tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71545609705033972222024-03-05T23:38:41.220-05:00Westchester Guardian BlogTo send Press Releases, News Stories and Letters to the Editor, Email: editor@westchesterguardian.com.The Westchester Guardian Newspaperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746244426644755928noreply@blogger.comBlogger766125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154560970503397222.post-27257205903073833982010-04-01T22:49:00.000-04:002010-03-31T22:52:00.809-04:00Westchester Guardian Article/Mayor Clinton Young/City of Mount Vernon.MAYOR'S CLOSE FRIEND, <br />AN ALLEGED PEDOPHILE<br />ACCUSSED OF RAPE AGAIN.<br /><br />ACCUSSED OF RAPE AGAIN. THIS TIME AN INNOCENT 13 YEAR-OLD GIRL IDENTIFIED MAYOR'S FRIEND AS THE PERPETRATOR<br /><br />On February 12, 2010, at approximately 3A.M., the Lantana, Florida, police received a kidnapping report about a 13 year-old female runaway. Earlier that night, she had been picked up by one Craig Jones, aide to notorious boxing promoter, Don King. Jones is a Mt. Vernon resident and long-time friend and supporter of Mayor Clinton Young.<br /><br />The girl admitted running away, and advised police she had been at the Lantana Library using computers until 6:00 P.M. She then went to the coin laundry down the street and stayed there until 10:00 P.M. when Jones approached her in a black SUV. She got in and he drove her to Don King’s home in Manalapan, Florida. Jones was staying there to help re-launch the career of heavyweight boxing champ and convicted rapist, Mike Tyson.<br /><br />The young girl told police Jones insisted on taking pictures of her which made her uncomfortable. After the photo shoot, Jones had sexual intercourse with the underage girl. As recorded in the police report, after Jones finished with her, he washed up, wiped her down with a towel, drove her back to the Lantana Middle School, gave her $50 and sent her on her way.<br /><br />Jones denied having sex with the runaway, but admitted he picked her up and brought her to King’s house and later dropped her off.<br /><br />Sources in Mt. Vernon political circles said Mayor Young knew of Jones’s 2003 sexual abuse conviction in Westchester and could not care less. In that case, Jones forced a 14 year-old Yonkers girl to have sex with him while he took pictures of her. Mayor Young reportedly said: “He paid his debt to society, now let him be.” The jury deadlocked on the sexual abuse charge, and rather than face re-trial, Jones copped a plea with Jeannine Pirro’s prosecutors to a misdemeanor charge of “endangering the welfare of a minor.” Jones was sentenced to three years probation and forced to undergo sex offender therapy, but violated that order in 2006 which added two months to his sentence.<br /><br />Subsequently, Jones attracted much attention by operating an illegal bar and social club at 10 North 3rd Avenue in Mt. Vernon without licenses and permits. Ultimately, community pressure forced him to close down.<br /><br />In recent months, Mayor Young has been subject to withering criticism from community activist, Samuel Rivers, for surrounding himself with shady characters such as Department of Public Works Commissioner, Terence Horton, once arrested for illegal weapons possession; Director of Civil Defense, Antoine Lowe, once arrested for soliciting an undercover prostitute; and Building Inspector, John Allyene, alleged to have DWI convictions and a prior arrest for illegal weapons possession.<br /><br />A rape examination of the 13 year-old Florida victim was performed by William Rosenstein, M.D. He reported to Lantana Police the runaway was positive for sexual abuse and dried semen. A fresh tear of her hymen was still bleeding at the time of examination, and bleeding in the vaginal vault behind the hymen indicated very recent penetration. The runaway claimed she was a virgin prior to being raped by Jones.<br /><br />Clinton Young was a county legislator for many years before he became Mayor of Mt Vernon, and has been in the public eye for years. It is simply inexcusable for a public official to associate with anyone convicted of sex crimes against children. If Jones is convicted of this horrific crime -- which bears striking resemblance to Jones’s 2003 case involving a similarly young victim – then Jones like will be sent away for a long time, and Mayor Young will have one less acolyte at his re-election fund raisers, and one less criminal at his side when he delivers his concession speech following the 2011 mayoral election.The Westchester Guardian Newspaperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746244426644755928noreply@blogger.com52tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154560970503397222.post-21763454005380388262010-03-25T09:36:00.000-04:002010-03-29T09:38:38.470-04:00Westchester Guardian Article/The Court Report/Richard Blassberg.Banker Busted - Ripping Of TARP.<br /><br />Former New York Bank President First Charged With Attempting To Defraud TARP<br />Bank Seized To Protect $500 Million In Deposits.<br /><br />PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, NEIL M. BAROFSKY, the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (“SIGTARP”), JAMES T. HAYES, JR., the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Department of Homeland Security Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”), RICHARD H. NEIMAN, the Superintendent of the Banks of New York (“NYSBD”), GEORGE VENIZELOS, the Acting Assistant Director in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”),and JON T. RYMER, Inspector General of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC-OIG”), announced the arrest of CHARLES J. ANTONUCCI, SR., the former President and Chief Executive Officer of the Park Avenue Bank, on allegations of self-dealing, bank bribery, embezzlement of bank funds, and fraud, among others. ANTONUCCI also was alleged to have attempted to fraudulently obtain more than $11 million worth of taxpayer rescue funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. ANTONUCCI is the first defendant ever charged with attempting to defraud TARP. Additionally, ANTONUCCI was alleged to have used the Park Avenue Bank in a scheme to defraud two pastors of a Florida congregation out of more than $100,000 set aside to build a new church.<br /><br />ANTONUCCI was arrested in Fishkill, New York. He is expected to appear in Manhattan federal court.<br /><br />On the evening of Friday, March 12, 2010, the NYSBD seized The Park Avenue Bank and appointed the FDIC as receiver; FDIC has arranged for the sale of The Park Avenue Bank.<br /><br />According to the Complaint unsealed in Manhattan federal court:<br /><br />The Park Avenue Bank<br /><br />The Park Avenue Bank was a federally insured bank headquartered at 460 Park Avenue, New York, New York, with retail branches in Manhattan and Brooklyn. The bank’s clients consisted primarily of small businesses, for whom the bank made loans, extended lines of credit, and maintained depository accounts. As of the end of 2009, the bank had approximately $500 million on deposit, and over $520 million in assets. ANTONUCCI served as President and Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) of The Park Avenue Bank from June 2004 to October 2009, and also served on its Board of Directors.<br /><br />The Park Avenue Bank was federally-insured and regulated by the FDIC. Also, as a bank chartered under the laws of New York State, The Park Avenue Bank was regulated by the NYSBD. The bank was required to make certain regular disclosures to these regulators demonstrating that it was financially sound and that it had adequate capital.<br /><br />FDIC and NYSBD regulations require banks such as The Park Avenue Bank to maintain certain levels of capital, as a percentage of the bank’s total assets. Banks that do not maintain appropriate levels of capital are subject to various restrictions on their activities, and may be required by regulators to raise additional capital. Banks which do not meet minimum capital requirements can be closed by the NYSBD or the FDIC.<br /><br />The Park Avenue Bank was also an applicant to the Capital Purchase Program of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (“TARP”). The purpose of TARP was to provide funds to stabilize and strengthen the nation’s financial system by increasing the capital base of viable institutions, enabling them to increase the flow of financing to U.S. businesses and consumers. TARP funds were made available to qualifying banks; one of the critical elements of the TARP qualification process was the capital position of the applicant bank.<br /><br />Self-Dealing, Bank Bribery, And Embezzlement<br />The Complaint alleges that ANTONUCCI engaged innumerous instances of self-dealing while President and CEO of The Park Avenue Bank, including authorizing extensions of credit and overdrafts to customers with whom he had financial relationships; authorizing extensions of overdraft credit to a customer in exchange for the use of the customer’s private plane; and causing the bank to make improvements on, lease, and pay expenses for properties owned by ANTONUCCI.<br /><br />The Easy Wealth Line Of Credit<br /><br />ANTONUCCI used a company he owned, Easy Wealth Group, Ltd. (“Easy Wealth”), to fraudulently obtain funds from _ e Park Avenue Bank. ANTONUCCI could not authorize the extension of credit by The Park Avenue Bank to his own company without violating the bank’s rules against self-dealing.<br />Accordingly, to mask his interest in Easy Wealth, in early 2006, ANTONUCCI approached an associate and offered to make him president of Easy Wealth (the “Easy Wealth president”), with the understanding that his first order of business would be to apply for a line of credit from _ e Park Avenue Bank.<br /><br />The Easy Wealth president applied for a line of credit from The Park Avenue Bank in the amount of $300,000. ANTONUCCI personally approved the line of credit and later increased it to$400,000. ANTONUCCI even assisted the Easy Wealth president in preparing the line of credit application documents. The application as submitted contained numerous misrepresentations, including false statements concerning the Easy Wealth president’s personal assets and a fabricated business plan that contained false information about Easy Wealth’s financial condition and earnings. After the Easy Wealth president had drawn down the line of credit, ANTONUCCI approached him and demanded that he pay$70,000 to ANTONUCCI in the form of interest-free loans. ANTONUCCI only repaid $50,000 of the money. Easy Wealth ultimately defaulted on the fraudulently obtained line of credit, causing a loss to The Park Avenue Bank of $400,000.<br /><br />The Oxygen Overdrafts<br /><br />ANTONUCCI also approved approximately $8.5 million worth of over- drafts at The Park Avenue Bank to companies (the “Oxygen-related entities”) controlled by a co-conspirator(“CC-1”), who was a close associate of ANTONUCCI’s. Through the Oxygen-related entities, CC-1 brought numerous deposit accounts to The Park Avenue Bank, and submitted, or caused to be submitted applications for numerous loans from the bank.<br /><br />On more than ten occasions in 2008 and 2009, ANTONUCCI used CC-1’s private plane to fly for free to, among other places, Florida, Panama, Arizona (so that ANTONUCCI could attend the Super Bowl), and Augusta, Georgia (so that ANTONUCCI could attend the Masters golf tournament). All the while, ANTONUCCI approved over $8 million in overdrafts for the Oxygen-related entities’ various accounts at The Park Avenue Bank. On one occasion in 2009, when a check issued by an Oxygen-related entity bounced,CC-1 communicated to ANTONUCCI that he would not be allowed to use CC-1’s private plane.The Westchester Guardian Newspaperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746244426644755928noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154560970503397222.post-91183248589641277712010-03-18T21:16:00.000-04:002010-03-18T21:23:16.490-04:00Westchester Guardian Article/Domestic Violence.Domestic Violence Hurts!<br /> <br />Domestic Violence From Your Child’s Perspective “Mommy And Daddy Are <br />Fighting Again” <br /><br />Domestic violence and family violence are interchangeable terms and they <br />describe a situation that affects every member of the family, especially <br />children. Family violence creates a home environment in which children live <br />in overt and covert discomfort and fear. Children who witness family <br />violence, domestic abuse are affected in ways similar to children who are <br />themselves physically or psychologically abused. They are often unable to <br />establish secure and nurturing bonds with either parent.<br /><br />Children are at greater risk for abuse and neglect if they live in a violent <br />home. Statistics show that over 3 million children witness significant <br />violence in their homes each year. Those who see and hear violence at home <br />suffer psychologically, physically and emotionally and may ultimately <br />imitate the same behavior towards their peers, teachers and family.<br /><br />Children exposed to domestic violence are more likely to develop social, <br />emotional, psychological and behavioral problems than those who are not <br />exposed to such behavior. Recent research indicates that children who <br />witness domestic violence tend to show more anger, anxiety, and low <br />self-esteem than children who do not. The trauma they experience can <br />manifest itself in identification with the aggressor, and the emotional, <br />behavioral, social and physical disturbances that interfere with their <br />development often continue into adulthood.<br /><br />How Children Are Affected<br /><br />We know that it is very upsetting for children to see one of their parents <br />(or partners) abusing or attacking the other. Children, depending on their <br />age and gender, react differently to domestic violence.<br /><br />Younger children may become anxious, complain of stomachaches, and/or start <br />to wet their beds. They may find it difficult to sleep, have temper <br />tantrums, and become developmentally arrested psychologically, emotionally <br />and behaviorally. Amongst older children, boys may become aggressive and <br />disobedient, identifying with the aggressor. They may even begin to use <br />violence as a mechanism to solve problems. Some may turn to substance abuse, <br />while others may simply drop out of school.<br /><br />Girls are more likely to internalize their feelings and distress. They may <br />withdraw from other people and become anxious or depressed and may exhibit <br />low self-esteem, often developing somatic complaints. They are more likely <br />to have eating disorders, or do harm to themselves by taking sedatives, <br />drugs and alcohol, while still others may mutilate themselves.<br /><br />Children who witness violence at home often struggle with schoolwork. They <br />frequently suffer from symptoms of anxiety, depression and/or posttraumatic <br />stress disorder, experiencing nightmares and flashbacks.<br /><br />Long-Term Effects<br /><br />Children who have witnessed family domestic violence are more likely to <br />become either abusers or victims themselves. Children tend to copy the <br />learned behaviors of their parents. Boys learn from their fathers to be <br />violent to women. Girls learn from their mothers that violence is a way of <br />life.The Westchester Guardian Newspaperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746244426644755928noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154560970503397222.post-43135653579571194002010-03-11T22:47:00.000-05:002010-03-15T22:49:07.221-04:00Westchester Guardian Article.In Search Of...<br />A Genuine Public Servant<br /><br />Breathes There A Genuine Public Servant?<br /><br />It has been a tough, depressing winter here in Westchester, made more so by the constant revelation of corruption and misconduct in office by individuals who have been entrusted with our hard-earned tax dollars, not to mention our faith and good wishes. Even those of us with a healthy distrust, born of decades of involvement with, and observation of, government at every level, are experiencing a sense of disappointment that seems to know no floor.<br /><br />It would appear, particularly in County government, that the upper level, the administrators, commissioners, deputy commissioners, of so many departments, in so many instances, are not only unqualified and incompetent, but also far too willing to go along with the program. For 12 years under the incubator environment installed by Larry Schwartz and protected by both Jeanine Pirro and Janet DiFiore, the culture of corruption, the germ of infestation, has multiplied and thrived to the point of complete dominance.<br /><br />Megalomaniac that he is, Schwartz would go about intimidating Seniors who might get in his way, telling them he was “the most powerful man in Westchester;” and, indeed, he was. No County employee would dare upset him. No candidate for public office, including State Supreme Court Judge’s, Could run without his blessings. Not one penny contributed to the Democratic County Committee existed that wasn’t under Larry’s control.<br /><br />He controlled not only all of the funds contributed to the County Committee by raising them at event after Spano event. But, more importantly, he controlled the nearly $2 billion County budget. Under Larry Schwartz, a $70 million, 5-year contract renewable for five more years, was flipped and turned into an $87 million deal with a carting company New York City refused to do business with. After all, he had his super-majority in his pocket, having financed their election to the County Legislature. When he told them to jump, they only asked, “How high?” <br /><br />If the extra $17 million to haul trash wasn’t enough of an insult to wary County Taxpayers, he had a mold-infested, leaky old building in Ardsley that one of Andy’s big contributors couldn’t unload on anybody else, having tried for more than five years. At public hearings, not one citizen spoke in favor of the sweetheart deal, but we own it anyway, and the cost may very well reach $20 million!<br /><br />A year ago, Larry brought his talents to Governor Paterson; and, look at all the good he’s done up there.<br /><br />Meanwhile, back here in Westchester, we’ve had our share of political antics and crime what with the election fraud of Ken Jenkins, Jose Alvarado, Wilson Soto, and Wilson Terero and Company, supported by Commissioner/ Chairman Reggie LaFayette and his staff of tax payer paid collaborators.<br /><br />Adding a new dimension to the Board of Legislators, we now have a coke-snorting legislator from the 15th District, Gordon Burrows, a 52-year-old so snowblind that he couldn’t wait to getto his hotel room and decided he would snort with his buddy at a gas station. Interestingly, in each of his public statements of supposed regret, the last group he acknowledged, just before his dog, were his constituents.<br /><br />Mind you, though, he’s not giving up that $1,000-a-week parttime job for anyone. Hey, where’s he going to get the money for blow if he does the right thing?<br /><br />Then, there’s Mayor Bradley of White Plains.<br /><br />Keep in mind this three-ring circus of crime and corruption here in Westchester is going on with the full knowledge and culpable protection of one DA Janet DiFiore, whose husband tried to bribe the Right-to-Life candidate of the ballot when she ran in 2005. Janet DiFiore ran as a Republican for County positions three times, but, was really a Democrat at heart. Not.<br /><br />It’s so comforting to know we have someone of her character and principle to protect us from all of the crime and corruption of her buddies and cohorts; isn’t it?The Westchester Guardian Newspaperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746244426644755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154560970503397222.post-51547437936277434912010-03-04T18:53:00.000-05:002010-03-04T18:55:20.844-05:00Westchester Guardian Article/Gordon Burrows/Ken Jenkins/In Our Opinion.Jenkins & Burrows<br />Both Belong In Jail<br /><br />In Our Opinion...<br /><br />Jenkins And Burrows Both Belong In Jail<br /><br />We believe it’s ludicrous that media, The Journal News, and Cablevision News12, approach the likes of Ken Jenkins, unlawfully occupying a seat on the Westchester County Legislature, for an opinion with respect to the arrest of Gordon Burrows for the use and possession of cocaine. Jenkins was quoted as saying, “As a legislative body, we work according to the law.” If that were so, Jenkins and Burrows would both be locked up. Mr. Jenkins is a liar, straight and simple. Consider the irony in the present situation. Jenkins, his wife and children, live at 108 Bushie Avenue, Yonkers, in the 15th Legislative District, which just happens to be Gordon Burrows’ district. Burrows knows that, and so does every other legislator. Yet, Jenkins, without any opposition, took over the seat once occupied by Andrea Stewart-Cousins, in the 16th District, by committing a felony, Election Fraud, re-registering, fraudulently, in December 2006, claiming a multi-family dwelling on Moultrie Avenue, more than half a mile from where he actually lives, as his domicile.<br /><br />If prosecuted on just one count of Election Fraud, and convicted, he will be subject to four years in prison and a $5,000 fine. As it stands, he’s guilty of several counts over the last three years or more.<br /><br />Ironically, of all of his 16 co-conspirators, the one who had the greatest obligation to expose Jenkins’ arrogant fraud, was Gordon Burrows, in whose district Jenkins actually lives. But it is so conspicuous that the County Legislature is one big joke on the taxpaying public, an unnecessary extra layer of political fat.<br /><br />To prove their corrupt commitment to each other’s ripoff of their constituents, they made Jenkins their Chairman, in effect saying, “We know he’s committing a fraud, and doesn’t belong here. But we’ll show you how much we care about you people who pay our salaries and benefits. We’re going to put this fraud in your face by making him Chairman of the Board.”<br /><br />Imagine, Jenkins had the gall to tell a reporter for The Journal News, referring to Burrows, “He is not the first person in Countyemployment who has been arrested, but we are held to a muchhigher standard.”<br /><br />Mr. Jenkins, we couldn’t agree more. You and your co-conspirator buddies should be held to “a much higher standard,” and both you and Mr. Burrows should be locked up. No ifs, ands or buts about it.The Westchester Guardian Newspaperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746244426644755928noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154560970503397222.post-79583989264223231142010-02-25T00:00:00.000-05:002010-02-24T23:56:13.289-05:00Westchester Guardian Article/The Court Report.<strong><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:180%;">Judge Sentences Kerik To Substantially More Than Upper Level Of Federal Guidelines.</span></strong>
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<br /><strong><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:180%;">Grants Him Three Months Before Surrendering To Prison United States District Court, 300 Quarropas Street, White Plains Judge Stephen C. Robinson, Presiding.</span></strong>
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Last Thursday morning, February 18th, former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik appeared for sentencing before United States District Court Judge Stephen C. Robinson following his plea of guilty to eight separate felony charges. Although not binding on Robinson, Kerik’s attorney, Michael Bachner, had come to an agreement several months ago with federal prosecutors Michael Bosworth, Perry Carbone and Elliot Jacobson, that his guilty plea would subject him to a sentence of between 27 to 33 months should the sentencing judge elect to follow the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.</span>
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Robinson opened the session at 10:11am with the statement, “We are here to sentence Mr. Kerik on his guilty pleading to eight felonies.” Addressing Kerik’s attorney, the Judge then said, “Let me first turn to you, Mr. Bachner; have you had a chance to go over the pre-sentence report?”
