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 STAGE DOOR. From Piia Haas, Westchester Broadway Theatre. June 16,2011:

Tony winners Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (“Ragtime”, “Once on this Island”) have lovingly brought to life all of our favorite Dr Seuss characters in a musical with mass appeal.  The show is light and effervescent and draws on pop influences ranging from the Beach Boys to Gospel and Salsa to, yes, the theme from “Shaft.”  SEUSSICAL proves to be an evening of theatre for everyone, of all ages!  The powers of friendship, loyalty, family and community are challenged and emerge triumphant in a story that makes you laugh and cry.

THEY’RE BACK AND YOU KNOW THEM. Some of the Lovables in WBT’S SEUSSICAL OPENING TONIGHT.: Augie Abatecola (The Cat In The Hat),  Brian Krinsky, Noah Silverman,Kayla Moore

Seussical opens tonight for a run at the Westchester Broadway Theatre through July 31, and features many local theatrical personalities in the show, including…

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WPCNR COUNTY-CLARION LEDGER. From Westchester County Board of Legislators. (Edited) June 14, 2011:

The Westchester Board of Legislators (BOL) with no Republicans present, unanimously voted 12-0 to approve a new schedule of entrance fees to Playland this evening that will again eliminate the spectator entrance fee for county residents.

THE FEES EXPLAINED

The new bill does not lower the non-resident fee of $10. If you live in The Bronx, Connecticut, Rockland County, Dutchess County, New Jersey, New York City, you pay $10 non-resident FEE on the weekend, in addition to $7 for parking, plus $30 per person for all rides, $20 per kid for the KiddyLand Playland section. A Season Pass for all Rides is $95 PER PERSON.

If a non-resident purchases $30 or $20 All-Ride fees for themselve and all in their party they do not pay the non-resident fee. However if you’re a family and you are just bring your kids, and purchase $20 KiddyLand Ride Passes for your kids, and you just stroll about, you as a non-resident still must pay a $10 fee.

The news release stated that to date Westchester residents’ attendance is down 40% at 4,889 Westchester attendees to date since Playland opened Memorial Day weekend. Though weather has also been unappealing two of the three weekends Playland has been open.

The bill was voted out of the Budget & Appropriations and Public Works, Parks, Labor and Transportation Committees Monday with bi-partisan approval. County Executive Robert Astorino, who vetoed lowering the fee for both residents and non-residents, now must sign the bill for the fees to go into law.

“County residents will soon be able to visit Playland and not feel the sting of double taxation because of having to pay a spectator entrance fee at a park their tax dollars are already supporting,” said Jenkins.

Statistic shows that the spectator admission fees are holding down the attendance of county residents. Year-to-date, Playland has seen a decrease of 4,889 resident attendees from a comparable period last year—a 40% drop.

Democratic legislators feel that reducing the resident spectator fee to zero will favorably boost the number of county residents coming to the park, along with their children and grandchildren, while also increasing revenues for the vendors and concessionaires.

The cost to the County with the new entrance fees, based on 2010 attendance figures, would be about $284,660, a figure the legislators feel will be made up with greater spending on food, rides and amusements. This is substantially less than the wildly inflated number that the Astorino Administration first floated and the $377,015 mentioned in the “Minority Report.”

“With the entire summer in front of us, this is the right move to make at the right time,” said Jenkins. “Instead of political posturing and fudging numbers, the Republicans would be smart to stand and deliver for the people of Westchester on Playland and a many, many other issues.”

While Legislator and Minority Leader Jim Maisano (R-New Rochelle) delivered an email to Chairman Jenkins explaining that he was unable to be at the Special meeting because of a family illness, the other Republicans were represented merely by their “Minority Report.”

The vote was 12-0 because the entire Republican caucus was absent from the Special Meeting of the Board. A hastily written “Minority Report” that was handed to BOL Chairman Ken Jenkins (D-Yonkers) at the meeting suggests the Republicans boycotted the Special Meeting because they did not “support” the new legislation.

