By STEVEN FERRARO & LOGAN WILBER
A police detective testified on Thursday in Brooklyn Supreme Court that a gun-toting Queens man accused of killing a security guard and severely wounding another in an apparent case of mistaken identity two years ago had confessed to the crime.
In addition to his verbal confession, Det. David Centeno said on the first day of testimony that defendant Antonio Mahon, 22, wrote letters to the families of his two victims apologizing for the incident. Until being alerted to the letters sent to the families, police in Brownsville’s 73rd precinct had no suspect in the shootings.
Mahon allegedly told Centeno that he and friends were driving to his aunt’s house when he saw the two men standing outside the Riverdale Osborne Towers in Brownsville. Mahon confused them for two individuals involved in an earlier dispute and fired shots at them. It was not until he saw news of the shooting, that Mahon realized he had targeted the wrong individuals.
Aaron Locklear was shot in the neck and the second shooting victim, James Merced was shot in the back and ended up paralyzed below the waist. Locklear was removed from life support on Dec. 4, 2014 and died shortly thereafter.Mahon allegedly confessed to the shooting and told Centeno he always carries a gun with him because “he has beef on the street,” Centeno said.
Mahon is charged with second degree murder and 17 other charges, including burglary, criminal possession of a weapon, trespassing and menacing, in connection to the shooting on Nov. 28, 2014.
By JON REMACHE
Mayor Bill de Blasio ducked a barrage of questions from reporters at a raucous press conference on Thursday and steadfastly denied any wrongdoing in the wake of news that federal and state prosecutors had dropped ongoing investigations into his fund-raising tactics while criticizing him for appearing to violate “the intent and spirit of the law.”
Both Manhattan DA Cyrus R. Vance Jr.’s and acting U.S. Attorney Joon Kim’s decisions were based on the absence of “evidence of personal profit” and the difficulty of proving the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
But the prosecutors’ unusual statements on de Blasio’s and his associates’ actions during the 2013 mayoral race and 2014 state senate races provided the mayor with something less than a clean bill of health, noting, in Vance’s words, that dropping the investigation was “not an endorsement of the conduct at issue.”
Still de Blasio portrayed the news as a complete vindication.
“We comported ourselves in a legal and appropriate and ethical manner,” he told reporters. “This situation has been resolved and now we gotta get back to work serving the people in New York City 24/7.”
As to the suggestions by prosecutors of ethical if not legally-provable lapses, the mayor said, “I believe they have an assessment. I don’t share their assessment, but most importantly they confirmed they had to make a judgment on whether anything inappropriate happened and their judgment was it did not.”
The mayor grew testy when pressed by reporters to say whether he would reform his tactics in future election campaigns, asserting that it was normal practice to serve constituents whether they were donors or not.
But, he added, “we have no plans to use that methodology going forward.”
The initial subject matter of the press conference — President Trump”s plan and it’s “negative” effect on local programs — was lost in the shuffle.
The focus always shifted to de Blasio’s upcoming re-election campaign which he portrayed by saying, “more and more of our energy is going into grassroots donations.”
By DEREK NORMAN
A Brooklyn federal jury began on Thursday deliberating the case of an Al Qaeda-linked man charged with conspiring to kill U.S. nationals and blow up a U.S. embassy.
The accused, Adnan Ibrahim Harun, a Saudi-born man from Niger was extradited to the United States on terrorism charges after he was found aboard a refugee boat by Italian officials in 2012. Harun is accused of killing two U.S. serviceman in gunfire exchange outside of an Al Qaeda training camp along the Afghanistan/Pakistan border. Other charges include conspiracy to bomb a U.S. facility, after he was said to have been planning, scoping out and seeking explosives in Nigeria.
“’I want to give you a history on how I entered into terrorism….’ These are the defendant’s words,” said Melody Wells, the Asst. U.S. attorney in her closing argument. “This is a man proudly confessed, who made terrorism his life’s work, and who dedicated his life to bloodshed.”
The prosecutor’s closing statement recalled all of the events that led to charges, from the first Al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan that the defendant lived, to the firefights with U.S. soldiers, to his initial arrest trying to cross into Libya.
The defendant, who has a violent and unruly habit of disobedience in the courtroom, refused to attend the session today in what was said to be “defiance of Western imperialism,” but listened to each statement from his detention cell. Because Harun doesn’t speak English, he had to listen to the courtroom speeches via two translators relaying the statements in Hausa, the regional Niger/Nigeria language.
In hopes of swaying the jury, Wells frequently humanized the charges by recounting personal moments shared in testimony by soldiers who experienced the battles that involved Harun, as well as the attacks on Sept. 11, which occurred while Harun was living at Al-Farouq, Afghanistan. In his confession, Harun recalled the celebration just before he began his jihadist training.
