GANG SUMMIT, ASIAN HERITAGE MONTH
CELEBRATION,WELFARE FRAUD AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AWARDS
On May 19, I
co-sponsored an Asian Pacific Heritage Month celebration in my office along with
the Asian-American Bar Association. Asian-Americans have made significant
contributions in our society, not only in the legal profession in Brooklyn, but
in many industries across the United States.
We honored five
outstanding individuals and organizations for their contributions and
accomplishments. They are role models who set a high standard for other
Asian-Americans and all Brooklynites. The honorees included Criminal Court
Justice Alexander Jeong, a former Assistant District Attorney in Brooklyn; The
New York Police Department’s Asian Jade Society; The Association of Chinese
American Physicians; Sakhi; and The Council of People’s Organization.
The District
Attorney’s Office currently has 31 Asian prosecutors employed, four of which are
executives.
Kin Ng is the
highest ranking Asian executive in the Kings County District Attorney’s Office.
He was promoted in July 2007 to the position of Director of Training. In this
role, he coordinates and conducts legal training for incoming and current
classes of Assistant District Attorneys office-wide. He also continues to work
as a liaison with the Asian community.
Mr. Ng has worked as an Assistant District Attorney,
Senior Trial Attorney and Deputy Bureau Chief in various bureaus since 1991. In
his most recent position, he was the Bureau Chief of the Domestic Violence
Bureau. He supervised the two misdemeanor domestic violence court parts and more
than twenty attorneys that prosecuted thousands of domestic violence cases. He
also prosecuted defendants in domestic violence homicides.
GANG SUMMIT
On May 21, I
hosted the first Brooklyn Gang Summit at Polytech Institute where the theme was
“Gang Activity, Prison and Public Safety.” There were several workshops where
panelists discussed the presence of gangs in our community and what can be done
to prevent gang violence. The keynote speaker was Sergio Arguenta, Executive
Director of S.T.R.O.N.G. (Struggling to Reunite Our New Generation), a
not-for-profit grassroots organization dedicated to educating and empowering our
youth on the importance of resisting gang life.
Since 1994,
when I launched our Gang Bureau, my office has worked tirelessly with the New
York City Police Department and Brooklyn communities to respond to the gang
problem that is plaguing our cities. We created Project Re-Direct, the first
New York State prosecutor’s alternative to incarceration program for gang
members. It focuses on each of the individual gang member’s needs and redirects
them from the gangster lifestyle to law-abiding, contributing members of the
community.
It is important
that the community understands how gang presence creates a lot of problems and
what we can do to rectify the problem. The first step is to educate our youth,
helping them to resist the lure of joining a gang. My office conducts gang
awareness workshops throughout the year at PTA and community board meetings as
well as at houses of worship and organizations that are faced with gang
problems.
My ComALERT
(Community and Law Enforcement Resources Together) program has been instrumental
in helping gang members to rehabilitate, get the treatment they need and turn
their lives around. ComALERT is a coalition of community-based service
providers helping ex-offenders with housing, education, substance abuse
treatment, physical and mental health counseling and employment.
These
initiatives have helped us take back our streets and protect our children from
gangs.
WELFARE FRAUD
My office has
done a tremendous job of taking down individuals who try to cheat the system
through welfare fraud, taking money away from the people who really need it.
Recently, we indicted a Brooklyn couple for collecting thousands of dollars in
Medicaid benefits for which they were ineligible.
Along with New
York City Human Resources Administration Commissioner Robert Doar, I announced
the indictment of Carmine and Rosa Gargano on charges including Welfare Fraud,
Grand Larceny and Offering a False Instrument for Filing.
Between August,
2004 and February, 2009, the Garganos applied for and collected $33,509 in
Medicaid benefits for themselves from their home at 8311 Ridge Boulevard. They
falsely stated on their applications that their incomes were less than what they
actually earned. On applications, they claimed to be earning $150 per week. On
one application, they claimed they were earning $19,593 per year. At the same
time, they were jointly making over $500,000 in mortgage payments through a
corporation to six separate personal mortgages with Chase or HSBC. They falsely
filed for HRA benefits on four separate dates – 5/18/04, 1/25/05, 1/23/06, and
3/6/07.
