WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER SETS RECORD VISITS FOR YEAR 7,017,658 VISITS! 2,098,003 VISITORS MADE 6 VISITS A DAY EVERY DAY. 63,330 UNIQUE VISITORS MADE 133,730 VISITS IN DECEMBER. WPCNR AVERAGED 17,284 VISITORS A WEEK, VISITING 31,270 TIMES.

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WPCNR POLICE GAZETTE. From the Westchester County Police. November 23, 2011:

A special task force of federal, Westchester County and local law enforcement officers has arrested five people in connection with an ATM skimming scheme that resulted in $1 million in fraud in multiple Westchester communities.

The five suspects were arrested in recent weeks by a multi-agency ATM Skimming Task Force made up of police officers from the Westchester County Department of Public Safety, the U.S. Secret Service and nine local police departments in Westchester. The task force is continuing its investigation into a number of additional ATM skimming cases.

     Public Safety Commissioner George N. Longworth created the task force following incidents of ATM skimming fraud that were occurring around Westchester.  Along with the county police and U.S. Secret Service, the Pelham, Rye, Greenburgh, Bronxville and Yorktown police departments assigned officers to the task force.

“This is a large-scale fraud being perpetrated by a sophisticated group of thieves,” Longworth said. “We decided to bring together some of the best and brightest investigators from multiple agencies to address this problem.”

     County Executive Robert P. Astorino praised the work of the task force and said it reinforced the benefits of partnership and teamwork among Westchester’s law enforcement community. He also urged consumers to be especially alert to fraud during the upcoming holiday shopping season.

     “Whether it is ATM skimming or other schemes, criminals are always looking for ways to take advantage of shoppers during the busy holiday season,” he said. “The police are working hard to stay ahead of criminals but shoppers need to be vigilant as well. Suspicious activity should be reported to local or county police.”

    In the ATM skimming fraud, thieves attached a device known as a “dip reader” over the legitimate device installed on ATMs for customers to insert their ATM, debit or credit cards. The “dip reader,” which appears identical to the legitimate device and fits over it, then captures all the information contained on a bank card’s magnetic strip.

     The thieves also install a pinhole camera above the ATM key pad to capture the customer’s personal identification number (PIN).

     With the information from the magnetic strip and the PIN, the thieves are then able to withdraw cash from their victims’ bank accounts.

     “Thieves using an ATM skimmer and pinhole camera obtained the full information from 350 customers on a recent Sunday at a single bank ATM.  They later withdrew $1,000 from each victim’s account – resulting in $350,000 in loses on a single day,” Longworth said.

     Noting that thieves need both the magnetic strip information and the PIN, Astorino said bank customers could protect themselves by taking simple precautions.

     “When you type in your PIN, use your other hand to shield the keypad and block the view of any hidden camera that may be there,” he said.  He also urged customers to be aware of people standing behind them who may be trying to watch them type their PIN.

          The five people arrested recently were each charged with Criminal Possession of Forgery Devices, a felony. They are:

·        Richard Merca, 19, of Palatine, Ill., who was arrested Nov. 13 in connection with an attempted skimming fraud at a bank inside the Jefferson Valley Mall in Yorktown Heights;

·        Victor Vdila, 21, of Astoria, Queens, who was arrested Oct. 16 in connection with an attempted skimming fraud at a bank on Central Park Avenue in Yonkers;

·        Istvan Casplar, 29, and Florinel Gavat, 40, both of Astoria, Queens, who were arrested Oct. 23 in connection with an attempted skimming fraud at a bank on East Hartsdale Avenue in Greenburgh.

·        Ionut Vasilas, 23, of Chicago was arrested Nov. 6 in connection with an attempted skimming fraud at a bank on South Broadway in Tarrytown.

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WPCNR WHITE PLAINS LAW JOURNAL. November 22, 2011 UPDATED NOVEMBER 23, 2011:

Adam Bradley, former Mayor of White Plains who resigned in February of this year, after being convicted in December, 2010 of attempted assault on his wife, Fumiko Bradley appeared in City Court Wednesday and pled not guilty to a charge of contempt of court in the second degree for violating his probation conditions where he was instructed not to contact his wife. City Judge Brian Hansbury allowed Bradley to stay free on bail in his own recognizance until his return date of December 12. 

Bradley allegedly called his wife four times by contacting her, he said accidentally with his cellphone which dialed his wife inadvertently.

The specific complaint refers to only one call on November 12. The District Attorney’s Office asked Bradley be held on $10,000 bail until his next court appearance,December 13.

Bradley turned himself last Friday evening at 7  P.M.at White Plains Police Headquarters after his whereabouts was unknown throughout Friday, sparking two White Plains police searches (authorized by court-obtained search warrants) of premises of acquaintances Bradley knows, in hopes that Bradley was there.

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WPCNR FBI WIRE. Special to WPCNR From the Federal Bureau of Investigation. November 21, 2011:

David L. Kugel, a former senior trader in the Market Making and Proprietary Trading operations of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (BLMIS), pleaded guilty today in Manhattan federal court to a six-count superseding information related to his conduct while employed at BLMIS, announced Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Kugel admitted that, beginning in the early 1970s, he helped create fake, backdated trades for the purpose of defrauding BLMIS’s investment advisory (IA) clients. Kugel pleaded guilty Monday before U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain to two counts of conspiracy, as well as substantive counts of securities fraud, falsifying books and records of a broker-dealer, falsifying books and records of an investment adviser, and bank fraud. In addition to pleading guilty, Kugel agreed to cooperate with the government in its ongoing investigation of the fraud that occurred at BLMIS.

