 HIGHLIGHTS
OF 2009
First off, I would like to wish
everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year! 2009 has been a very productive
year for my office. I am proud to report that we implemented new
programs, expanded our Mortgage Fraud Unit, and stepped up on behalf of
our country’s veterans.
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Veterans Project – In July, I announced the
Veterans Project with the Office or Court Administration and the
Veterans Administration, aimed at helping war veterans who committed
non-violent crimes and veterans who were crime victims in Brooklyn,
Queens and Nassau County. It will help non-violent veteran
offenders and victims who qualify by providing services, treatment
and peer support, to get back into society. The defendants plead
guilty to non-violent crimes and receive treatment for the problems
they face, whether it’s Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, trauma, or
other combat-related physical and mental injuries. When treatment
is complete, the offenders’ charges will be dismissed or reduced.
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Drunk Driving - When you drive drunk, not only
are you putting yourself at risk, but you are also putting everyone
else on the road at risk. It is important to educate our youth
about the dangers of drunk driving and to pass legislation to
prevent drunk driving tragedies.
o
Just this week, along with Police Commissioner Kelly and
the city’s four other District Attorneys, I announced an agreement on
new procedures aimed at expediting blood tests of suspected DWI drivers
where there have been deaths or serious injuries. Delays help the drunk
drivers by giving them more time for their blood alcohol level to
decrease. Under this new agreement, these actions will take place:
§
NYPD patrol supervisors may read the chemical testing
statement at the scene, rather than first transporting the suspect to an
Intoxicated Driver Testing Unit (IDTU).
§
The arresting officer may remove the suspect directly to
the IDTU location for testing, rather than initially transporting
suspect to the nearest station house.
§
If portable breath test equipment is not already at scene,
it does not have to be employed unless it would likely assist in
establishing probable cause to
arrest.
§
Police will notify the District Attorney's Office at the
earliest time possible to permit quickest application for a warrant.
§
Creation of a new Patrol Guide procedure to specifically
address handling an accident with significant physical injuries and
suspected driver intoxication.
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My Choices & Consequences program continues
to be successful, teaching young people between the ages of 16
and 24, about the lethal problems of reckless and drunk driving
among teenagers. Our prosecutors visit Brooklyn high schools,
with a 90-minute presentation providing information,
role-playing a criminal collision, and bringing a guest speaker
such as a victim’s family or a defendant.
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Leandra’s Law, passed by the Legislature in
November, makes it a felony to drive drunk with a child in the
car. The law also requires ignition locks for any convicted
drunk driver. Leandra’s Law is named after an 11-year-old girl,
Leandra Rosado, who was killed in a drunk driving accident, when
she was a passenger in a car driven by a family friend who was
drunk.
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Kol Tzedek - In April, I introduced a new
outreach program aimed at helping sex-crime victims in the Orthodox
Jewish community who have been reluctant to report crimes to secular
authorities. They can now call the Project Kol Tzedek hotline at
(718)250-3000 to anonymously speak with a social worker and a
prosecutor from the Sex Crimes Bureau. In the past year, we have
arrested 26 people in the Orthodox Community for child molestation.
Eight of them have been convicted; 18 are awaiting trial.
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In 2007, Dexter Bostic and Lee Woods, were
convicted of Aggravated Murder and sentenced to Life Without
Parole for the murder of Police Officer Russell Timoshenko and
the attempted murder of Police Officer Herman Yan. A third
defendant, Robert Ellis, was convicted on weapons possession
charges and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
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Darryl Littlejohn, a bouncer at a Manhattan
bar, was convicted of Murder in the First Degree this past June
and sentenced in July to Life Without Parole, for the murder of
Imette St. Guillen in 2006.
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In January, we seized a warehouse storing and
selling counterfeit goods brought here from China, including
phony Disney products and Chanel hair products. We recovered
over 2,000 realistic looking toy guns, which are a danger to law
enforcement.
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Fraud – We prosecuted many cases involving
Welfare Fraud, Mortgage Fraud, Identity Theft and Medicare Fraud
this year. In those cases, victims were duped of their money, and
in some cases, their homes.
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In March, thanks to help from Sen. Charles
Schumer (D-Brooklyn), we created a new Real Estate Fraud Unit
with a staff of 12, to exclusively address the high volume of
mortgage fraud cases. We created a Mortgage Fraud telephone
hotline to report deed fraud, mortgage fraud, predatory lending
and other real estate-related fraud. The phone number is (718)
250-2311.
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In July, we announced an ATM theft fraud case
where four defendants opened bank accounts and padded them with
large deposits, over the course of several months. Later, they
drained the accounts, with withdrawals of $500 to $1,000 per
day.
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In October, we took down an elaborate $10,000
per day real estate fraud, identity theft and credit card fraud
ring. In some cases, the 13 indicted defendants would
fraudulently purchase properties and use merchandise stolen from
home improvement stores to increase the values of the homes.