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Bachner replied, “We have,” and then indicated that any prior issues with the report were “deemed to be resolved.”
<br />Robinson then turned to Bosworth, Carbone and Jacobson, who indicated they, too, were satisfied with the report.</span>
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<br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;">The Judge then reviewed all of the five documents that he had read, (1) the pre-sentence probation report, (2) the sentencing memorandum from Defense Attorney Bachner, (3) the sentencing memorandum from the Government, (4) letters and statements from Kerik supporters, and (5) Kerik’s plea allocution.
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Robinson then said, “Let’s move forward,” signalling Attorney Bachner’s opening remarks. Bachner declared, “Bernard Bailey Kerik is before </span>
<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">you with the deepest humility and remorse, Your Honor. He knows by his conduct that he’s let people down.” Bachner emphasized the need for the Court to impose a sentence “sufficient, but not greater than necessary, to achieve the Court’s goals.”
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Bachner took the opportunity to remind Robinson that his client’s plea understanding with the Government involved a sentence that would be between 27 and 33 months. He then went into an account of how Kerik, as a detective with the NYPD, had saved the life of a fellow detective, Hector Santiago, at the scene of a “drug buy gone bad.” Bachner referenced “a Talmudic” that “One who saves a life, saves the World.” He then declared, “Your Honor, Bernard Kerik has rescued the world many times over.”
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<br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><span style="font-size:85%;">Robinson then broke in with, “I’m going to interrupt your statement. At the same time we have a good cop, the good commissioner, we have the man who was violating the law. Not a bad day, or bad week, or bad year, but all the time.” The Judge repeats, “At the time he is doing good things, he is also violating the law.”
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">The Judge went on, “He had things on his website that trouble me no end; making it appear he was innocent, and prosecutors were not acting in good faith. We had Mr. Kerik violating orders of this Court, willing to violate the law and obstructing the investigation.”
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Bachner broke in with, “Mr. Kerik is a complicated person. He would acknowledge he was inconsistent and wrong. When you’re so high on the pedestal, your fall is very painful.”
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<br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><span style="font-size:85%;">Robinson came back with, “At one point I told Mr. Kerik, ‘as you rise through the ranks of public service, you now receive but’...” The Judge was making the point that high office was not necessarily accompanied by high financial reward. He declared, “My law clerks will leave next year and make more money than I do. I can’t afford to send my daughter to the college she goes to.”
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">He then asked rhetorically, “What is the message that is sent by this sentence today?”
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<br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><span style="font-size:85%;">Bachner, as if to calm Robinson down, countered with a remark about general deterrence, and then added, “Twenty-seven months is no slap on the wrist.”
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">But Robinson was not to be stifled. He came right back with, “I am very seriously thinking about going above the Guidelines.”
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<br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><span style="font-size:85%;">Bachner then reminded him of the “27 to 33 month agreement.”
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Again, the Judge came right back, “That doesn’t bind me.”
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<br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><span style="font-size:85%;">Bachner, going for broke, then said, “Heroism and public service must be taken into account.” Then shifting gears a bit, he declared, “Mr. Kerik is an extraordinary good person in so many ways. We have an obligation to remember the good someone has done. The good outweighs the bad he has done.”
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Then, assuming a sentence closer to 27 months for his 54-year-old client, Bachner said, “At age 56 there will be many people who admire him, but many more who don’t. He is remorseful and begs the Court to allow him to resume his life. His supporters are heartbroken by his conduct.”
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<br />Now, Robinson began to reveal his own fears, declaring, “People will look at what happens here and it will either resonate with them or it won’t.”
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<br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><span style="font-size:85%;">Bachner, who earlier spoke of the sentencing, some years earlier, of a former Connecticut governor, John Roland, now made the mistake of invoking that case again. This time Judge Robinson informed him, offering, “I was the United States Attorney who started that investigation.” (Connecticut Governor John Roland had received some $250,000-worth of renovation to his summer home from a developer doing business with the state.)
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">All told, Kerik’s attorney argued in his client’s behalf for some 40 minutes.
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<br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><span style="font-size:85%;">The Judge now offered Bernard Kerik the opportunity to speak in his own behalf. Kerik rose to his feet and told the Court, “I make no excuses, and take full responsibility for the mistakes I’ve made. I ask only that you allow me to return to my wife and our two little girls as soon as possible.”
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Assistant United States Attorney Bosworth now had his say, declaring, “However committed he was to enforcing the law when it came to others, he violated the law when it suited his purposes though.” He then remarked, “The Defendant alone is the architect of his public fall from grace. He committed crime after crime in service of himself over a period of a decade.”
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">And, now Judge Robinson chimed in with, “There are multiple felonies that Mr. Kerik has pled guilty to that do not influence the Guidelines.”
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<br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><span style="font-size:85%;">It was now 11:30am, an hour and twenty minutes into the sentencing, and Robinson was seriously agonizing, “As I’ve already mentioned, for me, Mr. Kerik is a complicated character. The Guidelines don’t take into account the almost operatic properties of this case. We don’t just have anyone here; we have the Police Commissioner of New York City continuing to commit crimes. I have been particularly troubled by the way Mr. Kerik, and people on his behalf, continue to behave.”
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Robinson continued, asking, “What is the appropriate consequence for his misconduct?”
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<br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><span style="font-size:85%;">Drawing closer to a pronouncement of sentence, but still agonizing, Robinson now opined, “That Mr. Kerik would use the 9/11 event for self-aggrandisement is a dark place in the soul for me.”
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">He then went on to sentence Kerik to 48 months; 15 months more than the high end of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, plus three years of probation. He was, however, persuaded, after much discussion, to allow Kerik to turn himself in to the designated federal prison on May 17, rather </span>
<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">than remanding him immediately to jail.
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<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">The two-hour-long sentencing of Bernard Kerik was ‘vintage’ Judge Robinson, complete with much agonizing and thoughtful consideration to all aspects and individuals sure to be impacted by his decision.
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<br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><span style="font-size:85%;">In imposing a 48-month incarceration, 15 months longer than suggested by the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, Robinson was not ignoring those Guidelines, but, rather, rejecting them because of his appropriate concerns for the message he would convey both to the Defendant and to the world of observers.</span>
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<br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;">However, having so lengthened Mr. Kerik’s term of incarceration, the good Judge remained reasonable and fair, allowing him to surrender to prison authorities in 90 days despite the Government’s arguments to immediately remand him. </span>
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<br />The Westchester Guardian Newspaperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746244426644755928noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154560970503397222.post-11781926501477685572010-02-18T09:43:00.000-05:002010-02-20T09:48:23.198-05:00Westchester Guardian Article/Kurt Colucci/Sam Zherka.Tax Activist Tells Guardian<br /><br />Politicians Are Greatest Threat To America<br /><br />“The Power To Tax Is The Power To Destroy” Kurt Colucci, Author And Tax Activist,Tells Publisher Sam Zherka, “Politicians Are Brokers Of Greed” Urges Citizens To Embrace Tea Party Movement<br /><br />New Rochelle, New York, February 9, 2010... A city, roughly 10 square miles, with a diverse population over 80,000, New Rochelle is the birthplace of Westchester County Taxpayers Association founder Kurt Colucci, a former college professor presently a businessman who continues to make The Queen City Office Sound his home. Last Tuesday Colucci was interviewed by Guardian publisher Sam Zherka.<br /><br />Colucci, a very outspoken political critic, tax activist and author of the soon-to-be published A Tax Slaves’ Manifesto, has been ruffing feathersand taking potshots at Westchester and Albany politicians. Last year, he helped organize a dozen Tea Parties all over Westchester, including a modest one in New Rochelle, attended by more than 300 people, and a much larger rally in White Plains on April 25th that drew over 2500 people.<br /><br />The Guardian asked Colucci if he thought the Tea Party Movement will make a difference in races going forward?<br /><br />Colucci responded, “The Tea Party Movement is in its early stages; they haven’t seen anything yet. The year 2010 will usher in the Rise of the Taxpayer!” <br /><br />Colucci went on, “It is important that taxpayers, the economic backbone of this country, steer clear of political party loyalty. Both major parties have merged into one national party, The Party Of Big Spending, and are to blame for the current economic crisis. Our Liberty is hanging by a thread.”<br /><br />During this very difficult economic climate dubbed, ‘The Great Recession’, Colucci’s message would seem to be resonating with taxpayers all over Westchester County and the nation.<br /><br />Municipalities throughout Westchester are raising taxes at an unsustainable rate, further economically enslaving its citizens and stripping them of their equity, their homes, and, in many cases, everything they’ve worked long and hard to achieve.<br /><br />George Nivkor, a Yonkers resident and Tea Party supporter, is calling upon every taxpayer to unite against politicians.<br /><br />“My father, a hardworking immigrant from Communist Poland, is saddened by what is happening in Westchester County, and America at large, and can only compare it to Communism,” says Nivkor.<br /><br />Turning to his own city, New Rochelle Colucci pointed out Mayor Noam Bramson and City Manager Chuck Strome, two of New York State’s highest paid municipal officials. Colucci reminded The Guardian that in recent weeks both the Mayor and City Manager have come under heavy fire for their exhorbitant tax increases and the layoff of several firefighters from an already understaffed fire department.<br /><br />In 2007 readers will recall that Bramson, a staunch political ally of former County Executive Andrew Spano, together with the New Rochelle City Council, orchestrated a nearly 50% pay hike for themselves at a time when our present economic downturn was already becoming very evident. At the time many New Rochelle citizens expressed outrage, some calling the pay raises outright corruption. Numerous calls from The Guardian to Mayor Bramson went unanswered.<br /><br />“The biggest threat to the American Dream is our own elected officials,” Collucci went on. “they are putting our families in harm’s way by reducing essential services in police and fire departments, all the while spending our hard-earned tax dollars faster than we can earn them and, further enslaving us economically.” Millions of Americans are currently losing their homes to bank and tax foreclosures due to bad lending, and, Predatory Taxation by government. Economists are predicting that property values will continue to decline so long as taxes continue to increase, turning the American Dream into an American Nightmare.<br /><br />As for the average hardworking, economically enslaved, and exhausted American taxpayer, the Tea Party Movement seems to be the only way to take back Westchester County and the country from self-serving, corrupt politicians who appear to be on a course to destroy the American way of life.<br /><br />The sentiment amongst citizens throughout the nation, and especially here in Westchester, the highest taxed county in the United States, is antiincumbent. As for this 2010 election cycle, it’s a bad time to be one of the incumbents, or, as Colucci calls them, ‘Tax Terrorists’ as 2010 is the year of the Taxpayer Revolution.<br /><br />George Nivkor reiterated to The Guardian, by telephone, that “2010 is the year of the Taxpayer’s Revolution.”<br /><br />Chief Judge John Marshal, in the McCulloch v Maryland case, declared, “The unlimited power to tax is the power to destroy.”The Westchester Guardian Newspaperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746244426644755928noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154560970503397222.post-36920786344532611722010-02-11T23:36:00.000-05:002010-02-15T23:38:30.234-05:00Westchester Guardian Article/In Our Opinion/Social Services Department.Westchester ‘Slush Fund’<br />Dept. Of Social Services<br /><br />In Our Opinion...<br /><br />Will They Ever Learn, Will They Ever Learn?<br /><br />It’s not too often we find ourselves comfortably supporting a position taken by Mount Vernon Mayor Clinton I. Young. This newspaper has made no secret of our disappointment with the Young Administration on any number of occasions. However, with respect to the City Council’s proposed elimination of the Office of Inspector General, Mr. Young is clearly on target when he suggests his city “needs to have as many internal controls in place as possible to avoid corruption.”<br /><br />After all, although former United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Michael J. Garcia, despite announcing a major effort to flush out public corruption, and managing to only produce a handful of offenders, nevertheless found all of those offenders in Mount Vernon; former Buildings Department Commissioner “Gerri” Post and her boyfriend Wayne Charles, Department of Public Works Supervisor James Castaldo, and hauler Albert Tranquillo. Those two schemes, together with $1.7 million of HUD money that mysteriously disappeared, totalled more than $5 million that surely could’ve been put to much better use by Mount Vernon taxpayers.<br /><br />The present Inspector General, Harry Stokes, earns $110,000, and his secretary receives $55,000. Apparently the City Council, under the leadership of Council President J. Yuhanna Edwards, has concluded that those salaries could be saved. Edwards was quoted as saying, “We don’t feel the Inspector General is needed at this time; we feel we have things in place.” In place? Yes. Under control? No.<br /><br />Edwards was further quoted stating, “Each department should take it upon themselves to audit themselves.” We believe Edwards, and apparently a majority of the City Council, are naive, indeed, if they believe a self-policing scheme will suffice in the City of Mount Vernon given its history.<br /><br />We have reason to believe there is massive corruption in Mount Vernon at this very moment, and that HUD funds are but one source of federal monies getting into larcenous hands. We are aware of hundreds of thousands of dollars hemorrhaging from 100 East First Street, the Department of Social Services, into the pockets of relatives, friends, and political connections of Deputy Commissioner Diane Atkins, a 41-year employee who is accountable directly to Kevin Mahon.<br /><br />Atkins’ unlawful antics have been causing great anguish and anxiety in otherwise competent, diligent, and honest examiners and supervisors throughout Westchester’s Department of Social Services as they are repeatedly instructed by Atkins to make payments to ineligible individuals; federal monies being used as her personal slush fund. It is our understanding that Janet DiFiore continues to mentor and protect Atkins, and that she has also been closely connected with Reggie LaFayette and Serapher Conn-Halevi, both former Mount Vernon Democratic Chairpersons.<br /><br />Halevi operates a childcare enterprise reportedly drawing several hundred thousand dollars annually from the Department of Social Services. Her son, her daughter, and other relatives have been cited in the media in the recent past for their own questionable dealings with the Department of Social Services, as well. All that federal investigators will need to do is to speak with supervisors and examiners.The Westchester Guardian Newspaperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746244426644755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154560970503397222.post-36270615587664316452010-02-04T06:00:00.000-05:002010-02-05T06:03:11.734-05:00Westchester Guardian Article/Publisher Sam Zherka.VOL.IV NO. 27 (Thursday, Feb. 04, 2010)<br /><br />A Bunch Of Morons? <br /><br />“They Just Don’t Get It”<br /><br />Obama, Predatory Government, And Economic Policies Could K.O. Democratic Party Tea Party Movement Picking Up Steam<br /><br />By Sam Zherka, Publisher<br /><br />Republican Scott Brown’s victory in the special race for United States Senate from Massachusetts, the country’s Liberal stronghold, was, in fact, a knockout blow to President Obama and his minions, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, “the Queen and King of Pork” and the pig himself, Barney Frank, his staunchest proponent of the government-run hostile takeover of the entire nationwide healthcare system.<br /><br />In a record deficit year, with nearly $13 trillion in national debt, these four have nothing else in mind but national healthcare reform and pork spending which equate to nothing less than hidden taxes, more taxes, and finally, higher taxes.<br /><br />No matter from which side of the aisle the rhetoric flows, the proposed Health Care Reform Bill will, in fact, include a barrage of new and higher taxes at a time of national economic turmoil dubbed, “The Great Recession”. In addition, this 2733-page, backroom-orchestrated and camouflaged national disaster, promises to raise premiums, cut benefits for seniors, the sick and impaired, burden students and place a massive mandate on many states already near bankruptcy. Democrats can’t change the fact that the government derives its money from the People, and the only way to pay the estimated $3 trillion needed to implement this plan, is to further burden the economically exhausted, enslaved and disoriented American taxpayer, further depressing economic activity, delaying recovery and possibly sending us into a double dip recession.<br /><br />If passed, this bill requires that all of the 138 million American taxpayers in a country of more than 300 million, pay the increased tax burden for four years before receiving any benefit at all. Basically, the taxpayer will pay in advance for a promise of limited health care, which they may or may never receive.<br /><br />The latest nationwide polls show that 62 percent of the people believe America is headed in the wrong direction, while 27 percent of the American public currently support the Tea Party movement.<br /><br />In the states of New Jersey, West Virginia, Massachusetts, as well as Westchester County and Nassau County in New York State, all Democratic strongholds, major races have been lost by well-entrenched Democrats to Republicans in this latest election cycle which may be indicative of an existing anti-Obama tsunami.<br /><br />The public sentiment is not pro-Republican by any stretch of the imagination, but pro-low taxes, smaller government, anti-illegal immigration, and healthcare reform, which has given rise to the nationwide Tea Party Revolution; the driving force behind the anti-Democratic and incumbency movement. Last year the nationwide Tea Party movement attracted the attendance of an estimated two million people to a rally in Washington, D.C. Tea Party organizers say, “It’s not about politics, but about survival, and taking back America from self-serving politicians.” Hundreds of Tea Party rallies are scheduled to be held all over the country this year, including one right here on Saturday, April 17th in White Plains.<br /><br />In closing, if this healthcare bill does become law, Nancy Pelosi, referred to by many as ‘The Face lift Queen’, will be subject to a five percent tax on every plastic surgery procedure she gets, including Botox; and that could cost her plenty.<br /><br />Below is a list of some of the tax increases the Democratic Congress and Obama have proposed to finance health care reform:<br /><br />• A 5.4% income surtax on taxpayers earnings more than $500,000. A year;<br /><br />• An excise tax on high cost Health Insurance Plans which cost more than $8500. per year;<br /><br />• An excise tax on medical devices such as wheelchairs, breast pumps, and syringes used by diabetics for insulin injections;<br /><br />• A limit on itemized deductions for taxpayers;<br /><br />• A profit tax on health insurance companies which will force higher health insurance premiums;<br /><br />• A value added tax, which would tax the value added to a product at each stage of production (which will be passed on to the consumer aka the taxpayer);<br /><br />• Higher taxes on Alchoholic Beverages including beer, wine and spirits;<br /><br />• An increase in the Medicare Portion of the payroll tax to 3.4% for incomes above $200,000;<br /><br />• An excise tax on sugar, sweetend beverages non diet soda and sports drinks;<br /><br />• A tax on individuals with out acceptable healthcare coverage of 2.5% of their gross income;<br /><br />• An 8% tax on all wages paid by employers that do not provide their employees health insurance that satisfies the requirements of the Secretary of Health And Human Services;<br /><br />• A limit on contributions on flexible spending arrangements;<br /><br />• Elimination of the deduction for expenses associated with Medicare;<br /><br />• An increase in taxes on International Business;<br /><br />• Elimination of tax credits paper companies take;<br /><br />• Increase payroll taxes on students;<br /><br />• An extension of the Medicare payroll tax to all state and local government employees;<br /><br />• An increase in the estate tax;<br /><br />• An increase in taxes on hospitals;<br /><br />• A 5% percent tax on cosmetic surgery and similar proceedures such as botox treatments, tummy tucks, and face lifts;<br /><br />• A tax on drug companies (which will be passed on to the consumer);<br /><br />• An increase on corporate tax on companies that provide health insurance;<br /><br />• A $500,000. deduction limitation for the compensation paid by health<br />insurance companies to their officers, employees, and directors.The Westchester Guardian Newspaperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746244426644755928noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154560970503397222.post-3125413502006834772010-01-28T22:09:00.000-05:002010-01-28T22:12:53.653-05:00Westchester Guardian/Rob Astorino/Richard Blassberg.Message For Rob Astorino: Wake Up And Smell The Coffee!<br /><br />Implications Of Massachusetts Upset For Westchester.<br /><br />Last Tuesday night Scott Brown, winner of the special race for United States Senator from the State of Massachusetts declared, at his celebration in Boston, “Tonight the independent majority delivered a great victory for the people.” Brown, a Republican State Senator for some five years, defeated Democrat Martha Coakley, Massachusetts Attorney General, for the seat held by the late Edward M. Kennedy for some 47 years, a remark-able upset, indeed.