Tommy Hallissey's Journalistic Snapshots

Heartbroken hubby laments wife's web of lies

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 14:15:00 -0400

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 remembers the day Ms. Parmasar told him, “I have cancer and I need money to go to California where I can get good treatment,” according to a criminal complaint on file with the Bronx district attorney’s office.

But, according to police, the healthy woman used the cash — Mr. Braverman estimates it totaled $144,000 — to underwrite her relationship with a second husband in South Ozone Park, Queens.

Mr. Braverman, 55, who teaches history and political science at Touro College, first met Ms. Parmasar when he dialed up an escort service in 2000. The then-26-year-old buxom brunette arrived at his door and he was smitten.

He married her on Dec. 18, 2001 and settled in to what he thought would be a lifetime of marital bliss. But in 2003, Ms. Parmasar told he husband she had leukemia and he began depositing $3,000 a month in an account he thought was earmarked to pay for her care.

She even gave him a letter stating she was receiving treatment from Dr. Michael Youkson, of Johnson Cancer Comprehension Center in California, which does not exist, according to police.

After that Mr. Braverman would occasionally see his wife when she had immigration appointments, picking her up at Kennedy Airport. He talked to her frequently on the phone during her phony stay in California. When she called, the number would appear on Mr. Braverman’s caller ID as a private number, he said. Little did he know, but Ms. Parmasar had started a new life in South Ozone Park, Queens.

According to statements she made to police, Ms. Parmasar had married again — without divorcing Mr. Braverman. He believes she used his payments to buy a house in Queens with her new husband, a mechanic.

Mr. Braverman concedes he was a little naïve — Ms. Parmasar allegedly told him she was transferred to a children’s ward at the faux Johnson Cancer Comprehensive Center. On July 8, Ms. Parmasar, 33, was arrested for three felony counts of grand larceny, and Mr. Braverman met her young child by her new husband. “She’s a bigamist,” said Mr. Braverman. Ms. Parmasar did not return calls seeking comment.

The ex-call girl sang to police on the day she was arrested. Ms. Parmasar admitted she never had cancer, never divorced her Spuyten Duyvil husband and got hitched again, according to court documents. “I tell my new husband that the money from Michael [Braverman] comes from a worker’s compensation claim that I had against American Express,” she said to police.

But she never worked at American Express either.

“It’s just a shame that you trust someone and this happens,” Mr. Braverman said. “It hurt me because I’m not a rich man, you find someone decent and it turns out it is a fraud.”

Mr. Braverman caught on to the scheme when he noticed Ms. Parmasar had two accounts at Chase Bank, where he made deposits. Also, the address on the accounts was for the South Ozone Park home she shares with her second husband. He turned to the Five-0, which closed the case in a matter of days, according to Capt. Dermot Shea.

Ms. Parmasar was charged with three felony counts of grand larceny — second-, third- and fourth-degree — and three misdemeanors, including third-degree forgery. The top charge, second-degree grand larceny, carries a maximum sentence of five to 15 years in prison. Ms. Parmasar pleaded guilty at her arraignment July 9 and was released on her own recognizance. Her next court date is Aug. 8.

Mr. Braverman will seek to regain the money he thought was “going to something good,” but he wants a divorce first.

“To look at her you would never have thought she could pull it off,” he said.

On Trial in Cop-Killing, 'Bronx Tale' Star Dims

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 21:39:00 -0400

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 him.

A black female officer glared at the star of “A Bronx Tale,” her gaze never wavering, while other officers sat with arms folded against their chests. Some just squinted. All came from the 40th Precinct, where Daniel Enchautegui had worked before he was murdered on Dec. 10, 2005.

Famous Line Haunts Him Now

Mr. Brancato, who also played a small-time hood in “The Sopranos,” fidgeted in his chair. He looked sharp, with close-cropped black hair and an expensive suit, despite his day-old beard. Not that long ago, he could have been in front of a camera, saying lines like “the saddest thing in life is wasted talent,” as he did at the end of “A Bronx Tale,” except now the words are freighted with irony.

On this day, he listened to two cops recount the night Officer Enchautegui was murdered and his own talent jumped the precipice of being wasted.

Retired NYPD officer Courtney Mapp told the jury he heard two loud bangs, which he thought came from a large-caliber weapon, while he was at a bagel shop near the scene of the shooting. After the initial “boom, boom,” he said he heard a rapid-fire sucession of shots that sounded like “bap, bap, bap, bap … ” Mr. Mapp responded and encountered a bleeding Mr. Brancato on the street. “I’ve been shot; that bitch shot me,” Mr. Mapp testified Mr. Brancato said of Mr. Enchautegui, who was not in uniform. (Mr. Brancato’s lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, who first came to prominence defending one of the cops in the Abner Louima case, had told jurors a day earlier that his client was unaware the man he spoke of was a police officer.)

Across the courtroom, police officers glared at Mr. Brancato, who remained expressionless in his chair.

Officer Mapp testified that he went to look for the man who shot the actor, but instead encountered Steven Armento, the friend of Mr. Brancato who had fatally wounded Officer Enchautegui. Mr Mapp recounted in detail how he wrestled the gun from Mr. Armento, who was wearing Latex gloves.

Mr. Armento was sentenced to life in prison Nov. 13 for being the actual killer, but Mr. Brancato is accused of murder for his role as an accessory because they were allegedly trying to rob an old friend of his whom they didn’t know had recently died.

Got ‘Officer Down’ Call

Det. John Latanzio, an 18-year veteran of the NYPD who is assigned to the Emergency Services Unit, testified next. He was working the midnight to 8 a.m. shift when he heard a call for shots fired in the vicinity of Arnow Place in the Bronx. “We were advised there was a 10-13, an officer down,” he told the jury. He said from the moment he saw Officer Enchautegui he was “limp, unconscious and unresponsive” with his “head stretched back.”

Detective Latanzio, who is a certified Emergency Medical Technician, tried to revive Officer Enchautegui. “It was pretty cold and I did not feel a pulse that night at all,” he said. He then recounted how he had to roll the officer out of his jacket to try to revive him as two police officers seated against the wall listened intently with their right hands on their foreheads. Then one sighed deeply

Best Efforts in Vain

The Detective rode with Mr. Enchautegui to the hospital as paramedics tried to revive him after removing his Police Officer’s shield, which was around his neck and over his shirt. “They went above and beyond; everyone was on their game,” he said in the courtroom of the trauma team. “Then they pronounced Officer Enchautegui … “

Mr. Enchautegui’s sister, Yolanda Rosa, looked down, trying to control her emotions, and then took off her glasses to wipe away tears before slumping forward and sobbing. Mr. Brancato never looked back.

Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association President Patrick J. Lynch sat among his members intently listening to the testimony, and later told reporters, “What we see here today is the difference between a self-indulgent junkie thug and the professionalism of the police officeres who have, even through emotion, even through responding to an officer down, even having to secure a Police Officer’s shield, which we hold close to our heart, they went by the numbers, they were professional, while this mope sits there just worried about himself, not taking responsibility for his actions. He thought he was a tough guy that night; well, he’s a coward now behind that table before that judge.”

Without taking questions, Mr. Lynch turned around to take a place in line with the rest of the police officers to applaud Mr. Enchautegui’s family as they walked out of the courtroom for lunch break. They clapped loudly in unison as Ms. Rosa emerged, and sustained the applause as she walked by with her head held up.

The beat goes on

Sun, 27 May 2012 11:56:00 -0400

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 mad cross-country escapades that spawned a generation of beatniks.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of On the Road by former Horace Mann student Jack Kerouac, which he wrote in a three-week frenzy on 12 10-foot rolls of architectural tracing paper. In commemoration of the anniversary, the New York Public Library has put together an exhaustive exhibit of Kerouac memorabilia, including stuff of folklore like the scroll and rarer nuggets like Kerouac’s fantasy baseball cards from his youth in Lowell, Mass.

Kerouac, who died in 1969 at the age of 47, left behind a tattered history of relics of not only a writer, but also a counter-culture hero, who was friends with the likes of Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs and Neal Cassady. There are gems like poems from Kerouac to Ginsberg, at a time when the novelist was upset with the poet’s reaction to Kerouac’s first book, The Town and the City.

Kerouac’s interest in various art forms is evident from his colorful early childhood fantasy baseball cards to his 1957 oil painting of a mad-looking red and white colored man in a hat. Early versions of poems from Mexico City Blues are juxtaposed with the manuscript to The Subterraneans, perhaps Kerouac’s most artful display of free-form prose. On the far wall of this section of the exhibit, a poster for a 1960 movie based on the book, staring Leslie Caron and George Peppard, hangs.

While Kerouac has his detractors, the exhibit at the New York Public Library shows a frenzy of creativity in a determined man giving birth to myriad art forms - poetry, prose, painting - in a short time. Kerouac was clearly meticulous in all his affairs, right down to his list of sexual encounters displayed for all to see at the public library.

In all corners, the exhibit has a frayed and worn quality like the beat culture Kerouac helped inspire. The new meaning of beat according to Kerouac had spiritual roots in the word beatific. “It will be the only real revolution we’ve ever had so far, arising from spiritual and sexual energy,” Kerouac wrote in Notes from a Letter in 1948. “It will come from looking at each other.”

Andy sweats his way to healthier thinking

Fri, 25 May 2012 20:24:00 -0400

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 red-hot stones for close to two hours. Even stones, our oldest relative, have life, believe the Mohawks. The heat is so intense Andy thinks he might die. He sees white spots.

The following morning the gray-haired medicine man takes Andy in a motorboat to an island on the St. Lawrence River for a Vision Quest. He will be left entirely alone for 24 hours without food or water. Native Americans traditionally do a Vision Quest at the age of 12 or 13 in hopes of achieving spiritual enlightenment. The medicine man drops Andy off. Turning away he says, “You’ll face every fear you ever had. You either face your fears or you forever run from them. Remember one thing your fears are your pathway to enlightenment. Good Luck, you’ll need it.”

