Apparently cops can't use Google when filling out reports about stolen items! Because a Bronx police officer is accused by the NYPD of arbitrarily assigning incorrect values to a stolen iPad, as well as other items, and the total was less than $1,000, making "what should have been a felony case into a misdemeanor," according to the Daily News. more ›

The Republican political operative John Haggerty was found guilty of second degree grand larceny and money laundering related to the theft of $1.1 million from Mayor Bloomberg's 2009 re-election campaign. Haggerty, who had promised to use the money for ballot security but instead bought a home, faces up to 15 years in prison. more ›

Remember way back in July, when limber pranksters Seanna Sharpe and Savage Skinner scaled the Williamsburg Bridge for a death-defying acrobatic routine 300 feet in the air? Remember how they were then arrested and charged with criminal trespassing felonies for the little act? Well, aspiring acrobats, take heart, for Sharpe and Skinner are considered felons no more! more ›

Earlier this week, acrobat Seanna Sharpe and magician Thomas "Savage" Skinner shocked and awed audiences with a daredevil acrobat stunt atop the Williamsburg Bridge. Naturally, the duo was arrested mere moments after setting foot back upon solid ground, and now, Sharpe speaks out about her charges. more ›

The second part of Leandra's Law is going into effect today, forcing anyone convicted of a DWI to install a device in their car that would require them to pass a breathalyzer test before driving. If a BAC of .025 or over is detected, the ignition locks. Don Prudente, the owner of DriveSafe Ignition Interlock of New York, says, "It's so sensitive, it picks up what they did the night before. It picks up their hangover." Drivers also must pay for the devices out of their own pockets. more ›

After a dangerous attack on taxi driver Mohammed Chowdhury, Taxi Drivers of America officials are calling for new laws that would make attacking a taxi driver a felony. The proposed Taxi Drivers Protection Law would mandate felony charges on anyone who assaults a cabbie, even if there are only minor injuries. Taxi Workers Alliance executive director Bhairavi Desai told the Daily News, "We want the law to deter crimes against drivers, not have their safety be left solely to luck and miracles." more ›

There are wildly differing accounts of what happened during a fight in the 30th Precinct stationhouse in Harlem on March 20th, but this much is certain: Retired officer Merault Almonor is facing felony assault charges for allegedly punching a female cop so hard in the face that she's suffering partial paralysis. "He hit her like he was hitting another guy," one NYPD source tell the Post. more ›

As part of a response to increased crime rates, a special 60-car anti-terror team will be delegated to NYC's most dangerous areas. The NYPD's Counter-Terrorism Bureau, known for its terror-deterring "shows of force" around Manhattan landmarks like Times Square, will split off into smaller groups to combat rising felony reports (murder rates have spiked 22 percent so far this year). "This is a direct response to the increase in crime, murders, shootings that have been reported in the media," a high-ranking NYPD supervisor told the Post. more ›

Brooklyn’s crime statistics for the first quarter are looking none too good. Three months into the new decade felonies are way up, the Daily News reports, with almost 70 percent of Brooklyn police precincts seeing an increases in robberies, burglaries, grand larceny or auto theft of twenty percent or more. Last week Mayor Bloomberg blamed rising city crime rates on budget cuts, but Ft. Greene Councilwoman Letitia James gives an alternate explanation. more ›

A 270-pound ironworker was found guilty of aggravated animal cruelty after beating a five-month-old Dachshund puppy, “breaking six of his tiny ribs and damaging his lungs and liver,” according to the News. Reportedly, the calico-colored pup named Junior was “insubordinate” during a bath, so 25-year-old Dudley Ramsay “smashed” it against the tub. Hours later he called doctors but the dog couldn’t be saved. Ramsay later disclosed that another dachshund puppy named Viola had died in his care. In that case he was found not guilty of killing the dog but convicted of felony animal cruelty. "It's disturbing, especially because of the age of the dog and the breed of the dog," the ASPCA'S Joseph Pentangelo said of the earlier incident. more ›

The merger of the Bronx criminal and supreme courts has been deemed unconstitutional by an appeals court, raising doubts about the validity of thousands of misdemeanor convictions. In a ruling that could turn out overturning every misdemeanor conviction in the courthouse since 2004, the state Appellate Division determined that a judge didn't have the authority to make the merger, according to the Daily News. more ›

