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08
KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT
ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES INDICTMENT OF STATE
SENATOR KEVIN PARKER
Brooklyn, May 29, 2009
– Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today
announced the indictment of New York State Senator Kevin
Parker on charges he assaulted a New York Post photographer
on May 8.
The charges include Assault in the Second
Degree, Assault in the Third Degree, Criminal Mischief in
the Third Degree, Criminal Mischief in the Fourth Degree,
Menacing in the Third Degree and Harassment in the Second
Degree. If convicted, Parker faces up to seven years in
prison.
An indictment is an accusatory instrument and
not proof of defendant’s guilt.
Contact: Sandy
Silverstein
718-250-2300
07
KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT
ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES
25-YEAR-TO-LIFE SENTENCE FOR FEBRUARY 2008 MURDER
Brooklyn, May 29, 2009
– Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today
announced the sentencing of Anton Bramble, 30, to 25 years
to Life in prison for the February 2008 murder of Caprice
Connor. He was convicted on May 1, 2009 of Murder in the
Second Degree and sentenced today before Justice Alan
Marrus.
On February 21, 2008, Bramble shot the victim at
the corner of St. John’s Place and Schenectady Avenue in
Crown Heights outside a deli/grocery store as the victim was
running errands. Connor sustained five gunshot wounds to
the body and was transported to Brookdale Hospital. He died
about a week later on February 29th.
He was prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Marc
Fliedner from 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 RECEIVES NEW YORK CITY BAR
ASSOCIATION CHAMPION AWARD FOR PROMOTING DIVERSITY IN THE
WORK PLACE
Brooklyn, May 28, 2009
- Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes
received the New York City Bar Association’s 2009 Diversity
Champion Award at a luncheon in Manhattan yesterday.
The Bar Association noted that the number of
female attorneys and minorities has increased substantially
at the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office in the 19 plus
years DA Hynes has been at the helm.
Women currently make up 56 percent of the legal
staff and 29 percent is comprised of ethnic minorities. In
addition, women hold the three top senior positions at the
agency.
The Bar Association also cited the fact that DA
Hynes has successfully created innovative programs and
partnerships with the Brooklyn community that serve as
nationwide models for law enforcement.
DA Hynes strongly believes in the philosophy that
if people are given opportunity and support they will rise
to become the best they can be. With this guiding principle,
he has succeeded in creating a workforce that reflects the
community it serves.
The Bar Association highlighted DA Hynes’ “hands-on
approach” in assembling his workforce. It said his
recruitment and hiring practices have translated into both
an exceptionally diverse legal and non-legal staff made up
of men and women of all ages, religions, sexual orientations
and nationalities.
Created in 2006, the New York City Bar Association’s
Diversity Champion Award seeks to recognize people whose
actions and activities within the legal profession,
particularly in New York City, embody the principles of
diversity.
Contact: J. Zamgba Browne
(718) 250-3850
05
KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT
ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES HOSTS
FIRST BROOKLYN GANG SUMMIT SPEAKS
ABOUT PROGRESS BEING MADE
TO STEM IT
Brooklyn, May 21, 2009
- Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes used his
first gang summit convened yesterday at Polytech Pfizer
Auditorium to talk about his approach to law enforcement
which includes alternative to incarceration, specialized
prosecution bureaus and community outreach.
He said when gang related cases started coming
into the criminal justice system in 1994, his office was the
first District Attorney Office in the State that created
specialized bureaus to handle them.
“My office has worked tirelessly with the New York
City Police Department and Brooklyn communities to respond
to the gang problem in our cities,” said DA Hynes.
Two years ago, DA Hynes charged his Gang Bureau with
the responsibility of conducting gang awareness workshops at
PTA and Community Board meetings as well as at houses of
worship and other organizations that are faced with gang
problems.
“These initiatives have brought out Brooklyn
communities to do their part in taking back our streets and
protecting our children from gangs,” said DA Hynes.
DA Hynes also spoke about ComAlert (Community and
Law Enforcement Resources Together), a coalition of
community-based service providers helping ex-offenders with
housing, education, substance abuse treatment, physical and
mental health counseling and employment.
While addressing the public safety issue of reducing
crime, DA Hynes said ComAlert makes economic sense because
New York taxpayers pay close to $3 billion a year to
maintain prison operations and in New York City, it cost
$64,000 per year to house an inmate in jail.
ComAlert clients receive mandatory substance abuse
treatment for the first three months after release from
prison at a special counseling service. ComAlert also offers
up to nine months full-time employment starting at $7.40 per
hour. The program works with each individual to help the
participant find a job.
Contact:
J. Zamgba Browne
(718) 250-3800
04
KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT
ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES 29-YEAR SENTENCE IN
CHILD SEXUAL ASSAULT
VICTIMS WERE DEFENDANT’S
RELIGIOUS STUDIES STUDENTS
Brooklyn, May 21, 2009
– Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today
announced the sentencing of Naasir Mehmood, a religious
studies teacher who was convicted of sexually abusing three
students.