Andy Cholakis is a man who has a legitimate reason to be afraid. He was first diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy in 1986, and his condition has slowly but steadily declined ever since. The muscles in his arms have deteriorated. Though he made a living as a bartender for much of his life, he can no longer pour a pint of porter. The medical community has all but told Andy, there is nothing they could do for him. Perhaps in response to the grim prospects of his physical health, Andy’s spirituality has become his bedrock. When the Mohawk Indians offered to help, Andy didn’t think twice.

Andy was born in Rockaway Beach where his grandmother raised him while his mother worked. His father “split” when he was very young. Growing up he was an athletic young man who lifted weights and played the alto saxophone. Upon graduation from Far Rockaway High School, Andy received a full scholarship to Berkley School of Music in Boston. After 5 semesters, Andy dropped out to join a band. With the jazz band the Parade of Brothers he spent 50 weeks “playing in every playboy club in the country.” After the band broke up, Andy returned to Rockaway Beach. He worked as a janitor, a boiler operator and ultimately a bartender. Eventually, he opened the Tap & Grill on the corner of Beach 98 St and Rockaway Beach Boulevard in a neighborhood known as the Irish Riviera.

In 1986, Andy began to trip constantly while walking down the street. Thinking there was a problem with his vision, Andy went to a doctor. The doctor found that he suffered from toe drop caused by the wasting away of the muscle attached to his shinbone. It was the first manifestation of a type of Muscular Dystrophy called Dysferline Deficiency that lay dormant for the first 30 years of Andy’s life. It is an extremely rare genetic disorder caused by the joining up of two recessive genes that Andy said he had a “one in a gazillion” chance of developing. Dysferline Deficiency causes a protein deficiency that leads to muscle atrophy. It was ten years before the disease manifested itself fully, resulting in severe muscle atrophy in his arms that has made everyday tasks such as dressing a chore. Today, Andy wears braces that attach from his ankles up to his shins to help give him a normal gait.

In January 2002, Andy went to see Dr. Horano a research specialist at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. After the examination, Dr. Horano gave a grim diagnosis. He said that, within eight to twelve months, Andy would lose the strength in his shoulder muscles, the only arm muscles he could still use. In two to three years, he would lose the strength in his leg muscles and become confined to a wheelchair. Andy refused to allow the doctor’s bleak prognosis to dampen his spirits. “That’s one mans opinion and nothing more,” said Andy. He never went back to the doctor.

Disillusioned with western medicine, Andy stumbled on alternative healing. One Tuesday night in March of this year, a Mohawk Indian ironworker named Curtis walked into the Tap & Grill in Rockaway Beach. He told Andy that his mother-in-law just passed away and he had no way of getting to Montreal for the ceremony. An hour later the two were on the highway bound for Canada.

A few days later Andy was sitting in the bar, when a couple of Curtis’ friends approached him. “Andy what you did was a good thing,” one of the Mohawks said. “Now we are going to help you.”

Ordinarily extremely reluctant to aid the white man, the Mohawks offered to try to help heal Andy because he did a favor for a Mohawk without asking anything in return. Native Americans live by the spiritual axiom that if you get a gift you have to give it away. They brought him to their reservation for five days of cleansing and purifying to open Andy to the messages of the creator. The Purification Lodge, that Andy crawled into, signifies returning to the womb. The Native Americans believe that the spirit helpers will come and heal a person if the spirit helpers see the person is fit.

Andy returned from the Indian reservation feeling more peaceful than he ever felt. “I had a real strong sense that everything would be okay,” said Andy. “Even if I wasn’t privy to physical healing, what I experienced in my heart and soul was that everything would be okay.” Ever since then he has gone almost every weekend to Upstate New York to sweat, pray and meditate with the Native Americans. “I can’t do without it,” said Andy.

Despite his illness, Andy remains extraordinarily active for a person with Muscular Dystrophy. Dr. Horano said to Andy that a person with his degree of muscular degeneration is lucky to get out of bed one hour a day. Andy ordinarily spends 16 hours a day on his feet. He lives on his own and generally cares for himself with the occasional aid of friends and co-workers. But some days the fear and depression can be overpowering for him. On bad days laying in bed, he says to himself “If you had to go through what I have to go through you wouldn’t get out of bed.” It takes all his energy to swing his legs around and stand up.

Andy’s mood fluctuates from the wallows of self-pity to the warm fuzzy feelings of extreme gratitude dependent upon his spiritual state. The daily trials and tribulations of coping with Muscular Dystrophy takes its toll on Andy’s state of mind. Some days Andy curses God while others he is simply glad to be alive. Spirituality helps Andy to swing his legs out of bed in the morning and get through the daily headaches of owning a bar. “If he didn’t have [spirituality] he would have given up years ago,” said close friend Laura Schrauth.

Coping with Muscular Dystrophy has been an enormous lifestyle change for Andy. “I went from one of those guys that did everything for himself to have to ask people for everything,” said Andy. He can often be seen wearing sweatpants and shirts without buttons because his hands are no longer strong enough to pull zippers or fix buttons.

Working as a bar owner and manager since 1993, Andy spent countless hours behind the grill or bar everyday. As the muscular atrophy associated with his disease has escalated his ability to perform manual tasks has waned. Though he can no longer pour a pint of beer or flip hamburgers, Andy is at the bar day in and day out helping any way he can. On good days Andy is all smiles telling jokes to anyone in earshot while other days he can be moody and quick to anger.

The denizens and employees of the Tap and Grill have become Andy’s surrogate family, cutting his grapefruits in the morning or buttoning his shirt. “There isn’t a guy in here who hasn’t pulled his pants up one time or another,” said a barfly. Despite his condition Andy continues to try and help with physical tasks. On occasion he will try to cleanup a mess around the grill but ends up making a bigger mess and then yells at himself, said Denise Hock manager of the grill at the Tap & Grill. Over the last several years, Andy’s managerial role at the bar has diminished and has taken on partner Ernie Vaughn to pick up the slack. Andy is notorious at bar for his story and joke telling ability. “He is the best joke teller I ever met,” said Eddie a friend of 30 years who swore Andy could have worked in Vegas.

Though the future of Andy’s physical health is uncertain, his spirits remain high. “I have no proof it isn’t going to be okay,” he said. An aura of spirituality shines out of Andy’s eyes and through his thin-rimmed glasses. He is a firm believer in miracles that he likes to call God jobs. According to Andy these God jobs, that show how the grace of God works, permeate every aspect of his life. As the strength of his physical body has begun to erode his spirituality and positive mental attitude has grown by leaps and bounds to compensate. Andy believes that healing starts in the heart and mind. He tries to live his life based upon the spiritual axiom that “the more I give, the more I wind up getting back.” No matter what happens Andy said he believes that “God has me in the palm of his hand.”

Andy watches the wake of the boat recede in the water. He is alone on an island with his thoughts. Darkness comes with the howls of nearby coyotes. The fear makes Andy delirious; he sees spirits. 24 hours later the medicine man reappears to bring Andy back to the tribe, as the Vision Quest is complete.

Andy returns to the sacred Indian burial ground. He crawls back into the Purification Lodge. The Mohawks chant prayers of healing outside while Andy sits in the blackness by the red-hot stones. He sees white spots.

To close the healing process, there is a ceremony during which a prayer of thanksgiving is offered. Afterwards Andy mentions the white spots he has seen to one of the Mohawks. Surprised by what Andy has seen the Mohawk says, “You’ve got a gift. You’re destined for good things.”

High-stepping horse has hopes for Olympic gold

Fri, 18 May 2012 22:01:16 -0400

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 to compete at the upcoming Olympic games in China.

Both are seasoned competitors. Ms. Holzer has represented her native Canada in the equestrian dressage event twice before, winning a bronze medal in 1998.

She has high hopes for her partner, Pop Art, because he hasn’t lost a competition in two years. “I thought he was going to be good, but I had no idea he was going to be this good,” said Ms. Holzer.

Eleven-year-old Pop Art is a champion in the United States and will enter the Olympics ranked sixth in the world in dressage, a choreographed event in which the horse “dances” to music while responding to the movements of its rider’s feet. In a practice session in Van Cortlandt Park, Ms. Holzer, her upper body motionless, appeared to effortlessly signal Pop Art to turn on a dime. “It takes a long time to learn the movements and they have to enjoy it,” Ms. Holzer said. “This horse enjoys it.” Pop Art will dance to the beat of the Disney theme from Epcot Center and the National Treasure movie soundtrack.

On a warm afternoon in Vannie, Ms. Holzer said she liked her chances in the Olympics except for a few wildcards that are causing her to shift her game plan.

The weather in Hong Kong — where equestrian events will take place because horses are not allowed to enter Mainland China — is expected to be hot and muggy with temperatures in the neighborhood of 110 degrees and 75 percent humidity. “I think this is going to be the true test of who can compete in the heat,” Ms. Holzer said. Pop Art, who has a white streak down his nose, competed in Florida to get accustomed to pirouetting in the heat. Ms. Holzer thinks Pop Art may have an advantage because he is a smaller horse than a lot of his competitors.

Problems come to light

Another concern in the Pop Art camp is the lighting in Hong Kong. The dressage event is usually conducted during the day, but at this year’s Olympics it will take place at night, under artificial lighting. Horses typically don’t react well to lights. All this week, Ms. Holzer and Pop Art will practice under the lights at the Vannie stables in a last ditch effort to get the horse adjusted to dancing in the dark. “That’s one thing that can make a horse really scared: the lights,” said Ms. Holzer. “The fight or flight.”

