NEW YORK CITY CRIMINAL BLOG

SO WHAT HAPPENS NOW

2012-02-10T10:32:00.000-08:00

A Brooklyn homeowner charged with racing his car toward a cop and making the officer jump out of the way to save his life was himself saved by a surveillance video that shows him calmly parking his car while the cop never budges.

John Hockenjos, 55, was charged last Sunday with first-degree reckless endangerment after Officer Diego Palacios swore that the MTA engineer created a “grave risk of death” by driving his sedan “at high rate of speed into a driveway towards” the officer, according to the criminal complaint.

It is at this point that the police officer should be charged with perjury. He must be held accountable.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/video_clears_klyn_man_charged_with_VGXwIkKPFZXpqNsQPLqhIK#ixzz1m0OABcZl

TRAINING IN THE LAW FIRST

2012-02-10T08:17:00.000-08:00

Every time there is an incident involving and unjustified shooting by the NYPD, the bosses at One Police Plaza pledge to have more "training" for officers. This is simply a tactic used to try and calm the public. The truth is that the real training that officers receive is on the job. This consists of telling them to keep the arrest numbers just high enough where the commanders will not be abused at CompStat meetings. The idea that citizens of this city have constitutional rights not be frisked or stopped without reasonable case is told to officers at the academy and then quickly forgotten.We deserve a police department that follows the law. Ray Kelly must resign.

THIS IS CLEARLY NEEDED

2012-02-09T17:50:00.000-08:00

Legislators in Albany have introduced a bill that would create an inspector general over the NYPD which would be completely independent from them. This is an agency that has been needed in NYC for a very long time. The crimes committed by police officers against citizens is truly amazing. In the last year alone over 40 police officers have been arrested for crimes ranging from murder to framing innocent people for crimes they did not commit. It is time for an independent agency that is independent from the NYPD and the DA's offices in New York City.

NYPD BLAMES SPIKE IN CRIME ON WEATHER

2012-02-09T11:12:00.000-08:00

NYPD insiders say the only logical explanation is the unseasonably warm weather that has New Yorkers, criminals included, spending more time outdoors on snow-free streets. In early 2011, criminals had to contend with snowdrifts and blizzards.

"Everyone knows that bad weather is a cop’s best friend," one police official told "On the Inside."

"That is the only factor that seems to have changed. Last winter the city was buried in snow, and now there has been barely a snow flake," he added. This is simply unbelievable. Rapes has spiked and these crimes are mostly committed indoors so what explains that.In the 80's and early 90's crime was much higher than it is now even in the winter. So what explains that. The NYPD commanders are very quick to take credit if there is even a modest decrease in crime. But if crime starts to spike, they quickly look to protect their turf and place the blame on something out of their control. When will we have clean crime figures that are not manipulated by the bosses at One Police Plaza.

ARMED GUNMAN SHOT AND KILLED AFTER SHOOTING AT COURT OFFICERS

2012-02-08T10:24:00.000-08:00

A man armed with a shotgun was shot and killed by a court officer after he attempted to storm into a an upstate courthouse this morning, authorities said.

A man in a brown-hooded jacket with a scarf over his face rode his motorcycle in circles around Middletown City Hall.

The gunman, identified as Tim Mulqueen, then parked his motorcycle, which had a shotgun rack, at the First Federal Savings Bank parking lot next door and ran up the steps of City Hall holding a shotgun, witnesses said.

The man fired a single shot through the door to Middletown City Court, and a court officer then shot the shooter outside the court entrance by a metal detector.

STEVE BORLAND/TIMES HERALD-RECORD

A man with a rifle was shot and killed by a Middletown Court officer today.

The shooter was taken out on a stretcher to an ambulance and transported to Orange Regional Medical Center in Middletown, where he died a short time later, WNBC-TV/Channel 4 reported.

One court officer was wounded by the gunman and taken by ambulance to ORMC, according to a witness.

Two other court officers were taken to ORMC to be treated for shock.

Streets near the courthouse were closed while officers investigated the incident.

