In an extremely embarrassing incident for the Brooklyn DA's office, an audio technician taped over a statement made by a cop killer while in custody. The DA's office will now have to rely on a detective's notes taken during that statement and the videotape recorded during a follow-up interview with suspect Robert Ellis. more ›

An ongoing investigation of corruption and illegal practices in the Brooklyn South Narcotics Unit could jeopardize dozens, if not hundreds, of successful prosecutions of drug dealers. The possibility has arisen days after a sergeant and a detective were arrested for paying an informant with drugs and cash that they themselves had robbed from the addict. Another sergeant in the unit was also arrested for using NYPD resources to investigate the vehicle IDs of a drug dealer's suspected rivals. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: A steam leak at 39th Street and Lexington in Manhattan, a car vs. building on Hoyt Avenue in Staten Island and an oil slick on Park Lane and 85th Road in Queens
• An unorthodox robbery in Brooklyn: a burly Hasidic Jewish man brandished a knife and threatened a woman in South Williamsburg.
• Defense lawyers for the men charged with shooting police officer Russel Timoshenko are wondering why Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes described their clients as "scum" in an interview
• Freak-out in brownstone Brooklyn: Someone is painting a brownstone white!
• Does Rudy hate video sharing? Former mayor Giuliani is skipping the YouTube debate
• Yet another reason to slow down when you're driving around in Douglaston: There have been deer spottings.
• The police officer indicted for reckless endangerment in the Sean Bell shooting is asking for his own trial. Earlier this week, Bell's fiancee filed a wrongful death suit against the city, NYPD and five officers involved; her lawyer says the lawsuit will be pursued after the trial.
• And the State Legislature finally voted to approve a commission to study congestion pricing.

Yesterday, the three men charged with first-degree murder of police officer Russel Timoshenko all pleaded not guilty in Brooklyn court. However, Dexter Bostick, Robert Ellis, and Lee Woods, who were also charged with a number of other crimes related to the July 9 traffic stop shooting, did not ask for bail. The Post and Daily News had the varying statements the men gave investigators:

Woods, 29, told detectives "I ain't going to jail for something I didn't do. I didn't shoot no cops, I was only driving. Fat boy [Bostic] was in the passenger seat and that faggot Roger [Ellis] was behind me." more ›

The Village Voice's Wayne Barrett has the scoop on a big case Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes is working on: How disgraced former Brooklyn Democratic party boss Clarence Norman managed to buy a State Supreme Court judgeship for $56,000. Fifty thousand in cash and then $6,000 in stamps ("$3,000 wheels of stamps on sprockets that could be purchased at a General Post Office"). Barrett writes, "When the disturbing details become fully known, Hynes's stunning prosecution may at last force the state legislature to junk the peculiar way New York State nominates the 14-year-term, $136,700-a-year judges who preside at all felony and major civil trials, as a federal court has already concluded we should." more ›

A pair of homeless man have been arrested for starting the fire that caused the NYC's biggest blaze (this side of the World Trade Center). Leszek Kuczera, a 59 year old Polish immigrant, and another as-yet unapprehended homeless man were attempting to burn the insulation off copper wire by setting eight tires on fire, but the fire got out of control. Kuczera was arrested and charged with arson, buglary, reckless endangerment and petty larceny; he told fire marshals he did not mean for the fire to burn down the warehouse. more ›

If you wondered how much you should emphasize cats over humans, let's take a look at what Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes did. He honored a bunch of people at his "16TH ANNUAL LAW ENFORCEMENT APPRECIATION AWARDS," but the one honoree who got the most attention was Fred the crimefighting cat. Now, Gothamist LOVES Detective Fred, the kitty who helped bring down a phony vet, but compared to the various court officers, police officers, fire marshals - even the actual undercover detective who worked with Fred, Fred just acted like a cat. We supposed DA Hynes knows that when you get a cat involved in anything, more people are interested. more ›

The tragic story of Romona Moore finally saw some justice yesterday as the two men who kidnapped, raped, tortured, sodomized and eventually killed the 21-year-old Hunter College student were both found guilty. Troy Hendrix, 22, and Kayson Pearson, 24, now face maximum penalities of life in prison without parole. more ›