The Senate might have overstepped its bounds and broken the law when it voted to expel embattled state Sen. Hiram Monserrate, according to insiders and the disgraced Queens Democrat. After being acquitted on felony charges but convicted of misdemeanor assault charges for slashing his girlfriend in the face, the former cop has vowed to fight the ruling—and he might turn out winning. more ›

While awaiting jury selection to be completed for her trial, Natavia Lowery is getting into more trouble behind bars. The NY Post reports that she now faces felony charges for tossing a large container of urine (and "some solid material") in the face of a Rikers correction officer. more ›

Cops released positive new statistics for Williamsburg gun crime—the number of shootings in 2009 was about half of the previous year's count. According to the Daily Courier ten people were shot in 2009, that's eleven fewer than in than the 21 gun victims in 2008, a 52.4 percent decrease for the Bedford Avenue belt. Those are good stats, but is 2010 bucking the trend already? more ›

Gov. Paterson has pardoned a solider whose earlier conviction on gun possession charges barred had barred him from fulfilling his lifelong goal of joining the New York Police Department, the Times reports. In only his second pardon since taking office, Paterson granted clemency to Osvaldo Hernandez — a former paratrooper with the Army's 82nd Airborne Division — who was arrested in 2002 when police found a semiautomatic pistol beneath his car seat. more ›

Investigators have previously said that "everyone's hand was out" for bribes at SLA, and now two women have been caught planning to bribe liquor authority officials to help speed up a booze license approval. A court ordered wiretap allegedly found that Annie Guerrero, the owner of El Nido Del Aguila, in Inwood, and Maria Elena Nunez, the owner of an expediting company that represents businesses applying for liquor licenses, colluded to bribe an SLA official with $5,000, in hopes of avoiding a full SLA review. more ›

State Senator Hiram Monserrate's girlfriend spoke to the Daily News about her love for Monserrate: "I love him. We love each other and we want to be together again." See, Karla Giraldo hasn't been able to see Monserrate ever since a judge placed an order of protection preventing him from contacting her—since he slashed her last December with a broken glass—"I never asked for an order of protection. Now that the case is over, what is the reason for keeping us separated? I feel that the justice system has been unjust to me." more ›

State Sen. Hiram Monserrate was found guilty of misdemeanor assault, but he was acquitted of more serious felony assault charges after slashing his girlfriend's face during a Dec. 9 dispute. In a bench trial, Monserrate was found guilty of "recklessly causing physical injury to his companion, Karla Giraldo, by dragging her though his lobby after she was cut," the New York Times reports. If he had been found guilty of the felony charges — which each carried up to seven years in prison — he would have been forced to step down from his Senate seat. more ›

Later this afternoon, Justice William Erlbaum is expected to give his verdict for State Senator Hiram Monserrate's assault trial. The freshman Senator (and former NYPD and City Councilman) is accused of slashing his girlfriend last year, sending her to the hospital for 40 stitches. He and his girlfriend claim it was an accident. One expert believes, based on the 6 hours of closing arguments, that both sides know they don't have an open-and-shut case. more ›

Today in Kew Gardens opening arguments were heard in the bench trial of State Senator Hiram Monserrate, who faces three counts of felony assault against his girlfriend, Karla Giraldo. The Daily News reports that the prosecutor accused Monserrate of flying into a jealous rage at finding another man's business card in his girlfriend's purse, and attacked her with a glass of water, saying, "You want the water? You want the water? Here's your water!", slashing her face with the broken glass. more ›

State Senator Hiram Monserrate, who faces three felony charges related to allegations that he slashed his girlfriend's face last year, will now receive a bench trial, instead of a jury trial; jury selection was supposed begin today. Monserrate, who is a freshman Senator and who was part of the coup in Albany earlier this summer, has maintained his innocence, that a glass fell and accidentally ended up cutting girlfriend Karla Giraldo on the face. Giraldo also says it was an accident (though some hospital workers claim she indicted Monserrate may have acted purposefully)—the scar required 20 stitches to close. The NY Times notes that court documents say "Video cameras at the Jackson Heights building where Mr. Monserrate lives captured scenes of a violent confrontation between the couple." Monserrate's lawyer suggests that the video was spliced together in a damning fashion and says that Monserrate was actually trying to make Giraldo go to the hospital. Queens DA Richard Brown is confident in his office's case, "We have become leaders in successfully prosecuting domestic violence cases without the cooperation of the victim, who is so often reluctant — or fearful — to testify against her accuser." more ›