With Newscore

local/armed_man_shot_after_storming_upstate_rTY8pa4S0mOmd8WsLJfNpL#ixzz1loezB5Pe

THINGS LIKE THIS SHOULD NOT HAPPEN IN AMERICA

2012-02-07T17:36:00.000-08:00

Ray Kelly's son has been cleared of rape charges by the Manhattan DA, Cyrus Vance. This is a very disturbing story for anyone interested in a fair and impartial criminal justice system. Let us be clear. Cyrus Vance and Ray Kelly work together every single day. They meet to discuss law enforcement issues, issue press releases, and have joint press conferences. This is exactly the kind of relationship that we want the chief of police and a prosecutor to have. Thus, when Ray Kelly's son was accused, it was incumbent upon the Manhattan DA to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the case. This is routinely done in cases where there is even the appearance of a conflict. Recently, a Bronx ADA was arrested for DWI in the Bronx. Bronx DA Robert Johnson requested and received a special prosecutor from Manhattan to prosecute her. The case is scheduled to go to trial this month. I have no comment on Greg Kelly's innocence or guilt. It was Mr. Vance's obligation to preserve the integrity of his office. He should have requested a special prosecutor. One could have easily been assigned by the state attorney general or a prosecutor's office outside New York City. This investigation will only serve to raise the suspicions of those who believe that the rich and powerful receive more justice than the rest of us.

BROOKLYN TEACHER'S AIDE ARRESTED

2012-02-07T12:34:00.000-08:00

A teacher’s aide at a public school in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, has been arrested and accused of sexually abusing and videotaping students at the school, a law enforcement official tells SchoolBook.

The aide, Taleek Brooks, who has worked at P.S. 243 since 2001, was charged last month with possession and distribution of child pornography. While he was out on bail, the authorities found videos on his home computer that showed him molesting children in the school, officials said.

ALLEGED BROOKLYN COP SHOOTER IS OFFICIALLY CHARGED

2012-02-07T12:00:00.000-08:00

Luis Ortiz has officially been charged with attempted murder in the shooting of an on-duty NYPD cop. This means that the prosecution had enough evidence to convince a Brooklyn grand jury that there is enough evidence to out Mr. Ortiz at trial. While Grand Juries are criticized as being tools of the prosecutor, New York City residents tend to be a little more independent when they serve. Thus you will find that grand juries in New York City will dismiss cases more than grand juries in other parts of the country. It is our experience that the Brooklyn grand juries are very skeptical, but the DA has convinced them that they have enough on Mr. Ortiz. This indictment is not a good sign for Mr. Ortiz.

EX-NYPD COP PLEADS GUILTY TO GUN SMUGGLING

2012-02-07T08:35:00.000-08:00

A New York City police officer whom prosecutors called the leader of a group of officers who accepted thousands of dollars in cash in return for illegally transporting firearms into the state pleaded guilty on Monday in Federal District Court in Manhattan.

Enlarge This Image

John Marshall Mantel for The New York Times

The officer, William Masso, 48, admitted to all four conspiracy counts against him, just months after he and seven other current and former city officers were charged in a scheme to illegally traffic guns — including M-16 rifles and handguns with altered serial numbers, as well as cigarettes, slot machines and other goods — across state lines.

The Police Department said Monday that Mr. Masso, who had been suspended, was terminated “as of his plea today.”

Mr. Masso, who worked out of the 68th Precinct in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, did not comment as he left the courtroom.

NYPD HAULS IN GRANDMA

2012-02-04T16:03:00.000-08:00

After an unarmed teen was shot in the Bronx, the police took his grandmother who witnesses the shooting into custody where she was held for several hours and gave a statement. Why did the police take her in? How long was she there for? How was the statement recorded? Who has the statement? These questions become more and more important as the investigation moves on. In order for the police to justify this shooting there will have to be some evidence that this unarmed man did something wrong. It will also be interesting to know how involved the police were in creating the statement. There are times when the detective will write the statement and have the witness sign it. This appears to be a case of an unjustified shooting.

Ray Kelly May be on His Way Out

2012-02-04T09:59:00.000-08:00

As far as government employment is concerned once a scandal has occurred, the head of the organization is usually nudged out the door to make way for a new leader who does not have all of the history. The examples of this are many. In NYC the last ACS commissioner was pushed out the door because of the many failings of that agency. There is one exception in NYC. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly has been in his post for over 11 years. In that time, the NYPD has been rocked by scandal after scandal and Mr. Kelly remained safe on his perch. How? Police officers under his watch have been arrested for murder, drug trafficking, rape, assault, fraud, prostitution, domestic violence, dwi and the list goes on and one. The NY Times believes his days may be limited. With the sex investigation of his son and the recent anti-Muslim movie it may finally be time Mr. Kelly to move on. He has become a king beyond question. It is time for new leadership in the NYPD and it needs to begin at the top.

