Results tagged “manhattanda”

After Cyrus Vance Jr. was elected to Manhattan DA, his campaign issued a press release noting a 30+ person transition team, made up of other lawyers, union leaders, and others. The Daily News notes the inclusion of Rev. Dr. C. Vernon Mason, best known for advising Tawana Brawley. Mason, who even ran against Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau in 1985, was eventually disbarred for "mistreating poor clients" in 1995; he's currently a deacon at the Abyssinian Baptist church and a NY Theological Seminary faculty member. Vance's team said, "C. Vernon Mason is a well-respected clergy member who cares deeply about his community and the criminal justice issues faced by youth and adults."

Cyrus Vance Jr. was elected Manhattan District Attorney last night, giving the borough it's first new DA in 35 years. Of course, the reign of prolific Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau is only ending because the the 90-year-old decided to retire earlier this year (he will to help out with the family farm). Vance, who was Morgenthau's choice to succeed him, told WCBS 2, "I intend to be a strong advocate for public safety, as district attorney. I've spent my entire career working on criminal justice issues, and I'm ready for that challenge." He also recently promised, "Safety on our streets is going to be a very, very important issue for our office."

When David Letterman announced that he was being extorted for $2 million on the Late Show, he had a special thank you for the Special Prosecution Bureau at the Manhattan DA's office with their help in the case. Now the Post reports that outgoing Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau let Letterman disclose the plot on his talk show!

Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau revealed details of the charges against the CBS producer accused of extorting David Letterman for $2 million—and added, "The message of this indictment should be clear. New York City will not tolerate the coercion or extortion of anyone, be the victim rich or poor, famous or anonymous." That's a good policy!

Below is video of David Letterman explaining to his talk audience—and the rest of America—about how he was extorted for $2 million or else his sexual relationships with female Late Show staffers would be revealed. About 7 minutes 25 seconds in, Letterman explains what the "creepy stuff" in the blackmail package was: "The creepy stuff was that I have had sex with women who work for me on this show."

Earlier this evening, David Letterman told his talk show audience that he was the victim of a $2 million extortion attempt—and that he had sexual relationships with staffers. He said (the show airs at 11:35 p.m. on WCBS 2), "This morning, I did something I've never done in my life. I had to go downtown and testify before a grand jury." [Update: Here's video]

The three Democratic Manhattan DA candidates debated yesterday on NY1, and immediately Leslie Crocker Snyder criticized Cyrus Vance, saying the choice was "between someone who stayed in New York during the terrible times of the ’80s and ’90s and someone who left. Cy Vance decided to move as far away as he could. (Vance moved to Seattle.) She also accused Vance of being part of an "old boy's network"—he is endorsed by outgoing DA Robert Morgenthau—and slammed him for using the term "temperament," "If you recall the recent confirmation hearings of Sonia Sotomayor, who is a strong woman and a strong judge, and I like to think like myself, a strong woman and a strong judge, and self-made, like me.” Vance said of Snyder, "Let’s have someone who can come to the debate and talk about the policy questions that are in front of us, talk about the future of the office and try to spend less time demeaning the other candidates in the race." He and Richard Aborn also admitted to using cocaine over 30 years ago; Aborn told the News, "Just because I tried cocaine once or twice doesn't mean other people should."

It's August in a city election year, which means many registered Democrats (and Republicans, but mostly Democrats) are receiving campaign mailings from a candidate basically every day. And this weekend, Manhattan DA candidate Richard Aborn sent out one featuring former Vice President Dick Cheney! Featuring Cheney examining a rifle, the flyer says, "One candidate for district attorney has spent 30 years taking guns out of the hands of criminals"—ha!

Former Giants star Plaxico Burress has pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon in 2nd degree and will server 2 years in prison, in what WCBS 2 says is a deal with the Manhattan DA's office. It sounds like a deal, since he was facing 3 1/2 to 15 years on the three charges he was indicted on—"two counts of criminal possession of a weapon and one count of reckless endangerment."

It turns out that the Manhattan DA's office, while investigating the 2007 deaths of two firefighters during a 7-alarm blaze at the former Deutsche Bank building (the fire was started by a construction worker's cigarette), found evidence of a huge check cashing scam. The NY Times reports, "Investigators examined the financial records of the John Galt Corporation, a subcontractor hired to remove asbestos from the building and dismantle it... The investigators discovered that Galt"—later charged with manslaughter for the firefighters' deaths— "was one of 389 construction-related companies that had participated in an unlawful check-cashing operation that lasted from October 2006 until July 2008 and involved about $40 million." Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau said, "They could avoid paying taxes and they could use the cash for a number of illegal purposes, and that’s the subject of a continuing investigation. Why did they want to generate this cash and conceal it?" The owners of two of the check cashing companies were charged with falsifying business records. And for more examination of what a mess the former Deutsche Bank building demolition has been, check out Wayne Barrett's Village Voice cover story from last week, "Even Bloomberg's Department of Investigations (DOI) found last month, in a report barely noticed by the press, that it was a case of death by official dereliction."