The third wildcard for most of the horses is the trip to the Olympics. Flying can make a horse uneasy. Pop Art must fly across the world on two planes to get to Hong Kong. Ms. Holzer takes some solace in knowing that it will be equally difficult for all the horses. On July 9, Pop Art will leave on a plane for Germany, where he will receive mandatory medical testing. Then the horse will go to Amsterdam for a flight to Hong Kong with 40 to 50 other horses.

The horses eat carrots to equalize their ears and the pilot typically takes off and lands more gradually. Ms. Holzer said Pop Art would fly in the body of the plane in a two-horse trailer with another horse. Ms. Holzer and an assistant will be there the whole time to assure Pop Art doesn’t get spooked.

‘Like my dog’

Over the last five years, Ms. Holzer has developed a very close relationship with the horse she said is “like my dog.” Pop Art — affectionately called Poppy — likes to nuzzle Ms. Holzer to get some extra treats and he tries to scratch the backs of Ms. Holzer’s kids when he is in a good mood. She marvels that he has even taken to grabbing a broom and trying to sweep his stall.

Clearly content on June 27 morning, Pop Art crisscrossed a small arena in the Vannie stables with the ease of a gymnast: right leg wrapped in a white legging with a red Canadian maple leaf logo over left leg in a diagonal pattern. His head tucked down and to the right in total concentration. Even though no music plays, Pop Art moves to a choreographed tune running through his own head that Ms. Holzer thinks might just bring gold to Van Cortland Park.

Car break-in pair caught in the act

Fri, 18 May 2012 21:56:00 -0400

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 300 with Virginia registration on Kingsbridge Avenue near West 232nd Street. The Five-O officer later found broken pieces of glass on Mr. Feliciano’s clothing that allegedly matched the Chrysler only blocks from the stationhouse on Saturday at 3 a.m.

Mr. Feliciano, a career petty thief, was nabbed allegedly stealing a worthless item: six 7-11 Big Eats green-colored napkins, which police said were similar to those found in the front seat of the Chrysler.

Mr. Feliciano was working in tandem with Gilbert Legare, 38, who has an equally long list of incarcerations. Mr. Legare was also arrested, but the Bronx District Attorney’s Office declined prosecution on his case.

In 2006 and 2007, Mr. Legare was arrested at least seven times, almost exclusively for petty car theft and vandalism. He was often found with a kit of burglar’s tools like screw drivers and flashlights. He also was allegedly caught with crack cocaine a few times.

Mr. Feliciano was busted as recently as November when police said he broke into a car on the Henry Hudson Parkway service road. On Nov. 24, around 10 a.m., a bystander called 911 after seeing Mr. Feliciano allegedly trying to break the passenger window of a 2005 Hyundai Tucson with a cobblestone. There was a wallet on the center console.

Mr. Feliciano admitted to the November crime, though he did not admit to last week’s auto stripping. “I was walking around Riverdale and I saw a car, a gray Jeep with a wallet inside, I picked up a rock with the intention of breaking the window, but I didn’t succeed,” he told police in November. “I have a drug habit and sometimes I do foolish things to support my drug habit.”

Mr. Feliciano was charged with three misdemeanors: fourthdegree criminal mischief, thirddegree auto stripping and attempted petit larceny for the November crime.

He was held on $3,500 bail. This week his bail was set at just $2,000 for one count of third-degree auto stripping, a misdemeanor.

Close to home

Mr. Feliciano and Mr. Legare, who have allegedly plagued the precinct for years, now list addresses inside the Five-O and just two blocks from each other, increasing the chances of their continued collaboration. Mr. Feliciano has moved to West 228th Street, while Mr. Legare still lives at 210 W. 230th St.

Mr. Feliciano appears before Judge George Villegas in Bronx Supreme Court on March 14.

It is unclear how long authorities can hold on to the slippery vandal. According to the city Department of Correction, Mr. Feliciano served only six days in jail for the November arrest and three days for an unrelated drug charge in December, for which bail was paid.

It now appears others are following in Mr. Feliciano’s footsteps. A 20-year-old was arrested last week for breaking into at least one car, possibly many more on Manhattan College Parkway.

Costly kick

Police Officer Richard Tricario busted Adam Parietti, of New City, N.Y., for breaking into a 2003 Ford Focus in front of 4660 Manhattan College Parkway around 2 a.m. on March 5, police said.

Police Officer Tricario spotted Mr. Parietti allegedly raise his right leg and kick the driver’s side mirror of the white four-door sedan. He knocked the mirror loose and it was only hanging on by a wire.

Police said there were at least six other cars in the same vicinity that were vandalized that night, but they could only charge Mr. Parietti with one of them.

Mr. Parietti didn’t pretend to be innocent. “I didn’t kick 15 mirrors. Maybe seven,” he told police, according to his criminal complaint.

He was charged with thirddegree criminal mischief, a felony, and fourth-degree criminal mischief, a misdemeanor. He was released on his own recognizance on March 10. He is due back in court May 16.

2nd Murder Conviction In Police Officer's Killing; Woods Faces Life

Fri, 18 May 2012 21:49:00 -0400

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 later.

PBA Head ‘Gratified’

“We are absolutely gratified,” Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association President Patrick J. Lynch said, “that this jury took the time to … [reach] a verdict that will keep this animal off the streets.”

Mr. Woods faces life in prison when he is sentenced April 2. He had no visible reaction when he was convicted of two counts of murder and two others of criminal possession of a weapon.

RUSSEL TIMOSHENKO

Det. Herman Yan, who was Mr. Timoshenko’s partner and was wounded during the shooting, said, “This won’t bring Russel back, but hopefully this will ease the pain of the Timoshenko family.

The slain officer’s mother, Tatyana, was present for the verdict.

All three of the men accused in the killing have been convicted, although one of them, Robert Ellis, was acquitted of murder last December but found guilty of weapons possession charges and sentenced to 15 years behind bars. Dexter Bostic, who was believed to have fired the shot that killed Officer Timoshenko, received a life sentence three weeks ago.

Found Wait Frustrating

The verdict came on the second full day of jury deliberations, and earlier that afternoon Mr. Lynch had expressed frustration that it was taking so long to resolve what he called “a cut-and-dry case.”

Five days earlier, Mr. Woods exhibited either eccentricity or all the bravado necessary to commit the acts he was accused of when he briefly hijacked control of the courtroom from Justice Plummer Lott by refusing to decide whether to take the stand as the one and only defense witness in his retrial.

The prosecution closed its case before lunch March 11 by calling Mr. Timoshenko’s mother, who broke down on the stand, telling of her trip to the hospital the night her son was shot in Crown Heights when he and his partner, Mr. Yan, stopped what they thought was a stolen BMW. Two of the men inside the car allegedly opened fire, fatally injuring Mr. Timoshenko and wounding Mr. Yan.

As Ms. Timoshenko spoke in Brooklyn Supreme Court, Mr. Woods sat stiffly with his arms and legs crossed, wearing a white shirt, sweater vest and khaki pants. When her testimony concluded the Brooklyn District Attorney’s case, Mr. Woods’s lawyer, Patrick Michael Megaro, said the defense would consist of just his client on the witness stand because he wanted the jury to focus on the evidence presented by the prosecution.

Lawyer Didn’t Want Him on Stand

It was not apparent, then, however, that Mr. Woods had made up his mind about testifying.

“The bottom line is when you come back from lunch, the question is going to be whether you’re going to testify or not,” Justice Lott told him. “It’s your call.”

Mr. Megaro later acknowledged he counseled Mr. Woods not to testify after reading the transcript of his testimony in his first trial, which resulted in a mistrial after a juror became ill and a different defense attorney would not accept a replacement for her.

Just after 2 p.m., Court Officers brought Mr. Woods to face the judge with his cuffs shackled around his waist like the strands of braided hair knotted behind his head.

“Mr. Woods, what’s your pleasure?” asked Justice Lott.

“I wanted to see if the DA rests their case,” Mr. Woods replied.

The judge explained that the prosecution had no more witnesses.

“At that time we will let you know,” Mr. Woods said somewhat puzzlingly.

Mystified Cops

Cops from the 71st Precinct, where Mr. Timoshenko worked, whispered back and forth trying to figure out what this meant.

Justice Lott explained to Mr. Woods that he did not want to call jurors in if the defendant was not going to testify because they would be promptly removed since the defense had no other witnesses. Mr. Woods defiantly refused to give a decision.

The judge finally broke an uncomfortable silence by calling in the jury. As they walked in, Mr. Woods playfully tossed his braids with his right hand.

As the prosecution formally rested its case, Mr. Woods and his attorney continued to confer.

Clearly angered by the delay, Justice Lott called, “Does the defense wish to put on a case?”

Lawyer and client turned to each other one final time and then Mr. Megaro stood up and said, “At this time, the defense rests.”

‘A Drama King’

The lawyer said outside court later that Mr. Woods was indecisive but was also likely to be playing to the crowd. “He’s a drama king,” Mr. Megaro said.

Justice Lott then read through the charges against the defendant as a black female Police Officer stared at the back of Mr. Woods’s head, her eyes heavy with thought. Ms. Timoshenko sat in the second row with her head down and hands folded as if in prayer as her son’s name was mentioned repeatedly.

The case was sent to the jury the next day.

A foster care survivor’s journey to independence

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

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 severely in Jackson Heights, Queens by his family of the moment. After he was hospitalized, the city recommended he not return to an abusive environment.

Without doting parents, Fekri spent most of his formative years in the less than picturesque settings of New York foster homes. At 21, Fekri was one of nearly 1,000 individuals that year forced to navigate independent living after “aging out” of the city’s foster system. These young adults must transition from a system of familiar structure to the unsettled, often cold reality of independence. According to a 2011 report by the Center for an Urban Future, roughly two-thirds of the 16,000 foster youth in America age out of the system without reuniting with their birth families or being adopted.

