The front page of today's Daily News is devoted to "hero cop" Anibal Mercado, who saved a plane full of Jet Blue passengers from... a rowdy drunk guy on a flight. Mercado, a Bronx cop who was off duty and returning home from a Thanksgiving vacation in the Dominican Republic Saturday night, restrained the sodden passenger after he allegedly punched a male flight attendant. The inebriate in question, 22-year-old Antonio Ynoa, had been demanding club soda to mix with his rum, and Mercado says he flipped out when flight attendants said it was against the rules to drink Duty Free alcohol during the flight. more ›

We can empathize with a man who possesses an infamous name, but at least were never forced to carry a copy of The House at Pooh Corner to prove our identity. 50-year-old Deli worker Jose Delacruz has been arrested four times—and nearly deported by the FBI—because he bears the same name and date of birth as Jose "El Toro" Delacruz, a Dominican drug dealer who was recently extradited to his home country. The non-drug dealing Delacruz now carries a certified document stating that he is in fact not the '80s gangster El Toro. "No matter what I do, they always think I'm him," Delacruz tells the Daily News. "It's a terrible way to live. I'm scared all the time." more ›

A con man who posed as a Dominican Republic diplomat to get cash for a fake charity, ripping off real charities along the way, was caught in his web of lies thanks to suspicious Manhattan state Sen. Adriano Espaillat. Was Espaillat tipped off when he heard the name of the charity was "The Human Fund?" more ›

Nearly a year after a 7.0 earthquake hit Haiti and, among other things, sent a wave of cholera throughout the country, three New Yorkers have been diagnosed with the disease. City health officials say the three adults contracted the disease while in the Dominican Republic for a wedding, and though all of them have already recovered, health officials will test them to see if the strain they caught was the same strain that has ravaged Haiti. more ›

A doctor from the Dominican Republic was arrested Monday for luring New Yorkers out of the country with offers of cheap plastic surgery and then giving them exactly what they paid for. 51-year-old Hector Cabral, who is not licensed to practice medicine in New York, has allegedly been coming to town since at least 1999 to work the city's spa and salon scene for potential clients (he liked to whip out his black marker on the spot). Once he'd hooked them with offers of affordable boob jobs and liposuction they would fly to Santa Domingo, but the doctor's work was not so much magic—his patients were allegedly left with substantial pain, scarring and permanent disfigurement afterward. more ›

The Haitian evacuee who caused a massive meltdown at JFK Saturday afternoon when he strolled through a door into a secure area says he was "lost" and "just looking for a cab." Jules Bouloute told police he didn't see the no entry sign. "I was looking for the entrance to find a taxi [and] somebody told me to go through the door," he said, according to court papers. "I went through and the alarm went off." Bouloute—who escaped from earthquake-devastated Haiti via the Dominican Republic—may have been a bit distracted, but should he pay for the cost and inconvenience he inflicted on passengers, staff and the state? more ›

It took all of two days for reporters to track down just who Alex Rodrgiuez's steroid-supplying cousin was. It wasn't too difficult for ESPN to find Yuri (pronounced "Judy") Sucart because a source tells them, "He's been following Rodriguez around for years telling anyone and everyone that he was Alex's cousin, friend, and 'personal manager.'" more ›

Just now, Representative Charles Rangel, who is also the chairman of the House's Ways and Means Committee, gave a press conference to discuss his rent-stabilized apartments, forgetting to pay taxes on rental income on his villa in the Dominican Republic, and using Congressional letterhead to solicit donations for a City College center named after him. With his homespun wisdom and bowtie, Rangel claimed ignorance about the rental income situation in the D.R. (he said he called for more info, but they kept talking Spanish!), blamed the Republicans in Congress for being overly partisan and said he'll weather through it. more ›

Representative Charles Rangel's Dominican Republic villa continues to be scrutinized as it's now reported the interest on his mortgage was waived. This comes a day after his lawyer also revealed the powerful Chairman of the House's Ways and Means Committee did not report $75,000 in rental income (over the past 20 years) from the villa. more ›

