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 FBI WIRE. From the Federal Bureau of Investigation. December 10,2012:

Standard Chartered Bank, a financial institution headquartered in London, has agreed to forfeit $227 million to the Justice Department for conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The bank has agreed to the forfeiture as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department and a deferred prosecution agreement with the New York County District Attorney’s Office for violating New York state laws by illegally moving millions of dollars through the U.S. financial system on behalf of sanctioned Iranian, Sudanese, Libyan, and Burmese entities.

The bank has also entered into settlement agreements with the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Ronald C. Machen, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia; New York County District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr.; George Venizelos, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI New York Field Office; and IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Chief Richard Weber.

A criminal information was filed today in federal court in the District of Columbia charging Standard Chartered Bank with one count of knowingly and willfully conspiring to violate IEEPA. Standard Chartered Bank has waived the federal indictment, agreed to the filing of the information, and has accepted responsibility for its criminal conduct and that of its employees.

“For years, Standard Chartered Bank deliberately violated U.S. laws governing transactions involving Sudan, Iran, and other countries subject to U.S. sanctions,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. “The United States expects a minimum standard of behavior from all financial institutions that enjoy the benefits of the U.S. financial system. Standard Chartered’s conduct was flagrant and unacceptable. Together with the Treasury Department and our state and local partners, we will continue our unrelenting efforts to hold accountable financial institutions that intentionally mislead regulators to do business with sanctioned countries.”

“When banks dodge U.S. sanctions laws, they imperil our financial system and our national security,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “Today’s agreement holds Standard Chartered Bank accountable for intentionally manipulating transactions to remove references to Iran, Sudan, and other sanctioned entities and then further concealing these transactions through misrepresentations to U.S. regulators. This $227 million forfeiture should make clear that trying to skirt U.S. sanctions is bad for business.”

“Investigations of financial institutions, businesses, and individuals who violate U.S. sanctions by misusing banks in New York are vitally important to national security and the integrity of our banking system. Banks occupy positions of trust. It is a bedrock principle that they must deal honestly with their regulators. I will accept nothing less; too much is at stake for the people of New York and this country,” said District Attorney Vance. “These cases give teeth to sanctions enforcement, send a strong message about the need for transparency in international banking, and ultimately contribute to the fight against money laundering and terror financing. I thank our federal partners for their cooperation and assistance in pursuing this investigation.”

“Standard Chartered Bank regularly engaged in prohibited banking practices, took steps to conceal the illegal conduct, and misled regulators about the pattern of illegality,” said Assistant Director in Charge Venizelos. “New York is a world financial capital and an international banking hub, and you have to play by the rules to conduct business here.”

“To protect and uphold the integrity of the American financial system, it is essential that we ensure global banking institutions obey U.S. laws, including sanctions against other countries,” said IRS-CI Chief Weber. “Criminal Investigation, the world’s preeminent financial investigative agency, was proud to be part of this law enforcement team working collaboratively with our federal and local partners to hold Standard Chartered Bank accountable for their criminal actions. When we work together, it’s a force multiplier, and it is government working smart. It’s what taxpayers expect of us.”

Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) operates a branch in New York (SCB New York) that provides wholesale banking services, primarily U.S.-dollar clearing for international wire payments. SCB New York also provides U.S.-dollar correspondent banking services for SCB’s branches in London and Dubai. According to court documents, from 2001 through 2007, SCB violated U.S. and New York state laws by moving millions of dollars illegally through the U.S. financial system on behalf of Iranian, Sudanese, Libyan, and Burmese entities subject to U.S. economic sanctions. SCB knowingly and willfully engaged in this criminal conduct, which caused SCB’s branch in New York and unaffiliated U.S. financial institutions to process over $200 million in transactions that otherwise should have been rejected, blocked, or stopped for investigation under Office of Foreign Assets Control regulations relating to transactions involving sanctioned countries and parties.

According to court documents, SCB engaged in this criminal conduct by, among other things, instructing a customer in a sanctioned country to represent itself using SCB London’s unique banking code in payment messages, replacing references to sanctioned entities in payment messages with special characters and deleting payment data that would have revealed the involvement of sanctioned entities and countries using wire payment methods that masked their involvement. This conduct occurred in various business units within SCB in locations around the world, primarily SCB London and SCB Dubai, with the knowledge and approval of senior corporate managers and the legal and compliance departments of SCB.

