Edited By: JV Staff

As a litany of details continue to emerge in the enigmatic story of the alleged suicide of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein on Saturday, it was reported on Tuesday that the warden of the Metropolitan Correctional Center in lower Manhattan (where Epstein had been incarcerated since his July 6th arrest on sex trafficking charges of underage girls) has been temporarily reassigned and two guards tasked with watching Epstein have been placed on leave, according to Department of Justice officials.

“Today, the Attorney General directed the Bureau of Prisons to temporarily assign the warden at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York to the Bureau’s Northeast Regional Office pending the outcome of the FBI and OIG investigations into the apparent suicide of Jeffrey Epstein, a former MCC inmate,” according to a statement by Department of Justice spokesperson Kerri Kupec.

“FCI Otisville Warden James Petrucci has been named Acting Warden of the MCC New York. The Bureau of Prisons also placed on administrative leave two MCC staff assigned to Mr. Epstein’s unit pending the outcome of the investigations. Additional actions may be taken as the circumstances warrant.”

The warden at the MCC facility who has been reassigned is Shirley Skipper-Scott.

CBS News reported that on the morning of Epstein’s death there was shouting and shrieking from his jail cell, according to a source familiar with the situation. Corrections officers attempted to revive him while saying “breathe, Epstein, breathe.”

On Monday it was reported that Attorney General William Barr said that his Justice Department has already found “serious irregularities” at the federal prison in which disgraced billionaire Jeffrey Epstein apparently committed suicide.

In interviews, Barr professed to being angered by the knowledge that staff members at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York had “failed to adequately secure this prisoner.”

Though he avoided giving details, Barr did confirm at a conference in New Orleans that investigations by FBI personnel and the Justice Department inspectors general are ongoing. He also made it clear that the investigation into sexual improprieties did not die with Epstein. Anyone who may have played a role, he said, “should not rest easy.”

“Let me assure you that this case will continue on against anyone who was complicit with Epstein,” said Barr. “Any co-conspirators should not rest easy. The victims deserve justice, and they will get it.”

“Speaking to law enforcement officials in New Orleans, the country’s top law enforcement official said he “was appalled . . . and, frankly, angry” to learn of the Metropolitan Correctional Center’s “failure to adequately secure ”Epstein,” reported the Washington Post. “Lawmakers also demanded answers from federal officials. The Democratic and Republican leaders of the House Judiciary Committee on Monday addressed a letter to acting Bureau of Prisons director Hugh Hurwitz demanding answers to questions about Epstein’s time in federal detention and asserting that Epstein’s death “demonstrates severe miscarriages of or deficiencies in inmate protocol and has allowed the deceased to ultimately evade facing justice.”

Not that anyone actually expected the case to end with Epstein’s life.

“Jeffrey Epstein is dead. But the criminal investigation that led to the sex-trafficking charges against him is not,” reported the New York Times. “Federal prosecutors and F.B.I. agents who built the case against Mr. Epstein will turn their attention to people whom his accusers have said participated in a scheme that dates back more than a decade and involved the sexual exploitation of dozens of underage girls. That could include a circle of close associates whom accusers said helped recruit, train and coerce them into catering to Mr. Epstein, a wealthy financier.”

That same suggestion – that more evidence will be turned up, and accusations made – appeared in the pages of the Wall Street Journal, as well. “The death of Jeffrey Epstein in a federal jail sparked a multipronged investigation into the apparent suicide of the financier accused of sexual abuse and raised the pressure to prosecute his associates in his absence. Mr. Epstein’s death puts the focus on people who allegedly helped him recruit young women for sex trafficking. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan pledged Saturday to continue their investigation, and a growing cache of evidence could lead to other targets.”

NBC News on Tuesday reported that FBI and DOJ investigators who are assigned to the Epstein case are hitting a brick wall in their attempts to interview federal employees who have already retained attorneys,

While Justice Department rules say all employees “have a duty to, and shall, cooperate fully” with the investigation, some employees have been reluctant to cooperate.

According to a CBS News report, Congress is the latest to start investigating Epstein’s death, with reports that one of Epstein’s guards at the Metropolitan Correctional Center on the night he died was reportedly not a regular corrections officer.

Also on Monday it was reported that government investigators raided Epstein’s private island in the Virgin Islands. This was one of the homes that Epstein owned that he allegedly took underage girls to for sexual encounters.

At this juncture, the focus of investigators is on alleged co-conspirators of Epstein’s such as rumored girlfriend and business associate British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell. Maxwell is the daughter of British media baron, Robert Maxwell, who once owned the New York Daily News. Ghislaine Maxwell has been accused of taking part in the recruitment of young girls for sex with Epstein. Reports indicate that she lured the girls into the scheme with promises of becoming a professional masseuse for free, as well as cash incentives and other gifts. In addition to Maxwell, three other women are accused of procuring underage sex partners for Epstein. Thus far, Maxwell’s location is unknown and she has not been arrested or charged with a crime.

Miami Herald reporter Julie Brown told CBS News that Maxwell “was more of a partner in his obsession, really.”

CBS News also reported that court documents from 2011 reveal Epstein controlled several apartments in a building just blocks from his $77 million New York townhouse and allegedly housed “underage girls from all over the world.”

