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09
KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT
ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES INDICTMENT IN BIAS
MURDER OF ECUADORIAN IMMIGRANT
Brooklyn, March 3, 2009
– Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes
today announced the indictment of Keith Phoenix, 28, and
Hakim Scott, 25, in the murder of Ecuadorian immigrant José
Sucuzhanay, whom the defendants believed was homosexual.
District Attorney Hynes was joined in the
announcement, by New York City Council Speaker Christine C.
Quinn, Councilwoman Diana Reyna, Brooklyn Borough President
Marty Markowitz, First Deputy Commissioner of the New York
State Division of Human Rights Luis Burgos, relatives of the
victim, and members of Brooklyn’s LGBT and Hispanic
communities.
The top charge against Scott and Phoenix is
Murder in the Second Degree as a Hate Crime, which carries a
maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
The indictment charges that, at about 3:25 a.m.,
on Dec. 7, 2008, Sucuzhanay and his brother, Romel, were
walking home in Bushwick, at the corner of Kossuth Place and
Bushwick Avenue, when they walked past a car driven by
Phoenix and in which Scott was a passenger. The defendants
saw the Sucuzhanay brothers walking arm-in-arm, and mistook
them for homosexuals. They then attacked the victims
brandishing a glass bottle and a baseball bat. The
defendants are also charged with shouting anti-gay and
anti-Hispanic insults prior to the attack. Romel was able to
run to safety, but Jose was beaten repeatedly with a
baseball bat, while he lay in the street.
José Sucuzhanay suffered skull fractures and
brain injuries, and he died a few days later.
An indictment is an accusatory instrument and
not proof of a defendant’s guilt.
The case is being prosecuted by Rackets Division
Bureau Chief Patricia McNeill, Deputy Bureau Chief Josh
Hanshaft and Assistant District Attorney Lauren Hersh.
Charles Guria is Chief of the Civil Rights Bureau. Michael
Vecchione is Chief of the Rackets Division.
Contact: Jonah
Bruno
718-250-2300
08
KINGS COUNTY
DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES
CELEBRATES BLACK HISTORY MONTH
HIGHLIGHTS
CONTIBUTIONS MADE BY AFRICAN-AMERICANS
Brooklyn, February 27, 2009 - At
a recent Black History Month celebration, Kings County
District Attorney Charles J. Hynes said the historic
election of the nation’s first African-American President,
Barack Obama, must be viewed in the context of
African-Americans’ struggles for equality and justice in
this country.
DA Hynes said that throughout
African-Americans’ struggles with slavery and harsh Jim
Crow laws, they never lost hope, fighting back by freeing
slaves, through Underground Railroad, and later, with the
rebellion against Jim Crow in the 20th century,
led by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and others
“While this litany of injustice
doesn’t begin to adequately describe the collective wrongs
against blacks, today, Americans from coast-to-coast feel
pride that the nation has turned the corner, leaving those
injustices in the dust bin of history,” said DA Hynes..
The District Attorney also said
President Obama’s hope for the future of the country was a
promissory note; another dream that Dr. King believed would
come to pass one day. The District Attorney Hynes said he
too has lot of hope based on conversation he had with
President Obama’s criminal justice team
“They fully understand the moral
depravity of incarcerating sick drug addicts, and that our
policy for the last 19 years in Brooklyn, fighting for and
demanding more treatment beds and fewer prison cells,
enhances public safety,” DA Hynes said.
“They also understand it is
unacceptable that six to ten of the formerly incarcerated
are re-arrested within three years and more than half go
back to prison contributing, in part, to the obscenity that
at any one time, fully one-quarter of all African-American
young men are in prison, on parole or on probation,”
District Attorney Hynes said.
That ComAlert re-entry program
in Brooklyn, for the past eight years, has resulted not in
only six of ten being re-arrested within the same period.
Contact: J. Zamgba Browne
(718) 250-3850
07
KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT
ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES
LIFE SENTENCE IN MURDER OF POLICE OFFICER RUSSEL TIMOSHENKO
Brooklyn, February 25, 2009 –
Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today
announced the sentencing of Dexter Bostic, 36, to Life
without Parole plus an additional 55 years for the murder of
a police officer and the attempted murder of another
officer. Bostic received Life without Parole for the charge
of Aggravated Murder, 40 years to Life for Attempted
Aggravated Murder, and 15 years for Criminal Possession of a
Weapon, all to run consecutive to each other. Bostic was
convicted on December 19, 2008 and sentenced today before
Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Plummer Lott.