Eight months after accidentally shooting himself in the leg (with his own gun) at a Manhattan nightclub, Plaxico Burress is going to testify in front of a grand jury tomorrow. According to the Post, his "attorney, Ben Brafman, hopes that his client can convince the grand jury assembled in Manhattan Supreme Court to forgo an indictment." Brafman said, "Mr. Burress is going to ... tell the truth about what happened that night... He's [also] going to ask [the grand jury] to believe that this unfortunate incident should not be used to ruin his life." The Manhattan DA's office, which wants the former Giants player in to go to jail, is also going to seek charges against Burress's teammate Antonio Pierce, because Pierce took Burress's unlicensed gun back to Burress's NJ home. Giants co-owner John Mara called charges against Pierce "unwarranted."

Two 26-year-old men from the Bronx are accused of orchestrating a wide-ranging counterfeit check scheme. According to the NY Times, "Jasper Grayson and James Malloy...hired bank tellers to photocopy paychecks they were handling, and pass the copies to the two men, who created likenesses using nothing more than laptop computers, paper and printers... Next, the men hired people to deposit the counterfeit checks into their bank accounts and then take out the money, in withdrawals that averaged $2,000 apiece." The Daily News reports the laptops "contained check-making software, stolen bank account info and logos used on counterfeit checks, officials said." And the employers included city agencies (like the NYPD), Bed Bath & Beyond, Diane von Furstenberg, Madison Square Garden, and Montefiore Medical Center. Besides Grayson and Malloy, 16 other people were also charged in the 227-count indictment, but many others could be named later—the pair allegedly hired 950 people to cash the checks. And the Post adds, "Investigators think the men used most of the proceeds to finance a high-flying lifestyle of club-going, Cristal champagne and expensive meals."

Yesterday afternoon, a fire broke out in a century-old barn on the Dutchess County farm owned by Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau. Yes, Morgenthau may be Manhattan's powerful DA, but he's also a farmer—sort of. His family has a working farm, Fishkill Farms. Son Josh Morgenthau, who manages the farm, said the blaze took to the barn "like kindling," and the fire's cause is being investigated. The farm is also notable for some world history: Morgenthau's father was FDR's treasury sceretary, a meeting between FDR and Winston Churchill was held at the farm. Morgenthau is retiring this year and plans to spend more time at the farm.

Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress arrived at criminal court in lower Manhattan this morning and both the Manhattan DA's office and Burress's lawyer agreed to have his gun case adjourned until June 15. Burress remains free on $100,000 bail.

Yesterday, the families of two young children who were crushed to death by an unattended, idling van in Chinatown gathered with other New Yorkers to demand the Manhattan DA's office to prosecute the incident. The NYPD called the January 22 incident an "accident" and did not issue the driver for a neighborhood restaurant a ticket or take his license. The children had been walking on the sidewalk with their pre-school class.

After Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau announced his impending retirement last week, speculation began over who he might support to be his successor—either family friend and former ADA Cyrus Vance Jr. or current deputy DA and "righthand man" Dan Castleman. Well, now the cat is nearly out of the bag: Castleman offered his resignation yesterday, apparently because Morgenthau has chosen Vance.

After much speculation that a light sentence was coming, yesterday a Manhattan court finalized the plea bargain deal that will allow George Anderson get out of jail after a sentence of a mere 15 days for the hit-and-run death of Florence Cioffi. Anderson, a Wall Street CEO, was reportedly drunk at the time of the accident, but his blood alcohol levels were not checked until he was in custody hours later. Outside the court room, Cioffi's fiance told reporters, "The arm of the law was not present in this case."

     

Yesterday, longtime Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau announced that he would not seek re-election this fall. The 89-year-old, who was first elected to the position in 1975, told reporters, "Some people are slow to learn. It took me a long time to realize I was getting older... I recently realized I'm 25 years beyond normal retirement age. I decided I would not push my luck any further." Both the Daily News and Post report how his wife Lucinda Franks "repeated some questions for her hard-of-hearing husband." The Post adds that the press conference was "hastily scheduled" after it broke news of the retirement.

The NY Post reports that Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, who has been the DA for the past 35 years, seek re-election this fall: "Morgenthau has begun privately calling top deputies into his office to deliver the news - which will instantly spark a crowded race for his coveted seat, several sources said... He's expected to make his intentions public in the next few weeks, the sources said, but hasn't yet settled on who he'd prefer to see as a successor." Morgenthau will be 90 years old this August. As recently as yesterday, Morgy told the Post he was still planning another go, though, "Of course that could change. But anything could change" (last year, he told the Daily News that he planned to run again, but added, "If I broke both my legs I might not run, but if I broke one, I would run").

