001 KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES INDICTMENT OF CEO OF CEMENT COMPANY THAT POLLUTED THE WATERS OF NEWTOWN CREEK  QUALITY CONCRETE OF NEW YORK, INC. IGNORED NUMEROUS WARNINGS FROM ENVIRONMENTAL WATCHDOG GROUP              Brooklyn, January 11, 2005 --  Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced the indictment of Quality Concrete of New York, Inc. and their CEO Constantine Quadrozzi on various felony and misdemeanor violations of the Environmental Conservation Laws.  Quality, a cement company located at 46-73 Metropolitan Avenue on Newtown Creek (within 500 yards of Kings County), has been polluting the waters of Newtown Creek since at least June, 2003.                  Since June 9, 2003, there has been a cloudy discharge emanating from an underwater pipe coming off the Quality site.  The water was being polluted with industrial waste.  This discharge violated four sections of the New York State Environmental Conservation Law (ECL) because the discharge contravened the water quality standards set by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) for Newtown Creek.  Before October, 2004, Quality did not even have a permit to discharge any water at all.                    Representatives from Riverkeeper, an environmental watchdog group, observed the discharge.  Riverkeeper served Quality with a notice of intent to sue under the Clean Water Act (a federal statute).  Riverkeeper also alerted the DEC to the situation and the DEC initiated its own investigation.  Subsequently, Quadrozzi admitted to Basil Seggos, the lead Riverkeeper investigator, that Quadrozzi’s company owned the site and keeps dolomite (an aggregate used in concrete production) there. On November 25, 2003, Riverkeeper again observed the discharge. Despite Riverkeeper’s threat of a federal suit and the possibility of administrative enforcement from the DEC, the discharge continues.  On September 22, 2004, Seggos and Detective Jose    Caban of the DA’s office collected a sample of the discharge and sent it to a lab recommended by Riverkeeper.  Analysis showed large amounts of calcium (a component of dolomite and concrete), an extremely alkaline pH and extreme turbidity (cloudiness), all of which are harmful to the ecology of the creek, which remains polluted.                On October 19, 2004, Quadrozzi, acting under the corporate name of Maspeth Concrete Loading, obtained a permit to discharge non-polluted storm water from the Quality site.  Investigators from Riverkeeper and the DEC observed the discharge on 11 distinct occasions, and photographed it on many of these occasions.                District Attorney Hynes said, “Quality Concrete ignored numerous warnings to stop polluting the waters of Newtown Creek.  This company is carelessly destroying our water supply.  This indictment sends a message that we will not tolerate these actions.  I would like to commend Riverkeeper, Urban Divers and the Department of Environmental Conservation for their role in uncovering this criminal activity.”  Riverkeeper Executive Director Alex Matthiessen said, “Crimes against the environment are crimes against our society.  Those who chose to illegally dump are not only despoiling the environment, but are stealing precious water resources from all of us.  We thank the District Attorney for recognizing this and bringing these criminals to justice.”              Quadrozzi and Quality Concrete, Inc. were indicted on 22 felony counts and 20 misdemeanor counts which make it unlawful to use an outlet to discharge sewage, waste, or any pollutant into the waters of the state.              The felonies are E felonies punishable by fines ranging from $5,000 to $50,000 per day and up to 4 years in jail.  The misdemeanors are unclassified misdemeanors punishable by fines ranging from $2500 to $25,000 per day and up to one year in jail.                 Urban Divers, Riverkeeper and the Department of Environmental Conservation all played a significant role in the investigation              The case is being prosecuted by Executive Assistant District Attorney Anne Seely and Richard Farrell, Counsel to the Rackets Division.  Contact:   Sandy Silverstein                 718-250-2300 002 KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES AND NEW YORK CITY POLICE COMMISSIONER RAYMOND KELLY ANNOUNCE THE ARRESTS AND INDICTMENTS OF TOMMY SALEH AND JAMES PETRILLO FOR INTIMIDATING A WITNESS IN THE MARK FISHER INVESTIGATION              Brooklyn, January 21, 2004 – Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes and New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly today announced the arrests of Tommy Saleh, 22, of 540 Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn, New York, and James Petrillo, 21, 1477 Bay Ridge Avenue for the intimidation of and tampering with a witness in the investigation surrounding the murder of Mark Fisher, a Fairfield University student who was shot to death in Brooklyn, on October 12, 2003.  The Kings County Grand Jury voted, Thursday January 20, 2005, to indict Saleh and Petrillo on charges including Intimidating a Witness in the Third Degree, Tampering with a Witness in the Third Degree, and Attempting Hindering Prosecution in the First Degree. Additionally, Petrillo was indicted on two counts of Perjury in the Third Degree, concerning his testimony before the investigative Grand Jury.                        Petrillo and Saleh are both long-term friends of John Guica, who is currently under indictment with Antonio Russo for the murder of Mark Fisher. Besides being uncooperative witnesses, together they further attempted to stymie the investigation by threatening an individual they believed to be cooperating with the authorities. These actions are indicative of the apparent agreement in existence by Guica’s and Russo’s close-knit circle of friends, who dub themselves “GM” or the “Ghetto Mafia”, to obstruct the ongoing investigation.              Additionally, Petrillo falsely gave sworn statements before the investigative Grand Jury.               “Every single person who was part of or otherwise involved in the murder of Mark Fisher should be on notice that this investigation continues and will not be completed until every person is given their measure of justice,” said District Attorney Charles J. Hynes.              Police Commissioner Kelly said: “The wall of silence in this case continues to crumble. I want to commend the detectives and prosecutors for their persistence.”  The murder investigation thus far has revealed that on the night before the murder, Mark Fisher was in Manhattan with a group of friends from Fairfield University. Subsequently, in the early morning hours of October 12, 2003, Fisher went to an impromptu party at a house located at 152 Stratford Road in Brooklyn, New York.  Mark Fisher met Antonio Russo at that party. Russo decided to rob Fisher and in the commission of that robbery, Russo shot and mortally wounded Fisher.  Shortly after 6:30 a.m. on October 12, 2003 in front of 150 Argyle Road, Brooklyn, New York, Fisher’s  lifeless body was found lying on a blanket in a pool of blood.  Fisher’s body had sustained five fatal gunshot wounds. The blanket upon which Russo was lying was taken from the house where the party had convened on Stratford Road. Fisher’s wallet was subsequently recovered from a sewer located between the party location and Russo’s residence.              Saleh and Petrillo were arraigned this morning before Judge Alan Marrus.  Bail was set at $25,000 each.  Defendants Anthony Russo and John Guica also appeared in the courtroom today for a hearing.  Russo will undergo a psychiatric evaluation, which was requested by his attorney.  Russo and Guica remain held without bail.  Saleh and Petrillo will be back in court on February 23rd.  Russo will be back in court on February 24th and Guica will be back in court on February 8th.                  The investigation is ongoing. If convicted, Saleh and Petrillo face one-and-a-third to four years imprisonment.              The case is being prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi from the Homicide Bureau, Senior Trial Attorney Josh Hanshaft from the Rackets Division, and Deputy Bureau Chief Patricia McNeill from the Rackets Division.  Michael Vecchione is Chief of the Rackets Division.  Ken Taub is Chief of the Homicide Bureau.   Contact:    Sandy Silverstein                   718-250-2300 003 KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES AND NORMAN SEABROOK, PRESIDENT OF CORRECTIONS OFFICERS BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION REPORT EXTRADITION OF  2002 MURDER SUSPECT  JAMES JOHNSON WAS ARRAIGNED TODAY FOR SHOOTING CORRECTIONS OFFICER               Brooklyn, February 2 2005 – Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes and Norman Seabrook, President of 9000 member Corrections Officers Benevolent Association today reported the extradition of James Johnson, 33, for the shooting of Corrections Officer Andrew Morgan, 35, in April 2002.  Johnson was arraigned today on charges of Murder in the Second Degree and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second and Third Degrees.  He was held without bail.  If convicted, he faces 25 years to life in prison.              Johnson’s wife was a Corrections Officer who worked in the same Rikers Island facility as Officer Morgan.  Johnson and his wife had been separated.  Morgan started seeing Johnson’s wife, and on April 9, 2002, Johnson spotted Morgan leaving his wife’s apartment building.  When Morgan got into his car, Johnson approached him from the driver’s side window of the car and shot him four times.  Morgan was transported to Long Island College Hospital where he died later that evening.                Johnson immediately fled New York City.  Detectives from the 60th Precinct and the Brooklyn South Homicide Task Force  were  able to use phone records, financial information and a variety of tips to eventually located Johnson in Alabama where he has extended family members.  In November 2004, Johnson was apprehended in Alabama where he was incarcerated on a local Alabama narcotics possession charge.  Johnson was extradited to New York where he was arraigned today.              District Attorney Hynes said, “This case goes to show that we will make every effort in apprehending a suspect and making sure that justice is served.  You can not run away from a crime.  You will be held accountable for your actions.  I would like to thank Elmore County District Attorney Randall Houston and Chief Assistant Sam Partridge for their assistance.”              COBA President Norman Seabrook said, “We are very relieved that the alleged killer has finally been apprehended.  The entire city was horrified by the barbaric killing of veteran Correction Officer Andrew Morgan.  Justice must and will be served.  I’d like to commend Brooklyn District Attorney, Joe Hynes, for his continuous support in pursuing justice in Kings County.    And on behalf of the entire Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association, I’d also like to commend the Detectives from the 60th Precinct and the Brooklyn Homicide Task Force.  We are truly grateful for their unrelenting efforts to track down this callous thug.”                Johnson has one prior arrest in New York from 1990 for Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance, which resulted in a felony conviction.  He was sentenced to five years probation.                 The case is being prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Mark Hale and Executive Assistant District Attorney John Besunder of the Homicide Bureau.  Contact:  Sandy Silverstein                 718-250-2300 004 KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES, RICHMOND COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY DANIEL M. DONOVAN, AND POLICE COMMISSIONER RAYMOND W. KELLY ANNOUNCE TAKEDOWN OF 12 SUSPECTS FOR RUNNING ILLEGAL SUPER BOWL BETTING OPERATIONS AS PART OF OPERATION “KINGS FLUSH”  DISTRICT ATTORNEYS HYNES AND DONOVAN AND POLICE COMMISSIONER KELLY SCORE TOUCHDOWN IN SUCCESSFUL RAIDS ON NINE LOCATIONS IN BROOKLYN, STATEN ISLAND, QUEENS, AND MANHATTAN  DISTRICT ATTORNEY HYNES BELIEVES THERE ARE GOOD ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT OF LEGALIZING SPORTS GAMBLING              Brooklyn, February 6, 2005 – Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes, Richmond County District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan and Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly today announced the arrests of 12 suspects for running illegal gambling operations for Super Bowl Sunday.  As part of Operation “Kings Flush”, nine search warrants were executed simultaneously yesterday at various locations throughout Brooklyn, Staten Island, Queens and Manhattan.  Two of the defendants are charged with Promoting Gambling in the Second Degree, which is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by a maximum of one year in prison.  The rest of the suspects are charged with Promoting Gambling in the First Degree, which is a Class E felony.  If convicted, those suspects can face a maximum of 1 1/3 – 4 years in prison.               Most raids took place in private homes or apartments, and one successful raid took place in a commercial social club in Brooklyn. Six of the locations were run by Asian suspects and the other three locations were operated by more traditional organized crime suspects.  Many of the locations that were raided were wire rooms.  These NYC operations were bringing in over $100 million per year.                        Illegal gambling is a big business.  Law enforcement officials estimate that illegal gambling generates as much as $15 billion a year in New York City alone and $100 billion nationally.  Approximately, $4 billion is bet just on the Super Bowl nation-wide.  Estimates of between 75-80 million dollars is wagered in the legal sports books in Nevada on the Super Bowl.              Obviously, according to the statistics, Super Bowl Sunday is the biggest betting day of the year.  This is the biggest day for organized crime, and provides them with their greatest source of cash for the year, which in turn, funds their other illegal activities.  Organized crime’s presence , through bookmakers at high schools and colleges throughout the U.S., contributes to the number one adolescent gambling problem, which is sports betting.              District Attorney Hynes’ office has been very successful in recent years in closing down these illegal gambling operations.  Hynes said, “It is foolish to continue to have these illegal gambling operations set up in Brooklyn because we always make moves to shut them down.”  Hynes believes that legalizing sports gambling should be considered an option.  “There are good arguments why the state should legalize sports gambling,” continues Hynes.  “Sports gambling is a $30 billion a year business.  Legalizing sports gambling will not increase customer base.  It is foolhardy to avoid opportunities to enhance tax space.”  Kathryn S. Wylde, President and CEO of Partnership for New York City, is looking into this issue of legalizing sports gambling as well.              District Attorney Donovan said, “I would like to commend District Attorney Hynes for continuing to lead the fight against illegal sports betting in the City of New York. Working with his office, we were able to shut down this illegal betting enterprise, the profits of which can often go to fund other illicit activities. As a result of yesterday’s takedown, “bookies” and gamblers alike have been put on notice that Staten Island is no safe haven for their corrupt business.”              The suspects arrested in Operation “Kings Flush” and the locations where they were arrested are as followed:   1.         618 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn N.Y.             Arrested for Promoting Gambling (PL 225.05)             Alexander J. Noce        DOB 12/14/32  2.         12 Campus Place, Brooklyn N.Y.             Arrested for Promoting Gambling (PL 225.10)             Poon Hoong Chak         DOB 12/28/57          3.         346 Cortelyou Avenue, Staten Island                     Arrested for Promoting Gambling (PL 225.10)                     Vincent Maiorano        DOB 02/10/70          4.         11 Ridgecrest Avenue, Staten Island                     Arrested for Promoting Gambling (PL 225.05)                     Frank Pepe            DOB 11/04/70                                5.          61-17 159th Street, Flushing N.Y.                     Arrested for Promoting Gambling (PL 225.10)                     Chochun Sze       DOB 04/01/52                     Richard Zee      DOB 08/19/65                                6.           57-35 156th Street, Flushing N.Y.                       Arrested for Promoting Gambling (PL 225.10)                      Kit Cheng         DOB 07/26/54                      Patrick Q. Tran DOB 09/22/65                                7.          62-01 Main Street, Flushing N.Y.                      Arrested for Promoting Gambling (PL 225.10)                      Fattsoon Wong   DOB 02/14/57                                8.          209 Bay 22nd Street, Brooklyn N.Y.                       Arrested for Promoting Gambling (PL 225.10)                      Gui Hui Jiang             DOB 08/24/73                                9.          55 Bayard Street, Manhattan N.Y.                       Arrested for Promoting Gambling (PL 225.10)                      Hui'Yan Wang           DOB 03/14/60                      Da'Qi Zhao    DOB 09/10/57              There were many detectives from the Kings County District Attorney’s Office who were instrumental in this crackdown.  They worked under the leadership of Supervising Investigator Gregory Deboer.  Joseph Ponzi is Chief Investigator for the Kings County District Attorney’s Office.  