On July 9, 2007, Police Officers Russel Timoshenko and
Herman Yan pulled over a BMW during a routine traffic stop
with Dexter Bostic, Lee Woods and Robert Ellis inside the
car. As the officers approached the vehicle, gunshots were
fired in their direction. Officer Timoshenko was shot in
the face and neck. Officer Yan, who was wearing a
bullet-proof vest, was shot in the chest and arm.
Timoshenko was rushed to the hospital and died several days
later while on life support. Officer Yan had surgery and
made a complete recovery. Woods was arrested at his home
the next day while Bostic and Ellis were found several days
later in Pennsylvania after a manhunt and arrested.
All three defendants were on trial last year. Robert Ellis
was acquitted of murder but convicted on Weapons Possession
charges. He was sentenced to a maximum of 15 years in
prison. The trial of Lee Woods resulted in a mistrial. The
new case is currently on trial. Bostic was found guilty of
Aggravated Murder and sentenced today.
The case was prosecuted by Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi, Bureau
Chief in the Homicide Bureau. Ken Taub is Chief of the
Homicide Bureau.
Contact: Sandy Silverstein
718-250-2300
06
KINGS COUNTY
DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES
25-YEAR SENTENCE FOR FIRST-DEGREE RAPE
Brooklyn,
February 19, 2009
– Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today
announced the sentencing of Scott Young, 46, to 25 years in
prison for the rape of his ex-girlfriend’s mother. The
sentence will run concurrent to the six and two-thirds to
20-year sentence that he is already serving on a Criminal
Contempt in the First Degree case also prosecuted by the
Kings County District Attorney’s Office. He was convicted
of Rape in the First Degree on January 16 and sentenced
today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Cassandra
Mullen.
The defendant had lived with
his girlfriend – the victim’s daughter – in the victim’s
home, but they broke up the day before the rape. On January
10, 2005, when the defendant went to the house to retrieve
his belongings, the victim opened the door, and he choked
her, pushed her onto her bed and attacked her.
After the rape, Young let the victim leave the
house to go to work, as a home health aide. She immediately
told her client’s daughter, a police officer.
Young was arrested March 18, 2005.
He has another open indictment, in which he is
charged with attempting to sodomize a coworker, at a job
placement center, who let him store some belongings at her
home.
The case was prosecuted by Tina Fay, Counsel to
the Sex Crimes Bureau, and Senior Trial Attorney Natalie
Kossov. Rhonnie Jaus is Chief of the Sex Crimes Bureau.
Contact:
Sandy
Silverstein
718-250-2300
05
KINGS COUNTY
DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES 50 YEAR TO LIFE
SENTENCES FOR TWO DEFENDANTS CONVICTED OF MURDER AND
ROBBERY
Brooklyn,
February 18, 2009 –
Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today
announced the sentencing of Christopher Gray and Roberto
Rodriguez, both 23, to 50 years to life for the murder of
Dennis Mack and the robbery of Mack and Randon Raines. The
defendants received 25 years to life for the charge of
Murder in the Second Degree to run consecutive to the 25
years they received for Robbery in the First Degree. They
were also sentenced to 15 years to run concurrent to the
robbery charge for Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the
Second Degree. Gray and Rodriguez were also sentenced to
five years post-release supervision. They were sentenced
today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Vincent
DelGiudice.
On December 2, 2006, Rodriguez was walking out of an
elevator on the 12th floor at 130 Moore Street
when he bumped into Dennis Mack who was on his way to the
elevator with his friend, Randon Raines. Rodriguez got into
an argument with them. When the two victims took the next
elevator down to the lobby, Rodriguez was waiting there for
them with Gray and another friend.
Security cameras in the lobby captured the defendants
forcing Mack and Raines to empty their pockets while beating
them. Mack tried to escape, but the defendants chased after
him and fired their handguns. Mack was shot five times in
the back. A rookie police officer outside the building
witnessed the shooting and pursued the defendants on foot.
He captured Rodriguez while another officer apprehended
Gray.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Thomas
Ridges of the Homicide Bureau. Kenneth Taub is Chief of the
Homicide Bureau
Contact: Sandy Silverstein
718-250-2300
04
KINGS COUNTY
DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES THE INDICTMENT
OF A DOCTOR AND BUSINESSES CHARGED WITH
DEALING STEROIDS
ILLEGALLY
Brooklyn,
February 10, 2009 –
Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today
announced the indictment of a Staten Island doctor, the
health clinic he operated, and a Bay Ridge pharmacy,
charging them all with illegally providing bodybuilders and
weightlifters prescriptions for steroids and human growth
hormone, including one bodybuilder the doctor knew had had a
heart transplant. That man later died from a condition
related to his steroid use.