“It’s sad and unforgivable that Legislators elected to do the work of Westchester’s residents would decide among themselves to not attend a meeting and discuss the important business of the County.”

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WPCNR FBI WIRE. SPECIAL TO WPCNR From the Federal Bureau of Investigation. June 13, 2011: 

In another case involving prescription drugs distributed without prescriptions, Bharara announced SCOTT BURKO, 47, a pharmacist, of West Harrison, Westchester County, was sentenced today in White Plains federal court to two years in prison for participating in a conspiracy to dispense prescription drugs without valid prescriptions and dispensing prescription drugs unlawfully and with intent to defraud and mislead. United States District Judge KENNETH M. KARAS imposed the sentence.

In the insider trading conviction,

 BHARARA stated: “Zvi Goffer may have had a reputation in the hedge fund world for being ubiquitous, but today he, along with his brother Emanuel and Michael Kimelman, discovered they are not above the law. Since this case was first brought by this office, our prosecutions have been responsible for dismantling elaborate networks of corrupt executives who gamed the system, exploited their access to proprietary information, shirked their ethical responsibilities, and violated the law with impunity.

With today’s guilty verdicts, each and every one of the defendants originally arrested in the Galleon insider trading investigation now stands convicted. And we will continue to work tirelessly with our partners at the FBI to root out corporate corruption on Wall Street and to hold privileged professionals who gallop over the line accountable for their actions.”

According to the Superseding Indictment filed in Manhattan federal court, other court documents, and statements made during related court proceedings:

The defendants, along with their co-conspirators, including JASON GOLDFARB, who was an attorney in New York, New York; ARTHUR CUTILLO and BRIEN SANTARLAS, who were attorneys at the law firm of Ropes & Gray LLP in New York, New York; CRAIG DRIMAL, who worked in the office of the now-defunct Galleon Group (“Galleon”), but was not employed by Galleon; and DAVID PLATE, who worked as a proprietary trader at The Schottenfeld Group, operated an insider trading network through which ZVI GOFFER obtained, revealed, and traded on material, nonpublic information (the “Inside Information”) regarding mergers and acquisitions of public companies.

ZVI GOFFER and others paid sources, including CUTILLO and SANTARLAS, in exchange for Inside Information. In violation of their duties of confidentiality to Ropes & Gray and its clients, CUTILLO and SANTARLAS provided Inside Information about several mergers and acquisitions of public companies for which Ropes & Gray was providing legal services prior to the public announcements of the deals, as well as other information that they learned in the course of their employment at the law firm.

EMANUEL GOFFER and MICHAEL KIMELMAN, among others, received this Inside Information. For example, CUTILLO and SANTARLAS received cash payments for providing Inside Information concerning the acquisition of 3Com Corporation and Axcan Pharma, Inc., to GOLDFARB, who passed the Inside Information to ZVI GOFFER. GOFFER subsequently passed the Inside Information concerning 3Com to others, including EMANUEL GOFFER and MICHAEL KIMELMAN, who also earned profits trading on the information.

These defendants, along with their co-conspirators, DRIMAL and PLATE, traded hundreds of thousands of shares of stock based on the Inside Information and collectively earned millions of dollars in profits for themselves and their firms.

ZVI GOFFER, 34, of New York, New York, was convicted of two counts of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and 12 counts of securities fraud. EMANUEL GOFFER, 32, of New York, New York and MICHAEL KIMELMAN, 40, of Larchmont, New York, were each convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and two counts of securities fraud.

Each of the conspiracy counts carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of the greater of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Each of the securities fraud counts carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $5 million or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.

ZVI GOFFER is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge SULLIVAN on September, 21, 2011, at 2:00 p.m.

EMANUEL GOFFER is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge SULLIVAN on October 7, 2011, at 10:00 a.m.

MICHAEL KIMELMAN is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge SULLIVAN on October 7, 2011, at 2:00 p.m.

GOLDFARB, 32 of New York, New York; CUTILLO, 34, of Ridgewood, New Jersey; DRIMAL, 55, of Weston, Connecticut; PLATE, 36, of New York, New York; SANTARLAS, 34, of Hoboken, New Jersey; and SHANKAR, 36, have all previously pled guilty to conspiracy and securities fraud charges.

