WPCNR FBI WIRE. From the Southern District of New York. October 18, 2016:

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney fo the Southern District of New York, William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), George P. Beach II, the Superintendent of the New York State Police (“NYSP”), Adrian H. Anderson, Sheriff of Dutchess County, and Thomas Pape, Acting Chief of City of Poughkeepsie Police Department, Monday announced the unsealing of an indictment and a complaint charging 15 defendants with allegedly engaging in the distribution of cocaine throughout southern and central New York.  Twelve defendants were taken into custody today, and will be presented in White Plains federal court this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul E. Davison.  MALCOLM KINYON was previously arrested on the complaint, and DAVION McADAMS and ANTON MILLER remain at large.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said:  “The defendants charged today allegedly used a music company, ‘Outta They League,’ as a front to run their drug trafficking business.  These arrests take ‘Outta They League’ out of the business of drugs and violence.  We thank the FBI, the New York State Police, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York, and our many local law enforcement partners for their extraordinary partnership on this case.”

FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney said:  “The average drug dealer can’t peddle his wares on the street anymore without someone seeing it, so they’ve found ways to hide their drugs and money using legitimate businesses.  The one thing this group of defendants allegedly didn’t take into consideration, bank accounts don’t lie.  The bad guys may think they’re being smarter than law enforcement, but our Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force is made up of investigators and detectives who are skilled at finding all methods of criminals hiding their crimes.”

NYSP Superintendent George P. Beach II said:  “This investigation and the charges brought today against these 15 individuals are evidence of the commitment we share with our law enforcement partners in keeping  dangerous drugs off our streets. I commend the members of our Special Investigations Unit, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their outstanding efforts to shut down this dangerous drug trafficking operation.”

Dutchess County Sheriff Adrian H. Anderson said:  “Today was a great victory for law enforcement in Dutchess County and elsewhere by the taking of these allegedly dangerous individuals off of our streets. This country faces an ongoing drug epidemic, and being able to contribute towards ending that epidemic by helping remove some of those allegedly responsible is very gratifying. This is a perfect example of what can be achieved when Federal, State, and local law enforcement work together and I look forward to doing so again in the future.”

City of Poughkeepsie Acting Police Chief Thomas Pape said:  “We are grateful for the coordinated efforts of our partners in law enforcement in bringing a successful indictment against these individuals. Mr. Bharara has once again shown that criminal activity will not be tolerated and that he will successfully coordinate efforts between federal, State and local law enforcement agencies to arrest and prosecute those responsible for crimes committed in our communities.”

As alleged in the Indictment and Complaint unsealed today in White Plains federal court[1]:

“Outta They League,” or “OTL,” is a registered corporation that has engaged in the production of music, but in recent years has served primarily as a front used by its owner, MALCOLM KINYON, a/k/a “M.A.,” to facilitate wholesale cocaine transactions, and help launder the proceeds of those drug sales.

Those drug sales were made by KINYON and his associates, members of a criminal drug-trafficking organization that also called itself OTL.  Each month, OTL distributed multiple kilograms of cocaine in and around Poughkeepsie, New York, and to other locations in southern and central New York.  Individual OTL members and associates, including BRIAN BOWMAN, a/k/a “Pony,” AARON HARDY, ANDREW HARDY, NICHOLAS LEYVA, a/k/a “Stay High,” a/k/a “Stay,” DAVION McADAM, a/k/a “Goat,” DANTE McNAIR, a/k/a “Tay,” JAQUAN McNAIR, a/k/a “Quannie,” a/k/a “Drugs,” ANTON MILLER, a/k/a “Anton Singleton,” a/k/a “Nord,” DANIEL SPOTARDS, a/k/a “D,” VAUGHN STOKES, a/k/a “Qua,” and BRYAN WHITTLE, a/k/a “B,” a/k/a “Tall B,” obtained wholesale quantities of this cocaine typically on a consignment basis from OTL’s leader, KINYON.  These cocaine distributors would resell the cocaine they obtained from KINYON, and use the bulk of the proceeds from those sales to pay KINYON for the cocaine KINYON provided.  KINYON would then reinvest those proceeds in further supplies of cocaine, which he would again provide to the other OTL members and associates.

