NYC Magazine » Crime

15-Year Old Brooklyn Boy Charged With Stabbing 12-Year Old Boy

Yelena Mandenberg — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 17:16:44 +0000

A 15-year-old child was charged with stabbing his 12-year-old friend last night, after the two had gotten into an argument in the park they were in, while smoking marijuana.

The older boy was identified as Wayne Henderson, and his victim was 12-year-old Luis Martinez. Both kids are from Brooklyn.

On Saturday night, the two boys were in a Queens portion of Highland park, and had gotten into an argument about an earlier occasion on which Henderson had gotten in trouble with his family for smoking marijuana in the past.

Martinez had suffered several stab wounds and injuries, and is currently resting in NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in stable condition according to police.

The New York Times reports:

“The Queens district attorney’s office said on Sunday that Mr. Henderson had been charged with second-degree attempted murder and first- and second-degree assault. If convicted of the most serious charges, he could be sentenced to up to 25 years in prison.

The boys were in the park with a 14-year-old girl who fled after the stabbing. Detectives interviewed her, but she was not charged, the police said. They did not identify her.

After the stabbing, Luis made his way to the Jackie Robinson Parkway, where he flagged down a driver who called 911.

Early news reports said the family believed that the crime was gang-related, but the police discounted that theory on Sunday.”

MTA Bus Drivers Get Added Protection…Sort Of

Igor Derysh — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 14:00:34 +0000

MTA Bus Partition

In response to the fatal stabbing of a B46 bus driver about a year ago, the MTA has begun to install partitions that would shield the driver from any potential danger…except not really.

The first 100 partitions have been installed on B46 buses as a way to test the effectiveness of the idea but just looking at photos of the partition it is hard to see how the glass barrier actual adds security.

The partition itself cover the area that until now was only protected by a metal bar that drivers had to pick up to leave their seat. Now drivers will have to use a thin metal and glass door.

While the door may give more drivers peace of mind, nothing actually covers the area over the farebox. Really, nothing is covered between the door and the windshield. Leave it to the MTA to install a security partition that does not actually protect the drivers from bodily harm.

Still, drivers didn’t mind just having any sort of protection there considering that there was none before. The lack of security on buses (as opposed to train conductors that operate inside a closed off area) has resulted in well over 300 assaults on bus drivers this year, many of them involving spitting.

Anyone who has seen the verbal or physical assaults of bus drivers on any given day knows that the partition can’t hurt…but it doesn’t seem to help too much either.

NYC Murder Rate at Record Low

Igor Derysh — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 22:30:51 +0000

NYC's Army

Say what you will about New York City turning into a police state (and I’ve said plenty) but it does work. According to the New York Times, New York City is on pace to have its lowest murder rate on record.

The Times reports that by December 27, the city had 461 murders, 35 less than the city had in 2007 when the city had less than 500 murders for the first time.

Pretty good considering as recently as 1990 the city saw more than 2,200 murders in one year.

At the same time, the city’s current deficit will undoubtedly lead to thousands of the NYPD’s massive police force getting laid off which could lead to a slight increase in the rate.

On the other hand, murder rates have fallen greatly all over the country. The FBI is reporting that the murder rate around the country has fallen by 10% (New York City’s has fallen by 19%).

Other cities where crime has fallen greatly include Atlanta, Chicago, Boston, and Philadelphia. The biggest drop was seen in Los Angeles whose murder rate fell by nearly 30% in the first half of this year.

The Mayor’s office has linked the fall in murders to tighter gun control policies, a link that is hard to deny.

Here is a look at how New York City’s murder rates have looked over the last two decades:

1990: 2,245 (record high)

1995: 1,200+

2000: 700

2005: 539

2006: 596

2007: 496

2008: 522

2009: 461+

NYC Wastes Tens of Millions on Pot Arrests, 12% of All Arrests Are Marijuana Charges

Igor Derysh — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 14:00:43 +0000

Mayor Bloomberg...

For all the talk about crime statistics in New York City, the irony of all ironies is that the taxpayer is charged tens of millions of dollars every year so that cops can arrest people for harmlessly smoking a pot.

According to a recent study, around 12% of all arrests in New York City are on marijuana charges, something that was rarely done until Rudy Giuliani and, even more so, Michael Bloomberg installed policies to make their crime statistics look good by going after pot smokers.