Mr. BHARARA praised the extraordinary work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He also thanked the SEC for its assistance in the investigation of this case.Assistant U.S. Attorneys ANDREW L. FISH and RICHARD C. TARLOWE are in charge of the prosecution.

In the prescription drugs sentencing today in White Plains,

In imposing the sentence on BURKO, Judge KARAS, citing the defendant’s “brazen and longstanding criminal conduct” and the fact that his conduct required “planning, guile, and attention to detail,” underscored the need to impose a sentence that would deter others from engaging in similar conduct.

On November 30, 2010, BURKO pled guilty to three counts of an Indictment. The first count to which BURKO pled guilty charged that BURKO participated in a conspiracy from at least 2003 through March 31, 2006, to cause the dispensing without valid prescriptions of prescription drugs held for sale after shipment in interstate commerce. According to the Indictment, BURKO worked as a pharmacist for a company that operated pharmacies in Rockland County, Orange County, Dutchess County, and Westchester County.

The second and third counts to which BURKO pled guilty charged that BURKO dispensed Prednisone on April 8, 2005, and March 31, 2006, pursuant to fraudulent prescriptions. As charged in the Indictment, on both occasions, BURKO dispensed Prednisone, a steroid, in 10 milligram tablets, pursuant to fraudulent prescriptions BURKO issued in the names of fictitious patients.

According to statements made by the Government during prior proceedings in this matter and in the Government’s submission filed in advance of the sentencing proceeding:

On 163 occasions, BURKO falsified pharmacy records and filled and dispensed Prednisone prescriptions for fictitious individuals. The dispensing of Prednisone pursuant to the fraudulent prescriptions was part of a larger scheme by which BURKO and at least one co-conspirator stole drugs from the pharmacies at which BURKO worked. Burko falsified pharmacy records to make it appear that he had received oral prescriptions (via telephone calls from doctors) for Prednisone for fictitious patients.·

BURKO then “filled” the false prescriptions and dispensed the medication to a co-conspirator, who came to the pharmacy to pick up the medication. When the co-conspirator left the pharmacy, he left with a bag containing the Prednisone, as well as numerous other medications.

In addition to his sentence of two years in prison, BURKO was also ordered to pay $400,000 in restitution. Judge KARAS also imposed a term of three years’ supervised release.

Mr. BHARARA praised the efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in connection with this matter. Mr. BHARARA thanked the Clarkstown Police Department for its assistance in the investigation.

This case is being handled by the White Plains Division of the United States Attorneys Office. Assistant United States Attorney MARCIA S. COHEN is in charge of the prosecution.

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WPCNR PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE DAY. June 13, 2011: 

Mayor Thomas Roach with Theresa Perry, and her two sons, David and John  unveiling the eternal remembrance of Detective Michael Perry Sunday renaming Court Street in his name.

One year ago Sunday, Officer Michael Perry died in the line of duty after chasing and arresting an alleged shoplifting suspect at the corner of Main Street and Court Street. After escorting the suspect back to police headquarters, officer Perry collapsed and died the first officer to die in the line of duty in White Plains in over twenty years.

Sunday over 100 police and public safety officers gathered to rename Court Street Detective Michael Perry Way in his honor. Here is how it looked as his parents, widow and children looked on, remembering, respecting, contemplative of what public safety officers put on the line for the community every day, and remembering a much-loved member of the department.

Mayor Thomas Roach awarded White Plains first-ever “Medal of Honor” to Theresa Perry, Sunday afternoon, with Commissioner of Public Safety David Chong. Mr. Roach, in his remarks said that Detective Perry “gave everything he had,”  and regretted that reckless acts by individuals often end up costing the lives of officers as was the case in Detective Perry’s heroic efforts.

An emotional Commissioner of Public Safety David Chong, delivered the following remarks  in Detective Perry’s honor:

“…Thank you White Plains Department of Public Safety, and especially thank you to the Perry Family.