Investigators who played a key role in the crackdown from the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office include Detective Squad Lt. Frank DeBenedetto, Sgt. James Burke, supervising Det. Robert Nestel and Det. James Masiello.             Executive Assistant District Attorney Christopher Blank from the Rackets Division will prosecute the case for the Kings County District Attorney’s Office.  Michael Vecchione is Chief of the Kings County District Attorney’s Office’s Rackets Division.  Assistant District Attorney Louis C. Annunziata will be prosecuting the case under the supervision of Timothy Koller, Chief of the Supreme Court Bureau for the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office.  Contact:   Sandy Silverstein                  718-250-2300 005 KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES, NYC DEPARTMENT OF INVESTIGATION COMMISSIONER ROSE GILL HEARN AND NYC HUMAN RESOURCES ADMINISTRATION COMMISSIONER VERNA EGGLESTON ANNOUNCE ARREST AND INDICTMENT OF HRA EMPLOYEE WHO STOLE EMERGENCY FUNDS  DEFENDANT RICHARD BROWN TRANSFERRED MONEY INTO FOUR ACQUAINTANCES’  PUBLIC ASSISTANCE ACCOUNTS              Brooklyn, February 17, 2005 – Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes, New York City Department of Investigation Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn and New York City Human Resources Administration Commissioner Verna Eggleston today announced the arrest and indictment of Richard Brown, 44, for electronically stealing $15,896 in Immediate Needs funds from NYC HRA’s Greenwood Job Center located at 275 Bergen Street in Brooklyn.  The arrest of the other four co-defendants are imminent.  All five defendants will be charged with Grand Larceny.  If convicted, Brown could face a maximum of seven years in prison.  The other defendants face either a maximum of four years or seven years in prison.              For the past six years (since July 1998), Brown has worked as a supply room clerk at the Greenwood Center.  Investigations revealed that in September 2003, Mr. Brown offered his data entry skills to help process welfare cases.  For the next eight months, Brown made over 50 electronic transfers into the four co-defendants’ public assistance accounts, the indictment charges.                Brown’s scheme began with a few unauthorized electronic issuances of $51, later growing to numerous transfers of $500 in funds.  In January 2004, Brown’s illicit data entry work was transferring $254 every three or four days to his female co-defendants.  In a single week in May 2004, Brown transferred $4,000 of public funds to co-defendants. Ultimately, each codefendant pocketed between $1,700 and $6,300 in cash, in addition to their legitimate public assistance monies.                  Typically an active welfare recipient like these codefendants would only qualify for a small amount of Immediate Needs funds after personally explaining their dire circumstances,  and have an additional $20 or $30 placed in their individual public assistance accounts to be withdrawn similar to a common Bank Debit Card by the recipient.                   Brown’s role in this plot involved keying in a co-defendant’s HRA ID number along with varying issuance amounts into the HRA computer that electronically transfers funds from the HRA general funds into each co-defendant’s welfare account.  To coordinate the scheme, Brown called co-defendants after making the transfers and detailed the amounts and time of day their ill-gotten funds would become available for withdrawal.  Then, the co-defendants would withdraw the funds almost always within 12 hours of the transfer and convert it to cash at an ATM or a check cashing establishment.  In exchange, it is charged that the co-defendants would give cash gifts to Brown.  DOI’s investigation began after HRA reported that the amounts of Immediate funds were excessively larger than normal to one particular client.  DOI determined that the clients who were receiving the monies were not clients of that particular center where Brown worked.  When the scheme was unraveled, Brown was relieved of his computer duties.  He was arrested this morning.              District Attorney Charles J. Hynes said, “It was obvious that there was fraudulent activity in this case based on the exorbitant funds that were received.  This is another case of greedy individuals trying to defraud the system and take away money from people who need it.  These suspects have been stealing money from the public.  The arrests demonstrate our commitment to cracking down on scams that rip off the honest taxpayers.”              DOI Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn said, “By taking money they didn’t deserve, all of the defendants in this case took money that could have gone to others who needed it even more. They should have known that public assistance is for the needy but not the greedy.  DOI and its partners in government will make every effort to ensure that tax payers’ money will go to those who need more not those who want more.  Congratulations to the investigators and all those involved for putting together a great case.”                  HRA Administrator/Commissioner Verna Eggleston said, “In the extremely rare cases where Human Resources Administration/Dept.of Social Services employees breach the public trust, we have the techniques and technology to find out quickly and report it immediately to the proper authority,"              The case is being prosecuted by Senior Investigative Attorney Frank Dudis and Bureau Chief Lauren Mack from the Public Assistance Crimes Unit of the Kings County District Attorney’s Office. Contact:    Sandy Silverstein                   718-250-2300 006 KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES INDICTMENT OF HIT AND RUN DRUNK DRIVER WHO KILLED OFF-DUTY POLICE OFFICER AND HIS OWN DAUGHTER IN CRASH  DEFENDANT GARY WILKERSON HAS BEEN IN A COMA SINCE THE DATE OF INCIDENT              Brooklyn, February 28, 2005 – Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced the indictment of Gary Wilkerson, 39, for the deaths of his daughter Shanay Branch, 19, and off-duty police officer Jehova Delgado, 27, as a result of the February 13th drunk driving collision.  Wilkerson, who is currently in a coma, faces a top charge of Manslaughter in the Second Degree, which is punishable by a maximum of 5 - 15 years in prison.              In the early morning hours of February 13th, Wilkerson was driving his Ford Exhibition back from a party celebrating his daughter’s birthday.  He admittedly was drinking and got into the car with seven passengers.  At the Corner of Putnam and Central Avenues in Bushwick, Wilkerson sped through a stop sign and collided with Delgado’s 2002 Honda Civic. Officer Delgado was on his way to work at the 75th precinct when Wilkerson crashed into his vehicle, causing Delgado to ram into a utility pole and eject from his car.  He was pronounced dead on the scene.  Wilkerson’s daughter, Shanay Branch, was also ejected from her father’s vehicle and died at the scene.  Meanwhile, Wilkerson’s other passengers suffered various injuries and were treated at local hospitals.              Following the crash, Wilkerson fled the scene.  He showed up five hours later at Brookdale Hospital where he collapsed, and later fell into a coma.  When he arrived at the hospital, he was observed to be exhibiting signs of intoxication including red, watery eyes and a strong odor of alcohol on his breath.  At the present time, Wilkerson is still in a coma.                District Attorney Hynes said, “Gary Wilkerson put not only himself but his family and friends in jeopardy when he got behind the wheel of that vehicle after he had been drinking.  He showed utter disregard for the lives of others.  You have to take responsibility for your actions.  Wilkerson is responsible for the deaths of two lives, one of which is his own daughter.  Hopefully, this indictment will demonstrate the repercussions and ramifications of drunk driving and make others reconsider getting into a car after they’ve been drinking.”              Wilkerson is charged with two counts of Manslaughter in the Second Degree, two counts of Vehicular Manslaughter in the Second Degree, Reckless Endangerment in the Second Degree, Reckless Driving, three counts of Operating a Motor Vehicle While Under the Influence of Alcohol, Leaving the Scene of an Incident Without Reporting, Unlicensed Operator, two counts of Assault in the Second Degree, two counts of Vehicular Assault in the Second Degree, and four counts of Assault in the Third Degree.             The case is being prosecuted by Executive Assistant District Attorney Maureen McCormick of the Vehicular Crimes Bureau.  Contact:  Sandy Silverstein                       718-250-2300 007 KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES COMPLETION OF FRAUD INVESTIGATIONS INVOLVING FOUR ATTORNEYS WHO MISAPPROPRIATED FUNDS FROM THEIR CLIENTS  VICTIMS CAN APPLY FOR RESTITUTION FROM LAWYERS FUND FOR CLIENT PROTECTION              Brooklyn, March 8, 2005 – Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced the takedown of four attorneys who swindled their clients out of thousands of dollars.  Defendants Jeruchom “Jerry” Bergstein, Shelley Miller, Richard Sbeglia and Valerie Simuro were all arrested for stealing money from their clients.  Valerie Simuro is an attorney who was arrested on March 8, 2005 for stealing from her client escrow funds.  She represented many Trust and estate clients, primarily in the Bay Ridge area.  She invaded eight of these escrow accounts to support her casino gambling addiction, losing her clients’ money.  She admitted to taking more than $2 million from client funds. The case was investigated by Financial Investigators Eugene Brozen and Vincent Verlezza from the District Attorney’s Office.  Postal Inspector Anthony Piazza and agents from the U.S. Secret Service, N.Y. Field Office also played a significant role in this investigation. This case in being prosecuted by Executive Assistant District Attorney Charles Guria of the Rackets Division.  Robin M. Dalgleish, Postal Inspector-in-Charge, New York Division said, “People shouldn’t feel they are gambling when choosing an attorney.  In this case, however, it was the attorney who gambled…with her clients’ money.  Although large sums of money were lost because of (Ms. Simuro’s) selfishness, it’s the emotional scars, caused by her betrayal, these victims will always remember.  The Postal Inspection Service was proud to work with Brooklyn DA Hynes and his staff and will continue to aggressively investigate arrest and seek prosecution of anyone attempting to defraud the public.”              Jerry Bergstein, 45, was an attorney who was disbarred in November of 2002, yet he illegally continued to pose as an attorney and dupe clients.  He offered to assist clients in various legal matters, but did not deliver on his promises.  The most serious accusation in the indictment against Bergstein involved the proffering of forged court documents to a bank in an attempt to unfreeze personal assets that were the subject of litigation.  He also swindled clients by taking fees from them and promising to represent them in various cases including bankruptcy, landlord-tenant disputes, estates, and in one case, he was paid to get a client a tax number for incorporation of a business.  He stole thousands of dollars from his clients.  The top charge in this case in Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree, a Class D Felony, which is punishable by a maximum of 2 1/3 – 7 years.  Bergstein was also indicted on charges of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Third Degree, Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, Petit Larceny, Practicing or Appearing as Attorney-At-Law Without Being Admitted and Registered, and None But Attorneys to Practice in the State.  The case is being prosecuted by Unit Chief Eileen Ayvazian of the Rackets Division.                  Shelley Miller, 44, was an attorney who stole over $600,000 from her client Fatema El-Bilal.    Ms. Miller and her employee Satwan Mohammed persuaded Ms. El-Bilal to transfer her savings to Ms. Miller’s clients’ account.  From there, Ms. Miller told Ms. El-Bilal that she would use this money to buy Ms. El-Bilal a house for her and her five children, run a business for Ms. El-Bilal and provide her with $3,000 every month for expenses.  Instead, Ms. Miller transferred the money into an account which only Ms. Miller and Mr. Mohammed had access to.  Miller and Mohammed paid themselves in checks, nearly $200,000 of the client’s money.  They also used Ms. El-Bilal’s money to buy an apartment building located at 298 Atlantic Avenue, which they put in Mr. Mohammed’s name.  Ms. Miller and Mr. Mohammed later moved into an apartment in that building where they lived rent-free for several years.  As for the client, Ms. Miller and Mr. Mohammed refused her repeated requests for some of her own money and an apartment at 298 Atlantic Avenue.  On January 14th, 2005,  Ms. Miller and Mr. Mohammed were convicted after a jury trial, of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree.  Ms. Miller was disbarred for her conduct prior to the commencement of the trial.  Ms. Miller was sentenced on March 7th to 2 ½ - 7 ½ years in prison by Justice Gustin Reichbach.  Mr. Mohammed is scheduled to be sentenced on April 7th.  The case was investigated by Chiel Financial Investigator Roy Weinstein from the District Attorney’s Office.  The case was prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Michael Spanakos of the Rackets Division.              Richard Sbeglia, 52, was arrested for his conduct involving the alleged theft of client funds entrusted to him, primarily in real estate matters.  He represented one particular client in real estate transactions where he would take hundreds of thousands of dollars from him, and when the deals fell through, despite numerous requests, Sbeglia did not return the money to his client. Among his other crimes, Sbeglia forged documents to his name to take out second mortgages on various properties. He has admitted to taking over $500,000.  He is charged with top counts of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree and Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Second Degree, both Class C felonies, punishable by a maximum of 5 – 15 years.  He also faces charges of Forgery in the Second Degree, Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree and Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree.  The case is pending.    The next court date is March 18th.  This case is being prosecuted by Senior Investigative Attorney Valerie Forbes of the Rackets Division.                District Attorney Hynes said, “These attorneys were retained to assist, protect and advise their clients.  They betrayed their clients’ trust by stealing from them.  You have a responsibility as an attorney.  The arrests should ensure clients that they can retain an attorney and that these attorneys would perform the tasks that they were paid to do, without fear of deception.  If an attorney does decide to act irresponsibly and steal money from their clients, they will be brought to justice.”              These clients can apply for reimbursement from The Lawyers Fund for Client Protection.  This is a state-run program set up in Albany, which gives money back to victims who were swindled by attorneys if these attorneys can not pay the money back.  Every attorney registered with the Bar pays $350 every two years to the Office of Court Administration.  Part of that money goes into the fund.  Clients who were victimized can make a claim up to $300,000.  District Attorney Hynes is a member of the Board.  Contact:   Sandy Silverstein                   718-250-2300 008 KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES TAKEDOWN OF SEVEN SCAMMERS WHO FRAUDULENTLY COLLECTED WORKERS’ COMPENSATION  SUSPECTS REPORTED INJURIES AT WORK BUT TOOK ON OTHER JOBS OR PERFORMED EXTENSIVE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY  SUSPECTS CAUGHT ON VIDEOTAPE SURVEILLANCE!!!  JOINT INVESTIGATION CONDUCTED BY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, NYS WORKERS’ COMP BOARD, NYC TRANSIT AUTHORITY, NYS INSURANCE DEPARTMENT, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND  U.S. POSTAL INSPECTION SERVICES              Brooklyn, March 10, 2005 --  Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced the takedown of seven suspects who collected benefits from Workers’ Compensation for injuries suffered on the job, while taking on other jobs or in one case, performing extensive physical activity on house repairs.  They defrauded the system by receiving these benefits which included intermittent payments to settle their claims for lost wages.  Six of the seven defendants were arrested and there is an arrest warrant for the last defendant.  They all face top charges of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree and Insurance Fraud in the Third Degree, both Class D felonies, punishable by a maximum of 2 1/3 – 7 years.  Other charges include Falsification of Business Records in the First Degree and Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree.    A condition of the suspects receiving benefits was that the defendants were, and remained, unable to work. In order to continue to collect benefits, the targets were required to file documentation attesting to the fact that they remained injured and unable to work.  They falsely attested that they remained unemployed.               Investigations which included videotape surveillance was initiated by several agencies including the Kings County District Attorney’s Office, NYS Workers’ Compensation Board, NYC Transit Authority, NYS Insurance Department, the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Postal Inspection Services.              One of the defendants, Cynthia Fields, was a bus driver who allegedly sustained an injury when a bus that she was driving hit a pothole.  