Of course the crime stats improved under Giuliani and Bloomberg, the two mayors saw marijuana arrests surge from under 1,000 marijuana arrests per year under Mayor David Dinkins to a whopping 40,000+ last year!

Bloomberg, who has himself admitted to enjoying marijuana in his younger years, has boasted about improving the city’s crime statistics on top of what happened under Giuliani but that is because under Mayor Mike, the city has been arresting 12,000 more people every year for pot than under Rudy.

A recent study featured in the New York Times showed some interesting statistics resulting the city’s war on pot.

For one, while Giuliani did not go that overboard with pot arrests, the very lowest-level pot arrests jumped by more than 50% under Bloomberg!

Even more interesting is the racial divide in these cases. Of the 40,000+ arrested for marijuana charges last year, nearly 90% were black or hispanic.

Just to show how ridiculous Mayor Mike’s policy has been on marijuana, in 2008 alone, the city arrested more people for marijuana charges than in in 12 years of Mayor Ed Koch, four years of Dinkins, and the first two years of Giuliani COMBINED!

Former Senate Leader Joseph Bruno Guilty on 2 Counts

Igor Derysh — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:36:05 +0000

Convicted Felon Joseph Bruno

The New York Senate is one of the most corrupt political bodies in the country and two major court decisions this week have begun what will hopefully become a trend in putting corrupt politicians in their place.

After finding State Senator Hiram Monserrate guilty on assault charges stemming from a fight with his girlfriend that ended in him slashing her face (although he got off far too easy), a jury has found former Senate Majority Leader of 13 years Joseph Bruno guilty on two counts of corruption.

The former top state Republican faces 40 years in jail and $500,000 in fines when he is sentenced in March.

In a trial that was seen as a trial of the entire Albany system, Bruno was accused of mixing his private sector job with his political career. Bruno was found not guilty on five charges while the jury could not reach a verdict on an eighth and final charge which means that Bruno could be re-tried by the Feds.

The two charges that he was found guilty on were mail and wire fraud. One of the charges were in relation to his consulting business, the other in connection to a horse breeding partnership that he had.

In the first case, Bruno had received 11 payments from businessman Jared Abbruzzese which the jury confirmed were nothing but bribes. The second charge was a matter of Bruno not disclosing that he was a partner with Abbruzzese in breeding race horses.

Bruno will be sentenced this coming March.

Scum State Senator Gets Only Probation For Assaulting Girlfriend

Igor Derysh — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:00:48 +0000

Monserrate Being Arrested For Assault

Proving yet again that the legal system works differently for those in power than those without it, State Senator Hiram Monserrate has been given three years of probation, 250 hours of community service, and a year of abuse counseling for assaulting and “accidently” slashing the face of his girlfriend.

While Monserrate’s lawyers are appealing the decision, the State Senate is considering taking their own disciplinary action against him. Knowing the state senate, however, it is questionable if they would even take disciplinary actions despite the fact that he is guilty of assaulting a woman because, like the mafia, they take care of their own.

While his girlfriend, Karla Giraldo, has a court mandated order of protection against the man who assaulted her on camera around a year ago, she has said that she still loves him and wants to get back together with him. Monserrate has said that he wants to marry her.

The true irony of all this is the fact that Monserrate and Giraldo can one day get married. That is more than can be said for any loving gay couple in New York who do not assault their significant others thanks to guys like him who voted against the gay marriage bill in the senate this week.

Despite the fact that he is a violent offender, Monserrate will likely get to keep his cushy senate gig, his life, and maybe even his girlfriend whose face has hopefully healed by now. But hey, it’s not like he would be the only felon in government.

Store Owner Shows Mercy to Broke Robber

Igor Derysh — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:09:07 +0000

Mohammad Sohail

In an unlikely feel good story, a would-be robber had his attempt thwarted by a shotgun wielding store owner, only to walk away with $40 and a loaf of bread.

The incident originally occurred in May.

As store owner Mohammad Sohail was closing up shop around midnight, a robber carrying a bat demanded that he empty out his register. Rather than complying, Sohail quickly grabbed a shotgun that he kept under his counter.

The robber quickly dropped his bat and began to plead with Sohail explaining that he had lost his job and could not feed his family. Incredibly, Sohail listened.

Even more incredibly, Sohail decided to give the man $40 and a loaf of bread before letting him go rather than calling the cops.

According to Sohail, the suspect thanked the man and ran off after promising to end his life of crime.