<br /><br />There is no question that Mr. Brown’s victory will have an immediate negative impact upon the Obama Administration’s effort to pass major healthcare reform legislation. However, in a much broader sense, the election of a Republican to Ted Kennedy’s seat in perhaps the bluest, most liberal bastion in all of America, has far broader implications than the mere success or failure of Mr. Obama’s healthcare initiative.<br /><br />The single most important implication lay in the very words Brown uttered in declaring victory. He did not exalt his own Republican Party. He acknowledged, and gave heartfelt thanks, to “the independent majority,” and not the Republican Party that nominated him and supported his brilliant campaign. He recognized, as our own newly-minted Republican County Executive should truly recognize, that without those non-aligned and independent voters, he would not have succeeded.<br /><br />Despite the fact that Democrats outnumber Republicans in the Bay State three to one, clearly, it was not a matter of Party allegiance, Democrats vs. Republicans, that would determine the outcome. Instead, it was really a cobbling together of those independent voters who understood that it was an election about issues, healthcare, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the sluggish economy.<br /><br />Brown rightly sensed that voters did not feel especially understood or responded to by either the Democratic or Republican Parties, and that their mood was one of discontentment and anger with the status quo. Driving throughout the state to his numerous campaign rallies and speeches in a pickup truck, projected the image of a candidate who was one of them; one who would listen to them and bring about change they could live with and afford.<br /><br />In plain language, the people of this country have grown tired of the “same ol’, same ol’”, a two-party system where the players, with few exceptions, are interchangeable, and neither side seems to care enough to bring about meaningful and lasting changes. They hunger for real solutions to the basic problems faced daily by working families in our sluggish economy as mortgage foreclosure continues to erode our neighborhoods and displace unemployed and underemployed constituent taxpayers.<br /><br />Not since Watergate has the public perception of politicians and the two major parties been so poor. Never before have families been so heavily taxed while, at the same time, working longer hours to bring home less.<br /><br />In Washington President Obama, who rode to victory just one year ago, promising “fundamental changes in the way government would be conducting business,” now finds himself being accused of “illusory tactics”, yet engaging in concessions and giveaways that continue to drain and depress our economy.<br /><br />Here at home in Westchester, we do not particularly enjoy having the distinction of paying the highest property taxes in the nation, coupled with the falling market value of our homes. That one-two punch has tended to make us more uncomfortable with, and intolerant of, arrogant, self-serving politicians.<br /><br />Those who participate in the electoral process have become increasingly unwilling to identify with either the Democrats or Republicans, preferring, instead, to be registered with the Independence Party, or as an independent, non-aligned voter. In fact, in many areas of the country, non-aligned and Independence Party registrations combined comprise more than one-third of voters in any given election; a fact that should now dramatically alter the rules of engagement in most future races.<br /><br />No longer should the Independence Party of Westchester be content to cross-endorse either the Republican or Democratic Party choice, in any given contest, thus ensuring that particular candidate’s probable election. Rather, the time has come when the Independence Party should be actively issuing platforms and positions with respect to countywide, statewide and national issues.<br /><br />At the same time, the Independence Party needs to actively interview, and recruit, compatible worthy candidates for all positions available, simultaneously aggressively registering and educating new Party members, particularly young adults.<br /><br />It is no longer a productive strategy to merely crossendorse candidates who have been pre-selected by either the Democratic or Republican machine. That fact has been forcefully driven home by the actions of the Astorino Administration over the past 10 weeks since election.<br /><br />Despite initial acknowledgement of the crucial role played by the Independence Party and nonaligned voters in Rob Astorino’s victory over Andy Spano, a victory predicted and encouraged by information published by The Guardian alone against all other local news media in Westchester, the new Administration has virtually avoided any and every opportunity to include those without whose active assistance their success would not have occurred.<br /><br />It has rapidly become apparent that, with the exception of the switch at the very top, and those closest to him, the Astorino Administration is quite happy to leave much of the corrupt Spano organization in place.<br /><br />Change? What change? We don’t see much change at all.The Westchester Guardian Newspaperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746244426644755928noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154560970503397222.post-48211525332090231262010-01-21T17:31:00.000-05:002010-01-21T17:35:34.880-05:00Westchester Guardian Article/Phil Amicone/Nick Spano/Al Pirro/Anthony Mangone/Sandy Annabi.‘The Last Supper’ <br /><br />Was It The Pivotal MomentIn A Criminal Conspiracy?<br /><br /> <br />‘The Last Supper’ Five Practiced Conspirators And Sandy Annabi Meet Hours Before Her Vote Reversal<br /><br />Does anyone seriously believe that any significant amount of money exchanged hands to lubricate the passage of approvals by Yonkers City Council for either the Ridge Hill development or Longfellow Senior Housing, and Phil Amicone and Nick Spano received nothing for their efforts? Of course not. Nick and Phil, between them, controlled the Republican patronage machine in Yonkers; and, as between them, Nick was clearly el Capo.<br /><br />On the Democratic side of the aisle, it is well known that City Chair, now Chairman of the County Legislature, Ken Jenkins, had lined up agency of the rentals in Ridge Hill for his ERA Gem Real Estate Brokerage. Let no one suggest that corruption isn’t an equal opportunity enterprise in Yonkers, with Republicans and Democrats cooperating to each grab a share. And, let’s not lose sight of the fact that Mike Spano is licensed to Ken Jenkins’ office.<br /><br />We are informed by an exceptionally reliable and knowledgeable source, from first-hand observation, that a certain Italian restaurant in New Rochelle was the scene of a supper meeting attended by Al Pirro, Nick Spano, Mike Spano, as well as Anthony Mangone, Zehy Jereis and Sandy Annabi on the evening before the Yonkers City Council meeting at which Annabi changed her position and voted to enable the Ridge Hill Development Project to go forward; in a sense, a Last Supper. <br /><br />Does such a meeting, in and of itself, prove any wrongdoing, any bribery or extortion was occurring? No, of course not. It’s possible, just possible, that all of those Yonkers players were out to celebrate because Sandy had changed her position and advised all of them that she would be voting in favor of Ridge Hill after all, because the builder, Bruce Ratner, had agreed to contribute $10 million to the Yonkers School System.<br /><br />Pasta and a hot antipasto, even with a little Chianti to wash it all down, does not a conspiracy make. Neither does the payment of a seriously attractive, somewhat seductive, young woman’s utility bills, mortgage payments, or car lease, by members of the opposite sex, no matter how shady their prior histories.<br /><br />We do not take breaches of public trust lightly, by any means, and we are only too well aware of the atmosphere of corruption engendered by a District Attorney who occupied the Office for 12 years while married to the most outrageous white-collar criminal in the County. One United States Attorney, who should have known better, MaryJo White, in fact, perpetuated the corrupt environment when she failed to include Jeanine Pirro in the original 67-count indictment that named Al, despite the fact that the case involved a 10-year-long tax fraud, 1988-1997, in which nine of those 10 years Jeanine jointly signed the tax returns.<br /><br />Despite having been convicted in White Plains Federal District Court on June 20, 2000, and sentenced to 29 months in federal prison, Al was out by clever canard, in only 11. Additionally, although convicted of all 38 remaining counts of a 67- count indictment, after Judge Barrington Parker redacted the 29 most egregious counts involving the rip-off of Peekskill’s Hudson Valley Hospital, together with Robert Boyle, another of George Pataki’s crooked buddies, the Appellate Division, Second Department, never disbarred Al. Instead, they waited three years to act and then merely suspended his license for three years, beginning May 12, 2003.<br /><br />No matter, Mr. Fixit, Al Pirro, went right on practicing law, making appearances before town boards and city planning commissions such as White Plains, and wherever he would normally appear, in direct disobedience to the specific conditions of his ‘slap-on-the-wrist’ suspension. No one can say the federal courts or state courts treated Al Pirro ‘badly’. Not only did they spare him; they also enabled him; and, now he pops up right in the middle of the Yonkers real estate development scandal. What a surprise!<br /><br />After all, way back in 2003, before leaving office, then-Mayor John Spencer had retained Al Pirro as Yonkers’ official lobbyist, specifically tasked with the assignment of bringing qualified real estate developers to the City to help the administration that would soon be headed by his deputy, Phil Amicone, fulfill their master plan of development. Even in a culture of corruption such as Westchester, somehow Yonkers remains a standout for sheer chutzpah.<br /><br />If every allegation in all 13 counts of Sandy Annabi’s federal indictment were essentially accurate, and, in fact, she benefitted to the tune of $166,000, still she would be a minor player by comparison with the likes of Al Pirro, Nick Spano, and the others at that table in New Rochelle. More likely, most of, if not all of, that cash ended up in Anthony Mangone’s, and Zehy Jereis’, accounts, well-trained soldiers in the Nick Spano mob.<br /><br />As for the developers, they understand from years of doing business, that in Westchester, and particularly in Yonkers, for many decades, you don’t get the job and you don’t get through the City’s zoning, planning, and environmental approvals in a timely fashion unless you grease several palms. They simply know and accept the network of corruption as the price of doing business. <br /><br />We understand the difference between those developers who can legitimately be said to have been victims of extortion, and those who routinely distribute envelopes filled with cash as a vital protocol. In either case, a serious crime has been committed when a government official has been paid off and the public trust has been breached. We are reminded of the County Courthouse at 111 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard in White Plains, where, after only 20 years, the siding was falling off the building that had been constructed by a builder brought to the project by Al Pirro. The consequences of kickbacks are often inferior materials and/or workmanship.<br /><br />Given the $600-$800 million price tag on Ridge Hill alone, the notion that a clique composed of the Spano brothers (Nick and Mike), Al Pirro, Anthony Mangone and Zehy Jereis, would content themselves with a few hundred thousand dollars in ‘consulting fees’ is ludicrous. If Sandy Annabi did, in fact, accept some personal enrichment to alter her vote with respect either to the Longfellow, or the Ridge Hill projects – and that will take some serious proving – she was clearly a tool in the hands of the five political operatives and felons seated at that table with her in New Rochelle less than 24 hours before she cast her vote.<br /><br />Interestingly, both Nick and Mikey Spano have now been very quick to disown and deny any association with, or knowledge of, Jereis’ or Mangone’s activities with regard to either project. However, my source is holding steadfast to the account of who they saw, where, and when. Even 1/10th of one percent of a $600 million project would involve $600,000. The United States Attorney is talking about $166,000.<br /><br />Finally, Mike Edelman has been unusually talkative and ‘blogative’, even for him, since the unsealing of the Annabi Indictment. It would seem he “protesteth a bit too much”, particularly with respect to Al Pirro and the Spano brothers, not to mention Phil Amicone, also very quick to disassociate himself with strong words of denouncement.The Westchester Guardian Newspaperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746244426644755928noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154560970503397222.post-72905081630615047072010-01-14T23:50:00.000-05:002010-01-11T23:55:08.010-05:00Westchester Guardian Article/Zehy Jereis/Anthony Mangone/Sandy Annabi.THE FEDS ARE HERE!!<br /><br />And They’ve Only Just Begun<br /><br />Annabi, Mangone, Jereis Indicted United States Attorney Charges Former Democratic Majority Leader Of Yonkers City Council, Former Republican Party Chief, And Attorney With Public Corruption Crimes<br /><br />Former Yonkers City Councilwoman Sandy Annabi Allegedly Received More Than $160,000 In Secret Payments; Defendants Charged With Conspiracy, Bribery, Extortion, False Statements, and Tax Crimes<br /><br />PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, JOSEPH M. DEMAREST, JR., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and PATRICIA J.HAYNES, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), Criminal Investigation Division, announced the unsealing of an Indictment against SANDY ANNABI, the former Democratic Majority Leader of the Yonkers City Council, charging her with conspiracy, bribery, extortion, false statements, and tax crimes. The Indictment also charges ZEHY JEREIS, the former head of the Yonkers Republican Party, and ANTHONY MANGONE, a Westchester County attorney, with conspiracy, bribery, and extortion in connection with two real estate development projects within the City of Yonkers which were pending before ANNABI.<br /><br />MANGONE was arrested early on the morning of January 6 in Purchase, New York. ANNABI and JEREIS surrendered to federal authorities on the same day. All three defendants are expected to be presented before United States Magistrate Judge LISA MARGARET SMITH in White Plains Federal Court.<br /><br />According to the Indictment filed in White Plains Federal Court:<br /><br />On November 6, 2001, SANDY ANNABI was elected to serve as a Councilwoman to represent the Second District of the City of Yonkers. ANNABI was reelected two subsequent times, in 2003 and2005, and served as the Democratic Majority Leader of the Yonkers City Council. The Yonkers City Council’s primary function is to consider and vote on the City’s budget, zoning changes, and other legislation.<br /><br />From the fall of 2003 through the fall of 2007, ZEHY JEREIS was the Chairman of the Yonkers Republican Party. As the Party Chairman, JEREIS’s duties were to promote the Republican Party in Yonkers and to advance the interests of Republican elected officials and candidates. ANTHONY MANGONE is an attorney whose office was located in Hawthorne, New York.<br /><br />The Longfellow Project:<br />In 2003, a developer (“Developer No. 1”) proposed to develop a tract of land located partially within the Yonkers City Council District represented by ANNABI by renovating and transforming two vacant and dilapidated schools into market-rate housing (the “Longfellow Project”). ANNABI initially opposed the Longfellow Project. During a City Council meeting on June 14, 2005, ANNABI proclaimed her strong opposition to the project, stating: “Even if the entire community supported [it], I would be opposed.” She also said that the project was “outrageous” and a “slap in the face to the taxpayers of Yonkers.” Despite considerable effort, Developer No. 1 was unable to move the project forward in the face of ANNABI’s opposition.<br /><br />In April 2006, however, Developer No. 1 hired MANGONE to assist in persuading ANNABI to support the Longfellow Project. Shortly thereafter, MANGONE arranged a meeting between a representative of Developer No. 1 and JEREIS, who advised that he could help persuade ANNABI to support the project. Later, MANGONE told Developer No. 1 that, in order for the project to proceed, Developer No. 1 would have to pay ANNABI $30,000 in exchange for her support. Developer No. 1 gave MANGONE the $30,000 in cash for ANNABI and paid MANGONE a $10,000 cash fee for his services.<br /><br />Shortly after receiving the $30,000 in cash, ANNABI made several substantial cash and credit card purchases –including airline ticket upgrades, a Rolex watch, and a diamond cross necklace. Then, at a City Council meeting in September2006, ANNABI reversed her long-held opposition to the Longfellow Project and voted in favor of awarding the project to Developer No. 1.<br /><br />The Ridge Hill Development Project:<br />The “Ridge Hill Development Project” was a project proposed by a large developer (“Developer No. 2”) to develop an 81-acre tract of land to establish retail shopping, restaurants, office space, hundreds of residential housing units, and a hotel and conference center. ANNABI was an outspoken critic of the proposed Ridge Hill Project and voted against both the project and legislation that would allow the project to move forward despite her opposition. ANNABI, with two other City Council members and others, also filed a civil lawsuit to effectively block the Ridge Hill Project. As the City Council was considering the Ridge Hill Project, Developer No. 2 made repeated and unsuccessful efforts to convince ANNABI to vote in favor of the project.<br /><br />On June 2, 2006, JEREIS was introduced to representatives of Developer No. 2, after which JEREIS told representatives of Developer No. 2 that he could arrange a meeting between them, ANNABI, and JEREIS to discuss the Ridge Hill Project. JEREIS and representatives of Developer No. 2 also had an agreement in which Developer No. 2 would give JEREIS a consulting job sometime after ANNABI formally voted in favor of the Ridge Hill Project. After two meetings held in less than two weeks, ANNABI reversed her opposition to the Ridge Hill Project and issued a press release -- drafted by JEREIS and representatives of Developer No. 2 – informing the public of her support for the project.<br /><br />Specifically, at a City Council meeting on July 11, 2006, ANNABI voted I favor of the zoning change necessary for the Ridge Hill Project. Shortly after ANNABI changed her vote on the Ridge Hill Project, JEREIS received the promised consulting contract from Developer No. 2 worth $60,000 over one year.<br /><br />Secret Payments To ANNABI And Efforts To Conceal The Crimes: Since at least 2004, ANNABI has received from JEREIS, MANGONE, and others more than $160,000 worth of secret payments designed to influence and reward her for favorable official action or inaction on matters pending before the City Council as specific opportunities arose. ANNABI, JEREIS, and MANGONE also took various steps to conceal their scheme, by making false statements and/or omitting required information in various reporting documents.<br /><br />For example, JEREIS secretly gave ANNABI money and purported loans to finance the purchase of two residential properties located outside of ANNABI’s Council District. To obtain favorable financing, ANNABI contemporaneously submitted applications to two different banks, advising both that she intended to occupy the house for which she was seeking financing and concealing that she was seeking to borrow money from the other bank for a second house. The closings for the two loans occurred only three days apart.<br />Furthermore, despite being required as a Council member, by state and local law, to live within her Council District, ANNABI in fact lived in one of these houses outside of her Council District. In order to meet the residential requirement to maintain her position, JEREIS purchased a cooperative apartment for ANNABI within her Council District. JEREIS had paid for the down payment and made the monthly mortgage payments, at times with postal money orders he had obtained.<br /><br />The Indictment further charges that in her loan applications for one of the houses and for the apartment she purchased, ANNABI falsely inflated her income. ANNABI’s applications also included fake pay stubs, W-2’s, and bank statements.<br /><br />According to the Indictment, ANNABI affirmatively concealed the illegal benefits she received from JEREIS and MANGONE by filing annual financial disclosure statements, from2004 through 2007, that intentionally omitted the illegal payments. ANNABI also failed to report in federal income tax returns the illegal payments that she received from JEREIS, MANGONE, and others.<br /><br />In a further effort to conceal the criminal conduct, during the federal grand jury investigation into ANNABI’s corrupt relationship with JEREIS, MANGONE instructed Developer No. 1 not to tell an attorney representing Developer No. 1 that representatives of Developer No. 1 had given MANGONE the $30,000 in cash for ANNABI. MANGONE also failed to report, as required, the $30,000 cash bribe and an additional $10,000 fee that he received from Developer No. 1 to the IRS.<br /><br />A chart setting forth the charges contained in the Indictment against ANNABI, JEREIS, and MANGONE and the maximum potential penalties for each offense is attached. The Indictment also seeks forfeiture of the proceeds of the crimes set forth above.<br /><br />Mr. BHARARA praised the work of the FBI and the IRS Criminal Investigation Division. He added that the investigation is ongoing.<br /><br />PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York,<br /><br />“Today’s indictment describes what was essentially a bipartisan corruption pact between Sandy Annabi, Zehy Jereis, and Anthony Mangone. When the people of Yonkers elected Annabi to the City Council, she swore an oath to faithfully discharge the duties of her office. But rather than keep her word, she betrayed Yonkers’ residents by selling the most important assets any elected official has: her integrity and her independence. In our down economy, there are too many buildings with ‘For Sale’ signs hanging in the window; City Hall shouldn’t be one of them,” said United States Attorney PREET BHARARA.<br /><br />“The conduct charged in the indictment is an assault on democracy. The people of Yonkers were betrayed by Sandy Annabi, someone elected – and sworn -- to serve them. In publicly opposing one of the projects for which she later sold her vote, she called it ‘a slap in the face to the taxpayers of Yonkers. ‘She willfully conspired to redefine her job from Councilmember to Councilmember-for-sale. That was the real slap in the face for the people of Yonkers,” said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge JOSEPH M. DEMAREST, JR.<br /><br />“Public officials are no different from you or I in their responsibility to follow tax law. When this trust is violated it deteriorates confidence in the fairness of the application of tax law,” IRS Special Agent-in-Charge PATRICIA J.HAYNES.<br /><br />Assistant United States Attorneys JASON P.W. HALPERIN and PERRY A. CARBONE are in charge of the prosecution.<br /><br />The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.<br /><br />Sandy, Say It Isn’t So, Sandy Annabi Facing The Fight Of Her Life<br /><br />It was disappointing, to say the least, to be present last Wednesday in the Offices of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York at the Federal District Courthouse in White Plains for a press conference at which it was disclosed that Sandy Annabi, former Democratic Majority Leader of the Yonkers City Council, had been indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with Conspiracy, Bribery, Extortion, False Statements, and Tax Crimes.<br /><br />However, the last time we checked, indictment was still not the same as conviction. The charges stem from Annabi’s official action with respect to two proposed real estate developments in Yonkers which she initially opposed and then supported: The Longfellow Project, and the Ridge Hill Development Project.<br /><br />This case has Nick Spano, his brother Mikey, Al Pirro, Phil Amicone, and Ken Jenkins written all over it, in that order; and the Government knows that. Named in the same indictment were Zehy Jereis and Anthony Mangone, two Nick Spano operatives, each with a long history of Election Fraud and manipulation as well as criminal political operations on behalf of Spano. Jereis, former Chairman of the Yonkers Republican Committee, and a former official of the Yonkers Chamber of Commerce, has a criminal record that includes Possession and Sale of A Controlled Substance.The Westchester Guardian Newspaperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746244426644755928noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154560970503397222.post-72139195169982885932010-01-07T12:36:00.000-05:002010-01-08T12:37:26.953-05:00Westchester Guardian Article/Sam Zherka.Guardian Publisher Takes Seibel Dismissals To Federal Appeals Court<br /><br />Cases Dismissed By District Court Judge Cathy Seibel Going To Second Circuit<br /><br />Civil Actions Brought By Guardian Publisher Sam Zherka Are Among More Than 1,500 Dismissed Under Ashcroft v. Iqbal <br /><br />United States District Court White Plains, New York Judge Cathy Seibel Presiding<br /><br />This reporter was present in Federal District Court, White Plains, several weeks ago when Judge Cathy Seibel served notice of her intention to dismiss cases brought by Guardian publisher Sam Zherka against Yonkers Mayor Philip Amicone, Deputy Mayor John Fleming, Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Matthew Bogdanos, and attorney and political consultant Michael Edelman for Defamation and Slander engaged in by way of First Amendment retaliation, conspiring to damage his good name and reputation.