She filed documentation with the New York City Transit Authority claiming that she was unable to work because of her injury, yet at the same time she was actually employed by Verizon as a customers service representative.  Her duties with Verizon include wearing telephone headsets for extended periods of time, but in documentation submitted to the Transit Authority she claims to have been unable to sit or stand for more than twenty minutes at a time.              Ralph Guido was also employed by the NYC Transit Authority as a bus driver.  He claimed to have suffered an injury when he slipped on ice while at work in 1988.  He had not been back to work since and continued to collect benefits.  However even when collecting benefits, he was working as a car dealer.              Richard Salo was a detective assigned to the Transit Authority, who claims to have suffered an injury when arresting a suspect in 1974.  In March of 2001, Salo incorporated the Salo Mortgage Company in Florida, and investigators conducting surveillance of the office observed the defendant working there.  But in documentation submitted in support of his receiving continued benefits, the defendant continuously maintained that his injury prevented him from working.  He is the one defendant who has not yet been arrested.  A warrant was issued for his arrest.         Edgar Hernandez claims to have suffered an injury while working for the New York City Housing Authority in 1997.  He received Workers’ Compensation for this alleged injury.  However, investigation reveals that since 2000, the defendant had worked as a bus/truck driver for several companies.  In fact in August of 2000, investigators observed the defendant driving a tractor trailer truck.                        David Sorkin is an electrician who claimed to have sustained an on the-job injury, resulting in a Workers’ Compensation award. But shortly after being classified as disabled, he was video-taped teaching student drivers.              George Radu was working as a building superintendent while at the same time collecting Workers’ Compensation benefits for an injury purportedly sustained at a previous job.              Eugene Ayala claims to have suffered an injury while working for the United States Postal Service as a letter carrier in June, 2004.  He received Workers’ Compensation for this alleged injury.    However, the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Office of Inspector               Over $100,000 was stolen from Workers’ Compensation.  District Attorney Hynes said, “These suspects abused the system.  Workers Compensation protects honest workers who are injured on the job by providing reimbursement for their medical expenses.  This fraud takes money away from those who really need it.  It also results in higher premiums for companies, which is passed onto the consumers.  We have to bring these people to justice who try to take advantage of the system for their own selfish reasons.”              "Workers' compensation fraud creates a drain on our economy, negatively impacts job growth and adds to the overall cost of doing business in New York State," New York State Workers' Compensation Fraud Inspector General John H. Burgher said. "When unscrupulous individuals commit workers' compensation fraud they demonstrate a reckless disregard for the law and for friends and neighbors who pay higher prices for goods and services when insurance premiums are raised.  These arrests should send a strong message to would-be criminals to think twice before selfishly committing workers' compensation fraud."  “MTA New York City Transit has a dedicated Special Investigations Unit to pursue all suspect claims and bring the evidence to the district attorneys.  We are gratified that District Attorney Hynes has pursued an aggressive stance against those who are committing these frauds.  Workers' compensation benefits cost NYCT about $51 million last year.  Industry experts tell us that between 10% and 25% of claims are fraudulent.  This means that somewhere between $5 and $13 million meant for public transit may be going to fraud each year.  Every case that brings fraudulent claimants to justice helps deter the next one,” said MTA New York City Transit President Lawrence G. Reuter.               Acting Superintendent of Insurance Howard Mills said, “These arrests prove that governmental agencies combat fraud most effectively when pooling our resources.  Governor Pataki joins me in congratulating all those involved in making these arrests.  Those who abuse this insurance program created to compensate honest individuals who are legitimately injured on the job must be held accountable.”                  Gordon S. Heddell, Inspector General, U.S. Department of Labor said, "Worker compensation programs exist to assist those legitimately injured on the job.  Any level of fraud against these programs constitutes a breach of the public trust.  My office is committed to working with other law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to detect and deter worker compensation fraud."              Postal Inspector-in-Charge Robin Dalgleish stated, “Millions of dollars are lost every year in the private and public sectors from dishonest individuals filing false workers’ compensation claims.  I join with all of law enforcement today to tell those who abuse these programs, that we will use all of our resources to identify you, arrest you, remove you from these programs, and end your employment.”              The case is being prosecuted by Executive Assistant District Attorney Anne Seely of the Rackets Division and Joseph DiBenedetto, Counsel to the Rackets Division.  Michael Vecchione is Chief of the Rackets Division.  Contact:   Sandy Silverstein                   718-250-2300 009 KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES AND HUMAN RESOURCES ADMINISTRATION COMMISSIONER VERNA EGGLESTON ANNOUNCE ARREST OF WELFARE SCAMMER WHO STOLE VICTIM’S IDENTITY  Brooklyn, March 17, 2005 – Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes and Human Resources Administration Commissioner Verna Eggleston today announced the arrest and 22 count felony indictment of Gloria Suarez, 28, a school crossing guard, of 1595 Leland Avenue in the Bronx, for scamming HRA out of childcare checks.  The indictment charges that between April 2002 and August 2004, Ms. Suarez received $28,250 in the form of 14 childcare checks payable to a fictitious child care provider.  Ms. Suarez provided HRA with three forged childcare applications, timesheets, and the Social Security numbers belonging to an actual Pennsylvania resident.   A joint investigation by the Kings County District Attorney’s Office and the New York City Human Resources Administration’s Bureau of Fraud Investigation conducted since last summer resulted in the indictment and subsequent prosecution of Ms. Suarez by the Kings County District Attorney’s Office’s Public Assistance Crime Unit.  The Investigation began with a complaint to the Bureau of Fraud Investigation by a Pennsylvania resident who alleged that she was the victim of identity thefts.  Based upon this information, this childcare scam, which dated back to the April 2002 was uncovered.              District Attorney Hynes said, “This case involves both welfare fraud and identity theft.  Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in our nation today.  Being a victim of identity theft can cause you to lose out on a loan or employment opportunity and it can even get you arrested for crimes that you did not commit.  The suspect in this case showed disregard for others because she could have ruined the victim’s life and she stole the taxpayers’ money.  These crimes are taken very seriously.  As a result, I can assure you that Ms. Suarez will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.  I would also like to thank the Human Resources Administration for their cooperation in this investigation.”              Human Resources Commissioner Eggleston said, “This investigation is an example of HRA’s continuing commitment to vigorously pursue fraud and to ensure program integrity.  I thank DA Hynes and his staff for their excellent work in following up on the information we uncovered and in prosecuting this individual.”              Suarez is charged with 14 counts of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the First Degree, a Class C felony.  If convicted, she can face a maximum 15 in prison.  She is also charged with three counts of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree, three counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, and one count each of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree and Welfare Fraud in the Third Degree.    The case is being prosecuted by the Kings County District Attorney’s Office Public Assistance Crimes Unit Bureau Chief Lauren Mack and Senior Investigative Attorney Frank Dudis.  Contact:   Sandy Silverstein                   718-250-2300 010 KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES INDICTMENTS OF FOUR SUSPECTS IN LONG TERM GUN RUNNING OPERATION SUSPECTS BOUGHT GUNS IN VIRGINIA AND SOLD THEM ON STREETS IN NEW YORK              Brooklyn, March 30, 2005 – Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced the indictments of four suspects who ran a gun running operation where they bought guns in Virginia and brought them back to New York to sell them on the streets.  The fourth suspect indicted is still at large.  The joint investigation between the District Attorney’s Office’s Gangs Bureau and the NYPD’s Firearms Investigation Unit dubbed “Operation Pacific” was initiated in November, 2004 when information was gathered which alerted law enforcement officials to the gun running operation.  As part of the investigation, several firearm purchases were made from the suspects.              Nathaniel Scriven, 25, was arrested on March 26th and indicted on charges of Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the Third Degree, Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree and Conspiracy in the Fifth Degree.  Criminal Sale of a Firearm 3 is the top charge, a D felony, punishable by a maximum of 2 1/3 – 7 years.  Debra Davis, 40 and Deion Greene, 38 were both also arrested on March 26th during a buy in which 10 guns were purchased for $9,000.  The fact that the purchase involved more than nine guns elevates the top charge on the indictment to Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the Second Degree, a Class C violent felony.  Davis and Greene face a maximum of 15 years in prison.  Donte Collins, 21, has fled to Virginia and and was apprehended on March 30th.  He is also charged with Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the Third Degree, Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree and Conspiracy in the Fifth Degree.                In total, 17 buys were made involving 52 guns including rifles, semi-automatic assault rifles, semi-automatic pistols, revolvers, and sawed-off shotguns.  The weapons were seized by police.  All of the purchases (except one) were made in or around 1694 Pacific Street, which is the address of Nathaniel Scriven.  One purchase was made in Queens, but the phone calls made to set up the deal were made in Brooklyn.  The 52 guns were purchased in the last four months for approximately $48,400.  It is believed that the suspects’ operation may have been going on for about a year, earning them approximately $200,000.                District Attorney Charles J. Hynes said, “I would like to commend the New York Police Department for their role in the investigation of this case.  We would not have been able to prosecute this case without their cooperation.  As law enforcement officials, we are trying to get guns out of our city to make us safer.  Obviously, when more guns enter our city, it also consequently leads to more crimes including robberies, rapes, and murders.  A key goal of ours in reducing crime is to also reduce the amount of weapons on the street.  It was easy for these suspects to purchase the guns in Virginia and resell them here.”              Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said, “A gun supermarket that was feeding crime across the city was put out of business. This is among the most important and dangerous work we do. Everyone involved did an outstanding job.”              The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Bureau Chief Edward Carroll of the Kings County District Attorney’s Office’s Gang Bureau.  Deanna Rodriguez is Chief of the Gang Bureau.  Michael Vecchione is Chief of the Rackets Division.   Contact:   Sandy Silverstein                   718-250-2300 011 OPERATION BROOKLYN TAX DODGERS:  KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES INDICTMENTS IN MAJOR TAX RIP-OFFS  TAKEDOWN OF A FAMILY OF TAX CHEATS$350,000 SEIZED ON DISPLAY  SIX BROOKLYN RESTAURANTS ALSO RAIDED FOR TAX FRAUD              Brooklyn, April 13, 2005 – Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced the takedown of four members of an extended family that bilked the city and state of New York out of millions of dollars in taxes over the past several years.  The Kings County District Attorney’s Office worked closely with the New York City Department of Finance and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance in this investigation.  The investigation into the finances of several businesses owned by the Shamashes, of Great Neck, Long Island, is ongoing and the extent of the scam remains unclear, but when the final tallies are in, the tax fraud will likely be millions of dollars. The Shamashes, while living a lavish lifestyle, typically showed annual net incomes of only $10,000 to $20,000.  Members of the Shamash clan own several properties, including three buildings in Downtown Brooklyn where they operate lucrative clothing stores, and a $2 million estate in Great Neck, Long Island owned by Saied Shamash. There, officers found $1,000 in cash, two personal computers, and personal financial statements, including stock portfolio records and other documents totaling $1 million.  Dr. Nazita Amanpour-Shamash, DDS, operated an orthodontist practice from the  $1.5 million Great Neck, Long Island home she shared with her husband, Davoud. The practice grossed earnings of several hundred thousand dollars annually, yet she claimed nearly no net income. Officers recovered $252,000 cash in a safe deposit box leased by Dr. and Mr. Shamash in Great Neck.  Inside a strongbox in a refrigerator in Poison, a two-story clothing store at 293 Livingston Street, Brooklyn owned by Soleyman and Saied Shamash, investigators found $90,000 in cash. Such bundles of cash are usually indicative of tax fraud.  The Shamashes also own two real-estate companies, Rachel Realty, Inc. and Faraj Realty Corp., headquartered at 83-59 Abingdon Road, Apt. 3, Kew Gardens, Queens, where brother Soleyman lived. There, investigators found financial records all three Shamash brothers – Soleyman, Saied, and Davoud – stock portfolios, and a computer.  There is also another Brooklyn clothing store, Shade, Inc., at 275 Livingston St., where investigators recovered business records, receipts, and $6,000 cash.  Agents also raided six Brooklyn restaurants suspected of cheating city and state coffers out of millions in tax dollars over the past 10 years.  A preliminary review of the financial records at Jade Plaza  Seafood Restaurant – one of Brooklyn’s biggest and most popular Chinese restaurants, located at 6022 8th Ave. in Bay Ridge – showed that during the last 10 years at least $30 million in gross revenue went unreported. That would mean that more than $10 million in taxes have been evaded at this restaurant alone.  “Tax evasion is not a victimless crime,” said District Attorney Hynes. “It is tantamount to stealing not just from state and city governments, but from people served by these governments. It deprives citizens – often the most vulnerable – of needed services and increases the tax that must be paid by others, including the middle class and working poor.”  "The Finance Department played a strong role in developing these tax cases to send a message that it doesn't pay to cheat New Yorkers," Finance Commissioner Martha E. Stark said. "Tax evasion deprives New Yorkers of money for better schools, safer streets and other essential services, so we will continue to work closely with Joe Hynes and the other district attorneys to make sure individuals and businesses pay their fair share."  Last year’s campaign against restaurants that cheat on their taxes was so successful we recovered more than $9 million so far, in back payments, penalties and interest. And those investigations recently netted three more indictments.  In some instances the restaurants charged the 8.625% sales tax to customers and then pocketed the money – stealing from their customers and the government – and in other instances offered to knock sales tax off the cost of large parties and banquets, for customers who paid in cash.  Last year’s investigations had such and impact that undercover agents who asked for sweetheart, tax-free cash deals were often turned down by restaurateurs who referred to the 2004 busts. The restaurant owners asked officers, “Didn’t you hear about last year? We have to collect taxes now.”  Nevertheless, there were still some businesses willing to break the law to make a few extra bucks. Warrants were served on Jade Plaza and five other restaurants as well: Bukhara Restaurant and Catering, located at 788 Coney Island Avenue in Flatbush; Genaro’s Restaurant and Catering located at 6602 13th Ave. in Bay Ridge; Goodfellas Restaurant located on 9606 3rd Avenue, Bay Ridge; and Il Fornito, at 2902 Emmons Ave. and Sofia’s, at 3202 Emmons Ave., both in Sheepshead Bay.  After warrants are served, the investigations that follow are very time consuming. Most businesses have made deals to plead guilty to crimes and pay back taxes, coupled with fines and interest. Some refused, and two companies were arraigned yesterday.  