NYPD catches hangry homicidal maniac

NY Daily News

An unhinged customer who feuded for months with a Queens Chinese restaurant about not getting enough duck sauce with his order has been arrested for the April shooting death of the eatery’s beloved longtime deliveryman, cops said Thursday.

Glenn Hirsch, 51, was arrested at his home Wednesday night and charged with murder and gun possession for the April 30 killing of Zhiwen Yan, 45.

The victim was riding his scooter near 108th St. and 67th Drive in Forest Hills when he was shot in the chest. A witness told cops the driver a of a Lexus SUV sped off from the scene.

Yan worked for more than a decade at Great Wall, a Nothern Boulevard restaurant whose manager, Kai Yang, 53, told police of a problem customer who drove the same type of vehicle.

Police quickly focused on Hirsch and eventually developed enough evidence to charge him.

Hirsch was taken into custody without incident, an NYPD spokesman said.

“Zhiwen Yan was a beloved member of his Queens community whose tragic murder in April was heartbreaking,” NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell tweeted early Thursday. “@NYPDDetectives never relented in their investigation — and have now arrested 51-year-old Glenn Hirsch. He’s been charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon.”

 

Lt. Governor Brian Benjamin arrested for campaign fraud

 

 

 

NBC News 

New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin has surrendered to authorities to face campaign finance fraud-related charges in connection with a past campaign, two people familiar with the matter said Tuesday.

Benjamin is expected to appear in Manhattan federal court later Tuesday. Gov. Kathy Hochul's office couldn't immediately be reached for comment on the arrest, nor could a representative for Benjamin.

His arrest comes after reports that Manhattan federal prosecutors and the FBI were investigating whether Benjamin knowingly engaged in a campaign finance fraud scheme. Subpoenas were issued in connection with the investigation, two sources familiar with the subpoenas said at the time.

The investigators also looked into whether Benjamin helped dole out state money to contributors and/or their projects as part of the alleged fraud.

A spokesman for the U.S. attorney and a spokesman for the FBI both previously declined WNBC requests for comment regarding the investigation into Benjamin.  

A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins also did not return requests for comment. 

Benjamin was appointed lieutenant governor by Gov. Kathy Hochul in 2021, shortly after losing a primary bid for New York City comptroller. He previously served as the New York State Senator for District 30, which is made up of Harlem, East Harlem (El Barrio), the Upper West Side, Washington Heights, Hamilton Heights and Morningside Heights.

 Wonder who Kathy Clown is going to pick next and if she will bother to vet that person thoroughly.

Northwest Queens graffiti vandal caught

  

NY Post

 Looks like the letter “A” now stands for “arrest.”

A graffiti vandal who allegedly scrawled crudely drawn letter “A’s” on the side of nearly two dozen cars in Queens was busted Friday, cops said.

Herberto Torres, 57, who has 43 prior arrests, was hit with 46 counts of making graffiti and criminal mischief after being arrested at 12:15 a.m. Friday, cops said. 

He allegedly spray-painted multiple cars with the letter “A” — which is a nickname he goes by, according to authorities and police sources. 

The alleged graffiti bandit was tracked to an auto body shop where he worked, because a customer’s vehicle was used in the crimes, sources said.

After his arrest, he was let free on a desk appearance ticket, sources said.

Cops tallied 65 graffiti incidents dating back to late March — and at this point, Torres has been charged with 46 of them, police said. The remaining incidents are under investigation.

On March 26, on 35th Street between 31st Avenue and Broadway, 20 vehicles were vandalized between 8:30 and 10:11 a.m., police said.

Then on May 18, between 4 a.m. and 9 a.m., 20 more vehicles were targeted on 27th Street between 23rd Avenue and Ditmars Boulevard, police said. 

The next day, 17 vehicles were graffitied on 33rd Street between 23rd Avenue and Ditmars Boulevard between 9 a.m. and 11:45 a.m., authorities said.

The final spree came on May 22, when eight vehicles were spray-painted on 32nd Street between 34th Avenue and Broadway between 7:35 a.m. and 10 a.m., cops said. 

Back in October, Torres was busted for allegedly tagging more than 50 cars in Jackson Heights with spray paint spelling out “BLM” or “AOC,” police said.

Queens leads all boroughs in marijuana arrests

 


Queens Eagle

Queens leads the five boroughs in low-level marijuana possession cases — misdemeanor charges that have drastically decreased in volume under new NYPD protocols but are still marked by stunning racial disparities.

The number of unlawful, fourth- and fifth-degree marijuana possession cases have dropped significantly in Queens this year, but the borough accounts for more low-level weed prosecutions than Manhattan, Brooklyn and Staten Island combined, according to client data compiled by The Legal Aid Society, which represents about half the indigent defendants in New York City.

