Results tagged “thefbi”

Sixty-two men associated with the Gambino, Genovese and Bonanno crime families were arrested yesterday in a federal, state and local coordinated sweep in the New York region. A number of Gambino-related arrests were also made in Italy, and authorities have described this as the biggest mob bust in decades. Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Benton Campbell said, "Our goal is and always has been simple: to dismantle the Gambino organized-crime family in a coordinated and consistent fashion."

This morning, federal agents have arrested over 50 members of the Gambino, Genovese and Bonanno crime families in New York City, New Jersey, and Long Island. Authorities are calling this the "biggest mafia bust in more than 20 years."

New York State Senate leader Joseph Bruno is still under FBI investigation for possibly improper ties to unions that deal with state pension agencies! In 2006, Bruno said of the FBI's look, "I have nothing to hide. They are going into background over the past five or six years," but the NY Times describes the feds' current investigation as widening.

At 6:30AM yesterday morning, federal agents delivered "wake-up" subpoenas to the Reverend Al Shaprton and four of his employees at the National Action Network. The FBI and IRS are looking for financial and corporate records, some dating back to 2001, as part of an investigation into Sharpton's financing of his 2004 presidential campaign as well as allegations of tax fraud. Ten people in total were subpoenaed, including a former chief of staff who left in...

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a suspicious fire in the area of Ludlow and Stanton Sts. in Manhattan, a crane vs. overpass incident at Westchester and Prospect Aves. in the Bronx, and an armed robbery on Shell Rd. in Brooklyn.
• Musician/actor Jon Bon Jovi is suing the maker of an energy drink for selling a coffee-based beverage called Mijovi. The owner of the NJ beverage company says that the name of his product is derived from that of his girlfriend, Jovita. No word yet on whether the rocker will be suing pastry chain Cinnabon.
• A 13-gigapixel interactive panorama of Harlem taken from a neighborhood rooftop.
• Brooklyn is undergoing a building boom of hotels and completed ones are running high occupancy rates.
• A man was found guilty of a 2003 murder today and faces 25 years to life in prison for forcing a man who was dating his ex-girlfriend out of a 5th story window on the Upper West Side, and the man fell to his death.
• A Jersey City woman whose home is in the flight path of Newark Liberty Airport found an inoperable rocket launcher in her front yard this morning. The FBI said the launcher was part of an AT-4 anti-tank weapon.
• The owner of a Brooklyn bagel store near Bruce Ratner's proposed Atlantic Yards project thought it would be a good idea to name his new business Arena Bagels. After widespread criticism of the massive real estate project, and in turn his store's name, the store has been renamed A.R.E.A Bagels & Bialys.
• Time shares are a growing market in NYC real estate, for vacationers who want to own a portion of a city apartment and occupy it for just a few weeks a year.

Late last month, a number of handwritten letters were mailed to newspapers across the country, with a threat directed at Goldman Sachs, saying that "hundreds will die" with the sign-off "A.Q.U.S.A." Officials say they do not consider the threats to be credible, though they are investigating the matter to figure out who sent the messages.

It's the ol' layover-and-flee move: Thirteen players from Haiti's under-17 national soccer team "deserted" their team during a layover at JFK Airport. Six players returned, but seven are still missing. The squad was headed to South Korea to prepare for the FIFA's U17 World Cup, but now it's unclear whether their team will be intact for its August 19 match against Japan.

Law enforcement officials held a press conference Saturday to outline the details of the thwarted terror plot directed against JFK airport. The group of four men, three of whom were arrested yesterday, were planning on exploding the pipeline that carries aviation fuel to JFK. Their hope was that it would set off a chain reaction along the length of the pipeline, which is 40 miles long and runs through several residential neighborhoods, in a bid to kill thousands of people. They also wanted to plant explosives aboard an aircraft and in or near one of JFK's terminals.

Yesterday, six men were arrested for plotting to attack Fort Dix in NJ and other targets in the area. The men, Muslims from (the former) Yugoslavia, Turkey and Jordan, were apprehended after the FBI conducted 14 months of surveillance and infiltrated their group.

In the email exchanges he was unwittingly having with FBI agents, McDarrah tried to impress the fictional 13-year-old by name dropping celebrities he'd interviewed, like Rene Zellwegger and Jennifer Lopez.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: Found Explosive at Broadway and 116th St. in Manhattan, a Manhole Fire on Atlantic Ave. in Brooklyn, and a Homicide at 140-10 123rd Ave. in Queens.
• How to get a Manhattan hotel room for less than $200 a night. And it's not the Whitehouse on Bowery!
• Uphill and downhill could be two ways to characterize traffic safety debate in Park Slope, as a proposed bike lane for the incline known as 9th St. is run down by the neighborhood's Civic Council.

