Tuesday, September 30, 2014

‘Cannibal Cop’ crony wants judge to overturn his conviction



A crony of “Cannibal Cop” Gilberto Valle says he shouldn’t be held accountable for buying a stun gun to feed his sick fantasies now that the computer-trolling ex-lawman was acquitted.


Retired Stuyvesant HS librarian Christopher Asch filed legal papers Tuesday noting that Valle relied on an NYPD computer to collect information on the women he fantasized abducting and eating – and suggested that such action isn’t any different than Asch buying a stun gun to juice up his fantasies.


“In neither case, did the defendants take ‘concrete steps’ to actually kidnap anyone,” Asch’s lawyer Brian Waller wrote Manhattan federal Judge Paul Gardephe, asking the jurist to overturn his client’s conviction on the same grounds he acquitted Valle.


Valle was released from prison in July after Gardephe determined that just because the ex-cop fantasized about kidnapping, raping, torturing and eating women didn’t mean he was actually plotting to commit the gruesome crimes. Gardephe did uphold Valle’s conviction of illegally using the NYPD’s federal database, but Valle had already served enough time in jail for that lesser crime.


At issue are the concrete steps prosecutors say Asch took to carry out his fetishes that go beyond Internet fantasy chats, including buying a 20-million-volt stun gun, clamps and a whip.


“Mr. Asch’s actual purchase of a stun gun and other supplies might seemingly distinguish Mr. Asch’s case from Mr. Valle’s, but this is a distinction without difference,” Waller wrote.


“Mr. Valle also took several ‘real world’ actions, which the court found to be consistent with fantasy role play. Indeed, there is no meaningful distinction between Mr. Asch purchasing a stun gun and Mr. Valle accessing a law enforcement database to obtain personal information of potential targets.


“If Mr. Valle was only fantasizing, as the court has determined he was, then what was his purpose in illegally obtaining this information?


“The answer has to be that obtaining this information gave Mr. Valle a thrill. It made the fantasy seem more real or authentic, even though he never intended to use the information to actually harm anyone.”


Asch and New Jersey mechanic Michael Van Hise were both found guilty by a jury in March of scheming to carry out gruesome fantasies of kidnapping, raping, torturing and killing women.


They were busted after the feds tied Van Hise, who is also seeking a new trial, to Valle through depraved online chats.


Asch and Van Hise face life in prison.


Although Gardephe overturned Valle’s jury conviction, he threw the book three weeks ago at the only co-defendant in the case who pleaded guilty.


Richard Meltz, a 66-year-old ex-chief of police at US Dept. of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Bedford, Mass, was sentenced to 10 years in jail — the maximum sentence under his plea deal with the government.


Meltz, Asch and Van Hise allegedly exchanged e-mails and online chats about helping Van Hise rape and murder his wife, sister-in-law, four young nieces and nine-year-old stepdaughter.


The feds say the trio abandoned the scheme after Valle was busted separately plotting his cannibalism plan.


Meltz and Asch then plotted to kidnap a female FBI agent, who was working undercover. At Meltz’s direction, Asch allegedly purchased a Taser at a Pennsylvania gun show for the planned kidnapping.





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Mounting Evidence of Illicit Relationships Results in More Charges Against Teacher



There are new charges for the Brooklyn high school teacher indicted last month for allegedly sending a lewd photo to a student.


Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson announced a new 36-count indictment against Sean Shaynak.


The 44-year-old had been a math and science teacher at Brooklyn Tech since 2009.


Thompson says the new charges come after investigators found evidence on Shaynak’s computer that he victimized six other teenage girls between 2011 and this year.


The new charges include kidnapping and criminal sexual act. He faces up to 25 years in prison on the top charge.


Students had mixed reaction to the news.


“Everybody knew him. He was a nice guy too, really friendly with the kids also. I’m actually shocked something like this would have happened,” said one student.