And while low-level marijuana arrests have decreased by more than 88 percent citywide, racial disparities in who gets busted for weed possession have actually gotten worse.

In fact, nearly every single person busted for low-level weed possession in New York City was Black or Latinx during the first three months of this year, according to data from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, which was provided by the NYPD.  Of the 476 people arrested for fifth-degree marijuana possession citywide, just 20 were white, according to the data set. The other 456 people arrested — more than 95 percent — were people of color.

People of color accounted for 93 percent of the 4,081 people arrested for fifth-degree marijuana possession during the first three months of 2018. Fifth-degree marijuana possession includes smoking in public or possessing more than 25 grams of marijuana.

“Even though arrests are down, the racial disparities are increasing. And they’re meaningful. You can see who they are targeting for sale and possession,” said Robert Gangi, director of the Police Reform Organizing Project, which obtained and shared the data from the state.

Auburndale cellar becomes murder site

From CBS 2:

Police said they were called to a home on Ashby Avenue in the Auburndale neighborhood shortly before 10 p.m. Wednesday.

Sources told CBS2 the woman lived in the basement unit with five children, all under the age of 10. She was the only adult home at the time, sources said.

Police said officers found the little girl, identified as 1-year-old Elaina Torabi, unconscious and unresponsive and rushed her to Flushing Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Her brother was taken to Cohen Children’s Medical Center in critical condition.

The Administration for Children’s Services removed three other girls, ages 2, 4, and 5, from the home, unharmed. Sources told CBS2 there was no ACS history at the house.

NYPD officers ran prostitution and gambling ring

From AM NY:

A retired police detective and his wife are accused of running a massive prostitution ring and illicit gambling business with the help of seven active NYPD members and 40 civilians, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said on Thursday.

Ludwig Paz, 51, a retired detective from the NYPD’s Vice unit, allegedly ran the day-to-day operations at seven of eight brothels spread out across Queens, Brooklyn and Nassau County. Using his knowledge of the department’s vice protocols when investigating prostitution cases, Paz set up new policies for accepting clients in order to help root out possible undercover cops, according to Brown’s office, and paid his contacts within the NYPD for information that enabled him to thwart raids.

Among the active NYPD members who are accused of helping Paz and his wife, Arelis Peralta, are Brooklyn South Vice Det. Rene Samaniego, 43; Sgt. Carlos Cruz, 41; Det. Giovanny Rojas-Acosta, 40; Sgt. Cliff Nieves, 37; Sgt. Steven Nieves, 32; Officer Giancarlo Raspanti, 43; and Sgt. Louis Failla, 49.

NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill said the officers “tarnished the NYPD shields they wore,” and betrayed the trust of all 8.6 million New Yorkers.

Between August 2016 through September 2018, the prostitution ring — with brothels located on Gates, Foster and Fourth avenues and 42nd Street in Brooklyn; on Liberty and Onderdonk avenues in Queens; and on Front Street in Hempstead — netted over $2 million in revenue, per the district attorney’s office.

He wanted them to chill forever

From QNS:

A Rego Park man who runs his own maintenance company faces criminal charges for allegedly pouring mercury into a Queens family’s air conditioning unit after getting one too many complaints about the malfunctioning system.

Yuriy Kruk, 48, of Alderton Street owns and operates the A+ HVAC and Kitchen Corporation. According to Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, a Jamaica Estates family contacted Kruk during the summer of 2015 to perform various repairs to their home.

Prosecutors said the victim repeatedly complained to Kruk that the second-floor air conditioning unit wasn’t working properly. Kruk replied that the system needed to be replaced, and in July of 2015, a new unit was installed.

Soon after the unit’s installation, law enforcement sources said, one of the victim’s noticed drops of a silvery liquid on the floor near the air conditioning units, and the same liquid dripping out of the vents in which Kruk had worked.

Members of the Fire Department’s Haz-Mat Unit responded to the home after receiving a 911 call and determined that the substance was mercury — the highly-toxic liquid metal. The family of three, which includes a husband, wife and their son, complained of having symptoms of mercury poisoning — including joint pain, headaches and lethargy.

All three family members were tested and found to have elevated levels of mercury in their bloodstream, Brown said.

Woodside visa fraudster cuffed

From Sunnyside Post:

A Woodside woman has been charged with visa fraud for filing false documents to get Filipino nationals work visas, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Rena Beduya Avendula, 50, who owned Woodside-based Professional Place & Recruitment Inc. (PPRI), would submit fraudulent documents claiming that her clients would be employed in “specialty occupations,” therefore qualifying for H-1B work visas, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Avendula is charged with five counts of visa fraud and with conspiring to defraud the U.S. by bringing in undocumented immigrants. The scheme allegedly took place from October 2009 through February 2015.