On another aspect to this continually unraveling tale of perversion and of using wealth to escape the long arm of the law, CBS reported that Epstein worked as a paid consultant during the 1980s and 1990s at a New York financial company that participated in one of the largest Ponzi schemes in American history, according to court records and the accounts of attorneys and executives connected with the firm, Towers Financial.

Steven J. Hoffenberg, a close friend of Epstein’s, had founded Towers which was a bill collection agency. In 1987, Epstein was hired by Hoffenberg to help commit a billion dollars worth of financial fraud, according to a CBS News report.

“He was my best friend for years. My closest friend for years,” Hoffenberg told CBS News, speaking of Epstein. “We ran a team of people on Wall Street, investment people that raised these billion dollars illegally. He was my guy, my wingman.”

Charges were eventually brought against Hoffenberg for orchestrating the nefarious scheme which operated between 1988 and 1993, according to published reports. It was during this period that Towers raised more than $400 million through the sale of bonds and promissory notes to investors. CBS reported that Hoffenberg and his associates then used the money to cover operating costs, repay earlier investors —and enrich themselves. “I was one of the investors,” said Marvin Gerber in an interview with CBS News. “He swindled me out of $250,000.”

The well-connected and well-heeled Epstein had friends across the political spectrum. Theories about how he died and who may have had a role – on both sides of the political aisle – began to spread on social media in the mm Both #TrumpBodyCount and #ClintonBodyCount took hold.

VOA reported that in a selfie video posted on Twitter, the comedian Terrence K. Williams tied former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, also once friendly with Epstein, with Epstein’s death.

“He had information on the Clintons and the man ended up dead,” Williams said in a video posted to Twitter.

Accompanying the tweet were hashtags #ClintonBodyCount and #ClintonCrimeFamily. Trump retweeted that message to his 63 million followers on Twitter.

Some of the Epstein theories started to “trend,” making top 10 lists of topics people were talking about, according to the VOA report.

Questions are now turning to who will receive the lion’s share of Epstein’s billiions. His brother Mark showed up to identify his body at the morgue in the aftermath of his demise, but no other relatives have been visible on the scene.

Lawyers representing some of Epstein’s alleged victims, such as Lisa Bloom, (the daughter of Gloria Allred) have taken to the airwaves calling for Epstein’s litany of victims to be given the opportunity to collect their recompense from Epstein’s estate since the possibility of seeing their abuser spend the rest of his life behind bars no longer exists.

In an article that focused on what will happen to Epstein’s money now that he is deceased, writer Adam K. Raymond pointed out that, “last month, federal prosecutors said in a court filing that Jeffrey Epstein was worth at least $500 million and brought in more than $10 million in annual income. The accused child-sex trafficker, who was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell Saturday, also owned a $77 million Upper East Side mansion; a private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands; and homes in Palm Beach, Paris, and New Mexico. What becomes of all that wealth now? Three days after Epstein’s apparent suicide, it’s a question with no clear answer.”

CBS News was just as forthright, explaining that “the line to get that money could be very long. Even before he was charged in the most recent criminal case, Epstein had settled civil lawsuits with women who claim he had abused them, and was facing the prospect of more suits. Two of the lawyers who represent women who allege they were abused as girls by Epstein say they’d been allowing the criminal case to proceed before filing civil suits against Epstein.”

As for the question of how long it will take to unpack and resolve the money situation, CBS was succinct: “Short answer: Years and years. The first step is finding out who is in charge. If Epstein had a will, it would name the executor. If he didn’t, then the job would go to his closest next of kin, his brother, Mark Epstein. But Epstein reportedly abused at least dozens of women, potentially creating a legal bill that is larger than what is in the estate. For that reason, Epstein’s brother could take a pass on administering the money, especially if acting as executor could expose him to any liability, said Bruce Steiner, an estate lawyer in New York City.”

Attempting to accurately assess Epstein’s riches is proving extremely difficult. “Legions of lawyers, bankers and accountants have been trying in recent weeks to solve that mystery,” according to The New York Times, “and their quest is unlikely to end after Mr. Epstein was found dead on Saturday morning. The answers could illuminate how Mr. Epstein allegedly operated a long-running sex-trafficking operation, whether he had help from others and who — including Mr. Epstein’s victims — will receive any of his remaining assets. It is not known if Mr. Epstein had a will.”

By Ilana Siyance

The New York harbor is now cleaner than it has been for the past 110 years, according to a new report by the city’s Department of Environmental Protection. The last time the waters have been this clean, Albert Einstein had just put out his theory of relativity. The humpback whales popping up on our shores are further evidence to the less polluted waters. The oversized creatures are back, gliding past the Empire State’s five boroughs. They have followed the menhaden, or bunker fish, which are now more and more attracted to New York’s purer waters.

As reported by the NY Post, in 2011 only five humpback whales were identified in the waters off New York harbor. Last year, the number of whales spotted soared to 209. The year 2010 was actually the first time whales were confirmed in our parts of the water for more than a whole decade.

Paul Sieswerda, who has worked as a curator for the New England and New York aquariums since the late 1960s, was ready to retire in 2009. “But then the humpback whales started showing up,” he says. In 2010, several boaters swore to Sieswerda, 77, that they had seen a whale. A year later, Sieswerda started Gotham Whales, a nonprofit which offers sightseeing tours and also gathers data about Atlantic whales. “So far this year, we’ve seen 268 whales,” says Sieswerda, a Staten Island resident. “And we’re barely into August.”

