An alleged member of the Crips is on trial for murder in the Bronx, and yesterday the judge closed her court room because his associates have allegedly been doling out threats—one witness was even beat up and shot last week The Daily News reports that Brandin Santiago's friends have "flashed gang signs in the courtroom and intimidated witnesses and victim's family members throughout the trial." Which has the Bronx DA's office asking for a closed trial. more ›

A friend and neighbor of an East Village woman who claims that two police officers raped her testified yesterday, saying that the alleged victim's windows' blinds and curtain were shut, which was "very unusual." Megan O'Leary explained that the blinds in the kitchen window, which could be seen from a window in the stairwell, "were always open so we could see each other in passing," but when she saw her friend after the alleged rape, "the blinds were drawn and shut." Also, her living room window curtains were closed, and they were usually tied back. more ›

Colombo crime family underboss John "Sonny" Franzese has been on trial for the usual mob standbys—racketeering conspiracy, robbery, extortion, narcotics trafficking, and loansharking—and the 93-year-old has been enduring ignominies such as his wife refusing to let him go to the bathroom and his own son testifying against him. Which might have been why he fell asleep, because it was too much excitement. But Franzese's defense woke him up when the lawyer dropped a bomb: That John Jr. has HIV. more ›

A Brooklyn woman who claims a police officer forced his way into her home and molested her testified yesterday that the cop said: "It's okay. You're 17 now. You're legal." Ronessa Hollingsworth says she was late to school when Officer Andrew Johnson ordered her to get into his squad car on Jan. 18, 2006. The cop then questioned her and demanded her cellphone number before driving her home. A few hours later, Johnson reportedly called Hollingsworth, showed up at her residence, and pushed his way in when the teen opened the door. more ›

This morning a doctor from the hospital visited by alleged victim of NYPD sodomy-by-police baton testified for the prosecution. Dr. Syed Ahmed said that contrary to the officers' testimony, it was "highly unlikely" that Michael Mineo's injuries were self-afflicted. Mineo went to Brookdale University Hospital on Oct. 15, 2008, immediately after the alleged attack inside the Prospect Park subway station. According to Dr. Ahmed, Mineo had elevated pulse and white blood cell count, which he said are "sure signs of a serious inflammatory response." more ›

Yesterday 26-year-old NYPD Officer Kevin Maloney broke the blue wall of silence and corroborated allegations made by a Brooklyn man who claims he was sodomized by cops during an arrest in a subway station in 2008. Maloney testified, "I see Richard Kern has a metal retractable baton, known as the Asp, out. I saw Officer Richard Kern have it placed on Michael Mineo’s buttocks." Maloney witnessed a half inch or an inch of the baton disappeared in "Mineo’s butt crack," and testified that he later saw Mineo pull his hand from out of his pants and show the officers his bloody hands. But despite witnessing all this, Maloney kept his mouth shut for days. more ›

Attorneys representing Al Qaeda-linked attempted murder suspect Aafia Siddiqui shocked a Manhattan courtroom today when they unveiled video evidence showing that two purported bullet holes in the wall of an interrogation room were there the day before their client allegedly picked up a rifle and shot at U.S. personnel. "The government says you can't press 'pause' in this case, but you can, because we have the video and we pressed 'pause,'" said lawyer Linda Moreno, as jurors looked at a still frame from a televised news conference after Siddiqui's arrest. more ›

Attempted murder suspect Aafia Siddiqui spoke in her own defense today — and this time she wasn't thrown out of court. Though her attorneys have argued the outburst-prone Pakistani neuroscientist suffers from "diminished capacity," exhibits "conduct [that] cannot be contained" and would use her time on the stand to "turn the proceeding into a spectacle," the judge allowed her to take the stand in a hearing to determine if certain evidence will be admissible in court, and if she is fit to testify in front of jurors. more ›

Today prosecutors called officer Noel Jugraj to testify in the trial of three other NYPD officers accused of participating in or covering up the sodomy of a Brooklyn man in the Prospect Park subway station in October 2008. Jugraj is not charged in the case, but he is the partner of one of the accused cops, Officer Alex Cruz. It's unclear if his testimony will help the prosecution much, because Jugraj claims he did not see his colleagues pull down Michael Mineo’s pants or sodomize him with a retractable police baton during his arrest. He also thinks that when Mineo screamed that cops violated him, he didn't mean physically. more ›

Today, for the first time, defense attorneys for three NYPD officers accused of participating in the sodomy of a Brooklyn man in the Prospect Park subway station got to cross-examine the alleged victim. During his second day of testimony, Michael Mineo reportedly became irate and emotional on the witness stand, and tempers flared from the very first question posed by defense lawyer Stuart London: "Good morning. You didn’t get stoned today before you came to court, did you?" more ›

