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October 31, 2007
Former Ramones manager and most recently a real estate agent "to the stars," Linda Stein, was found murdered yesterday. The character who shows Charlie Sheen apartments in the movie Wall Street was reportedly based on her, and Michael Gross published a profile on her in NY Mag in the early '90s. Mrs. Stein was also the ex-wife of music industry mogul Seymour Stein. The NY Sun reports her body, which had "blunt impact injuries," was... [continue]
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News that the same man may have raped women he stalked outside the downtown club The Box is alarming New Yorkers who regularly hang out on the Lower East Side. The police released a sketch of the suspect, a white man between the ages of 25 and 40, up to 200 pounds, and taller than 5'8". In the first incident, which occurred on September 30, the suspect grabbed a woman from behind and "made her... [continue]
Thrilled that he'd finally won custody of his five-year-old daughter Michelle after a bitter custody battle, orthodontist Michael Malakov asked his father to snap a few pictures of him and his girl just a few minutes before he was killed on a Queens playground. Both the Daily News and the New York Post feature the pictures today, with slideshows of the final photos of Michelle, her cousins, and Malakov. Later that Sunday, Malakov was killed... [continue]
Last night, a woman crossed Hylan Boulevard between Fingerboard Road and Linwood Avenue in Grasmere was fatally struck by a speeding car. The police believe the vehicle was a black Mercedes two-door coupe, 2001 or newer, with a damaged front end. Maria Alvarenga had finished her day's work at the Naomi Nails and Skincare salon and was crossing the street to catch a bus. Pizzeria owner Robert Hansen told the Staten Island Advance, "I heard... [continue]
October 30, 2007
If you're a woman and are heading to exclusive Chrystie Street club The Box, be very careful! According to WNBC, the NYPD is two reported rape-and-kidnapping incidents that originated outside the venue. On September 30, a woman says she was "standing in front of the club when she was grabbed from behind, put in a white sport utility vehicle and forced to drink an unknown liquid." After the attack, she was left in Queens. The... [continue]
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October 30, 2007
Police suspect that the daytime murder of a Queens orthodontist may be related to the custody of his daughter. A long and bitter divorce battle had granted temporary custody of five-year-old Michelle to 34-year-old orthodontist Daniel Malakov. The doctor was dropping his daughter off to his ex-wife when someone shot him three times point blank in the chest. When Malakov arrived with his daughter at the Annadale Playground in Rego Park, his daughter ran to... [continue]
October 29, 2007
An orthodontist was killed while taking his 5-year-old daughter to the Annadale playground at Flushing Meadows Park. Around 11AM, Daniel Malakov was shot in the chest twice by someone who witnesses say was wearing a black fleece. Malakov had been taking his daughter to meet his ex-wife, and his family believes their divorce may be related to his killing. Malakov had won custody of little Michelleka last week "after a brutal court battle," according to... [continue]
A city employee moonlighting as a bouncer at The Bronx Cocktail was killed by a man angry that it was past last call. Raymond Barnett, 38, was killed when the man fired a gun into the bar around 5AM yesterday. Barnett worked for the city's Department of Design and Construction as the head of fleet management, but had taken the job at the bar to help out with bills. He had been closing up when... [continue]
Watch where you throw your umbrellas away, especially if you're in Williamsburg late at night. Early Sunday morning, a 30-year-old man was stabbed in the back with his recently discarded umbrella while walking on Metropolitan Avenue near Berry. The man had just thrown his "tangled umbrella" and hit a car, according to the NY Sun. The car's occupants got out, beat the man, and left the umbrella "embedded in his back," "through his right shoulder... [continue]
This is not good timing for the Fire Department. Yesterday, two police officers noticed a fire in a West Farms house and saved its seven residents. Then, noticing that the house next door was on fire, the two cops evacuated five more people. One of the officers, Chris Scott, said that the the FDNY showed up during the second fire, and the residents lauded their efforts. Judy Ramdeen said, "They rushed into a burning building... [continue]
