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. SPECIAL TO WPCNR FROM FROM THE FEDERAL BUREAU 0F INVESTIGATION, FEB 10, 2011:

PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, JANICE K. FEDARCYK, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), RONALD B. TURK, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”), MICHAEL FERRARA, the Chief of the City of Newburgh Police Department, and FRANK PHILLIPS, the Orange County District Attorney, announced today the unsealing of a 42-count superseding indictment charging 31 members and associates of the Latin Kings gang in Newburgh, New York, with racketeering, murder and attempted murder, and a number of other federal crimes. The original indictment was filed last May.

Today’s superseding indictment charges members of the gang with three murders: the murder of Jeffrey Zachary in May 2008, the murder of Jerome Scarlett in March 2010, and the murder of John Maldonado in March 2010. The defendants are also charged with two attempted murders; attempted robbery; assault; conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine, heroin, powder cocaine, and marijuana; the use and possession of firearms in connection with the crimes of violence and drug distribution conspiracy; and witness tampering, from 2007 through the present.

U.S. ATTORNEY PREET BHARARA stated: “Today’s arrests represent the latest salvo in our campaign to rid the city of Newburgh of the scourge that calls itself the Latin Kings. The unprecedented crackdown on gangs that we launched last May continues in earnest. We have made significant progress in cleaning up the streets of Newburgh, but we still have work to do. Together with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, we will use every resource at our disposal to create a safer environment and a brighter future for the community.”

FBI Assistant Director in Charge JANICE K. FEDARCYK stated: “The intrinsic hostility of gang-related crimes generates a series of violent offenses, crippling the stability of our communities and leading to increased intimidation among our youth. Gang violence depletes a city’s strength and robs its inhabitants of their inherent right to live peacefully. We will continue to dedicate resources for the purpose of eradicating these crimes.”

ATF Special Agent in Charge RONALD B. TURK stated: “Today’s arrests clearly show law enforcement’s commitment to the Newburgh community. After last year’s initial arrests of gang members, agents and officers continued their tenacious investigation to further charge 15 more gang members. Some of these thugs were extremely violent, and today’s arrests nearly double the number of those taken off the streets in this case. ATF remains committed to protecting our neighborhoods where residents have a safe, drug-free place to live and play; today we are a little closer to that reality.”

Newburgh Police Chief MICHAEL FERRARA stated: “The city of Newburgh has a long history of gang and drug violence. With the assistance of other agencies like the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office, we can change the future of Newburgh. The devastating cuts to our police department have left the city in a very serious state. It is only with the assistance of other law enforcement agencies and with the combining of resources that we will be able to provide a better future for Newburgh and change history.”

Orange County District Attorney FRANK PHILLIPS stated: “Today we have seen, once again, the commitment of federal law enforcement agencies and the U.S. Attorney to provide resources, which would otherwise be unavailable, to local police and prosecutors, to deal a major blow to organized crime in Orange County. Make no mistake: the Latin Kings are an organized crime enterprise, and their narcotics trade, maintained through the use of violence, is a clear and present danger to the people of the Hudson Valley. Most significant is the indictment of individuals in connection with three separate murders. Without the commitment of the U.S. Attorney, these murders would likely have been unprosecutable under New York law. I want to again thank U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara for his continuing commitment to fight crime in all of the counties of the Southern District of New York.”

According to the superseding indictment unsealed today in White Plains federal court:

The “Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation” (the “Latin Kings”) is a nationwide criminal organization that was founded in the 1940s in Chicago, Illinois. The Latin Kings are organized into local chapters by geographic area. A chapter of the Latin Kings has operated in the East End neighborhood of Newburgh, New York (the “Newburgh Latin Kings”). The Newburgh Latin Kings were governed by a council of five officers, referred to as crowns (collectively, the “Crown Council”). The Crown Council wielded great power and directed punishments, known as “violations,” against members who were determined to have committed transgressions. In some instances, the Crown Council used meetings to order attacks on individuals and rival gangs. Eight defendants held positions on the Crown Council at various times.

The superseding indictment charges that the Newburgh Latin Kings was a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (“RICO”), the purposes of which included the distribution and sale of crack cocaine, heroin, powder cocaine, and marijuana; and preserving and protecting the power, territory, and profits of the Newburgh Latin Kings through murder, attempted murder, other acts of violence, and threats of violence.

Eleven defendants are charged with committing and attempting to commit violent acts as part of the criminal activities of the Newburgh Latin Kings, including the following:

• WILSON PAGAN, a/k/a “King Gunz,” and JOSE LAGOS, a/k/a “King Gordo,” are charged with the murder of Jeffrey Zachary in the vicinity of 27 Dubois Street, Newburgh, New York, on May 6, 2008.
  