According to the superseding Information, plea agreement and other documents filed in connection with the case:

Kugel was employed at BLMIS from 1970 through Dec. 11, 2008. Beginning in 1970, Kugel was a trader in BLMIS’s Proprietary Trading and Market Making operations. In the late 1990s, he assumed a managerial position on the trading floor and later took on the role of “trading floor compliance analyst.”

From the 1970s through the collapse of BLMIS, Kugel provided historical trade information to other BLMIS employees, including Annette Bongiorno and Joann Crupi, which allegedly enabled them to create fake trades. Beginning in the early 1970s, Kugel provided certain historical information to Bongiorno so that she could select particular stocks and purchase prices to be used for each IA client, in order to meet the rate of return pre-determined by Bernard Madoff for that client.

The information that Kugel provided included stock names; the buy and sell dates of potential trades; as well as the historical price ranges of those stocks for the respective dates that Bongiorno could allegedly use to make a profit. Kugel’s information often mimicked trades previously executed in connection with BLMIS’s proprietary trading operation.

Beginning in the early 1990s, Kugel similarly provided Crupi with historical price information to enable her to allegedly create false, backdated trades for IA clients. These false, backdated trades were used to defraud IA clients because, when included on their account statements and trade confirmations, they gave the appearance of profitable trading when none, in fact, had occurred.

In addition, Kugel, and allegedly Crupi and others, defrauded numerous banks by using false financial information to obtain loans. On multiple occasions, Kugel and allegedly Crupi, submitted false and misleading information to banks concerning Kugel’s assets and the assets of others, in order to obtain loans for the purchase and construction of homes. With the assistance of Crupi and others, Kugel obtained multiple million-dollar loans based on the submission of this fraudulent information.

Kugel, 66, faces a total statutory maximum sentence of 85 years in prison. A chart identifying the maximum penalties for each of the charged offenses is attached to this release.

Kugel is also subject to mandatory restitution and criminal forfeiture and faces criminal fines up to twice the gross gain or loss derived from the offense. According to the agreements entered into with the government, Kugel has agreed to forfeiture of more than $170 billion, including his interests in homes, a luxury car, various accounts at financial institutions and other specific assets. The net proceeds from the sale of the forfeited property will be used to compensate victims of the fraud, consistent with applicable Department of Justice regulations.

Following the guilty plea, Judge Swain released Kugel on a $3 million bond on the condition that the bond be co-signed by six financially responsible individuals and secured by $900,000 in cash and property. In addition, Kugel’s travel is restricted to the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the District of New Jersey. He will be subject to strict pretrial supervision. Kugel has surrendered his passport.

Judge Swain set a sentencing date for Kugel of May 4, 2012, at 11:00 a.m.

Charges against Bongiorno and Crupi remain pending and are merely accusations. They are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the FBI. He also thanked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for its assistance.

The case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lisa A. Baroni, Julian J. Moore, Arlo Devlin-Brown, Barbara A. Ward and Matthew L. Schwartz are in charge of the prosecution.

United States v. David L. Kugel, S4 10 Cr. 228 (LTS)

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WPCNR MILESTONES. November 20, 2011:

Elvira  Delfino

1933-2011

WPCNR has been informed by a spokesperson for McMahon, Lynon & Hartnett Funeral Home in White Plains that Elvira A. Delfino,78, wife of former White Plains Mayor Joseph Delfino for fifty-eight years has died.

She died in White Plains Hospital Medical Center today after a long illness. She was born November 27, 1933. She and Mr. Delfino were married in 1953. Mrs. Delfino is survived by her husband and two children, a son, Joseph, and a daughter Cynthia Rubino, and her husband, John.

Elli was born on November 27, 1932, to Paul and Emily Trapp of Elmsford and spent most of her life in White Plains .After graduation from Alexander Hamilton High School she worked for many years as an administrator at several of Westchester’s corporate headquarters.

In 1953 she married former White Plains Mayor Joseph Delfino. She was a great support to him in his work to make White Plains the great city that it is today. She is survived by her son Joseph and daughter Cynthia Rubino and her husband John. Elli was known for her kindness and generous spirit. An accomplished floral arranger and crafter, she made others smile through her work.

A wake for Mrs. Delfino will be held Monday evening from 5  to 9 P.M. at the McMahon Lyon & Hartnett funeral home in White Plains, and Tuesday afternoon from 3 to 9 P.M. A mass will be held 10 A.M. Wednesday at St. Anthony of Padua church, West Harrison. Interment will be at Mount Calvary Cemetary.

For more details visit http://mcmahonfh.frontrunnerpro.com/runtime/70664/runtime.php?SiteId=70664&NavigatorId=269034&op=moreinfo&viewOpt=dpaneOnly&ItemId=1039357

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WPCNR POLICE GAZETTE. Special to WPCNR. November 18, 2011:

Former Mayor Adam Bradley has turned himself in at White Plains Police Headquarters Friday evening for alleged violations of his probation terms when he was sentenced for being convicted of Attempted Assault of his wife in December 2010.

Bradley reportedly had contacted his former wife four times by phone in violation of his probation arrangements.

Commissioner of Public Safety David Chong issued this statement to WPCNR:

“Former Mayor Adam Bradley was charged tonight at approximately 7 PM at Police  Headquarters with Criminal Contempt 2 a Misdemeanor.  He was booked in the  company of his attorney, arraigned, before White Plains City Judge Eric Preiss,  and Released on his own recognizance.”