Sohail told the Daily News that he was no hero, he simply felt pity on the man and his situation. “I feel really good because I helped someone,” Sohail told the Daily News. “Everyone should help each other. … I did this because he had problems.”

Ironically, crime has not really gone up in New York since the financial crisis started so this has not been as common as one might expect.

In either case, the financial crisis has left both New York state and New York City reeling due to major deficits and high unemployment. In Brooklyn alone, the unemployment is around 11%, exceeding the national average.

Bronx Coke Ring Run By Corrupt Cop

Yelena Mandenberg — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 23:33:50 +0000

Officer Juan Acosta, a nine-year veteran, is facing a life sentence right now for using his status to help a long-time friend, Yorick Rafael Corneil-Perez, run a cocaine ring. Supposedly, Acosta aided in distributing drugs by stealing cash from a rival drug dealer while pretending to be on police business. He would also provide tips on which streets would be heavily patrolled by other officers. In addition, Acosta is accused of transporting 22 pounds of cocaine from Long Island to the Bronx.

According to investigators, in 2005, Acosta had taken hundreds of thousands of dollars from another drug courier in what he claimed was a police sting, but never turned the money over to the NYPD. He took the money while driving a marked patrol car, and carrying his service weapon. This October, Acosta got busted by a government informant posing as a Colombian narcotics trafficker who got Acosta to agree to transport 10 kilos of cocaine into the city. Investigators say that 2 days later, Acosta was paid $15,000 for smuggling the drugs, which were actually fake narcotics.

So far, Acosta has pled not guilty, and since has resigned from the force. He and Corneil-Perez are both being held in custody without bail.

Junior Gotti Granted Freedom

Yelena Mandenberg — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 23:14:39 +0000

John "Junior" Gotti

John “Junior” Gotti has been granted his freedom after paying $2 million in bail money, after the jury was unable to come to a verdict. This is the fourth hung jury in five years in the Gotti case.

The son of the Gambino crime family was on trial for racketeering-related charges. Prosecutors did not say if Gotti will be tried again. One juror said it would be abusive to bring the charges again.

The government linked Gotti to a string of murders in the 1980’s and 1990’s, which is what this latest trial was about. He was also linked to drug trafficking crimes. Gotti has been denying the charges, claiming he quit the mob more than a decade ago.

The anonymous jurors deliberated for 11 days before telling the judge they were unable to agree over racketeering conspiracy and murder charges. Prosecutors say the Gotti had been secretly pocketing drug money and ordering hits, despite Gotti’s insistence that he had gone straight.

Shortly after 3 p.m. Tuesday, the jury sent U.S. District Judge Kevin P. Castel a note that read: ”Judge Castel, we cannot reach a unanimous decision on any count. We are deadlocked. There is not one member of the jury who believes that we can reach a unanimous verdict on any count.”

Once Judge Castel notified the jury that he was declaring a mistrial, applause erupted in the courtroom, which was filled with Gotti supporters.

Victoria Gotti, John “Junior” Gotti’s sister, tearfully said outside court: ”We’re ravaged. We’re beaten down, but we’re not broken.” Asked about a possibility of another trial, she said: ”Just let it go. We’re no organized crime family. We’re a family. That’s all we are.”

Gotti’s last three trials, where he was accused of orchestrating a kidnapping and an attempted murder plot against Guardian Angels founder Curis Sliwa, also ended with hung juries.

Family Tragedy in NJ, Man Shoot Family, Kills Son

Igor Derysh — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 04:19:11 +0000

Police officers secure the area after a shooting in Paterson, N.J.

The Thanksgiving holidays ended tragically for one family in New Jersey this year, when early on Saturday morning, a man chased down and shot his wife and two sons, killing one of them, before he himself was shot by an off-duty police officer.

Investigators have not yet found a clear motive for the crime.

Paramedics pronounced Adrian Gonzales, 7-years-old, dead at the scene. His 11-year-old brother and mother were hospitalized and currently are in critical condition. The gunman, Edelmiro Gonzales, 54, was also taken to the hospital, where he died several hours later.

A resident that witnessed the shooting, told the Record of Bergen County that he saw the gunman run after the three victims as he fired “multiple gunshots.” The witness, Will Hayes, also said that the off-duty officer was in a car at a nearby fast food restaurant and after witnessing the events, confronted the man, telling him to stop and dropped his weapon. When the gunman refused, the officer shot him, according to Hayes.

”One kid was trying to get up,” Hayes said. ”They were young. I started crying.”