We've known that former Bronx State Senator Pedro Espada loves to (allegedly) eat $100,000 in meals by using public money from his publicly-funded health clinic, Soundview Health Clinic. Last month, federal prosecutors said that Espada and his family spent about $60,000 on sushi and lobster and finally the NY Post has broken out Pedro's Picks For Publicly-Funded Family Dinners. more ›

After the revelation that Douglas Kennedy, youngest son of Robert F. and Ethel Kennedy, was charged with harassment and child endangerment after an apparent confrontation with maternity ward nurses, the husband of the nurse allegedly kicked in the crotch spoke out to the Daily News, "Her comment to me that night was, ‘I was assaulted tonight and could you believe it, it was a Kennedy who did it?'" more ›

The youngest son of Robert F. Kennedy was arrested last month after an altercation with maternity nurses at the Westchester hospital where his wife had just a baby boy. NBC New York reports, "Douglas Kennedy, 44, took his baby from the newborn unit of Northern Westchester Hospital on Jan. 7, against the instructions of hospital staff who told him the infant needed to stay there. Kennedy was quietly arraigned on misdemeanor charges"— harassment and endangering the welfare of a child—"Thursday night." more ›

A day after discovering a family of four dead in their Westchester County home, police say that Sam Friedlander, 50, beat his wife to death and fatally shot his two children in their beds before turning the gun on himself. Friedlander and wife Amy were in the process of divorcing, but they were still living in the same Cross River home: Amy in the master bedroom and Sam in a guest bedroom. Sam Friedlander's friends said his wife drove him to the senseless violence— one pal Michael Borg said, "I think it was just the constant berating. Everything he did she criticized. She belittled him in front of the kids," and that she treated him “like he was a piece of s--t, like he was worthless, totally emasculating him." more ›

Last week, Rye's Playland amusement park turned into Altamont bemusement park when police wielded batons and arrested 15 following an altercation between a park employee and a Muslim woman who was turned away from a ride because of her headscarf. Now, Westchester's Public Safety Commissioner George Longworth says that the situation escalated because of "a phenomenon that law enforcement has experienced across the country called flash mobs, where groups tend to gather rapidly because of texting." Uh, we don't recall seeing any skulls crushed at Darren Criss's flash mobs. more ›

A tour bus overturned on the southbound New England Thruway in the Bronx, right at the Westchester County line, killing 13 people aboard. At least six others were critically injured and while many others suffered other injuries. The bus, which held 31 people plus a driver, was headed from Mohegan Sun to NYC. more ›

Bleccch: Westchester County dumped 4.4 million gallons of treated sewage into the Hudson River last month—and didn't say a word, according to the Journal News. The disgusting event was apparently an "accident," which is no excuse for environmental group Riverkeeper. Riverkeeper's John Lipscombe said, "They've got to warn when there's a release — accidental or planned. It's unethical not to." more ›

The Carnival Cruise ship initially stranded off the coast of Mexico after an engine room fire knocked out all of its power on Monday has been receiving supplies via Navy helicopters and is being tugged back to California. The ship, which had been adrift for two days—without air conditioning, hot water or cell phone service— before the first of many tugboats arrived, has among its 4,500 people (about 3,330 passengers and 1,200 crew members) Westchester Legislator Bernice Spreckman, her husband Harry and a group of about 50 other senior citizens from Yonkers. more ›

On Friday night, a Westchester County Police officer pulled over a 2010 Dodge Avenger for a traffic violation on the Cross County Expressway. When the cop approached the vehicle, "he detected a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle" and called for another cop and a drug-sniffing dog. Sal, the narcotic detection canine, thought there were drugs and cops found 39.5 pounds of marijuana in the car's trunk. NJ resident Barringto Hylton, 30, was charged with criminal possession of marijuana in the first degree and, since his 2-year-old and 4-year-old kids were also in the car, endangering the welfare of a child. more ›

