|
10
09
 KINGS
COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES, NEW YORK CITY
POLICE COMMISSIONER RAYMOND W. KELLY AND MEMBERS OF THE
COMMUNITY ANNOUNCE INDICTMENTS FOR WEAPONS CACHE AND
ANTI-SEMITIC GRAFFITI
TWO DEFENDANTS FACE
PRISON TIME IN SEPARATE INCIDENTS
Brooklyn, January 27, 2008
– Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes, New York
City Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly and members of the
community today announced the indictment of Ivaylo Ivanov,
for a spate of anti-Semitic graffiti and for possessing a
secret cache of weapons, including explosives, in his
Brooklyn Heights apartment. He also announced the arrest of
Pavel Andreenko, for spray painting swastikas around
Flatbush and Sheepshead Bay on 11 separate incidents.
District Attorney Hynes said, “Hate Crimes are
attacks against the whole of society, not just the
individuals or groups targeted. These crimes announced today
will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I
commend the NYPD for their quick work disposing of this
case, before Ivanov could use the arsenal he built up in his
apartment.”
“A
swastika is not just another form of graffiti. It is a
symbol that generates real fear, particularly
for those still-surviving victims of Nazi Germany , as well
as with relatives – so many who reside in New York – who
were orphaned by its barbarism,” Police Commissioner Raymond
W. Kelly said. “Similarly, the hateful language employed
against African Americans can be used as a weapon that is at
once wounding and derogatory.”
Ivanov’s indictment charges
that Ivanov he kept in his Remsen Street apartment one 9mm
Taurus handgun, a hunting rifle, a sawed-off shotgun, eight
pipe bombs and ammunition for the guns. Police first
encountered Ivanov, 37, after he accidentally shot himself
in the hand and sought medical assistance. When officers
questioned him, Ivanov consented to a search of his
apartment, where they found the weapons cache.
Ivanov is also charged, in a separate
indictment, of spray painting swastikas on several cars,
sidewalks and buildings – including two synagogues – around
Brooklyn Heights last September. The indictment also charges
that he papered cars in the neighborhood with flyers
containing swastikas and the words “Kill all the Jews”.
In the two incidents, Ivanov is charged with
numerous counts, including Criminal Possession of a Weapon
in the First Degree, Aggravated Harassment in the First
Degree as a Hate Crime and Aggravated Harassment in the
Second Degree as a Hate Crime. If convicted, he could face
25 years in prison.
In a third, unrelated incident, Andreenko, 22,
has been charged with spray painting swastikas on 11
Flatbush and Sheepshead Bay buildings between December 19
and 23, 2007. After each incident, Andreenko called 911 to
report the crimes, anonymously. A police officer who knew
Andreenko from earlier criminal activity charged to him saw
the defendant place one of the calls. He was later arrested
at his home and questioned. After detectives listened to the
911 recordings and recognized his voice, Andreenko was
arrested.
Charges against Andreenko include 11 Counts of
Criminal Mischief in the Fourth Degree as a Hate Crime and
11 Counts of Aggravated Harrassment in the First Degree. If
convicted, he could face up to 12 years in prison.
An indictment is an accusatory instrument and
not proof of a defendant’s guilt.
Assistant District Attorneys Mark Posner and
Joseph A. DiBenedetto are prosecuting the case. Charles M.
Guria is Chief of Civil Rights. Michael Vecchione is Chief
of the Rackets Division.
Contact: Jonah
Bruno
718-250-2300
back to top
08
KINGS
COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES MAXIMUM
SENTENCE IN MURDER OVER
GREEN-CARD MARRIAGE SCAM
DEFENDANT KILLED
69-YEAR-OLD SISTER-IN-LAW AFTER DEMANDING MORE MONEY
Brooklyn, January 18, 2008
– Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today
announced the sentencing of Anderson Scrubb, 52, to a
maximum of 25 years to life in prison for the murder of
Gloria Boney, his 69-year-old sister-in-law. Scrubb was
convicted of Murder in the Second Degree and Grand Larceny
in the Fourth Degree on December 13,
2007 and sentenced today before Justice Plummer Lott.
Scrubb had entered into an agreement with the
victim’s sister, Jocelyn Ford, to marry her for $3000 so
that she could get a green card. After the marriage, the
defendant demanded more money from Ford. They had been
arguing over this matter for a couple of weeks.
On August 12, 2006, Scrubb went to Boney’s Union
Street apartment to discuss the situation. The conversation
escalated into a heated argument and Boney threatened to
call police if he didn’t leave. Scrubb, who was on parole
at the time, then wrestled with Boney and they fell to the
floor. He then strangled the victim with a piece of wire
cord. Next, Scrubb stabbed Boney several times in the head
with a screwdriver. After the stabbing, the defendant
grabbed some of Boney’s credit cards and fled. He gave the
credit cards to another female with the intent that she use
them fraudulently.