What a week for Representative Charles Rangel! On Sunday, the House's Ways and Means Committee was on the cover of the NY Post, which said rental income from his Dominican Republic villa was not reported to the IRS in 2006 and 2007. Today, he's back on the front page...but this time, it's the NY Times which says he failed to report $75,000 in income since 1988 from that very villa! more ›

After the NY Post's cover story wondering about rental income from Representative Charles Rangel's Dominican Republic villa, a GOP group weighs in. Rangel's villa, which sits on a resort, has been rented out to hotel guests, but he hasn't reported rental income in the past two years (his chief of staff suggested Rangel may be a shareholder at the resort and put money back into the resort--but Rangel's tax returns don't mention that). The National Republican Congressional Committee now tells the Post, "Charlie Rangel is a fan of authoring massive tax hikes just as long as he doesn't have to pay them." And Representative Peter King (R-Nassau County) said, "Did he report the rental income or not? If he didn't, he'll have to explain why. I'm sure it will be investigated." more ›

Ever since the NY Times reported that Representative Charles Rangel had four rent-stabilized apartments--three for living quarters and one for an office--his real-estate holdings have been scrutinized. Now the NY Post puts a dozing Rangel on its cover for a story about his vacation property in the Dominican Republic. more ›

Mets pitcher Pedro Martinez, as well as the Mets organization, made statements about the video of Martinez appearing at a cockfighting event in the Dominican Republic.

From Pedro Martinez: "I understand that people are upset, but this is part of our Dominican culture and is legal in the Dominican Republic. I was invited by my idol Juan Marichal to attend the event as a spectator, not as a participant." more ›

A video showing Mets star pitcher Pedro Martinez at a cockfight in the Dominican Republican briefly surfaced online, outraging some people. Cockfighting is a popular - and legal - sport in the Dominican Republic, but it's illegal in almost all of the United States. more ›

We already covered the Super Bowl half time show alternatives, but what if you're not a football fan or your team didn’t make it? What if you don’t want to sit through a football game to watch commercials or if you hate Joe Buck and Troy Aikman? Well, don’t worry, there are some television alternatives for you if you don’t want to watch either the game or the countless hours of pre-game shows. more ›

Yesterday, people gathered for the sixth anniversary of the fatal American Airlines Flight 587 crash in Belle Harbor, Queens. It was the second deadlist aviation crash in U.S. history, with 265 victims. Mayor Bloomberg led the ceremony, saying, "Once again, we have come together to remember all of them, and to share the sorrow that all of us feel." On November 12, 2001, the Dominican Republic-bound plane had taken off from JFK Airport; turbulent air... more ›

It's a tie! Last month managed to tie 1947 as the warmest October in the 150+ years of Central Park weather observations. The last time the park had a record warm month was February 2002. The difference between sharing the record warm October with 1947 and breaking that old record was as small as could be. If the high or low temperature for any day last month been one degree higher October 2007 would have held the record outright. more ›

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. more ›

We were tempted this morning to throw up a pretty sky photo from the Gothamist Contribute pool and not write anything because there's not much weather to discuss. The week is starting out cool but will get warmer. By Thursday we should be seeing maximum temperatures in the upper-70s to around 80 degrees as the high pressure system that will dominate the weather this week moves further eastward. Skies are expected to stay mostly clear through the weekend and probably well into next week. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a large sinkhole on Nostrand Ave. and Quincy St. in Brooklyn, a large fight on Park Ave. and 129th St. in Manhattan, and a water rescue at the St. George Ferry Terminal on Staten Island.
• The Daily Show is giving the green screen that is used to fake remote segments a rest and actually sending correspondent Rob Riggle to Iraq to file reports for the satircal news show.
• This Morningside Heights dive bar, popular with trivia contestants and Jeopardy! fans, days are numbered due to an expired lease. What is the Night Cafe?
• The man who robbed a bank on East 23rd St. yesterday made his getaway by ducking into the nearby Dept. of Veterans Affairs Medical Center and stripping off his jacket to reveal a set of green surgical scrubs and blending into the crowd.
• Families are suing the city of New York for running the Pelham Bay Landfill, which they say is responsible for an epidemic of cancer in their neighborhood.
• Marcos Diaz waded into the water yesterday afternoon at the beginning of an attempt to swim around Manhattan two times. The 60-mile effort is being made to raise funds for children with leukemia in the Dominican Republic.
• If you think dressing dogs in raincoats or sweaters is ridiculous, you really should not click through to this Daily News slideshow of a canine fashion show.
• The New York Times reflects on the appeal of walking in the city. We wrote about walking for the thrill of it earlier this week. Do you have a city walk that stands out as being particularly enjoyable?

