Tuesday, April 12, 2022
Saturday, April 3, 2021
Rikers did it again, this time the fugitive is COVID positive
For the third time in less than a month, a Rikers Island inmate was mistakenly released — this one a deadbeat dad and golf pro who walked out of jail with coronavirus.
James Reino’s release was the subject of a jaw-dropping hearing Friday in Manhattan Supreme Court.
Reino, 55, was supposed to have attended the hearing via video from jail after avoiding for 13 months Justice Matthew Cooper’s contempt order for failure to pay $85,000 in child support.
But Department of Correction staff — apparently amid confusion over Reino’s cases in matrimonial court, family court and criminal court — released him late Thursday.
“This was important to me — that he not be released from custody until money was forthcoming to Ms. Reino,” Judge Matthew Cooper said.
“For some reason Corrections says it’s unaware my arrest order is still in effect.”
Reino was also confused — especially since he hadn’t completed quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19 at Rikers.
“He rang me this morning and said he was out and that he didn’t know why,” said Reino’s attorney, Stephanie Conners. “He is actually supposed to be in quarantine. He has indicated to me he has seven days left on that quarantine.”
Nevertheless Reino was handed a MetroCard and released in the middle of the night.
“If there were other people on the subway, who was near him? How do you expose people to that? It’s a little bit insane,” said Gary Rosen, a lawyer for Reino’s second wife, with whom he shares four kids between the ages of 14 and 20.
Cooper said he understood that Reino was quarantining at his sister’s home on Long Island.
So this guy was on NYC Transit and the LIRR. Plus there are about 3 or 4 variants out there. This might make the city's recovery a little more problematic.
Friday, March 19, 2021
Another fugitive sprung loose from Rikers
An attempted murder suspect was let go after a Bronx court clerk mistakenly marked him for release without bail, court officials said Thursday.
The mistaken release of Nikim Meekins, 22, came just days after a murder suspect was accidentally freed from the Rikers Island jail complex.
Once the judge realized what happened with Meekins, a warrant was issued for him. Meekins was supposed to be held on $300,000 bond in the attempted murder case. Charges against him in a separate case caused the mix up.
The mix up will be addressed from “a personnel and training perspective,” court spokesperson Lucian Chalfen said.
Boy oh boy, it's like they can't wait to build those 4 tower jails. There's two fugitive accused killers out there now, be aware of your surroundings
Update: One of the fugitives turned himself in. The first one is still out there.
Thursday, March 11, 2021
Murder suspect escapes from Rikers Island as City Council finds the time to make it a public space
City officials began taking steps Monday for Rikers Island to become a public space by 2026 — synchronizing with the Mayor’s borough based jail plan that would leave the island vacant in the same year.
A uniform land use review procedure was filed on Dec. 2 that would reclassify the Bronx island as a public space, rather than a jail facility, according to a statement from City Hall.
The ULURP at hand will “officially prohibit the incarceration of individuals there after Dec. 31, 2026,” though it doesn’t address what the future holds for Rikers Island.
“The proposed mapping action does not lead to any new development or construction on its own,” that statement noted, adding that any future plans – such as housing development, green energy facilities or the prospect of expanding LaGuardia Airport —will require a new planning and public review process, including a separate approval for and environmental review.
The announcement came after the city began the procedure of closing facilities on Rikers Island along with the Brooklyn Detention Center in preparation for the new and upcoming jail plan.
“We are moving away from the failed policies of mass incarceration and showing the world that Rikers days are numbered,” said Council Speaker Corey Johnson, adding that the remapping of Rikers “shows our deep commitment to closing” all of the jails there.
De Blasio reiterated Johnson’s sentiment: “We’re charting a new course forward for the island and the people of New York City.”
Police are searching for a suspected murderer who was mistakenly released from Rikers Island because of a paperwork error.
Christopher Buggs, 26, was awaiting trial in a 2018 murder when he was released on an unrelated case.
In the unrelated case, he was sentenced to 30 days of time served for criminal contempt.
He's accused of killing 55-year-old Ernest Brownlee outside a bodega in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
Brownlee was apparently a career criminal who killed two men in the 1980s.
The Correction Department says it is conducting a full investigation into how Buggs was released.
"We
are aware of this incident and a full investigation into how this
happened is underway. Right now we are working with our law enforcement
partners to return this individual to custody," Deputy Commissioner of
Public Information Peter Thorne said.
"This is being fully
investigated right now. We are going to put additional safeguards in
place to make sure this never happens again. it's very frustrating. It
was based on a court order, but it was apparently one case that this
inmate had connected to him, but there were other charges obviously as
well that should have meant he remained incarcerated. So we are going to
get a full review of this immediately, make whatever changes we have
to. In the meantime, we have a high level of confidence that he will be
re-apprehended shortly," Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
The Blaz has such a talent with words.
You might say he has the best words.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Albanian mobster may be in Ridgewood
From BushwickBK:
An Albanian mob boss with ties to Ridgewood has landed on the FBI’s Most Wanted list.
The Feds and Interpol want Plaurent “Lenti” Devishaj for a string of murders committed in his native Albania. Authorities allege that Devishaj killed a rival gang leader using an anti-tank weapon, which launches a missile capable of destroying an armored vehicle.
Investigators believe Devishaj fled Albania for New York in 2006 and could be going back and forth between Queens and New Jersey. Standing 6’1″ and weighing in at 220lbs, the hulking mobster is considered armed and dangerous. Authorities are asking that anyone with information contact the FBI.
Vibrant! Diverse!