The surge in the 66,000-pound placental marine mammals cannot be an accident. The presence of the whales attests to a change in the local marine life. Our waters are less polluted, so much so that the water is now fit to host a bloom of marine creatures. Many years ago, New York City was the oyster capital of America. Then, the population surge and industrialization infested the water with not only oil slicks and pollution, but also and primarily raw untreated sewage. It choked the oxygen from the water, making it uninhabitable for marine life. Now, we are starting to see improvements, slowly thanks to the implementation of the Clean Water Act of 1972, stricter controls over dumping waste and raw sewage into the harbor, and billions of dollars invested into the city’s sewer infrastructure, which includes the addition of 14 new wastewater treatment plants. Now, New Yorkers are on their way to taking their harbor back.

“This should be bigger news than it is,” says John Waldman, a biologist at Queens College and author of ‘Heartbeats in the Muck: The History, Sea Life, and Environment of New York Harbor’. “We’ve had a large humpback whale one mile from Times Square. That’s just an astounding victory for the harbor.” “People make a big deal about Central Park,” he added. “But in 2019, New York City’s greatest natural amenity is the harbor.”

By: Henry Meier

New York Attorney General Letitia James is claiming that a federal court in Washington does not have jurisdiction – but New York State does — to consider the president’s challenge to a state law making his tax records available to Congress.

Court documents were filed last week with U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols. Special Litigation Counsel Andrew Amer noted, “Mr. Trump fails to allege any facts to support the Court’s exercise of general jurisdiction over the New York Defendants. They are nonresidents outside the reach of this Court’s general jurisdiction.”

Attorney for the president are making the case that New York State put the TRUST Act in place in July specifically in order to target Donald Trump for his speech and political views in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.

The president has also filed suit against the House Ways & Means Committee, even though it has yet to ask for the information from New York State.

“Nichols ordered the state to file a brief after brokering a deal in which New York would wait a week after his ruling to turn over the records. He also ordered the state’s lawyers to tell him if the committee asked for them,” reported Crain’s New York Business. “Trump’s response to the state’s motion is due on August 19. Nichols will hear arguments on Aug. 29.”

“Plaintiff alleges no facts to support this Court’s exercise of personal jurisdiction over the New York Defendants, officials who reside in New York as required by law and work primarily in New York,” said James. “Nor does Plaintiff allege any facts to demonstrate that his sole claim asserted against the New York Defendants – a First Amendment challenge to New York’s Tax Returns released Under Specific Terms (“TRUST”) Act – arises out of any conduct by the New York Defendants occurring in the District of Columbia.”

In addition, she said that if should Trump’s suit not be dismissed by the count, the case should go it to a federal court in New York state. “Nor is the venue proper in this District. Neither of the New York Defendants resides in D.C., the complaint alleges no events or omissions by the New York Defendants taking place here.”

“Today’s motion argues what we’ve said from the outset — that this case has no place in the DC courts,” James pointed out in her statement. “While President Trump has spent his career hiding behind lawsuits, this premature suit will not move forward until the question regarding jurisdiction is settled. We look forward to making our case during oral arguments later this month. We maintain that the TRUST Act is constitutional, and we will vigorously defend it.”

By: Hadassah Kalatizadeh

Hundreds, or even thousands of former victims of child molestation in New York state are expected to go to court this week to sue their alleged abusers and the respective institutions. Expected defendants include the Catholic Church, the Boy Scouts, as well as a host of public schools and hospitals.

The Child Victims Act was passed earlier this year after over a decade of deliberation in Albany. The law extends the statute of limitations for molestation moving forward, giving new victims until age 55 to file lawsuits and until age 28 to bring criminal charges, compared to 23 under the old statute. Also, and perhaps more remarkably, the law opens a one-year litigation window for past claims that have been prevented by the statute of limitations, which was one of the country’s most restrictive and which has barred many victims from seeking justice for decades-old abuse. Opponents to the act were concerned about the heavy financial burden this may create for countless large institutions that care for children. This year, with Democrats in charge of the house, the bill was passed unanimously.

As reported by VIN News, Wednesday August 14th will be the first opportunity for those who wish to bring up old suits, during the landmark one-year window granted. “This is my chance to say: this happened to me,” said Michael Schall, 64, who says his scoutmaster in the Buffalo suburbs molested him beginning in 1968 for two years. “It’s affected me in so many different ways in my life, in who I am. This seems freeing. It’s like I’m bringing something to light that’s been held in the darkness for so long.”

It could, however, also propel a year of financial reckoning for the Catholic Church, the Boy Scouts of America, and other organizations. A similar law was passed in California in 2002, and Catholic dioceses there ended up paying roughly $1.2 billion in legal settlements for cases. “We don’t know exactly what to expect when the window opens,” said Joseph Zwilling, a spokesman for the NY archdiocese, a compensation fund for sex abuse victims set up in 2016. “We certainly anticipate that there will be lawsuits filed against the archdiocese, as there will be against many other institutions and public entities as well.” The fund, which has already paid out $65 million to 323 victims, is the nation’s second largest after Los Angeles.

“We believe victims, we support them, we pay for counseling by a provider of their choice, and we encourage them to come forward,” the Boy Scouts of America said in a statement. The organization said it supports allowing victims to sue individual abusers even though the statute of limitation has expired, and even supports suing the organizations— but only if the organization had a hand in concealing or withholding evidence in the abuse. It also acknowledged that the litigations present it with a financial risk and said it is “working with experts and exploring all options available so we can live up to our social and moral responsibility to fairly compensate victims who suffered abuse.”