In addition to evading U.S. economic sanctions, SCB made misleading statements to regulators to further conceal its business with sanctioned countries. In August 2003, SCB wrote in a letter to OFAC that the use of cover payments for transactions related to sanctioned countries was contrary to SCB’s global instructions. In fact, SCB used the cover payment method to effect billions of dollars in payments, lawful and unlawful, through SCB New York originating from or for the benefit of customers in Iran, Libya, Burma, and Sudan—all U.S. sanctioned countries—and continued to do so after the letter was sent.

During an extensive examination of all transactions at, by, or though SCB New York to detect suspicious activity, SCB failed to disclose to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and New York Department of Financial Services that it was processing billions of dollars of non-transparent payments for customers in sanctioned countries. As a result of SCB’s failure to disclose these transactions, the regulators were misled about the nature and extent of SCB’s business with sanctioned countries.

SCB’s agreement to forfeit $227 million will settle forfeiture claims by the Department of Justice and New York State. In light of the bank’s remedial actions to date and its willingness to acknowledge responsibility for its actions, the Justice Department will recommend the dismissal of the information in 24 months, provided the bank fully cooperates with, and abides by, the terms of the deferred prosecution agreement.

Under the terms of its settlement agreement with SCB, OFAC’s penalty of $135 million will be satisfied by $227 million forfeited in connection with the bank’s resolution with the Justice Department. OFAC’s settlement agreement further requires the bank to conduct a review of its policies and procedures and their implementation, taking a risk-based sampling of U.S. dollar payments to ensure that its OFAC compliance program is functioning effectively to detect, correct, and report apparent sanctions violations to OFAC.

The case was prosecuted by Money Laundering and Bank Integrity Unit Trial Attorney Clay Porter of the Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney George P. Varghese of the National Security Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. The case was investigated by the FBI’s New York Field Office and IRS-Criminal Investigation’s Washington Field Division, with assistance from OFAC.

The Money Laundering and Bank Integrity Unit is a corps of prosecutors with a boutique practice aimed at hardening the financial system against criminal money laundering vulnerabilities by investigating and prosecuting financial institutions and professional money launderers for violations of the money laundering statutes, the Bank Secrecy Act and other related statutes.

The Department of Justice expressed its gratitude to OFAC, under the leadership of Director Adam J. Szubin and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

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WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From the Westchester County Department of Communications. December7,2012:

                      

The  $1.7 billion Westchester County budget was approved 9-0 this afternoon by a coalition of seven Republicans and two Democrats. The remaining Democrats walked out of the Legislative Chambers.

            County Executive Robert Astorino said he was proud of the work of the bipartisan coalition that had drawn up the final budget. “This is what government should be about – people of all political sides working together to do right by the public.”

            He singled out Democrats Michael Kaplowitz and Virginia Perez for their willingness to work with him, Republican Minority Leader Jim Maisano, Gordon Burrows and their Republican caucus.

 

 

            This is the third consecutive year that Astorino has initiated and signed budgets that have reduced or kept flat the county’s tax levy on property owners. 

            The final document signed differs in the following ways from the original proposal Astorino made Nov. 14:

 

·        Additional funding will strengthen public safety, emergency services, probation and the DA’s office.

·        Other restored positions were five engineers from Public Works and three parks curators.

·        The parental contribution for subsidized day care was reduced to 27 percent, from Astorino’s proposal to make it 35 percent. 

·        An additional $200,000 was allocated to Cornell Cooperation Extension, making its total $800,000.

·        Arts in Westchester was given $500,000 more, making its total $1.25 million.

·        Other additions were made for legal services for immigrants ($220,000) and  small business loans and technical assistance ($160,000).

 

      “I can accept these changes,” said Astorino, “because the coalition made sure that it came up with a spending plan that did not raise taxes, did not under fund programs, did not hurt the county’s most needy  and did not in any way jeopardize the county’s three triple A bond ratings. I thank everyone for their hard work.”  

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WPCNR TAPPAN ZEE BRIDGE NEWS. From the New York State Thruway Authority. December 6,  2012 UPDATED 11:40 A.M. E.D.T.:

Governor Andrew Cuomo unveiled the three designs for the new Tappan Zee Bridge yesterday at a cabinet meeting in Albany. Each of the three proposed designs comes in under the $5.2 Billion estimated costs previously.

In a Power Point Program presented at the cabinet meeting by the Governor, the least expensive design, Proposal 1 comes in at $3.14 Billion, and is favored by the Governor-appointed design panel, because of its lower cost according to Brian Conybeare, a spokesperson for the Governor.