A NJ lawyer is accused of stealing $4 million "from clients that ranged from handicapped children to the elderly, including one dead client whose bank accounts he supervised." The NY Times reports, "[Steven] Rondos stole more than $1 million from a 32-year-old patient with cerebral palsy and spastic quadriplegia, prosecutors said. In another case, he took a total of more than $400,000 from a person with bipolar depression, before and after the patient died in 2007." And Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said, "The son of a b---- was a pretty vicious guy, preying on incapacitated people." Rondos, whose law firm is in Brooklyn, was appointed by courts to manage money for children afflicted with cerebral palsy from medical malpractice as well as elderly people with mental impairments, but he dipped into his clients' money to pay off the mortgage of his Ridgewood, NJ home and renovate it (he needed a new kitchen and home theater). Rondos' lawyer says his client has depression and is taking medication for it.

Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau slammed the crane rigger who was responsible for a crane at a Midtown construction site, calling his actions "shocking" and "outrageous." The crane collapsed on March 15, killing seven people, and yesterday Morgenthau (pictured) announced that William Rapetti would be charged with manslaughter, as well as criminally negligent homicide, reckless endangerment and second-degree assault.

Last year, a seven-alarm fire, started by a construction worker's smoking, broke out at the former Deutsche Bank building. Two firefighters died in the blaze, and now three construction supervisors overseeing in the building's dismantling are expected to face manslaughter charges from the Manhattan DA's office today.

Over a year after a seven-alarm fire took the lives of two firefighters at the former Deutsche Bank building, the Manhattan DA's office will only bring manslaughter charges against the subcontractor, according to the Daily News. And the city and state won't face charges, "although several agencies were supposed to ensure the Ground Zero building was safe." While a construction worker's smoking caused the fire, there were numerous safety violations, from the dismantled standpipe (which brings water up in case of fires), blocked exits, and a lack of inspections to make sure the dismantling was being handled carefully. The subcontractor, John Galt Corp., had no experience with projects of this scale (the building was being dismantled after contamination from the 9/11 attacks) and was essentially laundering "millions through various shell companies." A source told the News, "The problem with indicting anyone in the city is that the city itself has sovereign immunity," meaning "prosecutors would have to prove a city employee's actions directly caused the deaths." So, the city or state may not have researched John Galt Corp.'s creds, but it's no big deal!

Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau turned 89 years old today and shot down any rumors of retiring. He told the Daily News, "It's my intention to run," regarding the 2009 election, "I'm not announcing my candidacy today, but I intend to run." And food for thought for those thinking of running against him: Morgenthau also said, "If I broke both my legs I might not run, but if I broke one, I would run."

The NY Times reports that the Manhattan District Attorney's office has opened up a criminal investigation into Friday's construction crane collapse on East 91st Street that left two dead. Apparently, it's possible that the crane, manufactured by Kodiak, could be the same one, as the Daily News reported yesterday, that "cracked at a project on W.46th St. and was welded before it was sent to the doomed building at 333 E. 91st St."

Yikes: The Manhattan DA's office charged a well-known lawyer with forcible touching, third-degree sex abuse and harassment after two female employees complained about his advances. The lawyer, 68-year-old Richard Dienst (father of WNBC reporter Jonathan Dienst), did not enter a plea during his arraignment yesterday.

Alycia Lane, the Philadelphia newswoman who punched a female NYPD police officer, was relieved after appearing at Manhattan Criminal Court today. The Manhattan DA's office basically dismissed her case, for an "adjournment in contemplation of dismissal."

Despite some bizarre behavior during his arraignment earlier this week, David Tarloff has been found fit to stand trial for the cleaver-hacking murder of psychologist Kathryn Faughey. The initial target of Tarloff's wrath was Dr. Kent Shinbach, whose office was next door to Faughey's. Shinbach apparently had Tarloff institutionalized some years ago and the schizophrenic man had undergone electro-shock treatments.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration proposed $464,600 in fines over two contractors' safety lapses at the Deutsche Bank building. Contractor Bovis Lend Lease, which had been retained by the state government, and its former subcontractor John Galt Corporation had been dismantling the building when a seven-alarm fire, caused by a worker's smoking, broke out last August.

As David Tarloff is held in the murder of therapist Kathryn Faughey, the Manhattan DA's office is planning on showing how the crime was premeditated. Tarloff was charged with second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder (when he slashed another doctor, Kent Shinbach), and first-degree assault.