Defendant Arrested Following Traffic Stop in Brooklyn

Edited by: JV Staff

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez on Monday announced that former National Basketball Association player Sebastian Telfair has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison for gun possession. Telfair, who was born in Brooklyn and attended Abraham Lincoln High School was convicted of criminal possession of a weapon in April. Police recovered a loaded gun from his vehicle during a traffic stop in Prospect Heights in July 2017. Telfair is the cousin of NBA player Stephon Marbury.

District Attorney Gonzalez said, “This defendant exercised his right to a jury trial and was found guilty of possessing an illegal firearm. The mandatory prison sentence he received today is required by law and he has now been held accountable for the unlawful conduct.”

The District Attorney identified the defendant as Sebastian Telfair, 33, of Orlando, Florida. He was sentenced today to three and a half years in prison by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice John Hecht. The defendant was convicted of one count of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon in April following a jury trial.

The District Attorney said that, according to trial testimony, on June 11, 2017, at approximately 2:50 a.m., officers in an unmarked police car saw a Ford F-150 parked on a center median at Atlantic Avenue and Classon Avenue in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. The pickup truck then made a U-turn off of the median, in front of the police and continued to drive down Atlantic Avenue without turning on its headlights. When officers approached to perform a traffic stop, the smell of marijuana was present, as was a lit marijuana cigarette in the car’s console, according to testimony.

Telfair was observed in the driver’s seat, and a second man was seated in the front passenger seat. Following the arrest, police conducted a search of the truck and recovered a loaded .45 caliber gun in the console.

The case was additionally investigated by Detective Investigators assigned to the Kings County District Attorney’s Office.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Alfred DeIngeniis, Chief of the District Attorney’s Violent Criminal Enterprises Bureau and Senior Assistant District Attorney James Slattery, also of VCE, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Patricia McNeill, Chief of the District Attorney’s Investigations Division.

Telfair and a friend, Al Eden Fuentes were arrested early on April 20, 2007 and charged with felony possession of a weapon, after a traffic stop. The traffic stop was prompted when Telfair was spotted driving his 2006 Range Rover 77 mph on the Bronx River Parkway, a 45 mph zone. Telfair was driving under a suspended Florida license. When the police searched Telfair’s vehicle, a loaded .45 caliber handgun was found under the passenger’s seat. Both Telfair and Eden claimed to not have any knowledge of the handgun. Police had yet to determine the registration status of the handgun.

In September 2008, Telfair pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon and received three years’ probation. In October 2008, the NBA handed down a three-game suspension following the guilty plea.

By: David Ben Hooren

In a sign of the lamentable times in which we live, a Crown Heights yeshiva for girls has become the first in New York City to install metal security doors.

The goal: protection from the kind of active shooter nightmares and antisemitic acts that have become all too common.

The Bnos Menachem school will eventually be fitted with 90 such doors. The work is being done by an Israeli company called Remo Security Doors. It has already installed nearly 50 security doors in Harrington Park, N.J., public schools, and still more in an estimated 50 Jewish schools and synagogues in Brooklyn.

“The 150-pound classroom doors, made of galvanized steel, are fortified inside by metal bars, the company says. The doors can be locked from the inside with a thumb turn, and no electricity is required. Each has a bullet-resistant window,” reported the New York Post. “Company president Omer Barnes said a bullet may penetrate the door, but a shooter could not get in.”

Aside from the actual safety that the doors will provide, it is the absence of stress and anxiety that the school’s administrators are trying to achieve.

The cost of the project, according to the Post’s reporting will be $225,000. A $150,000 Homeland Security grant from the state will help defray the cost.

“I think it’s great,” one mother told the Post. “It’s a very secure feeling to know that there’s a security measure and that they’re really thinking about the safety of the children.”

In June, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes (OPHC) will be embedded in the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice. The opening was months ahead of the November effective date established by the City Council law that originally created the office.

The new office will coordinate responses to hate crimes across City agencies, including the NYPD, City Commission on Human Rights, Department of Education, Department of Probation, Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs and District Attorney’s Offices, taking a holistic approach to preventing hate crimes, developing and coordinating community-driven prevention strategies to address biases fueling crimes, and fostering reconciliation and healing for victims.

The Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes will also support NYPD training, launch support programs for victims, improve coordination on hate crime reporting and work with affected groups to make sure victims come forward.

“In New York City, we celebrate and uphold our differences and reject any attempt to hate or divide,” said de Blasio. “The Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes will work to root out hate and make our streets safer, which is why we’re moving up the timeline and opening the office months ahead of schedule. We will never stand idly by while our fellow New Yorkers are targeted because of their race, religion, sexual orientation or any other quality that makes them who they are.”

By: Salvatore Enrigama

President Donald Trump has publicly ripped former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci on Twitter.

”Anthony Scaramucci, who was quickly terminated (11 days) from a position that he was totally incapable of handling, now seems to do nothing but television as the all time expert on ’President Trump,’” Trump Tweeted on Saturday.

The president added, “Like many other so-called television experts, he knows very little about me other than the fact that this Administration has probably done more than any other Administration in its first 2 1/2 years of existence. Anthony, who would do anything to come back in, should remember the only reason he is on TV, and it’s not for being the Mooch!”