October 28, 2007
Next week, Halloween eve to be exact, will mark the five year anniversary of Jam Master Jay's death. The murderer still walks the streets, as witnesses don't want to step forward in naming the man who ended the life of the rap legend. amNewYork and the Daily News are both looking back at the open case, stating the little that is known:On the night before Halloween 2002, the 37-year-old Mizell was in his recording studio... [continue]
Since last Saturday, at least eight people retrieving money from ATMs were robbed by an armed man. Shortly after released the suspect's name and asking the public for help, the police arrested James Palmer yesterday morning. The robberies took place on the Lower East Side, Chelsea, and Midtown, at a range of banks such as Chase, Citibank and Washington Mutual. In each robbery, a woman was targeted and the suspect would demand cash while wielding... [continue]
October 27, 2007
Hot on the heels of 6-year-old Natalie Shea being caught and fined for chalking up her sidewalk, a second chalker has been nabbed! This one, Ellis Gallagher, is older -- so his punishment was a bit more serious. Seriously! For chalk! The dusty, porous sedimentary rock that leaves markings which wash away in the rain. The Brooklyn Paper reports:The city’s crackdown on sidewalk chalk “vandals” is officially out of control! It was bad enough when... [continue]
Facing numerous drug charges that could put him away for the rest of his life, convicted murderer Robert Chambers pleaded not guilty during a Thursday court appearance. Chambers, 41, and his companion, 39-year-old Shawn Kovell, are accused of selling drugs from Kovell's rent-stabilized one-bedroom apartment on East 57th Street in Manhattan. Earlier this week, the couple were busted by undercover officers. The Manhattan DA's office, no stranger to Chambers after the infamous 1986 murder of... [continue]
Queens prosecutors announced yesterday that a teenager acting as a drug mule was arrested at JFK airport on Tuesday. Anthony Cruz, 16, was stopped by customs officials as he arrived on an American Airlines flight from Santiago in the Dominican Republic. X-rays of his body revealed 80 balloons of heroin with a total weight of 988 grams (nearly 1 kilo and more than 2 pounds). According to officials, the heroin was worth $500,000. Richard Brown,... [continue]
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October 26, 2007
Police responded to reports of gunfire in an apartment in the Mt. Eden section of the Bronx last night and found three people shot in the head. Two of the victims were dead and one was rushed to Lincoln Hospital, where he is in critical condition. The dead victims were 20-year-old Ludmildy Rosado and 34-year-old Daniel Newton. Police were not sure if the two knew each other or not. Neighbors who live in the building... [continue]
Jose Rivera, who shot at a car full of undercover cops, hitting one of them, was sentenced to 16 years in jail. In February, while driving in Park Slope-Prospect Heights, Rivera thought that the cops were giving him a dirty looks and yelled at them, "You got a beef?" and then fired. The police fired back and later, Rivera's police officer wife seemed to try to cover up the shooting by parking their bullet-ridden car... [continue]
Ah, some details about the robbery that prompted the 4/5/6 subway lines to be essentially shut down during rush hour. Yesterday, we heard that an armed robbery suspected was in the tunnel between 116th And 125th Street along the Lexington Avenue sign, so NYC Transit shut down power to the line so the police could purse the thief. The Post reports that a "thug robbed a street-cart food vendor on 116th Street and Lexington Avenue... [continue]
October 25, 2007
The NYPD released surveillance photographs from the drug buys that ultimately landed Preppy Killer Robert Chambers and his girlfriend Shawn Kovell in jail. These photographs were taken in the couple's East 57th Street rent-stabilized one-bedroom - looks like they may have spray painted Shawn's name onto a door or wall Prosecutors asked that Chambers, with his infamous history and the fact that he was charged with 14 counts of drug crime plus counts of... [continue]
The Legal Aid attorney who secretly videotaped his female colleagues while they changed clothes pleaded guilty yesterday to unlawful surveillance. Peter Barta, a Stuyvesant High debater and Georgetown Law graduate, attempted to have the felony charge reduced to a misdemeanor, saying in a letter, "I'm not asking for forgiveness, but an opportunity to earn it." He also said his behavior was "creepy, disrespectful, juvenile and stupid," and wrote, "I offer no excuse or justification for... [continue]