“Pretty cool guy, really friendly. We talked about computers once. He gave me some advice on it, but I’m not really surprised to hear what happened. I hear these sort of rumors sometimes,” another said.


A Department of Education spokesperson released a statement on the charges, saying, “These alleged actions are completely unacceptable, and have no place in, or outside of, our schools. The DOE took swift action to immediately reassign Mr. Shaynak following his initial arrest. He is not, and will not be, in contact with students. Student safety remains our top priority.”





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Auction house sues Rosa Parks’ ex-lawyer over her $10M estate


A New York auction house is suing Rosa Parks’ former lawyer, saying he screwed up the sale of her estimated $ 10 million estate, costing it nearly a million bucks in lost fees and expenses.


Guernsey’s says in its Manhattan suit that Detroit lawyer Gregory Reed led it to believe “he had the ability to secure the assignment of the estate of Rosa Parks for auction” after the civil-rights icon died in 2005 at age 92.


Reed had previously represented Parks in a lawsuit against the rapper Outkast.



Rosa Parks’ Presidential Medal of Freedom (left) and her Congressional Gold MedalPhoto: AP



Included in Parks’ historic treasure trove were her Congressional Gold Medal and a postcard from Martin Luther King Jr.


But Parks’ heirs balked at Reed’s claim and then launched into a series of demands to Guernsey’s including that the sale be private and to a single buyer, according to the suit.


Billionaire Warren Buffet’s son, Howard, purchased the collection last month for a bargain $ 4.5 million.


He said he plans to donate the items to a museum.


Guerney’s says it could have gotten a lot more in fees from individual sales at a public auction.


“Unlike an auction, which would have had a discrete amount of time for preparation, then be conducted and be over, it took Guerney’s seven years, countless work hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars, all of which would have been avoided by an auction, to arrange the private sale the property,” the suit says.


It adds that Reed is still demanding a cut from the sale.


He did not respond to messages for comment.





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Police Arrest Man Accused of Stabbing Queens Livery Driver



Police arrest a man wanted in the stabbing of a livery cab driver in Queens.


Kenneth Suden, 41, is facing several charges including attempted murder and robbery.


Officers found the suspect after he was recognized at New York Hospital Queens.


Police say Suden called to have a cab pick him up last Thursday in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn and asked to be taken to Ridgewood, Queens.


But along the way an argument broke out and police say Suden stabbed the cabbie several times in the torso, arm and hands.


Police say he then fled in the cab, leaving the driver on the street.


The victim, identified as 30-year-old Fernando Crespin survived the attack and was taken to Elmhurst Hospital.





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Thief panics when hotel tourists wake up during robbery



A pair of Swedish tourists woke up in their Wingate Hotel room Tuesday morning to find a creepy thief snatching up their belongings — and he offered to let them beat him up rather than call the cops.


Viktor Lofgren and Andreas Mansson, who just arrived in town last night, were startled at around 7:30 a.m. by the sounds of the intruder lifting their wallets, cell phones and pricey watches from their West 35th Street room.


“I woke up and he was next to my bed,” said Lofgren, 24, who was the first to notice the burglar hovering over his bed.


“I grabbed him and said ‘Where’s my watch and wallet?’”


Mansson who was sleeping with earplugs, awoke to find his friend vigorously shaking the thief down during a brief struggle, causing the cell phones wallets and a $ 3,000 Breitling watch to fall from his pockets.



NYPD ESU units respond at the scene of the crime.Photo: Stephen Yang



The suspect then pathetically pleaded with the shocked Swedes for several minutes, and even offered himself up as a punching bag in a lame attempt to keep police out of the bizarre situation.


“We said we were calling the police and he said ‘No, please. Beat me up. do whatever you want. Don’t call the police,’” Lofgren recalled.


“He was panicking,” added Mansson, 35. “I didn’t want him in the room. I was standing at the door…I was screaming for help.”