A Romanian man staying in Queens on a tourist visa was indicted for trying to commit identity theft after he allegedly placed skimming devices and cameras at ATMs. The Westchester County DA's office charged Razvan Apostal, 31, with eight counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument and one count of unlawful possession of a skimmer device. The police got involved after a customer at a Greenburgh Chase bank noticed the additional camera! Rye Patch reports, "After viewing the bank's ATM surveillance video, Apostal was pinpointed as the suspect. However, about a week later, Apostal committed the same crime at the Rye Ridge Shopping Center in Rye Brook." Police found him with the skimming device and also discovered eight counterfeit $100 bills in his car. more ›

After a series of coyote attacks this summer and recent confirmation that an attacking coyote was rabid, Westchester County schools are getting ready to make sure their students are safe...with the help of air horns. The Journal News reports, "At the suggestion of [Rye] Police Commissioner William Connors, teachers aides, physical education teachers and security guards will carry air horns when students are outside for activities and during arrival and dismissal, Schools Superintendent Edward Shine said." more ›

Westchester County health officials confirmed that the "mangy" coyote who attacked a teenager and toddler in Rye Brook had rabies. After the attacks, a trapper following the coyote saw her eat her own pup's head and then a police officer killed the animal after it lunged at him. The grandfather of the 2-year-old girl who suffered scratches (and her father, who protected her, were treated for rabies) told the Journal News, "It's scary to know that this sick animal was roaming around the village. It's a good thing to know the animal was ultimately caught. Hopefully there aren't too many other rabid animals around, but you never know." more ›

After coyotes attacked children playing in yards, the Westchester suburb of Rye embarked on an aggressive program to patrol the area for more creatures. One male coyote was caught near the the location of the second attack last weekend, but the city did not disclose the capture. The Journal News reports that it "learned of the catch from the Facebook page of the trapper's company, Quality Pro Pest and Wildlife Services." One day, local government will realize that social media will force them to be transparent! more ›

Another video game-loving thief was caught online! Police nabbed a careless electronics thief whose used a stolen Xbox for online play — allowing investigators to uncover a stockpile of pilfered goods he had allegedly stowed away in his grandmother's house. more ›

The Westchester DA's office announced yesterday that it took down a "high end call girl enterprise that operated both out-call and in-call prostitution services using more than thirty women over a 29 month period servicing clients in major hotels throughout Westchester County." White Plains residents Kenneth Fuina and Shawana Smith—the alleged ring leaders—were charged with promoting prostitution in the third degree while Queens resident Genevieve Margaret Peattie was charged with prostitution. more ›

Yesterday, a jury found disbarred lawyer Carlos Perez-Olivo guilty of killing his wife. In 2006, Perez-Olivo claimed he was run off Route 100 in Westchester County and that a gunman shot his wife in the head and him in the stomach, but police arrested him late last year. Cops, who had called it "an unusual-sounding incident," connected him to the gun, found in a lake and prosecutors noted that the gun looked a lot like some Perez-Olivo had been holding months earlier. Perez-Olivo, who lived on the same Chappaqua block as Bill and Hillary Clinton, had been disbarred over badly handling clients' cases (including defending a man who killed his wife's lover at the West 18th Street 1 station) and had attempted to get money from his wife's substantial insurance policy. more ›

Yesterday state officials announced that they have chosen to forgo plans to repair the Tappan Zee Bridge and instead intend to build an entirely new one. The new bridge would also include new a new commuter rail line to link up with Metro North and high-speed bus lanes at a total cost of $16 billion. more ›

A Westchester County home nearly finished with construction was destroyed by a gas explosion this afternoon. Construction workers had smelled gas--perhaps after dislodging or cutting a gas line--and called the fire department. more ›

A veteran New Rochelle police officer accused of raping a 17-year-old girl pleaded not guilty in court today. Sergeant David Rodriguez posted his $25,000 and was accompanied to court by his wife, Darlene Rodriguez, an anchor for WNBC. more ›

A New York State Assemblyman ticked off about congestion pricing for suburban drivers is retaliating by proposing a $4-per-ride surcharge for taxi riders, rather than the congestion fee of $8 for motorists entering Manhattan below 60th St. That taxis are another form of mass transit that allow New Yorkers to get around without owning a car escapes Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, whose district includes parts of Westchester County. more ›