• CHRISTIAN SANCHEZ, a/k/a “King Chi Chi,” CARLOS ROMERO, a/k/a “King Los,” and LUIS TAMBITO, a/k/a “King Luch,” are charged with the murder of Jerome Scarlett, a/k/a “Rude Boy,” in the vicinity of Farrington Street and Lander Street, Newburgh, New York, on March 11, 2010.
  
• CHRISTIAN SANCHEZ, a/k/a “King Chi Chi,” ARMANDO SANCHEZ, a/k/a “King Malo,” OSMAN NUNEZ, a/k/a “King Ozzy,” CARLOS ROMERO, a/k/a “King Los,” JOSE LAGOS, a/k/a “King Gordo,” and WILLIAM OVERTON, a/k/a “King Tutu,” are charged with the murder of John Maldonado, a/k/a “Tarzan,” in the vicinity of Benkard Avenue and Little Monument Street, Newburgh, New York, on March 12, 2010.
  
• OSMAN NUNEZ, a/k/a “King Ozzy,” and THOMAS JIMENEZ, a/k/a “King Tunes,” are charged with the attempted murder of an individual in the vicinity of Washington Street and Clark Street, Newburgh, New York, on November 13, 2009.
  
• CHRISTOPHER MCNAIR, a/k/a “King Speedy,” is charged with the attempted murder of an individual in the vicinity of 22 Gidney Avenue, Newburgh, New York, on January 7, 2010.
  
• PEDRO HERRERA, a/k/a “King Aventura,” and JOSE LAGOS, a/k/a “King Gordo,” are charged with the attempted robbery of a suspected narcotics dealer in New Windsor, New York, on October 19, 2009.
  
• WILSON PAGAN, a/k/a “King Gunz,” and LUIS TAMBITO, a/k/a “King Luch,” are charged with the stabbing of an individual PAGAN believed was providing information to law enforcement, on January 17, 2010.

The superseding indictment includes 15 new defendants and 16 defendants who were previously charged in the May, 2010, original indictment. All 31 defendants are charged with conspiring to distribute narcotics. Twenty-seven defendants are charged with using, carrying, and possessing firearms during and in relation to the Newburgh Latin Kings’ drug distribution conspiracy.

The superseding indictment is the further result of a long-term investigation, dubbed “Operation Black Crown,” conducted by federal, state, and local law enforcement officers working with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. The investigation included the use of confidential informants, undercover officers, and surreptitious surveillance to infiltrate the Newburgh Latin Kings’ racketeering activities in the East End of Newburgh, New York.

Thirty of the 31 defendants charged in the superseding indictment were arrested today or have previously been taken into custody. CARLOS ORTIZ, a/k/a “King Tone,” is still being sought. The defendants arrested today are expected to be presented in White Plains federal court later this afternoon. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge CATHY SEIBEL.

Mr. BHARARA praised the outstanding investigative work of the member agencies of the Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force. He added that the investigation is continuing.

The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys NICHOLAS McQUAID and BENJAMIN ALLEE are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the superseding indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

United States v. Wilson Pagan, et al., S3 10 Cr. 392 (CS)

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WPCNR Common Council Chronicle Examiner by John F Bailey. February 9, 2011 . Updated 11:45 AM EST:

Councilman Dennis Power said he would not run for reelection to the Common Council this November today at a news conference held at the law offices of Oxford,Tulis, Kirkpatrick, Whyatt &  Geiger at 120 Bloomingdale Road.

Dennis Power, (L),Councilman announcing his decision not to seek a third full term in November. To right are Paul Schwartz, Bill Brown, former Councilman and Bonnie Hagan, three of the well-wishers who packed the conference room.

Power spoke to a gathering of 20 persons, (and invited media by invitation only) mostly Democratic friends, party members and personalities around town that he has worked with extensively on White Plains projects  over the last 20 years. He told them he was not seeking reelection in the fall for his council seat, but would finish out his current council term through December. He  said he would retain his County job at the pleasure of the County Executive and the Board of Legislators and would be spending more time with his family and grandchildren.

He said he would continue to be active in the community and follow through on  city sustainability efforts and recent endeavors to bring the school board and the city government together to share resources and services. He said that the other Common Council Democrat members had not pressured him at all not to run again or to change his support for Mayor Adam Bradley. He expressed his continued support for Mayor Adam Bradley pending the results of the Mayor’s appeal of his conviction in Family Court of  Attempted Assault, Third Degree, Contempt and three chargesof Harassment December 9,  is decided.

Well-wishers after Mr. Power’s statement,often emotional, sentimental,spoke of his sense of commitment to the community. Jack Harrington, the activist,said “few people could do what you have done.”

Late this morning, Mayor Adam Bradley of White Plains, issued this statement on Mr. Powers’ decision not to run:

“I want to thank Dennis Power for his years of service to the city of White Plains.