The frightened thief then bolted from room and ran down 10 flights of stairs and through the lobby, where hotel staff saw the two victims chasing after him and screaming “Stop that guy. He robbed us.”


The group followed him outside but lost him after he ran into a neighboring building and hid.


Police scoured the building for hours but initial searches turned up nothing.


But the thief was eventually undone by a building employee who found him cowering in a restroom stall around noon and called police.


Police cuffed him on the bathroom floor and brought him to Bellevue Hospital. Charges against him are pending.


“This is my first time in New York,” Mansson said after the dust had settled. “I’m really in shock. I”m shaking.”





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Woman busted for smuggling cocaine in food at JFK



A Mexican woman allegedly tried to smuggle cocaine into the country by hiding inside of food containers in her luggage, she was busted at JFK airport customs, authorities said Tuesday.


Reynalda Leal Ricando hauled three pounds worth of the white powder in the sauce containers with a tar like substance also inside on Sept. 22.


Her suitcase was inspected by agricultural specialists because she declared the containers as food items, according to authorities.


Inside of the containers the Customs and Border Protection specialist found $ 58,000 worth of powder that tested positive as cocaine, officials said.


“Cocaine is a dangerous narcotic, and CBP does its part in keeping these drugs off the streets.” said Robert E. Perez, Director of CBP’s New York Field Operations.


Ricando is facing narcotics smuggling charges and her case has been turned over to the Queens District Attorney’s office.





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Massive rally planned to pressure de Blasio to reform schools



If Mayor de Blasio thought charter supporters would wind down their campaign to shake up the system after winning concessions from the city, he’s about to be schooled.


More than 10,000 charter and education advocates are expected to flood Foley Square on Thursday to demand the city devote more attention to its worst performing schools.


“We are focused on having the highest-quality school for every child, and we’re particularly concerned about students trapped in failing schools,” said Families for Excellent Schools CEO Jeremiah Kittredge, one of the rally organizers.


“For us, it’s incredibly important the city takes bold action to address this urgent problem.”


De Blasio — who agreed to provide space for new and expanding charters only under pressure from Albany — dismissed the campaign as unnecessary and said he’s already working to “change the school system from its foundations up.”


“My job is to serve all the children of this city — over 1 million of those kids go to traditional public schools,” he said.


“That’s our first obligation to get it right. We know that many parts of our school system are not working the way they should.”


The Success Academy charter network — run by de Blasio nemesis Eva Moskowitz — said it would reschedule classes to allow parents and students to attend, just as it did for a March rally in Albany.


This time, reformers are highlighting the city’s struggling schools while calling for more options for parents in distressed neighborhoods.


Families for Excellent Schools released a report last month showing that 90 percent of students in 371 city schools could not read or do math at grade level in 2013.


Last week, the group bought $ 479,200 in TV ads to promote its new campaign.


Kittredge declined to explain the group’s latest legislative goals.


But sources said eliminating the cap on new charter schools and increasing per-student funding would be on the table.


One charter critic slammed the ads as a “p.r. stunt.”


“Despite the fact that public schools are severely underfunded, Wall Street-backed charter-school groups continue to use aggressive propaganda to win more public-school dollars, while at the same time, the charter schools are receiving large amounts of private donations that public schools do not have access to,” said Zakiyah Ansari, advocacy director for the Alliance for Quality Education.


But Kittredge said the campaign is about shaking up the system to produce better results for all students.





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De Blasio to Sign Order to Expand Living Wage law



Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to sign an executive order Tuesday that would significantly expand the city’s living wage law.


The order will cover thousands of previously exempt workers.


It will also raise the definition of a living wage to $ 13.13 an hour for workers who do not receive benefits.


The order was first reported by the New York Times.


Under it, the living wage law will cover employees of commercial tenants in buildings that receive more than a million dollars in city subsidies.


The mayor is working on a long-term goal of matching the city’s minimum wage to the living wage, but that would require a change in state law.