The company that owns the Atlantic Grill, at 198 Neptune Ave., Atlantic Grill, Inc., was arraigned yesterday on six counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree and numerous tax law violations. Galina Broytman, a 58-year-old who owns 35 percent of the company and whose name was on the tax returns, was also arraigned yesterday on five counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, five counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, and numerous tax law violations.  In the last five years Atlantic Grill, Inc. underreported its income by as much $2.3 million, or 85 percent. In some fiscal quarters, the company did not report any income at all. The New York State Department of Finance estimates that the company owes a whopping $1.8 million in back sales and corporate taxes and interest and penalties.  Dynasty Star Restaurant Corporation and two men listed on tax returns as presidents were also arraigned yesterday. Erfim Milrud, 45, the owner of the restaurant at 309 Brighton Beach Ave., and Yuri Merlinsky, 46.  Records recovered from the restaurant showed that between September 2002 and May 2003 the restaurant grossed more than $344,00. Yet sales and corporate tax returns for that period – signed by Milrud or Merlinsky – reported a gross of less than $27,000. Extrapolating backward, auditors form the New York City Department of Finance estimate that from February 1999 to now, the restaurant owes $325,000 in back sales and corporate taxes, including interest and penalties.   Milrud was charged with Four Counts of First-Degree Falsifying Business Records, Four Counts of First-Degree Offering a False Instrument for Filing, and numerous tax-code violations. Merlinsky was charged with One Count of First-Degree Falsifying Business Records and One Count of First-Degree Offering a False Instrument for Filing. He was also charged with tax-code violations related to filing false tax returns.   Milrud, Merlinsky, Broytman each face maximum prison terms of up to four years per charge and fines of double the amounts they profited by their crimes. The companies also face substantial fines.  Assistant District Attorneys Joseph McCarthy, Greg Mitchel, Karen Turner, Jordan Rossman, Robert Renzulli, and Francis Urzi of the Rackets Division’s Money Laundering and Revenue Crimes Bureau have been working on the cases, with Anne Seely and Joseph DiBenedetto of the Rackets Bureau.  Special Investigations Division Chief Investigator Joe Ponzi, Case Supervisors George Terra and Al Lombardo; and Detective Investigators Phillip Betso and Radmila Aliyev also worked on the case.  First Deputy District Attorney Michael Vecchione is Chief of the Rackets Bureau, which oversaw the investigations.  Contact:  Jonah Bruno                 718-250-2300 012 KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES INDICTMENT OF BROOKLYN SUPREME COURT JUSTICE MICHAEL GARSON  CHARGED WITH STEALING MORE THAN $160,000 FROM ELDERLY AUNT                          Brooklyn, May 12, 2005 – Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced that Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Michael Garson has been charged in a four-count indictment of looting more than $160,000 from his elderly aunt, Sarah Gershenoff’s life savings.  Garson is charged with Second-Degree Grand Larceny, First-Degree Offering a False Instrument for Filing, and two counts of Second-Degree Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument. If convicted he faces up to 15 years in prison.  The information leading to the investigation and indictment of Michael Garson was obtained in the investigation of his cousin, ex-Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Gerald Garson, who is currently awaiting trial on charges he accepted bribes.  The indictment alleges that in 1997 Michael, Gerald, and Robin Garson – Gerald’s wife, who later became a Civil Court Judge in Brooklyn – took control of Gershenoff’s assets, as the result of obtaining power of attorney. Michael was primarily responsible for her finances and Robin took care of her medical needs. By December 2000, Gershenoff began to suspect that Michael had stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars from her savings.  Gershenoff, now 94, met with a lawyer and revoked the power of attorney she had given to the Garsons.  Subsequently, the Garsons commenced judicial proceedings to have Gershenoff declared mentally incompetent to have made that decision.  The Manhattan Supreme Court Justice hearing that case appointed an independent evaluator to prepare a report on Gershenoff’s competency and needs. The investigator, while collecting information for the report, obtained, from Michael Garson, a document granting him power of attorney over Gershenoff’s assets. However, the indictment charges that the document was forged, and that is the basis for the charges of First-Degree Offering a False Instrument for Filing and Possession of a Forged Instrument.  Toward the end of 2003, Garson was ordered to account for the money he claimed to have spent on Gershenoff’s needs or to pay it back. Garson claimed that he took the money to reimburse himself for regular payments he gave her, including slipping $1,000 into her purse each week. He said he gave her enough money to spend $70 per day on food and $5,000 per year for clothes. However, Garson had no receipts to back up his claims, and the judge eventually ordered him to repay $163,000 to his aunt.  Garson lost an appeal of that decision last month.  The case is being investigated by Assistant District Attorneys Gavin Miles, Joseph A. DiBenedetto, and Valerie Forbes and Financial Investigator Neil Gillon, all of the Rackets Bureau. First Deputy District Attorney Michael Vecchione heads up the Rackets Division and supervised the investigation.  Contact:  Jonah Bruno                 718-250-2300 013 KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES HONORED RECIPIENTS OF HIS 15TH ANNUAL LAW ENFORCEMENT APPRECIATION AWARDS  14 OUTSTANDING OFFICERS FROM THE NYPD, NYFD, DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, MTA BRIDGES AND TUNNELS, SERGEANTS BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION, AND KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE RECOGNIZED FOR THEIR ACTIONS INCLUDING DODGING BULLETS, APPREHENDING MURDERERS, UNCOVERING FRAUD AND SAVING LIVES IN BURNING INFERNOS              Brooklyn, May 18, 2005 – Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced the recipients of his 15 annual Law Enforcement Appreciation Awards.  He honored 14 outstanding officers from the NYPD, NYFD, Dept. of Corrections, the District Attorney’s Office, MTA Bridges and Tunnels and the Sergeants Benevolent Association for their efforts in making Brooklyn a safer place.  They were honored at a special breakfast ceremony on May 18th at 8:30 AM in the Brooklyn Marriott Hotel located at 333 Adams Street.  The event was emceed by Juliet Papa from 1010 WINS Radio.              This year’s recipients had many exciting stories to tell including dodging bullets, uncovering fraud, apprehending murderers and racing into burning building to save lives.  Many of these officers have a long resume of outstanding achievements in their careers.  Many of them devote a lot of time to helping their communities through volunteer work.              District Attorney Hynes says, “This year, we found 14 outstanding officers who were nominated for their achievements.  We had a long list of nominees who have impressive credentials.  All of them play a large role in keeping Brooklyn safe.  But, the achievements of these 14 honorees stand out.  As a District Attorney, my office relies on these officers to apprehend criminals so that we can prosecute and incarcerate them, getting them off the streets.  These officers risk their lives to make the rest of us feel safe.  They are courageous, hard-working, admirable individuals who take pride in their jobs, and they represent the kind of role models that we can look up to.”              This years award recipients included:  Bridges and Tunnels Officer Charles Wilson – Officer Wilson does an excellent job working at an MTA Bridges & Tunnels security checkpoint in Brooklyn.  On September 8, 2004, he was responsible for a major arrest.  Assigned to the Brooklyn Plaza truck checkpoint at the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, Officer Wilson’s keen observation spotted a truck’s cargo covered with a blanket during a routine stop prior to entering the tunnel.  Officer Wilson’s suspicion led him to question the driver.  He asked him to uncover the cargo, which consisted of two 35 gallon containers wrapped in clear plastic.  Officer Wilson was persistent in his interrogation.  He was told by the driver that the cargo contained his tools.  With the driver’s permission, Officer Wilson then proceeded to inspect the containers himself, discovering approximately 50 pounds of marijuana.  The truck driver was then arrested.  Officer Wilson’s initiative, instincts and keen attention to detail were significant in this arrest.    Fire Marshal Anthony Falconite – Fire Marshal Falconite is assigned to the Bureau of Fire Investigations Citywide Auto/Fraud Squad.  During the year of 2004, Fire Marshal Falconite’s investigations led to the arrests of 23 suspects, 12 in Brooklyn, for Arson and Insurance Fraud, and since 2002, he has affected over 50 felony arrests.  He is an eight year veteran with the NYFD.  Prior to that, he worked for six years with the NYPD.  During one particular auto arson investigation within the confines of the 60th Precinct, Fire Marshal Falconite was able to identify an individual who was attempting to defraud his insurance company.  The suspect had his vehicle burned and then falsely reported it stolen to collect the insurance money.  During the investigation, Fire Marshal Falconite gained the suspect’s trust and got him to cooperate by agreeing to introduce him to the alleged “torch”.  He had the suspect agree to have another vehicle burned for profit, and consequently arrested the “torch for hire,” who turned out to be the suspect’s auto mechanic.  Fire Marshal Falconite is thorough, hard working, and creative in his investigations.    Correction Officer Stephanie Smagler – City Correction Officer Stephanie Smagler has been working in corrections for 16 years.  She has worked in Rikers Island jails and now transports detainees from Rikers to courthouses around the city.  On March 16, 2005, she displayed the characteristics that embody what an ideal law enforcement officer should possess.  At 3:20 PM, driving in her vehicle on her way home, she observed a hit and run in front of her.  An 11 year old boy ran across the street to get to his home when a livery cab struck him with a loud bang, knocking him down and leaving him stunned and lying on the ground in the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue.  The driver did not attempt to stop once he hit the boy.  Officer Smagler witnessed the incident, she sped up, passed the car, swooped in front of him and blocked his car in.  There was another car behind the livery cab, so he was boxed in.  Then, Officer Smagler got out of her vehicle and confronted the driver.  She identified herself as a peace officer and told him to turn off his car and step out.  He complied, and a police officer nearby arrested the driver.  Officer Smagler made sure that the boy was okay.  An ambulance then arrived, transporting the boy to a local hospital.  He was treated and now he is doing well.  Officer Smagler was hailed as the Daily News Hero of the Month.  But, Officer Smagler was modest, saying that she was doing what anyone else would have done .  She really is a hero. She showed dedication to her duty, courage and quick thinking.    Police Officer Jeanette Morales – Officer Morales, who was born and raised in Brooklyn, has been a police officer since 1988.  She has done an excellent job combating crime and making arrests, and has even received numerous medals in the process in recognition of her work.  But, she wanted to get more involved with the community, so she got a position working with the 79th Pct. Community Affairs Unit in 1993.  One of her first accomplishments on the job was taking down a crack house on Decatur Street.  She also worked closely with parents in the community who were afraid that their children would get in trouble, being on the streets with nothing to do.  So, Officer Morales took an active role in working with kids, taking them on trips.  One of the trips was to the Rikers Island Correctional Facility where they participated in the RAP (Reducing Adolescent Problems) and intervention program for problem youths.  Officer Morales also developed and assisted in the Brooklyn North P.A.L. Girls Basketball League.  One of these girls went on to become a police officer due to Officer Morales’ influence.  In July 2001, she was transferred to Brooklyn North Community Affairs where she now assists the community affairs officers for 10 precincts.  She takes on many responsibilities in her current position.  She is the Civilian Police Academy Liaison, Graffiti and Counter-terrorism Liaison, Sexual Offender Monitoring Unit Liaison, and the Domestic Violence Liaison.  She has been instrumental in helping domestic violence victims become survivors.  Officer Morales is a dedicated officer who is a tremendous asset to the communities; someone who is always willing to help others.  Police Officers Giovanni Talavera and Christopher Oronges – On January 24, 2004, these two officers from the 66th Precinct’s Anti-Crime Unit were investigating a radio call of a suspicious male with a firearm on 72nd Street and 15th Avenue.  They were the first officers to get to the scene.  After canvassing the area, they located the suspect in question two blocks away on 17th Avenue.  The officers identified themselves as police officers and approached the man.  Then, from approximately 12 feet away, the suspect turned and fired several rounds towards the officers.  The officers then made a smart, highly professonal move.  Rather than endanger their own lives and the lives of others in the vicinity, they retreated and took cover, without returning gunfire.  They radioed for assistance, providing accurate, detailed information.  The officers remained calm under pressure.  When further assistance arrived, the suspect was arrested and charged with Attempted Murder.  These officers exhibited great courage and quick thinking, and probably saved several lives that day, including their own.  Sergeants Robert Henderson and Juan Diaz – Under the direct supervision of Sergeants Henderson and Diaz, the 67th Precinct anti-crime unit led all Precinct, Housing, and Transit based anti-crime teams in the city with an impressive 143 gun arrests and 97 firearms recovered in 2004, with no serious injuries being incurred by anyone.  These sergeants obviously excel at their jobs.  Their aggressive enforcement, safe tactics and strong leadership have made their unit the best.  They are responsible for keeping their neighborhood a safer and better place to live.    Police Officer Joseph Profeta – Officer Profeta works in the 62nd Precinct’s Anti-Crime unit.  He has been involved in many precinct operations, which resulted in quality arrests.  He has effected approximately 80 arrests consisting of robberies, burglaries, grand larceny and felony assaults.  Officer Profeta works closely with the Precinct Detective Squad and has helped close pending cases for them and other investigative units.  He is a highly motivated officer who demonstrates extraordinary professionalism.  He is a loyal officer who is committed to crime prevention.  Sergeant Christopher Devaney – Sgt. Devaney led the P.S.A. #2 Anti-Crime team in reducing violence by apprehending individuals who illegally carry firearms. Sergeant Devaney’s numbers are very impressive.  In 2004, 85 individuals were arrested for Criminal Possession of a Weapon, 50 firearms were seized from our streets and 116 felony arrests were made including including arrests for Grand Larceny, Drug Possession, Reckless Endangerment, and one for Attempted Murder.  Additionally, Sgt. Devaney personally apprehended three individuals wanted in three separate homicides.  Sgt. Devaney also played a major role in discovering information, which led to the arrests of five Latin King gang members who committed a high profile murder in Nassau County.  After a foot pursuit and apprehension of a drug suspect in the 73rd Precinct, Sgt. Devaney retrieved information, which identified the suspects who horrifically murdered a man walking back home to his family one evening.  Sgt. Devaney exhibits tremendous investigative and gun enforcement work.    Detective Adrienne Jones – Detective Jones works in the Kings County District Attorney’s Office Squad.  She started her career in 1983 when she joined the New York City Police Department.  She has worked with commands such as OCCB, Narcotics DEA Task Force and Auto Crime Division, Manhattan Special Victims Squad, Central Park Detective Squad, and the Manhattan Robbery Squad.  She was promoted to Detective in 1989 and joined the D.A. Squad in April, 2001.  She is an invaluable asset to the D.A. Squad, and is usually assigned some of the toughest cases.  In 2004, she was the lead detective on the Fraudulent Identity Task Force, which was a joint investigation by the District Attorney’s Office, New York State Police Department and the NYS Dept. of Motor Vehicles.  Their mission was to identify and arrest individuals attempting to use false identity documents to obtain drivers license or vehicle registration at DMV sites in Brooklyn.  Detective Jones has made many arrests for possessing false identity documents and for fraudulent auto sales involving mileage rollbacks.  Detective Jones has had a stellar career and she is an integral part of the success of the District Attorney’s Office.  