“I’ve been through hell and back,” explained Fekri, wearing faded, ripped jeans and a trendy white t-shirt. His inner strength has fueled his drive to succeed where others would have quit. He has overcome such obstacles as slavery, poverty, abuse and solitude to now enjoy some of the gifts of independence, including no direct supervision or curfew.

But Fekri has yet to attain his full potential. Similar to half of foster youth that age out of the system each year, he has been unable to secure full-time employment. He has been relying on government assistance to pay rent for his studio in a South Bronx supportive housing complex. He must demonstrate to his caseworker that he can maintain a steady income before transitioning to living completely on his own.

“It’s quite apparent to me that former foster children fare poorly in the job market,” said Richard Altman, executive director of the Jewish Child Care Association, one of the city’s largest foster care agencies, in a 2011 the Center for an Urban Future report. “Children in foster care are behind on every indicator for future employment success once they leave care.”

According to a 2002 University of Chicago report, the average earnings of young adults that aged out of foster care has fallen below the poverty line. Many earned less than $6,000 per year in wages.

Fekri has worked part-time for the non-profit “You Gotta Believe!” The Coney Island organization is a homelessness prevention program for preteens and teens that live in the adoptive care system. “You can’t let what held you back before hold you back now,” he tells the program’s participants.

All told, Fekri has been more fortunate than some of his peers. According to a 2008 New York City Administration of Children’s Services and Department of Homeless Services study, 21 percent of all youth ages 16 and older that left foster care in 2004 entered a DHS shelter within three years. “I know a lot of kids that got out of Little Flower before us, and their outcomes are not as beautiful as this,” he said seated in his mostly empty Bronx studio.

Daniel, Fekri’s friend of 11 years, now lives in the same supportive housing building on Melrose Avenue in the South Bronx. These two close pals aged out of foster care simultaneously in December 2010. “He’s been there when I need someone to talk to and vice-versa,” Daniel said in a phone interview. Fekri added, “We vibe off each other.”

Fekri said at times he has felt isolated in the world’s biggest city because of limited contact with his biological family. The added support from Daniel, whom he considers a brother, has not been enough to keep him psychologically and spiritually afloat.

On a fall afternoon, Fekri sought the solace of a local Bronx church where he asked a priest to plug him into his neighborhood’s community support. Since, he knows the odds are stacked against people like him, he has tried to make the most of available resources.

Recently, Fekri reconnected over the phone with his biological mother. A reunion, though, has remained elusive because of complications of a revolution in Tunisia. Even though his family bought him a ticket, he’s been reluctant to go there. He remains ashamed of sharing the trauma of his youth with those that brought him into this world. “I don’t want to let my mother know what happened,” he said.

Lacking family, social or work structure locally, Fekri’s mission to succeed continues to be an uphill battle. According to a report by the Center for an Urban Future, “The consequences of not effectively supporting foster youth in their transitions to adulthood are serious. Many foster youth slip from being minor wards of the state as children to adult wards of the state as prison inmates, welfare recipients or residents of homeless shelters.”

Regardless of society’s obstacles, Fekri maintains an upbeat attitude backed by his trademark grin. As he gazed out his bay window into a Bronx sunset, he described this juncture of his life: “It’s a stepping stone to full independence, or should I say, being self-sufficient to the extreme.”

For Port Authority Cops, A Sense of Loss Lingers

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 19:57:00 -0500

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 9/11, Sgt. John Adorno chooses to
remember the tight-knit family of the Port Authority Police Department
as he acknowledges scenes of devastation at Ground Zero will linger forever in his
memory.

“It was a lot of mixed emotions,” he said on the steps of St. Peter’s Church
where the Port Authority’s memorial was held Sept. 11. “I worked there several times
before that but to see the smoke and rubble …”

‘Something You’ll Never Forget’

Sergeant Adorno said he knew all 37 of the Port Authority officers who died on
9/11, but was particularly concerned about one of his classmates, Officer Uhuru
Gonja Houston. “I was praying that I would be there to help them find him,” he
said.

He recalled being at Ground Zero when the ground was still hot and smoke
billowed out. “You would think that as the years go on you’ll try to forget, but this
is something you’ll never forget,” he said. “The first thing I think of now when you
say the World Trade Center is the devastation, not the new building. I will always
think of the devastation.”

Sergeant Adorno said the PAPD, whose members were close to begin with,
became even tighter after the terrorist attacks. Chief of Department Christopher
Trucillo agreed, saying, “The men and women of the Port Authority Police
Department, even while devastated with the single greatest loss of any police
department, worked tirelessly six days a week for 18 months. They did it in honor
of their 37 colleagues lost on 9/11.”

Superintendent of Police Samuel J. Plumeri Jr. said each year Sept. 11 is a trying
day for the Port Authority family. “We work hard every day to ensure this doesn’t
happen again,” he said.

‘A Universal Respect’

In an interview inside St. Peter’s Church, Mr. Plumeri dismissed any thought that
the Port Authority was not receiving enough attention given that more members of
its force were killed on 9/11 than from the NYPD. “I think there is a universal
respect that crosses every line of first-responders,” he said. “It’s much greater than
that. I am extremely proud every day of what [PAPD officers] do given the
challenges they face.”

In the months and years following 9/11, Chief Trucillo worked with PAPD
victims’ families after dealing with the loss of a relative who worked at Cantor
Fitzgerald.

“It’s an experience you wish you never had, but to see the caliber of
people, the families of the 37 victims, how they supported one another and how
they went through their own grief is something I’ll never forget,” he said.

Mayor Bloomberg, Governor Paterson and New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine spoke at the memorial in the church on Barclay St. near Ground Zero.

“It’s a day for honoring the bravery of the first-responders who, without a thought to their own safety, rushed into the burning towers to rescue so many people,” the Mayor
said. “It’s a day for recalling how New Yorkers pulled together to comfort one
another, and then worked together to bring our city back. It’s also a day for
recognizing the great strengths of our city and our society, the strengths that
protect us from those who wish us harm.”

‘PA Keeps Doors Open’

He recalled a ceremony earlier in the day in Zuccotti Park where students from 90
nations that lost citizens on 9/11 read the names of the fallen. “It was a vivid
reminder that New York is the world’s most international city, and it underscored
the important mission of the Port Authority, on 9/11 and every day since then: to
keep the doors of New York open to the rest of the world, to promote trade, assist
in travel, and encourage the free global movement of people, goods, and ideas,”
Mr. Bloomberg said.

Governor Paterson spoke of the importance of remembering the fallen. “Socrates
once wrote a person lives as long as they are remembered,” he said. “We are going
to remember all of those whether in the state of Pennsylvania, the District of
Columbia or right here in Lower Manhattan.”

He said he would not be deterred in building the Ground Zero memorial — which
has been delayed by interagency disagreements. “We will continue to honor those
lost survivors, those families who have loved ones who lost their lives and those
who continue to be injured or suffering as a result of that day seven years ago
today,” he said. “We are going to rebuild this area. We are going to find a way to
memorialize those who lost their lives in the most proper way possible and we are
going to continue our civilization and our democracy just the way it has always
been.”

The Freeman Identity: Spuyten Duyvil Centenarian Was A Master Spy

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:00:00 -0500

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.

Spuyten Duyvil centenarian was a master spy

By Tommy Hallissey

Shhhh! Albert Freeman may be listening. During his 100-year lifetime, the Knolls Crescent resident has heard a lot - and he has shared much of what he has learned with both the FBI and the Soviet Union.

A committed communist in his youth, he set up spy stations all over Europe for the Russians, but for more than three decades in his later years, Mr. Freeman helped the FBI intercept Russian secret messages. Ironically, Jack Childs, the man the communist party assigned to check up on Mr. Freeman was himself an FBI mole.

Born in Manhattan on Sept. 11, 1907, Mr. Freeman developed a close bond with his Russian-born father, Boris. His formal schooling never extended to college, but his father was a chemical, electrical and radio engineer and he shared his knowledge with his idealistic young son. A stint working with the Radio Corporation of America taught him Morse code and helped to hone his skills.

Still a teenager, Mr. Freeman joined the Comintern, a Moscowbased organization dedicated to the overthrow of capitalism. During the 1920s he traveled throughout Western Europe teaching members of the communist underground how to set up and use clandestine radio transmitters and receivers.

His wife, Gerta, was a Jew and a Communist Party member in Vienna when he met her in 1935 as the Nazis were rising to power. He brought her safely to America in 1938.

“I followed him wherever he was,” Ms. Freeman said delicately.

The couple was married in 1941 in Virginia by a drunken justice of the peace. They chose the out-ofthe- way location for the ceremony because they worried that someone might recognize the picture of a communist spy in a newspaper wedding announcement.

But by this time, Mr. Freeman had become disillusioned with communism. His father had returned to Russia, but once there, he was told that he was too valuable ever to be allowed to leave the country. “He knew too much,” said Mr. Freeman.

He tried repeatedly to get his father out of the Soviet Union. He was able to free others of the grip of communism, but never his father. “Was I pissed off and they knew it!” he exclaimed.

That betrayal fueled his drive to become a secret agent. “That’s the chief reason,” he said. “They wouldn’t let my father go free. [I was determined that] they would be the last to win the Cold War.”

But it would be years before he was able to offer his skills to the FBI. World War II intervened and Mr. Freeman enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. He served honorably as a photographer from 1942 to 1947.

At the height of the Cold War, Mr. Freeman got his chance to become an American secret agent, but he preferred to remain a freelancer. He felt he had more freedom without a long-term commitment. “He was hounded by the FBI,” said Ms. Freeman. “They wanted his talents.”