<br /><br />Among the activities claimed by plaintiff Zherka were public statements of untruthful assertions of criminal activity about Zherka by Mayor Amicone before a large gathering of prominent Westchester citizens; repeated internet postings by Michael Edelman falsely alleging criminal activities by Zherka; and Abuse of Process and harrassment of Zherka and many of his friends and business associates by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office involving ADA Bogdanos.<br /><br />All of the named defendants, were, and are, closely connected to and associated with Westchester District Attorney Janet DiFiore, who had telephoned Zherka, and who was recorded threatening him with reprisal because she was displeased with information published in The Guardian concerning political activities by her spouse, attorney Dennis Glazer.<br /><br />Judge Seibel had admitted many months earlier, when the cases were first filed and assigned to her, that she had a personal relationship with Janet DiFiore, but nevertheless refused, despite that admission, to recuse herself.<br /><br />Seibel’s dismissal comes under the dictates of Ashcroft v. Iqbal, a case out of the Second Circuit that was argued be fore the United States Supreme Court, December 10, 2008 and decided May 18, 2009. The socalled Iqbal Decision, as it has come to be known, in effect has given great latitude to District Court judges to dismiss cases in the pleading stage based on their perception of the case’s plausibility, and has created quite a stir throughout the federal court system, among legal scholars, and in the halls of Congress. New York Congressman Jerry Nadler and Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter have each promised to sponsor legislation to blunt, if not curtail, its influence.<br /><br />Iqbal, in seven short months, has fundamentally changed the process and expectations in the pleadings stage of civil actions brought before federal courts. The Federal Rules Of Civil Procedure, Rule 8(a)(2) of the General Rules of Pleading, simply called for “A short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.”<br /><br />A legal analyst writing for the highly regarded law firm Mayer, Brown three days after the ruling was handed up, observed “The United States Supreme Court’s opinion in Ashcroft v. Iqbal significantly increases the factual detail required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a) in order to state a claim.”<br /><br />In practical terms, under Iqbal, typical plaintiffs bringing a civil action against a corporate entity or government agency for many decades have not been expected to provide in their initial pleadings the level of explicit detail that, in most cases, comes to light through discovery. By now demanding such detailed information from plaintiffs in their initial pleadings, District Court judges are virtually throwing up a protective barrier, a shield around defendants, preventing good-faith, well-meant plaintiffs from proceeding, and from reaching the discovery necessary to prosecute their legitimate claims.<br /><br />Publisher Zherka’s actions, filed long in advance of the Iqbal Decision, present numerous witnesses, audio and videotapes, photographs, and affidavits, little, or none of which,<br />Judge Seibel, with all due respect, seemed to have taken the trouble to become aware of as we observed her on November 20th when attorney Rory Bellantoni referenced them. In fairness to the judge, at a prior appearance several weeks earlier, she had asked attorney Jonathan Lovett, of Lovett & Bellantoni, to provide her with greater detail, which he certainly did in his amended pleadings.<br /><br />Zherka, confused by the Judge’s dismissals, told this reporter, “There is so much evidence in our pleadings the case is a poster child for Iqbal.” He indicated that he was “definitely appealing the dismissals to the Second Circuit”, where he was confident they would be reversed, but, that he was “prepared, if necessary, to go all the way to the Supreme Court.” Additionally, he indicated he would be bringing an action against each of the defendants, individually, for Defamation and Slander in State Court.<br /><br />Analysis:<br />Iqbal, a 5-4 decision authored by Justice Anthony Kennedy, is by far and away the most telling and potentially destructive outcome to date to come from the Supreme Court’s Conservative Majority established under President George W. Bush. In writing the Majority Opinion, Kennedy declared, “Rule 8(a)(2) demands more than an unadorned the-defendant- unlawfully-harmed-me accusation and requires that a complaint be factually plausible.” <br /><br />Mayer, Brown observed, “The decision in Iqbal thus suggests that a federal court no longer need draw factual inferences in favor of the complainant if it believes that a competing interpretation is more plausible.” Commenting just three days after the decision, they go on to say, “Although it remains to be seen whether lower federal courts will interpret Iqbal as abandoning Notice Pleading altogether, the opinion raises the pleading bar substantially and provides defendants with important ammunition to a Rule 12(b)(6) Motion to Dismiss for failing to state a claim.”<br /><br />Now, seven months, and more than 1,500 Iqbal dismissals later, we recognize that Iqbal creates a pretrial screen by which the more egregious and outrageous the conduct pleaded and alleged, the more likely it will be dismissed based upon a particular judge’s experiences, associations, and prejudices, all combining to determine that which she will consider “plausible”.<br /><br />Regrettably, just as we were beginning to make some headway against prosecutorial misconduct, and major governmental and corporate acts of Constitutional violation, we<br />find ourselves hog-tied by a “Conservative” majority in the Supreme Court whose decision was designed to slow, if not interdict altogether, the process of uncovering unlawful actors, both in government and corporate enterprise.<br /><br />In the meantime, Mike Edelman, whose malicious obsession with, and activity on, the blogosphere, is undisputed, continues to defame and malign publisher Sam Zherka as if having been granted a license to continue doing so by the decision of Judge Seibel.<br /><br />His verbal graffiti, easily identified by other bloggers, can be found on the blogs of complicit media sources. And, of course, he continues to run his mouth frequently on News12 where he masquerades as a Republican commentator, a claim Doug Colety, Chairman of the Westchester Republican Party, has repeatedly refuted.The Westchester Guardian Newspaperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746244426644755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154560970503397222.post-60116869809658991772009-12-31T10:23:00.000-05:002010-01-04T10:25:33.167-05:00Westchester Guardian Article/Ken Jenkins.A New Year...<br />SAME OLD CORRUPTION!<br /><br />Having Investigated And Arrested Wilson Soto, The DA’s Office Must Now Deal With Ken Jenkins, A Far Greater Menace To Westchester Public Integrity<br /><br />We were pleased to publish a press release issued by the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office on Thursday, December 17th, advising that Attorney Wilson Soto (D.O.B. 6/26/66) of 8 Huron Road, Yonkers, had been arraigned on a “Felony Complaint charging him with:<br /><br />• One count of Offering A False Instrument for Filing, a Class E Felony;<br /><br />• One count of Illegal Voting in violation of New York State Election Law, a Class E Felony.”<br /><br />The arrest and arraignment of Mr. Soto came approximately 90 days following the September 15th Democratic Primary election in which he voted unlawfully, having issued a fraudulent Affidavit Ballot in support of his clients Jose Alvarado, candidate for re-election to the Westchester County Legislature from the 17th so called “Opportunity District” in southwest Yonkers, and candidate Wilson Terrero, seeking a seat on the Yonkers City Council from the 2nd Council District essentially contained within the 17th Legislative District.<br /><br />Alvarado was opposed by Yonkers City Councilwoman Sandy Annabi, who was termlimited, and Terrero was facing Virginia Perez and two other candidates for the council seat Annabi was vacating.<br /><br />It was tragically ironic that Wilson Soto should have been arrested and arraigned on December 17, 2009, the second anniversary of the senseless, brutal assassination of Virginia’s younger brother, Martin Perez. Perez was gunned down in a stairwell at 47 Riverdale Avenue in a botched robbery attempt as he was attempting to earn extra Christmas money delivering food from the former Emerald Diner across from Yonkers City Hall. <br /><br />We were pleased that District Attorney Janet DiFiore chose to go forward with an investigation of Soto’s Election Fraud, having been supplied with a 76-page memorandum assembled by attorney Sam Abady, working on behalf of Sandy Annabi and Virginia Perez, and drawing upon information gathered from the two aggrieved candidates as well as affidavits from aggrieved voters, and, information gathered by, and reported, in The Westchester Guardian.<br /><br />However, attorney Soto is clearly not the only individual involved in his acts of Election Fraud. County Legislator Jose Alvarado is deeply implicated. On Feb. 25, 2009, Alvarado had his first fundraiser at Wilson Soto’s home at 8 Huron Road. In his campaign finance filing with the State Board of Elections, Alvarado acknowledged a $1,000 campaign contribution from Soto, indicating Soto’s 8 Huron Road address. Nevertheless, Soto proceeded to fraudulently file his Affidavit Ballot on September 15 at the 15 Hamilton Avenue polling place, claiming to be domiciled at 279 South Broadway and proceeding to fraudulently vote for Alvarado and Wilson Terrero.<br /><br />On October 5th Alvarado attended a celebration at Soto’s Huron Road home in honor of the seating of United States Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor. Yet, when interviewed by News12 on October 19, following Sandy Annabi’s submission of the 76-page memorandum to the Public Integrity Unit of the Westchester DA’s Office, Legislator Alvarado declared, “Mr. Soto lives at 279 South Broadway and has lived there forever.”<br /><br />The simple truth is, Mr. Alvarado, who maintains his district office in Soto’s law offices at 281 South Broadway, no doubt paid for with County taxpayers’ funds, was well aware of the fact that he was lying.<br /><br />Soto and Alvarado are far from the only individuals deeply implicated in the rampant Election Fraud perpetrated in southwest Yonkers on Primary Election day, September 15th. As previously addressed in The Guardian, over the past three months, there were many players, so-called poll workers who engaged in various Election Fraud schemes designed to perpetuate Alvarado’s tenure, and to elect Terrero by giving them the Democratic Party designation. As it turned out, despite all of the unlawful activity intended to defeat Annabi and Perez, Sandy lost the Primary by fewer than five votes and Virginia by fewer than 10.<br /><br />As reported by The Guardian, immediatelyfollowing the Primaryelection, Yonkers Democratic Committee City Chair Ken Jenkinswas well aware of the unlawful efforts being made onbehalf of Alvarado and Terrero by persons appointed by him,and clearly did nothing to preventthem. Jenkins, with respect to voter fraud, would not be any part of the solution, but, rather, a major player in the problem.<br /><br />Moreover, Ken Jenkins, the County Legislator, was engaged in his own very personal Election Fraud, precisely the same as Wilson Soto who has been apprehended and arraigned by the Westchester District Attorney’s Office; only Jenkins’ ongoing felony fraud was perpetrated not for the benefit of Alvarado’s or Terrero’s candidacy, so much as for his own.<br /><br />In point of fact, Ken Jenkins, who has been seated in the 16th Legislative District for the past two years, has been there unlawfully having knowingly and willfully Offered A False Document To The Westchester Board of Elections December 18, 2006 for filing, having several times voted under that false registration and, having twice unlawfully offered himself as the Democratic candidate for County Legislator from the 16th Legislative District, where he knows perfectly well he does not live.<br /><br />Mr. Jenkins is guilty of several more counts of Election Fraud than Wilson Soto, having voted in several general and primary elections since fraudulently filing three years ago; two of those elections unlawfully placing him in the County Legislature and lining his pockets with more than $100,000 of taxpayers’ funds.<br /><br />As importantly, Ken Jenkins, by his flagrant abuse of power and unlawful manipulation of the electoral system, has been an intolerable, corruptive influence not only in the Yonkers Democratic Committee which he chairs and controls for many years, but also, as importantly, in the Democratic-dominated County Legislature where every one of the 16 other legislators has been aware that he does not reside in the district he purports to represent, and nevertheless, the 13 Democratic members now designate him their candidate for Chairman.<br /><br />Again, we are pleased that the Westchester DA’s Office has done the right thing in pursuing the arrest and prosecution of Attorney Wilson Soto for his Election Fraud. However, we now urge that Office to thoroughly investigate the felonious Election Fraud of Ken Jenkins, whose corruptive influence both in Yonkers politics and on the County Board of Legislators, has been far more pervasive and damaging than that of Mr. Soto, and whose continuing flagrant fraudulent activities pose an incalculable threat to the integrity of the electoral and governmental processes in the County of Westchester.The Westchester Guardian Newspaperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746244426644755928noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154560970503397222.post-80173855002500883502009-12-24T22:56:00.000-05:002009-12-28T23:00:02.557-05:00Westchester Guardian Article/Ken Jenkins.Shameless Democratic Legislators<br /><br />Ken Jenkins Nominated Chairman, Does Anybody Need A Better Argument For Abolishing The County Legislature?<br /><br />Last week the Democratic members of the Westchester County Board of Legislators erased any doubt in the minds of taxpayers and homeowners as to just how corrupt they truly are.<br /><br />For weeks, there had been speculation regarding who would be the Board Chair come January in light of Bill Ryan’s squeak-by victory over first-time challenger Bob Hyland in the November election. Tom Abinanti, Marty Rogowski, and Ken Jenkins were all mentioned as possible successors.<br /><br />Having been tipped off by sources at the Journal News that former Congressman Joe DioGuardi and Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner would be holding a function at the County Center on Thursday, calling for the abolishment of the County Legislature, Chairman Ryan quickly put together an “initiative” dubbed Westchester Renewed. At a press conference in the Rotunda at the Legislature’s chambers on Wednesday, he surrounded himself with about 40 County employees, fellow legislators, and a few municipal officers including Mount Vernon Mayor Clinton Young.<br /><br />Ken Jenkins was present, but tried to stay out of camera range ducking and dodging during the presentation. The Board had passed the much-debated County Budget by a 9-8 vote on Monday. Jenkins had cast the deciding vote, in favor. The Guardian had investigated rumors that Jenkins did not live in District 16 which he has represented for two years, and determined that he and his family, in fact, live in District 15, publishing its findings in the December 3rd issue.<br /><br />We pointed out the fact that Jenkins actually resides on Bushey Avenue, and not Moultrie Avenue, providing photos of the dwellings in question. Additionally, we provided a copy of a December 4th, 2008 “Memorandum Of Legislation” on Mr. Jenkins’ Board letterhead, listing himself as sponsor of proposed legislation, the purpose of which he stated was: “Local Law to correct a boundary in Legislative Districts 15 and Legislate District 16 located in the City of Yonkers”; a virtual admission that he was not living inside District 16 and wanted the boundary line changed to accommodate him.<br /><br /><br /><br />The Guardian also provided copies of his wife’s voter registration card, truthfully indicating the family residence on Bushey Avenue, dating all the way back to April 1988, as well as Jenkins’ re-registration card, filed December 18, 2006, falsely claiming that his domicile was at 28 Moultrie Avenue, a month after Andrea Stewart-Cousins was elected to the State Senate. We also provided the dialogue of a conversation with an actual resident of 28 Moultrie Ave., who made it clear that Ken Jenkins merely came to the dwelling to pick up his mail.<br /><br />Given all of the above, and the fact that we had made certain that every member of the Board was aware of Jenkins’ “credentials problem”, and the fact that he was involved in the same kind of Election Fraud felony as Wilson Soto, we addressed Chairman Ryan at the press conference with the following: “Mr. Chairman, Richard Blassberg of the Westchester Guardian: While we think it is laudible that you have taken this initiative which will determine the nature of County Government in the future, we are concerned with how you will finance the current County Government?”<br /><br />“It is our understanding that the County Executive’s Budget passed by just one vote, 9-8, and that, therefore, each vote cast in favor was a deciding vote, including the vote cast by Ken Jenkins, whose credentials have come under question, given the fact that he lives in District 15, and is representing District 16.”<br /><br />“Mr. Chairman, we want to know how you intend to deal with the fact that, under the circumstances, with Mr. Jenkins not lawfully voting, any County taxpayer can now bring a likely successful suit to stop the passage of the budget because there was only an 8-8 tie vote.”<br /><br />Bill Ryan responded that he would “only discuss questions directly related to his initiative.”<br /><br />Wednesday evening, the 13 Democratic County Legislators, including Jenkins, meeting in caucus, decided that Ken Jenkins, a man each and every one of them knows does not live in the district he represents, and a man each and every one of them knows was deeply involved in the rampant election fraud in southwest Yonkers during the Democratic Primary election, was the best choice to be the next Chairman of the County Legislature.<br /><br />Does anybody need a better argument for abolishing the County Legislature?The Westchester Guardian Newspaperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746244426644755928noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154560970503397222.post-12523903696599911232009-12-10T22:57:00.000-05:002009-12-12T23:01:16.834-05:00Westchester Guardian Article/The Advocate/Richard Blassberg/Andy Spano.Republican County Legislator George Oros Declares Spano’s Last-Minute Contracts “A Kick In The Teeth To County Taxpayers” <br /><br />Last Monday afternoon, retiring Republican County Legislator, Minority Leader George Oros, held a press conference at his law office in White Plains to blast outgoing County Executive Andy Spano for what Oros called “A 2010 Budget filled with land mines and rewards for Spano’s campaign contributors, especially law firms.” He told reporters, “Republicans are calling for a moratorium.”<br /><br />Oros commented paranthetically, “I’d love to see the budget that would be there if Spano had won.” He went on, “We must bring State, County and Municipal people together. We can achieve real economies of scale. People just can’t take it anymore.”<br /><br />Oros stressed that, for years, he had called for “reform of the Board of Acquisition and Contract,” but that, on November 24, “the A&C Agenda included a handful of multimillion dollar, multi-year contracts.”<br /><br />The so-called “11th Hour Contracts” include: <br /><br />• $2.7 million to various law firms, all of which have been big contributors to Spano’s campaigns to perform of counsel legal services;<br /><br />• $12 million for Westhab to operate homeless shelters;<br /><br />• $4 million for security systems integration at the County Jail;<br /><br />• $900,000 for a fence at Rye Playland.<br /><br />The Board of Acquisition and Contract consists of three members, the County Executive, and his appointed Commissioner of Public Works, as well as the elected Chairman of the Board of Legislators. In effect, the County Executive, through his appointee, retains the power to pass any contract or long-term lease by his control of two out of three votes.<br /><br />Oros told reporters, “The Spano Administration wants to tie Mr. Astorino’s hands and make it much harder to achieve the goals the overwhelming majority of voters chose him to accomplish.” He went further, stating, “This is not the way a county executive who has served 12 years should go out the door.”<br /><br />Oros went on, “Voters spoke loud and clear in the last election that they were tired of business-as-usual in Westchester County government. It’s time for Mr. Spano to step aside and let a breath of fresh air come in.”<br /><br />Asked if he was, in fact, still pushing for A&C reforms, Oros said he would “like to see the County Budget submitted before Election Day, as well as the use of zero-based budgeting.” <br /><br />Under zero-based budgeting, every proposed expense, every purchase, every position in County Government, is re-evaluated in terms of developments since the prior budget to determine whether the position, the purchase, etc., is still justified and necessary going forward or, if, for whatever reason, that expense may need to be increased or possibly cut back, or eliminated altogether. Under such budgeting practices, the tendency to fund unneeded positions and expenses is greatly reduced, and duplication of services and acquisition of unnecessary materials and leased space are more easily identified and eliminated.<br /><br />Oros went on to say, “Spano is frustrating the will and the sentiment of the taxpayers with $30-40 million of 11th hour expenses. We should put those items on hold and give the new administration a change. He owes it to the voters, but he really doesn’t care what they think.”<br /><br />As if to confirm George Oros’ assertions, on Wednesday, just 24 hours after the press conference, the Guardian received a “Letter to the Editor” from a County Government employee (see page four, “Spanocrat Going to County Board of Elections.”) <br /><br />We were gratified that the reader had adopted the title ‘Spanocrat’, coined by The Advocate several years ago to describe those party insiders whose attachment for financial selfenrichment, to Andy Spano and Company was much more compelling than their commitment to Democratic principles and practices.The Westchester Guardian Newspaperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746244426644755928noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154560970503397222.post-63813969175450455382009-12-03T13:05:00.000-05:002009-12-05T13:11:52.914-05:00Westchester Guardian Article/Ken Jenkins.Back on Sept. 15th, during, and immediately after, the Democratic Primary between incumbent 17th District County Legislator Jose Alvarado and challenger Sandy Annabi, and the Primary for City Council District 2, Democratic designation, involving Virginia Perez, Wilson Terrero, and two other candidates, we had expressed our disappointment with the behavior of Ken Jenkins. Responding to calls from poll watchers throughout southwest Yonkers, we came upon numerous instances of Election Fraud, at various polling places, intended to benefit Alvarado, Terrero, Janet DiFiore, and Tim Idoni, the Democratic Party designees. In some cases we arrived at polling places within a few minutes of Jenkins’ departure, as in the case of 15 Hamilton Avenue, a polling location in a senior housing complex.<br /><br />At that site, we had observed an individual who other poll workers complained had steered voters to Alvarado and Terrero, as well as having voted numerous times for them herself, in addition to electioneering within the polling place and wrongfully interrogating supporters of Annabi and Perez as to whom they would be voting for before turning them away on one false ruse or another. We expressed disappointment with the fact that Jenkins, Yonkers City Democratic Chairman, had done absolutely nothing to report or stop the fraudulent activities.