Relatives grew concerned when Boney did not
answer her phone after repeated calls. Then, when the
relatives went to Boney’s home, she did not answer the door,
so they called police. Scrubb was arrested the next day
when the stolen credit cards were turned over to the police
and traced back to him.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District
Attorney Jonathan Kaye, Counsel in the Homicide Bureau.
Kenneth Taub is Chief of the Homicide Bureau.
Contact: Sandy
Silverstein
718-250-2300
back to top
07
KINGS
COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES
ARREST OF WELFARE CHEAT
CORRECTIONS OFFICER
COLLECTED BENEFITS DESPITE EMPLOYMENT
Brooklyn, January
18, 2008 – Kings
County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes, New York City
Human Resources Administration Commissioner Robert Doar and
Department of Investigation Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn
today announced the arrest and indictment of Corrections
Officer Rannie Miles, charged with illegally collecting more
than $10,000 in welfare benefits.
Miles, 29, is charged with
Welfare Fraud in the Third Degree, Welfare Fraud in the
Fourth Degree and Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree. If
convicted, she faces up to seven years in prison.
“Welfare benefits and other
social services are critical safety nets for people in need,
but those who double dip or otherwise cheat the system
commit a crime against all of the people whose taxes support
those services,” said DA Hynes. “I would like to thank HRA
Commissioner Doar and DOI Commissioner Gill Hearn for their
work investigating this case.”
Commissioner Gill Hearn said
"Welfare fraud is a serious offense that siphons precious
resources earmarked for those in need of assistance.
Individuals who defraud the welfare system must know they
face serious consequences, which may include arrest and
prison time. DOI will continue to work with the Human
Resources Administration and the Brooklyn District Attorney
to investigate welfare fraud and ensure that welfare funding
goes to those entitled to it."
A mother of five, Miles had
collected welfare benefits since 2002. The indictment
charges that after she was hired as a corrections officer in
April 2007, Miles never notified HRA that she had gotten the
job earning a $26,000 annual salary, nor that her salary had
been increased to $36,000 in August. The indictment also
charges that she continued to collect benefits totaling
$10,780, from the time she was hired, through November 2.
The indictment charges that
despite numerous attempts by HRA to contact Miles and
inquire about her employment status, she never responded.
She was notified that a refusal to contact HRA about her
employment could result in sanctions.
The fraud was uncovered by a joint investigation
by the Department of Investigation, the Human Resources
Administration and the Kings County District Attorney’s
Office.
The case is being prosecuted by Lauren Mack,
Chief of the Public Assistance Crimes Bureau.
Contact: Jonah
Bruno
718-250-2300
back to top
06
KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J.
HYNES ANNOUNCES
CONVICTION IN SEX ABUSE AND ASSAULT
OF 20-YEAR-OLD WOMAN
Brooklyn, January 16, 2008
– Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today
announced the conviction of Lavon Grayer, 34, for sexually
abusing a 20-year-old woman inside her Bushwick apartment
building. He was convicted of Burglary in the Second
Degree, Sexual Abuse in the First Degree and Assault in the
Second Degree. Grayer faces a maximum of 15 years when he
is sentenced on February 27 before Justice Abraham Gerges.
On January 27, 2007, Grayer followed the victim
into the vestibule of her apartment building. He then
punched and kicked her and threw her down a flight of
stairs. Next, he got on top of her and sexually abused her
over her clothing. He tried to remove her pants but the
victim put up a struggle before she managed to escape.
The incident was captured on surveillance
cameras although the defendant’s face could not be seen.
The victim described the attacker to Detective Maribel Roman
at Brooklyn Special Victim's Squad, who conducted an
investigation. He was arrested on January 29 and
subsequently identified by the victim in a lineup.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District
Attorney Jennifer Ruben from the Sex Crimes Bureau. Rhonnie
Jaus is Chief of the Sex Crimes Bureau.
Contact: Sandy
Silverstein
718-250-2300
back to top
05
KINGS
COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES,
Immigration and
Customs Enforcement New York Acting Special Agent in Charge
Salvatore Dalessandro,
Drug Enforcement ADMINISTRATION Special Agent in Charge John
P. Gilbride
and Waterfront Commission Executive Director Thomas DiMaria
ANNOUNCE INDICTMENT OF SEVEN PANAMANIAN DRUG TRAFFICKERS
TRIED TO SMUGGLE $10
MILLION IN COCAINE INTO NEW YORK
Brooklyn,
January 10, 2008 –
Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes, Immigration
and Customs Enforcement New York Acting Special Agent in
Charge Salvatore Dalessandro, Drug Enforcement
Administration Special Agent in Charge John P. Gilbride and
Waterfront Commission Executive Director Thomas DiMaria
today announced the indictment of seven people involved in a
multi-million-dollar conspiracy to smuggle cocaine into New
York from Panama, aboard container ships docking in Howland
Hook, Staten Island, for distribution along the East Coast.