Despite the negligible amounts of income derived from music, a bank account maintained by OTL received in excess of one million dollars from between in or around June 2013 through in or around January 2016.

Most of the funds that passed through that account represented proceeds of narcotics transactions that were ultimately used to facilitate the purchase of additional quantities of cocaine for additional narcotics transactions.   Numerous OTL members and associates, including MALCOLM KINYON, a/k/a “M.A.,” ERIC ANTONMARCHI, a/k/a “Powerful,” a/k/a “P,” STAR BERMUDEZ, DERRICK ENSLEY, a/k/a “Dirk,” ANTON MILLER, a/k/a “Anton Singleton,” a/k/a “Nord,” and DANIEL SPOTARDS, a/k/a “D,” have made large cash deposits to the OTL Account.

In addition to trafficking narcotics, the OTL organization maintained discipline through the threatened use of violence.  OTL members and associates have been recorded discussing the use of violence, including the use of firearms and physical assaults, to ensure repayment for drug debts and to deter co-conspirators from providing information to law enforcement, among other purposes.  OTL’s leader, KINYON, is further charged with trafficking firearms purchased in Virginia and trafficked to New York for resale to OTL members and associates.

*                      *                     *

These arrests were coordinated with an investigation in the Northern District of New York, targeting Bloods gang members operating in and around Kingston, New York.  As a result of that investigation, 31 defendants were indicted for narcotics and other charges in five indictments also unsealed today in Albany federal court.  Many of these defendants were trafficking in cocaine and other drugs obtained from OTL.

 

He announced a plan to build a professional ice rink and a double-ended recreational rink at the plaza.

The rinks would cover about 50,000 square feet of the below grade pool area. The cost could reach $25 million, which would include $4 million already allocated for repairs of the reflecting pool.

Additional money already allocated to the parks department would be used, along with money from a $300 million capital spending plan Astorino hopes the legislature will approve.

In addition to the rink installation, the reflecting pool’s nine historic fountains, capable of shooting water 30 feet in the air, are being fully restored. The proposed hockey rink is regulation size (200 feet by 85 feet) and the ice track on the perimeter is 30-feet wide, accommodating two lanes. Approximately half of the 720-foot by 135-foot reflecting pool would be covered with ice.

The idea for the ice rink grew out of plans by Astorino, already approved by the Board of Legislators, to refurbish the reflecting pool at the foot of the dam, including the deteriorating fountains, which have been shut for 10 years.

As those plans were being designed, it became clear that if ever there was going to be a refrigerated rink at Kensico, the time to build it was now because the piping for the ice and the fountains should be built together.

“Operationally, financially, environmentally and practically, it makes sense to tie the skating rink and the reflecting pool fountains into the same project,” said Astorino.

On Friday, Astorino will unveil a proposed capital budget for 2017 of more than $300 million, which comes at a time when Westchester can take advantage of historically low interest rates and the best credit rating of any county in the state. About one third of the total, roughly $110 million, is dedicated for parks improvements.

“The Westchester County park system is one of the county’s best assets,” said Parks Commissioner Kathleen O’Connor. “Every dollar invested in our parks produces dividends year after year.”

The reflecting pool and rink initiative are part of ongoing improvements at Kensico. About $11 million is needed in 2017 to complete the project: $2.5 million to finish the work on the reflecting pool, $4.2 million for the ice rink and $4 million for a maintenance facility.

The economic impact of $300 million translates roughly into 3,000 jobs.

 

Under the terms of the pact, the cities will seek joint funding, share best practices, develop joint federal and state legislative agendas, and collaborate on creating innovation districts, among other things