A former butcher and Queens resident was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the choking death and dismemberment of his wife. Edwin Fuentes, 44, pleaded guilty last month to choking Reina De Los Santos to death in June 2007, and then chopping her up, putting her body parts into bags, and burying them in a wooded area of Forest Park near their Woodhaven home. “I’m hoping that, maybe, they cut you up like you did my sister...Your mother must be turning over knowing she carried a demon like you in her womb. If it was up to me, you would go to hell,” said the victim's sister, Marisol De Los Santos, before the plea-bargained sentencing. more ›

Michael "Mike the Butcher" Virtuoso, who owns old-school Williamsburg butcher shop Graham Ave Meats & Deli, has unexpectedly pleaded guilty to extortion charges thanks to his side business as a loanshark for the Bonanno mafia. more ›

Union Market, the Brooklyn-based grocery chainlet that bills itself as offering "organic, local and all-natural products," is allegedly selling misleading bargain-bin meat in their butcher department, according to a story in this morning's Post—but now the Market's owner is firing back. more ›

More bonesaws and sawdust floors are set to arrive in Brooklyn this fall, with today's announcement that popular upstate butcher shop Fleisher's is opening a store in Park Slope this September. more ›

If you're still eating your breakfast burrito, you may want to skip this one: Chicken heads, feet, and "the entrails of a large animal" have been revolting visitors to Prospect Park in recent weeks, and no one knows who's behind the butchery. Most of the remains have been gathered at one spot near the lakebed at the southwest corner of the park, and at least eight chicken heads were recently found, plus intestines and chicken feet. "It was so gross," local Susan Yuen tells the Brooklyn Paper, in an article packed with great quotes. "I saw a chicken head, it started to smell as [a Parks employee] pulled it all out of the water!" more ›

A crook shot a 50-year-old employee at a Bensonhurst butcher shop in the chest during a brazen stick-up on Friday. The perp entered Romeo Brothers Meats and Foods at the corner of 15th Avenue and 78th Street at around 4:30 pm and "shot her without a word," before grabbing money and fleeing, the Post reports. The woman was found by her husband, who owns the store, which according to NY1 is "a friendly, family-owned Italian landmark." She was rushed to Lutheran Medical Center where she is in stable condition. No arrests have been made. more ›

A meat wrapper at a Western Beef supermarket in Staten Island is suing the company for shrugging off complaints about her manager's sexual harassment. Jessica McCarthy, 23, says she endured constant sexual advances and innuendo from boss Jose Delgado. According to the lawsuit, Delgado is so fond of ribald double entendres that he even had a sign reading "Bone me, I'm the meat manager" laminated and displayed in his department. Oh Staten Island, you give so much and ask so little in return. more ›

One question has been floating around Tom Mylan after he quit his position at Marlow & Daughters: What will he do next? Well, Brooklyn Based has answers! Today, Mylan revealed his newest project: a "food dork megaplex" in Williamsburg. It will be home to two endeavors. The Lab will be "New York's first real cooking school for home cooks", with a full supply of cooking, baking and beer making supplies, as well as an entire room dedicated to spices. The Meat Hook will be a sustainable butcher shop run by him and Brent Young, also formerly of Marlow & Daughters, offering cuts of local meat and ready made sauces and stocks. Mylan says "permits, construction and the gods willing we should open our over-stuffed doors in late October for end of year food mayhem." Considering there's something called a "Wild Turkey wild turkey" on the menu, we believe it. Maybe a Buffalo Trace buffalo steak could be next? more ›

For the better part of the last 60 years, Jimmy Prince has worked a 12-hour day behind the counter at Major Prime Meat Market on Mermaid Avenue. Yesterday, the 77-year-old butcher closed his shop for good, seeing as many longtime customers off as possible. Coney Island neighbors filled the place: some brought snacks, like plates of cookies and cake. Others cried. Former customers hoisted cameras above their heads to get a good shot of Jimmy and took pictures of the sign that said “no hamburgers left” taped to the front door. Glen Miller played on an old boombox in the corner. As the crowd spilled onto the sidewalk to share stories, inside the 75-year-old store Jimmy Prince demonstrated that he can still break down a chicken in less than 15 seconds. He stood at the butcher block and neatly put all of the parts in a plastic bag, handing it over to one of his last customers, a woman in her late fifties. Prince smiled and scooped some cookies into a separate plastic bag. “For your mother,” he said. more ›

A former barbershop on Broadway by the Williamsburg Bridge has become the latest addition to the expanding South Williamsburg culinary corridor, which includes (but is not limited to) Bridge Urban Winery, Marlow & Sons, Diner, Dressler, Miss Favela and La Superior. Now add Marlow & Daughters to the list; and before you get all "die yuppie scum!" please note that the barbershop closed only because the owner passed away over the summer, according to Brooklyn Based. (Of course it's possible he died from a heart broken by gentrification.) more ›