<br /><br />Running without Republican or other opposition for reelection to the 16th District legislative seat, Jenkins would be Alvarado’s and Terrero’s running mate, and, wasn’t going to let a little thing like numerous instances of reported Election Fraud; the turning away of voters who were qualified to vote, the intentional jamming of opponents’ levers in the machine, electioneering right into the voting machine, reported unauthorized voting at different polling places, and the like, to get in the way. As chairman of the largest municipal Democratic Committee in the County, and likely the third largest in the State, exclusive of New York City, Ken Jenkins saw no reason to curtail the unlawful activity on Primary Election Day, nor any reason to investigate the many complaints raised by affidavit by decent, honest Democrats in Yonkers who had been “run over” by Alvarado and Terrero operatives and poll workers selected by Jenkins.<br /><br />Jenkins had nothing to say when The Guardian exposed attorney Wilson Soto’s felony Election Fraud, his falsely swearing on an affidavit ballot that he lived at 279 South Broadway, Yonkers, when, in fact, he lives at 8 Huron Road, several miles away. Jenkins has no problem at all with politicians and political operatives claiming they live one place when, in fact, they live somewhere else.<br /><br />After all, he lives at 108 Bushey Avenue with his wife and children, a single-family dwelling clearly in the 15th Legislative District, but claims he lives at 28 Moultrie Avenue, a multiple dwelling in District 16 where, incredibly, he is the legislator. Apparently little fibs like intentionally falsely swearing on voting affidavits don’t really matter much to Legislator/Party Chairman Ken Jenkins, even though doing so is a felony.<br /><br />It isn’t as though Jenkins was ever unaware of the fraud he has been perpetrating ever since he decided he would be the one to replace former County Legislator Andrea Stewart-Cousins, when she moved into the State Senate after beating Nick Spano in November 2006 for a second time, having beaten him in 2004 by 355 votes, but getting screwed out of her victory by the combined efforts of such Democrats as Andy Spano, Larry Schwartz, Reggie LaFayette and, yes, Ken Jenkins, who never so much as spoke out on her behalf. He knew, as Yonkers City Chairman, he would get to replace her the next time she ran, and the Justice Department saw to it that Nick and his hoodlums, and Democratic co-conspirators, would do nothing to risk a stretch in federal prison.<br /><br />No, it isn’t as though he hasn’t tried to gerrymander part of the district he actually lives in, District 15 into District 16 so that District 16 would include the street he has been living on for years with his family. In fact, almost a year ago, on December 4, 2008, he made a feeble, half-hearted attempt with a memo to his fellow legislators, “To correct a boundary in Legislative Districts [sic] 15 and Legislative District 16, located in the City of Yonkers.” Apparently, later he thought it was better not to bring attention to his ongoing fraud because the issue was never brought to the floor for action, as far as we can tell.<br /><br />A visit to the Board of Elections last Monday, November 23, produced copies of Ken’s and Mrs. Jenkins’ voter registration cards. Deborah Hudson-Jenkins’ registration, that dates back to April of 1988, clearly indicates that she lives on Bushey Avenue in Yonkers. However, Kenneth W. Jenkins’ voter reregistration, filed on December 18, 2006, following the election of Stuart-Cousins, indicates that he had moved from 108 Bushey Avenue, and was now living at 28 Moultrie Avenue, inside Legislative District 16.<br /><br />A visit to 28 Moultrie Avenue to photograph it on Saturday, Nov. 21 at 1pm, produced an interesting exchange with an actual resident of that apparent multiple dwelling. We photographed the building by getting out of our vehicle, walking up in front of it, and conspicuously shooting pictures.<br /><br />Getting back into our car, we continued slowly north, up the street to its end and turned around. Approaching the house from the opposite direction we observed a tall, middle-aged man stepping out into the street, attempting to hail us down. We pulled up to speak with him.<br /><br />He asked, “Why were you taking pictures of the house?” We told him that were with the Westchester Guardian newspaper and we were taking pictures of the houses where County officials live.<br /><br />We asked, “Does Ken Jenkins live here?” The gentlemen replied, “Yes, he do; he gets his mail here.”<br /><br />We asked, “Do you live here?” pointing to house number 28. He responded, “Yes.”<br /><br />We then asked, “Does Kenny live here with his family?” He then said, “He comes here with his family.”<br /><br />Ken Jenkins would appear to be carrying on a major scam with regard to his domicile address for political purposes for nearly three years now, having put himself, by virtue of his chairmanship of the Yonkers Democratic Committee, into the former County legislative seat of now-State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins. He apparently reasoned that nobody would be the wiser if, despite actually living for many years on Bushey Avenue in Legislative District 15, he simply filled out a new voter registration card indicating that was living at 28 Moultrie Avenue, in District 16, and arranged to have his mail delivered there where he might pick it up.<br /><br />Of course, a year ago, when the scam was apparently becoming known to some he was concerned about, he produced the brief memo regarding the need to change the boundary line. In other words, boundary lines and rules are for other people, not for a powerful chairman of the Yonkers Democratic Committee.<br /><br />Given his recent overtures with respect to the Chairman’s position on the Board of Legislators, we say, “Not so fast, Mr.Jenkins!” If 28 Moultrie Avenue in Yonkers is not your domicile address, the place where you actually live, then the voter registration card you filled out and signed on December 18, 2006 involved an act of fraud when you knowingly swore to, or affirmed, that false statement, and you have committed a felony for which, under statute, you should be “fined up to $5,000 and/or jailed for up to four years.” However, as importantly, you should be immediately stripped of your legislative post upon confirmation of your failure to meet the residence requirements in the 16th Legislative District and made to return all salary and stipends fraudulently gathered over the last, nearly, three years.The Westchester Guardian Newspaperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746244426644755928noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154560970503397222.post-90854508175464182132009-11-12T01:06:00.002-05:002010-01-16T01:20:44.918-05:00Westchester Guardian Article/Giulio Cavallo.<strong><em><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:180%;">Message from The Publisher.</span></em></strong><br /><strong><em><span style="font-size:180%;"></span></em></strong><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:180%;"><strong><em>Mighty Independence Party Chair Knocks Out Andy Spano In Fourth Round</em></strong></span><br /><strong><em><span style="font-size:180%;"></span></em></strong><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">On Tuesday, Election Night, The Guardian was present at the Astorino victory celebration at the Crowne Plaza in White Plains. At about 10:30pm a man in the room yelled out, “Giulio Cavallo knocked out Andy Spano.”There was a round of applause and cheers for Dr. Cavallo,<br />the maverick Chairman of the Westchester Independence Party.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">As numbers continued to come in, it became clear that what the man had said was, in fact, true. The powerful political fat cat, Andy Spano, a Democrat, in a Democrat-dominated County, where Republicans are outnumbered two to one was, in fact, knocked out by the leader of the Independence Party, a small but mighty third party with fewer than 23,000 registered voters countywide.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">That knock-out punch had come from the hand of none other than civic leader and party chair, Dr. Giulio Cavallo.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Dr. Cavallo has led the Westchester Independence Party for more than 12 years. In that time he has supported Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and Conservatives alike in elections throughout Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Putnam, and Dutchess Counties.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">This year was special for Doc. After four years of arrogant, excessive taxation, and economic enslavement perpetrated by Democratic Party County Executive Andy Spano, and County Legislator Bill Ryan, Dr. Cavallo vowed to step up to the plate and fight the administrations he had helped elect in the last election cycle.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Cavallo had declared, “It’s about doing what is right. Our elected officials have forgotten that they were elected to serve and not to be served. The duty of the Independence Party is to represent the interests of the People, all the People.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">In January 2009, at a meeting in New Rochelle, Dr. Cavallo, the Westchester Independence Party Committee and Guardian Publisher Sam Zherka decided to join forces to organize the Westchester Tea Party, an anti-tax movement determined to reduce Westchester’s bloated County Government.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">On April 25th, the Tea Party Rally was held at the Westchester County Office Building; and an estimated three thousand angry and frustrated citizen taxpayers assembled to petition and protest against Andy Spano and his Administration for their “tax and spend policies” which had turned Westchester citizens into “the highest taxed citizens in America”.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Spano and his Administration attempted to downplay the Tea Party event. However, that event clearly elevated stock in the Westchester Independence Party which helped deliver the knockout blow.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">On Election Day The Guardian visited many polling places throughout the County, questioning voters before and after they cast their votes. One voter, a man in his 50’s, from Tuckahoe named Charles, stated that he was fed up with the status quo, and wished “for a revolution; a<br />revolution is what we need to teach our politicians a lesson, maybe a ‘tax strike.’” When asked if he had attended the Tea Party in White Plains back in April he indicated that he hadn’t, but that his family members had.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Another man, George Nivkor, accompanied by several family members at a polling place in Yonkers, when asked if he was happy with Yonkers and Westchester County politicians and taxes, said, “We feel like we are being extorted. I’m watching rampant waste and theft all at our expense; and we are tired of it.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">When asked if he was a Democrat or a Republican, Nivkor replied, “Some of my family are each, but this year we are Independent and voting Row C, the Independence Party.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">It’s clear that the Independence Party has struck a nerve, and the numbers show it. Over the last three countywide elections, the Independence Party received between five and seven thousand votes. This election, they more than doubled that number, with well over 12,000 votes, which Dr. Cavallo attributes to the Independence Party’s role at the Westchester Tea Party Rally and all the mailings and telephone calls the Party faithful did to get out the vote.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">“We mailed literature to thousands of taxpayers, asking them to join us,” Cavallo said. He went on, “Unlike the Conservative and Working Families Parties, the People of Westchester County know where we stand on the issue of high taxes. The Conservative and Working Families<br />Parties have done nothing to combat the tax problem. In fact, both minor parties endorsed Andy Spano, but didn’t make a difference.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Cavallo reiterated that as a civic leader and party chair, it is his duty to stand up against politically-entrenched, power-hungry politicians when it comes to issues that negatively effect so many lives as high taxes do.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">When asked where the Independence Party will be going from here, Cavallo said, “Nowhere but up; we are the third largest party in the state, and maybe one day we’ll be the second, or even the first, but in the meantime, on Election Day, we were the most important party and the deciding factor for some of the most important races in Westchester.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Political insiders have confirmed that Andy Spano made numerous attempts to obtain the Independence Party endorsement; but was rejected every time by Dr. Cavallo. It is clear that had Spano gotten that endorsement, he might have remained King Andy for a fourth term.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">For now, we must hail Dr. Giulio Cavallo, a true leader with the moral fortitude and courage to do the right thing. He is the most powerful political figure in Westchester. </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span>The Westchester Guardian Newspaperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746244426644755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154560970503397222.post-30053783626588079482009-09-17T19:28:00.001-04:002009-09-22T19:39:02.903-04:00Westchester Guardian/The Advocate/Westchester County Government/Westchester County Board of Legislators.Thursday, September 17, 2009<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:180%;">If This is What County Government<br />Has Done For The People Of Westchester, It’s<br />Time To Do Away With County Government</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;"></span></strong><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Last Tuesday morning, September 8th, we attended the third in a series of hearings at the County Legislators’ Committee Conference Room at the County Office Building dealing with the federal government’s ultimatum to Westchester to promulgate and finally comply with the rules and actions needed to bring about affordable, fair housing.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Regardless of the show that Susan Tolchin, Deputy County Executive, continues to stage, ably assisted by attorney Stuart Gerson of Epstein, Becker & Greene, there is no denying that Andy Spano, and his partner in crime, Larry Schwartz, have gotten Westchester taxpayers in over their heads by their reckless, incompetent misappropriation of nearly $52 million, and their deceptive accounting of its use.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Last week we suggested that Spano had let down both the legislators and taxpayers. We still believe that. However, following a discussion with Chairman Bill Ryan just prior to the start of Tuesday’s proceedings, we now believe that the legislature is every bit as culpable as Spano & Company for the predicament homeowners and taxpayers are now confronted with. When asked how it was that he and his fellow <br />Board Members had not retained their own attorney, Chairman Ryan indicated that he didn’t believe that the Board of Legislators needed separate legal counsel.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">When we raised the issue of Separation Of Powers between the Executive and Legislative branches in County Government, Ryan saw no conflict in relying upon the legal advice of County Attorney, Charlene Indelicato, who was employed at the pleasure of the County Executive, and Stuart Gerson, outside counsel also retained by Spano, to whom Gerson expressed his “loyalty” at the first hearing, a notion Ryan quickly took issue with. We do not accept the idea that Bill Ryan could possibly be that naive. If he is trying to suggest that Andy and Larry haven’t misappropriated federal grants and misrepresented to the federal government, the Department Of Housing And Urban Development, what they did with $52 million, he is culpable before, and after, the fact, and should be held just as accountable as Spano,<br />Schwartz, and Tolchin, together with every other legislator who sits around that conference table never once asking where the $52<br />million went.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">In plain English, there is no way that use of the same attorneys who, for more than two years, have worked for Spano & Company in the effort to mitigate and minimize their wrongdoing in negotiations with the Justice Department, HUD, and the Federal Court should now be advising and instructing a supposedly separate and independent body of taxpayer representatives, particularly given that those same taxpayers must now pick up the $65 million tab for all that wrongdoing. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">It’s safe to say that the 17-member Legislature, the overwhelming majority of whom were campaign-financed and assisted by Spano from contributions controlled by him and Larry Schwartz, are not all that concerned about the plight of their constituents under the terms of the imposed settlement. Why else would only 12 of them show up on time and others, such as Republican Jim Maisano, miss both the first and third hearings?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Jim Johnson, a former United States Attorney, a federal prosecutor with extensive experience in the area of housing discrimination, was introduced as the appointed monitor, although Chairman Ryan was careful to describe him as “the individual proposed as monitor,” as if the County had<br />any choice in the matter if the Legislature accepts the settlement.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Then Ryan introduced Rose Noonan, an individual with several years of experience in housing issues in Westchester, dealing with not-for-profits, County government, as well as the City of Yonkers, and instructing at Pace University Law School; in short, someone thoroughly enmeshed<br />in, and dependant upon, the Westchester network of control for her bread and butter. </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">At that point, as if to emphasize his allegiance to, and blind obedience to, the Spano Regime, Ryan said, “We have our very own outside counsel who is acting as our consultant in this matter, Stuart Gerson.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Nothing could be further from the truth given the manner in which this entire housing dilemma was brought into being, under the control and mismanagement of Spano & Company. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">To now tell the public, the overtaxed homeowners and business-people who will have to foot the bill, that Stuart Gerson, an attorney who has<br />been working behind the scenes for more than two years to cover Andy’s backside, that he is the County Legislators’ legal consultant, is to deny<br />any independent voice, any representation of the Peoples’ interest, on the part of the so-called County Legislature. </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">In fact, it is a blatant admission that the Board of Legislators is simply a 17-member/50 support staff rubber stamp; and a damned expensive one at that. Readers must not lose sight of the fact that 13 out of 17 of these so-called legislators, individuals pulling down $1,000 a week plus stipends<br />for a part-time job, are Democrats, all of whom feel beholden to Spano and Schwartz, and, could care less about their constituents’ interests or wishes. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">They proved that, unmistakeably, with the purchase of the Halpern white elephant at 450 Saw Mill River Road in Ardsley last year. They established that when Andy says “jump”, they only ask, “how high?”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">The moldy old building was a commitment of $13.5 million, to possibly as much as $20 million, before it is repaired and renovated; we will never know for sure. This commitment, if approved, will be for $65 million. Not one of these legislators asks where the money went, or why Spano violated the False Claims Act by lying, yes, lying to HUD and the federal government. They don’t ask because they are culpable themselves.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">If ever there was a moment when the citizens of Westchester could clearly see the dysfunction within County government; the failure to have checks and balances, the corruption with money of the Legislative Branch by the Executive, that moment is now! </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">The Board of Legislators is ready to sell out the People of Westchester. Not one of them apparently comes to the table with clean hands. So committed are they, Republicans included, to covering up all of the wrongdoing and double-dealing that has placed our homeowners and taxpayers<br />in the fix they are now in, that they are only too ready to sign off on an agreement that will cost their constituents $65 million and place control of the future growth of their communities in federal hands.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">If this is what County government has done for the People of Westchester, it is time to do away with County government.</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><br /></span>The Westchester Guardian Newspaperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746244426644755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154560970503397222.post-83464386511591739522009-09-17T19:22:00.001-04:002009-09-22T19:27:55.756-04:00Westchester Guardian/In Our Opinion/Our Readers Respond.Thursday, September 17, 2009<br /><br />In Our Opinion...<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:180%;"></span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:180%;">Hey, Mike!<br /><br /></span></strong><strong><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:180%;"></span></strong><span style="font-size:85%;">We strongly support the First Amendment, particularly Freedom Of The Press. As a newspaper, we are very sensitive to any attempt,<br />no matter how subtle or disguised, to stifle free expression of one’s knowledge or beliefs. History has repeatedly shown us that totalitarian<br />regimes characteristically do not accept, or live in harmony with, a free press.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">A free press, and an unfettered marketplace of ideas, is essential to any Democratic society or form of government. However, it is mandatory<br />that anyone holding themselves out as a journalist be willing to identify both himself and his source, especially when publishing an accusatory piece, one that may be damaging to another, or to their reputation. In this regard, although we support the First Amendment in all of its manifestations, be they broadcast, newsprint, hard-covered, or electronic, we have no respect for those who would ventilate their flatulent offerings while hiding behind the anonymity of their computer IP.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Such creatures foul up the marketplace of ideas with their excretions, frequently not merely assuming an Anon or some other fictional </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">identification, but often using many assumed identities, sometimes 10 or 12, posting one dropping after another, asking and answering their own irrelevancies. At times these ‘burnt offerings’ are almost amusing, but for their usual highly defamatory content. For such posters, it’s as though they can’t get their daily fix until they spew their venom, and then go hide.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">To suggest that such multiple posters are cowardly creatures is to engage in classic British understatement. They have an axe to grind, and/or an agenda, or somebody else’s agenda to further, and frequently go from blog to blog, leaving behind their mostly fictional, malicious rants, much as graffiti sprayers do as they go from wall to fence, disfiguring the urban panorama.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Interestingly, even when they blow their own cover with their repetitive beef, their practice-specific terminology, and their manic repetition,<br />getting identified by name by the very next poster, they go right on as if the silver bullet had just bounced off their body armor. In reality, they are pathetically addicted to the blogosphere, getting a rush from posting rude, sometimes very crude, remarks about decent individuals whose shoes they couldn’t shine, whose eyes they couldn’t look into; they don’t stand tall enough.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">“Cowardly creatures”? Sure, but somehow ‘little worm’ seems a much more fitting description. It’s truly hard to tell if they are one notch above, or one notch below, the creeps who write on the walls in public toilets. As a “political commentator”, Mike Edelman, what do you think? </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Our Readers Respond...<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">And Now A Word From The Right<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><span style="font-size:85%;">Dear Editor:<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">After reading an article by your Democratic operative, Fred Polvere (Our Elite Media) I must ask a question culled from his “objective” article. On what planet do you spend your time, Mr. Polvere? The article deals with an ad placed on MoveOn.Org during the Bush Administration which spliced together images of Bush and Hitler. It is Polvere’s contention that the Republican Party unfairly condemned the Democrats when he claims they were totally innocent in the publication of the ads.