The prosecutor began to retell the April 2003 story of a battle between U.S. soldiers and the jihadists that killed two servicemen, through the testimony of fellow soldiers who were there.
“Ladies and gentleman, the efforts of the defendant and those fighters to kill Americans worked,” said Wells. “The earth shook around them, like a rain shower when the drops bounce up, but instead of rain, it was bullets and grenades.”
To this same story, an excerpt of the defendant’s confession was shown on a screen that read, “because we were face to face, that is when I opened up my Kalashnikov and started firing. I started throwing grenades one after another. God is great.”
Evidence was displayed throughout the session, with items like jihadist address books, journals and Quran with Huran’s fingerprints, all which were found at an Al Qaeda encampment.
The defense counsel waived their closing argument, which sent the court into a 30-minute recess, as the prosecutor worried that it could later lead to grounds of an appeal.
The last thing Wells said to the jury before they went into deliberate was simple; “we have shown you evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty. Please convict him.”
By ISRAEL SALAS-RODRIGUEZ
The Queens man accused of stabbing to death another man in an argument outside a karaoke lounge in Midtown’s Koreatown recently was arraigned on Thursday in Manhattan Supreme Court.
James Park, 28, appeared in court for the first time since the accusation of fatally stabbing, Howard Chi, 33, on Jan. 29. Park pleaded not guilty to second degree murder charges. Judge Melissa Jackson denied bail because the defendant was deemed a flight risk because of his connections to Korea from where he has lived in the past.
Assistant DA Emily Ching said she received a DNA report from the crime scene Monday afternoon, and has requested a DNA sample from Park, who now has a ten-day deadline to respond to the request.
The crime occurred outside of Maru Karaoke on W. 32nd St. near Fifth Ave. Police said Chi got into an argument with Park and his cousins moments before the attack. The criminal complaint against Park says witnesses saw him wearing a black mask over his nose and face as they watched both men stand face to face.
According to Ching, Park sought out the victim and repeatedly stabbed Chi in the chest, puncturing his lung and heart. Chi was rushed to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead an hour after the incident occurred.
Ching said Park purchased a one-way ticket to Hong Kong just a few hours after the 5 a.m. slaying. Police were able to track down Park’s residence as they spotted him loading luggage into a car, along with $2,500 cash on him.
Park’s was due back in court April 6.
By DEREK NORMAN
Taxi drivers, union representatives and supporters took to the Midtown concrete Thursday to protest Cuomo’s effort to pass the “upstate bill” that would allow companies like Uber and Lyft to operate throughout New York state.
The “upstate bill” would give the popular ride-hailing companies the green light to operate in largely untapped markets such as Buffalo, Rochester and other counties. While the yellow cab industry is restricted to stringent regulations, drivers fear that the more lax companies like Uber will steal their fares in the already-crowded city streets.
“If this bill gets passed it will destroy the professional driver industry,” said Asim Akhtar, of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance. “Uber has said that it provides drivers a temporary job, because for them it’s just a supplementary income. As opposed to us, these are our full time jobs. These are our careers.”
The companies known as Transportation Network Companies, or TNC’s, which use mobile apps to connect with customers, are currently not authorized to operate in many counties outside of New York City. Advantages that TNC cars have over yellow cabs is the ability to drive their personal cars, which cuts out factors like the $500-a-month car insurance and the thousands of dollars for a certified medallion.
“They want a special law that says they don’t have to follow the law and that’s basically the Uber way,” said Bhairavi Desai, the executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance. “For the thousands of men and women who depend on taxi driving for a full time living, this TNC bill would mean an absolute destruction of their full time jobs.”
On the corner of 41 Street and Third Avenue where the demonstration took place, yellow cabs honked relentlessly with fists of solidarity stretched out their windows as they passed their fellow cabbies. Sometimes several enthusiastic cabs passed at a time, which prompted cheers from the modest crowd.
“We don’t need a crap bill from Albany that gives Uber separate standards as if it’s some angel from heaven,” one man shouted. “Shame on them! Shame on Albany!”
Typically, a yellow cab driver earns what averages out to $6 an hour, which is hardly a living wage, according to the union officials. As Uber drivers can charge as low as 70 cents per mile, the financial struggle cab drivers are facing has increased. “What the governor calls affordable and accessible pay, we call poverty pay,” noted Desai.
The emergence of TNC cars came just after the taxi industry spent almost ten years creating the “green cab” sector to operate in the outer-boroughs, which irritated many of the drivers. Many criticisms also targeted the close connection between Uber and Wall Street, which many believe is boosting the bill’s popularity.
“They need to regulate Uber just like us taxis,” said Kumar Arvin, a cab driver for over 25 years. “They are making this place like Afghanistan. This is not Afghanistan; this is the United States where we have systems that protect us. They are bribing everybody and getting past all these laws and regulations.”