Bayside pimp pinched

From the Times Ledger:

Three people are facing prostitution charges following an April 21 arrest in Bayside in which the alleged ringleader offered two of his “employees” to two undercover cops from Queens Vice Enforcement Division for sex acts in exchange for money, the Queens district attorney said.

Cheolryong Shin, 31, was identified in the criminal complaint filed by the DA’s office as the man who allegedly attempted to sell two officers on a full body massage complete with sexual gratification before being arrested alongside Ting Ting Wen, 27, and Yan Yan Hong, 40.

After Shin allegedly offered the services of the two women for a fee of $160, the undercover cops were led into the basement of a business at 211-54 45th Drive, where the fee was discussed again with the female defendants, the complaint said.

The location is an inconspicuous office space with no exterior signage indicating there was a massage parlor of any kind occupying the building, which also houses a dental business. It is on a quiet residential street west of Bell Boulevard.

Maspeth bar shut down for prostitution, drugs, gambling & counterfeit cigarettes

From NBC:

A Queens bar had its liquor license suspended after authorities allegedly uncovered prostitution, narcotics, illicit gambling and untaxed cigarettes.

The New York State Liquor Authority issued the emergency suspension of Huang Jia Inc in Maspeth Wednesday effective immediately, which prohibits alcohol to be sold or consumed on the premises.

According to the State Liquor Authority, SLA investigators and officers with the New York City Police Department’s Citywide Vice-Enforcement Division executed a search warrant of the bar on April 12. During the search warrant, investigators allegedly discovered 97 packs of counterfeit or untaxed cigarettes, jars and bags filled with the narcotic ketamine, records related to the sale of prostitution and illegal gambling devices.

The NYPD made nine arrests, including the bar’s owner, for criminal possession of a controlled substance. Additionally, a number of hazardous conditions were observed, including overcrowding, blocked exits and non-working emergency lighting, the State Liquor Authority says.

On April 14, the NYPD and SLA conducted a follow up inspection, making six arrests after allegedly discovering patrons with ketamine in three separate karaoke rooms inside the bar and finding patrons consuming alcohol after closing hours.

On April 16, the SLA charged the establishment with 22 violations of the ABC Law, including disorderly premises for permitting prostitution, gambling, trafficking of controlled substances, failure to supervise and for becoming a focal point for police attention.

Between March 15th and April 12th, the NYPD conducted three undercover operations where detectives posing as customers allegedly purchased narcotics, prostitution and gambling — all which formed the basis for the April 12 raid, officials say.

According to the NYPD, there was an alleged a pattern of criminal activity in and around the premises months prior to these incidents.

DEP bribery scheme detailed

From NBC:

A former New York City Department of Environmental Protection employee was cuffed in a $165 million construction corruption scheme. Erica Byfield reports.

Following ICE on patrol

From PIX11:

ICE agents went to the Bronx Criminal Courthouse a few weeks ago to arrest Aboubacar Dembele, following the African immigrant's court hearing to contest an assault charge.

“The media does not focus on all of these criminals that we’re going after," Genalo said, "Rather than focus on the criminals that we’re trying to remove, and that we’re arresting in the community, they’d rather take and focus on the small percentage of the cases that you just mentioned."

In Jersey City, Genalo’s team made its final arrest of the day – cuffing a multiple drug offender from the Dominican Republic with two deportations on his record.

“I know I made a mistake," he said.

Jamaican immigrant Andrea Stibo, a legal resident, has mixed feelings about the direction of the nation's immigration policy.

“You're not supposed to overstay your visa,” she said.

Like so many legal, documented immigrants, Stibo wonders if there is room in some cases, for compassionate policy enforcement.

“If you coming, and you stay over your welcome, and you don’t commit no crime – no, you got the right to stay,” Stibo said.

When confronted with her contradiction, Stibo responded, “I don’t have no sympathy for criminals.”

Illegal conversion could lead to a 7-year prison sentence

From CBS 2:

The insatiable demand for affordable housing in New York City at times creates an illegal supply of rentals.

Now, for the second time in five years, a Queens man has been charged with illegally converting a single-family home into a multi-unit dwelling.

On first glance, it’s not clear why the home in Elmhurst would need three satellite TV dishes. A resident insisted there was nothing illegal happening there.

“No illegal conversion,” the man who didn’t wish to be identified told CBS2’s Tony Aiello. When asked if they’d allow a camera crew in for a look, the resident claimed “it’s not a perfect day today.”

It certainly proved to be a bad day for the owners, 53-year-old Segundo Chimbay and his wife, 52-year-old Maria Chimbay. The Queens District Attorney charged them with illegally converting the home on forlay street into five small apartments, including one in the attic and one in the cellar.

Authorities say at one point fifteen people lived there, all of them sharing one kitchen on the first floor. Rents were between $750 and $1,400 a month, according to authorities. The Chimbays also allegedly told renters to ignore the vacate order placed on the front door.