Dennis is a lifelong public servant and has been a tireless advocate for the residents of White Plains. His decision to retire at the end of his current term will be a loss to the Common Council.

In the meantime, I have no doubt that during the remainder of his term as a member of the Common Council, Dennis will continue his work to make White Plains a better place to live.”

Here is the text of Mr. Power’s statement this morning:

Thanks for being here today. Thanks for taking a leap of faith and not knowing what announcement I was going to make. And, thanks for being there at different points in my life.

But, cutting to the chase – the time has come for me to return to private life, not to seek re-election, and to finish out my second, full 4-year term as a White Plains Council Member. The time has come to step aside and let others rise to the challenge.

In 1987 I answered the call to serve – Bob Greer pounding on my door! I served a full 4-year term and then returned to private life and my children. I liked the music to Harry Chapin’s “Cats in the Cradle,” but not the lyrics [especially the line “… when you coming home, dad?”]

In 2005 I again responded to the call from the Democratic Party and accepted the challenge to run for Mayor against an entrenched incumbent. Out of public office for 14 years, with a small “grass roots” bank account and 5 short months to get the word out, guess we did not do too badly, capturing over 43% of the vote. The people had spoken, they wanted change.

In 2006 I responded to the call again when Councilman Bob Greer passed away. I was appointed in July ’06, ran in Nov. ’06 to fill out term and ran again a 2^nd time in ’07 – primary and general election. Actually, over the years, not a bad campaign record:

·        4 successful Council races [squeaked in with a last place upset finish in ’87 and a top-vote getter in ‘07]

·        unsuccessful Mayoral run

Now, as I recognize that I am in the lead pack of Baby Boomers and I’ve served close to 10 years in elected office, I am going to spend more time with my wife of over 40 years, MG, my children and my 3 grandchildren, ages 8, 4 and 2, who live in White Plains. I will be continuing in my job at the county, Director of Program Development in the Department of Environmental Facilities, as long as the Commissioner, the County Executive and the Board of Legislators feel that my services are essential and needed.

I have enjoyed my years in public service, but, the time is right. I have sensed for a while that I would not seek to run for another term. Recent comments in the Journal News by a certain member of the Nominating Committee of the White Plains Democratic Party have had no bearing on my decision. Those comments were inappropriate, were over the line, quite

disrespectful and do not reflect the open approach to diversity of opinion that the Democratic Party has come to stand for over the years. The Nominating Committee has been restructured since that time and party chair, Liz Shollenberger, can explain that to you later.

I and the other 5 members of the Common Council share different opinions on the disposition of the Mayor Bradley situation, and that has been well covered by the media. What has been asked or implied in an open-ended way is whether Council Members have been pressuring me to change my mind. The direct answer is NO. I know they would like me to, but there have been no calls, emails or entreaties asking me to do so. The main collective focus is city business and issues.

I have not changed my position on whether the Mayor should be asked to leave office. I still believe in the basic rights of the American judicial system that entitle every citizen the right to appeal. In his case, the right to appeal misdemeanor and violations convictions revolves around domestic abuse. The city has been functioning well and I believe he has the good common sense and deep respect for this city to come to decisions himself, if, at any point in the future, he chooses a different course of action.

Back to why we are here … I am not winding down my life; I’m just redirecting some of my energies, my strengths and my life experiences. Service to the community still is and will continue to be my focus.

That’s my message to the community and especially the younger people and not just those who have recently registered to vote. Being elected is all about public service, not about furthering political ambitions. Yes, the political process is the street you have to travel and you’d better know what you’re doing once you step onto that fast lane. But, it’s the call to service that puts you on that path in the first place.

Everyone here today understands how many different ways there are to contribute to your community.

Reflections on memorable moments, contributions and the future of White Plains …

Again, back to why we are here … I am not winding down my life; I’m just redirecting some of my energies. Service to the community still is and will continue to be my focus. And, I guess, in reflection at this point in my life cycle, it’s about the development of community that’s important.

I look forward to working hard for the next 10 months, joining with the Mayor, the Council, the Administration and the Boards and Commissions to face some steep fiscal and environmental  challenges. Most people know about my work ethic – there won’t be any slacking.

I extend a warm thanks to you and all the people of White Plains who have provided me with opportunities to serve in public office.

I look forward to continuing our work together on behalf of and with the people in developing a meaningful, productive and sustainable future for our children and our grandchildren’s children.

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WPCNR Common Council Chronicle Examiner by John F Bailey February 7, 2011:

The introduction of the new local law  tonight at the Common Council, imposing a six-month  moratorium on development of recreation lands: Fenway Golf Club, the former Ridgeway Golf Club, Westchester Hills, Maple Moor, and the Hutchinson River Parkway corridor will not result in any delay of the proposed development or hold-up in submission of the site plan for a new school campus by FASNY the French American School of New York.