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This month, we indicted a crooked travel
agent who would take clients’ money for airline tickets, but
never booked the flights. The clients thought they were
purchasing airline tickets to the Middle East, the Balkans and
other international locations, and paid the defendant in cash.
She would make airline reservations online and tell her clients
that they had E-tickets, but she didn’t actually pay for the
airline tickets. Eventually, the reservations expired. I am
proud to say that this case was initiated after a complaint to a
member of our Community Relations Bureau. We also indicted a
second travel agent this month for fraud as a result of
complaints to our Community Relations Bureau. In this case, a
Brighton Beach travel agent stole more than $26,000 from a dozen
clients. He received payments, mostly in cash, to book trips
for clients, which he never arranged. All 12 victims received
receipts saying their trips had been fully paid for, but later
learned that their tickets had not been purchased. Most of the
victims were Russian immigrants who booked a variety of
vacations including bus trips; flights to Russia, Mexico, and
other locations; and cruises.
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Once again, as it has since 1990, my DTAP
(Drug Treatment Alternative-to-Prison) program has been a huge
success. This year, 59 former drug offenders graduated from our
DTAP program. Since the inception of the program, 2,806
defendants have been accepted into the program, 369 are still in
treatment, and 1,197 have completed the program and have had
their charges dismissed.
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In April, we indicted 43 defendants and took
down a violent drug ring operating out of Southern Brooklyn and
Staten Island. They were earning more than $2 million a year
selling crack cocaine. Dispatchers received cell phone drug
orders 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and sent drivers out
to deliver the drugs to customers.
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In November, Operation Grand Slam netted 11
defendants who were selling crack cocaine and marijuana on the
street, in a residential apartment building and out of several
local businesses in Clinton Hill. An undercover investigation
was initiated after we received complaints from neighborhood
residents.
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In February, we indicted a Staten Island
doctor, the health clinic he operated, and a Bay Ridge pharmacy
for illegally providing bodybuilders and weightlifters with
prescriptions for steroids and human growth hormone, including
one bodybuilder the doctor knew had a heart transplant. That man
later died from a condition related to his steroid use.
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Animal Cruelty – Animal cruelty is a precursor to
family violence. Research has shown that those who are cruel to
animals, in many cases, were victims of some kind of abuse
themselves, whether it was bullying or neglect.
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In August, defendant Fabian Henderson was
arrested for throwing his dog off the roof of a building. The
dog, Oreo, survived but suffered multiple fractures in her two
front legs and other injuries. Oreo eventually had to be
euthanized. Henderson pled guilty to Aggravated Cruelty to
Animals and is awaiting sentencing.
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Indictment of Elected Official - In the past, we
have put corrupt judges behind bars for illegal activity and just
last year, Assemblywoman Diane Gordon was sentenced to prison for
Bribe Receiving. This past May, my office indicted Senator Kevin
Parker for assaulting a New York Post journalist.
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Brooklyn Gang Summit - In May, I gave the keynote
address at the first Brooklyn Gang Summit. I discussed the
implementation of Project Re-Direct, the first New York State
prosecutor’s alternative to incarceration program for gang members.
Project Re-Direct focuses on each individual gang member’s needs,
and designs a program that re-directs each of them from the gangster
lifestyle back into being contributing members of the community.
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Domestic Violence Cell Phone Donation – One way
that my office helps protect domestic violence victims is through
our cell phone program where phones are donated and distributed to
Domestic Violems victims. The phones are programmed to call 911 in
case of an emergency. This past October, my staff collected 4,006
used cell phones for Verizon Wireless’s Hopeline program, which were
then reprogrammed as Hopeline phones, with 3000 prepaid minutes. The
reprogrammed phones were then provided to law enforcement and
outreach agencies, who will give them to domestic violence victims.
Verizon Wireless donated 200 Hopeline cell phones to the Brooklyn
District Attorney’s Office.
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In November, along with the NYPD, we
announced a 105-count indictment for illegal sale of guns. Two
men were arrested and charged with selling 39 guns to undercover
officers during a three-month investigation. The weapons were
bought at stores and gun shows in Florida to be shipped here.
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I continue to call for a change in state law,
with respect to the sale and possession of firearms that have
been transported from outside New York State. The proposal would
increase the Class of the offense by one level, adding to the
potential sentence.
It was a very busy and successful
year in my office. Due to the arrests we have made and the new programs
that have been implemented, Brooklyn is a much safer place, and people
in the community are becoming more expeditious when it comes to
reporting crimes to my office. We are here to protect you and we will
continue our efforts to make Brooklyn a safer place in the new year.
You can read more about our
programs and the activities of my office at
www.brooklynda.org. Again, I want to wish you a Happy & Healthy New
Year. |