The city estimates that more than 4,000 workers who will now be covered by the law work in retail or fast food.


Their annual income is expected to increase by about $ 10,000.





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One Man Stabbed to Death, Another Shot Dead by Police in Brooklyn



Police shoot and kill a man in Brooklyn who they say stabbed and killed another man.


Police say they responded to an assault with a knife in an apartment in Midwood, and when they arrived found one man stabbing another man. They say the man did not respond to commands to drop the knife.


Police say they then shot the stabber.


They also say the stabber was in a relationship with a woman who was present, who also suffered stab wounds.


They say there were two children in the apartment who are uninjured.





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Monday, September 29, 2014

‘View’ production assistant says she hugged the man who shot her



A TV production assistant who was shot in the chest while protecting her cousin outside a Brooklyn bodega took the stand Monday to testify about the terrifying night — and recalled how she had first given the shooter a hug to try to defuse his anger.


“I thought, ‘We’re all from Brooklyn. Let’s hug it out, then everything will be OK,” testified Lourdes Guillen, 27, who worked as a production assistant for “The View” when she was shot in April 2012 in Bushwick.


The accused gunman, Kenneth Brown — on trial for attempted murder — had drunkenly yelled at a bodega worker for being too slow and tried picking a fight with Guillen’s cousin Juan Medina when she intervened with the hug, she recalled in Brooklyn Supreme Court.


Brown, 30, then stormed off — before returning and shooting Medina, she said.


Guillen said she implored Brown to spare the wounded Medina, 26.


“I told him, ‘Stop, stop! You don’t have to do this,’ ” Guillen recalled.


With tears in her eyes, she recounted Brown’s chilling response.


“I don’t give a f- -k. I’ll shoot you, too, b- - -h,” he said, according to Guillen.


“That’s when he shot me, and I fell to the ground,” she said


Guillen, who has moved out of the city and now works for cable network HLN in Atlanta, stood to point to the spot underneath her right breast where the bullet slammed into her.


“I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t stand. I just had to lie on the pavement,” she said, as a court officer brought her a handful of tissues.


Defense attorney Mark Pollard said Brown was too drunk to have had the mental state necessary to be convicted of attempted murder.


Shortly after the shooting, Guillen was applauded on “The View” for her bravery.


Hosts Barbara Walters and Elizabeth Hasselbeck gave a “get well soon” shout-out to Guillen as she recovered in Bellevue Hospital in 2012.


“She said, ‘I had to defend my family. I would do it again,’ ” Walters marveled on air.


“She’s a true hero,” Hasselbeck said.


The trial continues Tuesday.





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Brooklyn Judge Clears Way for Resurrected LICH Deal



A judge has dismissed a lawsuit from the New York State Nurses Association that was seeking to block the redevelopment of Long Island College Hospital, paving the way for NYU Langone Medical Center to return to the table.


The Fortis Property Group bought the property from SUNY Downstate in the hopes of turning it into a combination Emergency Medical Center and luxury condos.


The lawsuit from NYSNA was the reason NYU Langone Medical Center pulled out of a deal to run a freestanding emergency room at the site.


Over the weekend, NYU had withdrawn from the deal when a judge included it in that lawsuit last Friday. NYU then released a statement saying it would run the emergency services at LICH on the condition that the judge drop the suit.


State officials had been working with all parties to revive the deal.


“NYU Langone Medical Center is looking forward to expanding our practice of excellent health care at the NYU Langone Cobble Hill facility,” NYU spokeswoman Deborah Haffeman said.


“We are disappointed in the ruling. We are reviewing the court’s decision and considering our options. We remain committed to protecting care for Brooklyn patients,” said NYSNA spokeswoman Eliza Bates.





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Millionaire mom’s ‘poisoned’ son may have been sexually abused


Little Jude Mirra — whose pharmaceutical millionaire mother is on trial for fatally poisoning him with a cocktail of prescription drugs — may have been sexually abused, a world-renowned forensic pathologist testified Monday.