While the police touted the DNA evidence found on plastic ties (originally used on computer equipment) links Falls bouncer Darryl Littlejohn to the murder of Imette St. Guillen, the police's case may not be that strong. The NY Times reports that the police are still gathering evidence for the case where most of the evidence is circumstantial - even though there has been a lot of to examine. The Post looks at how the blood left on the ties was "invisible." Of course, Littlejohn's lawyer is upset that the police didn't disclose the information to him, going to the media instead and says that it'll be hard to "find twelve impartial jurors." The Brooklyn DA's office, though, is forging ahead, going to present evidence to a sitting grand jury today. And the State Liquor Authority has stopped its investigation of the Falls (over hiring ex-con Littlejohn, which is against the law) while the NYPD is still investigating the murder. more ›

Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes charged both parents of Nixzmary Brown, the 7 year old girl who died of abuse, with second degree murder. Stepfather Cesar Rodriguez had beaten Brown to death on January 10 as Brown's mother Nixzaliz Santiago did nothing, and originally Rodriguez was charged with second degree murder and Santiago with manslaughter - but yesterday DA Hynes said the grand jury found that Santiago "created a grave risk of death" for her daughter. And with the indictment, the DA's office offered grisly details about Brown's death. From the NY Times:

That pattern approached its climax on Jan. 10 as Nixzmary's siblings were compelled to accuse her of eating yogurt without permission and breaking a computer printer, prosecutors said. As punishment, they said, the girl was stripped naked, beaten, dunked in cold water and thrown on the floor to lie untended for hours in a place the other children called "the dirty room."

Unlike the uncertain Democratic mayoral primary, the other races were more decisive. In three big races, the incumbents prevailed, with Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau (top left), Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum (top middle), and Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes (top right) winning their respective Democratic primaries. Morgenthau had his first real challenger in years with Judge Leslie Crocker Snyder, but managed to hold her off. Gotbaum won very decisively against challengers like the Norman Siegel and Andrew Raisiej. Hynes' race was much closer, with State Senator earning 37% of the vote to Hynes' 41%. All three are expected to win the general election this fall. And since C. Virginia Fields has to leave the Manhattan Borough Presidency because of term limits, the Manhattan Borough President's race was a hotbed of candidates, with Upper West Side state Assemblyman Scott Stringer (right) winning with 26% of the vote in a race that does not have a 40% rule for runoff; most people also expect Stringer to win the general election. The NY Times has a good article about the Manhattan BEEP's role "largely ceremonial" but can wield power with real estate developers in land deals. more ›

This must a be a new one: A drug dealer kidnapped beacuse her clients "wanted to teach her a lesson" was rescued by the police tracing her cell phone. Apparently Erica Rodriguez's drugs weren't good enough for three men who ended up kidnapping her from her Hamilton Heights home to East Flatbush. Two of the men got away, but the one that was arrested allegedly has a criminal justice degree (his landlord, who works for the Department of Correction, calls it "ironic"). No word on whether Rodriguez will be charged for selling drugs. more ›

Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes sure does have a lot of enemies. One of his rivals is pointing out many of his top assistant DA's don't live in Kings County, which might violate their "duty as public servants to live in the city where they work," as the Post puts it. John O'Hara filed a complaint with the Conflict of Interest Board; the Post notes that O'Hara has been "prosecuted three times for the felony crime of voting from an address that wasn't his primary residence," so it's a tit-for-tat deal. O'Hara hopes that many defense lawyers will try to get non-Brooklyn-residing assistant DA's recused from cases. As for the other boroughs, both Bronx and Staten Island ADA's live in their boroughs while Queens and Manhattan ADA's can live outside the city. Manhattan DA's were given an exception to the rule that says "at face value...assistants should be living in the five boroughs," according to the Staten Island DA's office. Interestingly, there was an interview with Annie Parisse about playing new assistant D.A. Alexandra Borgia on Law & Order. Parisse's backstory for Borgia is that she's "...unmarried...I live by myself in Brooklyn. I have a cat. I think my family is maybe a little hoity-toity and that I didn't want anything to do with that. A loner, who's maybe even socially defensive and not trusting." No word on if she's a lesbian; we'll probably find out on her last episode. Anyway, who knew that top ADA's made over $100,000? We always thought Jack McCoy made less than that for some reason. more ›

Fifteen members of the drug ring, including the priestess, were charged on 133 counts of dealing drugs (cocaine, crack, heroin, Ecstasy) to residents in Bay Ridge and Park Slope. Deana Rodriguez, head of the DA's office gang bureau, said, "She's not a very good Santeria, is she? They're all in jail!" Oh, snap, drug dealers - you got served! Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes, noting the arrests of 10 of the drug ring's clients, said, "This is a message to people who think it's cute to buy drugs on the weekend and go to their summer homes to shoot up and to snort up." [Via Matte] more ›