Last year, the Toledo Museum lent the Guggenheim Museum the Goya painting "Children with a Cart" for the Guggenheim's Spanish painting show. But on the way to New York, the painting disappeared near Scranton, PA. The painting was eventually found, but now the FBI has arrested the tipster who brought the painting to them! Last November, a professional art transporter left the painting in the truck overnight while staying at a motel. The painting was... [continue]
Around 2:30AM yesterday morning, 89-year-old Allan Stevenson was crossing First Avenue at East 73rd Street in Manhattan when a Mazda Miata fatally struck him. The car did not stop. A veteran theater and film actor, Stevenson, who walked with a cane and lived at 399 East 72nd Street for 40 years, had a late night ritual around his neighborhood. According to the NY Times, he would have a "glass of red wine at Delizia, the... [continue]
The FDNY was fighting a fire in a Cypress Hills apartment building when they found a dead woman. The authorities believe the 37-year-old was shot by her boyfriend and then set on fire, but the ME's office will determine the cause of death. The woman's body was found on the 6th floor. WABC 7 reports that a man was seen running out of the building at 10:30PM, "looking like 'a human torch.'" Apparently that man... [continue]
October 24, 2007
Robert Chambers, whose privileged Upper East upbringing earned the tabloid nickname "The Preppy Killer" when he killed a woman in 1986, was charged with 14 counts of selling and possessing drugs. Since two of the counts are for first-degree sale, which the Daily News reports carries 15-30 years, Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau said, "I would expect he would spend the rest of his life in jail." Chambers and girlfriend Shawn Kovell were arrested by... [continue]
Police officer Sean Sawyer was released and not charged after confessing to shooting an unarmed man in Harlem during a road argument early Sunday morning. The Manhattan DA's office claimed that Sawyer could have been acting in self-defense, because the other driver, Jayson Tirado, suggested he had a gun when he gestured and yelled at Sawyer. DA Robert Morgenthau said the "case is under investigation and is going to go to a grand jury. When... [continue]
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October 24, 2007
On Monday afternoon, a 51-year-old woman was stabbed multiple times on the head and shoulder with an 8-inch kitchen knife at the 169th Street F train platform in Jamaica, Queens. Paula Jean Baptiste's attacker, Matthew Cordacho, was trying to steal her purse but fled the scene after Baptiste put up a fight. However, he was followed by a witness who called 911 and ended up being arrested a few blocks away. Baptiste spoke to reporters... [continue]
October 23, 2007
An off-duty police officer turned himself in for Sunday's fatal road rage-related shooting in Harlem. Sean Sawyer, who joined the NYPD and worked as an undercover officer, approached a police cruiser yesterday morning, "I think you guys are looking for me for the shooting last night on the FDR [Drive]...This is the gun I used...I thought the guy was armed - make a sign like a gun. I think I'm having a heart attack; please... [continue]
You'd think that if you were one of the city's most notorious murderers, you'd try to keep a low profile. But apparently Robert Chambers, the infamous Preppy Killer, thinks a low profile means selling drugs from an East 57th Street Manhattan apartment. Chambers and girlfriend Shawn Kovell were arrested and charged with felony sale of narcotics after the police busted Kovell's one-bedroom apartment. Undercover police officers had purchased a quarter kilo of coke (worth $20,000)... [continue]
Principal Tyona Washington of Canarsie High School opened up a piece of mail that contained a noose made out of string as well as a 2-page letter containing, per Newsday, "a common racial slur and words suggesting that a black person should not be running the school." The letter also referred to "white power" and had the signature of a white administrator, but police do not believe the letter was from that individual. Additionally, the... [continue]
October 22, 2007
Earlier today, the following incident was noted on the Gothamist Newsmap: "EDP / Injured Officer: Fulton And Broadway Manhattan, NY | 10/22/2007 1:39 p.m." Now it turns out it was no ordinary officer - it was one of the police officers assigned to guard Mayor Bloomberg! Mayor Bloomberg was with other city officials and his security details. A 30-year-old, "disheveled-looking" man yelled at an officer, "I hate you" and then a profanity. Then he attacked... [continue]