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">For Polvere’s information MoveOn.Org is a left-wing group funded by George Soros, an avowed Socialist, and an unofficial arm of the Democratic Party. To state as he did in the article that the Republicans should have remained mum and not condemned the Soros group and the Democrats is naïve. Who runs the mainstream media in America today? Not the Republicans or the various conservative talk show hosts,<br />but as Polvere knows, or should know, the media is infested with Liberals who wouldn’t know the truth if they fell over it.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Instead he condemns the Fox News Channel which at least makes an effort to present both sides of an issue. Can the same be said for CBS, NBC, ABC or the New York Times? The fact that a majority of Americans fell for the left wing propaganda of the left wing media and elected a neo-Marxist President is clear proof of the “objectivity” of the press. If they had dared to tell the truth about Obama’s background, his associates, and his political philosophy, it is a good bet that he would not be sitting in the White House with his American hating wife. The press in America has disgraced itself by laying down and becoming a harlot for the Obama Administration.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Sal Dye, New Rochelle<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Another Good Idea From Paul<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><span style="font-size:85%;">Dear Editor:<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">At the meeting of the Greenburgh Town Board on September 9th two residents spoke of the value of CPR training. One mother (Janine Thompson) advised the Town Board that her small child’s life was saved because a child care provider who worked for her provided CPR after the child choked (and after the frightened mother failed to successfully stop the choking). Wendy Marder Lewin also spoke of the need for CPR training.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">The presentation made me reflect on an unpleasant fact: most people do not know what to do if a family member has a choking incident. Even if someone had CPR training years ago –if they don’t get refreshers, they will forget what needs to be done. I would like to suggest that all school districts teach every middle school and high school student CPR. CPR training by a qualified instructor could save lives. Students should also learn how to relieve choking and how to use an AED –automated external defibrillator. If one life is saved because of this annual instruction it would be worth the cost. Providing CPR training to every middle school and high school student and reinforcing the training each year makes a tremendous amount of sense.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Paul Feiner, Greenburgh Town Supervisor</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span>The Westchester Guardian Newspaperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746244426644755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154560970503397222.post-20675606357355360832009-09-17T19:14:00.000-04:002009-09-22T19:21:07.496-04:00Westchester Guardian/The Court Report.Thursday, September 17, 2009<br /><br />The Court Report<br />By Richard Blassberg<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:180%;">Former Manhattan Cosmetic Surgery Clinic Owner<br />Extradited From Canada Pleads Guilty To Conspiracy To Defraud</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;"></span></strong><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ARTHUR KISSEL, a/k/a “Arthur Froom,” a former cosmetic surgery clinic owner, pleaded guilty in Manhattan Federal Court to a scheme to defraud health insurance companies of more than $900,000.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">According to the Indictment to which KISSEL pleaded guilty; the evidence at the 2000 trial of KISSEL’s wife, SONIA LAFONTAINE, in the case; and statements made during KISSEL’s September 2008 bail hearing and the guilty plea proceeding before United States District Judge DENNY CHIN: KISSEL and LAFONTAINE owned and operated LaFontaine Rish Medical Associates, a cosmetic surgery clinic located at 315 West 57th Street in Manhattan. LAFONTAINE -- who had no medical license and was not acting under a physician’s supervision - performed procedures which were billed as having been performed by licensed physicians. KISSEL and LAFONTAINE’s clinic also billed cosmetic procedures, such as “tummy-tucks” and liposuction, in the guise of medically necessary procedures, such as hernia repairs and lesion removals. They also submitted claims to insurance companies for procedures that were never performed, and exaggerated insurance claims by increasing the number and complexity of procedures that were actually performed.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">KISSEL and LAFONTAINE were originally indicted in March 1998. At that time, KISSEL was in Canada where he and his wife ran another cosmetic surgery clinic. LAFONTAINE was arrested in the United States in 1998 and was found guilty on all charges on July 12, 2000, following a six-week jury trial. She was ultimately sentenced to ten years in prison. The United States initiated extradition proceedings against KISSEL in 2000, which resulted in his August 2008 return from Canada on these charges.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">KISSEL, 55, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and health care fraud, and one count of mail fraud. He faces a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison on each count; a maximum fine of the greater of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss resulting from the crime on each count; and forfeiture of the proceeds of his crimes. KISSEL is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge CHIN on December 15, 2009 at 2:30 p.m.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Mr. BHARARA praised the outstanding investigative work of the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in this case.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">This case is being handled by the Office’s Major Crimes Unit. Assistant United States Attorney ROBIN W. MOREY is in charge of the prosecution.</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span>The Westchester Guardian Newspaperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746244426644755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154560970503397222.post-60000627237962387482009-09-17T17:30:00.002-04:002009-09-22T21:23:17.957-04:00Westchester Guardian/Jeff Deskovic.Thursday, September 17, 2009<br /><br />Jeff Deskovic<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:180%;">Creation Of A National Institute<br />Of Forensic Sciences Is Critical</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;"></span></strong><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">On September 3, 2009, a story appeared in the Daily News regarding Dwight Gomas, who had spent 17 months in Rikers Island in New York for robbery before it came to light that the fingerprints which formed the basis for his arrest did not, in fact, match him.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">According to the News, “He was in fact 880 miles away, living in Atlanta, when armed thugs robbed Theresa’s Gold Lynch jewelry store in<br />Howard Beach in October 2003. A year later, Gomas was arrested for the robbery by United States marshals. Detective Eileen Barrett had<br />matched a partial index finger print from the crime scene to Gomas, whose prints were on file after an arrest for driving with a suspended license in Brooklyn. It was the only arrest on his record other than a juvenile bust.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">A second NYPD detective, Charles Schenkel, confirmed Barrett’s identification, according to court papers. Gomas maintained his innocence<br />before the grand jury, but was indicted and couldn’t make the $30,000 bail. His Legal Aid lawyer advised him to accept a plea offer of five years in prison, but he refused. Gomas was headed to trial for a Queens jewelry store stickup when a veteran detective routinely checked his identification.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">‘When I looked at it, I said, ‘You know what? is is a screw up; this is not his fingerprints,’ said Detective Daniel Perruzza, according to a<br />court transcript. ‘It looks similar, but ‘similar’ doesn’t cut it in prints. It has to be an exact match,’ Perruzza said. During his 523 days in jail, he lost his spot in a cooking school and his girlfriend and their child moved in with another man.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">As I have long maintained, the idea that people could be arrested and wrongfully convicted for crimes that they are innocent of is quite<br />scary. But the idea that one could be wrongfully arrested for a crime that happens in another state nearly 1000 miles away is even scarier. Yet it is a reality.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">According to The Innocence Project’s website, “A report from the National Academy of Sciences released this year found that fingerprint<br />analysis was among the forensic disciplines that has not ‘been rigorously shown to have the capacity to consistently, and with a high degree of certainty, demonstrate a connection between evidence and a specific individual or source.’ According to The Innocence Project, “Stephan Cowans spent more than five years in Massachusetts prisons after a false fingerprint match led to his conviction for a crime he didn’t commit.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">But this problem goes way beyond merely cases in which fingerprint evidence is a factor. According to the Just Science website, which is<br />a broad-based group committed to having scientific standards in place regarding forensic science so that only scientifically based, sound procedures are the foundation of any forensic evidence and testimony in criminal cases: “Many forensic disciplines have evolved primarily through their use in individual cases and have not been scientifically validated or standardized. Forensic analysts sometimes testify in cases without a proper scientific basis for their findings. Testimony about more dubious forensic disciplines, such as efforts to match a<br />defendant’s teeth to marks on a victim or attempts to compare a defendant’s voice to a voicemail recording, are cloaked in science but lack even the most basic scientific standards.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Even within forensic disciplines that are more firmly grounded in science, evidence is often made to sound more precise than it should. For example, analysts will testify that hairs from a crime scene ‘match’ or ‘are consistent with’ defendants’ hair – but because scientific research on validity and reliability of hair analysis is lacking, they have no way of knowing how rare these similarities are, so there is no way to know how meaningful this evidence is.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">In approximately 50% of DNA exonerations, unvalidated or improper forensic science contributed to the wrongful conviction. But, while DNA exonerations are a window into the effect of unvalidated or improper forensic science contributing to wrongful convictions, DNA does not solve the problem. Experts estimate that only 5-10% of all criminal cases involve biological evidence that could be subjected to DNA testing. In the other 90-95% of crimes, DNA testing is not an option – so the criminal justice system relies on other kinds of evidence, including forensic disciplines that may not be scientifically sound or properly conducted.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">With that background, the need for a National Institute of Forensic Science created by Congress is obvious. Roy Brown spent 15 years in<br />prison in New York for a murder he was innocent of. Innocence Project Co-Founder Peter Neufeld testified at a Congressional Hearing that,<br />“‘The forensic dentist [at Roy Brown’s trial] used what was then the prevailing method of comparing bite marks found on a body with the dentures of a suspect,’ said Neufeld. ‘He examined them and decided that he had a match with Roy’s bite. He so testified in court, and Roy was convicted.’”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">At the moment, Congress is holding hearings and considering creating just such an entity. Fueling the inquiry is a report that was recently released. According to the Just Science website, “In 2006, Congress appropriated funds to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS)<br />to thoroughly study the fundamental underpinnings of forensic science and its applications in our criminal justice system. A blue-ribbon NAS panel was formed – including scientists, academics, a retired federal judge, and other notable experts. Over an eighteen-month period, the group held several public hearings and gathered comprehensive research on forensic disciplines.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">This Committee on Identifying the Needs of the Forensic Sciences Community released its final report, Strengthening Forensic Science in<br />the United States: A Path Forward, in February 2009. In releasing their report, the co-chairs of the committee emphasized that there was a consistent theme throughout their deliberations.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">The report says: “The forensic science system, encompassing both research and practice, has serious problems that can only be addressed<br />by a national commitment to overhaul the current structure that supports the forensic science community in this country. This can only be done with effective leadership at the highest levels of both federal and state governments, pursuant to national standards, and with a </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">significant infusion of federal funds.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">The report’s key findings include:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">• “With the exception of nuclear DNA analysis, however, no forensic method has been rigorously shown to have the capacity to consistently,<br />and with a high degree of certainty, demonstrate a connection between evidence and a specific individual or source.” (NAS Report, page S-5)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">• “…What is needed to support and oversee the forensic science community is a new, strong and independent entity that could take on the<br />tasks that would be assigned to it in a manner that is as objective and free of bias as possible – one with no ties to the past and with the authority and resources to implement a fresh agenda…” (NAS Report p S-13)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">• “There are great disparities among existing forensic science operations in federal, state and local law enforcement jurisdictions and agencies…<br />It is clear, however, that any approach to overhauling the existing system needs to address and help minimize the community’s current<br />fragmentation and inconsistent practices.” (NAS Report, page S-4)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">• “Although research has been done in some disciplines, there is a notable dearth of peer-reviewed, published studies establishing the scientific<br />bases and validity of many forensic methods.” (NAS Report, page S-6)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">• “A body of research is [also] required to establish the limits and measures of performance and to address the impact of sources of variability<br />and potential bias.” (NAS Report, page S-6)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">• “…The adversarial process relating to the admission and exclusion of scientific evidence is not suited to the task of finding ‘scientific truth’…Judicial review, by itself, will not cure the infirmities of the forensic science community.” (NAS Report, page S-20)” According to that report, here is what reform would look like: “Assessment of validity and reliability:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">• The federal government should establish a science-based federal entity or agency, the National Institute for Forensic Sciences (NIFS), to review<br />both existing and new techniques, devices and assays to determine the extent to which they are scientifically valid and reliable for use in the criminal justice system.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">• NIFS should establish standards for reliable application of forensic science disciplines in criminal cases (e.g. match criteria) to ensure the use of forensics within prescribed parameters.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">• NIFS should have compliance authority to ensure the discontinuation of invalid or unreliable methods.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Research:<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">• NIFS should fund both basic and applied research to test the validity and reliability of extant forensic methods, devices and assays; and to<br />support the development of new technologies to solve crime.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Quality assurance, accreditation and certification:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">• NIFS should set enforceable standards for public and private laboratories, as well as for individual professionals, that conduct forensic tests<br />and examinations intended for use in courts.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">• Quality controls and quality assurance programs should be established to secure the integrity of the ultimate forensic product in laboratories<br />and in courts. This should include (but not be limited to) validation of devices for particular labs; written protocols and procedures; minimum<br />qualifications, staff training and proficiency testing for personnel; and parameters for data interpretation, report writing and testimony.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Training:</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;">• NIFS should support comprehensive training and professional development in the forensic science field in order to build the capacity for research<br />and quality assurance, and to bring current and new forensic science personnel into compliance with established qualifications and standards.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Oversight<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">• The Director of NIFS, in consultation with science-based federal government agencies, should appoint a Forensic Science National Commission<br />composed of science professionals to set broad research priorities and to promulgate forensic science standards.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">• The Director of NIFS, in consultation with science and criminal justice-based federal government agencies, should also appoint an Advisory<br />Committee to provide input to the Commission and NIFS with regard to its various responsibilities.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">There are many junk sciences that lead to wrongful convictions. There is bullet lead analysis, which falsely purports to be able to trace the bullet fired from a gun used in a crime all the way back to the box from which it originated.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">According to The Innocence Project’s website: “Hair microscopy, bite mark comparisons, firearm testing or tool mark analysis – have never been subjected to rigorous scientific evaluation. Other methods – such as serology (commonly known as blood typing) – have been properly validated<br />but are sometimes improperly conducted or inaccurately conveyed in trial testimony. In some cases, forensic analysts have fabricated results<br />or engaged in other misconduct.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">With each new revelation of a junk science, it becomes apparent that perhaps thousands more have been wrongfully convicted. Considering that we are talking about people’s lives, it is high time that we have a National Institute for Forensic Science. After all, in other disciplines oversight agencies and standards are in place. Electrical devices are scrutinized and tested by the Underwriters Laboratory. The Food and Drug Administration provides a similar function with respect to medicine and food.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">A thought that has been absent, so far as I am aware, in the recent discussion about this topic is that while it is important for these steps to be taken, what has gone on previously? Surely the ‘experts’ who were testifying about various “sciences” in court in the furtherance of trying to<br />convict a defendant had to be aware that there was no scientific underpinning to them; that there existed no replicable protocols, or statistics,<br />that it was not hard science and in fact often was junk science.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">While I could envision a few people doing so out of ignorance, it strains credulity to say that is the case with everybody. As people with advance degrees, they are familiar with general scientific methods. How could others who omit information regarding the statistical significance of a match or those who embellish, or even outright lie about it do so? Is there no conscience involved?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">In my view, someone would have to be quite evil to give false or even simply inaccurate testimony against somebody, knowing that they were on trial often for serious crimes. Also unmentioned is the need to identify each and every “expert” who has engaged in any of these types of fraud,<br />and the need to vigorously prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law. Supervisors under whose watch fraud has occurred should, wherever it can be shown that they either looked the other way or even simply were negligent in their oversight, be fired and publicly disgraced, and permanently barred from ever working for the government again.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Their actions have, in my view, undermined, for quite a long time to come, the ability of the public who is aware of these issues, to feel safe as they<br />go about their daily lives, much as violent criminals who are concentrated in a particular geographical area do so.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">In fact, I think that the level of fear could be higher. The odds of me, as an exoneree and therefore a high public profile, along with extremely competent lawyers working on my lawsuits, ever being wrongfully convicted again, are extremely low. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">However, even with these differences between myself and the general public without those resources I, too, am once again afraid. Imagine that even being 880 miles away from a crime is not enough of an assurance of not being wrongfully arrested for it. As Dwight Gomas stated as reported in The Daily News “It is just a nightmare knowing that someone that’s innocent can be picked up off the street and held. That scares me now. It’s like I’m walking on eggshells. I try to cover my tracks for everywhere I go.” </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Think, too, about sitting as a defendant at the defense table and listening to expert testimony that you don’t fully understand that is offered as evidence against you. Imagine being equipped with a court-appointed, overworked, under funded, and quite possibly incompetent, lawyer to represent you. Do you have confidence in what the outcome of such a trial would be, despite your innocence?</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span>The Westchester Guardian Newspaperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746244426644755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154560970503397222.post-67821704901505192612009-09-17T17:00:00.001-04:002009-09-22T20:10:48.000-04:00Westchester Guardian/Catherine Wilson.Thursday, September 17, 2009<br /><br />Catherine Wilson, Bureau Chief<br />Northern Westchester<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:180%;">Protecting Your Assets From<br />Your Own Family</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;"></span></strong><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">In August, 2007, the Guardian reported on the prevalence of identity the in our society. At that time we revealed that the biggest threat to an individual’s identity and assets is their own family. Who else knows your date of birth, your mother’s maiden name, the first school you attended,<br />your last address, and even the name of your pets? When a family member uses your information to obtain a loan for themselves, it constitutes identity the and they can be criminally prosecuted.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">But there is a growing area of the that is posing an even greater cause for concern for our local residents, particularly the elderly and the disabled – the the of assets covered under a power-of-attorney.