THE WORLD READS WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER — 8,324,077 VISITS IN ONE YEAR

WPCNR POLICE GAZETTE. By John F. Bailey. December 21, 2010 UPDATED 4:15 P.M. E.S.T. UPDATED December 23, 2010:

 

This morning, Commissioner of Public Safety David Chong announced the arrest Monday evening of Johnny Lee Richberg, 43, of  159 South Lexington Avenue, White Plains in connection with the stabbing death of  James Humbert, 46, of 250 Mamaroneck Avenue ( which is the address of the White Plains YMCA).

 

The stabbing victim was James “Dougie” Humbert who attended Rosedale School and attended White Plains schools from  1969 through the mid 1980s. Humbert played football and was, according to a personal friend, “Lots of people knew him . . . football jock and all.” 

 

Mr. Richberg has been arrested and charged with Murder in the Second Degree and is being held pending arraignment in White Plains City Court late Tuesday afternoon.

 

The fatal confrontation  occurred police said as a result of  a “physical altercation” between the two at 10:45 P.M. Saturday evening in the vicinity of Denison Street and South Lexington Avenue on the west side of the city.

 

Police became aware of Mr. Richberg’s possible involement in the fight when Richberg called to say he had been punched in the face in the area of 159 South Lexington Avenue. Other police units were also advised of a man lying on the sidewalk and found the victim on South Lexington Avenue at the corner of Denison Street and South Lexington Avenue.

 

 

Commissioner Chong said both men assaulted each other, and that Mr. Humbert was “stabbed once in his torso and expired at White Plains Hospital.”

 

Johnny L. Richberg

Photo: White Plains Department of Public Safety.

Detective Brian Robbins played a key role in the investigation with Detective Kevin Farelly, consisting of interrogation of witnesses, with Chief of Detectives Eric Fischer and Sergeant  Patrick O’Geary assisting.

 

Mr. Richberg was arrested at his home Monday evening and offered no resistance, Chong said. Chong said the two men knew each other in the past and the cause of the altercation leading to Mr. Humbert’s death is not known as of this morning. Chong also said  Richburg, the suspect was injured in the altercation with slashes to the face and chest.

 

Asked if weapons were found at the scene, Chong said evidence had been collected and the investigation was continuing.

 

Police issued the following account this afternoon of how circumstances lead to Mr. Richberg’s arrest:

 

 

On Saturday, December 18, 2010, at about 2244 hrs, the WPPD received a call from a party that claimed to have been punched in the face in the area of 159 South Lexington Avenue.

 

Upon arrival, responding units determined that the caller, identified as Johnny Richberg 10/2/57 of 159 So Lexington Avenue, had sustained an injury. Amb #1 was dispatched and Richburg was subsequently transported to WPER for treatment.

 

While attending to Richberg, other units were advised of a male party laying on the sidewalk on South Lexington Avenue at the corner Dension Street. This subject was later identified as James Humbert, DOB 7/24/64 of 250 Mamaroneck Avenue.

 

Initial assessment showed that Humbert had been stabbed. Humbert was also transported to White Plains Hospital where he was later pronounced deceased as a result of the stab wounds.

 

 Police investigation, lead by Detective Brian Robbins and Detective Kevin Farrelly, determined that Hubert had been stabbed and evidence to the crime was later recovered by Detectives.

 

Johnny L. Richberg, 10/2/57 has been arrested and charged with Murder in the Second Degree and held pending arraignment in White Plains City Court later this afternoon.

WPCNR MAIN STREET CIRCUIT.  December 20, 2010:

 In a personal newsletter apparently circulated to select recipients, White Plains Councilman David Buchwald  recently called on Mayor Adam Bradley to resign. Buchwald repeated his opinion that the Common Council can remove the Mayor with six votes of the seven members. (The Mayor is one of the seven members.). Buchwald went so far to say that he would personally go to either Governor David Paterson or incoming Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo and ask either Governor to remove the Mayor.