Early yesterday morning in Hell's Kitchen, soap opera actor Nathaniel Martson allegedly attacked three people. The Daily News reports that Marston, who plays Dr. Michael McBain on One Life to Live, swung a metal crate at his victims, which broke one of the men's legs. One of the victims, Salvatore Cabibo who didn't even know the actor, said Marston had been arguing with a cab driver and then charged at him, shouting, "I'm going to... [continue]
A 25-year-old driver was shot and killed at First Avenue and East 117th Street. Police believe that Jayson Tirado and the driver of an SUV got into an argument when an accident on the FDR (a motorcyclist hit a light pole after trying to switch lanes and died) prompted them to exit onto the streets. The Sun reports that the two drivers started arguing before turning onto First Avenue and the SUV's driver started shooting... [continue]
October 21, 2007
Matthew Jones of Brooklyn pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct after he was arrested in Times Square last June for blocking a sidewalk in Times Square. Now he's appealing his case all the way to the state's highest court. Jones wasn't protesting anything or lying down on the sidewalk, he was simply standing on the corner of 42nd St. and 7th Ave. with a group of friends who were talking. Pedestrian traffic... [continue]
October 20, 2007
The weekend got off to a violent start last night with a number of shootings and stabbings around the city. Six young men were shot or stabbed on the streets of New York Friday night and police have made no immediate arrests, primarily because there are no apparent motives for any of the crimes. 1010WINS runs through the casualties: Jose Batista and a friend were both shot in the stomach while on West 34th around... [continue]
The Staten Island District Attorney's office has dropped hate crime charges against two young white men accused of beating a black man in Mariners Harbor. SI DA Daniel Donovan said, "At this point I believe the evidence provided to my office by the police is legally insufficient to support hate-crime charges." Skylar McCormick was allegedly punched, kicked, beaten and threatened with a baseball bat Tuesday night after he touched Daniel Avissato's Cadillac. Avissato and Mark... [continue]
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October 19, 2007
The police arrested two white men in the the beating of a black man in Staten Island. The Reverend Al Sharpton appeared with the victim and said, "We cannot live in a city, state or nation where people cannot safely be in the streets or anywhere else because of the color of their skin." In Mariners Harbor on Tuesday night, 20-year-old Skylar McCormick and four friends - who are white - were having a foot... [continue]
October 18, 2007
Jeffrey Epstein, the billionaire investor who New York called an "International Moneyman of Mystery" back in 2002, may be set to plead guilty to having sex with underage girls in Florida, but now there are claims that he was preying on the young in the Big Apple. Maximilia Cordero is suing Epstein for "repeatedly" luring her to his East Side townhouse for sex back in 2000. At the time, Cordero was just 16 and hoping... [continue]
Some police officers' routine patrolling became a big pot bust yesterday. Cops from the 105th Precinct smelled a pungent odor coming from a home on 269th Street in Floral Park and, once they got a search warrant, found a bumper crop of marijuana. There were more than 300 marijuana plants, growing lights, and 10 lawn bags of marijuana in the process of being dried. Three men, ages 23 to 48, were arrested and face... [continue]
One teen is dead and two others suffered injuries after a Honda they were riding in crashed into a column for the A train's elevated tracks at Rockaway and Beach 101st yesterday morning. And what's more, the car was stolen the night before. Once the car hit the column, it burst into flames. Residents who saw the crash brought pails and hoses to help put the fire out and even crowbars to pry open the... [continue]
The hunting season only started on Saturday, but one New Yorker is already in a lot of trouble after some pretty stupid moves. Rosebank resident Alfons Ndokaj was charged with unlawfully hunting a bear cub amongst a number of other violations. Ndokaj shot and killed a 40-pound bear that was less than a year old in Sullivan County. The Department of Environmental Conservation was tipped off and later tracked Ndokaj at a Middletown taxidermist, where... [continue]