Sergeant John Drouin – On July 1, 2004, Sgt. Drouin led several other police officers from the 83rd Precinct into a burning multi-story residential building to save six people, including four children, from a raging inferno.  They risked their lives and made numerous trips into the building to rescue residents and save lives.  Many of the residents were afraid to try to escape on their own.  Sgt. Drouin demonstrated bravery and exceptional leadership   Captain Frank Dwyer – Captain Frank Dwyer from Patrol Borough Brooklyn North is a 22 year veteran of the Police Department.  He was involved in the establishment of an innovative, experimental police model called SATCOM which aimed to serve the community better through greater coordination and community outreach.  Working with the Brooklyn DA’s Office, he helped establish a program in 1996 where police officers and district attorneys went into classrooms together to teach children.  In March of 2004, he was promoted to Captain and assigned as the Executive Officer of the 79th Precinct and subsequently PSA 3.  He worked with the explorer program to improve its clubhouse for children and to increase events for the children.  He ran the precinct’s open house event, a picnic feeding hundreds of community members and providing tours of the station house and talks to children.  In September 2004, Captain Dwyer was assigned to the Patrol Borough to serve as the School Safety Captain.  There, he coordinates the efforts of each precincts’ School Safety Sergeants, school and youth officers, and members of the School Safety Division to ensure the safety of school children throughout Brooklyn North.  He also meets with clergy, educators, parents and children.  Captain Dwyer is a good model for what these awards stand for.  He is a hard working police officer who gives back to the community and ensures the safety of our children.    Detective Investigator Amanda DeGeneste – Detective Investigator DeGeneste is a lifelong resident of Brooklyn.  She works in the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office where she started in 1992 as a paralegal.  She worked her way up to the title of Detective Investigator in 1999.  In November of 2002, D.I. DeGeneste received certification as a Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) officer, and immediately began teaching children.  The program instructs students on basic life management skills through the use of facilitative teaching designed to prevent youth crime, violence and gang involvement.  To date, Detective Investigator DeGeneste has taught this 13 week curriculum to over 500 middle school students in 6th through 8th grade.  Additionally, as the Kings County DA’s G.R.E.A.T. officer, she has conducted workshops on Gang Education for NYC’s Northern District School Safety Officers, parents, teachers and students, and has utilized conflict mediation skills to quell problems between students already involved with gangs.  DI DeGeneste’s day does not end at 5:00.  She often conducts conferences with parents and students that address issues outside the scope of the program and even conducts home visits when necessary. 014 KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES ARREST OF FIVE IN TAKEDOWN OF SUNSET PARK STRIP CLUB “SWEET CHERRY”  IMMEDIATE STEPS TAKEN TO SHUT DOWN CLUB  COMMUNITY OUTRAGED BY SEX INDUSTRY “BLIGHT”                          Brooklyn, May 3, 2005 – Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced the arrest of five people on charges of selling marijuana, cocaine, and ecstasy out of the Sweet Cherry Topless Entertainment Bar in Sunset Park. “The bar is the subject of disturbing allegations concerning drug sales, prostitution and underage strippers. It is a blight on the neighborhood,” said District Attorney Hynes.  Sweet Cherry, at 202 42nd Street, came to the attention of the DA’s Office in October 2004, when its owner, Gabriel Bertonazzi, 44, was arrested for allegedly raping a 16 year-old girl who applied for a job as a topless dancer. His rape case is pending in Brooklyn Supreme Court. He was subsequently also charged in the rape of a second dancer. It is alleged that he forced dancers to have sex with him, to be hired.  The DA’s Office has received numerous complaints from the community about illicit activity at Sweet Cherry and the sex industry along the western perimeter of Sunset Park, in general.  Following Bertonazzi’s arrest for Rape in the First Degree, Rape in the Third Degree, Assault in the Second Degree, and Endangering the Welfare of a Child, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office initiated a six-month investigation into the club’s operations. Detective Investigators purchased cocaine, marijuana, and ecstasy from five Sweet Cherry managers and dancers. Bertonazzi, out on bail for the rape case, allegedly sold cocaine and marijuana to undercover agents on two occasions.  Yesterday, Detective Investigators from the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office arrested all five suspects and executed a search warrant on Sweet Cherry, where they recovered financial records for the club. Prosecutors will inspect the books for evidence of tax evasion and money laundering from the drug sales.              The DA’s Office has also started Narcotics Eviction proceedings against the owners and contacted the Legal Bureau of the New York Police Department asking that they bring a Nuisance Abatement Proceeding, so that the bar can be padlocked until the eviction is complete.  “This should serve as a warning to anyone operating this type of establishment: if you seek to profit from drug sales and underage dancers, not only will you be prosecuted, but we will do everything in our power to shut you down,” said District Attorney Hynes.  The arrests were applauded by neighborhood officials.  “I am gravely concerned about all of the illicit activity that is part and parcel of the pornography industry on Second and Third Avenue in Sunset Park, as well as in all of the 38th City Council District and the city as a whole. As a member of the Women’s Issues Committee of the City Council, and a mother and grandmother, I will always be opposed to the pornography establishments in our neighborhoods, not only because they bring drugs and prostitution, but because they are essentially anti-woman and anti-family,” said City Councilmember Sara M. Gonzalez.  “With a new high school that we’ve been fighting for for 30 years in the final stages of development, we cannot tolerate these types of illicit businesses in the neighborhood,” said Joseph Longobardi, Chairman of Community Board 7. “I am totally against any of these clubs and I will stay firm with that.”  Investigators witnessed numerous drug sales, customers receiving oral sex from dancers, and bar tenders filling empty top-shelf liquor bottles with cheap, generic alcohol.  Two of the club’s managers, Michael Arab, 40, and Alfredo Levenson, 58, and one dancer, Jennifer “Diamond” Soto, 19, have been charged with selling cocaine and marijuana. Arab is also charged with selling ecstasy. Another dancer, Antoinette “Gabriella” Elias, 36, is also charged with selling cocaine.  Senior Assistant District Attorney Karen Turner, of the Money Laundering and Revenue Crimes Bureau, will be prosecuting the case.  The case was investigated by Detective Investigators Radmila Aliyev, Phillip Betso, Jerome Dancy, under the supervision of Alfonse Lombardo of the Special Investigations Unit. Chief Joseph Ponzi is the Chief Investigator of the  Kings County District Attorney’s Office.  First Deputy District Attorney Michael Vecchione is Chief of the Rackets Bureau, which oversaw the investigation.  Contact:  Jonah Bruno                 718-250-2300 015 KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES INDICTMENT OF NYPD LIEUTENANT CHARGED IN OFF-DUTY SHOOTING                          Brooklyn, May 27, 2005 – Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes announced today that Shamik Walton, a 41-year-old NYPD Lieutenant, has been indicted on charges of Manslaughter in the Second Degree.   The one-count indictment alleges that Walton shot Byron Hearst, 27, recklessly causing his death. The incident occurred on the afternoon of Sunday, May 8th, 2005 in front of 645 Macon St. in Bedford-Stuyvesant, a building Walton owns, and in which Hearst was a tenant. The shooting took place while Walton was off-duty, during a dispute between him and Hearst.  Walton, a 17-year veteran of NYPD, is assigned to the Internal Affairs Bureau.   Manslaughter in the Second Degree is a Class-C Felony, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Bail was set at $30,000 and an agreement that Walton would add to that the deed to a house he owns, in two weeks.  Walton was arraigned today, before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice John Walsh.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Ken Taub, Chief of the Homicide Bureau.   Contact:  Jonah Bruno                 718-250-2300 016 KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES INDICTMENT OF POLICE OFFICER  CHARGED WITH MURDERING HIS EX-GIRLFRIEND                          Brooklyn, June 14, 2005 – Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes announced today the indictment of Martin Peters, a sergeant with the New York City Police Department, on charges that he murdered Juliet Alexander, the mother of his two children, in January of 2001.  Alexander was a Detention Enforcement Officer with the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Peters, 41, had threatened Alexander on numerous occasions in the past causing her to end their relationship. She had a new boyfriend and a lawsuit seeking additional child support pending against Peters when she was killed.  The indictment alleges that on January 16, 2001, at approximately 9:00 AM, Nigel Calendar, a friend of Peters, went to Alexander’s apartment at 365 Pulaski Street, to drop off clothing belonging to Peters’ and Alexander’s children. Alexander and Peters were both there. Peters allegedly told Alexander he would discontinue making child-support payments and struck her. Prosecutors believe that when Alexander attempted to flee, Peters shot her in the head and then shot Calendar. He threatened to kill Calendar and his family if Calendar revealed Peters’ identity to the police. A couple of days later, Peters visited Calendar at Kings County Hospital and repeated the threat.   Peters was arraigned today on an indictment for Murder in the Second Degree, Assault in the First Degree and Intimidating a Witness in the Third Degree, Menacing in the Second Degree and three counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, after a joint investigation by the NYPD’s Cold Case Squad and the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Rackets Division. Peters also faces federal charges for immigration, bankruptcy fraud and defrauding the Department of Housing and Urban Development. He was arrested on those charges in April.  Assistant District Attorney Michael Spanakos is prosecuting the case. Michael Vecchione is Chief of the Rackets Division. Copies of the indictment are available upon request.  Contact:  Jonah Bruno                 718-250-2300 017 KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES ARREST OF GAY BASHER FOR ASSAULT IN BROWNSVILLE  STEVEN POMIE NABBED IN NEW JERSEY; DISTRICT ATTORNEY HYNES IS MOVING TO HAVE DEFENDANT EXTRADITED    Brooklyn, June 16, 2005 – Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced the arrest of Steven Pomie, 22, in the gay bashing attack on Dwan Prince, 26, in Brownsville last Wednesday.  Witnesses observed Pomie and two others allegedly kicking and punching Prince near his home, leaving him on the ground before fleeing.  Witnesses said Pomie yelled anti-gay slurs during the attack.  A witness contacted police from his cell phone.  Pomie was nabbed yesterday in Seaside Heights, N.J..  District Attorney Hynes moved immediately to have the suspect extradited to Brooklyn.                   Prince was taken to Brookdale Hospital in a coma.  He suffered blunt trauma injuries to the head.  He had surgery on June 9th.  The other suspects are still unapprehended.  Pomie is being charged with Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, Assault in the Second Degree as a Hate Crime, Assault in the Third Degree as a Hate Crime, Menacing in the Third Degree, Menacing in the Third Degree as a Hate Crime, and Harassment in the Second Degree.                District Attorney Hynes said, “This kind of crime cannot be tolerated.  The NYPD and my office moved quickly to assure that this suspects was brought to justice.  There is an ongoing investigation into the apprehension of the other suspects in this case.  I thank Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly for utilizing the full force of the Hate Crimes Unit to pursue this case.” Contact:   Sandy Silverstein                  718-250-2300 018 TWO GENOVESE CRIME FAMILY ASSOCIATES ARRESTED FOR 1994 GANGLAND EXECUTION            Brooklyn, June 16, 2005 – Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes announced today the indictment of two Brooklyn men for their role in the 1994 gangland style murder of Genovese crime family associate Sabato “Tino” Lombardi.  Officers from the New York City Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigations executed an arrest warrant on the defendants’ homes early this morning.  Reputed Genovese associates Mario Fortunato, 57, and Carmine “Carmine Pizza” Polito, 46, were both convicted of the murder in United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, in 2002. They were sentenced to life in prison without parole. The convictions were reversed in October 2004, by the Federal Court of Appeals of the Second Circuit. However, the reversal left open the possibility that they could be brought up on state charges.  In the early morning hours of November 30, 1994, Lombardi, 34, and his cousin, Michael Durso, also a reputed associate of the Genovese crime family, were shot in a social club, the San Guiseppe, at 420 Graham Ave., Williamsburg. At the time of the shooting, the two victims were playing “scala,” an Italian card game similar to gin rummy, with Fortunato and Polito.  Lombardi, who was shot several times, died at the scene. Durso, who was shot once in the back of the head and left for dead, survived and went on to become a high-profile witness in federal trials against organized crime leaders.  Polito and Fortunato are charged with Second-Degree Murder, which carries a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison.  The case is being prosecuted by Executive Assistant District Attorney Christopher P. Blank of and Bureau Chief John Holmes of the Rackets Division. Michael Vecchione is chief of the Racket’s Division.  Contact:          Jonah Bruno                         Kings County District Attorney                         718-250-2300                          Jim Margolin                         Federal Bureau of Investigation                         212-384-2720                          Paul J. Browne                         NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Public Information                         646-610-6700 019 KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES INDICTMENT OF BROWNSVILLE GAY BASHER                                  Brooklyn, June 28, 2005 – Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced the indictment of Stephen Pomie, in a gay-bashing incident that occurred earlier this month in Brownsville. Witnesses said they heard Pomie and two others shout anti-gay slurs as they beat Dwan Prince, 26, kicking Prince in the head as he lay in the street. Both Prince and Pomie, a reputed member of the Crips street gang, live in the neighborhood of the attack.  Officers from the NYPD’s Hate Crimes Unit tracked Pomie to Seaside Heights, N.J., where he was arrested and quickly extradited to Brooklyn. He was indicted last week on numerous felony charges.  “To attack someone because you disagree with their lifestyle is simply unconscionable,” said District Attorney Hynes. “We will use every effort to make sure that justice is done in this case. I thank the Police Commissioner and the NYPD Hate Crimes Unit for their work in apprehending Mr. Pomie.”  Capt. Michael Osgood and five other members of the Unit were present for the announcement.   Also joining District Attorney Hynes were Prince’s mother, Valerie Prinez; Clarence Patton, Executive Director of the New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project; Miriam Yeung, Director of Public Policy at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Community Center; and gay community activist and Democratic District Leader for the 52nd Assembly District Alan Fleishman.   Pomie is charged with one count of Assault in the First Degree, two counts of Assault in the First Degree as a Hate Crime, one count of Assault in the Second Degree, and one count of Assault in the Second Degree as a Hate Crime.   The attack occurred at 11:48 PM June 8, on E. 94th Street at Kings Highway. A witness called 911, and Prince was taken to Brookdale Hospital in a coma. There he was treated for blunt trauma injuries to the head, and he later received surgery. Two other suspects remain have not yet been arrested.              First-Degree Assault, a Class B felony carries a maximum sentence of eight-and-a-third to 25 years, and as a hate crime, the maximum is 12-and-a-half to 25. Second-Degree Assault, a Class D felony, has a maximum sentence of two-and-a-third to seven years, and as a hate crime the maximum is three-and-a-half to seven.      Assistant District Attorney Tom Ridges, of the Homicide Bureau, is prosecuting the case. Ken Taub is Chief of the Homicide Bureau 020 KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES MURDER INDICTMENT IN IPOD KILLING                                  Brooklyn, July 11, 2005 ­­– Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced the indictment of Darran Samuel, 16, in the killing of 15-year-old Christopher Rose over an IPod digital music player.  