, a well-known Long Island developer and prominent political patron, was shot in the head by a masked gunman on Monday afternoon in the parking lot of his opulent Gold Coast estate in Suffolk County, the police said."
If the guy is so well-known and prominent, why does the Times need to remind us of that? By saying so, the paper is signaling that he wasn't. They don't say, "Barack Obama, a well-known and prominent Washington politician" or "Jill Abramson, a well-known and prominent editor." It's just hype.
Also, isn't "opulent Gold Coast estate" redundant? Are there non-opulent Gold Coast estates?