August 2012
1 post
4 tags
Heartbroken hubby laments wife's web of lies
The Riverdale Press
July 19, 2007
By Tommy Hallissey
Rare is the spouse who is completely truthful, but Nirmala Parmasar wove a fabric of lies to her husband that was so egregious it could land her in jail for many years. “She claimed she loved me, but those were only words,” said a despondent Michael Braverman, speaking with The Press in his modest apartment at 80 Knolls Crescent.
He still...
July 2012
0 posts
3 tags
On Trial in Cop-Killing, 'Bronx Tale' Star Dims
Faces ‘Blue’ Jury as Well
Dec. 5, 2008
The Chief
By Tommy Hallissey
With his hands cuffed behind the back of his brown suit, Lillo Brancato walked into Bronx Supreme Court Nov. 25, the second day of his trial for the murder of an NYPD cop, and lifted his head long enough to see a dozen police officers seated in the courtroom, waiting to hear two of their colleagues testify against...
May 2012
5 posts
1 tag
The beat goes on
Nov. 29, 2007
The Riverdale Press
By Tommy Hallissey
A photograph of a deserted yellow-striped highway hangs at the back of the room. Indicative of everything and nothing at once, like the writer whose masterwork - a typewritten tattered scroll - flows toward the door. It’s a quixotic backdrop for an exhibit of any writer except for Jack Kerouac, who became famous by writing about the...
1 tag
Andy sweats his way to healthier thinking
By Tommy Hallissey
A thin-armed 47-year-old white man, named Andy, crawls on his hands and knees into an igloo shaped structure of wood, called a Purification Lodge, on a Mohawk Reservation near Micena, New York. Inside, it is so dark Andy can’t see his hand in front of his face. Outside, Mohawk Indians dressed in street clothes chant prayers of healing for him. Andy sits near a fire pit of...
2 tags
High-stepping horse has hopes for Olympic gold
July 3, 2008
The Riverdale Press
By Tommy Hallissey
Pop Art’s muscular chestnut brown body moves with military precision as he kicks his right front leg and then his left like a four-legged Rockette, subtly guided by the slightest tapping of the spurs on the heels of Ashley Holzer’s black, knee-high boots. The horse and rider team is at the Riverdale Equestrian Centre on Broadway, getting ready...
2 tags
Car break-in pair caught in the act
March 13, 2008
The Riverdale Press
By Tommy Hallissey
Two of Riverdale’s most notorious car vandals, with rap sheets longer than a stretch limousine, teamed up for a recent break-in in Kingsbridge and were arrested together on Saturday, police said.
Police Officer Adam Donofrio observed Edward Feliciano, 39, with his head inside the broken rear passenger window of a rented 2007 Chrysler...
1 tag
2nd Murder Conviction In Police Officer's Killing;...
March 20, 2009
The Chief-Leader
By Tommy Hallissey
Lee Woods, one of three men charged in the fatal shooting of Police Officer Russel Timoshenko on a Brooklyn street two years ago, was convicted of murder March 16.
Several dozen cops who crowded into the courtroom and sat quietly while Brooklyn Supreme Court jurors delivered their verdict exploded in jubilation when they exited moments...
April 2012
1 post
4 tags
A foster care survivor’s journey to independence
Without a word, Fekri’s disarming, toothy smile betrays the suffering he endured coming of age in the New York City foster care system. His crooked pearly whites also hide the agony of being sold into slavery in Tunisia at the age of 5 for a mere $100.
Taken from Tunisia, Fekri was exchanged between parental figures that were often physically and sexually abusive. At age 9, he was beaten...
February 2012
1 post
3 tags
For Port Authority Cops, A Sense of Loss Lingers
For the seventh anniversary of 9/11, The Chief took a look at a previously ignored group of victims: the Port Authority Police Department, which lost 37 members on 9/11, a proportionately high number of its limited ranks.
September 19, 2008
The Chief-Leader
For Port Authority Cops, A Sense of Loss Lingers
Fallen Colleagues Remembered
By Tommy Hallissey
Seven years removed from the terror of...