Mr. Freeman recalls that the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963 in Dallas, Texas, profoundly affected him and propelled him to establish an ongoing relationship with the agency that lasted until 1991.

His first order of business was to take an oath and sign a paper that said if he revealed any secrets he would be subject to an $11,000 fine and 11,000 years in prison.

From his days as a Comintern agent, Mr. Freeman - now code named Clip - had contacts with Gus Hall, a Riverdalian, who was the head of the Communist Party USA. He set up a receiver in the bedroom of his Knolls Crescent apartment to receive Morse code from Russian operatives in America. Unbeknownst to Mr. Hall, his encoded messages, were also forwarded to the FBI. Mr. Freeman never knew what they said.

The beauty of the operation, from a workingman’s perspective, was that both the Americans and the Russians had Mr. Freeman on their payroll. A man would show up at his door say a code name and give him an envelope.

Mr. Hall received countless messages from Mr. Freeman. On occasion, they would meet in person and Mr. Freeman would wear a wire. “Every time he went I was shivering,” said Ms. Freeman.

Both Freemans disliked Mr. Hall very much. They said Mr. Hall “thought he was an Adonis” and was “so chintzy.” Once, Mr. Freeman went out to dinner with Mr. Hall and his family. Mr. Freeman picked up the check and the U.S. government reimbursed him, in effect paying for a meal for the head of the Communist Party USA.

Harry Pollitt, the head of the Communist Party of Great Britain, was another of Mr. Freeman’s contacts. Mr. Pollitt’s secretary met him in England and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “What the hell is this for?” he recalls saying.

“You are going to work with me,” she replied. As she escorted Mr. Freeman through the streets he saw her kiss a couple of other men on both cheeks. Years later Mr. Freeman still wondered, “If I’m supposed to be kept secret, who are these agents knowing about me?” And he insists Mr. Pollitt was a double agent, too.

Twenty-six years after Mr. Freeman’s retirement, virtually all of the agents he worked with are dead. Jack Childs, the first agent to contact him, was immortalized in a book 11 years ago. But not until now has Mr. Freeman come forward to claim his recognition for being a secret agent during the Cold War.

While Mr. Freeman says he trusted no one, the Russians, he said, never suspected he was passing on messages to the Americans. “I was already concerned, but you can’t call it scared. I wouldn’t have done it then,” he said. “I’ll give you news,” he added, “everybody was an agent.”

Pretty fly for a Wall Street guy

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 15:22:00 -0400

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 record levels, executives are finding new ways to pimp their lifestyles: for example, hailing air taxis instead of flying first class.

The air taxis — which afford practically on-demand jet travel complete with gourmet meals, no airport security lines and completely flexible scheduling — are priced, thanks to advancements in jet technology, just 65 percent over first-class commercial air travel.

And while most people don’t have to decide between a $1,024 full-fare first-class commercial airline ticket from New York to Miami or the $1,687 cost of hailing a Hawker 400XP eight-seater jet for a little South Beach fun in the sun, more and more Wall Street types are.

And traveling on one of the growing number of on-demand jets is becoming the latest lifestyle enhancer for the finance world’s bonus babies.

Talon Air, a six-year outfit which flies out of Republic Airport in Farmingdale, reports business this year will finish up 50 percent compared to 2005, and Adam Katz, CEO, anticipates another 50 percent rise in 2007.

For a little extra, Katz will even arrange for a helicopter to shuttle you from Manhattan to Republic Airport or for a stylist to give on-board manicures.

New York Aviation and Northeastern Aviation Corporation, two other area air taxi providers, are also adding sweet amenities. Jack Gentile, who owns New York Aviation, offers massages as the jet cruises at 39,000 feet.

One prominent real estate developer from Virginia, who wished to remain anonymous, reached out to Talon Air recently to salvage his son’s crumbling plans for spring break fun in the Caribbean.

After getting no satisfaction from other commercial airlines or from his fractional jet service provider, the developer was able to “hail” a ride with Talon Air to Norfolk, Va. at 4 a.m. where his son got a connecting flight to St. John.

Katz said he’s picking up business from the fractional jet-service sector because air taxis don’t require a huge up-front payment — although buying a block of 25 hours does a afford a 10 percent discount.

Univ. Crime Soars -- Amid Citywide Drop

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 14:23:00 -0400

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 colleges have a dirty little secret they’re not sharing with prospective students - while citywide crime has plunged in the past several years, assaults, burglaries, robberies and rapes on campuses have sharply increased.

In fact, the number of campus burglaries soared 142 percent between 2001 to 2005, while aggravated assaults leaped 81 percent over the same period, according to U.S. Department of Education statistics reviewed by The Post.

Over that same four-year period, citywide burglaries dropped 26.5 percent and the most serious assaults fell by 24.7 percent.

At Columbia University, where burglaries skyrocketed to 113 in 2005 from nine in 2001, Jeanette Gibson, a 23-year old co-ed brought a taser gun to school in an attempt to protect herself from becoming a victim.

“It is really scary,” Gibson said. She no longer keeps it out in the open because a cop told her it was illegal. “But sometimes I still get scared, like it needs to be by my door,” Gibson said. “It is right next to my bed, actually.”

Despite - or maybe because of - the jump in crime, schools try to keep the information hidden.

When the admissions office at New York University was asked about crime levels on campus, the rep laughed at the request. “Incidents are few and far between,” the admissions counselor said. “The 9th Precinct is one of the safest in the city.”

That might be true, but there were six forcible sex offenses at NYU in 2005 - twice the 2001 total.

“That is a trend that we would like to see reversed,” said John Beckman, an NYU spokesman.

Carina Badalementi, a 22-year-old NYU student, faults drug and alcohol abuse for the sex offenses at her school.

“I’ve heard about roofies a couple times,” said Badalementi, an art student who lives in the East Village, referring to the infamous date-rape sedative. “I think of the bars that give pitchers [of beer] really cheap to kids who don’t have IDs. You think, ‘This girl just got to New York City, and she needs to be able to walk.’ ”

The colleges must report statistics to the DoE. The most recent figures, for 2005, have just been released and are at ope.ed.gov/security/main.asp.

Additional reporting by Christine Lagorio

‘HIGHER’ LEARNING

Although crime throughout New York City is falling, offenses are on the upswing at metro colleges. Likewise, the incidence of alcohol violations is up, with Fordham University far outpacing the pack.

College Crime vs. City

Forcible sex offense +44% -15%

Robbery +14% -12%

Aggravated assault +81% -25%

Burglary +142% -27%

Grand larceny auto -83% -40%

Booze Violations - On Campus 2005 total Change from 2001

Fordham University 905 +6.2%

NYU 194 +63%

Mount St. Vincent 166 +181%

Pratt Institute 152 -26.9%

St. John’s 142 +6.9%

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Nursing homes face increasing number of lawsuits

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 12:47:00 -0400

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 in elder abuse.

Aug. 30, 2007

The Riverdale Press

Nursing homes face increasing number of lawsuits

By Tommy Hallissey

Local nursing homes are facing their share of an ever-expanding number of lawsuits, but the circumstances outlined in an action filed by attorneys for Theodore Spiegel are particularly grim.

At 2 a.m. on March 4, 2005, Mr. Spiegel’s phone rang. The call was from the Jewish Home and Hospital’s Bronx Division at 100 W. Kingsbridge Road, where his mother Apolonia Spiegel was living. Twenty minutes earlier, she had died at the age of 89. She died tranquilly, in her sleep, he was told. But, Mr. Spiegel said, the handling of his mother’s corpse was anything but peaceful.

Court papers outline Mr. Spiegel’s assertions. He was told he had just one hour to come and view his mother’s body before it was transferred to the morgue in the basement. He declined.

A certified nurse and two orderlies first moved the body to the basement of the Jewish Home and Hospital’s Harry and Jeanette Weinberg campus. New York Mortuary transferred Ms. Spiegel’s body to Funerals and Cremations by Michael on East Tremont Avenue.

The phone rang again, this time for Mr. Spiegel’s brother Charles.

The funeral parlor told Charles Spiegel his “mother’s head was, essentially, cracked open at the scalp area above her forehead,” according to an affidavit.

This lawsuit against the Jewish Home and Hospital, the funeral home and the intermediary, is one of an increasing number of actions involving local nursing homes. Over the last two years, an average of one a month has been filed in Bronx Supreme Court.

Elder lawyer Lewis Fishlin says the number of lawsuits against nursing homes has risen dramatically in the last 20 years. 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.”

According to Mr. Fishlin, the trend of elder lawsuits isn’t a Riverdale phenomenon. “It’s certainly not isolated in New York,” he said.

More than two years after Ms. Spiegel’s death, the cause of the mutilation of her corpse remains unknown. The Jewish Home and Hospital asserts in court papers that “as a result of the investigation, it was determined that the claims made in this case do not relate to The Jewish Home and Hospital for Aged.”

A New York Police Department investigation determined the fracture likely occurred in transport, and even the plaintiff’s attorney isn’t sure what happened. “It’s really unknown who caused the mutilation or how it happened,” said Stephen Jacobson, a lawyer from Bernstein & Bernstein, who is representing the Spiegels.

Mr. Jacobson stressed his loyalties lay with his clients, but he conceded a greater good may come from litigation. “One of the goals is to compensate the victims, a broader public goal I suppose would be that the nursing homes suffer consequences if they don’t uphold their responsibilities.”

Who benefits?

Chad Young, a lawyer with Druckman & Sinel, agrees. “Our philosophy is, if we sue them every time they do this one day they won’t do this anymore because they fear lawsuits,” he said. “And who benefits? The patients.”

