Judge says "no deal" on public housing plan

From the NY Times:

A federal judge rejected a sweeping settlement on Wednesday that would have appointed a monitor to oversee the troubled New York City Housing Authority and required the city to pump at least $1.2 billion into repairs.

The judge, William H. Pauley III, also strongly suggested that the federal government should take over the authority instead.

In a scathing opinion, Judge Pauley deplored the “breathtaking scope” of the squalid living conditions in the city’s public housing complexes. He rebuked the city for its mismanagement of the agency, and said the federal government had abdicated its legal responsibility to overhaul the nation’s largest stock of public housing that is home to about 400,000 vulnerable New Yorkers.

The unexpected ruling threw the future of the Housing Authority into doubt and unraveled a deal that Mayor Bill de Blasio had staked his reputation on as a champion of public housing tenants.

City to pony up in federal NYCHA settlement

From Crains:

New York City will likely pay $2 billion to settle claims that the nation's largest public housing agency has too often left tenants to contend with lead paint, malfunctioning elevators and rats.

The city agreed in a consent decree in Manhattan federal court to pay $1 billion over four years and $200 million annually until problems are overcome. The deal also calls for the appointment of a monitor to oversee the city-run public housing authority during the 10-year span of the agreement.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called the settlement a "dramatic step" and a "turning point for our public housing system."

NYCHA Consent Decree by Anonymous 80as6U on Scribd

Son-in law doesn't fall far from the tree

From CBS Local:

A son-in-law of former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was charged with defrauding investors out of $7 million in a Ponzi scheme, according to a federal complaint.

Marcello Trebitsch appeared in court in Manhattan on Monday night on one count of wire fraud and one count of securities fraud. He was released on bond. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison and a $5 million fine.

He is married to Michelle Trebitsch, Silver’s daughter. The former Democrat powerbroker stepped down from his leadership position after being indicted on corruption charges in January.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement that Marcello Trebitsch, 37, of Brooklyn, told investors he would use their money to trade in securities through his investment fund and promised them double-digit returns with low risk. But only a portion of the money was invested and Trebitsch used the remainder for his own personal benefit and to repay other investors, the complaint said.

10 years in the slammer for Halloran

From the NY Post:

Saying former City Councilman Dan Halloran knowingly perjured himself at trial, a federal judge threw the book at the disgraced politician on Wednesday — sentencing him to 10 years behind bars for masterminding a failed $200,000 bribery scheme to buy the 2013 Republican mayoral line for then-Democratic state Sen. Malcolm Smith.

“For five days, he lied on the stand,” White Plains federal Judge Kenneth Karas said of Halloran. “It was egregious.

“There was overwhelming evidence of his guilt,” added the judge as a stone-faced Halloran took a deep breath and nodded. “I saw him squirm and look uncomfortable on the stand … He lied and lied repeatedly. It was grotesque and offensive.”

The US Probation Department had recommended 6 ½ to 8 years of prison for Halloran, who tried to claim insanity as a defense at trial and is a “prince” in a pagan order that includes public floggings.

But Karas agreed with prosecutors that the Queens Republican deserved a harsher sentence because he “quarterbacked” the bribery scheme and lied under oath. The feds had asked Karas to hand Halloran a sentence of 12 ½ to 15 ½ years behind bars.

From the Daily News:

At that Halloran turned red in the face and put his quivering hand over his mouth.

From the Queens Courier:

“His life, except for this offense, has been good,” Edelstein said. “Obviously there’s a crime here that requires punishment, but all of his character should be considered.”

“He’s very sorry he made these choices. He’s very sorry he ran for City Council in the first place,” he said.

Judge stymies town's bid to stay crap-free

From CBS New York:

A federal judge has ruled in a housing discrimination lawsuit against the Village of Garden City.

The judge ruled that Garden City violated the Fair Housing Act. WCBS 880′s Sophia Hall said.

The plaintiffs in the case, a group called ‘Communities For Change’ argued that the decision to adopt zoning for single-family and town homes instead of multifamily housing made affordable housing economically unfeasible.

Ninety-three percent of Garden City’s residents are white.

The judge said that Garden City has to set aside 10 percent of future multifamily developments for affordable housing. The village has 30 days to appeal the decision.

A village spokesperson said that zoning changes were not enacted with discriminatory intent.

John Liu makes federal case out of matching funds

From the Daily News:

FORMER CITY Controller John Liu took the Campaign Finance Board to court Wednesday, charging that it imposed a “death sentence” on his mayoral candidacy by denying him $3.8 million in public matching funds.

The federal lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, says the board’s “arbitrary” action caused Liu to suffer “extreme mental and emotional anguish” and “incalculable damage” to his “professional reputation and earning potential."

It also claims the denial of funding violated his campaign’s First Amendment right to free speech.

In its Aug. 5 decision, the board cited what it called “pervasive” violations of fundraising laws by Lieu’s campaign.

The decision followed a board investigation and, separately, the convictions of Liu’s campaign treasurer and a contributor for taking part in an illegal fundraising scheme.

But Liu was never charged, and his campaign said the board’s allegations of wrongdoing by his campaign were minor and never proven - while other candidates accused of worse routinely have received public funding.

Hobbled by the lack of money, Liu finished fourth in the Democratic primary on Sept. 10 with just 7% of the vote.

Liu’s lawyer, Richard Emery, said Wednesday that the board “crippled his campaign.”

Developer bribed housing commissioner

From the Daily News:

A crooked real estate developer touted himself in a Housing Preservation and Development brochure for “giving back” to his Brooklyn community at the same time he was defrauding the city agency, according to court papers.

Sergio Benitez will be eating those words Wednesday when he is sentenced in Brooklyn Federal Court on corruption charges.

Benitez was featured in HPD’s glossy New Housing Marketplace Plan of 2011 with a blurb accompanied by his photo.

“I’m originally from Brooklyn and I see my work as a way of giving back,” he says.

He had built about 80 two- and three-story affordable homes on properties that had been sold to him for $1 each by the city.

But Benitez had a secret. He was bribing then-HPD Assistant Commissioner Wendell Walters with cash in golf ball boxes and coffee cups and was awarded development contracts in return.

He also took $228,000 in kickbacks from the general contractor hired on the Decatur Cluster development in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

The contractor, in turn, fraudulently inflated its costs that were submitted to the city in order to recoup the shakedown by Benitez.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Cristina Posa blasted the defendant for shamelessly holding himself out as a model developer.

Stop and frisk not as successful as thought

From the Daily News:

Stop-and-frisk has removed thousands of guns from the city’s streets — but the NYPD detained millions of innocent New Yorkers to find them.

A Columbia law professor testified Wednesday that just one gun was recovered for every thousand people stopped from 2004 through June 30, 2012.

“The NYPD hit rate is far less than what you would achieve by chance,” Jeffrey Fagan said in Manhattan Federal Court.

Testifying in the federal class-action lawsuit against the city and the NYPD’s controversial tactic, Fagan said his analysis of paperwork from 4.4 million stops found guns were confiscated at a rate of roughly one-tenth of 1 percent, or 5,940 firearms.

Knives and other contraband were nabbed in about 1.5% of stops, taking 66,000 weapons off the street, the professor said.

And 12% of the 4.4 million stops during that time period — roughly 528,000 — led to an actual arrest or a summons, Fagan said.

City Councilwoman Margaret Chin speaks as New York City women call on the NYPD to abandon the discriminatory procedure that a study shows yields few results.

And the rest were “just let go?” asked Federal Judge Shira Scheindlin.

“Yes, your honor,” Fagan replied.