Once again, the Al-Qaeda-tied scientist accused of shooting at U.S. personnel in Afghanistan was thrown out of a Manhattan courtroom for disrupting legal proceedings. This time, Aafia Siddiqui — who has already been tossed from the courtroom three times — interrupted the testimony of a chief warrant officer who was speaking about being wounded in Afghanistan. According to the Post, she shouted: "I feel sorry for you ... Don't do that. It will make America look weak in international court." Two jurors were also tossed from the jury and replaced with alternates, according to 1010WINS. The judge ejected the jurors after they "interacted" with a spectator, who was arrested. "They felt they would no longer be fair," the judge told the Daily News. Before the trial began, Siddiqui requested the use of genetic tests to keep Jews off the jury. more ›

The 25-year-old man who says NYPD officers sodomized him with a police baton after he resisted arrest in a Brooklyn subway station in October 2008 testified today. Two officers are accused of helping to cover up the brutality of another officer, Richard Kern, who is charged with aggravated sexual abuse and assault. In court this morning, the alleged victim, Michael Mineo, acknowledged he was a former gang member and said he ran from police who caught him smoking pot after they told him he was going to be arrested. Mineo's account of what happened when they caught up to him in the Prospect Park subway station is harrowing: more ›

As long as he lives, U.S. Airways Captain Chesley Sullenberger will travel the land to tell the amazing story of his successful emergency landing on the Hudson River in January; this morning found him in Washington to testify during hearings held by the National Transportation Safety Board on air safety and the growing threat of bird strikes. (According to the Times, researchers counted 229 people killed and 210 aircraft destroyed as a result of bird strikes in the last 20 years.) And yesterday the Smithsonian Institution announced that isotopic analysis of goose remains found in Flight 1549's engines confirmed that the birds were migratory, thus suggesting that habitat destruction would not have prevented the accident. more ›

Yesterday, a woman described a rape and attack very similar to how John Jay College student Imette St. Guillen was attacked. St. Guillen was found dead in 2006, and a bouncer at the bar she was last seen, Darryl Littlejohn, is on trial for her murder. While the woman was unable to pick out Littlejohn in a lineup, a judge allowed her to testify because the attack was so similar to St. Guillen's and another woman's. The Daily News reports that the woman described being "snatched off" Queens Boulevard, and then "the attacker handcuffed her and bundled her into a car," threatening her with a gun. "Warning her to shut up, the attacker drove her to a bedroom that sounded similar to Littlejohn's basement apartment in his mother's Jamaica home. The attacker taped a knit cap over her eyes - a key detail because Littlejohn allegedly taped over St. Guillen's eyes." After raping her, her attacker "forced her to clean up and change into shorts and a T-shirt," which had LIttlejohn's mother's DNA on it. more ›

The Flight 1549 crew received a standing ovation before they testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The crew members, Captain Chesley B Sullenberger III, First Officer Jeffrey B. Skiles, flight attendant Sheila Dail, flight attendant Donna Dent, flight attendant Doreen Welsh, appeared before the committee alongside LaGuardia air traffic controller Patrick Harten, who gave his first statement about the flight that eventually splash-landed into the Hudson River with everyonen surviving. more ›

After the first day of grand jury testimony, things do not look good right now for Officer Richard Kern, one of the cops accused of sodomizing Michael Mineo while he was being detained in the Prospect Park subway station last month. Yesterday Officer Kevin Malone, one of the other officers who arrested Mineo on October 15th, testified that he saw Kern place his metal baton against Mineo's left side and run it from left to right across his buttocks as Malone was handcuffing him. That baton is about 2 feet long and 1-1/4 inches in diameter. more ›

A 24-year-old woman took the stand and began to relive a terrifying ordeal as she described how she was raped, tortured, and held captive in her own Hamilton Heights apartment in April 2007. more ›

Dina Matos McGreevey is having her days in court this week, as the divorce proceedings between her and former NJ Gov. Jim McGreevey drag on ever-longer. Having settled the child custody portion of the divorce, Dina and Jim are now squabbling about the important stuff: money. more ›

For her testimony against stalker Jack Jordan yesterday, The NY Times described Uma's appearance as being "pared-down," as she donned "a gray shawl thrown over black slacks and a black sweater. Her golden hair was carelessly knotted in back, with long strands hanging down both sides of her face. She wore no makeup and looked thin and hollow-eyed." more ›

Following her parents testimony, Uma Thurman herself showed up at court today to face her stalker. The NY Post reports back that Thurman read excerpts from stalker Jack Jordan's notes to her, as "she pulled a shawl over her shoulders and hunched over as though overcome with a chill." She said Jordan's behavior was distressing, "It wasn't just a red herring or a fluke or a bad day. The fact that he had my parents home number and had arrived at the set and come back when he was told to leave started to paint a picture much worse than some isolated moment." more ›

A Queens DA took the stand yesterday, to testify about a detective who fired at Sean Bell, an unarmed man killed in a barrage of police gunfire hours before his wedding. DA Michelle Cort, who took Detective Marc Cooper's statement after the November 25, 2006 shooting, said, "He told us he fired a single shot. He was certain he fired one time." more ›