October 17, 2007
A Manhattan dog walker was charged with stealing more than $50,000 from the 84-year-old mother of a client. According to the NY Sun, the Manhattan DA's office says that Daniel Natale, who runs Luna Dog Service, "allegedly used a checkbook, credit cards, and a debit card to steal cash." Natale met Isabel Zakin through her daughter four years ago. Zakin told the Post that her broken hip "made it impossible for her to walk" Tibetan... [continue]
The NYPD is investigating six police officers suspected of trying to improperly obtain steroids. According to WNBC, the NYPD and State Health department have been raiding Brooklyn pharmacies - and the NYPD's Internal Affairs has now turned an eye on its own. The NYPD's Paul Browne says that news reports that dozens of officers were being investigated were "wildly distorted and exaggerated." He does not believe the suspects to be arrested; rather they will face... [continue]
October 16, 2007
Talking Radio reported that Air American Radio host and liberal Randi Rhodes was mugged on Sunday night on 39th Street and Park Avenue while walking her dog. Soon after, fellow AAR host Jon Elliott stated that Rhodes was beaten up pretty badly, lost teeth and insinuated that the attack was part of "the right wing hate machine." And soon after that an AAR blogger, Nancy Scola, posted: "Air America host Randi Rhodes experienced an unfortunate... [continue]
Sean Combs clocked a 31 year old clubgoer in SoHo on Sunday, right in the kisser...twice. Oh yes he Diddy! The rap mogul was at the after-hours club Kiosk (located at 95 Spring Street) when the rumble went down, and he's yet to turn himself in. amNewYork reports that "he was expected to appear at the First Precinct this morning for questioning."Police would not identify the victim in the case but they said First Precinct... [continue]
If you're applying for a mortgage, you're willing to give up your personal details. Unfortunately, for some first-time applicants, their mortgage manager stole their identities - and $1 million. Jacob Milton and his sister Nira Niru were arrested for identity theft, grand larceny and scheming to defraud after investigators at the 115th Precinct received many complaints of ID theft. The police found one common thread: They had all applied for mortgage at Griffin Mortgage's Jackson... [continue]
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October 15, 2007
It was supposed to be an afternoon on the football field during a match-up between the Wadleigh Harlem Hellfighters and McKee/Staten Island Tech Seagulls. Unfortunately, it turned into a terrible day, as the Harlem team found the message "Y'all n-----s suck MSIT" written in black marker on their sideline bench. The NYPD and Department of Education are investigating the incident. The Hellfighters' coach, former Seattle Seahawk Duke Ferguson, says that he felt "hostile environment" since... [continue]
Yikes: A Carroll Gardens doctor was arrested for molesting two teen patients last week. The teens, who are 13- and 16-year-old brothers, were going in for "treatment of skin conditions." According to the Daily News, Dr. Cesar Veloso allegedly gave them rectal exams, measured their genitals, and asked them sexual questions. Unsurprisingly, the boys' lawyer says they were traumatized: The 16-year-old left the office "stunned" and the younger brother left "screaming." Veloso, who was given... [continue]
October 14, 2007
The police arrested the man who fired the shot that hit a 16-year-old boy who looked outside his window earlier this week. Tavin Alves, a quiet ninth grader who was shot in the head and found slumped against a wall by his 5-year-old brother, was taken off a respirator by his family on Thursday; yesterday, they held a Stop Gun Violence rally. With Alves' death, police were looking for a murderer, not just a shooter,... [continue]
A couple trapped in their burning apartment at the Bronxdale houses was rescued by firefighters. And it turns out the husband was the one who started the fire. Fifty-two-year-old Abraham Serrano confessed that he and his wife had gotten into a fight, so he lit a piece of paper on fire and then set many other objects in a bedroom on fire. Neighbors called 911, and firefighters responded. Seven people, including Serrano's wife, were injured;... [continue]
October 13, 2007