Not surprisingly, Scaramucci also took to Twitter in response. ”For the last 3 years I have fully supported this President. Recently he has said things that divide the country in a way that is unacceptable. So I didn’t pass the 100% litmus test,” the high-profile hedge fund manager pointed out. “Eventually he turns on everyone and soon it will be you and then the entire country.”

He added, “To those asking, “what took so long?” You’re right. I tried to see best in @realDonaldTrump based on private interactions and select policy alignment. But his increasingly divisive rhetoric–and damage it’s doing to fabric of our society–outweighs any short-term economic gain.”

Scaramucci appeared last week on the TV panel show “Real Time with Bill Maher,” whose host is notorious for badmouthing conservatives. Among his comments: “I do try to defend [Trump], but there are certain things he’s done that are absolutely indefensible.”

On MSNBC last week, Scaramucci criticized Trump for personally meeting with victims of the mass shooting in El Paso, Texas. He said, ”Maybe he’ll tweet something negative about somebody for saying he didn’t do well, but the facts are he did not do well on the trip because if the trip is being made about him and not the demonstration of compassion and love and caring and empathy for those people, then it becomes a catastrophe for him, the administration, and it’s also a bad reflection on the country.”

The mass shootings in Ohio and Texas that killed 31 people “have fueled criticism that Trump hasn’t done enough to stem gun violence and has instead fostered extremism,” Yahoo reported. “Trump visited hospitals in each city last week, excluding press from those visits but releasing campaign-style photos and videos. Scaramucci said in a cable television interview Thursday that Trump drew negative news coverage of his trip because he made the hospital visits about himself rather than about comforting the gun massacre victims.”

“So, look, the president didn’t do well on the trip. He probably would be mad at somebody for saying that,” he said on MSNBC.

By Ilana Siyance

The new bail rules proposed in Albany will keep those arrested for low-level misdemeanors or non-violent felonies out of jail until actually convicted, after trial.

On Sunday morning, August 11th, New York Police Department Deputy Commissioner John Miller criticized the criminal justice reform, calling it “misguided”. In a session of ‘The Cats Roundtable’ with host John Catsimatidis on 970 AM New York, the NYPD top cop said:

“Everybody who gets arrested for anything except for maybe murder and attempted murder is going to be released without having to pay anything at arraignment.” Miller continued, “Before they enacted this law, 89% of people were being released at arraignment without having to bail anyway. Now that’s probably going to go to 99% — which is going to be a problem because criminals are going to know at the time they’re arrested ‘I’m not really risking going to jail.’”

As reported by the NY Post, the reform is slated to go into effect with the beginning of 2020. It is part of the $175.5 billion state budget deal, penned at the end of March by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state Senate and Assembly leadership. Though it was a controversial issue, the leaders decided to pass the measure eliminating cash bail for misdemeanors and non-violent felonies. Also as part of the bill, prosecutors and defense lawyers will need to share the evidence within a new expedited deadline of three weeks after the arrest. Also, NYPD officers will now need to issue desk appearance tickets to most people charged with misdemeanors and the lowest level of felonies. This will work to speed up the process, which traditionally included putting them through the drawn-out process of taking the suspects into custody, booking them and then having them appear before a judge. Proponents for the law, maintain that eliminating the cash bail for most, will help reduce racial disparities and help alleviate overcrowding in jails.

Miller slammed the changes, adding that the new expedited deadline for the trial discovery process will also lead to dangerous consequences. “That’s going to be a real problem,” he said. He said it will put victims and witnesses at risk. The police unions, as well as all five District Attorneys in NYC agree with Miller’s stance. The prosecutors say the new bill will allow dangerous criminals to roam free, endanger their victims, and limit the power of the judge and other authorities to restrain them, as per the Post.

“The actions they have taken will put victims in danger and I quite frankly do find the whole package unfathomable and outrageous,” said Staten Island District Attorney, Michael McMahon. “Many people accused with violent crimes, serious felonies are going to be back on the street.”

“If you are unfortunate enough to have your house burglarized, you are probably not going to be happy to find out that in almost every instance the court will have to release the burglar under the new law,” said a spokesman for retiring Queens DA Richard Brown. “When the reality of this law sets in, we believe the public will be rightfully outraged — and they are going to want to know who is responsible,” added Brown’s rep.

By: Zak Haverstraw

Elizabeth Warren says repeatedly that she doesn’t care for the one percent.

Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg is part of that one percent, and he doesn’t care for Warren’s mouthing off.

“If my company wouldn’t be successful, we wouldn’t be here today,” Bloomberg told Warren backstage at an Everytown for Gun Safety event in Des Moines this past weekend. “So enough with this stuff.”

“Billionaire Bloomberg founded Everytown and largely pays its bills. He used that role Saturday to take the stage alongside almost every Democratic presidential hopeful to give a speech targeting President Trump,” reported the New York Post. “Bloomberg recalled how the president said after the February 2018 Parkland High School shooting in Florida that he supported stronger background checks. “And then the NRA told him to drop it, so he did — immediately,” Bloomberg said.”

Bloomberg has been hectoring the president for allegedly caving in to the National Rifle Association. “He didn’t have the guts to oppose the NRA then and now, he faces the same choice,” Bloomberg told an audience. “So now the president can either find the backbone to stand up to the NRA or once again he can bow down to the NRA and kiss Wayne’s ring — or maybe kiss something else.”