Here is the text of that newsletter:

When I started these email newsletters at the beginning of my term of office in January, they were so much easier to write. Opportunity for our new White Plains Common Council, the first all-Democratic Council in our City’s history, seemed almost limitless. If I had given thought then to what I’d be writing in this December’s newsletter, I would have expected to wish everyone happy holidays and to discuss highlights of the past year. There is of course always good news to focus on this time of year, and there is certainly some in White Plains to report on below. However, I did not expect to lead off my December newsletter as follows:

A Mayor Found Guilty

On December 9th, Mayor Adam Bradley was convicted of attempted assault, criminal contempt of court and three counts of harassment, all related to instances of domestic violence against his wife and violations of a court-imposed order of protection. He still refuses to step down from office. Mayor Bradley wants to stay in office while he appeals, though he, as an attorney, knows full well that the appeals process cannot even begin until he has been sentenced on March 17th, and that it could well be years before the appeals process is exhausted through multiple layers of the court system. Meanwhile, his private spokesperson has rather brazenly told the people of White Plains that they must wait until Election Day 2013 to render judgment on the Mayor. (The Journal News, “Pressure rising on Bradley to resign,” 12/15/2010). I do not believe that this perspective takes into account the right of the people to always hold their government to account and the harm the Mayor is causing White Plains.

Mayor Bradley fails to realize that you cannot govern without the support of the people. You cannot ask the citizens of White Plains or City employees to sacrifice for the greater good when you yourself as Mayor show no inclination to put the interests of the City ahead of your own.

Nor can government operate as it should without trust. Can we trust a Mayor who has been convicted of breaking his promise to a court not to harass his wife? The Mayor said to the people of White Plains on the day of his first arrest that he “did not in any way mistreat [his] wife.” He has now been found beyond a reasonable doubt to have done so on multiple occasions. Won’t people question everything he says? People need to have confidence in their elected officials if government is to accomplish anything innovative.

The Mayor has also frayed government relations, both within White Plains and without. He began by implicitly questioning the competence of the White Plains Police Officers who arrested him. He then did the same with the District Attorney’s Office (run by a fellow Democrat), whose investigators brought the complaint against him leading to his second arrest and whose Assistant District Attorneys prosecuted him on behalf of the People of New York. Then, immediately after the verdict against him, he disparaged the judge in his case by saying that only after an appeal would he get a “real trial.” He will no doubt try to do the same to any Common Council members who stand up against him.

Nevertheless, my position is clear. There should be no tolerance for domestic violence in White Plains. The rule of law and court orders need to be respected, particularly by the official who is first and foremost responsible for the enforcement of laws in our City. To have the leader of our community convicted on these charges and maintain his position sends the wrong message, particularly to our children, about the seriousness of these crimes.

My preference is for the Mayor to resign. If Mayor Bradley does not step aside, the Governor has an ability under state law to remove him, and I am willing to ask our incoming Governor to use that authority. More directly, however, it is my belief that White Plains is able, if we have the will, to take care of our own problems. The White Plains City Charter states that a Mayor can be expelled for “disorderly conduct” by a vote of three-quarters of the Common Council. Since there are seven of us, six votes would be needed. My research on the relevant law leads me to the conclusion that misdemeanor attempted assault and contempt of court for violating an order of protection constitute “disorderly conduct” within the meaning of the Charter. There is no question in my mind that the Common Council with a vote of six members has the authority to remove the Mayor in these circumstances. If it comes to a vote, I would vote to remove the Mayor from office.

That is where I stand. I fully understand that for all Members of the Common Council this is a deeply personal decision and removing a Mayor is a solemn act. However, it would be in the best interests of White Plains and I believe the residents of our City expect us to take action to restore our City’s reputation that has been damaged over the last ten months.

If you live in White Plains, you need to make your voice heard. Write or call Common Council Members, contact other elected officials to express your views, write letters to newspaper editors, come to Common Council meetings (we have ones planned for this Wednesday the 22nd and Monday January 3rd), and talk to your neighbors to convince them to do the same.