Follow the Bouncing Ball 1987, by Urban Photos.

happen today and that Silver may, in fact, okay the massive $4 billion project as long as Governor Pataki "doesn't tie it to other projects," according to NY1.

A painting by Goya headed to the Guggenheim from the Toledo Museum of Art was stolen last week. A "professional art transporter" was couriering the painting for the Guggenheim's "Spanish Painting: From El Greco to Picasso" show when it somehow disappeared in Scranton, Pennsylvania. If he existed, you know Dwight Schrute would be all over this.

be terrorists. The NY Sun has a quote from Rep. Vito Fossella: "Not to be an alarmist, but in this day in age, we have to err on the side of caution and vigilance when these situations arise. The fact is that in situations like this, bells and whistles start going off because it's identical to the way September 11 hijackers found their way here."

As London remembers the first anniversary of its deadly subway attacks, the Daily News reveals that jihadists were plotting to blow up the Holland Tunnel in order to flood lower Manhattan. The plot was apparently in the works months ago, with a "pledge" of support from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, with hopes, as the News puts it, "to drown the Financial District as New Orleans was by Hurricane Katrina." Well, given government response to floods, it's not surprising that terrorists would want to emulate disasters from nature.

- The FBI is still weighing whether to press charges

The NYCLU is working with the FBI as the federal agency investigates whether the NYPD violated civil rights of protesters during the Republican National Convention in 2004. The FBI only confirmed they did send a letter to the NYCLU, but luckily the NYCLU has a PDF of the letter here. The FBI is looking for Dennis Kyne, whose arrest was thrown out after "videotape contradicted" the police officer's account. Interesting - and we're sure the Secret Service has a list of all the protesters just in case. Still, the NYCLU loves it: "Commissioner Kelly may have thought he could ignore complaints from the civil rights community and even the Civilian Complaint Review Board about Convention arrests, but we doubt he can ignore the FBI." And we heard about the Civilian Complaint Review Board's investigations last week.

The FBI raided the offices of State Assemblyman Brian McLaughlin, suspecting him of helping electrical contractors to win city streetlight and traffic-signal bids. McLaughlin represents a part of Queens in the State Assembly and is also the president of the NYC Central Labor Council (that West 15th Street was also raided), and has been a supporter of Mayor Bloomberg. Right now, two electric companies have about $162 million of city contracts for street lights with the Department of Transportation. There is suspicion that McLaughlin received an American Express card from a contractor, as well as a home security system, so the feds took anything that could be a paper trail.

- The man who punched his neighbor because the neighbor's dog peed on his property, only for the neighbor collapse and later die during surgery, is now charged with murder

Their parents, fuming over their 30-year-old daughter's relationship with a gas-station owner, had set up a marriage with a doctor back in India. So, in a desperate bid to elope with the man she loved, the daughter — not identified by police — bought plane tickets to Arkansas.

Continue reading "Gothamist PSA: Don't Call in Phony Bomb Threats"

Mayor Bloomberg crowed about New York City's declining crimes rates contributing to helping the national crime levels dropping. The FBI released its Uniform Crime Report for 2004 yesterday, and it is interesting how NYC's crime has impacted the overall numbers: A 4% drop in NYC 2004 crime contributed to a 67% decrease statewide, while a 20% decrease in nationwide crime from 2001-2004 is attributed to NYC's crime reduction measures. These numbers will not only be repeated by Mayor Bloomberg over and over again as he marches closer to Election Day (and voters do respond to falling crime rates), but Governor Pataki has been taking credit, as he's eyeing a shot at the Presidency.

The Mayor is speaking! The Police Commissioner there! The FBI just shared some "specific" threat information about a threat to the NYC subways. The Mayor is trying to reassure commuters that the NYPD has done a lot (shout out to the Hercules team and subway bag checkers). He also says that a media outlet got the tip two days ago and held it. Also, shout out to "See Something, Say Something." A cynical theory: The Mayor is using this to draw attention away from tonight's debate! A paranoid idea: We're walking home, even though the Mayor is taking the subway tonight and tomorrow morning.

- It's hot out there. The City has lots of advice for staying cool and hydrated on their website not to mention the cooling centers that are open all over town.

The FBI's site about organized crime and Court TV's Crime Library on the Gambino Crime Family. It's true that the public has an unhealthy fascination with the mob, but how can when we not, when it's like a microcosm of society, with more guns and Italian food? The Goodfellas new two-disc DVD has commentary by Henry Hill, the gansgster whose life story the movie is based on. Other good mob movies: Carlito's Way, Donnie Brasco, and of course The Godfather. And two TV shows: Wiseguy and The Sopranos

- NYC's police force is the largest (37,000 members) and has the most cops per capita (one officer per every 215 residents), at a cost of $5 billion a year.