Dr Werner Spitz, who has consulted on many high-profile cases including Casey Anthony, JonBenet Ramsey, OJ Simpson and Phil Spector told jurors that autopsy photos of Mirra’s body showed dilation and scarring consistent with sexual abuse.


“I observed chronic inflammation of the wall of the anus,” said the expert​,​ who charges $ 5,000-a-day.


Spitz’s testimony ​helps bolster Gigi Jordan’s claim she committed the ​”​mercy killing​”​ of her autistic son to spare him from ​alleged ​unspeakable abuse at the hands of his father.


He has strongly denied the allegations.


Spitz’s assertions directly contradicted previous testimony from Dr​.​ Monica Smiddy who conducted the autopsy of the slain 8-year-old.


She said there was no evidence the boy had suffered recent abuse.


Spitz also contested prosecutors’ claim that Mirra sustained bruises on his chin, chest and nose when his mother held him down and forced a mixture of crushed pills and orange juice down his throat with a syringe.



Jude JordanPhoto: Gregory P. Mango



He said the bruises were likely caused by the performance of CPR.


Jordan, 54, was discovered in February of 2010 in swanky suite at the Peninsula Hotel within arm’s length of her son’s corpse surrounded by thousands of pills and an empty bottle of Grey Goose vodka. She claimed she had also tried to kill herself.





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Grand Jury Hears Evidence in Eric Garner Case



A grand jury is expected to begin hearing evidence in the Eric Garner case today.


The 43-year-old Staten Island man died in July as police tried to arrest him for allegedly selling loose cigarettes.


The arrest was caught on cell phone video.


It shows one of the officers, Daniel Pantaleo, putting Garner in a chokehold, a move banned by the NYPD.


The medical examiner ruled Garner’s death a homicide caused by a chokehold and other contributing factors.


A grand jury will now decide whether there was any wrongdoing.


The Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association says it is confident the officers involved did not break any laws.


Garner’s family has called for a federal investigation into his death.





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Police searching for suspect in teen’s stabbing death



Police are asking for the public’s help finding a suspect who they believe stabbed a 14-year-old to death in the Bronx early Sunday morning.


The teen, Justin Fallu, was one of four young people stabbed during a house party around 3:15 a.m., police said. He was rushed to Jacobi Hospital with puncture wounds to the chest. He was pronounced dead on arrival.


Two 18-year-old men were also stabbed in the chest, while a fourth person, a 17-year-old boy, was stabbed in the shoulder, cops said.


The suspect (seen here) is believed to be in his late teens or early 20’s and goes by the nickname “Shaq,” according to police.


He was last seen running from the fatal attack with a knife in his hand while wearing a light blue do-rag, blue jeans and a red shirt, cops added.





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Man sleeping under car gets run over by said car



A man, who was sleeping underneath a car, was critically injured in Brooklyn Monday when the driver pulled out, hitting and pinning him underneath the car, officials said.


The driver was parked on 39th Street near Seventh Avenue in Sunset Park, when he got in an went to drive off around 5 a.m., authorities said.


He had no idea that there was a man underneath the car and wound up hitting him, police said.


The victim was rushed to Lutheran Hospital and is expected to survive, police said.


Investigators believe the victim may have been intoxicated, sources said.





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Grand Jury Hears Evidence in Eric Garner Case



A grand jury is expected to begin hearing evidence in the Eric Garner case today.


The 43-year-old Staten Island man died in July as police tried to arrest him for allegedly selling loose cigarettes.


The arrest was caught on cell phone video.


It shows one of the officers, Daniel Pantaleo, putting Garner in a chokehold, a move banned by the NYPD.


The medical examiner ruled Garner’s death a homicide caused by a chokehold and other contributing factors.


A grand jury will now decide whether there was any wrongdoing.


The Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association says it is confident the officers involved did not break any laws.


Garner’s family has called for a federal investigation into his death.