One year ago today, we in Public Safety lost a hero, the City lost a valuable member of its staff, and the Perry family suffered the greatest lost as they lost a beloved one.

Today we gather here on the corner where that horrible day began, to pay homage to Detective Michael Perry. The corner of Main Street and Court Street in Downtown White Plains, the heart of this beautiful and vibrant city will always have a street signed, dedicated to our hero, Michael Perry.

Throughout the year, Detective Perry’s memory and sacrifice has been honored throughout the United States of America and the Law Enforcement profession. His name appears on the New York State Fraternal Order of Police Wall in Hicksville, Long Island, as well as the Memorial Wall in Albany, our State Capitol and on the National Police Officers Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C.

It is only fitting that his name will forever appear in the heart of the City in which he served with Pride, Integrity and Courage.

All these accolades and ceremonies are well befitting a hero, who gave the ultimate sacrifice. We must always remember to be thankful to the Perry family and as a City we always will.

At the end of the day, we must remember that Theresa is going home without a husband, David and John, without a father, and Patricia and Patrick without their son as well as his brother and sisters, friends and extended family without Michael.

I wish to thank the entire City Administration from Mayor Tom Roach, through the council, all city staff, my staff and everyone in the Department of Public Safety, the PBA, especially the Executive Board led by President Robert Riley and President Jim Carrier, for making this past year as bearable as possible.

Theresa, John, David, Patrick and Patricia, and the entire Perry Family and friends, as I promised a year ago, we will never forget our Hero Detective Michael Perry.  May God bless you all and always look over you. Always know that we will be there for you as Michael was there for us.”

The rememberers and Commissioner Chong were touched and brought to tears by NYPD Sergeant Michael Devine’s plaintive tenor voice softly rendering the song “Tell My Father,” from the play Civil War. It was evocative and invoked the never-ending sense of loss that the ceremony recognized.The Sergeant sang…

Tell my father that his son
Didn’t run, or surrender
That I bore his name with pride
As I tried to remember
You are judged by what you do
While passing through
As I rest ‘neath fields of green
Let him lean on your shoulder
Tell him how I spent my youth
So the truth could grow older
Tell my father when you can
I was a man
Tell him we will meet again
Where the angels learn to fly

[ From: http://www.metrolyrics.com/tell-my-father-lyrics-john-barrowman.html ]

Tell him we will meet as men
For with honor did I die
Tell him how I wore the Blue
Proud and true through the fire
Tell my father so he’ll know

I love him so
Tell him how I wore the blue

Proud and true like he taught Me
Tell my father not to cry
Then say goodbye

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WPCNR ALBANY ROUNDS. From the Governor’s Press Office. June 9, 2011:

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced Wednesday  he has introduced pension reform legislation that would impose a new Tier VI for future employees and save taxpayers $93 billion over the next 30 years, a figure that does not include New York City. These reforms will reduce costs for local governments and schools and help get control of local property taxes for homeowners and businesses across the state. The bill also includes, at the request of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, a separate pension reform proposal for New York City and the uniformed services.

The new pension tier will increase the retirement age for new employees from 62 to 65, increase employee pension contributions and end so-called pension padding where employees accumulate substantial amounts of overtime in their final years of service to increase their pension.

“The numbers speak for themselves – the pension system as we know it is unsustainable,” Governor Cuomo said. “This bill institutes common-sense reforms to bring government benefits more in line with the private sector while still serving our employees and protecting our retirees. Reducing the skyrocketing pension burden faced by local governments and schools will also help get control of local property taxes that are driving New Yorkers from their homes and from the state.”

Assemblyman Robert Castelli of the White Plains/Lewisboro 89th Assembly District applauded the effort with one caveat:

Since 2001, pension contributions by the state, local governments and schools increased from $368 million to $6.6 billion outside New York City.During the same period for New York City, pension costs increased from $1.1 billion to $8.4 billion.This level of growth raises property taxes and impacts government’s ability to provide services.

