Prosecutors have been playing tapes of James Cromitie, one the men accused of plotting to blow up synagogues in the Bronx last year, speaking with the government informant. Cromitie is heard saying, "Sometime, I think I’m talking too much," "Somebody need to send one, one great big message, bigger than the World Trade Center," and "I would kill 10 [Jews] Before I think about killing one Muslim. Don’t be surprised if one day you might see me in handcuffs again. Don’t be surprised because I have zero tolerance for people who disrespect Muslims." more ›

Crime scenes: They're the place to be! But just like Bungalow 8 and The Beatrice Inn, once too many hangers-on start mobbing the place, it's so over. One NYPD supervisor tells the Daily News that too many uninvited cops are ruining the, um, scene: "Too many guys want to show up just to be seen." So the NYPD has introduced flashy new crime scene tape to try and keep out the rabble. Fine. This place is dead, anyway. more ›

The Bloomberg camp is hoping some offensive remarks made by a disgruntled restaurateur about Council Speaker Christine Quinn will do some damage to city Comptroller Bill Thompson, a mayoral hopeful. Thompson—not Quinn—was present during an intimate meeting with small business owners at a Village restaurant on Wednesday morning. According to audiotape provided by the Bloomberg campaign to Politicker, Sean Kavanagh-Dowsett, the co-owner of the restaurant Tea and Sympathy, called Quinn "a whore, and you can quote me on that!" Okay! And during the ensuing laughter, Kavanagh-Dowsett added, "I'll drop my trousers, and she can kiss my ass." The tape does not record Thompson saying anything to denounce the remarks, and one witness tells the Post that "Thompson laughed with discomfort and shook his head while looking at an aide, and covered his ears for a brief moment." Kavanagh-Dowsett insists he won't apologize because he thinks Quinn, who works closely with Bloomberg, is anti-small business (and pro-prostitution?). Thompson's campaign issued a statement saying, "Bill has great respect for Speaker Quinn and believes the comments made yesterday—at a forum open to the public—were inappropriate and offensive." more ›

State Senator Hiram Monserrate's claim that one of the grand jurors who voted to indict him for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend is a police officer who works at the very precinct that investigated the Queens Democrat. According to the Daily News, a 105th Precinct cop "recognized one of his colleagues sitting in the jury box" while testifying in front of the grand jury. The cop allegedly told prosecutors, who then told him "not to worry about it"; the cop also told a private investigator working for Monserrate. The state senator's lawyer Joseph Tacopina said, "It was incumbent upon the [prosecutors,] who were aware of the relationship ... to ensure that the grand juror not hear testimony from his fellow officer or participate in the proceedings." Tacopina also says the prosecution's case is flawed beyond this grand juror, suggesting the surveillance video that shows Monserrate "violently" jerking around his girlfriend after the alleged assault was edited together to look damning. Monserrate, in the meantime, has pleaded not guilty to the charges and maintains his innocence. more ›

Representatives for Radar Online, the National Enquirer and the NY Post have seen a video of a woman who, per Radar, "clearly resembles Ashley Biden, 27"—daughter of Vice President Joe Biden—"snorting several lines of cocaine.On the tape a man cuts up five lines of what is said to be cocaine. The woman who the seller says is Ashley then jokes with the man that the lines aren’t big enough." The video was shown by a lawyer representing a man who wishes to sell the tape, allegedly shot last year; the Post says it was shown "about 90 seconds of 43-minute tape" and told "it was legally obtained and that Biden was aware she was being filmed" (the lawyer referred to how Biden acknowledges the filmmaker). However, Radar reports that Biden was filmed without her knowledge. The filmmaker had wanted $2 million for the tape, but then, based on much lower offers, is willing to sell the tape for $400,000. The NY tab points out that Biden's dad coined the term "Drug Czar" in his crusade against drugs but adds, "The Post refused to pay for the video." more ›

Masking tape as art? Whatever! The Brooklyn Museum is making it so, however, with Sun K. Kwak's Enfolding 280 Hours installation. The New York-based artist has created her masterpiece from approximately three miles of black masking tape in the fifth-floor Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Gallery. She began installing the piece, with help from assistants, in early February and guessed it would take around 280 hours to complete, thus the exhibit's title. more ›

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 ›