BRONX ADA ACCUSED OF DWI IS FIRED

2012-02-03T17:10:00.000-08:00

In a quick turn around, the Bronx District Attorney's Office has fired ADA Jennifer Troiano. This is an unusual move since the policy of the office had been to wait for the case to end to determine what they would do with an employee that had been accused of a crime. Past prosecutors have been charged with assault, DWI and domestic violence. But in each case they were terminated or asked to resign after the disposition of their case. None of the past cases have generated the media attention that ADA Troiano's case has. Her cause has not been helped by the fact that her case was often linked with the Bronx ticket fixing scandal. She will go to trial on her case later this month.

BRONX COPS SHOOT AND KILL AN UNARMED TEEN

2012-02-03T10:35:00.000-08:00

An unarmed Bronx teen was fatally shot by cops after they chased him into his family’s apartment building on Thursday, police said.

Ramarley Graham, 19, was hit once in the chest after an officer fired his gun during a confrontation in the Williamsbridge apartment about 3 p.m., police said. No gun was found at the scene, cops said.

Graham was rushed to Montefiore Medical Center, where he later died.

“They chased him into the house,” said the teen’s mother, Constance Malcolm, 39, who witnessed the shooting. “Nobody deserves to be shot in their own home.”

Moments before the shooting, officers from the NYPD’s Street Narcotics Enforcement Unit spotted Graham on the street adjusting his waistband and thought he had a gun, a police source said.

But Graham — who had at least two prior arrests for marijuana and burglary — ran when cops tried to approach him, the sources said.

Cops followed the teen as he dashed toward his second-floor apartment on E. 229th St., cops said. Once inside, Graham darted toward the bathroom with two cops behind him, cops said.

The teen tussled with a cop before the officer’s gun — a Sig Sauer .9-mm — went off and a bullet pierced Graham in the upper left chest, police said.

“He had some weed on with him,” said a family friend. “It wasn’t a big deal. They shot him inside the house. ... He didn’t have a gun.”

A police source said marijuana was found inside the bathroom and that Graham may have been trying to flush it down the toilet.

Police were still investigating the incident Thursday night.

Carmen Laspina, 40, was watching TV with her three daughters when she heard cops swarming the street.

“The block was really quiet and then, suddenly, you hear all these sirens, helicopters, and I see all these cops running,” she said.

“I looked out the window, and they were putting someone in the ambulance. ... He wasn’t moving. It was scary to see somebody shot like that.”

EX-NYPD COP THAT PLANTED DRUG EVIDENCE ON TWO PEOPLE WILL NOT GO TO JAIL AND ONLY RECEIVES PROBATION

2012-02-02T12:46:00.000-08:00

A disgraced NYPD detective convicted of planting drugs on an innocent couple was looking at jail time when he walked into court on Thursday.

He walked out with probation after blubbering that he was ashamed of himself and pleading for mercy.

"I can't look at myself in the mirror anymore," Jason Arbeeny told Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Gustin Reichbach.

“Sir, I am begging you, please don't send me to jail."

In a bench trial, Reichbach found Arbeeny guilty of “flaking” — framing two people by planting crack in their car during a 2007 bust.

Arbeeny, who was on the force for 14 years, tearfully apologized to his victims.

“My oath went down the window, my pride went out the window,” he said.

Reichbach admitted the weepy mea culpa got to him.

"I came into court this morning determined that the nature of this crime requires some jail time," he said.

"I frankly didn't expect the defendant, at the 11th hour, to be making these claims."

He then sentenced him to five years’ probation and 300 hours of community service. He said each hour Arbeeny spends speaking to cops or police recruits about his misdeeds will count as two.

The ex-cop technically faced a maximum of four years in prison, though sources said he was never likely to get that much.

He was one of eight officers indicted in a Brooklyn South Narcotics scandal. His trial revealed the seamy side of narcotics policing, including cops getting sexual favors from junkies in exchange for drugs and making false arrests to meet quotas and rake in overtime.