As the NYPD Hate Crimes unit, as well as the FBI and Justice Department, investigates the noose found outside a Columbia professor's office, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly commented about the school's cooperation. Apparently the school only turned over surveillance videos after the NYPD provided a subpoena - three days after the noose was found on Teachers College Professor Madonna Constatine's office door knob. Columbia said that educational institutions require subpoenas, because they are dealing with... [continue]
A Brooklyn teenager died yesterday after his family took him off life support earlier this week. Tavin Alves Clarke was shot in the face between 2 and 3 a.m. Tuesday and was found slumped by the window. Police believe that Clarke stuck his head out the window when he heard gunfire and one of the shots hit him. It was his five-year-old brother who found him by the window and ran crying to their mother... [continue]
October 12, 2007
Yesterday morning, a swastika and a caricature of a yarmulke-wearing man were found in a building at Columbia University. This is the second hate crime in as many days found at the school's campus - a noose was found on the door of a Teachers College professor earlier this week. The graffiti was in the men's bathroom at Lewisohn Hall, where the School of General Studies is located. Columbia President Lee Bollinger, who was criticized... [continue]
Anthony Fortunato was found guilty of manslaughter as a hate crime yesterday, after intense arguments by the jury. He was the second man found guilty of the crime. Fortunato was accused of killing Michael Sandy in a hate crime after luring him to a known gay cruising spot at Plumb Beach in Brooklyn. The encounter ended with Sandy being chased and beaten onto the Belt Parkway where he was struck by a car and later... [continue]
Another noose was found Thursday afternoon - and this time, it was outside the Church Street Post Office. Um, WTF is going on? The noose was found on a lamppost, and while it was visible at street level, postal employees working on the second floor noticed it. Building management took it down. According to Newsday, there is scaffolding outside the building at 90 Church Street that "leads to the light pole, but the scaffolding is... [continue]
A Brooklyn jury found Allan Cameron guilty of killing police officer Dillon Stewart in 2005. Stewart's widow Leslyn, who is raising their two children, said, "Justice - I'm happy that the jury sent out the message of justice, loud and clear. [I'm] very, very happy. But at the same time very sad. Because of all we've had to deal with." Stewart and partner Paul Lipka had stopped a 1990 Inifinti for a traffic violation on... [continue]
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October 12, 2007
Early this morning, a man was stabbed to death on Washington Place near 6th Avenue in the West Village. Police believe the 43-year-old victim was arguing with other men outside 123 Washington Place when the attack occurred around 1:40AM. The victim was stabbed at least once in chest and was pronounced dead at St. Vincent's Hospital. The police are looking for two men who fled the scene. The neighborhood tends to have a bit of... [continue]
October 11, 2007
The professor at Columbia University's Teacher College whose office door was found with a noose on it spoke out for the first time yesterday. Madonna Constantine told students that gathered for a rally, "This is a heinous and highly upsetting incident. I am upset that our community has been exposed to a blatantly vile incident like this. It is an act of cowardice. I would like the perpetrator to know that I will not be... [continue]
A 29-year-old Chinatown resident was charged with murdering his new girlfriend in the apartment he shares with his grandmother. Michael Chin Lenahan allegedly called his brother in NJ to say "I screwed up." His mother later went to the apartment and found a woman's body on her son's bed, under clothes. Police say Lenahan and Lorna Santiago had a date on Saturday night. They started at a restaurant on Third Avenue and then went to... [continue]
October 10, 2007
A 16-year-old boy was shot in the head after looking out of the window of his Bushwick home on Cooper Street. The police believe Tavin Alves Clarke looked outside after hearing gunfire and was shot between 2-3AM. He wasn't found until 5AM, when his 5-year-old brother woke up and found him bleeding and "slumped by the third-floor window." The child ran to his mother and sister for helping crying, "My brother was bleeding!" The Daily... [continue]
October 9, 2007