The outcome will be decided on March 31, when the “upstate bill” will be voted on in Albany. Until then the road rage between 13,000 yellow cab drivers and 50,000 Uber drivers who occupy New York City will continue.
“I am a face of Uber and I am telling you Uber has now become a cancer,” said Ryan Jacob, a livery driver and former Uber driver of five years. “We’ve made them the company they are in New York and now they’ve betrayed us. It must go down in history as the greatest betrayal to the working class and this industry.”
By JESSICA MARQUEZ
New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer on Thursday denounced reports that President Trump planned to axe the National Endowment for the Arts, labeling the possible budget move “another example of this president building walls instead of bridges.”
In a press conference at the Children’s Museum of the Arts, Stringer warned that such a threat would sever a lifeline to cultural organizations and art programs across New York City, which receives many millions of dollars a year from the endowment. This includes theater, musical theater, museums, and historic sites, all recipients of NEA grants.
Stringer also released a report, Culture Shock: The Importance of National Arts Funding to New York City’s Cultural Landscape¸ outlining the important role the NEA plays here, where 419 of the city’s cultural non-profits received funding from the NEA in 2016.
The report further said that eliminating the NEA would cost the city jobs and and undermine the tourist industry since visitors spend millions of dollars on exhibitions, performances, and other art-related entertainment and recreation.
Stringer stressed the harm the elimination of the NEA would cause to children’s art programs.
“As a parent of a five-year-old and a three-year-old, I can tell you firsthand that in my house art projects are a centerpiece why my house is messy,” Stringer said to laughter. “There’s paint, glue, and sticks all over the apartment but at the end of the day, when I get presented with the latest art project before we have to clean it up, it’s a testament to the critical thinking and creativity of New York city kids.”
The comptroller said he viewed art programs as an essential platform for children to express themselves and critical to the future development of children, especially young children.
By ISRAEL SALAS-RODRIGUEZ
In response to the alarming rise of hate crime in New York City since the start of the new year, several city council members on Thursday called for a $25 million security grant program to protect Jewish, Muslim, and other community institutions.
The coalition of officials was responding to a New York City Police Department report showing a rise in hate crimes and attacks, which, they said, grew by over 56 percent compared to this point in 2016. The increase was led by anti-Semitic crimes targeting Jewish institutions but also included Muslim mosques, LGBTQ communities, as well as immigrants.
“The spike in hate crime in New York City is extraordinarily serious and it requires a serious respond from city government,” said Councilman Rory Lancman at a press conference on the steps of City Hall.
As Councilman Mark Levine was speaking word came that the Jewish Children Museum in Brooklyn was evacuated due to a bomb threat.
“Make no mistake the bomb threats are theorizing our people, they’re theorizing New Yorkers, and we must respond,” said Levine. This is yet another reason for why many of these non-profit institutions are calling for city funding to increase security presence, install security cameras, better lighting, bullet proof glass, and more secure locks.
Brooklyn Councilman David Greenfield said there have been dozens of Jewish community centers in the city that have been victims of hate crimes including several in Manhattan, two in Brooklyn, two in Queens, and over 100 nationwide.
“The threat against churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples are real, but so is the treat against institutions labeled Catholic, Jewish, Muslims, or Sikh,” said CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council, Michael Miller. “We welcome this bill because it fills a gap left by current federal and New York State programs. It will meet a dire need and we urge its passage,”
By PAUL FRANGIPANE
Amid financial investigations into the City College of New York, Interim President Vincent Boudreau is looking to promote financial transparency and increase college morale.
“It’s important particularly at a time when the campus may have been discouraged or dispirited to step into the role and provide a voice for the campus,” Boudreau said in an interview in his office looking out onto the campus.
He has been at City College for 25 years, his entire career, working as a professor of political science, director and dean of various programs and most recently the dean of the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership. Boudreau stepped into the interim president role in November when former President Lisa Coico resigned almost immediately after The New York Times questioned the use of $150,000 in college funds.
Coico and the 21st Century Foundation, a nonprofit fundraising organization affiliated with the school, reportedly are under investigation by federal prosecutors.
Boudreau said he hopes to use his time in the spotlight to introduce new thought on the college’s finances and to tap into the voice of the students to ensure they stay engaged.
Dr. Vincent Boudreau stepped in as interim CCNY president. (Paul Frangipane)
“At City College, someone’s always going to be in the hot seat. At the moment, I don’t mind it that it’s me,” he said. “You can’t ignore something that needs to be fixed, but on the other hand, you’ve got to be relentlessly promoting the good things about your school.”
“If students are paying attention to Twitter, then that’s where my voice is going to be,” he said.
While Boudreau says investigations have benefits, it’s a difficult time at the college. A Feb. 21 New York Times article suggested that administrators at CUNY schools are misusing donations to non-profit organizations connected to individual colleges while the students, of whom more than half have family incomes of less than $30,000, are being shortchanged.