Mr. Young represents a plaintiff suing Fieldston Lodge Care Center at 666 Kappock St. in Spuyten Duyvil. Bertha Mikell, the guardian of James Lee, asked his firm to sue the Fieldston Lodge in what Mr. Young said may now become a wrongful death suit.

The $10 million suit, filed in January, before Mr. Lee’s demise, alleges Fieldston Lodge “failed to prevent plaintiff James Lee from being subjected to physical, mental and verbal abuse,” according to court documents, and that Mr. Lee “was rendered sick, sore, lame and disabled; suffered injuries both internal and external; was caused to be confined to his bed for a lengthy period of time.”

The suit also charges Mr. Lee became ill because Fieldston Lodge Care Center “negligently failed to prevent infection and failed to keep certain medical equipment clean and free from blockage,” among 35 other failings.

Mr. Young cited Mr. Lee’s treatment record in declaring “he developed health complications and died.” Mr. Lee died on April 19, 2007 at age 85, three months after the initial suit was filed.

Fieldston Lodge Care Center’s attorneys Kaufman, Borgeest & Ryan denied the claims in the lawsuit in court papers. Neither the law firm nor the nursing home offered any further comment.

Mr. Fishlin said many of these suits never reach trial. Trials can be difficult for seniors in their waning days, he said, and plaintiffs die before a jury is called. “Do they make it to trial? Yes,” said Mr. Fishlin, “but not as much as other cases.”

Eight suits

Eight of the local suits have been filed against the Hebrew Home for the Aged at Riverdale, though two of them were dismissed. In one case, the administrator of the estate of Harriet Silber filed papers on Aug. 13 charging medical malpractice in Ms. Silber’s death.

She died in July 2006 at the age of 77. The affidavit lists 62 failings of the home, including failure “to protect Harriet Silber from foreseeable harm, including, but not limited to, the development of malnutrition, dehydration and ulcers,” failure “to provide adequate and appropriate health care and protective and supportive services and failure to prevent mental and physical abuse of Harriet Silber.”

The $2 million suit, which charges health care rules and regulations were not followed, also names the Hebrew Hospital Home and Montefiore Medical Center’s Albert Einstein Division.

In Bronx Supreme Court papers, the Hebrew Home for the Aged categorically denied the charges presented by Ms. Silber’s family.

Vandals hit more cars

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 15:39:11 -0400

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

It didn’t add up. The Riverdale Press’ Police Beat column kept reporting car break-ins throughout the year in 2007, often citing several incidents in the same week. Letters to the editor complaining about car break-ins came in steadily and the newspaper wrote frontpage stories on repeat offenders. A group of residents even began using the Internet to educate one another about the vandalism.

But when the precinct offered year-end car break-in numbers in January, they unexpectedly showed more than a 50-percent drop in incidents over the previous year, from 482 in 2006 to 233 in 20

At a Feb. 14 community meeting, Deputy Inspector Dermot Shea admitted that the numbers The Press had been given were wrong. He explained that they may have been partial reports. There are several different categories of car break-ins, he said - misdemeanor, felony, no property taken - and he wasn’t sure which one was given to the newspaper.

He acknowledged that the total numbers were actually up for the year, and he had promised to provide accurate statistics on Monday, Feb. 18 - but he was transferred on Feb. 15.

“Statistics are the product of an organization,” said Jim Lynch, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a crime statistics expert. “Some of the errors are in good faith, all sorts of things can happen.”

A police source suggested reduced manpower at the precinct led to an error. Mr. Lynch agreed manpower issues could lead to mistakes. “Probably they are not fudging unless they are getting a lot of pressure,” said Mr. Lynch.

The day before D.I. Shea’s transfer, Kingsbridge resident Betsy Fogerty came to the 50th Precinct Community Council meeting to voice her concerns over recent repeated break-ins she had endured. Ms. Fogerty has lost two side mirrors recently from her Chevy Cavalier parked near her home. In fact, one of her neighbors on Corlear Avenue has been hit seven times by thieves looking for a quick score. “Right now, I’m parking five or six blocks from where I live just to avoid the vandalism,” Ms. Fogerty said.

Hot spots

D.I. Shea identified Corlear Avenue between West 230th and West 234th streets, where Ms. Fogerty parked, as the second biggest car break-in spot in the precinct. The first, he said, is Goulden and Sedgwick avenues near the Jerome Park Reservoir, because it is so dimly lit.

The Five-0 has been attacking the outbreak of car thievery in a few different ways. First they have identified 13 men, who are recidivist car break-in offenders in the community - men like petty criminals Tider Torres, Michael Lewis and Eddie Feliciano. Their pictures can be seen on bulletin boards in the precinct station house on Kingsbridge Avenue and even on a television loop of wanted offenders.

D.I. Shea said that when these men are arrested special care is taken with their cases. “The reality is we’re at the point where we flag it for the DA so nothing falls through the cracks,” D.I. Shea said. Though petty criminals are often released on their own recognizance before trial, the police have tried to get bail set to slow their return to the streets.

Mr. Torres is currently a free man, but two of his counterparts, Mr. Lewis and Mr. Feliciano are still in jail because bail was set in their cases.

In one extreme case, a serial offender, who lives in the neighborhood, was being bailed out of jail by his mother. D.I. Shea sent a sergeant to his mother’s house to explain that her bail money wasn’t helping her son because he was committing the same crimes over and over.

Recently, the Five-0 has been trying to hit the serial thieves where it could hurt them the most by cracking down on the merchants who resell parts stolen from area cars. “Most of the car break-ins we have are substance abusers who will sell whatever they can to feed their habits,” said D.I. Shea. “We are trying to attack them every which way.”

Buy and bust

He said the Five-0 recently executed four search warrants after they sent undercover officers to sell allegedly stolen parts. The precinct wouldn’t reveal the location of the busts.

The precinct has tried to stay ahead of the vandals by working to stymie criminals before they strike. In his last community meeting at the Five-0, D.I. Shea, focused on the details, even alerting his deputy Detective Luis Rodriguez to check on a broken light Ms. Fogerty mentioned on her block.

That wasn’t enough for Ms. Fogerty. After the meeting she was still upset with what she said was lack of police attention to the rash of car break-ins. “You don’t really know who to blame,” she said.

The day before his transfer the deputy inspector tried to empathize with Ms. Fogerty as her patience faded. “I know the pain that you feel. There is nothing worse than coming out and finding your car broken into,” he said. “Car break ins are very, very difficult for me and you. In this community it is our biggest complaint.”

A ‘Tough Gal’ Counted Out In Manhattan DA’s Race

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 20:01:00 -0400

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 Grand Hyatt.

The Chief

Sept. 25, 2009

A ‘Tough Gal’ Counted Out In Manhattan DA’s Race

Snyder Goes Down Punching

By TOMMY HALLISSEY

Leslie Crocker Snyder strode into a ballroom at the Grand Hyatt Hotel to a rousing round of applause from supporters on primary night, Sept. 15, as the PA blared the Jackson Five singing, “ABC, 1-2-3, baby, you and me, girl.” The tune rang bittersweet, however: the math that mattered to her was 44 to 30, the percentage by which Cyrus R. Vance Jr. had defeated her, with the third candidate for Manhattan District Attorney, Richard Aborn, getting 26 percent of the vote.

And so she kissed supporters on the cheek wistfully as she slowly made her way to the podium to deliver what she said would be her final concession speech. In a more-complex bit of math, while Robert M. Morgenthau had won re-election against her four years ago at 86, it would be politically unrealistic for Ms. Snyder to make a third run for the office at age 71 in 2013.

‘I’ll Continue to Be a Fighter’

“This crowd knows that we all ran together,” Ms. Snyder told her audience. “And I am disappointed in the results, as I know you are, but I’ve been a fighter my whole life, and I’m going to continue to be a fighter.”

Mr. Morgenthau, who will retire after nine terms in office, campaigned heavily for Mr. Vance after endorsing him and claiming Ms. Snyder lacked the humility to be a good DA.

Ms. Snyder, a former Criminal Court Judge who had served before that for nearly a decade as a prosecutor, ran on her record and reputation for being tough on crime. She founded the Sex Crimes Prosecution Bureau at the Manhattan DA’s Office and co-authored the state Rape Shield Law, which led many of the city’s law-enforcement unions to cast their support for her.

Detectives Endowment Association President Michael J. Palladino spent part of primary day canvassing for Ms. Snyder.

“I just think that given the field of candidates, she is overwhelmingly the most-qualified of the three,” he said. “She has dedicated her life to law-enforcement right here in our city. She’s proven that she can act in the best interest of the people of the borough of Manhattan.”

Ms. Snyder said the labor support had been important to her candidacy because “they know I can do the job.”

“I’ve gotten all those unions, the Clerks and the Court Officers; you name it, I’ve gotten it,” she said outside a polling station in Inwood. “It’s really important to me because they know I know the job inside out, and that I’m fair, and they’ve seen me on the bench for 20 years; same with all the law-enforcement unions.”

While Judge Snyder played up her courtroom past in the campaign, during its final weeks she shifted the focus to Mr. Vance’s departure from New York to Seattle two decades ago at a time when crime fueled by drug use made life here particularly perilous.

“I don’t think it’s been negative; it’s been factual,” she said on the afternoon of the primary. “What’s important to me is that voters know there is a choice between me, who’s been here protecting New York for 35 years, and someone who moved to the West Coast and spent 17 of the last 20 years out there and then expects to become DA. I don’t think the DA should be anointed.”

Responding to complaints by Mr. Vance, she said. “If you want to talk about negative, did you read some of Cy Vance’s supporters yesterday when they said I was like Sarah Palin? I don’t know that Sarah Palin has founded the first sex crime bureau in the country or written the rape laws.”