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">In recent months the Guardian has learned of numerous cases in Westchester communities where a family discovered, upon the demise of a loved one, that their loved one’s estate was depleted using a pre-existing power-of-attorney (POA). Until this month, depleting the entire life savings<br />of a family member with a power-of-attorney was relatively easy to do in New York State. All the unethical family member needed to do was coerce their loved one in granting them full powers over their assets by signing a POA form in the presence of a notary.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Prior state laws incorrectly surmised that a notary would assure that the POA was being signed by the individual of their own free will. Notaries<br />Public regularly witness the signing of a variety of legal documents and are supposed to be independent of the parties involved. However, there is no audit mechanism in place in New York State to verify that the notary witnessing the signature was indeed independent and verified the capability of the signer and their willingness to conduct the transaction. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">In one case that the Guardian has observed, the notaries involved did not conduct any due diligence whatsoever, thereby allowing the fraud to<br />happen.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Virtually anyone over the age of 18 can become a Notary Public in New York State – all it takes is a $15 fee and a passing grade on a relatively<br />simple test, the answers to which are supplied online by local County Clerks’ offices. It is all too easy under current New York State Notary Public laws for a family member to become a notary and “witness” the coerced form signed by the elderly victim.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Dementia victims, individuals suffering from mental and cognitive problems, poorly educated individuals, and even individuals who are incredibly trusting, are particularly vulnerable to this type of the . An elderly individual who is no longer able to take care of their finances and affairs often turns to a family-member for assistance. That family member, once aware of the amount of assets in the elderly person’s accounts, may see an opportunity to obtain those assets all for themselves, rather than waiting to receive their portion, if any, in accordance with the elderly relative’s will. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Once the unscrupulous individual has a power-of-attorney in their hands, they can now make all banking, investment, and real estate transactions for their victim. In each and every case the Guardian uncovered, by the time other family members realized what had happened, the money and even the houses were long gone. The Guardian uncovered cases where local thieves bought automobiles and homes claiming they were for the use of the victim, even moving the victim into the houses for a period of time to “justify” the purchases, and then transferring the deeds to themselves, circumventing any wishes the elderly person expressly noted in their Last Will and Testament for the distribution of their funds and assets.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Both our Federal and State governments inadvertently encourage the elderly and disabled to shift their money out of their own control thanks to Medicaid and disability laws. Individuals who need nursing home care or extensive medical assistance, such as the mentally ill and disabled, cannot<br />usually afford the high cost of such extended intensive care and must apply to the government for assistance.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">However, in order to be able to qualify for government aid, the individual must first “spend down” their assets – they will only qualify for help once they can prove that they have almost nothing left in their own name with which to pay for their care. Once an elderly individual realizes that they are in the early stages of dementia, they will often be concurrently advised by their attorneys and financial planners to immediately start transferring their assets out of their own name to “protect them from Medicare”.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">One of the first steps an elder care attorney will take with a new client is to draft a power-of-attorney form for them, entrusting the power over their assets to a family member or close friend. These powers can be drafted on behalf of the dementia victim to be used only once the individual no longer has any ability to act in their own behalf. However, banks and investment firms rarely ask for confirmation that an individual is incapacitated when accepting a power-of-attorney (POA) for a transaction.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">The role of the elder care attorney is to assure that the individual is not being coerced in such situations; an attorney will interview the client<br />separate from the family members to assure that they are acting of their own free will. However, current state laws do not mandate that the power-of-attorney forms be drafted in the presence of an attorney. Anyone with access to the internet can download a free form and coerce the victim into signing it in front of a notary. As the Guardian uncovered, the notaries do not always assure that the individual signing the form is not being coerced. Nor are notaries required to take any training which would help them to identify the signs of coercion. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">To deter some of these acts of fraud, New York State recently enacted new laws to expand the protection for individuals drafting a power-of-<br />attorney. As of September 1, 2009, the new power-of-attorney forms have several new clauses to protect the individual issuing the powers.<br />The new form’s name alone indicates the changes, the title was changed from “Statutory Short Form Power of Attorney” to “Statutory Short Form and Other Powers of Attorney For Financial Estate Planning”, recognizing the fact that most individuals drafting this form are doing so as part of an estate plan and that the POA should work in tandem with the wishes and directives outlined in the individual’s “Last Will and Testament”.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">The new laws do not affect most POA’s already in effect prior to September 1, 2009. However, the law specifically requires new<br />POA’s for the following types of powers: </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">§5-1502J for “Construction” authority - for authority over benefits from governmental programs or civil and military service<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">§5-1502K for “Construction” authority - for authority on health care billing and payment matters; records reports and statements<br />§5-1504 for “Acceptance of statutory short form power of attorney”; </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">§5-1510 for “Special Proceedings”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">The new state laws expand the definitions used in a POA including “Capacity”. Capacity is now defined by the State to mean “the ability<br />to comprehend the nature and consequences of the act of executing and granting, revoking, amending or modifying a power of attorney, any<br />provision in a power of attorney, or the authority of any person to act as agent under a power of attorney”. </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">In short, the definition as expanded raises questions as to the capacity of a cognitively-impaired, mentally disabled, or victim of dementia, even a mild version, to authorize a POA on their behalf.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Such restrictions may now require legal guardians to be appointed to review a POA for these individuals. While this may appear to be added<br />protection, the Guardian has revealed in recent months the kickback nature of the guardianship process in our courts, where such appointments routinely are given to attorneys whose only qualification is the amount of their campaign contributions to the judge appointing them. In one local instance, the court appointed a convicted felon to handle the affairs of a disabled young woman who was the victim of Aspersers’. The Surrogate’s Court has never required that this felon account for the $2 million in his care, in defiance with New York State laws. This sad case was reported by the Guardian in February and March of this year. To date, the court has done nothing to rectify this situation.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">To circumvent individuals who possess POA’s from “gifting” any funds in their victim’s bank accounts to themselves, the new state law has<br />expanded its definition of a “Statutory major gifts rider”. According to the law, this rider allows the individual to define who and what they<br />intend to gift, if anything. The new law mandates that the “statutory major gifts rider and the statutory short form power of attorney it supplements must be read together as a single instrument”. Anyone acting on a POA, and attempting to make a gift to themselves from a bank account or other asset, will now have to produce the gifts rider as evidence along with the POA.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">The individual who holds the authorities granted in a POA is referred to as an “agent” since they are acting on behalf of the person who signed<br />the POA (referred to as the “principal”). The new law has expanded the definition of agent to now include an individual who has a “fiduciary relationship with the principal”. The purpose of this new clause in the law is to avoid circumstances such as the recent organ-selling cases from disabled and poor victims. In this 10-year investigation uncovered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, nursing home and health care employees were providing names of individuals who had no family members to the organ-selling ring who then obtained POA’s and other legal rights from their victims, enabling the crime. The new state law attempts to avoid “third-party” POA’s where the individual appointed as agent has no reason to be acting “in the best interests” of the principal.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">A person who has a “fiduciary relationship” with another is someone who is legally expected to be acting “in the best interests” of the<br />other. While this new law has yet to be tested and applied in the courts, it does appear that the intent of the New York State lawmakers is to have agents prove that the purchases and expenditures they were making on behalf of the principal were indeed “in their best interests”. If not, this law could conceivably allow the other family members to legally challenge those purchases and any depletion of assets and funds.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Note – due to the stranglehold that the New York State Bar Association has over the New York State legislature by virtue of their lobbying<br />efforts and campaign contributions, only an attorney may offer legal advice in the State of New York. Therefore, this reporter cannot state the obvious here without running afoul of local lawyers, so any inferences we make about this new law have to be couched in terms such as “conceivably” and “perhaps” - not our usual direct style of reporting. But the trusts our readers’ ability to decipher this of the new law for themselves! </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">The new law specifically addresses what happens to a POA when the individual authorizing it becomes incapacitated – the new forms have<br />a clause that states “this POWER OF ATTORNEY shall not be affected by my subsequent incapacity unless I have stated otherwise below, under<br />“Modification”. The principal can elect to revoke the POA completely once they become incapacitated. The law also covers the size of the print that must be used on the POA form and specific cautions to be noted to protect the principal signing this form.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">A new “Caution” clause has been added to the POA form: “CAUTION TO THE PRINCIPAL: Your power of Attorney is an important document. As the “principal”, you give the person whom you choose (your “agent”) authority to spend your money and sell or dispose of your property<br />during your lifetime without telling you. You do not lose your authority to act even though you have given your agent similar authority.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">When your agent exercises this authority, he or she must act according to any instructions you have provided or, where there are no specific instructions, in your best interests. “Important Information for the Agent” at the end of this document describes your agent’s responsibilities.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Your agent can act on your behalf only after signing the Power of Attorney before a notary public. You can request information from your agent at any time. If you are revoking a prior Power of Attorney by executing this Power of Attorney, you should provide written notice of the revocation to your prior agent(s) and to the financial institutions where your accounts are located.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">You can revoke or terminate your Power of Attorney at any time for any reason as long as you are of sound mind. If you are no longer of sound<br />mind, a court can remove an agent for acting improperly.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Your agent cannot make health care decisions for you. You may execute a ‘Health Care Proxy’ to do this. The law governing Powers of Attorney<br />is contained in the New York General Obligations Law, Article 5, Title 15. This law is available at a law library, or online through the New York<br />State Senate or Assembly websites, </span><a href="http://www.senate.state.ny.us/"><span style="font-size:85%;">www.senate.state.ny.us</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> or </span><a href="http://www.assembly.state.ny.us/"><span style="font-size:85%;">www.assembly.state.ny.us</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">If there is anything about this document that you do not understand, you should ask a lawyer of your own choosing to explain it to you.” In addition, the new law imposes the following obligations upon the agent named in the POA: “When you accept the authority granted under this Power of Attorney, a special legal relationship is created between you and the principal. This relationship imposes on you legal responsibilities<br />that continue until you resign or the Power of Attorney is terminated or revoked. You must: </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">• Act according to any instructions from the principal, or, where there are no instructions, in the principal’s best interest;</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">• Avoid conflicts that would impair your ability to act in the principal’s best interest;</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">• Keep the principal’s property separate and distinct from any assets you own or control, unless otherwise permitted by law;</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">• Keep a record of all receipts, payments, and transactions conducted for the principal; and </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">• Disclose your identity as an agent whenever you act for the principal by writing or printing the principal’s name and signing your own name as “agent” in either of the following manner: (Principal’s Name) by (Your Signature) as Agent, or (your signature) as Agent for (Principal’s Name).”<br />While this new law instructs to act in the best interest of the principal and in accordance with any written instructions by the principal, it does not address whether those written instructions will hold up in court.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Many local elderly residents have already shifted the control of their assets to other family members to “protect them from Medicare”, under the<br />advice of their attorneys. Ethical family members understand that those funds are not their own money and hold them aside to be used for their<br />loved one’s needs.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Since these funds and assets were transferred to other family members before their death, and are then part of that family member’s portfolio,<br />these funds and assets are not considered to be part of the estate when the elderly individual dies. To assure that the family member holding the transferred assets does not keep them all to themselves, the elderly family member usually leaves written instructions as to how those funds and assets should be distributed upon their demise. </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Unfortunately, those written instructions do not hold up in court. The Guardian has evidence of how one local attorney, a Law Secretary with the White Plains Supreme Court, advised his elderly mother to shift $150,000 of her funds to him to “protect them from Medicare”. When she died eight years later, those funds now legally belonged to her son. The attorney’s mother had left written instructions to address the distribution of these funds including allocating a small portion of them to each of her grand-children. But the attorney chose to ignore his dying mother’s<br />wishes and kept the funds for himself instead. When the children’s mother took this attorney to court to protest him not acting in his mother’s best interests by defying her written instructions, the mother was sanctioned and fined by the judge for daring to pursue this for her children.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">So, while the new POA law may allow for written instructions to be followed, court orders in similar instances show that judges ignore these laws. As the Guardian has noted in previous reports on these issues, the courts offer little support to victims of fraud since so many fraud cases are perpetrated by attorneys and officers of the court to begin with. The best defense therefore that an elderly resident has is to find the most trustworthy member of their family, or circle of friends, to entrust the handling of their affairs to.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">The new law is explained in detail by the New York State Bar Association in their online publication at </span><a href="http://www.nysba.org/"><span style="font-size:85%;">www.nysba.org</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">. The NYSBA has provided<br />a sixty-nine page analysis covering all of the areas of this new law. Since the changes are extensive and cover sensitive areas such as access to medical billing and government records and, since this article cannot be construed by the reader as legal advice, any local resident concerned about their existing power-of-attorneys, or their need for a POA, should consult with a trusted attorney who is experienced in the drafting, and pitfalls, of POA’s. </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span>The Westchester Guardian Newspaperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746244426644755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154560970503397222.post-79007806665418419562009-09-10T22:19:00.001-04:002009-09-11T22:47:40.170-04:00Westchester Guardian/The Advocate/Andy Spano.Thursday, September 10, 2009<br /><br />The Advocate<br />Richard Blassberg<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:180%;">Rubber Stamp’ Legislators Grapple<br />With Spano/Schwartz Disaster</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;"></span></strong><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Last Tuesday morning, September 1, the committee conference room on the eighth floor of the County Office Building was filled to standing room only and spilling into the corridor when the session got underway at 10:10am; a session Bill Ryan, Chairman of the County Legislature, defined with his opening remark, “We have called this meeting of the Committee Of The Whole.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">In attendance were Susan Tolchin, Deputy County Executive, County Attorney Charlene Indelicato, County Legislators, Chairman Bill Ryan, John Nonna, Gordon Burrows, George Oros, Bernice Spreckman, Lyndon Williams, Vito Pinto, Mike Kaplowitz, Peter Harckham, Ken Jenkins, Tom Abinanti, Judy Myers, and William Burton. Additionally there was Stuart Gerson of Epstein, Becker & Greene, retained outside counsel. Absent<br />were Legislators Lois Bronz, who was ill, Marty Rogowski, who was “out of town”, James Maisano, working at his law office, and Jose Alvarado, in Yonkers “in his district.” </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Referring to a meeting two weeks earlier, Ryan informed the packed room, “I committed that we would continue to hold meetings of the Committee of the Whole to put everyone in the best position to work with what the Committee needs to know to deal with this matter.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">There was an unmistakable sense of anticipation in the room, heightened by the unprecedented circumstances; two weeks of prior publicity and mounting anxiety over many unanswered questions.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">The Spano Administration, as it turns out, had been negotiating with the federal government, the Justice Department and the Federal Court for some time, perhaps two years, in an effort to avoid getting jammed up as they now are.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Obviously, without consultation with, or revelation to, their Rubber Stamp Partners In Crime, Andy and Larry had been keeping their dealings a big secret, confident that whatever mess they made, their bought-and-paid-for legislature would simply have to go along with the consequences the Federal Court would impose on their constituents, the taxpayers and families they are supposed to represent.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Nevertheless, no one had broken from the ranks to ask the obvious question, “Where was the $52 million spent between 2000 and 2006, so wrongfully calculated and deceptively accounted for that a clique of five shrewd ‘not-for-profit’ litigants calling themselves the Anti-Discrimination Center of Metro New York could stand in for the Justice Department under the terms of the False Claims Act and get the already-much-overtaxed, struggling homeowners and business community of “wealthy” Westchester County caught with their upper and lower body parts (depending on gender) in the wringer.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Attorney Gerson, referring to the $51.5 million that Susan Tolchin would say was “going toward the construction,” declared to the legislators very early on, “You can’t build 750 units for this amount of money, you can’t build 750 units for twice that amount of money. You will vote for it, or<br />you will vote against it. It is not subject to change.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Tolchin would then acknowledge a total package of $62.5 million, supposedly including the Anti-Discrimination Center’s $2.5 million legal expenses, plus penalties, but clearly in no way accounting for the County’s past, and ongoing legal and other expenses likely to bring the cost to<br />taxpayers well over $65 million if the Board votes to accept.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Gerson told the Board, “The number that’s in there now is lower than the original number. It was a spirited negotiation.” he identified Assistant United States Attorney James L. Cott, Chief of the Civil Division of the Southern District of New York as the negotiator for the federal government.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Mike Kaplowitz began, “Everything seems to cut against...” but, was interrupted by Gerson, who told him firmly, “There is no opportunity for change. The Government of the United States needs a sum certain. The money that the County is spending is for the County to leverage outside<br />money.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Kaplowitz was uneasy, frustrated and feeling hemmed in. Gerson came back with, “It doesn’t say the County is going to build 750 units, but that it will get 750 units built.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Lyndon Williams then spoke up, questioning whether a cap could be established to insure that the County would not be pushed into additional expenses over time. Mr. Gerson responded to Williams’ concerns, saying, “Neither we (the Spano Administration) nor the government feels<br />there is any ambiguity at all!”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Vito Pinto asked about the cost of the federal monitor and his staff, and was told it would likely be $250,000 in years one and two, and $175,000 in the years that follow.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Legislator John Nonna began to question what the sources of the so-called “supplemental funds” would be, seeking specificity. Then Peter Harckham moved the discussion toward issues of zoning as they might apply to placement of affordable housing units; and, the phrase “as appropriate” in the language of the settlement, as he put it, “based upon my own experiences as a builder of affordable housing.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Of course, the notion of zoning problems suggested litigation, and, a response came quickly from County Attorney Charlene Indelicato, who declared, “I do not anticipate litigation. It would be absolutely a last resort.