The billionaire and one-time presidential aspirant added, “There’s been a lot of discussion about whether President Trump bears some responsibility for what happened in El Paso. Of course he does. Words matter. Words have consequences…. It’s not just criminals and psychopaths who are gunning down people. Dealing with them is hard enough. But now, more than ever: It’s white supremacists trying to mass murder African-Americans. It’s xenophobes trying to mass murder Latinos. It’s Islamophobes trying to mass murder Muslims. It’s homophobes trying to mass murder the LGBTQ community. It’s anti-Semites trying to mass murder Jews. And it’s other hate-filled people who see automatic weapons as a way to advance their poisonous ideology.”

Interestingly, Bloomberg’s name came up days ago when former Trump advisor Steve Bannon was being interviewed by Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business. “I said this last week, Maria, I don’t see anybody on that stage right now that can take President Trump one on one. I pride myself, he’s called me his star pupil, his top pupil, I’ve been studying this thoroughly and I don’t care what the polls say on Biden. Joe Biden is not going to be able to stand up to Donald Trump…. I think you got to watch guys like Hillary Clinton, Bloomberg, Michelle Obama, a whole raft of potential that they should look at very closely. Because the Democrats’ number one focus is to defeat Donald Trump, so I’m not so sure there’s a candidate up there right now, certainly, nobody on that stage takes on Trump one on one.”

By: Candace MacGuire

An NYU professor is making millions from a “sweet real estate deal” with his school, according to the New York Post.

“A New York University law school professor struck it rich, raking in $8.3 million from the university thanks to a sweetheart real estate deal,” reported the newspaper’s Melissa Klein.

Richard Stewart, who serves as the head of the Frank J. Guarini Center on Environmental, Energy, and Land Use Law, reportedly cleaned up from the 2017 sale of a townhouse on Charles Street where he had lived since the 1990s, according to the school’s most recent tax filings.

The townhouse, which measures 4,600-square-feet, was purchased in July of 2017 for an estimated $15 million by Le Petit Francozuelan LLC, the paper said citing city records.

“Under a 1996 deal with the NYU School of Law Foundation, which then owned the townhouse, Stewart had the right to purchase the property at an unspecified price, according to NYU’s tax filing,” the Post reported. “In 2017, Stewart transferred his option to “A third party who purchased the townhouse,” the tax form says. “In that sale, the university received the amount established under the agreement formula, and Professor Stewart received the balance of the proceeds of the sale,” the tax filing said.”

The newspaper quoted NYU spokesperson John Beckman as referring to the sale as “a one-time matter involving the sale of a property that served as faculty housing for over two decades, and both the university and the faculty member involved realized significant gains from the sale of the property compared to the original purchase price.”

This is not the first time that NYU has raised eyebrows with what some see as generous compensation for faculty members. As the Post story recounts, the university’s one-time prexy, John Sexton, reportedly received a loan for $600,000 for a Fire Island beach house. And a one-time Law School dean named Richard Revesz had his West Village townhouse “financed through the School of Law Foundation, records show.”

Indeed, the whiff of scandal has been in the air at NYU this year. In February, a student’s email that suggested it would be “easier” for him without a “black presence” in class made headlines.

“The incident has played out on social media as Shahem McLaurin, a black student at NYU’s Silver School of Social Work, described his experience. He was in France and so was going to have to miss class. He had obtained permission from the faculty member in advance to use FaceTime to be in the class virtually, but when he emailed various students in the course, they didn’t respond, so he was unable to see or participate in the class,” reported insidehighered.com.

Allegedly Made Fraudulent Misrepresentations About Permits and Other Required Expenses; Spent Money on Travel, Fine Dining, Luxury Apparel & More

By: David Ben Hooren

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced on Tuesday that a Brooklyn contractor has been charged in a 55-count indictment with larceny and forgery for allegedly stealing over $700,000 from a Midwood couple by charging them for a large-scale home renovation project but performing little to no work.

District Attorney Gonzalez said, “This defendant allegedly engaged in a lengthy and brazen scheme that took advantage of homeowners who put their trust in him. We will continue to investigate fraud and corruption in the construction industry and to seek justice for those who are victimized by unscrupulous or dishonest contractors.”

The District Attorney identified the defendant as Steven Crystal, 45, of Midwood, Brooklyn, who is the owner of House Doctor LLC. He was arraigned today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun on a 55-count indictment in which he is charged with second-, third-, and fourth-degree grand larceny and second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument. He was ordered held on bail of $50,000 bond or $25,000 cash and to return to court on October 29, 2019.

The District Attorney said that between December 2012 and February 2018, the defendant allegedly devised a series of schemes to defraud a Midwood couple who hired him to perform minor repairs to their home. The scope of work soon expanded to include the following projects: excavation and renovation of the basement in order to create a medical office for the male victim’s practice; building a six-story extension to the two-story home with a parapet wall; construction of an enclosed balcony with a retractable roof; repair of various leaks from the old roof; installation of an elevator; and installation of new gas and water lines.