“The international narco-traffickers charged in this
indictment sought to poison our neighborhoods and streets
with cocaine and like all drug dealers, they will be brought
to justice,” said District Attorney Hynes. “I’d like to
thank the DEA’s Drug Enforcement Task Force, ICE, and the
Waterfront Commission for their hard work and cooperation in
this investigation.”
Working on information that members of an organized, cocaine
smuggling conspiracy were looking for a corrupt longshoreman
to help unload shipments of narcotics in a New York port, a
Detective Investigator from the Brooklyn District Attorney’s
Office went undercover to infiltrate the organization.
Posing as a longshoreman with the ability to unload
contraband from container ships without alerting law
enforcement, the undercover was able to intercept
approximately 75 pounds of cocaine, worth $10 million, in
three shipments.
In order to test the undercover and his ability to unload
the contraband without being detected, the smugglers in
Panama first sent a Panamanian newspaper and a hat, stashed
aboard a container ship. The indictment charges that in
three later shipments the defendants transported cocaine,
believing the longshoreman was passing it on to members of
the criminal enterprise, who then delivered it to wholesale
narcotics distributors along the East Coast.
The drugs were hidden so deeply
in the enormous container ships that for one shipment, the
defendants provided the undercover Detective Investigator a
map to find them.
The ships navigated the Panama Canal en route from China to
New York and then Virginia, but in the Panamanian port city
of Manzanillo, smugglers secretly loaded them with cocaine.
Six of the defendants have been indicted on charges of
Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the First Degree
and Conspiracy in the Second Degree. They face up to 45
years in prison if convicted. The seventh defendant was
charged with Endangering the Welfare of a Child for bringing
her seven-year-old child along to pick up more than 12
pounds of cocaine.
DEA Special Agent in Charge
Gilbride said, "Transnational drug crime is a threat to the
safety and security of our communities. The illegal
enterprise that this organization operated was able to
smuggle cocaine from Panama to the streets of New York
aboard commercial vessels without being detected up until
now. The DEA is committed to working with our local and
international partners to disrupt and dismantle these
dangerous criminal organizations and make our cities
safer."
Waterfront Commission of New
York Harbor Chief J. Kevin McGowan said, “The police
division at the Waterfront Commission has been aggressively
investigating internal conspiracies on the waterfront since
its creation in 1953. This was a creative undercover
undertaking by the Commission detectives and Detective
Investigators from the Brooklyn DA’s office. Over the last
three years, we have arrested more than 53 people who were
tied to internal conspiracies within the port district of
New York and New Jersey.”
Waterfront Commission Executive
Director De Maria said, “Once again, the collaborative
effort of the Kings County District Attorney’s Office and
the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor has resulted in
bringing seven perpetrators to justice who sought to use the
Port of New York as an avenue for their illegal activity. I
commend Assistant Chief McGowan and our Waterfront
Commission Detectives for their excellent work along with
Brooklyn D.A. Hynes and his fine investigators who, working
together, rooted out and destroyed this illegal internal
conspiracy which sought to bring cocaine in from Panama for
sale and distribution on the streets of Brooklyn. The
Waterfront Commission, and our many partners in Federal,
State and local law enforcement, stands ever vigilant to
deter, combat and eradicate criminal activity in our great
Port.”
The New York Drug Enforcement
Task Force, comprised of DEA Special Agents, NYPD Detectives
and New York State Police Investigators, worked on the case,
as did the DEA’s Panama Country Office.
The case was investigated by
Detective Investigator Edwin Murphy, Detective Investigator
John Beale, Detective Investigator Kevin McAleese, Detective
Investigator William Petite, Supervising Investigator James
Russell, Supervising Investigator Joseph Piraino,
Supervising Investigator Shaun Winter, Deputy Chief
Investigator Al Lombardo, and Assistant Chief Investigator
George Terra. Joseph Ponzi is Chief of Investigators.
The case is being prosecuted by
Assistant District Attorneys Maria Haymandou and Lawrence
Oh. Suzanne Corhan is Chief of the Narcotics Division.
Michael Vecchione is Chief of the Rackets Division.
Contact: Jonah Bruno
718-250-2300
back to top
04
KINGS
COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES
69-YEAR-SENTENCE OF RAPIST
DNA TAKEN FROM CUP THE
DEFENDANT WAS DRINKING FROM LED TO ARREST
Brooklyn,
January 8, 2008 –
Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today
announced the sentencing of Carlos Hooker, 33, for the rape,
sodomy and burglary of a 29-year-old victim in her Ocean
Avenue apartment in September, 2001. On December 14, 2007,
Hooker was convicted of Rape in the First Degree, two counts
of Sodomy in the First Degree, Burglary in the First Degree
and Sexual Abuse in the First Degree. He was sentenced
today after a week-long trial before Justice Cassandra
Mullen.