Rose was stabbed to death in a struggle over his friend’s IPod Saturday, July 2, on Avenue D in East Flatbush. He and several others were on their way to the Port Authority bus station in Manhattan, when they were approached by a group of youths demanding the IPod Rose’s friend was carrying. A fight broke out, and Rose was stabbed twice in the chest.  The indictment charges Samuel with Murder in the Second Degree, two counts of Robbery in the First Degree, one count of Robbery in the Second Degree, two counts of Attempted Robbery in the Second Degree, and one count each of Gang Assault in the First Degree and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Fourth Degree. If convicted he could face 25 years to life in prison.  Copies of the indictment will be available upon request.  The investigation is ongoing.   Kyle C. Reeves of the Homicide Bureau is prosecuting the case. Ken Taub is Chief of the Homicide Bureau.  Contact:  Jonah Bruno                 718-250-2300 021 KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES UPDATES OPERATIONS AGAINST BUSINESSES VIOLATING ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION LAWS  WHILE MANY BUSINESSES HAVE COMPLIED WITH LAWS, CHARGES CONTINUE TO BE FILED AGAINST OTHERS   CHARGES ANNOUNCED TODAY AGAINST THREE BUSINESSES FOR FAILING TO COMPLY WITH REPEATED REQUESTS TO CLEAN THEIR SITES              Brooklyn, July 29, 2005 – Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced the environmental-law compliance of many businesses that were illegally dumping in the waters of Newtown Creek and the Gowanus Canal, or failing to maintain their waterfront properties. Working with various environmental protection agencies, the District Attorney’s Office investigated the situations and warned businesses who were responsible that they could face prosecution if they did not rectify the problems.  Most of the businesses have already complied or agreed to fix the problem.  Those that did not comply are subject to hefty fines and jail sentences for the owners.   Three businesses have been charged in the pollution of the Gowanus Canal. GemTec, located at 42 Second Avenue, and its principal Jack Schwartz, are being charged with discharging industrial wastewater in to the Gowanus Canal without required permits. Bernard Dillenberger, who has property at 98 4th Street, is charged with Alteration of Waterfront Property Without a Permit. Liberty View Plaza, LLC, at 280 Richards Street, and its principal Joseph Hoffman, are charged with 101 counts each of Obstructing Waterfront Property and Failure to Maintain Privately Owned Waterfront Property.     Earlier this year, the District Attorney’s Office indicted Constantine Quadrozzi and his company Quality Concrete, Inc. for polluting the waters of Newtown Creek after repeated warnings to stop.  The case is ongoing.  However, since the January indictment, a system has been installed to efficiently prevent further illegal discharge into the Creek.    There has been a long-term investigation into water pollution since last summer when the District Attorney’s Office, Riverkeeper, and Dockmasters from the Department of Small Business Services went to Newtown Creek and the Gowanus Canal, and observed various causes of contaminations, such as crude pipes discharging chemicals, derelict vessels, and collapsing bulkheads in the waterways. The District Attorney then met with representatives from the Department of Conservation (DEC), Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and private environmental watchdog groups. DA Hynes asked these organizations to be on the lookout for environmental crimes. Business who cleaned up their sites avoided prosecution, but those that refused to comply faced charges.  Upon being given notice of the District Attorney’s Office’s involvement, eight property owners have corrected conditions at their sites. These included Vessel Nemo, American Wood & Veneers, C&M Management, Charles J. King, Marjam Supply, RCC York & Associates, Empire Transit Mix, Red Hook Crushers, Inc. and Anron Realty.  Other companies, 24 Oak LLC, Whole Foods, Private Trails, Inc. and C&A Properties, are in the process of rectifying their problems.            District Attorney Hynes said, “The companies that are responsible for the pollution have shown utter disregard for the environment.  They have been ruining our water supply.  This causes a lack of safe drinking water, which could lead to very serious consequences. With over 70 percent of the planet covered by water, people have long acted as if these very bodies of water could serve as a limitless dumping ground for wastes. Raw sewage, garbage, and oil spills have begun to overwhelm the diluting capabilities of the waterways, and most coastal waters are now polluted. There has been legislation passed to try to limit this problem such as the 1970 Clean Water Act.  But, even with these laws, it is the responsibility of all of us to do our part to maintain our clean water.”               “Companies that pollute are stealing precious resources from the public and gaining an unfair competitive advantage over responsible businesses," said Basil Seggos, Riverkeeper's Chief Investigator.  "By treating environmental crimes as real crimes with real victims, the District Attorney has powerfully demonstrated that illegal dumping in New York Harbor will no longer be tolerated.”            Lowe’s is one business located along the Gowanus Canal, which has cleaned up its site voluntarily.  Lowe’s District Manager Frank Romano said, “Lowe’s is pleased to be a part of the clean-up efforts and the long-term revitalization plans, and we encourage other businesses and residents to join us.  Mr. District Attorney, thank you for your efforts to preserve this valuable resource.  Together, we can make a difference.”             The Gowanus Canal Community Development Corporation (GCCDC), a neighborhood preservation non-profit organization dedicated to the revitalization of the Gowanus Canal area in South Brooklyn, will play a major role in the improvement of the Canal and the surrounding areas.             Michael Ingui, Chairman of the Board of Directors of GCCDC and member of Community Board 6 said, “This strong action by District Attorney Hynes is the first affirmative step in a long and difficult battle to sanction industrial and commercial polluters.  More important, his willingness to educate environmental abusers before sanctions is exactly the enforcement atmosphere necessary to clean the Gowanus Canal.”              Commissioner Emily Lloyd of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection said, "Congratulations to Mr. Hynes for using his good office to leverage cleaner waterways for the people of Brooklyn.  As a contained two-mile long basin the Canal suffers from poor water circulation, which leads to stagnation and the accumulation of sediments.  To help solve this problem the Department of Environmental Protection has invested nearly $5 million since 1999 to reactivate the flushing tunnel that had been out of service since the mid-60s.  That tunnel now brings around 200 million gallons of fresh water every day from Buttermilk Channel to the head of the Canal.  Since the tunnel was fixed, bacteria levels in some areas of the Canal have declined by more than half and levels of dissolved oxygen have more than doubled.  Additional progress in the control of floatable trash and combined sewer overflows will help the Gowanus to continue to improve."              The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Richard Farrell and John Holmes.  Michael Vecchione is Chief of the Rackets Division.   Contact:   Sandy Silverstein                   718-250-2300 022 KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES INDICTMENTS IN WHOLESALE EMBEZZLEMENT  DUO COOKED BOOKS IN SALAD COMPANY FOR $1 MILLION              Brooklyn, August 4, 2005 – Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced the indictment of two employees of Chloe Foods Corp., charged with embezzling $1,073,717.62 between April 1, 2002 and May 31, 2005.  Mitchell Rosenberg and Lenny Spada both worked at Chloe Foods – also known by its former name, Blue Ridge Farms – which sells deli salads to grocery stores and delicatessens, specializing in potato salad. Rosenberg was a collection manager working mostly with accounts receivable, while Spada was a sales manager who oversaw a number of drivers/salespeople. Neither defendant currently works for the company.  The indictment charges that the defendants offered small customers discounts of 10 to 15 percent if they paid cash, which Rosenberg and Spada pocketed, and Rosenberg doctored the books to make it look like Chloe Foods actually received the money. He would shuffle numbers to make it look like the big companies paid less and then use the surpluses he generated to cover the payments not coming in from the smaller companies. Rosenberg would create paper surpluses by recording credits in the larger companies’ accounts, so it appeared they received refunds for damaged merchandise, such as spoiled milk. These actions would make it look like Chloe Foods had received payments from all its clients, when in fact large sums of money were being embezzled.  Rosenberg, 51, of 2501 Emmons Ave., Brooklyn, and Spada, 49, of 2 Silver Pond Circle, Commack, are both charged with Petit Larceny and First-Degree Grand Larceny. They face a maximum of eight-and-a-third to 25 years in prison.  NYPD Detective Al Kalisky of the 75th Precinct investigated the case, and Assistant District Attorney Josh Hanshaft, of the Racket’s Bureau is prosecuting it. Michael Vecchione is Chief of the Rackets Division. Contact:   Jonah Bruno                  718-250-2300 023 KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES RECEIVES MINISTER OF JUSTICE AWARD FROM THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION  AWARD RECOGNIZES DISTRICT ATTORNEY HYNES’ DEDICATION TO SEEKING JUSTICE                  Brooklyn, August 4, 2005 -- Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes will be honored by the American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Section with the 2005 Minister of Justice Award.  The award recognizes District Attorney Hynes’ efforts in seeking justice.  Hynes will be honored at a Welcome Reception on August 5th from 6:00 to 7:30 PM at the John Marshall Law School in Chicago.                District Attorney Hynes was selected for the Minister of Justice Award whch is given to a prosecutor who exemplifies someone who protects the innocent and convicts the guilty; guards the rights of the accused and enforces the rights of the public; and demonstrates commitment to legal and ethical standards.  The ABA recognized District Attorney Hynes’ work in bringing criminals to justice, instituting successful, innovative programs and making Brooklyn a safer place.  The ABA also recognized District Attorney Hynes for his work as an innovator of such programs as his Domestic Violence program, DTAP (Drug Treatment Alternative to Prison) and Project Respect.  District Attorney Hynes said, “I am very honored to receive this prestigious award, especially having been selected from many other outstanding prosecutors throughout the nation.  This award is a reflection on the work of my entire office and the success that we have had in bringing criminals to justice and making Brooklyn safe.  It is nice to see that our work does not go unnoticed.”              The Criminal Justice Section has primary responsibility for the American Bar Association’s work on solutions to issues involving crime, criminal law, and the administration of criminal and juvenile justice.  It plays an active role in bringing the views of the ABA to the attention of federal and state courts, Congress, and other federal and state judicial, legislative and executive policy-making bodies.  The Section supports approximately 10,000 members.    Contact:   Sandy Silverstein                   718-250-2300 024 KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES INDICTMENT IN $100,000 MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY SCAM  VICTIM MET CON ARTIST THROUGH ONLINE DATING SERVICE  Special Internet Fraud Hotline Set Up                          Brooklyn, August 11, 2005 – Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced the indictment of Alan Sarner, who is charged with conning a widow out of $100,000, which she believed she was investing in a company on the verge of curing leukemia and other diseases of the blood.              “It’s simply unconscionable that this man would take advantage of a lonely woman who trusted him and looked to him for companionship,” said District Attorney Hynes. “I will do everything in my power to track down and prosecute those people who use computers and the Internet to commit fraud and Grand Larceny.”              Sarner, 65, met the victim – whose name is being withheld by the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office – through the online dating service JDate.com. Sarner told her his name was Jon “Jonny” Micheels, an investment banker and a 60-year-old widower with three grown children.              In his first email to the victim, April 2, 2003, he wrote, “I am a very simple man. I don’t like false or dishonest people.”              Though Sarner lives, with his wife, at 3310 Nostrand Ave., Apt 105, Brooklyn, he wrote the victim that he had been single for eight years, since his wife died, and that he had been in Spain on business for the previous two years. Knowing the woman was a professional photographer, Sarner wrote that he too was an artist.              On their first date, the two went to a well-known Manhattan restaurant. There the woman told Sarner that her husband had died of Leukemia. Sarner said she could make money and help others like her by investing in a company he called, alternatively, Ultraviolet Blood Irradiation Company and Innovative Medical Services, Inc. He said the company was about to announce that it had developed technology to cleanse diseases, including hepatitis, herpes, and leukemia, from blood. But neither the company nor the technology ever existed.              Soon after their first date, the indictment alleges, Sarner convinced her to give him two $5,000 checks. Because the victim believed his name was Jon Micheels, he told her to write the checks to his lawyer, Alan Sarner. Bank statements show that Sarner cashed the checks and deposited $9,500 into his bank account in Brooklyn.              Both went out again, and according to the indictment, Sarner convinced the woman that the more money she invested, the more people she could help and the more profit she could make, up to a $1 million. Shortly thereafter, she wrote out a check for $90,000, which Sarner deposited in his bank account.              Sarner provided the woman with a bogus investor memorandum and business plan for the Blood Irradiation Company, and stock purchase agreements. However, he never provided stock certificates.              “Our heart goes out to this woman, who like so many others, cares really deeply about finding a cure for leukemia and other cancer, and how unforgivable – that someone would take advantage of her desire to help others. We urge everyone to double-check their charitable gifts, especially if it sounds too good to be true, but don’t give up – there are literally thousands of excellent cancer research projects going on that need your help and will get us where we all want to be: a world without the devastation of cancer,” stated Sally Cooper, Brooklyn Regional Vice President, for the American Cancer Society.              Sarner is charged with Grand Larceny in the Second Degree and Two Counts of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree. He faces a maximum of five to 15 years in prison.              District Attorney Hynes has set up an Internet Crimes Hotline, (718)250-3390, for people who believe they have been the victims of computer scams. There is also an email address, cybercrime@brooklynda.org.              For more information about cancer research call the American Cancer Society at 1-800-ACS-2345 or visit www.cancer.org              Assistant District Attorney Nicholas J. Batsidis is prosecuting the case for the Rackets Bureau. Michael Vecchione is Chief of the Rackets Division.  Contact:   Jonah Bruno                  718-250-2300 025 KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES RECOUPS OVER $800,000 IN LOST PAY FOR 26 WORKERS WHO WERE CHEATED OUT OF THEIR PREVAILING WAGES  OVER $4 MILLION RECOVERED BY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE SINCE 1997 FOR VICTIMS WHO WERE CHEATED OUT OF THEIR RIGHTFUL WAGES  JOINT ANNOUNCEMENT MADE BY KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, NYC COMPTROLLER’S OFFICE, MTA INSPECTOR GENERAL AND TILE, MARBLE AND TERRAZZO LOCAL 7 UNION OF NY AND NJ              Brooklyn, August 16, 2005 – Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced the restitution of over $800,000 in lost wages for 26 laborers who were hired by subcontractor, Florence XVI Century Marble, Inc., to do tile and masonry work in subway stations for the MTA.  This money will be paid back to the workers who were paid much less than they were supposed to receive in prevailing wages.  The subcontractor also failed to pay supplemental benefits.  The company entered a guilty plea before Judge William Garnett in Kings County Criminal Court to the Class E felony charge of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree.  The corporation was sentenced to a Conditional Discharge.  As part of the plea agreement, Florence Inc. agreed not to bid on public work with the city or state for five years.  They also acknowledged submitting false payroll reports to the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA), cheating its workers of their prevailing wages and supplemental benefits on five jobs that they worked on.              