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">But John Nonna now jumped back in, asking, “Who gets to determine whether a proposal is appropriate or not? It looks as though the monitor gets to determine what is appropriate.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Now, Stuart Gerson came back into the discussion with, “Remember we wanted the monitor. Our view was that we didn’t want the Court.” He went<br />on to say, when pressed further by Nonna, “I’m not going to say there will never be litigation.” Then, pausing, he clarified his comment with “It’s more likely some other municipality will seek judicial review, not the County.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">To his credit, Mike Kaplowitz was becoming increasingly more uncomfortable with the legislators’ lack of options. Gerson, at one point, told the Board with reference to the impact of the settlement, “There is nothing that changes the separation of powers in County Government;” a dubious<br />conclusion at best. </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Kaplowitz, obviously sensing just how boxed-in Spano and Schwartz had left him, and his 16 fellow legislators, next queried Gersen, “Can we wait until we know the Implemental Plan before acting on the settlement?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">The devil is in the details.” But Gerson came right back, telling the Board, “You must approve the implementation.” Kaplowitz protested, “This legislation did not have sufficient input.” Then, he asked, “Once we give approval of $51.6 million, is the implementation out of our hands?”<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Tom Abinanti, who earlier had expressed a great deal of apprehension, some of which had begun to upset Chairman Ryan, now asked, “What’s the process?” </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">To which, County Attorney Indelicato quickly responded, “We don’t know;” and, Abinanti declared, “We don’t know either.” </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">At that point, Chairman Ryan acknowledged the general concern that the Board would need to approve the first $21 million “for bonding purposes.” He referred to the legislators’ task as “looking at this at the eleventh hour and realizing we didn’t have a hand in it.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">The $65 million dilemma Westchester families and taxpayers are now confronted with, and County Legislators are now attempting to wrestle with, grew out of the misappropriation of $52 million in federal block grants and misrepresentations made to the federal government with respect to the use of those funds intended by the government to promulgate and promote affordable, fair housing opportunities throughout the County.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">In simple language, Andy Spano, Larry Schwartz and their Administration “knowingly” took $52 million in grants from the federal government, put it into hands and purposes never intended under the terms of the grants, and then repeatedly lied to the government about their failure to do<br />as promised.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">The Federal False Claims Act, in pertinent part, is reproduced here:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">“The False Claims Act (“FCA”) provides, in pertinent part, that:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">(a) Any person who (1) knowingly presents, or causes to be presented, to an officer or employee of the United States Government or a member of the Armed Forces of the United States a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval; (2) knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or used, a false record or statement to get a false or fraudulent claim paid or approved by the Government; (3) conspires to defraud the Government by getting a false or fraudulent claim paid or approved by the Government;. . . or (7) knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or used, a false record or statement to conceal, avoid, or decrease an obligation to pay or transmit money or property to the Government, </span><span style="font-size:85%;">is liable to the United States Government for a civil penalty of not less than $5,000 and not more than $10,000, plus 3 times the amount of damages which the Government sustains because of the act of that person . . . .</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">(b) For purposes of this section, the terms “knowing” and “knowingly” mean that a person, with respect to information (1) has actual<br />knowledge of the information; (2) acts in deliberate ignorance of the truth or falsity of the information; or (3) acts in reckless disregard of<br />the truth or falsity of the information, and no proof of specific intent to defraud is required.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">31 U.S.C. § 3729. While the False Claims Act imposes liability only when the claimant acts “knowingly,” it does not require that the person submitting the claim have actual knowledge that the claim is false. A person who acts in reckless disregard or in deliberate ignorance of the truth or<br />falsity of the information, also can be found liable under the Act. 31 U.S.C. 3729(b).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">In sum, the False Claims Act imposes liability on any person who submits a claim to the federal government that he or she knows (or should know) is false. An example may be a physician who submits a bill to Medicare for medical services she knows she has not provided. The False Claims Act also imposes liability on an individual who may knowingly submit a false record in order to obtain payment from the government. An example of this may include a government contractor who submits records that he knows (or should know) is false and that indicate compliance with certain contractual or regulatory requirements. The third area of liability includes those instances in which someone may obtain money from the federal government to which he may not be entitled, and then uses false statements or records in order to retain the money. An example of this so-called “reverse false claim” may include a hospital who obtains interim payments from Medicare throughout the year, and then knowingly files a false cost report at the end of the year in order to avoid making a refund to the Medicare program.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">In addition to its substantive provisions, the FCA provides that private parties may bring an action on behalf of the United States. 31 U.S.C. 3730 (b). These private parties, known as “qui tam relators,” may share in a percentage of the proceeds from an FCA action or settlement.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Section 3730(d)(1) of the FCA provides, with some exceptions, that a qui tam relator, when the Government has intervened in the lawsuit, shall receive at least 15 percent but not more than 25 percent of the proceeds of the FCA action depending upon the extent to which the relator substantially contributed to the prosecution of the action. When the Government does not intervene, section 3730(d)(2) provides that the relator<br />shall receive an amount that the court decides is reasonable and shall be not less than 25 percent and not more than 30 percent. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">The FCA provides protection to qui tam relators who are discharged, demoted, suspended, threatened, harassed, or in any other manner discriminated against in the terms and conditions of their employment as a result of their furtherance of an action under the FCA. 31 U.S.C.<br />3730(h). Remedies include reinstatement with comparable seniority as the qui tam relator would have had but for the discrimination, two times the amount of any back pay, interest on any back pay, and compensation for any special damages sustained as a result of the discrimination, including litigation costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees.” </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span>The Westchester Guardian Newspaperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746244426644755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154560970503397222.post-38978634821266135552009-09-10T22:03:00.001-04:002009-09-11T22:17:27.076-04:00Westchester Guardian/In Our Opinion/Our Reader Respond.Thursday, September 10, 2009<br /><br />In Our Opinion...<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:180%;"></span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:180%;">The Crucible</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;"></span></strong><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">We said last week that the imposed affordable housing settlement would “bring the County Legislators’ moment of truth.” Having attended last Tuesday’s session, a so-called Meeting Of The Committee Of The Whole, we are further convinced that this social and financial disaster dumped on the County Legislators and, more importantly, through them, onto the families and taxpayers of Westchester, will be the crucible that will expose the wrongful relationship between the executive and legislative branches of our County government; the willful short-circuiting of checks and balances and separation of powers that are supposed to exist in our democracy.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">The ugly reality for Westchester families, particularly those struggling to pay their highest-in-the-nation property taxes while feeding, sheltering, and educating their children, is that the present county executive, now completing his 12th year in that office under the guidance of Larry Schwartz, several years ago succeeded in nullifying the independent will and power of the so-called County Legislature. Quite simply, that was accomplished by seizing control of the Democratic Party machinery, particularly the fundraising operation, and then distributing money, campaign contributions, to the candidates of Andy’s and Larry’s choosing for positions on the County Legislature.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">In addition, they abused the appointment of legislators’ spouses, etc. to County jobs, and the granting of County contracts, where possible, without the use of bidding, thus completing the scheme. Essentially, Spano & Company have, for several years now, used our hard-earned tax dollars to buy themselves the most controlled, fundamentally corrupted legislature money could buy; 13 Democrats, every one of them beholden to the County Executive for campaign contributions, selection, and ‘getting out the vote’. </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">What a cynical scam all these years. Why have a county legislature at all if its nothing but a rubber stamp for what turns out to be a devious, inept administration; one which even attempted to rip off and deceive the federal government.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Witnessing the failure of the overwhelming majority of legislators present to voice objection to, or even identify the culprits, Andy Spano, Larry Schwartz, and their mouthpiece, Susan Tolchin, who was present, and who now arrogantly presents a ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ proposition to them, was evidence enough of their all-too-willing co-conspiracy; one big happy family.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Consider the awesome power and control County Executive Andy Spano possesses. Not only does he control the District Attorney, who continues to look the other way, but also, for $1,000-a-week each, there’s nothing he hasn’t been able to get by his super-majority legislators; even a broken-down, mold-infested old building his buddies couldn’t pawn off on anyone else. Oh, what’s $20 million anyway? It’s only taxpayers’ money, after all. Now these legislators are confronted with a mess brought about by Spano & Company’s mismanagement, misappropriation, and deception; essentially an attempt to work a fraud against the federal government, for which they got caught, and for which taxpayers and homeowners will now be made to pay. If they were of the right frame of mind, as an autonomous, independent body of the People’s representatives, the legislators would have hired their own independent, outside counsel. The fact that they have failed to do so speaks volumes about their sincerity and their intention.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">None of what is now occuring would be the case but for the bigger fraud Westchester voters have allowed Spano and his players to get away with for several years; one rigged election after another.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">We think there is no better time than right now to rid our County of such political parasites, and all of their hack friends. It’s time to retire every single incumbent in County government now standing for re-election. They are all inter-connected, regardless of party, in a network of corruption that the honest, hard-working People of Westchester can no longer afford, and need to put an end to.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Our Readers Respond...<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">A Voice Of Wisdom From Yonkers<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Dear Editor:<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><span style="font-size:85%;">I am writing to urge registered Democrats, especially, to vote in the coming primary, and all in the November general election. All elected offices are important, but none currently exceed the importance of the District Attorney, in my opinion. I am a senior, and a woman, and I have been disturbed by a number of actions taken by the former District Attorney, Jeanine Pirro, and the current DA, Janet DiFiore. Jeff Deskovic, in his column, has reported that five of Jeanine Pirro’s convictions have been overturned in a higher court. I think it is likely there are many more as I am aware of a few myself. I have been told by a reliable source that close to 200 convictions need to be looked at in Westchester County from the past 20 years. That means many of those claiming innocence could actually be innocent and the real perpetrators still posing a threat to our citizens. Tony Castro has said he will take a second look at suspicious, weak, convictions.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">He has also pledged to represent the rights and interests of all citizens, and has a record of integrity and excellence when serving as Assistant District Attorney in The Bronx. He supervised hundreds of ADAs, handling thousands of indictments per year, and, personally conducted homicide trials.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">I believe much exculpatory data exists and continues to be withheld by DA Janet DiFiore. Only in Federal Court did Janet DiFiore admit 52 boxes and almost 400 pages of very exculpatory evidence were withheld in Anthony DiSimone’s case. Jeanine Pirro tried him, and Janet DiFiore tried to retry him despite the higher court decision. Janet DiFiore also seems confused on the good cop/bad cop score. She withholds information in the<br />Christopher Ridley shooting case that would point to impulsive, reckless action by one County cop, and possibly questionable action by others. But, she really shows her hand in Yonkers where she protected some brutal cops, and indicted their victims, some with severe injuries. She also has gone after some good cops who have dared to question her authority or her actions. Most Yonkers cops act professionally, but Commissioner Hartnett seems to have “a few stormtroopers” on staff.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">I can’t help but think about the established fact that some 26 seals on voting machines were broken in Yonkers the last time we voted for DA in this County. Janet DiFiore won by only three percent of the vote over Tony Castro, and it was decided in Yonkers. Did the Yonkers Police have a part in this? </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">I suggest there should be a citizens’ watch over the building where the voting machines are held until the vote is made official; not only in Yonkers, but in any other community where the citizens believe there could be any tampering with their vote. Until power-hungry and/or corrupt district attorneys can be brought up on charges of prosecutorial misconduct and police officials charged for known compromising or coercive behavior on<br />suspects, Lady Justice will remain blind, all right, and the scales of justice weighted against the people. </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Help vote for a real change. The primary is an essential step to breathing cleaner air in the County. </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">A Raging Granny In Yonkers Who Is A Former Probation Officer<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Major Ethical Violations In Yorktown<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><span style="font-size:85%;">Dear Editor:<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Sometimes if you just listen, you can learn a lot. People have been stopping me all over town and I have just been listening. Many other people<br />have had their own personal “run-in” with our Highway Superintendent, Eric DiBartolo. I am glad that some other brave souls have not been intimidated by his threats and have publicly come forward to discuss their disturbing experiences. More disturbing is that nothing has been done. </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Therefore, I will be submitting a formal complaint to the Town Ethics Committee to have a formal investigation of the following issues:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">1. Over and over we hear the story about bribes being taken by not only our Highway Superintendent, Eric DiBartolo, but also by<br />other Yorktown elected officials. Not only is nothing being done, but there are not even any Hollywood-type denials by these officials.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">2. The Highway Superintendent, Eric DiBartolo, used town employees to help gather signatures on his petition for the Board of Elections. We are not talking about a few signatures. One employee got 90 signatures and another got 48. The total number required was only about 400. They got more than 25 percent of the required signatures. Isn’t there some Civil Service rule about town employees engaging in political activity?</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Was this done during work time? Did they “volunteer”?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">3. The Highway Superintendent, Eric DiBartolo, was driving around town in an unmarked police car, pulling people over. Is this just another part of his expanded duties as “Director of Labor Operations”? Or was he impersonating a police officer? I am going to try that and see what happens.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">4. The Highway Superintendent, Eric DiBartolo, has red lights and sirens on his town vehicle. He uses it for his work as a county arson investigator.<br />Why is a Town Vehicle being used for that activity? Does the Town have any liability if something happens during a response? And someone is getting reimbursed for mileage during that activity. Who?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">5. How many times did we read about the Highway Superintendent, Eric DiBartolo, giving no-bid contracts to his friends and family? As an isolated incident, maybe you can let it slide, but with all the rest of the activity, is there some pattern here? </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">These questions have been out there for months and all I hear is silence. I will be walking around town talking to people and I am sure I will hear more stuff. Stay tuned and maybe we will have some answers. It is time for the empire of Little Caesar to come to an end.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Peter Antonaros, Yorktown<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Reader Appreciates The Guardian<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><span style="font-size:85%;">Dear Editor:<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff of The Westchester Guardian for providing the readers of Westchester County with material that they would not be able to find in any other publication. </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Of particular interest is Richard Blassberg’s “The Court Report” with its reporting of court proceedings, and its reproduction of court documents,<br />which give our citizens an opportunity to observe and understand the actual operation of our judicial system.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">I would also like to single out John Leo Tufts, Jr.’s “This Week In History,” from which I and other readers may supplement our knowledge of the history and traditions of our great country, and of its place in the history of the world.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">I look forward to a long life of publication for The Westchester Guardian, and to many years of unique and informative weekly reporting.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Eugene Batizat, M.A., Yonkers<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Reader Joins Health Insurance Debate</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Dear Editor:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Regarding health care reform:<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">1. What percentage of one’s income should be spent on health insurance?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">2. What additional percent of one’s income is one recommended to save for health care costs not covered by insurance? Must insurance<br />premiums be so high that one cannot afford to save for such costs?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">3. Private insurance companies have adopted what is feared about a “public” insurance: restricted choice of doctors; gags on information about (or at least non-coverage of) “un-endorsed” treatments and methods; unaffordable premiums. On the one hand, what would be the advantage of a public option that mimics current private options? On the other hand, what advantage do the current easiest-to-learn-about private options have over a public option? Does not focusing on whether there should be a public option distract from specifics of what a health insurance package, public or private, should include?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">4. What reason is there to agitate for or against “health care reform” before learning its planned specific details? Do the lawmakers voting on<br />it know the details? When will they be publicized? How will premiums be determined? Who will decide which treatments and procedures to declare “gold star”, to accept at all? In such decisions, how will human rights, science, commerce, ideology, and social engineering interplay?</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Does the current package already contain or expect specific endorsements and, if so, what? Both people who fear ulterior motives and people<br />with ulterior motives need to know.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">5. Is not mandatory health insurance, whether paid to the government or a private company, like a tax?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Jeanette Wolfberg,<br />Mount Kisco<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Treat All Animals With Kindness<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><span style="font-size:85%;">Dear Editor:<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">As a youngster, Christine spent much time with the chubby, happy, wiggly puppy her father gave her. But as Pepper grew into a big dog and Christine became a teenager preoccupied with other activities, Pepper was relegated to a lonely life outdoors, continually chained to a doghouse.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">On the few occasions Christine visited the doghouse, Pepper “would go crazy with excitement and would still obey the commands I’d taught<br />him years before.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">One day, when Christine came home from college, Pepper was gone. Her father explained since nobody wanted to care for Pepper, Christine’s brother shot him.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Today, an adult, Christine is wracked with guilt. She has cried many times for Pepper and his sad life. She urges people to let their dogs live indoors, and to always exercise, love and protect them.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">After reading Christine’s story in the Summer 2009 issue of PETA’s Animal Times, I hugged Lexi, my hound dog, and I thanked God for the opportunity to share my home with her and my two adopted hamsters. </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Christine conveys an important message. And when we treat animals with kindness, we enrich our own lives as well as theirs.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Joel Freedman<br />Canandaigua, NY<br />The writer chairs the Public Education Committee of Animal Rights Advocates of upstate New York.</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span>The Westchester Guardian Newspaperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746244426644755928noreply@blogger.com0