The defendants
also concealed ownership of at least 13 real properties by transferring the
properties to their shell companies, namely Vimplex Corp., Court Properties
Associates, Ridge Blvd. Realty LTD, Gang Development, and 783 McDonald Avenue
Realty Corp. Each corporation had one of the defendants listed as their CEO and
they all had their home address listed on business records.
This is just
another case of greedy individuals trying to scam the government for their own
benefit. Hopefully this arrest and indictment will show scammers that if you
try to fraudulently collect benefits for which you are not entitled, you will be
caught and you will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
Lauren Mack, Bureau Chief in the Public Assistance Crimes Unit and Frank Dudis,
Counsel in the Public Assistance Crimes Unit are prosecuting the case. Ms. Mack
and Mr. Dudis prosecute most of the cases in the Public Assistance Crimes Unit
with the goal of protecting the integrity of the Welfare system and ensuring its
availability to those in need by prosecuting those who steal from it. They have
both investigated and prosecuted many high-profile cases where defendants have
stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars in benefits for which they were
ineligible.
LAW ENFORCEMENT APPRECIATION AWARDS
Every year, I
honor our outstanding officers from the NYPD, NYFD, State of New York Unified
Court System, and the Kings County District Attorney’s Office. This year, we
recognized 17 officers who went above and beyond the call of duty to keep the
streets of Brooklyn safe at our 19th annual Law Enforcement
Appreciation Awards at Brooklyn Law School. Some of our honorees risked their
lives on the job, others devoted their spare time to helping the community.
Among the honorees were:
Sergeant Anthony Guadagno and Police Officers Matthew Brennan and Anthony Maida
– The officers from the 60th Precinct
Anti-Crime Unit risked danger, swimming through strong currents to help save two
drowning swimmers.
Pastor
A.R. Bernard - Pastor Bernard is the founder of the
Christian Cultural Center, a church with over 30,000 members. Pastor Bernard
works with the Brooklyn North Police in hosting their annual graduation
orientation at his Center. He continues to revitalize communities; recently
announcing a partnership with Common Ground to develop affordable housing in the
East New York/Canarsie section of Brooklyn.
Detective
Patrick McMahon – Detective McMahon has worked in the Kings County DA’s
Squad since August, 2001. He was assigned to the DA’s Office Wire Room in 2003
and has since been working on many high profile traditional organized crime and
public corruption cases, setting up wiretaps and other electronic surveillances,
including the high profile case of former Supreme Court Judge Gerald Garson.
Sergeant
Fabian Sanchez – On August 29, 2008, Sergeant Sanchez and his driver heard
gunshots coming from the scene of a nearby street party. Partygoers were
panicking and an armed suspect was being chased by police. The suspect fired
several shots at the officers and Sergeant Sanchez returned fire, wounding the
suspect, thereby ensuring the safety of civilians and his fellow officers.
Police
Officer Corey Grable – Assigned to Transit District 32, Officer Grable is
the Explorer Coordinator there. The Explorer Program works with local youth,
educating them and providing activities so they can gain insight into careers
that they may be interested in pursuing when they are older. Officer Grable and
his team of Explorers set up a site at Transit District 32 and began to collect
sneakers for a new program organized by the Nike sneaker company to recycle the
rubber from used sneakers, and use them to rebuild basketball courts in New
Orleans that were damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
New York
State Court Officer Captain Michael Magliano – Assigned to the Kings County
Supreme Court, Captain Magliano runs blood drives, collects food for the
homeless, donates time to a local church, raises money for under-privileged
children and is involved in other humanitarian efforts. Captain Magliano also
participates in the annual Police Unity Tour, a not-for-profit organization
dedicated to raising awareness of law enforcement officers who have died in the
line of duty.
Fire
Marshal Donald Hayes – Fire Marshal Hayes works with
the Fire Department’s Juvenile Fire Setters Intervention Program (JFIP) which
provides children, between the ages of seven and 12, who have engaged in fire
play, an alternative to arrest and Family Court. The program educates the
children on the dangers of fire play and fire safety. Fire Marshal Hayes also
works with the Brookyn DA’s Office by speaking each year at the S.A.F.E.