Mehmood, 46, was convicted Nov. 20, 2008, of
Course of Sexual Conduct Against a Child in the First,
Course of Sexual Conduct Against a Child in the Second
Degree, Criminal Sexual Act in the Second Degree, and
Endangering the Welfare of a Child. He was sentenced today
to 29 years in prison.
The abuse occurred between the 2003 and 2005.
The victims, all siblings, include two girls and a boy, now
ages 16, 13, and 8, respectively. The abuse occurred in his
home, their home, and in his van. The victims’ parents hired
Mehmood to tutor their children in religious matters.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District
Attorney Ilana Roberts and Sex Crimes Bureau Unit Chief
Kevin O’Donnell. Rhonnie Jaus is Chief of the Sex Crimes
Bureau.
Contact: Jonah
Bruno
718-250-2300
03
KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT
ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES AND NEW YORK CITY HUMAN RESOURCES
ADMINISTRATION COMMISSIONER ROBERT DOAR ANNOUNCE INDICTMENT
OF BROOKLYN COUPLE FOR WELFARE FRAUD
DEFENDANTS COLLECTED
THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN MEDICAID BENEFITS WHILE MAKING OVER
$500,000 IN MORTGAGE PAYMENTS
Brooklyn, May 20, 2009
– Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes and New
York City Human Resources Administration Commissioner Robert
Doar today announced the indictment of Carmine Gargano, 65,
and his wife Rosa Gargano, 57, for fraudulently collecting
welfare benefits for which they were ineligible. They were
indicted on charges of Welfare Fraud in the Third Degree,
Welfare Fraud in the Fourth Degree, Grand Larceny in the
Third Degree, Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree, and three
counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the
First Degree. They each up to seven years in prison if
convicted.
District Attorney Hynes said, “This
is yet another case of welfare fraud where greedy
individuals try to scam the government and take money away
from people who really need it. I would like to thank HRA
for their diligent efforts in uncovering this type of fraud
and for continuing to cooperate with my office. Hopefully,
these arrests will make others think twice before trying to
collect welfare benefits to which they are not entitled.”
“I am grateful to the HRA staff and D.A. Hynes
and his staff at the Kings County District Attorney’s office
for this important partnership to end fraud. We are
committed to preserving the integrity of public benefits
programs so that these supports go to people who truly need
them,” said HRA Commissioner Doar.
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.
The Garganos took themselves off of Medicaid two
months after the District Attorney’s Office subpoenaed their
corporate records in December 2008.
An indictment is an accusatory instrument and
not proof of a defendant’s guilt.
The case is being prosecuted by Frank Dudis,
Counsel in the Public Assistance Crimes Unit. Lauren Mack
is Chief of the Public Assistance Crimes Unit.
Contact: Sandy
Silverstein
718-250-2300
01
KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT
ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES 20-YEAR-SENTENCE IN RAPE
OF 13-YEAR-OLD GIRL
DNA EVIDENCE LED TO ARREST
Brooklyn, May 6, 2009
– Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today
announced the sentencing of John Garrison, 37, to 20 years
in prison for the October 2007 rape of a 13-year-old girl.
He was convicted in February of Rape in the First Degree,
Rape in the Second Degree, Sexual Abuse in the First Degree
and Endangering the Welfare of a Child. He was sentenced
today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice James Sullivan.
On the evening of October 3, 2007, the
13-year-old girl was running an errand to a nearby store.
As she walked down Glenwood Road in East Flatbush, Garrison
was standing in an alley with his penis exposed and tried to
engage the victim in a conversation. He grabbed her by the
arm and pulled her into the alley between two houses, where
he raped her. The girl eventually managed to run to a
friend’s house where she told her friend what happened.
They went back to the victim’s home where the girl’s father
called police.
During the investigation, police found some of
Garrison’s DNA on the victim’s jeans which led to his
arrest. He was a registered sex offender and was found
through the DNA database because he has numerous previous
convictions for public lewdness.
The case was prosecuted by Elizabeth Doerfler,
Counsel in the Sex Crimes Bureau and Assistant District
Attorney Esi Lewis from the Sex Crimes Bureau. Rhonnie Jaus
is Chief of the Sex Crimes Bureau.
Contact: Sandy
Silverstein
718-250-2300
02
KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT
ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES CONVICTION IN BODEGA
HAMMER ATTACK
Brooklyn, May 6, 2009
– Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today
announced the conviction of Salah Ahmed, 38, of assaulting a
teen with a hammer, in Ahmed’s East New York grocery store.
Convicted of Assault in the First Degree and
Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Fourth Degree, Ahmed
faces up to 25 years in prison, when he is sentenced May
28.
The victim, 14, and another boy had been
involved in an altercation with Salah’s nephew, a cashier at
the store. Ahmed was caught on surveillance video running
from a side room in the store with a hammer and striking the
victim with it twice.
Orange Zone Deputy Bureau Chief Samantha Magnani
and Assistant District Attorney Sandra Fried prosecuted the
case. Caryn Stepner is Chief of the Orange Zone.
Contact: Jonah
Bruno
718-250-2300
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