One day in June 2007, maintenance man Robert Lopez was taking out the trash at the Cadman Towers in Brooklyn Heights when he found some fake dynamite sticks attached to a clock. "I thought it was cool," he tells the Times, and so he took it home to make a piggy bank out of it. That idea landed him in Riker's Island (where inmates called him the "Mad Bomber") and an indictment on charges of "placing a false bomb or hazardous substance," a felony that carries up to four years in prison. A transit worker had spotted him carrying the fake dynamite and called police, who arrested him outside his Fort Greene apartment. Which he no longer rents; he lost his job and he's been homeless for a month. Sometimes he cleans a McDonald's in Brooklyn. Sad enough yet? In a teary interview with the Times, he explains, "On 9/11, from my roof of my building I could see the top of the towers smoking... I’m not a terrorist. I wouldn’t hurt nobody like that. Never." The Brooklyn D.A. isn't convinced, and Lopez is due back in court on Wednesday. more ›

State Senator Kevin Parker, who faces felony charges after assaulting a NY Post photographer, breaking his camera and bashing his car in, told reporters yesterday, "I don't think I have an anger issue. Hopefully this will be a bad memory." However, the State Police were aware of Parker's testy behavior last week when he "got out of his car at an entrance to a parking garage beneath the state Capitol complex and angrily confronted a security guard" because a gate wasn't raised, according to the Post. Parker was stripped of his leadership position as the Democrats' whip by Majority Leader Malcolm Smith; Parker said he backed Smith's decision, "It was the right thing to do. My personal problems cannot be a distraction to the Senate. We have a lot of work to do between now and the end of session." The Brooklyn lawmaker has previously attended anger management class for punching a traffic agent and was accused of choking and breaking the glasses of a female staffer. more ›

State Senator Hiram Monserrate (D-Queens) will be arraigned today on felony assault charges. He is accused of assaulting his girlfriend Karla Giraldo with a broken glass, leaving with her a black eye and a gash that required 20 stitches. And it seems that his colleagues are allowed to chip in for his legal expenses. more ›

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Governor Paterson signed legislation making any assault on traffic enforcement agents a possible felony. The Sun reports that previously, an assault on traffic agent was a misdemeanor (up to one year in jail and $1,000 in fines), but now the felony charge could bring 7-8 years in jail. One traffic agent told NY1, "I came out my vehicle to issue a summons, I started and the motorist came out his car and punched me on my head." Police Commissioner Ray Kelly added, "The message here is clear: If you touch a traffic enforcement agent, you go to jail." more ›

Everyone's favorite laxative cake bakers, three Brooklyn School for Global Studies students, got some good news yesterday: Though initially charged with felonies for giving their teachers and other staffers a cake spiked with Dulcolax (it was supposed to be a prank, but many went to the hospital in pain), the Brooklyn DA's office lowered the charges to misdemeanors, saying, "The injuries were minimal." The Daily News reported one student cried after being chased by photographers, prompting of the her victims to say, "Good. From what I'm hearing elsewhere it's all been a big joke to them so far." The students still face possible jail time. more ›

The two women who are accused of stealing from open houses are looking for deals from the prosecutors. more ›

A former math teacher at MS 190 in Forest Hills was arrested for child endangerment after allegedly sending former and present male students lewd instant messages. Bradley Dieffenbacher, 33, of Long Island, had worked at MS 190 since 2000 until his resignation on February 14, when investigators confronted him. more ›

Should a soldier who served in Afghanistan be able to join the police force? Well, not in New York City, when the soldier in question has a previous gun possession convictions The New York Times looks at a machine gun-wielding active duty soldier who can't apply to the NYPD when he returns home. more ›