This comes from Councilman Benjamin Boykin speaking to WPCNR Monday afternoon.

Councilman Benjamin Boykin

Boykin said he did not believe in moratoriums. He said the delay was for the Common Council to get an idea of exactly what could possibly be built on these various lands.

Boykin said it is the council’s intention to hire “outside experts” to analyze the properties and decide what and how they might be developed or what could be developed on the lands, since the development potential has never been officially quantified.

Boykin said the moratorium fit state guidelines in that it was not for an extended period of time and that all the moratorium did was say that no approvals could be made during the time period of the moratorium will be in effect

Boykin explained that the moratorium call for is just six months and he felt would give the council enough time to commission studies,the scope of which has not been determined.

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WPCNR POLICE GAZETTE. fROM THE WESTCHESTER COUNTY POLICE.  FEBRUARY 7, 2011 UPDATED 3:25 PM EST:

 A traffic stop by a Westchester County police officer,Donald Palmer, last Thursday on the Saw Mill River Parkway has lead to the arrest of a Florida man on charges that he forced at least three women into working for him as prostitutes through intimidation, acts of violence and threats to harm their family members

     Westchester County Police and the FBI believe that the suspect has victimized more women in similar fashion and are currently conducting a multi-state human trafficking investigation. Investigators have determined that the suspect, Nicholas Alvarez, transported women between New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C. and Virginia to engage in acts of prostitution under his coercion.

Kieran O’Leary, spokesperson for the Westchester County Police told WPCNR that police detectives determined the women Mr. Alvarez was traveling with (when stopped) had previously worked as prostitutes.

O’Leary said Mr. Alvarez became aware of the womens’ activities by reading their advertisements on the internet. Mr. Alvarez alledgedly contacted the women and forced them to work directly for him, with Mr. Alvarez getting the money from their prostitution earnings.

O’leary said there was no immigration issues with any of the women.

     Alvarez, 35, of Miami, Fla, was arraigned late Friday in U.S. District Court in White Plains on three counts of transportation for illegal sexual activity. He is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York.

The investigation stems from a traffic stop made at noon last Thursday by Police Officer Donald Palmer, who pulled over a van on the Saw Mill River Parkway in Yonkers that lacked a rear license plate. The occupants gave Palmer a variety of documents as identification, which he recognized as forgeries. A subsequent check revealed that the van had been reported stolen in Virginia.

Palmer and other members of the county police took four persons – a male and three females – into custody. Detectives from the General Investigations Unit subsequently determined the women had a previous history of prostitution and conducted interviews with them. Although the women initially refused to cooperate, the detectives, through their training and experience, suspected the women were victims of human trafficking.

“These women were extremely fearful of Alvarez, but we were able to establish trust with them after many hours of interviewing. They eventually told us that he had beaten them regularly and threatened to kill them and their family members if they tried to stop working for him,” Police Commissioner George N. Longworth said.

After detectives determined that Alvarez had transported the women from state to state to engage in prostitution, they contacted the two county police detectives who serve on the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force in White Plains. Those detectives and the FBI then joined the investigation.

    “We are grateful for the cooperation of the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in this ongoing investigation,” Longworth said.

     The commissioner said the case highlights the growing problem of human trafficking and he has directed that a block of instruction on the topic be added to the Department’s Unified In-Service Training Program. That program provides ongoing training for veteran officers of the county police and municipal police departments in Westchester.

     “The exploitation of any human being is unconscionable and beyond the bounds of decency,” Longworth said. “We want to ensure that all officers are equipped to identify the signs of this growing problem.”

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WPCNR Police Gazette From the White Plains Department of Public Safety. February 5, 2011:

On Tuesday February 4, 2011, at approximately 2:10 AM, members of the White Plains Police arrested two men on narcotics charges stemming from a month long investigation.

The investigation stemmed from resident and area complaints of drug activity at 159 South Lexington Ave.  After a month long investigation, Wilson Miller age 20, and Devone Byyant age 23 were arrested by Narcotics Detectives as they were walking out of 159 South Lexington Ave.  White Plains Police Emergency Services Personnel then executed a search warrant to Suspect Miller’s apartment on the 9^th floor. 

 Inside the apartment they seized 56 packages of crack cocaine, small amounts of powder cocaine, ecstacy pills, marijuana, 29 rounds of live 9 MM ammunition and a replica 9 mm pistol.(shown above)  Also seized in the raid was packaging and weighing paraphernalia consistant with a drug dealing operation.

Public Safety Commissioner David Chong stated “We believe that these arrests will have a positive effect on the close-knit community living in the Winbrook apartment complex. I applaud them and the neighborhood for showing no tolerance to this behavior.”

Both defendants were charged with two felony counts of Criminal Possession of a controlled substance as well as various other drug charges.