The investigation found that the victims wrote over 300 checks to the defendant, based upon various fraudulent misrepresentations regarding the construction and renovation of their home. For instance: the defendant allegedly asked for money to pay for environmental reviews, architectural designs, construction permits and much more. To bolster the scheme, the defendant allegedly sent emails purportedly from government and other entities to show the necessity of the funds and presented the victims with other requests for fees that were actual forgeries. Furthermore, multiple checks written to the defendant by the victims were visibly altered and re-deposited multiple times into his accounts, the investigation found.

As a result of these multifaceted schemes, the victims lost over $700,000 in total.

A forensic analysis of the defendant’s bank records indicated that, unbeknownst to the victims, he utilized all of the funds for his own personal gain, including: $225,000 in ATM withdrawals; over $38,000 in purchases from Coach, Diane von Furstenburg, Oscar de la Renta, Burberry and other luxury retailers; $6,000 on flights; dinners at Tao, the Russian Tea Room and other restaurants; and more.

There were no debits on his accounts from the NYC Department of Buildings, the NYC Board of Standards & Appeals, the NYC Department of Transportation or the Department of Environmental Protection, nor were any permits issued by any of these agencies. In addition, there were no debits against his accounts for the various vendors and subcontractors that he represented were working on the numerous projects on the property. There were only $9,000 in expenses on building materials. While the defendant initially made some cosmetic repairs, little to no work was performed on the property.

By: Jared Evan

In a desperate measure to qualify for the next Democratic debate Mayor de Blasio has turned to the religious Satmar community for $1 donations for his campaign, using a fundraising plea written in Yiddish!

De Blasio needs to show the Democratic National Committee he has raised money from 130,000 individuals in order to qualify, and as of his campaign filing this month, he only had about 6,700, Politicio reported.

The failing campaign sent out a fundraising request for 10,000 donors giving just $1 each online and on WhatsApp, among those in the Orthodox Satmar sect, which is prominent in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

It opens with a donation request on behalf of those “who work together with the faithful askanim [loosely translated to influential people] who are in constant contact with the government to lobby on a number of issues on behalf of our holy institutions and communities and for individuals who need help and to represent your interests,” Politico translated from Yiddish.

“By donating the dollar, you support your needs, the entire ultra-Orthodox public and our rights and needs by answering the call of askanim who need to show that the public recognizes those who understand our interests,” it reads.

Finally, it notes, “with the dollar you do not support his candidacy, but you can help get him to the debate.”

This comes fresh off the heels of another failed weekend of campaigning, in Iowa.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio tried to win over Iowa caucus voters by holding an event at the Parlor City Pub in Cedar Rapids Sunday morning. The Daily Wire reported that “about 15 likely Democratic voters” attended, not including his staff, the press, or state Sen. Rob Hogg who organized the event.

From that small handful of people, nobody was too impressed according to Daily Wire.

Carol Wickey, 78, told the N.Y Post that while she “liked a lot of what he said,” his tone was too divisive” “I thought in his prepared comments he focused too much on working people,” she said.

“He did not say anything that would sway me that he would be my choice as a candidate,” she continued to the Post reported. “Nothing made him stand out among the other two dozen people.”

While the mayor accomplished nothing this weekend besides a photo op of him eating a corn dog with his wife at the Iowa state fair, protestors had their say regarding de Blasio’s absurd waste of energy in campaigning.

Protesters in Iowa passed out fake dollar bills with de Blasio’s face on them in response to the mayor’s efforts to put a homeless shelter on “Billionaire’s Row” in Manhattan, Daily Wire reported. Critics say they don’t oppose the homeless shelter but feel the building de Blasio plans to use is dangerous. Fox News reported that one of the critics, Michael Fischer, said the chosen building “is plagued with serious fire and safety issues that could cause a loss of life.”

By: David Ben Hooren

On Nov. 8, 1965, newspaper columnist and TV star Dorothy Kilgallen was found dead in her Manhattan apartment, at the age of 52. She made her regular appearance as a panelist on the TV game show “What’s My Line?”, and later that evening she was found dead, lying naked under a robe and still wearing make-up. The medical examiner decided that it must have been a tragic accidental mix of alcohol and sleeping pills. She was buried at the Gates of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne.

Last week, roughly 54 years later, author Mark Shaw filed a petition in Westchester Supreme Court to disinter Kilgallen’s body from the Cemetery, and to let him exhume her body for DNA evidence. The author of “The Reporter Who Knew Too Much” and “Denial of Justice,” Shaw investigated Kilgallen’s mysterious death and came up with an alternate theory. To prove his notion, he is requesting permission to test her body for DNA evidence. As reported by the NY Post, Shaw also wants the court to allow him to get a DNA sample from retired journalist Ron Pataky, who is now 84, to “establish his probable complicity in her death.” Pataky has admitted that he was “the last person to see her alive”.

“Examining the remains will, under the direction of nationally-known forensic expert Dr. Cyril Wecht, permit a DNA sample to be extracted from the body of a true patriot, denied justice from 1965 when she died up to this very day, for comparison’s sake with the man who most likely killed her, as noted below,” reads the introduction passage of the court document submitted by Shaw.

As per the court petition, as well as his books, Shaw believes that she was drugged and that the death was no accident. He maintains that Pataky was helping Kilgallen’s enemies, which included Mafia boss Carlos Marcello, who wanted the reporter dead to silence her ongoing investigation into the JFK assassination. Shaw believes the DNA tests may show that Kilgallen and Pataky had physical contact before she died suddenly. Shaw has served the petition to exhume Kilgallen to her three children, and Pataky, any of whom may object.

