KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT
ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES TODAY ANNOUNCED THE SENTENCING OF
A WOMAN WHO ILLEGALLY POSED AS AN ATTORNEY
PRACTICED IN FAMILY COURT
WITHOUT A LICENSE
Brooklyn, June 6, 2007
– Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today
announced the sentencing of Natasha Riley, 44, who was
posing as an attorney and practicing law in family court
without a license.
Riley pleaded guilty to Offering a False Instrument for
Filing in the First Degree, a Class-E Felony, and today was
sentenced to five years probation. She was also ordered to
pay restitution, in the amount of $3,267, to seven victims
who paid her to be their lawyer.
Riley raised the suspicions of a Family Court judge last
January, when she blurted out an obscenity while making a
legal argument during a court proceeding. The judge referred
Riley to the District Attorney’s Office, where it was
determined that Riley had no license to practice law. An
investigation yielded a list of clients who had paid her
between $300 and $900 per court appearance.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Joseph
DiBenedetto, of the Rackets Division. Michael Vecchione is
Chief of the Rackets Division.
Contact: Jonah Bruno
718-250-2300
back to top
002
KINGS
COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES
SENTENCING OF EX-JUDGE GERALD P. GARSON
TOOK CASH BRIBES AND GIFTS
FROM AN ATTORNEY
Brooklyn,
June 5, 2007 – Kings County District Attorney Charles J.
Hynes today announced the sentencing of former Brooklyn
Supreme Court Justice Gerald P. Garson to three to 10 years
in prison for three felonies he was convicted of in April.
Orange County Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey G. Berry
sentenced Garson to two to four years for Bribe Receiving in
the Third Degree and one to three years for each of two
counts of Receiving a Reward for Official Misconduct in the
Second Degree. Each sentence will run consecutively, for a
total of three to 10 years.
The top count, Bribe Receiving in the Third Degree, is based
on a relationship the former judge had with an attorney,
Paul Siminovsky, in which Siminovsky bought Garson numerous
lunches, dinners and drinks in exchange for favorable
treatment and lucrative court appointments. The other two
counts stem from two incidents, caught on video
surveillance, in which Siminovsky first gave Garson a box of
expensive cigars and later $1,000 in cash.
The case was prosecuted by Chief of the Rackets Division
Michael Vecchione and Assistant District Attorneys Bryan
Wallace, Joseph Alexis, and Seth Lieberman.
Contact:
Jonah Bruno
718-250-2300
back to
top
003
KINGS
COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES ARRESTS
IN
“OPERATION CROWN STRIKE” DRUG TAKEDOWN
INVESTIGATION LAUNCHED IN RESPONSE TO
COMMUNITY OUTRAGE DETECTIVE INVESTIGATOR INJURED IN FALL DURING
SEARCH WARRANT AT DRUG STASH HOUSE
Brooklyn, June 7, 2007 – Kings County District Attorney Charles J.
Hynes today announced the arrest of 11 people charged with running
illegal drug operations in Crown Heights. The investigation began in
the summer of 2006, when community leaders, at a routine meeting
with District Attorney Hynes, expressed outrage over the armed,
organized drug dealers terrorizing their neighborhood.
“The
responsibility of the District Attorney is to keep Brooklyn safe,
and that starts with every block and street corner in every
neighborhood,” said District Attorney Hynes. “When the residents of
Crown Heights came to me to say that drug dealing was a problem on
their streets, my office responded immediately, by coordinating with
the NYPD to launch an investigation. I’d like to thank NYPD
Commissioner Raymond Kelly and the NYPD for their help and hard work
on this case.”
A joint
investigation by the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office and the
NYPD uncovered several independently operating drug gangs dealing
narcotics at multiple locations throughout the section of Crown
Heights surrounding the Brooklyn Children’s Museum. Extensive video
surveillance showed one dealer weighing out cocaine on a scale and
another drug dealer using binoculars to monitor the block for police
activity.
In addition to counter surveillance, the highly organized drug
dealers used techniques such as changing clothes frequently to
disguise their appearances and purposely neglecting to repair
rotting and broken floor boards in drug stash houses, hoping to
injure police in the event of a raid. While executing a search
warrant, a KCDA Detective Investigator fell six feet through a
damaged floor and broke her arm.
Last
week, KCDA Detective Investigators executed 10 search warrants, and
made 11 arrests. Detectives recovered three guns with ammunition,
600 grams of cocaine, six pounds of marijuana, pills, drug cutting
agents, six scales, hundreds of bags for packaging, binoculars and
radios for counter surveillance, and more than $17,000 in cash. This
comes in addition to 700 grams of cocaine and two pounds of
marijuana purchased by undercover agents, over the course of the
investigation.
Those
arrested range in age from 23 to 67 and face charges including
Conspiracy in the First Degree, Conspiracy in the Second Degree,
Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the First Degree and
Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Fourth Degree. They have all
been arraigned in Brooklyn Criminal Court with bail packages ranging
from $50,000 to $750,000. The top charges, Conspiracy in the First
Degree and Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the First
Degree, are both Class A1 Felonies which carry a maximum sentence of
25 years in prison.