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Man Dies in Chelsea Hit-and-Run



A 33-year-old man is dead after an early-morning hit-and-run in Chelsea.


Police say was Doohee Cho was crossing Fifth Avenue between 15th and 16th Streets near his home around 3 a.m. when he was hit by a white, two-door sedan.


They say the driver then fled the scene.


Officers say they found Cho lying in the street with severe head injuries. He was later pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital.


An investigation is underway.





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Astorino going nuclear with new ‘daisy girl’ attack ad on Cuomo


Republican Rob Astorino is going nuclear in his effort to oust heavily favored Democratic incumbent Andrew Cuomo in the race for governor.


Astorino claims in a provocative new TV spot — his own take on the infamous “daisy girl’’ attack ad that helped Lyndon Johnson trounce Barry Goldwater in the 1964 presidential election — that Cuomo could wind up in prison because of a federal criminal probe targeting a “cloud of corruption” hovering over the governor’s office.


The original 60-second “daisy” ad, which ran at the height of the Cold War amid rabid fear of Soviet-US nuclear combat, featured a little girl in a meadow picking the petals off daisies as a somber voice counts down for a missile launch.


Then it shows an erupting nuclear fireball. The ad was aired only once.


Astorino — who is trailing by 25 to 30 points in various polls — pays homage to its 50th anniversary, replicating the ad to a T in a 30-second spot titled “Jail.”



Rob AstorinoPhoto: Chad Rachman



Reshot to look just like the original, it includes black-and-white footage of his own prairie girl sitting in a field.


The Astorino ad starts with a message appearing across the screen: “Andrew Cuomo under federal investigation for corruption, witness tampering, obstruction of justice.”


Then an adorable, blond-haired girl in a white dress appears.


“1,2,3,4,5, 7, 6, 6,” the child miscounts innocently — as in the original — as she pulls the petals off a daisy.


The ad’s arrator then ominously begins his countdown: “10, 9, 8, 7, 6 . . .”


The girl’s startled face freezes as he continues counting: “5, 4, 3, 2, 1” . . . and then, Kaboom!


A loud explosion and ominous mushroom cloud erupts and envelops the screen.


The death cloud then morphs into a profile picture of Cuomo.


“These are the stakes. Do we re-elect a governor who may end up in jail?” the narrator says.



Preet BhararaPhoto: Getty Images



The ad alludes to Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara’s probe of whether the Cuomo administration meddled in the investigation assigned to his handpicked ethics panel in accordance with the Moreland Commission to Combat Public Corruption.


The inquiry, among other things, is looking into whether Cuomo’s office pressured the panel not to probe political allies and campaign contributors of the governor.


It also is investigating allegations that Moreland probers were discouraged from referring cases to prosecutors.


“Every New Yorker needs to know about the federal corruption investigation into Andrew Cuomo that may land him in prison,” Astorino, the two-term Westchester County Executive, told The Post.


“No ad in American history captured the attention of the nation more than ‘Daisy,’ and we believe this 50th anniversary version, ‘Jail,’ will similarly call attention to Andrew Cuomo’s corruption scandal here in New York. This governor swindled New Yorkers into believing he was a reformer, then arguably turned out to be the most corrupt state governor in modern times,” he said.


He added, “There is a giant cloud of corruption over New York, and it’s costing taxpayers dearly.”



Andrew CuomoPhoto: Reuters



Cuomo has denied any wrongdoing, insisting neither he nor his office impeded Moreland investigations.


He has hired criminal defense lawyer Elkan Abramowitz to represent him and the executive office in the ongoing investigation.


Cuomo abruptly shut down the Moreland panel in March — six months before its work was completed — after he reached agreement with the Legislature on watered-down ethics reform.


In an extraordinary public rebuke, Bharara accused Cuomo of bargaining away investigations into potential corruption.


Bharara’s office is scouring all of the Moreland files and correspondence, and determining if any of the cases should be prosecuted.