On September 9, 2001, Hooker and his accomplice, Astor
Pinnock, broke into the victim’s apartment through a fire
escape window. The victim was in bed with her 5-year-old
son. Hooker displayed a knife and told her that if she
cooperated, nobody would get hurt. He ordered her to put
her son in the other room. Then, Hooker and Pinnock took
turns assaulting her. Next, they stole $50 from the victim
as well as a camera and cell phone.
After the incident, the victim called police and was taken
to Brooklyn Hospital where a rape kit was completed.
Pinnock was arrested approximately a month later. He was
convicted on October 16, 2002 and sentenced to a maximum of
21 years on December 16, 2002.
After an investigation, Hooker became a suspect in the
rape. A detective went to his place of work and observed
the defendant drink from a cup. The detective then took the
cup to the Chief Medical Examiner for DNA testing and
compared it to DNA recovered from the victim at the time of
the incident.
A match was confirmed and Hooker
was arrested on October 4, 2006. During the trial, Pinnock
testified against Hooker.
The case was prosecuted by Kevin
O’Donnell, Unit Chief in the Sex Crimes Bureau. Rhonnie
Jaus is Chief of the Sex Crimes Bureau.
Contact: Sandy Silverstein
718-250-2300
back to top
03
KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT
ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES EXTRADITION OF ACCUSED
SEX OFFENDER FROM ISRAEL
FIRST EXTRADITION UNDER
NEW, EXPANDED TREATY
Brooklyn, January 7, 2008 – Kings County District Attorney
Charles J. Hynes today announced that Stefan Colmer, 31, was
returned to the United States today to face charges he
sodomized two 13-year-old boys in his Midwood home in 2006.
Colmer is the first person to be extradited from Israel to
the United States, under a newly negotiated extradition
treaty between the two countries. He is expected to be
arraigned tomorrow in Brooklyn Supreme Court.
After learning he was under investigation, in February 2007,
Colmer fled to Israel. A new extradition treaty between the
United States and Israel, which went into effect Jan. 10,
2007, allowed Colmer to be returned to Brooklyn. Prior to
the newly amended treaty, the crimes for which Colmer is
charged were not subject to extradition.
The indictment charges that between January and May 2006,
Colmer sodomized two teenage boys on numerous occasions.
Colmer is charged with Eight Counts of Criminal Sexual Act
in the Second Degree, Eight Counts of Sexual Misconduct, 19
Counts of Sexual Abuse in the Second Degree and Two Counts
of Endangering the Welfare of a Child.
The new treaty may also allow for the extradition of Avrohom
Mondrowitz, who claimed to be a rabbi and posed as a school
psychologist in Borough Park during the late 1970s and early
1980s. He was indicted in 1984 for sodomizing young boys,
and he fled to Israel after learning he was under
investigation. Since then, Mondrowitz has remained in
Israel, protected by the now defunct treaty. He was recently
arrested there, pursuant to the amended treaty, and
extradition proceedings are pending.
Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Doerfler is
prosecuting Colmer. Rhonnie Jaus is Chief of the Sex Crimes
Bureau.
Contact:
Jonah Bruno
718-250-2300
back to top
01
KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT
ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES 25 YEARS TO LIFE FOR
STARRETT CITY RAPIST
DEFENDANT FOUND AFTER MATCH FROM STATE DNA DATABASE
Brooklyn,
January 3, 2008 –
Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today
announced the sentence of 25 years to life for Stanley
Emerson, 48, for the rape of a 16-year-old girl in her
Starrett City apartment building in 2005. He was convicted
December 7th of Rape in the First Degree and
Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree.
Based on Emerson’s prior
criminal record, Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Alan Marrus
sentenced him as a Mandatory Persistent Felon, increasing
the maximum penalty from 25 to 25 to life. He was a
registered sex offender before the conviction.
On the morning of November 4, 2005, the victim who was 16 at
the time, was waiting for the elevator in her apartment
building to go to school. Emerson appeared from the
stairwell, wearing a stocking over his head. He grabbed her
arms behind her back and dragged her down several flights of
stairs at knifepoint into a janitor’s closet. He then made
her remove her clothes and raped her. Then, he had her
perform oral sex on him.
After the incident, the victim went to school and told her
boyfriend. They went to Coney Island Hospital together.
The hospital took her clothes and alerted police to the
incident. The victim’s clothing had the defendant’s semen
on it. Months later, a match came back from the State DNA
database, linking the defendant to the rape.
The case was prosecuted by Rachel Schmidt, Deputy Bureau
Chief in the Sex Crimes Bureau. Rhonnie Jaus is Chief of
the Sex Crimes Bureau.
Contact: Sandy Silverstein
718-250-2300
back to top |