January 2012
1 post
2 tags
The Freeman Identity: Spuyten Duyvil Centenarian...
At the ripe age of 100, Riverdalian Albert Freeman came forward to tell The Riverdale Press about his life as a dual agent for both the Soviet Union and the FBI. He helped the FBI intercept secret Russian messages while living in obscurity in The Bronx.[[MORE]]
Spuyten Duyvil centenarian was a master spy
By Tommy Hallissey
Shhhh! Albert Freeman may be listening. During his 100-year lifetime,...
August 2011
6 posts
4 tags
Pretty fly for a Wall Street guy
Wall Street and private-equity execs are having banner years — and spending their record bonuses joining the private jet set. Air-taxi services like Talon Air’s 8-seater Hawker 400XPs are seeing a 50 percent jump in business, according to this November 2006 New York Post article.
Nov. 26, 2006
The New York Post
By Tommy Hallissey
As bonuses on Wall Street and beyond hit...
3 tags
Univ. Crime Soars -- Amid Citywide Drop
For this New York Post piece, I analyzed U.S. Department of Education data using Microsoft Excel and Access to determine that while citywide crime famously declined in the last several years, assaults, burglaries, robberies and rapes on New York City college campuses increased dramatically.
March 18, 2007
The New York Post
UNIV. CRIME SOARS - AMID CITYWIDE DROP
By TOMMY HALLISSEY
New York City...
3 tags
Nursing homes face increasing number of lawsuits
Elder lawyer Lewis Fishlin says the number of lawsuits against nursing homes has risen dramatically. He said there is ‘quite a bit of money in it,’ compared to years ago when the cases were ‘not worth taking from a lawyer’s perspective.’
The Riverdale Press looked at several graphic lawsuits against nursing homes in The Bronx to tell the broader story of an increase...
3 tags
Vandals hit more cars
The weekly Police Beat column at The Riverdale Press kept a running tab on neighborhood crimes, but it also held the police accountable for the reporting of crimes. This February 2008 article told the story of how auto break-in statistics were under-reported by the police.
Feb. 21, 2008
The Riverdale Press
Vandals hit more cars
Cops say auto break-in stats were understated
By Tommy Hallissey ...
2 tags
A ‘Tough Gal’ Counted Out In Manhattan DA’s Race
Leslie Crocker Snyder ran for Manhattan District Attorney for the second time in 2009. Without the support of outgoing District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, Ms. Snyder faced an uphill battle against Cyrus Vance, Jr. in her likely final run for public office.
The Chief captured this profile after spending the day on the campaign trail and the evening at Judge Snyder’s election party at the...
2 tags
Man held in Skyview fatal feud
An early morning argument in a Riverdale apartment building turned deadly in May 2008 when a 54-year-old woman was found in dead, fully clothed, face up, lying in the bathtub. The emotionally disturbed man allegedly responsible threw most of the contents of the 11th-floor apartment off the balcony.
Below is how The Riverdale Press covered the story.
May 8, 2008
The Riverdale Press
Man held in...
July 2011
13 posts
4 tags
For some, market for homes is still hot
As the third part of a four-part series on the real estate market in The Bronx’s Riverdale, The Riverdale Press began with the success story of the most expensive co-op sold in the community to date.
“From 2003 to 2008, the most expensive co-ops in Riverdale rose in price each year, jumping 167 percent. Even the least expensive homes rose from $90,000 in 2005 to $530,000 in...
3 tags
Bronx district attorney recognized for service
In December 2007, The Riverdale Press profiled Bronx homicide prosecutor David Greenfield, a Riverdalian that the New York City Bar Association honored with the Thomas E. Dewey Medal for a lifetime of service in the Bronx District Attorney’s office.
Dec. 13, 2007
The Riverdale Press
Bronx district attorney recognized for service
By Tommy Hallissey Bronx homicide prosecutor David...
4 tags
Probation Union: Guns Deadly for Members
Four Probation Officer suicides in four years prompted the head of the United Probation Officers Association to question New York City Probation Commissioner Martin F. Horn’s decision to allow Probation Officers to carry weapons on the job.