(Sentencing Alternative for Family Education) program conference. In addition,
he conducts group educational workshops at schools throughout Brooklyn, teaching
the youth of Brooklyn the inherent dangers of fire play.
Supervisor James Russell, Supervisor Joseph Piraino, Case Officer Detective
Investigator Edwin Murphy, Detective Investigator John Beale and Detective
Investigator William Pettie - The District Attorney’s
Office’s Major Narcotics Investigation Bureau Enforcement Team uncovered
evidence of an organized international cocaine smuggling ring which was looking
for a corrupt longshoreman to help unload shipments of narcotics in a New York
port. They sent a Detective Investigator undercover to infiltrate the
organization. The undercover was able to intercept approximately 75 pounds of
cocaine, worth $10 million, in three shipments. The Enforcement team used
sophisticated audio and video recording equipment to enhance the operation.
This led to the arrest and indictment of seven Panamanian drug traffickers.
Police
Officers Roberto Ferrieras and Tyrone Michael - The
two Officers from the School Safety Division Brooklyn/Queens Uniform Task Force
were on routine patrol when they observed an assault in progress. The suspect
had carjacked a victim who was sitting in his car, pulled him out of the car and
punched him repeatedly, then stole the victim’s car. The officers pursued the
suspect as he ran through several red lights and crashed into two cars.
Officers Ferrieras and Michael apprehended him before he could do any further
damage.
Police
Officer Joi Grant - Officer Grant, from the 68th
Precinct, stands out as a member of the precinct School Safety Team, working
with the youth of the community. She also coordinates the command’s Explorer
program. In this role, she and the children she works with have been involved
with the Police Athletic League, graffiti clean-ups, meals on wheels, clothes
drives, visiting senior centers and Malaria awareness seminars in conjunction
with the Child Action Board (CAB). They have also coordinated a blood drive
with members of the community.
The news articles below may be of interest to you or
members of your community.
Detroit Free Press
Released Prisoners Get Training, Support
Job skills, substance abuse
programs are key
Success in Michigan’s new
approach to prisoner parole ultimately will be measured by whether parolees
commit crimes.
Historically, between half and
two-thirds of all parolees re-offend within three years of release. Prison
officials claim their Michigan Prisoner Re-Entry Initiative significantly
reduces that rate. (Gov. Jennifer Granholm and others sometimes refer to 27%
declines in recidivism with MPRI, though corrections officials said rigorous,
long-term analysis is incomplete).
Prospective parolees enrolled
in the initiative go through an eight-week program at designated prisons around
the state.
Programming includes job skills
and job search, along with preparation for life on the outside, obtaining
government ID, locating housing and other issues.
http://www.freep.com/article/20090525/NEWS06/905250426/1008/NEWS06/Released+prisoners+get+training++support
The Providence Journal
Senate Bill Would Ban Sex Offenders From Venues Used By
Children
So far there’s been no
silver-bullet resolution of the controversy over housing convicted sex offenders
at a local homeless shelter, but the public outcry has prompted one response — a
possible change in state law.
Sen. Hanna M. Gallo,
D-Cranston, has sponsored a bill that would make it a felony for anyone
convicted of first- or second-degree child molestation to set foot in a
playground, daycare center or school.
If adopted, the bill would
amend a law the
General Assembly
adopted only last year, eliminating language that bars convicted sex offenders
from living within 300 feet of a school because the restriction was recently
found to be unconstitutional.
The 2008 law was challenged by
former Central Falls City Council member Luis Gil, who pleaded guilty in
February to two counts of third-degree sexual assault. Gil argued, among other
things, that the restriction amounted to an unconstitutional taking of his
property because he would have been forced to move. Superior Court Judge Joseph
F. Rodgers Jr. agreed, writing in his decision that the residency restriction
amounts to a taking “without just and adequate compensation.”
http://www.projo.com/news/content/CRANSTON_SHELTER_05-26-09_KVEFKF5_v43.37b1878.html