Before her death Kilgallen had interviewed Jack Ruby and had decided that she had cracked the case on JFK’s assassination. Her research, which she never got to publish, included a strong link between Lee Harvey Oswald, Ruby and Marcello.

In the petition, Shaw appeals to the court to allow the DNA tests, providing the following as his first reason for the request: “Pataky’s admissions to two close relatives of his being the last person to see Kilgallen alive, apparently by meeting her at the Regency Hotel bar a few blocks from her East 68th Street townhouse during the wee hours of November 8, 1965, and then accompanying her to her townhouse hours before Kilgallen was found dead in a bedroom she never slept in with her false eyelashes, makeup, and hairpiece still in place. In what surely amounted to a staged death scene, she was also wearing bedclothes she never wore, and a book she had already read was upside down on her lap with reading glasses nowhere to be found. Missing was Kilgallen’s JFK assassination investigation file which contained all of her notes about the president’s death, including those from her interviews with Jack Ruby at his trial. It has never been found.”

By Hellen Zaboulani

Exclusive clubs are back in style. After decades of falloffs, private clubs are making a comeback as the ultimate real estate trick.

Billionaire developer Stephen Ross is preparing to cash in on one such ultra-posh supper club. It will be located at 35 Hudson Yards, his mixed-use mega development which was completed this year with designs by David Childs and Skidmore Owings & Merrill, and interiors by Tony Ingrao of Ingrao Design. Known as the tallest residential building in Hudson Yards, the 92-story tower houses 143 residential apartments, the 200-room Equinox hotel, and a world-class Equinox club and spa. Ross himself occupies the penthouse in the tower. The residences range in price from $5.1 million to $27.7 million.

Owning an apartment in the building, however, will not guarantee a spot in the exclusive hush hush club. Nor will staying at the branded hotel. As reported by the NY Post, the supper club, which will be named WS New York, is slated to open in October. Though there will be an elevator that connects the club directly to the residences, residents won’t receive special membership privileges. “It’s not for residents,” an in-the-know source told the Post. “It’s for the developer’s super-rich buddies and CEO friends. Residents can join but it’s so expensive.”

The exclusive bar and lounge will be a collaboration between dining guru Kenneth Himmel, who is president of Related Company, the leading developer, together with the publisher of Wine Spectator, Marvin Shanken. The cuisine will be prepared by rotating the world’s most famous Michelin graded star chefs and sommeliers, who will orchestrate regular special events for the members.

The wine list will include only vintages rated 90 points and above by Shanken’s magazine, in what will be his first such undertaking. Two master sommeliers, both of whom passed the famously difficult qualifying exam on their first try, will direct the second-floor space together with Paul Nash, general manager at the St. Regis.

The WS New York is designed by Architect David Rockefeller with a modern meets old-school interiors motif surrounding a central fireplace. Low-backed club furniture has been picked out for the den-like dining room, where millionaire patrons can sip burgundy by the fire. A ground-level tavern, which will not require membership, will also be opened separately.

Related declined to comment on the cost for membership to the posh club, nor disclosed anything else about the secret club.

Similarly, Gary Barnett of Extell has plans to open a new private Central Park Club in his Central Park Tower, which is slated to be the world’s tallest residential building. The club there will feature three floors, spanning 50,000 square feet, with “curated luxury amenities” and a “unique experience complemented by five-star service.”

NYPD Hate Crimes unit investigating series of assaults on Hasidic Jews in Williamsburg. NY governor: ‘Anti-Semitism is a growing cancer.’

By: Tal Polon

Jews were violently mugged Monday morning in three separate incidents that took place on streets in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, CBS New York reported.

According to the report, three Hasidic Jews between the ages of 56 and 71 were attacked within an hour of each other as they walked to synagogue or work.

The NYPD’s Hate Crimes unit is investigating.

The attackers sneaked up from behind before punching the victims in the face and going through their pockets, police said according to CBS New York. They added that they believe there were three attackers, all of whom were teenage boys.

A community activist cited by CBS New York said that two people had suffered major trauma in the attacks and were still being treated, but are expected to be alright.

The attacks happened within about a block of each other on Wythe Place, Ross Street and Clymer Street between Bedford and Wythe avenues, police said.

Two of the men were taken to Bellevue Hospital and the third refused medical attention, police said. The attackers did not get away with any property, according to the NYPD spokesperson.

“Obviously, might just be a run-of-the-mill mugging with the attempt as a bias crime, knowing that these people – just like myself, I go out of my house at 5:30, and many of them do, because prayer starts at six,” community activist Isaac Abraham said.

“After every crime, if you take a look, that has been committed here, there is a meeting with zero results,” said Abraham.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo released a statement in the wake of the attacks, saying, “I am sickened by Monday’s series of assaults on Hasidic Jews in Williamsburg. In New York, we have absolutely zero tolerance for such heinous acts; they are completely unacceptable and are repugnant to our values of diversity and inclusion.”

“I am directing the State Police Hate Crimes Task Force to immediately provide the NYPD with any resources needed to assist in the investigation of this incident and to ensure those responsible are held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.

“Anti-Semitism is a growing cancer that has been injected into the nation’s body but in New York we will continue to stand united and with one voice condemn any and all acts of hatred and intolerance,” Cuomo added.

(INN)