The weapons, which were meant as a deterrent, had only been used in self-inflicted cases, union president Dominic Collucio told The Chief in August 2009....
3 tags
One icon, one face, many images
Art inspired by the Argentinian Marxist revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara took over the Bronx River Arts Center in January 2008. The revolutionary cult figure has also influenced counterculture art. The iconic red and black silkscreen of Che has been reproduced the world over as a global insignia for revolution.
After the jump is a feature from the front-page of Better Living section...
2 tags
New Cop Takes Her Spot In the Family Business
As New York City dealt with a budget crunch in 2010, the NYPD Academy graduated only 250 recruits for the second straight time. The class was so tiny the ceremony was held at the Beacon Theatre instead of the graduation’s usual haunt Madison Square Garden.
Profiled in this Jan. 8, 2010 article in The Chief is a New York lawyer who walked away from a legal career to follow in her...
4 tags
FBI collars bribe-taking school bus supervisor
The long-running Federal investigation of mafia influence in Local 1181 of the Amalgamated Transit Union hit the tony Riverdale enclave of The Bronx in 2007 when a bribe-taking Department of Education bus supervisor from the community was arrested.
Geoffrey Berger’s crimes allegedly dated back as far as the 1980’s. Taxpayers took the hit as the DOE was charged an additional $100 to...
3 tags
Workers charge DEP lied about chlorine spill
An afternoon hazmat incident at the Jerome Park Reservoir in the summer of 2007 cast a light on the facility where the city Department of Environmental Protection denied dangerous chlorine gas was stored.
Two anonymous workers came forward to tell The Riverdale Press that this assertion was untrue and storage of chlorine gas at the Jerome Park Reservoir in The Bronx had already resulted in...
3 tags
Home Sales Are Taking Longer
A Riverdale Press analysis of eight years of real estate statistics that were published in the paper over the years portrayed a surprising picture of the neighborhood’s housing stock after the bubble burst.
The March 6, 2008 edition of The Riverdale Press showed through statistics that buyers were bidding their time as they searched the market, but eventually they paid close to sellers...
2 tags
Hair test now illegal, but cops its snared still...
The NYPD’s zero tolerance drug policy has led to heated disputes with its labor unions over the manner of drug testing.
A January 30, 2009 article in The Chief looks at hair drug testing and its effect on some of those who failed because of so-called false positives.
A state Appellate Court has ruled drug testing is a matter for collective bargaining.
By TOMMY HALLISSEY
Close to midnight on...
3 tags
Wall Streeter Hopes to Turn Trash to Gold
Here’s a light feature from the April 26, 2007 issue of The Riverdale Press. A local Bronx resident cashed in his Wall Street chips to man a junk van in the upstart franchise business 1800-Got-Junk?
By Tommy Hallissey
A well-heeled Wall Street veteran turned junk man might conjure images of Michael Milken, who went down in flames in a junk bond scandal in 1989. But South Riverdale’s...
4 tags
Firefighters rescue two pets from burning home
A journalistic investigation of an apartment fire led a Riverdale Press photographer and a reporter to a local veterinary office where a dog and a cat, which were saved from the Arlington Avenue fire, fought for their lives.
The story ran on A3 of the December 27, 2007 issue of The Riverdale Press
By Tommy Hallissey Firefighters quickly extinguished an apartment fire on Arlington Avenue last week...
3 tags
Cops’ Kids Feel Residual Effects of Post-9/11 Work
Here’s The Chief’s October 23, 2009 take on the ceremonial addition of names to the Police Memorial Wall in Battery Park. This was the second year that members of service who died from 9/11-related illnesses were honored with a spot on the wall.
“Men and women of different ranks and commands united in a common mission to aid in the recovery effort,” Police Commissioner Raymond W....
3 tags
Rikers Fight Club
Two NYC Correction Officers were indicted in January 2009 for overseeing a criminal enterprise which operated inside Rikers Island and resulted in the murder of an 18-year-old inmate by fellow prisoners.
The 58-count indictment prompted The Village Voice to refer one of the Correction Department’s biggest scandals as Rikers Fight Club. Prosecutors accused Correction Officers of overseeing a...