From 1997 to date, the Kings County District Attorney’s Office, together with the NYC Comptroller's Office, has disposed of cases against 24 corporations with 14 felonies, 11 misdemeanors, one ACD, one dismissal (included restitution and 5 years's debarment from City/State bidding), with a total of $4,599,249 in restitution to the underpaid workers inclusive of a 10 percent civil penalty to the City.  Of those dispositions, 20 of these companies were debarred from City/State bidding for five years.             The New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) hired five contractors to do tile and masonry work in its subway stations.  These contractors then hired Florence XVI Century Marble, Inc. to employ laborers to do the actual tile setting.    According to a felony complaint, Florence XVI Century Marble, Inc., which is a subcontractor located at 120 Glen Head Road in Glen Head, NY, and its Chief Executive Maria Barretta, submitted certified payroll reports to the NYCTA, falsely reporting that the prevailing wages and supplemental benefits were paid.  However, they reported that they paid these workers much more than they actually did and the laborers were not paid any supplemental benefits at all.  On average, these workers were getting paid approximately $130 - $218 per day with no supplemental benefits.  The prevailing wage and supplemental benefit rate is over $52 per hour and over $69 per hour for overtime.              The MTA Inspector General’s Office discovered this deception when it conducted a financial investigation, which it brought to the attention of the Labor Law Department of the NYC Comptroller’s Office and the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office. This fraudulent activity occurred between 2001 – 2004.  Approximately 26 workers were victimized. These victims will receive restitution totaling over $800,000 in unpaid wages. The five prime contractors are responsible for the underpayments which the Comptroller’s Office will distribute to the victims since the subcontractor is out of business and can’t afford to pay the money back. This total includes a ten percent civil penalty to New York City and six percent interest on the money owed to the former employees.              The prime contractors who hired Florence XVI Century Marble, Inc. and the locations where work was done include:                Judlau Contracting Inc.                  42nd Street Station Rehabilitation CAB Associates                           Delancey St. Station and Essex St. Station                                                     Rehabilitation  Slattery, Skanska/Gottlieb             DeKalb Ave. Station Rehabilitation  Granite, Halmar/Schiavone            Stillwell Ave. Terminal Reconstruction  Innovax Pillar, Inc.                        179th Street Station Upgrade              District Attorney Hynes said, “I would like to commend the MTA Inspector General’s Office and the NYC Comptroller’s Office on their excellent work in uncovering the deception and bringing down this company.   This case demonstrates that some people or organizations will   do anything to make a larger profit, even if it means depriving their employees of their hard earned money.  We made sure that the subcontractor paid the consequences for its actions, and it should serve as an example to everyone not to take advantage of its workers.  This kind of illegal activity is especially prevalent among immigrants who do not know their rights and can easily be taken advantage of.”  "I'd like to thank District Attorney Hynes and his staff for their exemplary work in prosecuting this case. The diligent work put forth by both of our staffs has placed another mark in the win column for New York taxpayers, MTA ridership and the hardworking victims who were cheated out of what was rightfully theirs. As the MTA Inspector General, the ability to partner with local District Attorneys on criminal investigations serves as a one-two punch combination in fighting fraud and corruption both in and out of the MTA. For nearly five years my office has adopted the mantra of 'follow the money' and with the help of local district attorneys, millions of dollars have been recouped from unscrupulous venders. The collaboration of my office with local prosecutors has proven to be a very successful formula in the past and one I eagerly intend to repeat with D.A. Hynes in the future," said MTA Inspector General Matthew D. Sansverie.    New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. said, “Working together, my office and the Kings County District Attorney will be able to recoup money from Florence XVI  Century Marble in order to pay the appropriate wages owed to these workers. This order sends a clear message to contractors who might otherwise ignore prevailing wage laws: the City is determined to find you and make you pay employees the money they were rightly due. Together, we must aggressively enforce the laws to ensure that hardworking New Yorkers are paid fairly and properly for work they perform for the New York City Transit Authority and the City of New York.”                                      This case was prosecuted by Eileen Ayvazian, Unit Chief of the Rackets/Labor Crimes Division.  Michael Vecchione is Chief of the Rackets Division.  Contact:   Sandy Silverstein                   718-250-2300 026 KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES MURDER INDICTMENT OF UNLICENSED PLUMBER  UNLICENSED PLUMBER’S NEGLIGENCE IN ILLEGAL BASEMENT CONVERSION CAUSES EXPLOSION RESULTING IN TENANT’S DEATH  LANDLORD ALSO CHARGED IN THE ILLEGAL CONVERSION               Brooklyn, August 23, 2005 – Kings County District Attorney Charles J. today announced the indictment of Bernard Barham, 46, in the killing of 42-year-old Julius Drecketts.  Barham, a plumber, was hired by the owner of the building at 94 Harman Street in Bushwick, to convert a basement in that building into two new apartments, which is illegal.  Barham is charged with Criminally Negligent Homicide and Illegal Conversion.  He faces a maximum of 1 1/3 – 4 years in prison.  The landlord, Mordechai Landau, is charged with Illegal Conversion.  If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to a year in jail.  The Department of Investigation and the District Attorney’s Office announced the indictment of both defendants. They indicated that this building in Bushwick had two floors with two apartments on each floor, though it was zoned only for a total of two apartments.  Landau wanted to create two new illegal apartments in the basement. Barham was neither licensed nor insured.    When Barham went to work for Landau in the building on June 14, 2004, he had to move and cover up the pipes, and work on the gas lines. Barham claimed to have brought along another worker, who he identified only as “Sonny,” to help him. They turned off the gas in the building and got started with the plumbing. According to the indictment, at the end of the workday, Barham put the gas back on and smelled gas. He then tried to light the hot water heater, but the pilot light did not go on. He then left the building without turning off the gas or trying to rectify the problem. Sonny has never been identified.               The next morning when the tenant in the rear first floor apartment, Julius Drecketts, turned on the stove, there was a massive explosion. The blast blew out the entire back wall of the building and badly damaged Drecketts’ apartment and the other apartments located upstairs.   Drecketts suffered burns to 95% of his body. He was rushed to the Cornell Burn Unit in Manhattan where he died as a result of the burns on June 30th.               When fire marshals and police detectives went to the scene to investigate, they searched the basement and discovered a pipe “T” connection with an open end and nothing capping it.  Two outlets were covered by piping, but the third was completely uncovered, causing a major gas leak. When confronted with this information, Barham blamed the incident on his helper, Sonny.                 District Attorney Hynes said, “Let this prosecution send the message: as living space in Brooklyn is ever more at a premium, my Office will not tolerate dangerous and deadly practices by unscrupulous landlords looking to cut corners on safety in the name of greed.”              DOI Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn said, "The defendants' negligence and selfish desire to cut costs had tragic consequences. Both defendants deliberately failed to adhere to safety codes and regulations, which were put in place to help prevent disasters like the one that killed Julius Drecketts."               The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Bureau Chief Mike Spanakos of the Rackets Division.  Michael Vecchione is Chief of the Rackets Division. Detective Michael Stumpf of NYPD and Fire Marshals Ernest Medaglia and Lawrence Pliska of FDNY investigated this case.  Contact:  Sandy Silverstein                  718-250-2300 027 KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES INDICTMENT OF MUTIMILLION DOLLAR MORTGAGE SCAMMERS  USED FALSE APPRAISALS TO BOOST ABANDONED BUILDINGS’VALUES AND THEN SOLD THEM REPEATEDLY  MASTERMIND STILL AT LARGE              Brooklyn, August 30, 2005 – Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced the indictment of Owen Larman for orchestrating 15 fraudulent mortgage transactions.  Six co-defendants were indicted as well.  Larman and his accomplices  were indicted for stealing approximately $6.22 million from seven different banks and mortgage companies by falsifying documents to make it seem like the properties that he was selling were valued at higher prices than they were actually worth.  Larman is charged with Grand Larceny in the First and Second Degrees and Forgery.  He faces a maximum of 25 years in prison.               The investigation revealed that Larman made 33 separate fraudulent mortgage transactions dating back six years, stealing approximately $12 million.               The banking industry loses hundreds of millions of dollars each year due to mortgage fraud. But this type of fraud also affects the average citizen. This scheme leaves buildings vacant and undeveloped, halting neighborhood redevelopment plans, and providing shelter to drug addicts and criminals. Mortgage fraud also inflates property tax rolls and keeps marketable property tied up for years. Therefore, homeowners’ property taxes and rents go up while the value of the properties plummet.              District Attorney Hynes said, “Mortgage fraud is extremely damaging to its victims and to our community.  The thieves leave honest lenders, title insurers and homebuyers with huge financial losses and in a tangle of civil litigation.  Moreover, it makes legitimate banks more reluctant to serve honest homebuyers in our area.  And phony, puffed-up appraisals lead to mistakenly high tax assessments for the honest homebuyer and their neighbors.”              Larman used childhood friends, families of friends, women that he had dated and others in his scam. He would victimize these people by getting them to agree to buy a house or to act as “straw buyers,” in which case they would allow him to use their names in order to get mortgages approved. The lion’s share of the loan proceeds went directly to Larman. While Larman kept this money and control of the houses, these individuals’ credit histories were ruined and they owed huge debts from the loans that Larman took out in their names. Larman recruited many individuals and promised them that he could help them become investors, make more money and improve their credit by putting houses in their names.               In some instances, Larman convinced his victims that they would, in fact, be buying buildings. He told them they were run down, but he would fix them up to the point where the owners could occupy them and rent out apartments to cover all the mortgage payments. He even offered to make mortgage payments until the buildings were habitable. However, Larman never did any work on the buildings.  The investigation revealed that no work was done and nominal mortgage payments were made.  Through the use of a non-licensed appraiser, Michael Nanton, Larman would artificially “pump up” the values of the buildings.  Nanton also put pictures from other homes into the appraisal reports of the homes that Larman used in his scheme.  This enabled Larman to get a larger mortgage from unsuspecting banks that he never planned to pay back.  He would continue to orchestrate this same scam and  “resell” the “pumped up” homes, putting more money in his pocket.              Larman used an attorney as an accomplice to get the loans.  Louise Brown, who was also indicted, was in on the scam.  While telling clients that she was representing them, she was actually working with Larman as his lawyer.  She used bank funds to generate “show checks,” which were meant to appear as down payments, although no payment was ever made.  These checks were shown to the banks so that they would agree to the disbursement of the mortgage proceeds.  Brown would then redeposit the checks back into her escrow accounts after the deals went through.                Joey Singh and Melinda Cross, also co-defendants in this case, worked at a branch of a mortgage bank called US Mortgage. Singh was a loan officer and Cross’ supervisor.  Cross, Owen’s girlfriend, falsified documents which were used to check the veracity of what Owen submitted to US Mortgage. Then, Singh (also known as Puneet Bhalla) fed bad loans to corporate headquarters for approval. He falsified paperwork to indicate that he met face to face with borrowers when he did not. In return, he would get a large percentage of each loan as a profit from Larman.              The investigation further reveals that six additional banks were victimized by Larman prior to his dealing with US Mortgage.  He had already been using this scam for several years.              Another defendant, Delbert Baptise, was indicted for using Cross and Singh in order to obtain a mortgage for a straw buyer using fraudulent paperwork and a phony appraisal.                Augusta Uwechue, who works for a title company, was charged with transporting forged documents from two closings and falsifying business records to reflect one deed transfer when, in actuality, two transfers took place.                The case is being prosecuted by Senior Investigative Attorney Peter Zanolin of the Rackets Division. Neil Gillon and Vincent Verlezza, Financial Investigators assigned to the Rackets Division, also worked on the case. Michael Vecchione is Chief of the Rackets Division.  Contact:   Sandy Silverstein                         718-250-2300 028 KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES INDICTMENT OF CRIPS DRUG DEALERS AS PART OF “OPERATION POSEIDON”  NEIGHBORHOOD COMPLAINTS LEAD TO TAKEDOWN              Brooklyn, September 1, 2005 – Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced the indictment of nine Crips gang members for dealing narcotics in Coney Island.  Most of these defendants have been indicted for Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, a Class B Felony.  Under the new drugs laws, each count carries a maximum sentence of nine years for a first offender, 12 years for a predicate felon, and 15 years for a violent predicate felon.  Those charged with multiple narcotics sales could get consecutive prison time for each sale.  Two of the defendants are charged with Class A misdemeanors.                The takedown dubbed “Operation Poseidon” was a result of a five-month joint investigation between the District Attorney’s Office and the New York City Police Department that began in April.  The investigation into gang-affiliated narcotics sales focused on the Crips and their associates, operating on W. 24th Street and W. 28th Street within the confines of the 60th Precinct.  These gangs, who call themselves “Hoover Crips” after a Chicago branch of the gang, used graffiti tags to mark their territory.              The investigation utilized an undercover detective from the New York City Police Department who made a total of 38 narcotics buys.  He purchased 391 ziplock bags of cocaine on 19 dates from 10 different individuals.                The investigation further revealed that this gang was divided into two crews – the W. 24th Street Crew and the W. 28th Street Crew.  The individuals arrested from the W. 24th Street Crew include Harold Carter, Lamar Richardson, Jermaine Echols, Kayron Long, Laron Summers and Eric Knight.  Summers and Knight were charged with misdemeanors.  Summers acted as a facilitator on one buy.  Knight was arrested for weapons possession.  In addition, arrest warrants were issued for Jimmy Sano and Uniko Carson.  The individuals arrested from the W. 28th Street   Crew include Omar Titus and Chandall Salley.  An arrest warrant was issued for Dennis Andrews.  All of the defendants were members of the Crips gang, except for Titus and Knight, who were associates.  The defendants range in age from 16 – 24 years old.               District Attorney Hynes said, “In the last several years, Coney Island has experienced a revitalization.  The activities of these defendants caused a disruption in the progress that has been made in this neighborhood.  Too much hard work has gone into the improvements in Coney Island.  This gang needed to be taken off of the streets and punished for their actions.  This was a great team effort between our office and the NYPD.”              Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said, “These two gangs worked together peddling death in the form of crack cocaine. However, their combined efforts were no match for the members of the New York City Police Department working in conjunction with the Brooklyn DA’s office. I congratulate everyone involved, including the local residents, for their cooperation in bringing these criminals to justice.”              