KCDA
Detective Investigators Kevin McAleese, John Beale, Edwin Murphy and
Bill Pettie; Supervising Detective Investigators Jim Russell and Joe
Piraino; Deputy Chief Al Lombardo; Assistant Chief Investigators
George Terra and Jerry Zino; and Chief Investigator Joe Ponzi worked
on the case for the District Attorney’s Office.
NYPD
Sgt. Steve Talvi 77, Sgt. Frank Guarino of the Gang Division, 77th
Precinct Deputy Inspector John Cosgrove, Inspector Robert Boyce of
the Gang Division, Chief Michael Marino, Executive Officer Patrol
Borough Brooklyn North worked on the case. Chief Gerald Nelson is
Commanding Officer of Patrol Borough Brooklyn North.
Assistant District Attorneys Maria Barrera and Lawrence Oh are
prosecuting the case. Suzanne Corhan is Chief of the Major Narcotics
Investigations Bureau.
Contact: Jonah
Bruno
718-250-2300
back to
top
004
KINGS
COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES
INDICTMENT IN HATE-CRIME MURDER
Brooklyn, June 14, 2007 – Kings
County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today announced the
indictment of Omar Willock, 17, in the stabbing death of Roberto
Duncanson, 20, because he was gay. Willock is charged with Murder in
the Second Degree, Murder in the Second Degree as a Hate Crime and
Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Fourth Degree.
On May
12, Willock and Duncanson passed each other on St. Marks Avenue in
Crown Heights, and Willock became enraged, accusing Duncanson of
looking at him and shouting anti-gay remarks. Duncanson walked away
and continued to a friend’s house. When he returned, Duncanson again
passed Willock, and Willock again berated him for his sexual
orientation. Duncanson tried to walk away, but Willock pursued him
and started a fistfight. The indictment charges that Willock then
pulled out a knife and stabbed Duncanson four times in the back.
Duncanson was taken to Kings County Hospital and died an hour
later.
An
indictment is merely an accusatory instrument and not proof of a
defendant’s guilt.
The
case is being prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Howard Jackson
from the Homicide Bureau. Ken Taub is Chief of the Homicide Bureau.
Contact: Sandy
Silverstein
718-250-2300
back to
top
005
KINGS
COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES TO RECEIVE AWARD
FOR OUTSTANDING SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY AND SENIORS
SEN. MARTIN GOLDEN WILL DELIVER
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Brooklyn,
June 20, 2007 – Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes will
receive the first “Power of One” award given by the Senior Umbrella
Network of Brooklyn (SUN-B). The award will be presented to DA
Hynes in honor of his dedication and service to the community and
his work with seniors at a luncheon on June 22 from 11:00 AM – 3:00
PM at Kingsborough Community College. Senator Martin Golden,
Chairman of the NYS Committee on Aging, will deliver the keynote
address.
District Attorney Hynes said, “I am deeply honored to receive this
award, and I accept it on behalf of my grandfather, who protected me
during a childhood plagued by domestic abuse. It is in his memory
that I dedicate my efforts on behalf of all Brooklyn seniors.”
District Attorney Hynes is widely-known as an advocate for
Brooklyn’s 400,000 senior citizens. His concern for their welfare
led him to create a Senior Affairs Bureau in his office in 1992.
Retired and semi-retired attorneys act as good will ambassadors and
visit senior centers and other locations, where there are large
numbers of seniors, to address issues that are of concern to them.
Often, the DA also visits these locations. They discuss topics such
as identity theft, mortgage fraud, home healthcare aide fraud,
domestic violence and elder abuse (physical and mental).
District Attorney Hynes’ office also works diligently with Sun-B on
the Medication Safety Campaign, designed to educate seniors and
their families about medication safety in conjunction with
healthcare facilities and community outreach programs in Brooklyn.
The
DA’s Community Relations program also plays a significant role in
the education and safety of all residents including seniors. They
form reliable working relationships with community organizations,
local police precincts, schools, businesses, elected officials and
residents to address neighborhood safety concerns.
District Attorney Hynes has been helping seniors since 1975 when
Governor Hugh Carey appointed him to be the State Special Prosecutor
for Nursing Homes, Health, and Social Services to prosecute cases of
corruption against the State by nursing home operators. This is
when he learned that there was much more than financial fraud being
perpetrated in nursing homes. There were patients who were the
victims of physical, mental, and psychological brutality. And more
frequently than anywhere else, this elder abuse usually takes place
in the seniors’ own homes by those who live with them.
This
realization led DA Hynes to create an Elder Abuse Unit in response
to the growing number of elder abuse cases in Brooklyn. The Elder
Abuse Unit handles all cases of spousal, intimate partner, or
parental abuse involving victims aged 60 and older.
District Attorney Hynes also honors seniors with “Extraordinary
Elder” awards every month in recognition of their accomplishments
and their work in the community.
Vicki
Ellner, SUN-B’s Founder and Chair, said, “It is fitting that our
first ‘Power of One’ award be presented to District Attorney Hynes,
who has shown such a staunch commitment to the citizens of Brooklyn
and made such a difference.”
Contact: Sandy
Silverstein
718-250-2300
back to
top
006
007 |