Morgenthau Loomed Large

Experience aside, Ms. Snyder, had to overcome the influence on voters of Mr. Morgenthau, which was a factor in Mr. Vance winning the endorsement of the city’s three daily newspapers. Recently, Ms. Snyder, who had accused the DA and Mr. Vance of being part of an “Old Boy Network,” reached out to Mr. Morgenthau in a personal letter that tried to make clear she held no personal grudge towards him.

“I wrote him a letter in the hopes that we could keep things pleasant, but I have no relationship with him,” she said. “I never had a relationship with him. I only worked with him a year and a half out of my nine years at the DA. I’ve always gotten along with him, but I never had a personal relationship with him.”

Surrounded by family members, she told her supporters, “I thank you and I hope I never have anything to do with politics again. I’m a tough gal, but I guess there are certain odds you can’t beat.”

Man held in Skyview fatal feud

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 19:56:00 -0400

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 Skyview fatal feud

By Tommy Hallissey

A 54-year-old lifelong Riverdalian was found murdered in her bathtub with a knife still in her chest in the early morning hours of May 1 inside a Skyview apartment.

Police say Anthony Silva, 51, allegedly stabbed Linda Jimenez once in her chest and left her body in the bathroom while he lit fires inside her apartment, where he was renting a room.

Fiftieth Precinct officers were called to the scene, at 5900 Arlington Ave., after neighbors reported that items - including chairs and a table - were being thrown off a balcony on the 11th floor.

At around 3 a.m., May 1, the Five-O’s Emergency Services Unit burst into apartment 11V after seeing smoke and found Mr. Silva setting papers on fire in the kitchen. Mr. Silva, who police described as emotionally disturbed, was detained as officers searched the apartment.

They then found Ms. Jimenez, fully clothed, face up, lying in the bathtub. She was pronounced dead at the scene. The city Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled Ms. Jimenez’s death a homicide.

A police source said the pair had a verbal dispute over money. Times had been tight. In December, Skyview took Ms. Jimenez to court over non-payment of rent, according to a state database of court records.

Mr. Silva was questioned for several hours before police arrested him later that afternoon and charged him with homicide. He faces charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon.

As of press time, Mr. Silva had not been arraigned on any of the charges. The Bronx District Attorney’s Office said he was in the hospital. But Melvin Hernandez, a spokesman for the DA, said he expected Mr. Silva to be formally charged soon, possibly even a bedside arraignment on May 8.

“It was an isolated unfortunate incident behind closed doors,” was how Capt. John D’Adamo, the commanding officer of the 50th Precinct, put it.

Neighbors outside the building on May 1 were taken aback at the gravity of the crime. “It never happens here,” said Jillian Medina. “We are all in shock.”

Ms. Jimenez’s godfather, Dan Shea, bristled at reports his niece was involved with the man who rented a room in her apartment for the last eight years.

Neighbors spoke of fights often, but Edna, who lives on the ninth floor and would only give her first name, said May 1 was different. She heard “horrifying screams” coming from the 11th floor between 11:30 p.m. and 1 a.m. She said the screams stopped and started again several times throughout the night, but she never called police. Mr. Shea also said he wished he had called police in the days before Ms. Jimenez’s tragic death. He spoke to his niece, who called from a shopping center pay phone, on the night of her murder. “There didn’t seem to be anything wrong,” he said on Monday.

Mr. Shea described Mr. Silva as a big man who didn’t know his own strength. “This guy was not acting right - he was talking to himself loud,” Mr. Shea said. “I should have done something.”

The DA’s office wouldn’t say if Mr. Silva was in psychiatric care or not, but Mr. Shea claims there was a pattern of abuse. “She told me he tried to bully her in her own home,” he said.

Mr. Shea, who lives in Riverdale, visited Ms. Jimenez frequently. “She had such a wonderful sense of humor. She would get along with anybody,” he said. Ms. Jimenez lived locally her whole life, working for Kingsdale Car Service, the Riverdale YM-YWHA and the Fieldston Lodge Nursing Home. Connie Tallier worked with Ms. Jimenez at the Y. “She was a sweet, soft-spoken girl,” said Ms. Tallier. “It’s a heartbreaking way to go. She didn’t deserve that.”

The soft-spoken girl once had big dreams, too. She did stints in television after graduating from the now defunct Center for the Media Arts with a degree in television production.

Ultimately, Ms. Jimenez decided to care for her mother, who died of cancer. “She had some hard luck after her mother passed away,” said Ms. Tallier.

Mr. Shea chose to remember the good times with his goddaughter - like dancing at An Beal Bocht on West 238th Street. “She was a hell of a person. She loved people,” he said. “I never thought anything like this could happen.”

For some, market for homes is still hot

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 15:05:00 -0400

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 2007.”

Seller Albert Cruz said of his four-bedroom Penthouse “because of the outrageous prices in Manhattan, Riverdale gives you a much better bang for your buck.”

After the jump is the March 13, 2008 article that was based on a Microsoft Excel analysis of real estate statistics published in The Riverdale Press between 2000 and 2008.

March 13, 2008

The Riverdale Press

For some, market for homes is still hot

By Tommy Hallissey

A Press news analysis

Third in a series

Albert Cruz sought a grassy backyard for his young family. He pictured himself in a house in Westchester on a sprawling lot, so he put his four-bedroom duplex penthouse co-op in Riverdale on the market. And he waited. Three months passed without the traffic he expected for a $1,895,000 four-bedroom co-op in Highpointon- Hudson at 2727 Palisade Ave.

He was disappointed because he had gutted and renovated the penthouse into a loft-like space with all new bathrooms and floors. Frustrated, he switched to a local broker, Halstead Riverdale Properties, which sold the co-op at asking price in three weeks, making it the most expensive co-op sold in Riverdale to date.

For sellers with unique homes, like Mr. Cruz, a shaky real estate market hasn’t diminished the value of their square footage. 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 2007.

Back in 2000, a co-op at 3636 Greystone Ave. went for a mere $34,000, but that same year a three-family house on Huxley Avenue and Mosholu Avenue went for $1.2 million. The price differentials accentuate the disparity of wealth in the Northwest Bronx. From the $34,000 low point in 2000 to Mr. Cruz’s recent windfall, prices ultimately fluctuated nearly 5,500 percent.

“I see it as on the same growth path as Park Slope or Brooklyn Heights,” said Susan Goldy of Susan Goldy Real Estate. “Our price range in Riverdale is where Manhattan was a number of years ago.”

Before coming to Riverdale, Mr. Cruz - who grew up on the mean streets of the South Bronx - had sworn he would never move back to his native borough, but now he says, “because of the outrageous prices in Manhattan, Riverdale gives you a much better bang for your buck.” He said he thought his penthouse would have gotten double or triple the price in Manhattan.

Apartments like Mr. Cruz’s don’t tend to come on the market often, but one section of the community, Post Road, has seen more sales in the last eight years of both co-ops and houses than any other street in Riverdale. Addresses on Post Road accounted for 53 sales in the last eight years, rivaled only by Arlington Avenue and the Henry Hudson Parkway, with far more apartments than private houses.

A two-family house at 5731 Post Road sold for $745,000 on Feb. 27 to another Manhattanite, Jay Williams.

“What they like about Post Road is walking distance to the No. 1 train and all the trees in Van Cortlandt Park,” said Sanjya Tidke, a broker with John Edwards Real Estate. “Post Road is not a big street. It breaks up here and there, it’s one street in from Broadway, it’s tree lined and there are beautiful old brick homes.”

Ms. Williams wanted to trade up to a two-family house from a studio, in part, because of the allure of the park, where she came to play with her one-year-old English Bulldog, Molly. She also chose Post Road because she doesn’t drive and it is close to stores and the express bus.

“Post Road for many, many years was one of the most affordable areas of Riverdale,” said Ms. Goldy. One private house, 5117 Post Road, turned over three times in four years. Over that time it more than doubled in value from $339,700 to $725,000. In 2005, 5117 Post Road was on the market only six weeks, but this year 5731 Post Road languished on the market for four months. “The market has slowed down, the phones are ringing less,” Ms. Goldy acknowledged.

Two addresses in Skyview, 5800 and 5900 Arlington Ave., registered the most co-op sales with 36 and 37, respectively, from 2000 to 2008. Two other co-ops in Spuyten Duyvil saw sales at or close to that level: The Winston Churchill at 2500 Johnson Ave. and The Burton at 2550 Independence Ave.

Ms. Goldy said the co-ops in Riverdale remain a very attractive option. “As invasive as people find the co-op board process is, it is one of the reasons we have been spared the sub-prime foreclosure crisis,” she said. Buildings with amenities, Ms. Goldy said, like Skyview, seem better able to weather the storm of changing market conditions.

Mr. Cruz bucked a trend selling his co-op, the most expensive ever, in Riverdale’s slowest quarter. The nearly $2 million premium buoys a lagging market. Daniel Wright of Halstead Property echoed Mr. Cruz’s assessment of Riverdale’s bargain prices. “In Manhattan, it would have been two or three times the price,” he said. “I do think when something is in really good condition people come up and realize it.”

When to sell?

The hottest months are hot months

According to real estate transaction statistics published monthly in The Press, the first quarter (January to March) is the slowest time for real estate sales. In eight years - from 2000 to 2007 - 374 properties were sold. By the third quarter (July to September) sales rose 17 percent to 436 sales, the highest registered in any quarter. “Historically, many years ago, Riverdale real estate was seasonal spring and fall, drop off in summer, then what happened when the market appreciated, the seasons didn’t make any difference,” said realtor, Susan Goldy. “Now that there has been a drop off it is more seasonal.”

The hottest month for real estate was August, with 164 sales. The slowest month by far was February with 95 sales. Despite the dip in February, sales remained constant the rest of the year.