Another Assembly Member indicted

From NBC:

A New York state assemblywoman from Brooklyn who claims to be an advocate for Sandy victims has been accused of bilking FEMA and New York City's's Build it Back fund out of thousands of dollars following the monster 2012 storm.

Rep. Pamela Harris, a former New York City correction officer, was named in an 11-count indictment charging her with cheating the two storm relief agencies out of thousands of dollars before and after she was elected to the State Assembly in 2017. The indictment also accuses the Coney Island Democrat of stealing from New York City Council coffers while running a nonprofit and lying about her schemes during bankruptcy proceedings in 2013.

Pros busted at LIC strip club

From the Daily News:

A raid by the NYPD Vice Squad netted five prostitution arrests at a notorious Queens strip club early Friday, the Daily News has learned.

The Vice cops swept into Show Palace on 21st St. near 43rd Ave. in Long Island City just before 4 a.m., police said.

The officers arrested the women, ranging in age from 20- to 35-years-old, authorities said.

"Five girls arrested in one night? That’s not a strip club. It's a brothel with music," a police source said.

The strip club is owned by the same group that owns the Sin City jiggle joint in the Bronx.

Great history on this place.

ICE cracking down on DUI offenders

From PIX11:

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested more than two dozen undocumented immigrants during an operation cracking down on those with convictions for driving under the influence.

All but one of the 25 arrested in November had a previous DUI-related conviction, officials said. The other individual was arrested for immigration violations.

One of the men arrested, a 35-year-old previously removed Honduran man, also had been convicted of assault. A 40-year-old Salvadoran national has been identified as an alleged MS-13 gang member.

Latin Kings busted in Woodhaven

From the Queens Chronicle:

Seven members and associates of a Latin Kings sect known as the "Woodhaven Mayans" were arrested and now face narcotics and weapons charges, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown announced Friday.

The gang operated primarily within the confines of the 102nd and 106th precincts, according to Brown.

“A morning wake-up call by the police armed with a court-authorized search warrant earlier this week resulted in the arrest of seven individuals – six men and one woman – and the seizure of a large quantity of illicit drugs and a defaced firearm," Brown said in a statement. "These arrests should serve as a warning to other drug dealers and gang members that the law enforcement community will continue to aggressively track down those who traffic in drugs and illegal firearms and seek to put them in prison.”

The defendants were identified as David Golden, Jesus Merced, Janet Rodriguez, Alberto Santiago, Malik Santiago, Edgardo Torres and Travis Gonzales. Torres, Gonazalez and Golden are listed as Queens residents with no specific neighborhood and Merced in from Hempstead, LI. Rodriguez and both Santiagos are from Ozone Park.

We sure do love our criminals here

From Epoch Times:

A once-deported Dominican man with a criminal record and felony arrest warrant was recently released on bail, despite immigration authorities requesting that he be handed over to them.

Instead, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) had to locate and arrest Joselin Medina as he left the Bronx Criminal Court in New York on June 16, the agency reported.

Medina has a past felony conviction for the criminal sale of a controlled substance and a pending misdemeanor charge and felony re-entry charge, according to ICE.

“Even a federal criminal warrant issued by a United States magistrate is not enough for the city of New York to turn over a convicted felon to ICE,” said Thomas R. Decker, field office director for ERO New York. “It is unfathomable that New York would create such a public safety risk for the sake of political expediency.”

Medina is now in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service and is facing up to 20 years in federal prison, after which he will be deported.

And if it was up to Joe Crowley, the sanctuary system will stay in place.

Mob tries to prevent ICE from arresting burglar

From NBC:

Dozens of residents banded together Tuesday to try to stop federal immigration agents from arresting an undocumented man wanted by police for burglary, according to reports.
The neighbors gathered on 112th Street in Richmond Hill as ICE agents were arresting 35-year-old Hardat Sampat.

Sampat is accused of burglary and re-entering the U.S. illegally, according to The Daily News. He was on his way to Queens Criminal Court Tuesday morning for a scheduled appearance when ICE agents in unmarked cars boxed him in and took him into custody.

Ex-assembly member charged for pill mill participation

From CBS 2:

More than a dozen people have been arrested and charged in a prescription drug ring in Brooklyn, and a doctor is the alleged ringleader.

As CBS2’s Dave Carlin reported, nurses and even a former New York state assemblyman were also caught up in the bust, dubbed “Operation Avalanche.”

Allegedly, the multimillion-dollar scheme involved thousands of medically unnecessary prescriptions, and shady patient tests and treatments to defrauded Medicare and Medicaid.

Also charged is former Coney Island, Brooklyn Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny, 59. He is in Israel and has not surrendered.

Investigators said he allegedly directed a lab he is now affiliated with to alter drug test results.