“Steroids and Human Growth Hormones are dangerous substances
that should not be taken lightly, and as we see here, they
can cause severe heart damage, even death,” said DA Hynes.
According to the indictment, Dr. Richard Lucente, 37, acting
in concert with Lowen’s Drug Store, in Bay Ridge, opened a
health clinic in Staten Island, called New York Anti-Aging
and Wellness Center. The clinic was located at the Fountain
of Youth Building, 821 Clove Road, Staten Island. Lucente is
charged with providing patients with prescriptions for
steroids and human growth hormones, for a fee, when those
patients had no medical need for the drugs.
The indictment charges that
Lucente would then steer those patients to Lowen’s Drug
Store, at 6902 Third Ave, Bay Ridge. In exchange for
directing business to Lowen’s, the pharmacy paid Lucente
almost $30,000 in kickbacks, according to the indictment.
The conspiracy spanned from 2005 to 2007.
One bodybuilder, Joe Baglio, had received a heart
transplant, because of his prior abuse of steroids and human
growth hormone. The indictment charges that Lucent was aware
of that and of all the other medications Baglio was taking,
yet wrote Baglio numerous prescriptions for the steroids and
human growth hormone, beginning in 2005. Baglio died in
2007, of heart failure.
A pharmacist and co-owner of Lowen’s Drug Store, John Rossi,
killed himself during the course of this investigation.
Lucente, New York Anti-Aging and Wellness Center, Lowen’s
Drug Store and Lowen’s Compounding Pharmacy are all charged
with Conspiring to Commit the Criminal Sale of a
Prescription for a Controlled Substance, a Class-E Felony.
Lucente is also charged with 76 Counts of Criminal Sale of a
Prescription for a Controlled Substance, Reckless
Endangerment in the First Degree, and 76 Counts of Violation
of Public Health Law Section 3331(2), which prohibits the
prescribing of controlled substances other than in good
faith.
He faces up to five-and-a-half years for each of the 76
counts of Criminal Sale of a Prescription for a Controlled
Substance.
The case is being prosecuted by Rackets Division Deputy
Bureau Chief Michel Spanakos, Rackets Division First Deputy
Bureau Chief Michael Perkins, Chief Counsel to the Rackets
Division Monique Ferrell and Rackets Division Senior
Appellate Attorney Jacqueline Linares. Michael Vecchione is
Chief of the Rackets Division.
Contact: Jonah Bruno
718-250-2300
03
DA HYNES HONORS THE CARIBBEAN
ISLAND OF GRENADA DURING ITS 35TH ANNIVERSARY OF
NATIONHOOD
Brooklyn, February 6, 2009 - Kings
County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today participated
in a Grenada Flag-Raising Ceremony at Borough Hall, to mark
the nation’s 35th Anniversary of Independence.
Congratulating the people and government of Grenada on the
special occasion, DA Hynes said, “Grenadians have a
well-deserved reputation of being industrious and
hardworking, and for their many contributions to the quality
of life in Brooklyn.”
He invoked the names of Dr.
Lamuel Stanislaus, Grenada’s former ambassador to the United
Nations, who recently received a Luminary Award from the
University of the West Indies for his many contributions to
the people of the Caribbean.
“And when we think of the
contributions of Grenadians we also think of the legendary
Dr. Slinbger Francisco, better known as the ‘Mighty Sparrow’
who has touched and inspired so many with his music,” he
said.
The District Attorney also said
he was proud of the contributions that he and members of his
staff made to ease Grenada’s pains when Hurricane Ivan hit
the Island in 2004. The Brooklyn District Attorney Office
collected money, food and clothing, and volunteered to pack
boxes and transport material for shipping.
Contact:
J. Zamgba Browne
(718) 250-3850
02
KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT
ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES AND NEW YORK CITY HUMAN RESOURCES
ADMINISTRATION COMMISSIONER ROBERT DOAR ANNOUNCE INDICTMENT
OF SEVEN WELFARE CHEATS
Brooklyn,
February 5, 2009 –
Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes and New York
City Human Resources Administration Commissioner Robert Doar
today announced the indictment of seven welfare cheats,
including a New York City public school teacher, charged
with illegally collecting Medicaid benefits, while earning
well over the limits for those receiving such benefits.