The decision on which of the three designs is to be built will be made by the Thruway Authority December 17, Conybeare told WPCNR.

 The new double span design has suspension construction, similar to the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, and the bridge crossing the Maumee River in Toledo, Ohio. You may download the power point program at www.newnybridge.com.

The Governor said the designs come in at $1 billion less than originally estimated that the company selected would be responsible for any cost overruns, and that $600 Million to $800 Million would be added to the cost of any bridge for financing, management, contingencies, and aesthetic improvements.

The first bridge achieves its saving, accoording to the power point because it calls for less dredging, can be constructed in 5 years, 2-1/2 months,  while Proposals 2 and 3 take six years to build and dredge far more of the Hudson River bed. Each of the three proposals has unique u-turns, to detour traffic off the bridge in case of a accident on the span. Proposal 3 though the most expensive is not mass transit ready, according to the Power Point and would require more costs in the future to make it mass transit ready.

The name of the construction group has been disclosed by a source close to the bridge selection committee. However, Mr. Conybeare said the name of the contractor of the preferred proposal was not reported officially.

Asked if disclosure of the contracting group giving out  “preferred proposal” (a violation of TIFIA loan application rules)could jeopardize the chances of New York State being approved for the $2.9 Billion TIFIA loan the state has applied for, Conybeare said he did not know.

WPCNR has placed a call to Amy Bernstein of TIFIA, inquiring how leaking of the contractor who submitted the Selection Committee’s preferred proposal, affects consideration of the state proposal.

The Governor said construction would be begin in 2013.

 

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WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL-CHRONICLE EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey, December 4, 2012:

 

The White Plains Traffic Department

 

Born 1979. Died 2012

 

R.I.P.

 

A funeral service was held for the nationally recognized White Plains Traffic Department Monday night.

 

The service was solemn. The fate of the Department of  Traffic was not deterred, despite the impassioned pleas of its founder and first Commissioner, Bernard Adler, who eulogized the national achievements and recognition the WPTD has earned in its short 33 year life since it was founded in the Alfred Del Vecchio administration in 1979

 

A handful of mourners showed up at last night’s public hearing, three of whom came to praise Commissioner of Traffic Tom Soyk, the certified traffic engineer who will move over to the Department of Parking under the direction of Commissioner of Parking, John Larson.

 

The Common Council voted unanimously to fold the TD into the Parking Department in the name of accomplishing efficiencies.

 

All Councilpersons except Milagros Lecuona said the move was made in light of the  efficiencies accomplished by Mr. Soyk and Mr. Larson’s joining their two maintenance forces over the past year. At no time in the short hearing did any member of the Council put a dollar figure on the savings, or how much the amalgamation was saving.   Lecouna questioned consolidating the department after only a year, and why it had to be done so fast without exploring how combined traffic and parking departments worked in other communities.

 

Bernard Adler recounted the founding of the Traffic Department in the late 1970s to address specifically management of traffic in the city. He noted in his remarks (that can be seen on the city website in the “consent agenda section”) how the traffic department designed and installed the first computer-run traffic light system that could sequence lights throughout the city, among a number of national honors.

 

He closed his remarks saying he had no doubt that as long as Mr. Soyk was Deputy Commissioner of  Parking for Transportation Engineering (his new title, retaining his present salary of $131,580 a year), he felt traffic management would be in good hands:

 

 “While Commissioner Soyk is still employed by the city, the streets will move efficiently, the planning board, zoning board and this Common Council will receive thorough and thoughtful reviews of  (traffic) matters before the city. However,  it is my considerate professional opinion that after Tom Soyk leaves, and  without a person functioning with the title of Commissioner of Traffic, the caliber of succeeding candidates will be well below the standards that the city has expected and has enjoyed these last thirty years. Without  an independent Commissioner of Traffic,important traffic innovations will languish in this city.”

 

The Mayor dismissed the notion the city would not be able to attract high quality traffic experts to serve in the city because the city is very attractive and has not had trouble doing so in the past. He also said the city is now embracing a concept he called “Complete Streets,” which he said recognizes that streets are for everyone, and not just cars, and moving cars in an efficient (“speedy”) manner. The Mayor said  it is good to move traffic well but “it makes a big difference if they hit someone.”

 

Mayor Thomas Roach noted after the hearing was closed that the city would have no trouble attracting worthy and competent individuals to fill any future  vacancy in the position.

 

In January a hearing will be held to change the zoning ordinances to reflect the responsibilities and procedures under the new arrangement.