The police are investigating a hate crime at Columbia University's Teachers College after a noose was found on the door of a black professor. Teachers College president Susan Fuhrman issued a statement:The police were here this morning because a hangman's noose was discovered on the office door of one of our African American faculty members. The incident has been reported to the New York City Police Department (Detectives Bureau of Manhattan) and is under active... [continue]
October 8, 2007
Transit police officer Gregory Chin is being hailed as a hero for stopping a crazed man who had just stabbed two people in Murray Hill from inflicting more violence. The Post and Daily News interviewed Chin, who was off-duty when he saw Lee Coleman attacking 67-year-old Susan Barron with a variety of knives (knives that Coleman stole from a restaurant) on Saturday morning. Chin explained that he and his girlfriend had left the Gemini Diner... [continue]
October 7, 2007
A homeless man was shot in the stomach by an off-duty transit police officer after he stabbed two people randomly in Murray Hill yesterday afternoon. The assailant, identified as 38-year-old Lee Coleman, was wounded and is in serious condition; he was charged with attempted murder, assault, and criminal possession of a weapon. Coleman's rampage began around 10:30AM. He first walked into a Starbucks on Second Avenue at 32nd Street and tried to take knives from... [continue]
October 6, 2007
A man was shot after he stabbed two people on a Midtown street. Either an off-duty police officer or plainclothes law enforcement officer is believed to have shot the man. Here's a tip we received:I walked outside my building about an hour ago and saw tons of police activity. From what I hear a man went into Starbucks to obtain a knife unsuccessfully. Then went into another restaurant (not sure of the name) and... [continue]
John Fox was found guilty of manslaughter in the killing of Michael Sandy. Fox was convicted on charges of a hate crime and manslaughter, but not murder, for chasing Michael Sandy onto the Belt Parkway where he was fatally struck by a car. Three men are on trial for Sandy's killing: John Fox, Ilya Shurov, and Michael Fortunato. A fourth man, Michael Timmins, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for his testimony. Fox... [continue]
A recently settled lawsuit will likely result in fewer strip searches of prisoners at Rikers Island. The suit was filed on behalf of tens of thousands of New Yorkers jailed on misdemeanor charges. The Corrections Office settled a suit yesterday after being sued on behalf of thousands of inmates who were strip-searched at Rikers. The prisoners could collect $3,000 to $4,000 a piece as a result of the agreement. The suit was filed in reaction... [continue]
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October 5, 2007
A former MetLife stockbroker was charged with defrauding a woman widowed by the September 11 attacks of $250,000 of her settlement money. Prosecutors say that Jaime Amoroso had trusted her friend Kevin Dunn, who had convinced her to invest the $2 million, but he ended up siphoning the quarter million into his own account. Amorose, whose husband was a police officer, had known Dunn since 1994. Dunn apparently advised her to invest $1.25 million into... [continue]
A homeless man is in the burn unit of Cornell Medical Center after being viciously attacked by a group of teens. Police say that the victim was sleeping outside the Iglasia Christiana Betania on East 103rd Street when the teens "threw a gasoline-soaked towel on him." The victim was found after midnight, and residents said they "recognized him as a homeless man who often sought food and shelter at the church." One told WNBC, "He'd... [continue]
October 4, 2007
The two detectives who were shot during an early morning Bronx shootout yesterday managed to avoid serious injuries and the NYPD says it's a near miracle. Detectives Daniel Rivera and William Gonzalez, along with other three other cops, were trying to serve a warrant to a suspect in a bodega shooting when the suspect fired at them five times. Rivera's forehead was grazed and he left the hospital with only a scar - and smiles.... [continue]
The police charged a Queens man with raping a woman he met on the Internet. A 21-year-old woman traveled from Indianapolis to the Port Authority Bus Terminal on Tuesday, where David Graham picked her up. He then allegedly took her to his home in Queens Village, where police say he raped and sodomized her. The woman managed to escape to a neighbor's house yesterday morning. Graham was charged with rape, sexual misconduct and criminal misconduct.... [continue]
October 3, 2007