The Times reported that Boudreau released documents in response to a Freedom of Information Law request showing that in fiscal year 2015, 21st Century Foundation gave $2.35 million in salary supplements to dozens of people, including $160,000 to Coico and $38,790 to Boudreau. He posted the documents on the web voluntarily.
“The idea that there’s this money that should have gone to scholarships that’s being taken and given to administrators is, is something not accurate,” Boudreau said. “The real question I think is, ‘is money that was designated for students being re-purposed?’ and the answer is absolutely not. And I don’t think it was re-purposed under the old administration either.”
Being in a temporary position forces Boudreau to focus on the short term, but he is “strongly considering putting an application in” for the presidency.
“If I’m not president, I go back to being Colin Powell School dean. I’ll be thrilled to do that. I love my work there,” he said. “And if it happens I’m in this job, then there’s no after. I’ll just keep doing this work.”
By DEREK NORMAN
John Gotti, 23, grandson and namesake of the late “Teflon Don,” got stuck with eight years in state prison and was required to forfeit over $250,000 in seized drug proceeds at his sentencing in Queens Supreme Court on Thursday afternoon.
The son of Peter Gotti and nephew of John Gotti, Jr. was arrested last August following a long-term investigation by the New York Police Department that produced evidence of a drug operation which raked in approximately $1.6 million worth of Oxycodone sales in Howard Beach and Ozone Park, according to the Queens district attorney.
Gotti’s sentence includes a three-year post-release supervision, and five to seven year bid to be served concurrently for additional charges including possession of xanax, marijuana and driving under a suspended license.
“It was hard to watch,” said the uncle “Junior” Gotti, also namesake of the former Gambino crime family boss, John Gotti. who died of throat cancer in prison in 2002. “I couldn’t keep him off the streets. He’s gonna’ go upstate and do his time.”
Family members of Gotti paced sadly through the courthouse corridors as the case stretched into the second session after a conflict with another inmate prolonged the court officers’ ability to produce the defendant.
The cases against eight other defendants involved in the drug ring, referred to by police as “Operation Beach Party,” are still pending, except for the younger Gotti’s girlfriend, whose case was dismissed.
“From day one, John took responsibility,” Gerard Marrone, the defendant’s attorney, said of Gotti’s reaction to the sentence. “From that point on, it was just about taking something that’s fair.”
Gotti, who faced 25 years to life before a plea bargain, had a drug problem himself and noted that he was getting treatment in jail and will be seeking a rehab program upstate.
“I don’t look at him as a criminal,” said Marrone. “I look at him as a kid who will come out and do the right thing. I don’t think we’ll see him in a courtroom again.”
Family (in the basic sense of the word) members contended that as a third generation Gotti to stand in front of a judge, and carrying the legacy of one of New York’s most notorious last names could have added years to the sentence. According to the attorney, “He’s always had a target on his back,” and will be always be treated more harshly than an average Joe.
Judge Suzanne J. Melendez who presided over the case, wished the defendant luck just before he turned to blow a kiss to his family and exit the courtroom, causing his mother’s eyes to well with tears.
“He’s gonna’ do his time like a man, not like some of those other government cooperatives,” said “Junior” Gotti on the courthouse steps. “It is what it is… the Gotti name.”
Photo of “Junior Gotti” by Derek Norman.
By DEIDRA BRISCO
A charter school advocacy group on Thursday charged the de Blasio Administration with systematically denying charter schools space in public school buildings since taking office in 2014, citing an internal report that indicated that the city denied 79 percent of such requests.
This happened despite passage by the State Legislature in 2014 of a law ensuring that charters have fair access to space, supporters alleged at press conference staged on the steps of City Hall.
‘We had to hold a meeting with families to tell them we might not have a school for their kids,” said Ian Rowe, CEO of the Public Preparatory Network who added that his organization was denied space repeatedly by the de Blasio administration after being approved for a co-location by the Bloomberg administration. He further charged that after Public Prep won their New York State Education Department appeal and secured private space, they almost lost their lease when the Department of Education contested the state’s decision.
Mayoral spokeswoman Freddi Goldstein strongly denied the claims.
“This analysis is deeply flawed and fails to take into account the whole picture,” she said.”Each request for space is individually assessed based on a variety of factors including building layout, type of space, ability to provide a contiguous school environment, and the needs of the greater school community. We work with charter schools as best we can to ensure high-quality school options, including co-habitation in public school buildings wherever appropriate.”
Petra Milteer has a kindergartener and a second grader in South Bronx Classical 3 Charter School. she said her boys are proud they can do addition.
“Learning gives children confidence” she said.
Charter school supporters also charged that South Bronx Classical Charter School was forced to cut down their enrollment to fit the available space. Instead
of a planned 90 seats in their most recent lottery, they could only admit 30 new students.