Maybe there is good reason to try to stay off Forbes' list of 400 wealthiest people. The Manhattan DA's office charged a 24-year-old Russian national with an elaborate identity ring that targeted rich Americans. more ›

Your overstuffed kitchen drawer of take-out menus is minuscule compared to the menus Daniel Rayas collected over a four month period. Newsday has a fantastic profile of the Texan grandfather who moved to New York City to help care for his newborn granddaughter and found a flexible part-time job that has taken him all over the city. Looking to make some money to pay for room and board, Rayas responded to an ad on Craigslist offering cash for collected menus. It was placed by online eatery guide Allmenus.com, and they put him to work immediately, offering $2 per menu collected. more ›

The two teams open with a home-at home-at home series (Brooklyn, Staten Island, Brooklyn) before getting the rest of their season started. Standing room tickets for tonight's game at Keyspan are still available. A cursory check for tickets at tomorrow's game at Richmond County Bank Ballpark showed that they were sold out. more ›

The police are reportedly looking for three to four suspects wanted in the fatal robbery of a Queens bodega owner on Monday. Bolivar Cruz (pictured) died on Tuesday after being shot in the head by robbers suspected of holding up over 15 other bodegas in Queens over the past few months. The robbers managed to steal $300 from Cruz's store. more ›

Give him the shiny blue National League jacket, spangled with every team logo, not the Mets jacket. Sure, he'd use police barricades as planks to scale the fence at Shea, but he was there to root for players -- Roberto Clemente, Willie Mays and Juan Marichal -- not the home team. Too tight a circle. Too small an o.

Last night, a bodega owner in Queens was shot in the face during an attempted robbery. Bolivar Cruz, father of seven, is now in critical condition, and police suspect that the robbery might be connected to another robbery - and to many others in the area. more ›

Yesterday morning, Mayor Bloomberg dedicated a memorial for American Airlines Flight 587, which crashed on November 12, 2001 in Belle Harbor, Queens. The Dominican Republic-bound plane had taken off from JFK Airport; turbulent air led the co-pilot to use the rudder to keep the plane up, but the rudder broke off. All 260 people on board - 251 passengers and 9 crew members - were killed when the plane crashed into the quiet residential neighborhood. Five people on the ground were also killed. Many of the plane's passengers were from Washington Heights and Astoria. more ›

Last month, it was revealed the Department of Education was investigating claims that teacher Johnny Cuevas vacationed with a student during spring break - and that school officials at A. Philip Randolph School tried to cover it up. Now it turns out that while Cuevas has been investigated, he was chatting up a 16 year old student online. From the Daily News:

While Cuevas was under investigation for the trip, he allegedly started contacting a 16-year-old from the school. more ›

-Atlanta 102 New York 92: The Knicks missed a great chance to open the season at 2-0. Facing an Atlanta team that only managed to win 26 games last year. New York turned the ball over 17 times and never got the big basket they needed to make it a game. more ›

They say that the best way to learn a language is by immersion, but what about a Spanish teacher who may have taken a student on a getaway to the Dominican Republic? The Daily News reveals that the Department of Education is investigating a teacher of doing just that - and the allegations are spurred by a fellow teacher who was staying at the same hotel. Apparently the teacher who saw teacher Johnny Cuevas and student Alenny Mercado told the principal of Harlem's A.Philip Randolph High School about the sighting last year. In fact, Principal Maurice Collins was told twice. Collins spoke to Cuevas, who denied the incident, in May 2005, but the principal didn't make a report. From the Daily News:

Collins told Cuevas Jan. 4 not to tell school investigators about that May meeting, fearing he would get in trouble for not making a report, Cuevas said in a notarized statement to investigators. more ›