Two veteran detectives, Daniel Rivera and William Gonzalez (both 41 years old), were grazed by gunfire early this morning. One detective was wounded in the forehead and the other in the leg, during a shootout in the East Tremont section of the Bronx at Webster Ave. and 188th St. around 5:30 a.m. The two cops were in the process of serving an arrest warrant to 20-year-old Jermaine Taylor for questioning related to a Bronx bodega... [continue]
A former lawyer at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, who was accused of leading a double life of upstate family man and Manhattan pervert, pleaded guilty yesterday to statutory rape and patronizing a prostitute. James Colliton spent his weekends at his home in Poughkeepsie, NY with his wife and five children. During the week, he stayed at a residence on 56th St. and Park Ave. where he now admits that he had sex with two teenage... [continue]
There's nothing like using a sledgehammer to break into the window of a Diamond District jewelry store. And that's what a group of robbers did at the Diamond Exchange on 47th Street and Sixth Avenue. A guard told the Daily News, "They hit the window where all the big pieces are." What's wild is that the robber with the sledgehammer, Stephen Garrison, actually hammered away at the windows for two minutes (which was so loud... [continue]
In late August, a family was terrorized when three men forced their way into the Crown Heights apartment. Now, police have charged one of the suspects with multiple counts of rape and assault. The violent incident occurred on August 30, when they barged into a home on Sterling Place. They tied up six men and boys with duct tape and then raped and sexually assaulted a woman, her teenage daughter, and a family friend in... [continue]
October 2, 2007
Two men were arraigned for trying to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from billionaire Mayor Bloomberg. Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau outlined the two schemes: Odalis Bostic forged two checks from Bloomberg's personal Bank of America account. One was for $190,000, the other was for $230,000, and both were "issued in the name of the mayor’s financial manager, Geller & Company," according to CityRoom. Bostic deposited them into two different bank accounts, but when Bank... [continue]
Accused murderer Michael Fortunato is pinning his hopes of exoneration by baring his soul on the stand and revealing that he was an until-now closeted gay person. In the opening statements of the trial, the lawyer for Michael Fortunato––the purported ringleader of the three men charged––stated that his client was not guilty of a hate crime murder against a gay man because he himself was gay. Michael Sandy was attacked by a group of men... [continue]
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October 2, 2007
Tenzing Bhutia, a 21-year-old Baruch College student, is being held on $75,000 bail after fatally driving into a young woman crossing Bowery near East 4th Street in Lower Manhattan. Bhutia did not stop after hitting Julia Thomson early Sunday morning, and when police found him - and his father's damaged Mercedes Benz in Queens - hours later, his blood alcohol was 0.087, above the 0.08 legal limit. The Post reports that Thomson (pictured), a Scottish... [continue]
Around 9:50AM, a man was shot multiple times outside a day care center in South Jamaica. A baby-sitter had yelled, "Oh, my God, this is crazy! This is day care!" The victim, identified as 30-year-old Dwight Bent, was pronounced dead at Mary Immaculate Hospital. Apparently Bent was visiting someone in the 110th Avenue building, which both a residence and day care facility. The Times-Ledger reports that "two men wearing bandanas over their faces" approached Bent... [continue]
October 1, 2007
A woman crossing the street early Sunday morning was killed when a drunk driver barreled down Bowery near East 4th Street. Twenty-four-year-old Julia Thomson had gotten out of a cab with friends around 4AM when a black Mercedes hit her without stopping. The police found the car in Queens hours later and arrested 21-year-old Tenzing Bhutai for leaving the scene of an accident and DWI. Witnesses say Bhutai's car was going at least 50 MPH... [continue]
Yesterday, Police Comissioner Ray Kelly visited the synagogues and other buildings to denounce the numerous swastikas and other anti-Semitic messages found covering the Brooklyn Heights last week. And on Saturday, swastikas were found painted outside a synagogue in Bensonhurst. The Sun reports that apparently a Holocaust survivor found swastikas outside a Bensonhurst synagogue; Rabbi Baruch Krupnik said, "He's really shaken. We can't tell you that it's unexpected after the Brooklyn Heights incident." So far, Kelly... [continue]