In other action,

 

WATER RATES RAISED. $10 More a Year Average

 

The Common Council Raised water rates by passing ordinances on the consent agenda, but no one on the Council explained in the live television broadcast what the new rates were. The Mayor remarked the rates are going up because New York City is raising its rates for water, and White Plains gets 90% of its water

 

WPCNR notes that the Council backup material explains that for the first 5,000 cubic feet of water used, the rate goes up to $1.73 per 100 cubic feet for residential customers for the first 10,000 cubic feet, this is about a 6% increase from this year’s rate of  $1.63.

 

Commercial users ( who use120,000 cubic feet and over quarterly) will pay $3.27 per 100 cubic feet for the first 2,500 cubic feet and $3.66 /100 cubic feet after they exceed 5,000 square feet.

 

An example: A three-member family in a typical home paid $141 for 84 100 cubic feet units in October for the last six months. This will go up to $145 and change about a 3% increase. A complete list of  the new water rates is in the backup material viewable on the city website.

 

Commissioner of Public Works explained  during the consent agenda portion of the meeting why the rates were going up:

 

“The city has had raises (from New York City) that have averaged 13% a year for the last five years and that’s certainly been my experience it’s been going on a lot longer, but we just have records for the last five years. That accounts for the majority of it.

 

We purchase almost all of our raw water from New York City and we’re at the mercy of that even though we’ve challenged  their ability to have rate increases like that (through) the coalition of a number of other communities , Yonkers, Scarsdale, Mount Vernon, North Castle . The state has said they do have the right to charge us what they feel is right in the name of conservation, so those rate increases stand  and they have absolutely nothing to do with the cost of living.

That, and there are a number of increase requirements: testing has to be done on a more frequent basis, more elaborate tests, more pathogens we’re required to look for, so the cost of that as well as a number of capital projects are contributing to this increase, and we’re still in the lowest five of the fifty water purveyors.”

 

The Daily News reported this spring the City of New York water rates have gone up because “the Bloomberg administration has pushed forward billions of dollars worth of upgrades to the city’s (New York City) water and sewer system, including building a mammoth third water tunnel and a state-of-the-art water filtration plantin the Bronx.”

 

The News also reported part of the latest round of increases to cities like White Plains to make up for $40 Million in added costs to the improving of the Croton Water Filtration Plant, that serves reservoirs and lakes upstate. The reporters were Barry Paddock and Reuven Blau.

 

Macy’s Bloomingdales Property Tax Refunds Approved.

 

Assessments Lowered Impacting 2012-13 Assessment Roll

 

The city’s two largest retailers were awarded $405,000 in property tax refunds from the city for assessments lowered  for the years 09/10,10/11,11/12 and the upcoming tax year 2012-13. This means, according to the city Assessor’s Office that the reduced assessments totaling $405,000  will come off the 2012-13 Assessment Roll, due March 1, 2013.

 

SUNRISE DETOX HEARING CLOSED AFTER TOXIC HEARING.

 

The evening ended with the controversial hearing on the CFI Inc. Sunrise Detox Center matter where CFI Inc. Sunrise is seeking a Special Permit to run a short –term residence detox program for individuals at 37 DeKalb Avenue, the former Nathan Miller Nursing Home in the middle of the Carhart neighborhood.

 

After a stormy hearing, the hearing was closed, clearing the way for a vote on the project and its needed Special Permit that could take place in January.

 

The Sunrise representatives began the hearing disputing the allegations of criminal incidents taking place at their Sterling New Jersey and Lake Worth Florida facilities, saying a law enforcement consultant investigated the complaints and found no incidents were any criminal activity affected residents around those facilities.

 

Representatives of the Carhart  Neighborhood Association, said that saying there was not any criminal activity or charges filed, may be true, but that was because the majority of call-ins to othe police from the home involved missing persons, Ken Kristol of the Carhart Association read police reports of three such missing persons incidents.

 

Mayor Roach took exception to one resident’s remarks pointing out that if this project were proposed for neighborhoods in the south end it would not have been considered. She also noted how three representatives of the CFI-Sunrise project are well-known in the city,  and have conducted business with the city for a long time. Mayor Roach defended the city considering the project:

 

“I’ll just say there’s something that’s not a joke to me which is allegations of impropriety or suggesting  that this is only being entertained because of the neighborhood it’s (going to be) in because we have to entertain any application that’s permitted under the zoning, anywhere in the city.