Cuomo’s campaign spokesman, Matt Wing, said, “The only way Astorino’s ad would be factual is if it were about him.”


He added, “Rob Astorino is at the center of a federal investigation over his failure to comply with anti-discrimination laws, and Astorino is being forced to testify under oath before a federal judge to explain making statements to federal officials that the US attorney has called false and misleading.”


Meanwhile, Cuomo has been outspending Astorino by about 10-to-1. Astorino doesn’t have enough cash to blanket the airwaves with the ad and, like the original, five decades ago, it will have a very short run.


It will probably be aired only one day.





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One Teen Dead, Three Wounded in Birthday Party Stabbing



A 14-year-old is dead and three other teens are injured following a stabbing in the Bronx.


Police say Justin Fallu died after being stabbed in the chest on Barnes Avenue and Pelham Parkway around 3 a.m.


Two 18-year-olds were also stabbed in the chest, and a 17-year-old was stabbed in the shoulder.


The three surviving victims are being treated at Jacobi Hospital.


Police say they had been at a birthday party.


No arrests have been made.





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Community group using high-end cameras to catch ‘bad cops’


A grass-roots Brooklyn group has armed itself with video equipment to catch bad cops on camera.


El Grito of Sunset Park has already recorded several incidents of alleged police brutality, including a man being kicked by a cop and a pregnant woman being attacked, said founder Dennis Flores.



Dennis Flores founding member of El GritoPhoto: Robert Mecea



He and his members, all of whom claim to have been victimized by police, are telling residents of their right to record cops.


“Our thing is not so much that we want to catch police doing something wrong but that we want to prevent police brutality,” Flores said.


“Power absolutely corrupts.”


He said he used money he got from a police-brutality suit to buy El Grito’s digital cameras and high-definition video gear.


Flores said he got more than $ 250,000 from the city after a 2002 run-in in which, he says, he was physically abused while trying to stop cops from harassing a kid.


Last month, a member of El Grito filmed a cop allegedly kicking a man on the ground at the Fifth Avenue Festival. The cop has been suspended.


El Grito — Spanish for “the cry” — has also released video of cops allegedly throwing a pregnant woman to the ground Sept. 20.





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Sunday, September 28, 2014

Daily Blotter



Brooklyn


A thug shot a 20-year-old man in the leg on a Bedford-Stuyvesant street, authorities said Sunday.


Surveillance video shows the gunman walking casually on Nostrand Avenue near Lafayette Avenue at 6:30 p.m. Friday, before suddenly whirling around and firing at his target.


The victim was taken to Kings County Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition, authorities said.


The shooter is in his late teens or early 20s, has a medium build, and is clean-shaven with close-cropped hair, police said.


Police do not know if the victim and the gunman knew each other.




Queens


Two goons beat slashed and robbed a man in Ozone Park, authorities said Sunday.


The toughs accosted the 19-year-old victim at 114th Street and 103rd Avenue at 1 p.m. Tuesday, punching him several times in the face, according to cops.


One of the crooks then whipped out a knife and slashed the victim’s wrist, police said.


The two snatched the victim’s ring and ran off, cops said.


One of the muggers, Joshua Cerna-Gonzalez, 19, was busted Thursday and charged with robbery, according to cops.


His alleged accomplice, believed to be in his late teens, remains at large.




Two crooks hijacked a motorcycle at gunpoint in South Ozone Park, police said Sunday.


The 45-year-old victim walked out of the Habibi Gourmet Deli on Rockaway Boulevard near 134th Street at 4:30 a.m. Thursday to find a stranger sitting astride his Honda.


When the owner confronted the crook, the thug responded by pulling out a gun, police said.


Investigators said a second thief then sneaked up behind the stunned victim and clobbered him in the back of the head.


One of the thieves sped off on the bike, and the other, wearing a white hooded sweat shirt, fled in a white, four-door sedan, cops added.