Bronx district attorney recognized for service

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 14:45:00 -0400

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 Greenfield knows people.

He knows if he can get a drug addicted witness to confide why she uses, he can humanize her to the jury. He knows how to get a hardened criminal to snitch. But most importantly, he knows how it feels to get a Christmas card from a victim’s mother 15 years after the trial.

On Nov. 29, the New York City Bar Association honored Mr. Greenfield, a 27-year veteran from Riverdale, with the Thomas E. Dewey Medal for a lifetime of service in the Bronx district attorney’s office.

Recently reflecting on his tenure in the Bronx, Mr. Greenfield, 55, boasted of not only the defendants he put behind bars, but also of cases that never materialized. “I am equally proud of the cases that never went to trial and innocent people got to go home for the holidays,” he said.

Mr. Greenfield, a graduate of JHS 141, specializes in cold case homicides. He has taken up cases as old as 16 years. Mr. Greenfield turns the old axiom - the longer it takes to get to the trial the weaker the case - on its head. “Over time my cases get stronger because people get arrested and come forward,” he said.

One cold case victory for Mr. Greenfield remains sharp in his mind - a 15-year-old homicide with one witness. Trouble was, the witness couldn’t get clean.

Mr. Greenfield checked him into a rehab repeatedly; the witness checked out again and again. The witness begged Mr. Greenfield to let him pick his own rehab. Once he found the right place, the man found God and cleaned up his life. It was just in time to testify and help Mr. Greenfield win the case.

It was a victory on another front, too. After the case, the man got a job as a chef and has been clean ever since.

Mr. Greenfield, who admitted convictions are bittersweet to him, gets a phone call from his troubled witness every Christmas to say thank you.

“It’s not just the conviction, but what you do for the witnesses too,” he said.

Probation Union: Guns Deadly for Members

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 14:28:00 -0400

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. The suicides were said to be the result of stress from an increased workload.

Before the new weapons policy, no Probation Officers committed suicide in the prior 31 years.

August 21, 2009

The Chief

Probation Union: Guns Deadly for Members

Cites Several Suicides

By TOMMY HALLISSEY

United Probation Officers Association President Dominic Coluccio charged that recently departed Probation Commissioner Martin F. Horn’s decisions to give his members guns while increasing their workloads contributed to the suicides of four officers in the last four years after 31 years of no self-inflicted deaths at the agency.

“They made us law-enforcement agents without the individuals capable of doing that job,” Mr. Coluccio said in an interview. He explained that many of those people who meet the rigorous academic qualifications for the job have master’s degrees, but they feel uncomfortable carrying weapons. “They are social workers.”

None Used Guns on Duty

Under Mr. Horn, who stepped down July 31 as both Probation and Correction Commissioner, new Probation Officers were required to carry weapons, but those who started before he arrived in 2002 had the option to decline. Since the start of the policy, no Probation Officers have fired their weapon outside of the range or been fired upon, though some officers interviewed said they needed the weapons as a deterrent because they often entered dangerous situations.

“It was a big change for us ‘til we got used to it,” one Brooklyn PO said.

For Mr. Coluccio it was particularly wrenching that weapons meant to protect have only been used to kill his own members. In one recent case, a Probation Officer’s daughter used a department-issued pistol to kill herself, in addition to the four POs who he said took their own lives.

“Of course, it is troubling to me that no help was given to them … that someone suffers in silence,” said another Brooklyn Probation Officer, who like his colleague spoke conditioned on anonymity.

A spokesman for the Department of Probation said there had only been three suicides in the last four years, but the union said that another Probation Officer took his life by other means. Mr. Coluccio declined to identify any of the officers, citing privacy concerns.

“Assertions about the incidents of suicide involving department-issued firearms are inaccurate,” said Acting Commissioner of Probation Patricia Brennan. “There have been three PO suicides in the past several years and only one of those involved a department issued weapon.

‘Effective Means of Protection’

“Another involved a privatelyowned weapon and the third did not involve a weapon at all. Furthermore, the policy change to require POs new to the job to be armed has been an effective means of protecting officers while they are in the field doing work that involves risk and danger every day.”

Mr. Coluccio and Probation Officers interviewed said that part of the problem was a high level of stress brought on by an increase in work demands that forced two Probation Officers to make 20 field visits a day together in the same car.

A spokesman for the department countered that the caseload has decreased dramatically to a cap of 65 cases per field worker annually because Probation introduced self-serve kiosks to handle the less-troublesome cases.

Still, Probation Officers spoke of a hectic schedule where they had limited time with each parolee. “It’s overwhelming, because the caseload is very high,” one said.

Ms. Brennan disagreed, saying, “The incontrovertible fact is that PO caseloads were reduced by the administration from an average of 300 prior to Horn to the point where the largest caseloads are now capped at 65. Furthermore, to increase efficiency, officers were for the first time assigned caseloads based on the geographic locations of probationers, which reduces time spent in transit.”

Quantity Over Quality?

Mr. Coluccio said that many Probation Officers were forced to use their own cars because it would be impossible to make so many visits in one day by public transit. “The visits are not as meaningful as in the past,” he said in a phone interview.

In order to complete the necessary site visits, Mr. Coluccio said that in a 7½-hour day the Probation Officers need to make about three an hour. “It’s become a numbers game,” he said, for the officers who spend three days a week making site visits and two days on administrative matters.

“Prior to the Horn administration, officers with caseloads of 300 rarely left the office at all and usually interviewed only those probationers who showed up,” Ms. Brennan said. “If anything, reforms and policy changes implemented under Commissioner Horn have significantly improved the working conditions of Probation Officers. The number of field visits made daily by POs is by itself meaningless, since it can never be assumed that a probationer will be located at the first location and because most visits are brief. “

Mr. Coluccio, however, said all of this, including the decrease of Probation Officers from 1,076 to 771 since 2002, has contributed to a decline in the care given to the same number of probationers. “It is less possible to be rehabilitated now,” he said, adding that the first-time offender probationers who have the most potential are sometimes now seen ly by a machine. “When they are getting probation, they should be getting probation.”

Probation cited a recent state Division of Criminal Justice Services report that said of the city offenders convicted of felony and misdemeanor offenses who were sentenced to probation during 2007, 16.4 percent were arrested for a felony offense within one year of sentence, compared to a 22.6-percent felony re-arrest rate for offenders sentenced to probation during 1998.

One icon, one face, many images

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 11:11:22 -0400

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 of The Riverdale Press.

January 24, 2008

The Riverdale Press

One icon, one face, many images

By Tommy Hallissey

In 19 silkscreens, the head, or heads, of Che Guevara glare proudly across the gallery space of the Bronx River Art Center. Washed out images from red to blue to orange compete for attention. His physical features are diluted, yet still the icon is as recognizable as the McDonald’s arches.

The socialist revolutionary of today seems to be more of a logo than an actual man.

Ernesto Guevara de la Serna was born in 1928 in Argentina. Before his demise in 1967, Che was a Marxist revolutionary, political figure and guerrilla leader inside and outside Cuba.

But after his execution at the hands of the Bolivian government at the age of 39, the legend of Che grew in popularity thanks to Cuban photographer Alberto Korda Díaz’s portrait photograph, taken on March 5, 1960.

In it, Che, donning shoulder-length brown locks and a beret bearing a gold star, stares with intensity into the distance. Over the past 40 years, the image has raised the Argentinean to cult-like status. Today it is seen on T-shirts, coffee mugs, backpacks and even forever stained on the bodies of his most loyal - albeit uninformed - fans.

In its new exhibit, “Beauty is in the Street,” an impressive collection of Che Guevara images in a variety of media, the Bronx River Art Center asks, “Are political images drained of their subversive power, co-opted, and aestheticized when removed from their original context?”

In one end of the gallery, Che’s masculine likeness of a war hero is turned on its head when artist Carrie Moyer produced posters of Che with a pink beret under the headline: “Amigas! Get Your Che On!” The posters are plastered one after another like advertising on the wall of a city street.

Ms. Moyer, a New York-based painter, said she does feel that Che has become more of a marketing opportunity than anything else. But his image is powerful, she contended.

“He’s iconic, he basically looks like a movie star and he has come to embody the glamour of activism,” she said.

Liselot van der Heijden’s untitled installation will strike a familiar chord with any New Yorker. The three-dimensional piece shows rows of T-shirts commonly sold on the street, bearing New York City logos and clever, lewd takes on commonly known advertising symbols. In the center, ready to be snatched up by a city tourist, stares Che Guevara, his face taking up most of the folded shirt.

The exhibition features artists and designers from United States, Cuba, Central and South America and Europe. Artworks include prints, photography, installation and animation. The posters in the exhibit are on loan from the collection of Lisbet Tellefsen, a poster collector and curator of the Movement Archive, a digital archive created to preserve materials from a variety of social justice movements.

Speaking at the Bronx gallery last week, Jose Ruiz, gallery coordinator, said no one could have predicated that Diaz’s photograph would have become such a recognizable image. (Some have argued that it is the most reproduced photograph ever.)

“I think it was determined by the technology in a way,” he said, adding that artists used silkscreens in Cuba at that time. He believes that a photograph of Che rather than the commonly reproduced silkscreen would not have likely made as lasting an impact.

But what intrigues Mr. Ruiz is despite how ubiquitous Che’s image is, many Americans do not know his history. “Many people just know the face; most people still don’t know what he did,” he said. “His politics - I wouldn’t say were suppressed - but everything he did hasn’t been adopted into our history. He is definitely a blurry figure.”

‘Beauty is in the Street’ is on display through Saturday, Feb. 16, at the Bronx River Art Center, 1087 E. Tremont Ave. The gallery is open Monday through Friday, from 3 to 6:30 p.m. and Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call 718-589-5819.