 

“This isn’t  us sitting in a lawn chair behind city hall just on a whim deciding to bring an application in here. That’s offensive. And it’s not fair to this council, who I know put so much time, work and effort in preserving this city. When you throw those things around,  I mean, to say something like someone contributed to a (city) charity, somehow that makes this improper? God help us if we get to the point where no one in this city can contribute to any charity because we really count on that. We have a very activist city.

 

And you know what, it’s a small city. People get know each other, I can understand when people are emotional and worry about an outcome they can seize on that. But the reality is being cordial to someone. I’ve been a trial lawyer for 26 years, I would be fighting my tail off in court, and I go out in the hallway and say to the guy I’ve just been arguing, have a nice weekend. It doesn’t mean I’m undermining my client.”

 

The final speaker living for seven years at 24 Carhart Avenue, took up the matter that from the standpoint of why would the city entertain putting the project in the neighborhood. He said he was so proud of the way the city responded to the hurricane October 29, that the Mayor had spoke of at the top of the Council meeting,  “ I was so proud of it, but at the same time, I can’t  even imagine that we are entertaining to put such a detox….”

 

The Mayor interrupted him talking over him, “Understand we have a legal obligation (unintelligle).Let me just say something I don’t take this personally. I understand your frustration, your concern. When we  take office, we raise our right hand and we swear to uphold the Constitution of the United States, the State of New York,and the Charter of the City of White Plains,and we mean it. Part of that is to entertain applications that we legally have to entertain. What I’ve tried to do is create a hearing environment in which the neighbors and proponents of the application can be heard in a civilized atmosphere.

 

It’s surprising to me after what I’ve just said that you would say you can’t  be believe we are entertaining it. Well I don’t know where to go with that.”

 

The citizen attempted to explain:

 

“I’ll continue with that because that is the appearance what the citizens of  White Plains are getting it…and that’s what I’m conveying to you.”

 

Then Council President Beth Smayda interrupted the citizen again, overriding him saying,

 

“I think if we weren’t doing it in public then you may have something to complain (about) but this Mayor and this council is very committed to abiding by the charter and  we are legally bound to review applications and we’re doing them in public. I hope there isn’t any intimation that that is not the case.”

 

The citizen was not to be deterred, responding:

 

“There is no such intimation. What we want to point out  is the fact that we talked about Sandy, we talked about city is committed to residents there. At the same time there was a national disaster and here is a human-made disaster (the detox center) that is supposed to happen when we are going to put a detox center right there in a residential neighborhood.

 

In the example what was given was, there were two houses next to the facility in Florida. Two houses, two familes? There are nearly a  thousand houses in that (Carhart) Neighborhood which are a stone’s throw away. So that (Sunrise) comparison of two houses is totally out of order.”

 

The Mayor then asked, “Anyone else?”

 

Bill Null, the Sunrise attorney came to the podium, and reminded the chamber that the Sunrise proposal  for the community residence was a permitted use subject to a special permit, meets the definition of the city building code and of the zoning ordinance. He said the neighborhood’s contention that drug addiction and alcohol addiction are not disabilities is not correct, citing  under New York Mental Hygiene Law Section 103, definitions,  a mental disability “means mental illness, mental retardation, developmental disability, alcoholism, substance dependence, or chemical dependence.”

 

He noted: “So this is a facility that is legally treating disabled individuals  under the zoning ordinance.”

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WPCNR WATCH ON THE RIVER. From Caren Halbfinger, the Westchester County Department of Health. December 4, 2012  (EDITED):

 

 The advisory cautioning against contact with the Hudson River in Westchester was lifted today by the Westchester County Department of Health.

People who use the Hudson River waters for recreational purposes, namely swimmers, boaters, kayakers and windsurfers, are free to resume direct contact with the water.

The advisory had been issued as a precaution during Super Storm Sandy on Oct 29, after the Yonkers Joint Wastewater Treatment Plant was shut down to protect equipment and for the safety of employees. The plant was flooded and sustained heavy damage as a result of the storm.  The plant began achieving secondary wastewater treatment on Nov. 22 and test results of the plant effluent demonstrate that the effluent limits are being met. Although the plant is fully functioning, repairs are ongoing and are expected to cost $12.65 million.

 

(Editor’s Note: The Health Department told WPCNR that from 80 million to 100 million gallons a day of partially treated sewage (screened, chlorine-treated only) was fed into the river during the 36 days the plant was undergoing repairs. WPCNR estimates about 2.8 billion to 3 billion gallons of substandard effluent (below Environmental Protection Agency approved levels) were released into the Hudson since October 29.)