Ebola doctor’s apartment sanitizer is a convicted felon

The owner of the crime-scene cleanup company that won a coveted city contract to sanitize the Harlem apartment of Dr. Craig Spencer after he tested positive for Ebola is a convicted felon who once ran a bogus mortgage business, according to a new report.

Mayor de Blasio’s office didn’t know about the shady past of Salvatore Pane ­until Monday — and they’ve since severed ties to the firm, called Bio-Recovery Corp., BuzzFeed reported Friday.

It’s another embarrassment for de Blasio, who apparently didn’t know he was hiring an ­ex-con to take on the very public cleanup of the Ebola-stricken doctor’s pad.

“The city first became aware of this situation this week, and has been reviewing the facts,” Phil Walzak, a spokesman for the mayor, told BuzzFeed. “Bio- ­Recovery has not received any further work from the city as we review this situation.”

State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman threw up a red flag after realizing Pane was the same person the AG’s Office had successfully prosecuted in 2010 for “engaging in fraudulent and illegal acts,” officials told the Web site.

Pane has since changed the spelling of his last name to “Pain,” making it difficult to do background checks on him.

“We will continue to monitor the situation, provide any assistance our state and city partners request, and take any actions we deem necessary to protect the public interest,” said Damien LaVera, a spokeswoman for the AG.

Salvatore Pane

As New York attorney general, Gov. Cuomo was the one who sued Pane back in 2010, saying Pane and his companies “engaged in fraudulent, deceptive and illegal business practices that violated New York’s consumer protection and real-property laws.”

Those companies claimed to offer expert advice to people with distressed mortgages. A permanent injunction also was filed against them.

Pane spent nine months in prison, from June 2010 to March 2011, on a felony charge for operating a vehicle without a license.

But he told BuzzFeed he had cleaned up his act and turned his life around.

“I hope I’ve done what I’ve had to do to rebuild my life,” he said.

“I’m not a bad guy.”

City officials inspected his company’s cleanup work at Spencer’s apartment and found it to be up to par.

Bio-Recovery — contracted on a case-by-case basis — was hired to clean and sterilize Spencer’s place, and also cleaned up the Williamsburg bowling alley where Spencer rolled a few frames before he was diagnosed with the deadly disease.

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Bratton: Minorities will be ‘very pleased’ with new top NYPD cop

As pressure mounted on the NYPD to diversify its top ranks following the stunning exit of Chief Phillip Banks III, Police Commissioner Bill Bratton promised the city’s minority communities “will be very pleased” with his pick for a new No. 2.

Banks, a 28-year veteran, was to be promoted to first deputy commissioner Monday, but backed out at the last minute during a heated meeting at Police Headquarters Friday, sources said.

His shocking departure comes after Bratton ousted Rafael Pineiro from the first deputy spot in September, and leaves the NYPD without a black or Hispanic person in the top three positions.

The embattled commissioner, speaking at press conference at 1 Police Plaza Saturday, said he’s already taking steps to ensure diversity at the top of his department.

“On Wednesday I will announce [Banks’] replacement and I think the city and its many diverse communities will be very pleased with that announcement,” Bratton said.

“I fully understand the concerns that we lost an incredibly talented young man who was very networked into those communities, very well respected but ultimately it was his choice to step away from the assignment that was offered. This is a very big department, we will move on and move on very quickly,” he added.

The commissioner, who called Banks’ resignation “regrettable,” then listed other top minority officers, including the head of the Police Academy, Ben Tucker, and Carlos Gomez, who runs the Housing Bureau.

“I think we have very extensive minority representation in the ranks of this department,” Bratton said.

As the commissioner defended his department’s diversity, minority law-enforcement leaders simultaneously slammed Bratton at a rally outside 1 Police Plaza.

“We believe that Bratton is orchestrating the elimination of minority representation in the New York City Police Department,” said Anthony Miranda, head of the National Latino Officers Association.

The departures of Pineiro and Banks represent “over 80 years worth of experience that [Bratton] allowed to leave the Police Department,” Miranda said. “Where are the minorities that are supposed to be representing New York City right now?”

Banks, 50, left in anger, sources said, over Bratton’s slow response to the chief’s demand that his new title come with increased responsibility, and because the commissioner failed to implement new policies Banks had authored.

Sources say Banks wanted the first deputy job, which had been largely administrative, to include oversight of the Internal Affairs Bureau and to have his successor as chief of department report to him.

Bratton initially promised to give Banks what he wanted, but apparently dithered, and the power struggle came to a head Friday morning.

“You still have not done anything. You have not changed the direction of the Police Department. You asked me to come up with six or seven policies that you did not implement,” Banks fumed at the city’s top cop. “The department is just going to go further into turmoil, and I don’t want to get blamed for that.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio then chewed out Bratton over the exit of Banks, who was the top choice of DeBlasio’s wife, Chirlane McCray, sources said.

“You promised me you were going to use Banks and implement some of his policies. I counted on you to make changes, and now I’m blindsided by this,” de Blasio yelled, according to sources.

Bratton appeared shaken as he left the meeting and “looked like he needed a glass of water,” which he was handed by an aide, sources said.

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Black, Latino Law Enforcement Groups to Speak on Banks’ Resignation

Black and Latino law enforcement groups are expected to speak out today about the retirement of the NYPD’s two highest ranking officers, who both stepped down yesterday.