In addition to the undercover narcotics sales, search warrants were executed at four locations: At 2950 West 24th Street, Apt. 3E, a handgun and narcotics packaging paraphernalia were found.   At 2836 W. 23rd Street, Apt. 12L, where Lamar Richardson lived and was arrested, $112 cash was recovered along with a Blackberry, homemade business cards and empty ziplocks used for packaging the crack cocaine.  At 2980 W. 28th Street, Apt. 1944, where Chandell Salley lived and was arrested, the property recovered includes a loaded .9mm pistol, a magazine clip and ammunition, a ziplock of heroin  (which has a street value of over $1000), a ziplock of marijuana, a scale, two cell phones, a grinder, drug paraphernalia, stamps, an ink pad and over $2600.    At 2007 Surf Avenue, Apt 10P, where Harold Carter lived and was arrested, a safe containing a loaded .45-caliber pistol and cell phone was recovered.  Also recovered were 50 ziplock bags of crack cocaine, numerous empty ziplocks for packaging crack cocaine, $220 cash and four small bags of marijuana.               District Attorney Hynes annouinced this takedown at a press conference on Thursday, September 1st.  He was joined at the press conference by Sister Connie Hulla, Pastor of the Coney Island Gospel Assembly; local business owner Ed Cosme; and Chuck Reichenthal, District Manager of Community Board 13.               The investigation was conducted by Detective William Grace and the NYPD’s Major Case Squad under the supervision of Inspector Thomas Galati, Lt. James O’Sullivan, and Sgt. Gerald Scanlon in conjunction with the Gang Bureau of the Kings County District Attorney’s Office.              The case is being prosecuted by Executive Assistant District Attorney Teresa Corrigan and Senior Investigative Assistant District Attorney Lara Litton of the Gang Bureau.  Deanna Rodriguez is Chief of the Gang Bureau. Contact:   Sandy Silverstein                   718-250-2300 029 KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES INDICTMENT OF SEVEN TEENS IN MILL BASIN HATE CRIME ASSAULT ON ALEX MOORE              Brooklyn, September 7, 2005 – Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced the indictment of seven teenagers who assaulted Alex Moore, 29, in a Hate Crime attack in the Mill Basin area of Brooklyn.  The charges include Attempted Assault in the First Degree as a Hate Crime, Assault in the Second Degree, Assault in the Second Degree as a Hate Crime, Assault in the Third Degree, Menacing in the Second Degree as a Hate Crime, Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree, Attempted Gang Assault in the First Degree and Riot in the First and Second Degrees. The defendants can face up to 25 years in prison if convicted of the top charge. They include Nicholas Morse, 18; Anthony Capone, 17; Anthony David, 17; Robert Lombardi, 18; Stephen Cucarese, 18; Michael Goldberg, 17; and Stephen Schicchi, 18.                The indictment charges that on August 7th, 2005, the defendants were among a group of white teens who chased a group of black teens while yelling racial slurs. They caught up to Moore in the vicinity of East 59th Street and Avenue N, while the rest of the group that was with Moore got away. Moore was severely beaten with blunt objects.              Moore suffered bruising and contusions to the chest and lung.  He was hospitalized at Brookdale Hospital.               The case is being prosecuted by Confidential Assistant District Attorney Lance Ogiste; Jane Meyers, Bureau Chief of the Appeals Bureau; and Deputy Bureau Chief Joseph DiBenedetto of the Rackets Division.  Contact:   Sandy Silverstein                 718-250-2300 030 KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES TAKEDOWN OF DRUG CREWS OFF NOSTRAND AVENUE STREET LEVEL DEALERS HID DRUGS IN THEIR MOUTHS TO EVADE LAW ENFORCEMENT, WHILE THEY MADE DEALS IN THE OPEN                          Brooklyn, September 12, 2005 – Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced the arrests of six members of two drug crews operating in Prospect Heights-Lefferts Gardens. The dealers sold crack-cocaine on a residential block in plain view, just off Nostrand Avenue’s bustling commercial district.               The two crews, of about five to ten people each, made a pact to respect each others’ territory, one controlling drug sales on Lincoln Road and the other on Fenimore Street, both between Nostrand and Rogers Avenues.              “These thugs thought they could come in, take over a neighborhood, and sell their poison on the street, but once again, the community fought back,” said District Attorney Hynes. “I’d like to thank the business owners and residents who brought this drug dealing to my attention, so we could go after these street punks and break up their operation.”             The street-level dealers stashed their drugs in bushes and the wheel wells of parked cars. In order to avoid being caught in possession of large quantities, they carried only as much as they could comfortably fit in their mouths. The crack was wrapped in plastic twists which they would spit out into their hands – or directly into their customers’ hands – when making sales. The busy residential blocks where the dealers operated were filled with children playing outside their homes.              The investigation was initiated after community members made complaints to the District Attorney’s Office. Undercover detectives from the District Attorney’s Major Narcotics Bureau infiltrated this operation and made 18 buys. The crews were making thousands of dollars each week on hundreds of sales of small packages of crack-cocaine.  The individuals who were arrested are charged with Conspiracy and drug sales. They face up to 25 years in prison if convicted of the top charge.              The investigation was conducted by Deputy Chief Investigator Alfonse Lombardo and Supervising Investigator James Russell. Joseph Ponzi is the District Attorney’s Chief Investigator.              The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Lawrence Oh, Rebecca Gibson, and Gloria Rios of the Major Narcotics Investigations Bureau. Suzanne Corhan is Chief of the Major Narcotics Investigations Bureau.  Contact:   Sandy Silverstein                   718-250-2300 031 KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES INDICTMENT OF DOG KILLER  DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SUSPECT THROWS HUSBAND’S DOG OUT 6TH FLOOR WINDOW AND DISPOSES OF IT IN DUMPSTER              Brooklyn, September 27, 2005 – Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced the indictment of Diane Garber, 39, for assaulting her husband and then tossing his dog out the window of their 6th floor apartment, killing the animal instantly. Garber was indicted on charges including Aggravated Cruelty to Animals; Overdriving, Torturing and Injuring Animals; Attempted Assault in the Second Degree; Assault in the Third Degree; and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Fourth Degree.  If convicted, Garber could face a maximum of two years in prison.              On September 12th, inside of their 85th Street apartment in Bensonhurst, Diane Garber and her husband Bernard Garber, who are in the process of separating, got into an argument. Diane Garber then flew into a violent rage, punching and scratching her husband. She smashed the television with a hammer and threw the television at her husband.  Next she hit him with the hammer.               After assaulting her husband, Garber turned her fury toward her husband’s dog. She picked the dog and threw it out the window, killing it instantly. She then went downstairs, wrapped the dog in a blanket and deposited him in the apartment building’s dumpster. Her husband called police who placed her under arrest.              The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Allison Cummings from the Domestic Violence Bureau.  Wanda Lucibello is Chief of the Domestic Violence Bureau. Contact:   Sandy Silverstein                   718-250-2300 032 KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES INDICTMENT OF COP KILLER  ALLAN CAMERON CHARGED WITH FIRST-DEGREE MURDER AND ATTEMPTED MURDER IN SHOOTING OF TWO POLICE OFFICERS                          Brooklyn, December 1, 2005 – Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced two indictments of Allan Cameron, 27, on charges of Murder in the First Degree and Attempted Murder in the Second Degree.              According to one indictment, Cameron fired a handgun at a police car attempting to pull his car over in Flatbush early Monday morning. Driving the car, Officer Dillon Stewart was shot in the heart but continued to pursue Cameron in a high-speed chase. He died later at Kings County Hospital. For that shooting, Cameron is charged with Murder in the First Degree.              The other indictment alleges that Cameron robbed an off-duty police officer, Weiner Philippe, at gunpoint Nov. 19, in Crown Heights. Cameron took a gold necklace from the officer, and fired numerous shots, hitting him in the shoulder. Weiner returned fire, but did not hit Cameron. For that shooting, Cameron is charged with Attempted Murder in the Second Degree.               Cameron also faces charges of weapons possession on both indictments. If convicted of Murder in the First Degree, he could be sentenced to life without parole.              Assistant District Attorneys Mark Hale and Tom Ridges, of the Homicide Bureau, are prosecuting the case. Ken Taub is Chief of the Homicide Bureau.  Contact:   Jonah Bruno                  718-250-2300 033 KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES ARREST IN ALLEGED HOME THEFT  MARIA LEYNA ALBERTINA OUT ON BAIL CONTINUES CRIMES                          Brooklyn, December 6, 2005 – Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced the arrest of Maria Leyna Albertina, who is charged with selling real estate she did not actually own or have permission to sell. She will be arraigned today at Brooklyn Criminal Court.  When she was arrested at her Long Island home yesterday, Albertina was free on bail for charges relating to the same crimes. She was originally indicted in April 2004 and charged with orchestrating a multi-million-dollar real estate scam, in which she and her husband, Raymond, and several other accomplices used forged property deeds and other fake legal documents to make the sales appear legitimate.   In the new case, Albertina used her maiden name, Maria D’Occhio, to conceal her identity, and called her company Mickey Manor. She is charged with “selling” four properties without the permission of the actual owners. In each case she tried to get the permission of the senior citizen owners, and when she failed, she used falsified documents, including tax filings, to make the unwitting buyers believe the sales were legal.  For the “sale” of a vacant lot at 135 Herkimer St., she received a check for $175,000. She is also charged with selling three other properties, 242 Nevins St., 563 Sackett St., and 560 DeGraw St.  Albertina faces Five Counts Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, each of which carries a maximum of 15 years in prison. Other charges are pending and the investigation is ongoing.  The case is being prosecuted by Senior Investigative Attorney Peter L. Zanolin of the Rackets Division. He headed a team that included Supervising Financial Investigators Vincent Verlezza and Neil Gillon, and Detective Investigator Robert Intartaglio. Michael F. Vecchione is Chief of the Rackets Division.  Contact:   Jonah Bruno                  718-250-2300 034 KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES PROMOTIONS OF ANNE J. SWERN AND LANCE OGISTE             Brooklyn, December 14, 2005 – Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced the promotions of two executives.  Anne J. Swern, longtime Counsel to the District Attorney, has been promoted to First Assistant District Attorney. Former Confidential Assistant to the District Attorney Lance Ogiste will take Swern’s place, becoming the first African-American to hold the position of Counsel to the District Attorney in Brooklyn.  “I am very pleased to promote these two extraordinary individuals, who have been an important part of my management team, serving the public for the last 16 years,” said District Attorney Hynes. “I am confident they will continue to excel in their new positions.” Both Swern and Ogiste have distinguished careers marked by a dedication to public service.  Swern, 49, runs the highly successful, acclaimed Drug Treatment Alternative to Prison Program (DTAP) – the first of its kind in the nation. She is also the DA’s senior executive in charge of the Red Hook Community Justice Center and Brooklyn’s Treatment and Mental Health Courts.   Prior to that, as Chief of the Criminal Court Bureaus, Swern supervised 150 lawyers and support personnel and more than 60,000 misdemeanor criminal cases each year. She is also the former Chief of the Early Case Assessment Bureau, where she supervised the intake and screening of more than 100,000 cases per year.  A prosecutor for 25 years, Swern graduated from Brooklyn Law School in 1980 and has been an adjunct clinical instructor there since 1997. She serves on the Judiciary Committee of the Brooklyn Bar Association. In 1999, she served on the state’s Commission on Drugs and the Courts. Ogiste, 46, has been a prosecutor at the Kings County District Attorney’s Office since 1987. He has served as Senior Investigative Assistant in the Law Enforcement Investigation Bureau prosecuting criminal police activity, as a Senior Trial Assistant in the Homicide Bureau, Deputy Bureau Chief of the Appeals Trial Unit and as Executive Assistant District Attorney in charge of the Civil Rights Bureau. There he supervised the investigation and prosecution of bias-related crimes and worked to promote effective hate-crime legislation. He currently runs the Community Relations Bureau and the ComAlert Program, which helps formerly incarcerated individuals re-enter their communities to lead crime-free, productive lives.    Ogiste graduated from Georgetown University Law Center, in Washington, DC, in 1987. He is a member of the Board of Trustees at his high school, Fordham Prep, and is a mentor with the Children’s Aid Society’s Youth Empowerment for Success (YES) mentoring program.  Former First Assistant District Attorney Dino Amoroso left the Kings County District Attorney’s Office in November, after 16 years of service, to head up the Nassau County OTB.  Contact:   Jonah Bruno                  718-250-2300 035 KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENT OF CHARLES GURIA CHIEF OF CIVIL RIGHTS BUREAU              Brooklyn, December 19, 2005 – Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced the promotion of Executive Assistant District Attorney Charles M. Guria to Chief of the new Civil Rights Bureau.   “It gives me great pleasure to have Charles head this new bureau,” said District Attorney Hynes. “His background in the Rackets Division makes him the perfect candidate for this important position.”               For the past several years, bias crimes were handled by experienced Rackets prosecutors. DA Hynes decided that, due to a recent spate of bias crimes, he would dedicate an entire bureau to those cases. The bureau will have a compliment of four prosecutors but will remain within the Rackets Division. The bureau will also have a crime prevention component.  Guria’s duties will include supervising prosecutions and investigations into bias crimes, police brutality, and police corruption.   A prosecutor since 1990, Guria led the investigation into the assault of Haitian immigrant Abner Louima by officers in a Brooklyn police precinct. He has been lead prosecutor in a number of police prosecutions. He has been an Executive District Attorney in the Rackets Division since 1998.   Guria is a 1986 graduate of New York Law School, a past member of the Board of Directors of the New York County Lawyer's Association and past chairman of the Association's Minorities and the Law Committee and Minority Judicial Clerkship Program. He is currently serving his second term as president of the Sterling Johnson, Jr. New York Chapter of the National Black Prosecutor’s Association.  Guria will continue to head the Police Integrity Bureau of the Rackets Division.  Contact:   Jonah Bruno                  718-250-2300 036 KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES GUILTY PLEA IN BIAS ATTACK                          Brooklyn, January 6, 2006 – Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced a guilty plea in the apparent racially motivated attack of 19-year-old Antonio Cortes by Charles Tabona, in Sheepshead Bay last August.              In pleading guilty to Second-Degree Assault, a Class-D Violent Felony, Tabona, 17, admitted hitting Cortes in the head with a glass bottle as Cortes rode his bicycle to work August 12. At the time Cortes was carrying a backpack with an image of the Mexican flag, and when Tabona was arrested, he made racial slurs about Hispanics in the neighborhood. He was initially charged with Second-Degree Assault as a Hate Crime.              Tabona will be sentenced to six months in jail, four-and-a-half years on probation and will entered the Dynamic Youth Residential Treatment Program, which will require up to 15 months in a residential facility upstate and another year at an outpatient center in Brooklyn. The program will involve drug treatment and therapy to address violent, antisocial behavior.              Tabona also pleaded guilty to Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree in an unrelated incident, in which he shot himself in the leg last October. The two sentences will run concurrently.              Executive Assistant District Attorney Paul Burns of the Green Zone Trial Bureau prosecuted the case.   Contact:  Jonah Bruno                 718-250-2300 037