So far, the massive ticket-fixing scandal in the Bronx has led to 16 NYPD officers being indicted on various charges, as well as one hundred and sixty other officers implicated in the probe, possibly forced to testify against other cops when it goes to trial. As one can imagine, the investigation, which took over two years to put together, didn't always go so smoothly: the NY Times reports that undercover cops targeted a particular barbershop, and an undercover cop barber, in the Bronx in the early stages of the probe. Except nothing came of the operation because no cops wanted to go back there after they got such terrible haircuts. more ›

A Brooklyn barbershop owner was shot in the head and killed by a gunman in front of customers in his shop yesterday. Warren Billings, 38, was shot one time in his shop on Cortelyou Road near Flatbush Ave. at approximately 4 p.m. on Saturday. "I only heard one shot, and I saw a shadow run by the store as fast as he could," said Winston Levy, who was working next door. more ›

Residents of City Island, a wee outpost off the coast of the Bronx known for its New England-style architecture and fried seafood, were rattled yesterday upon learning of the arrest of a the local barber, who was selling drugs—possibly to teenagers—out of his storefront. more ›

With Four Loko's danger past us, the NYPD is back to worrying about Nutcrackers. Last year the 34th Precinct in upper Manhattan declared war on the guys who peddle Nutcracker—a sweet homemade cocktail illegally sold to legal and underage drinkers—and this year they are planning on redoubling their efforts. "We want to get this off the street, especially when they are selling this garbage to little kids," Captain Jose Navarro of the 34th Precinct told DNAinfo. more ›

A man was shot and killed at a Queens barber shop yesterday early morning, in the same location where he was shot trying to fell a robbery-turned-murder last summer. Gary Bowlin, 35, was shot execution-style in the bathroom of the Rob NG Cutz barber shop on 135th St. in South Richmond Hill. The barber shop turns into a gambling den after hours; another man was shot during the melee, but is in stable condition. more ›

Looks like that comment from Winston Cox's mother wasn't all that representative, because a few barbers that knew Cox now say they didn't suspect he would attempt robbery or murder. Cox had gone to Cle's Cuts since he was a small child, arriving with his father, who suffered from Lou Gehrig's disease. Cox's father died when he was 6, but Cox returned to Cle's a few days before his robbery attempt for a cut, and asked if the barber recognized him. Owner Cle Haynesworth told the Daily News, "He didn't look like that type of person. You think that he was one of the good kids." more ›

Remember "nutcracker" — the bootleg concoction of booze and fruit juice sold in barbershops and bodegas uptown? Did you know you can make $20,000 a year selling it? A man who has mixed and distributed the sugary street cocktail for the past six years sat down with the Manhattan Times and described the trade. more ›

You got to hand it to kids — they always find interesting ways to get bent. New York City teens are apparently buying a sugary concoction of fruit punch mixed with vodka, white rum, or tequila called "Nutcracker." The sweet drinks and their frozen counterpart, "Nemo," are sold for $5 or $10 per Styrofoam cup at bodegas and barbershops, and according to the Daily News, they are quite popular among young folks. "They are poppin'. They get you sauced," said Shaquel, a 15-year-old who declined to give his last name. "Kids like them. You don't need ID to get them. It is like your first step toward drinking liquor." more ›

Two men were shot dead in East Flatbush outside a barbershop on Avenue A last night. The Daily News reports that 38-year-old Lennox Lewis and 26-year-old Dwayne Pascoe were gunned down in front of Diffrance Barbershop while they were hanging out with friends just after 8 p.m. (Earlier reports said that the two men had gotten into a fight when they shot each other.) Also injured was Pascoe's father, who is in critical condition at Brookdale Hospital. Both murder victims were also fathers—Lewis had three children and Pascoe two, with one on the way. Apparently the bodies of both men remained on the sidewalk for several hours. A neighbor told NY1, "Nobody deserves to die like that and to have to lay in the street and for everybody just be gawking at their bodies 'cause it was just a horrible scene before the police got here, they were just laying there." more ›

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