“The New York City Human Resources Administration was not
created to fund the entrepreneurial experiments of
landlords, business owners and commercial investors,” said
DA Hynes. “As I’ve said before, HRA funds are a crucial
lifeline for thousands of struggling New Yorkers, and when
well-heeled business people, like the defendants in this
case, take unfair advantage of the subsidies, it hurts the
most needy among us. I’d like to thank Commissioner Doar and
HRA for their assistance in these
investigations.”
“I am grateful to DA Hynes for
his partnership in rooting out fraud and I commend HRA’s
fraud investigation staff for their vigilance in
safeguarding the integrity of our public health insurance
program,” said HRA Commissioner Doar. “Today we are sending
a message to those who endeavor to deceive or steal from
welfare programs, that they will be caught, arrested and
prosecuted.”
Dhanmattie, “Donna”, and Deonarine Boodhoo, 44 and 45,
respectively, are charged with gaming the system for six
years, stealing Medicaid benefits valued at more than
$29,406. Between June 2002 and March 2008, they owned two
daycare centers, numerous vehicles and seven properties,
including one in Florida, and had a joint personal checking
account that, at one point, had a balance of $74,000. The
checking account for the daycare centers they owned jointly
had a bank balance of $170,000. In applications for
Medicaid, they hid the fact that they owned the properties
and claimed they were only employees at one of the daycare
centers, earning $200 per week, concealing their ownership.
While receiving Medicaid, the Boodhoos vacationed in North
Carolina, Georgia, Florida, the Dominican Republic and
Aruba.
The Boodhoos have also been charged in an unrelated theft of
state funding for the daycare centers they owned.
Criminal charges against them include Grand Larceny in the
Third Degree, Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree, Welfare
Fraud in the Third Degree, and Welfare Fraud in the Fourth
Degree. Additionally, Deonarine Boodhoo is charged with Five
Counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the
First Degree and Dhanmattie Boodhoo with Four Counts. They
face up to seven years in prison if convicted.
Rita Mitilis, 37, is charged
with Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, Grand Larceny in
the Third Degree, Welfare Fraud in the Second Degree,
Welfare Fraud in the Third Degree and Offering a False
Instrument for Filing in the First Degree. If convicted, she
faces up to 15 years in prison.
Mitilis’s indictment charges that she concealed her income
and a bank account balance of $400,000, while she claimed
more than $60,000 in Medicaid benefits for herself, her
husband and four children. Mitilis and her husband live in a
home they own, at 2110 82nd Street, valued at
over $1 million, own two additional rental properties in
Brooklyn, and at least two vacant lots in Florida. They also
own a commercial glass distributor, Odyssey Glass and
Storefront, Inc., in addition to several luxury vehicles and
the financial resources to create trust funds in their
children’s names.
George and Stamatina Nasopoulos are charged with applying
for and accepting more than $43,000 in Medicaid benefits,
over a three-year period. At the time, George was employed
as an office worker at Tip Top General Contracting, earning
$1,000 per week, and Stamatina, a New York City public
school teacher, earned $60,000 a year. On their applications
for welfare, he claimed he worked at Manhattan a yogurt
shop, which an investigation determined did not exist, and
she claimed to be unemployed, according to the indictment.
They are charged with Grand Larceny in the Third Degree,
Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree, Welfare Fraud in the
Third Degree, Welfare Fraud in the Fourth Degree, and Four
Counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the
First Degree. If convicted, they face up to seven years in
prison.
Declan, 63, and Yafang McLoughlin, 46, are charged with
collecting $13,961 in Medicaid, between July 2004 and
October 2008. According to the indictment against them,
Declan McLoughlin claimed, on HRA Medicaid applications, to
earn $450 per week, for a realty company, called Sand Castle
Realty, which he actually owned. At the time, he had a bank
balance of $401,000 and worked as a real estate investor,
buying and selling properties, according to the indictment.
The home they live in, 208 Java Street, is listed as being
owned by Yafang McLoughlin. They also own additional
properties, according to the indictment.
They are charged with Grand Larceny in the Third Degree,
Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree, Welfare Fraud in the
Third Degree, Welfare Fraud in the Fourth Degree, and Four
Counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the
First Degree. If convicted, they face up to seven years in
prison.
The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant District
Attorney Sabrina Thanse, Counsel to the Public Assistance
Crimes Bureau Frank Dudis, and Executive Assistant District
Attorney Lauren Mack. Lauren Mack is Chief of the Public
Assistance Crimes Bureau.