Manhattan


Police have released a new photo of two men wanted in the Aug. 12 murder of a man in Harlem.


Recently discovered surveillance video shows the two getting out of a car and walking to West 147th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, where one of them gunned down Louis Perez, authorities said.


Cops found Perez, 22, with a gunshot wound to the head shortly before 2 a.m.


He died at Harlem Hospital.


The shooter was last seen in a white 2006 BMW X3.




A thief who claimed to live in a luxury building in Chelsea leased a sleek Italian sports car and then disappeared with it, a law-enforcement source said Sunday.


The man took out the lease on the black 2012 Ferrari at the beginning of June, but failed to make payments.


When representatives from Putnam Leasing went looking for the customer and the convertible last week at The Caledonia, a ritzy, amenity-filled condo building at West 17th Street and 10th Avenue, overlooking High Line Park, they were nowhere to be found, the source said.




The Bronx


A man grabbed a woman’s buttocks as she was stepping onto a bus in Eastchester, police said Sunday.


The 46-year-old victim was boarding the Westchester Bee Line bus at Boston Road and Dyre Avenue at 9:30 a.m. Aug. 28 when the creep sneaked up behind her and groped her before dashing off, according to police.





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Man Dies After Being Hit by Two Livery Cabs



A man is dead after getting hit by two livery cabs in the Bronx.


Investigators say the 26-year-old victim was first hit around 1 a.m. Sunday as he was crossing Pelham Parkway at White Plains Road.


Police say the driver stayed on the scene—but moments later, a second cab hit the man. That driver fled the scene.


The victim was pronounced dead at Saint Barnabus Hospital.


The investigation is ongoing.





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NBA, Dr. Oz to promote healthy living at NYC schools



The NBA will get an assist from Dr. Oz next basketball season when they work together to give city public school kids lessons on how to lead more healthy lives.


Their program, which will be carried out by Oz’s non-profit HealthCorps and NBA Cares, will visit 13 public schools in the city and will emphasize having an active lifestyle and mental toughness.


“The NBA is committed to teaming up with top community-based organizations to bring health-focused programming to kids,” said Dikembe Mutombo, a former Knick and Net.


“We are able to make a greater impact and encourage youth to make the best decisions about their health and well-being.”


Mutombo plans to appear at the schools with other former members of the Knicks and Nets, who have not been determined yet, according to an NBA spokesman.


The program will be offered at these schools:



  • Aviation High School, Queens

  • EBC High School, Brooklyn

  • Franklin K. Lane High School (Brooklyn Lab), Brooklyn

  • High School for Health Careers and Sciences, Manhattan

  • Humanities/Baldwin Prep, Manhattan

  • KAPPA/Fordam High School, Bronx

  • Lower East Side Preparatory High School, Manhattan

  • Monroe Academy for Visual Arts and Design, Bronx

  • New Design High School, Manhattan

  • New Utrecht High School, Brooklyn

  • Riverdale/Kingsbridge Academy, Bronx

  • South Shore High School, Brooklyn

  • The High School of Fashion Industries, Manhattan

  • The Kurt Hahn Expeditionary Learning School, Brooklyn

  • University Heights High School, Bronx





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Runners Honor 9/11 First Responders in Tunnel to Towers Race



Thousands of runners and walkers will take to the streets today, retracing the steps of a city firefighter killed during the 9/11 attacks.


The 13th annual Tunnel to Towers Run steps off this morning.


Runners will follow the route taken by Stephen Siller, a firefighter who on the morning of September 11th made his way through the Hugh Carey Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to the World Trade Center in full gear to reach those in need.


He died when the South Tower collapsed.


The annual run also pays tribute to the firefighters lost that day, as well as police officers, EMTs and military veterans.


The run begins at Hamilton Avenue and Richards Street, then goes through the Tunnel and winds its way through lower manhattan to the finish line across from the World Trade Center.


The race started at 9:30 a.m.





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