Former Westchester County District Attorney - and one-time Attorney General candidate and potential Senate candidate - Jeanine Pirro and her husband Al Pirro have announced they are separating. Their statement to the press: "We have agreed to amicably separate. As always, our priority remains our two wonderful children. We ask that people respect our privacy. There will be no further comment." The couple has been married 32 years and have weathered through many years of... more ›

We admit that the departure of Yankees manager Joe Torre was a big story, but there was a bit of over kill with some of the coverage. On yesterday’s 5 p.m. newscast, WCBS devoted almost twenty minutes to the story. However, that seemed tame compared to WNYW following Torre from Westchester County Airport to his home with their helicopter. It seemed surreal and we felt as if we were watching some sort of Los Angeles style police chase, but without the pursuing patrol cars. The most restrained coverage came from WNBC, who devoted less not in the sports segment time to the story than anyone else. more ›

An investigation into a fire at a seniors housing complex in Yonkers revealed a case or arson and then murder. WNBC reports that the Westchester County medical examiner's office announced that 78-year-old Louise Paciarello was strangled to death before her residence at the Kristensen Homes was set on fire Wednesday. Investigators initially thought the fire was suspicious because they found two points of origin for the blaze. Paciarello had lived at the seniors housing complex for 14 years, but her sister said she rarely left her apartment there except to go shopping. more ›

In an effort to cut power consumption and adopt a more green profile, some New York City office towers are making use of a somewhat archaic air conditioning system: blowing air over giant blocks of ice. WNBC reports that financial firm Credit Suisse is using such a system to cool its offices in the Met Life tower off Madison Square. The basement of the building houses three main cooling rooms with "chilling machines and 64 tanks that hold 800 gallons of water each." more ›

Thirty years ago tonight, New York City lost electricity when a Con Ed substation was hit by lightning strikes and a "cascading effect" caused the system to shut down around 9PM. And NYC, as well as parts of Westchester County, were powerless for over a day in the sweltering heart of the summer. Subways were stuck, mobs set fires and stores were looted. more ›

Mrs. Astor's will includes directions about who gets certain personal possessions (e.g., friend David Rockefeller gets the stone Buddha head statue in the library of her apartment, another friend Annette de la Renta gets the four dog paintings from the staircase at Astor's Westchester mansion.) Most of Mrs. Astor's wealth is being given to NYC institutions she has supported throughout her life, like the Metropolitan Museum and the New York Public Library. A large sum is also being tranferred to her son, Anthony Marshall. more ›

Does the story of women from Manhattan trying to keep up with their competition in the workplace while dealing with men issues sound familiar? Candace Bushnell's latest series (based on her book) "Lipstick Jungle" is filling that "Sex and the City" void that...probably none of us have felt. more ›

It's been a tough week for Bernie Kerik. The former NYPD commissioner who had his bid to head up Homeland Security unceremoniously thwarted in 2004 amid allegations of shady dealings is now facing serious federal charges. The Washington Post reports today that federal prosecutors have informed Kerik that he is likely to be charged with multiple felonies, including tax evasion and conspiracy to commit wiretapping. This comes two weeks after Kerik refused a plea deal offered by prosecutors that would have required the former police commissioner to serve some time in prison. The wiretapping charge stems from an incident that would seem to straddle the categories Very Dumb and Plain Crazy, when Kerik and Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro were overheard planning to wiretap Pirro's husband in order to catch him engaging in an extramarital affair. Ironically, this conversation took place over a line that federal law enforcement had legally wiretapped. more ›

Fascinating legal ruling concerning a gay marriage split. Couple Steven Green and David Gonzalez were married in Massachusetts on Valentine's Day 2005, after four years of living together. Then a few months after the marriage, they separated and started their courtship with the law. From the NY Times:

...Mr. Green’s lawyer drafted a separation agreement, which both parties signed in September 2005, the court papers said. more ›