Reichbach called Arbeeny's conduct "not only reprehensible abuse of trust and authority but the corruption of the entire criminal justice system."

But he was swayed by pleas from the defendant, his wife and lawyer, who talked about how he had lost his job, his pension and his health.

Arbeeny even mentioned that his young son is in therapy after threatening suicide.

BRONX COPS BEING INVESTIGATED FOR BEATING A SUSPECT

2012-02-01T08:12:00.000-08:00

Four Bronx cops have been placed on modified duty after they were caught on video beating a suspect.NYPD Internal Affairs is investigating four Bronx cops after they were caught on video viciously pummeling and kicking a drug suspect bloody.

The officers, all assigned to the 42nd Precinct in Tremont, were stripped of their guns and shields and placed on modified duty after the footage surfaced on YouTube and other Web sites over the weekend, authorities said.

IMAGINE GETTING ARRESTED AND HAVING YOUR STUFF STOLEN, ALL BY THE SAME COP

2012-01-31T13:26:00.000-08:00

A New York City police officer was arrested on Monday and accused by prosecutors of committing a crime while he was arresting a suspect.

The officer, Anthony Rivera, 39, was charged with stealing two iPads from the car of a person he was in the process of arresting, according to the Staten Island district attorney’s office. The thefts occurred in a parking lot near a Target shopping center in Staten Island sometime between April 26 and 29 of last year. The police said they did not know why Officer Rivera was arresting the person in the parking lot.

Officer Rivera was charged with grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and official misconduct. The arrest was the result of an internal investigation by the Police Department’s Internal Affairs Bureau.

Officer Rivera has been on the force for five years and worked out of the 123rd Precinct station house on the South Shore of Staten Island.

THE NYPD CAN NO LONGER BE PROUD OF ITSELF

2012-01-31T11:04:00.000-08:00

In an unprecedented move, NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly has ordered that police officers not wear NYPD clothes or pins unless on duty. This is a very strange order. As a former ADA in the Bronx, we routinely made up t-shirts for the DA's office. Wearing clothing from your team, job, company, or group is a source of pride for many people. Especially police officers, many of whom are very proud of what they do. I am a graduate of Penn State and despite the recent scandals I am very proud of being an alumni and have the clothes to prove it. Ray Kelly just told his troops that they cannot be proud of their jobs. Good job Ray.

IT HAPPENED AGAIN

2012-01-31T10:13:00.001-08:00

A feud between rival livery-car drivers turned bloody yesterday when a thug sent a shopping cart flying off a mall garage near Yankee Stadium onto two men standing below.

It was the city’s second gruesome shopping cart attack in three months.

Sagne Ibrahima, 30, and Camara Lounceny, 52, both of The Bronx, were standing near the Home Depot on the Gateway Center mall’s ground floor at 5:28 p.m. when the cart plummeted from the third story, striking both in the head, cops said.

Sources said an hour before the attack, several Dominican drivers were arguing over turf with rival drivers, described as African immigrants, when security guards broke it up and sent both groups packing.

BRONX JUDGE SAYS 19 YEARS IS TOO LONG TO PROSECUTE A MURDER CASE

2012-01-30T13:55:00.000-08:00

Nineteen years was too long to wait to prosecute a murder charge, a judge has ruled in throwing out a 2007 indictment for a 1988 Bronx shooting.

Supreme Court Justice Troy K. Webber (See Profile), sitting in the Bronx, dismissed an indictment charging Raed Ayyash with second-degree murder, finding that the prosecution's 19-year delay in bringing it denied Mr. Ayyash his due process rights to prompt prosecution.

Justice Webber said she was "loathe to dismiss" such a serious charge, but found prosecutors had failed to prove the reasonableness of the delay.

"There is nothing to suggest that the delay was precipitated by anything other than inattention," she wrote in People v. Ayyash, 2777-2007.

In dismissing the charge, which carried a 25-year-to-life sentence upon conviction, Justice Webber singled out Risa Sugarman, then-chief of the Bronx district attorney's Homicide Bureau, for her handling of the case. New York has a very time specific law when it comes to prosecuting cases. However, this law does not apply to murder. There may be some valid reasons to delay a prosecution but non were given to the judge.