Contact: Jonah Bruno
718-250-2300
01
KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT
ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES AND NEW YORK STATE COMPTROLLER
THOMAS DINAPOLI ANNOUNCE CRIMINAL CHARGES IN THEFT OF DAY
CARE FUNDS
DEFENDANTS CHARGED WITH
MISUSE OF STATE FUNDING FOR EQUIPMENT AND EXPANSION OF
PROGRAMS
Brooklyn,
February 5, 2009 –
Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes and New York
State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, announced criminal
charges against five people charged with defrauding the New
York State Office of Children and Family Services, by
misusing funding intended for daycare centers they owned.
The charges stem from an audit of state-funded day care
centers conducted last year, by Comptroller DiNapoli’s
Office.
“The victims in this case are the taxpayers, the hardworking
people who depend on daycare centers to care for their
children during the day, and the legitimate daycare
operators who were denied funding, in favor of these
defendants,” said District Attorney Hynes. “The crimes
committed here are particularly worrisome in this time of
fiscal hardship. I would like to thank Comptroller DiNapoli
for his dedication to rooting out the misuse of state funds
and for bringing these offenses to our attention.”
“There’s never a right time for
fraud,” Comptroller DiNapoli said. “But now more than ever,
every dime counts. Families depend on these important
programs, which provide children with safe and nurturing day
care services. We need to protect the tax dollars that fund
them. District Attorney Hynes has been a tireless advocate
for honest government, and we are proud to stand with him
today to let New Yorkers know the effectiveness and reach of
our combined audit, investigations, and law enforcement
efforts.”
Dhanmattie “Donna” Boodhoo, 44, owner of Donna’s Quality Day
Care, at 2007 Linden Blvd., is charged with stealing $19,079
in state Office of Children and Family Services funding that
had been targeted for specific purchases related to startup
costs at the center, for up to 60 children. Boodhoo is
accused of fabricating invoices from Kaplan Early Learning,
for cribs, tables and chairs at the center and then billing
the state for their purchases. She is also accused of
receiving state reimbursement for false purchases, in which
she only received price quotes from the Childcare Supply
Company for art supplies she never bought.
Carol Alleyne, 47, is charged with stealing $15,556 in state
funding for her daycare center, Thema Sleepover, at 263
Brooklyn Ave. She is accused of ordering six Dell computers,
billing the state, and then returning the computers. She is
also charged with canceling orders for books from Amazon.com;
a television, camera, DVD player and refrigerator, from PC
Richards; and art supplies from S&S Worldwide, before
sending the invoices to the state for reimbursement.
Judith Guerrier, 33, is charged with stealing $14,485, which
had been targeted for supplies at a daycare center, called
Sanctified Learning Center, which is attached to Sanctified
Church of God, at 404 Lefferts Ave. The funding was to help
her expand the center’s capacity, from 15 to 25 children.
She is charged with altering or fabricating invoices on six
different occasions. She is accused of receiving state
reimbursement for $6,000 in computer equipment she claimed
to have purchased from Micro Center. However Micro Center
had no records of the sales. She is also accused of
inflating invoices for kitchen supplies for Lakeshore
Learning and for a $451 purchase at Hertz Furniture. She is
charged with creating invoices for tables, cots and book
sets at Childcraft. She is also accused of claiming in state
filings that a teacher was actually a consultant, which
allowed her to request a larger reimbursement. She then paid
the employee as a teacher and kept the extra money for
herself, according to the charges. Guerrier is also charged
with using the daycare’s bank account as a personal checking
account, making purchases at Saks 5th Avenue and
Macy’s, as well as for cell phones, jewelry and vacations.
Dorothy Shareef, 59, owner of Mulberry Bush, at 1425 Bedford
Ave., is charged with stealing $9,115, intended to offset
startup costs at the center, for 38 children. She is accused
of inflating the invoices for the purchase of cribs and
toddler supplies, from Kaplan Early Learning, and for a sink
and cabinets from the Contractor Depot. She is also charged
with receiving reimbursement for items she never actually
purchased from Ace Office Furniture.
Bertha Blachorsky, 68, is charged with stealing $1,500
intended for offsetting expansion costs to Zion Day Care
Center, at 5000 14th Ave., when the center added
31 children. She is charged with creating false invoices for
four bicycles for a rooftop playground.
These cases were investigated by Deputy Chief Financial
Investigator Eugene Brozen and Financial Investigators Kandi
Conquest and Kirk Zuckerbrow.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys
Gavin Miles and John Holmes, both Bureau Chiefs in the
Rackets Division. Michael Vecchione is Chief of the Rackets
Division.
Contact: Jonah Bruno
718-250-2300
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