Provisions in the legislation include:

• Raising the retirement age from 62 to 65
  
• Ending early retirement
  
• Requiring employees to contribute six percent of their salary for the duration of their career
  
• Providing a 1.67 percent annual pension multiplier
  
• Vesting after 12 years instead of 10 years
  
• Excluding overtime from final average salary
  
• Using a five year final average salary calculation with an 8 percent anti-spiking cap
  
• Excluding wages above the Governor’s salary of $179,000 from the final average salary calculation
  
• Eliminating lump sum payouts for unused vacation leave from the final average salary calculation
  
• Prohibiting the use of unused sick leave for additional service credit at retirement

The reform of the state pension system would impact new hires by the state and local governments, including school districts. The City pension reform plan would cover new employees of New York City, including the uniformed services.

The bill is available here. The bill memo is available here.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, “We have, for the last six months, been engaging with stakeholders in City and State government and our partners in municipal labor, on a vital question we’ve raised for years: how to protect both city services and the strength of our retirement funds over the long term.The Governor’s bill will do just that — by making sensible pension reforms that won’t impact a single current employee or existing retiree, this legislation will create $30 billion in savings over the next 30 years for the City, which will ensure we can afford the services and workforce that City residents depend on, and provide a secure retirement for municipal employees long into the future.”

Carol Kellermann, President of the Citizens Budget Commission, said, “Rapidly rising pension costs have squeezed the budgets of every government in New York State and contributed to New York’s high tax burden. New York needs an affordable pension plan that reflects current economic times and can be sustained over the long term. Governor Cuomo’s proposal for a new tier is fiscally responsible and would provide significant relief to taxpayers and local governments.”

Stephen J. Acquario, Executive Director of the New York State Association of Counties, said, “Pension costs are projected to rise at unsustainable rates for public employers and their taxpayers. Governor Cuomo’s Tier VI measure will provide much-needed long-term relief while still protecting the financial integrity of the retirement system.NYSAC supports the Governor’s proposal which will modernize the State’s pension system and provide efficiency and stability to ease the local burden of skyrocketing pension costs.”

Peter Baynes, Executive Director of the New York Conference of Mayors, said, “Governor Cuomo’s proposal to add a new Tier to the pension system is good news for local governments and their property taxpayers. The cost of the public pension system has grown out of control, and we need to take proactive steps to rein it in. This plan will ultimately save billions in taxpayer dollars while providing a stable, secure retirement system for public employees. We look forward to seeing the Governor’s bill pass this session.”

G. Jeffrey Haber, Executive Director of the Association of Towns of the State of New York, said, “Towns are always looking for responsible ways to minimize the real property tax burden for their residents.The current economic climate necessitates changes to the existing retirement formula. We applaud Governor’s Cuomo’s efforts to address this situation by the introduction of a Tier VI pension reform plan.”

Timothy G. Kremer, Executive Director of the New York State School Boards Association, said, “School districts have been punished by escalating pension costs for the last several years. The current retirement systems are no longer sustainable.Saving $93 billion over time will provide welcome relief to school districts and taxpayers struggling to make ends meet.”

Robert J. Reidy, Jr., Ph.D., Executive Director of the New York State Council of School Superintendents said, “Governor Cuomo’s measure to rein in pension costs is commendable. In recent years, most school districts have had to freeze or cut all other spending to absorb steep pension cost increases.This plan will save billions in taxpayer dollars and provide much-needed relief to school districts all over New York state.”

Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi said, “I applaud Governor Cuomo’s efforts to seek long overdue reform to the Public Employee’s Pension System. His plan will ultimately bring much needed relief to local governments, school districts and the State government itself, whose budgets have all been ravaged by exploding pension costs during recent years. To those who claim that the benefits of the proposed Tier 6 will do nothing to help overburdened taxpayers now, I remind them that had foresight and leadership such as this been demonstrated 10-15 years ago, our punitive tax burden, problems and pain of today would have been significantly more manageable. Proverb teaches us that ‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step’. This is a significant leap and I look forward to working with the Governor and Legislature to follow this up with even more initiatives to restructure and retool the Governments of the Empire State.”