BOOKKEEPER TAKES $1 MILLION FROM THE CHURCH

2012-01-30T12:00:00.000-08:00

A church bookkeeper was busted Monday for breaking the Eighth Commandment in a huge way by stealing more than $1 million from the Archdiocese of New York, officials said.

Mild-mannered Anita Collins pulled off the scam by billing the church for non-existent services and funneling the dough into accounts she controlled, according to the Manhattan district attorney’s office.

Collins, 67, kept her bosses in the dark by keeping the checks under $2,500, sources said. Anything above that amount would have required a supervisor’s okay.

A HEARTBREAK IN NYC

2012-01-30T09:40:00.000-08:00

A woman who abandoned her 3-year-old and 5-year-old daughters in front of a Brooklyn housing project on Sunday afternoon has been arrested, the police said.

The woman, Dalisha Adams, 26, is charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor, the police said.

The girls, whose names were reported by The Daily News as Domini and Dioni, were found around 2:45 p.m. by a good Samaritan standing near theBay View Houses at East 102nd Street and Shore Parkway in Canarsie, the police said.

Domini, the older girl, told officers that they lived in “a blue house with flowers in front” and that their mother’s name was Dalisha, The News reported. Ms. Adams lives in the Breukelen public-housing complex
on Glenwood Road near East 105th Street, the police said, about a mile and a half from where the girls were left.

The police said Monday that the girls were in good condition and had been placed in the care of the Administration for Children’s Services, which did not immediately respond to an inquiry about them. It appears that ACS once agains failed the children most in need. The other thing that bothers me is that she was only charged with a minor crime and the most she can spend in jail is 2 years. This story is too disgusting to read about. The children look so cute and they were obviously scared and confused.

RAY KELLY FACES A LOT OF QUESTIONS

2012-01-27T07:12:00.000-08:00

With the investigation of his son and the anti-muslim movies being played at the NYPD, Ray Kelly will face a lot of tough questions. Mr. Kelly is not used to being questioned and when he does answer them, he often leaves out a lot of details. The first question should be how long did the NYPD investigate his son's case until they turned it over to the DA? Why did they even begin to speak with the alleged victim when they knew the accused was Kelly's son? With the NYPD there are always more questions than answers.

1 YEAR OLD BOY FOUND DEAD IN THE BRONX

2012-01-26T08:28:00.000-08:00

A one-year-old Bronx boy, who died soon after he was found unconscious in a Wakefield apartment Wednesday, had burn marks and bruises on his body, police sources said.

Police found young Richard Flood unconscious as he lay on the living room floor of a third-floor apartment where he lived on East 232nd Street at 11:25 a.m., cops said.

The child was rushed to Montefiore Hospital where he died.

The unresponsive youngster was first found by his mother’s boyfriend, who told cops he and the child were sleeping on the couch when Richard rolled off, police sources said.

The boyfriend was being questioned Wednesday afternoon but no charges had been filed.

Doctors found burn marks and bruises on the child, as well as signs that he had previously suffered a broken leg, the sources said.

The Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death. We should also find out if this child was being monitored by ACS.

RAY KELLY'S SON ACCUSED OF RAPE

2012-01-26T07:46:00.000-08:00

The Manhattan district attorney’s office is investigating an accusation that Greg Kelly, a local television anchor who is a son of Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, raped a young woman in Lower Manhattan last October, law enforcement officials and Greg Kelly’s lawyer said Wednesday. The police department felt it was a conflict and referred the case to the Manhattan DA's office. This poses a serious political problem for Cyrus Vance because of the way he handled the DSK case. This case should be sent to another DA outside of NYC because of the fact that every DA's office works with the NYPD and cannot be neutral in this case. The facts are still sketchy but the DA said he will do a full investigation.

THE NYPD HAS A PROPAGANDA PROBLEM AND THE MAYOR IS NOT HAPPY

2012-01-24T18:23:00.000-08:00

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said Tuesday that whoever decided to show a film depicting American Muslims as extremists to nearly 1,500 city police officers “exercised some terrible judgment.”

Mr. Bloomberg said that neither he nor the police commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly, had known at the time that the film, “The Third Jihad,” was being shown to officers. Speaking to reporters after testifying here at a state budget hearing, Mr. Bloomberg said that the film had not been shown at the Police Academy. The questions must be asked. Who authorized this? Who actually saw the film? We will probably never get these answers from the NYPD.