On the day that MySpace agreed to work with 49 states to stop sexual predators from using the social networking site to find young victims, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown was announcing a disturbing 56-charge criminal complaint against a couple accused of rape, sexual abuse, and forcing two young teens into performing sexual acts at a Manhattan strip club. Julio Rojas, a stripper, is being held on $500,000 bail while his wife, Sophie Soto, also a stripper, is being held on $250,000 bail. more ›

The three police officers facing trial for the November 2006 shooting of an unarmed man are requesting to their trial moved from Queens. Lawyers for Michael Oliver, Gescard Isnora, and Marc Cooper claim they won't be able to get a fair trial in Queens, blaming media attention for "incurably poison[ing]" any potential jury pool. more ›

The NYPD and FBI shut down a $3.3 billion Internet gambling ring, arresting 27 people and seizing $7 million in cash and assets worth $500 million, including four Manhattan condos. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly called shutting down website Playwithal.com "the largest illegal gambling operation this department has ever encountered." Here's how it worked, according to the Daily News:

Traditional bookies would give bettors a secret code to use the Internet gambling site, authorities said. Bets were taken on all kinds of sports, including football, baseball, basketball, hockey, auto racing and golf - and at the end of each week, the bookies would pay off or collect from each client. more ›

A graffiti arist, Oliver Siandre, with the tag "Kiko," was arrested for criminal mischief yesterday, after tagging at least fifty locations in Astoria. And you know who made one of the first calls to the police when "Kiko" started to appear? You got it: City Councilman Peter Vallone. In the Post, Vallone says, "He tagged private homes and the columns at Athens Square Park, apparently because he was trying to impress his girlfriend," who lives in Astoria; his quote in the Daily News is "I want this punk, and I want him bad." Police found spray cans and graffiti books in Siandre's Upper West Side apartment, and Queens District Attorney Richard Brown called Siandre "one of New York City's more notorious graffiti taggers." Really? Gothamist is curious to know who else is on the most wanted list. If anyone has seen the NYPD's notebook of graffiti, let us know. Anyway, this is either a lesson not ot tag in Vallone's neighborhood or it's a clarion call to tag in Vallone's neighborhood, to really mess with him. more ›

Authorities found over $22 million of heroin molded into furniture in Queens: more ›