Just days after accepting a promotion to First Deputy Commissioner, Chief of Department Phillip Banks changed his mind and decided to retire—after 28 years on the force.

Sources familiar with the situation say negotiations broke down between Bratton and Banks over the role he would serve as second-in-command, a position seen by some as a low-visibility, behind-the-scenes job.

Bratton says the move came as a surprise to him.

First Deputy Commissioner Rafael Pineiro also left his job.

Sources tell us Pineiro refused to do a ceremonial walk-out on his last day—a sign he was forced out of the position.

He took to Twitter last night writing, quote, “It has been a privilege to serve among the extraordinary talent in the NYPD for the last 44-plus years. Thank you all!”

This comes as the NYPD faces criticism about diversity in the ranks.

Banks and Pineiro were the two highest ranking black and Latino officers.

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Armed thugs assault, rob woman expecting trick-or-treaters

A Long Island woman who expected trick-or-treaters when she answered Halloween night doorknock instead was assaulted by armed thugs in a home invasion robbery, police said.

Four armed, masked men and one woman pushed their way into the home on Beach Street in Farmingdale home when a 34-year-old woman opened her door.

The thugs demanded the family sit down. When the woman’s 48-year-old man refused, the thugs repeatedly pistol-whipped him, said cops.

The robbers bound the couple’s hands and feet with duct tape, ransacked the house and fled, said cops.

Soon after the thugs left the woman was able to free her hands and call 911.

The 48-year-old man was rushed to an area hospital, where he was treated for cuts on his head.

The couple’s 2-year-old son, who was in the home the whole time, was unharmed.

The male suspects, one of whom was wearing a werewolf mask, are all believed to be about 5-foot-9 and 180 to 200 pounds.

Their female accomplice had a thin build, an Afro-style haircut and was wearing a pair of goggles.

Police said it wasn’t immediately clear what was taken during the crime.

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Grimm Leads Recchia by 19 Points in NY1 Exclusive Poll

For weeks, political observers have said the race for Congress on Staten Island was one of the most competitive in the country. However, our new exclusive poll shows Michael Grimm may have a much larger lead than initially expected. NY1′s Courtney Gross filed the following report.

No, it’s not a trick.

In our new exclusive NY1/Capital New York/Siena College Poll, Congressman Michael Grimm has a commanding 19 point lead over his Democratic opponent, former Councilman Domenic Recchia.

Fifty-three percent of likely voters in next Tuesday’s election say they’re supporting the Republican, while 34 percent are with Recchia. Five percent are behind the green party candidate, Hank Bardel, and only seven percent are still undecided.

Just six weeks ago, our poll showed these two candidates were running neck and neck—44 percent to 40.

Things have clearly changed.

“This campaign has really not done anything good for Domenic Recchia. Voters don’t like him. This campaign has caused voters to like Michael Grimm more,” says NY1 pollster Steven Greenberg.

Our new poll shows the more voters have gotten to know Recchia, the more they don’t like him.

In fact, more voters say they have an unfavorable view of the Democrat than they do of Grimm—46 percent to 43 percent.

Grimm is facing a 20-count federal indictment, and his trail begins in February.

Nonetheless, 48 percent of voters still have a favorable view of the congressman versus 31 percent for Recchia.

Almost a third of likely Democratic voters are crossing party lines to support Grimm, but support for Governor Anrew Cuomo is still high in the district. He beats his Republican rival Rob Astorino 56 percent to 33 percent.

Voters perhaps have become turned off by Recchia, because of ads like this that highlight Grimm’s indictment.

Half of likely voters believe Recchia has run the more negative campaign.

“Rarely have we seen a candidate trailing by this much this late in the campaign come back to win it,” Greenberg says.

We should note two-thirds of these likely voters told us there is no chance they will change their minds.

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School suspensiond steady, despite mayor’s vow to reduce them

Mayor de Blasio vowed to lower the number of school student suspensions but the figure has remained about the same over the past two school years.

School administrators doled out 53,504 suspensions during the 2013-14 school year — 39 more than the previous year, according to school data.

Civil rights advocates slammed the city for not doing more to limit the practice.

Black and Latino students received 89 percent of school suspensions last year although they make up about 70 percent of the city’s school population, according to the data.

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One of Two Teens Accused of Raping Classmates to be Charged as Adult

One of the two teens accused of allegedly raping two girls inside a Bronx school building will be charged as an adult.

Police say it happened at Teller Avenue and 165th Street in a building that houses several schools on October 16.

Police say the two boys, ages 13 and 14 are accused of sexually assaulting two girls, ages 12 and 13 inside the facilities auditorium.

The 13-year-old boy is being charged as a juvenile in family court, while the 14 year-old is being charged as an adult.

If convicted of the top charge of rape in the first degree, the 14-year-old could serve up to 25 years in prison.

We spoke to students at the school who they they heard about it just recently.

“There was already rumors saying that someone had gotten raped, but I didn’t find out until yesterday,” one student said.

“I don’t feel right, like knowing that somebody just got raped in the school,” said another.

“It’s not supposed to happen like that,” another said.

“I don’t feel safe in the school, like I don’t feel protected in the school. I feel like the officers and the security guards are not doing their jobs,” said another.

The girls were taken to Lincoln Medical Center for evaluation.

Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña says there are counselors on hand at the school. The Bronx District Attorney says they’re still investigating.

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