New York City Criminal Defense Arraignment Lawyer

Newark airport employee allegedly stole NYC murder victim’s identity prior to death

New York Criminal Defense Lawyer — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:55:14 +0000

NEWARK — A security supervisor at Newark Liberty International Airport accused of stealing the identity of a murdered Queens man two decades ago began using the victim’s identification three weeks before he was killed, officials said today.

The supervisor, Bimbo Olumuyiwa Oyewole, 55, of Elizabeth, a Nigerian immigrant living in the United States illegally, is accused of using the birth certificate and Social Security number for Jerry Thompson, who was shot and killed in Queens on July 20, 1992.

Thompson’s murder remains unsolved and officials said one aspect of an ongoing investigation involving several federal and state agencies is whether Oyewole played any role in the 45-year-old man’s death.

Cops to get training on un-fare searches of taxi passengers

New York Criminal Defense Lawyer — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:48:51 +0000

The city will train cops so they don’t unjustly search cab passengers whose drivers give police permission to pull over their cars, a civil liberties group said Tuesday.

In settling a federal lawsuit, the city agreed to pay $10,000 each to Terrence Battle, a former manager at FM radio stations Hot 97 and KISS, and Munir Pujara, a lawyer, the New York Civil Liberties Union said.

The city also agreed to pay $37,500 in legal expenses.

Cops also now will be taught at the Police Academy that they are not allowed to frisk cab passengers unless the driver indicates there is a problem or if police believe a crime is being committed. Officers also cannot ask a passenger for identification if the passenger decides to leave the scene.

For New York Police, There’s No End to the Stops

New York Criminal Defense Lawyer — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:46:16 +0000

New York City’s public advocate, Bill de Blasio, put forward a modest proposal last week. He wants the Police Department to include the number of street stop-and-frisks, which is in a state of geometric expansion, in its weekly review of precinct crime statistics.

A few hours later, a cannonade sounded at City Hall.

“When Bill de Blasio last served in the city’s executive branch, there were 2,000 murders a year,” Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson said. “Mr. de Blasio may be nostalgic for the days when the A.C.L.U. set crime policy in this city, but most New Yorkers don’t want rampant crime to return.”

Two thoughts occurred. I could not recall when the A.C.L.U. set crime policy here. Fearing I’d burned another hole in my brain pan, I called Christopher Dunn of the New York Civil Liberties Union.

Mob boss convicted of racketeering, acquited of cop’s slay

New York Criminal Defense Lawyer — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:44:11 +0000

The widow of slain cop Ralph Dols cried out in anguish Wednesday when she learned that two mobsters were acquitted in the murder of her husband.

“How is that possible?” Kim Kennaugh said when reached by phone after the split verdict in the trial of Thomas (Tommy Shots) Gioeli and Dino (Little Dino) Saracino.

“I don’t understand. Oh my God! This is unbelievable!”

Gioeli and Saracino, charged with six murders between them, were convicted only of racketeering counts that carry a maximum of 20 years in prison instead of life without parole.

NYC complex in doghouse over strict no-pet rule

New York Criminal Defense Lawyer — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:20:00 +0000

NEW YORK (AP) — A sprawling housing complex in the Bronx has been fined $85,000 for not allowing residents to keep emotional-support dogs.

The Daily News reports (http://nydn.us/IXIyRF ) that the company that manages Co-op City was fined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for denying two clinically depressed residents their pets.

Co-op City has a strict no-dog policy, but federal law requires housing providers to make accommodations for disabled residents.

A HUD official tells the newspaper that emotional-support pets are no different from service dogs for blind people.

Crane owner cleared in deadly 2008 collapse in NYC

New York Criminal Defense Lawyer — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:02:49 +0000

NEW YORK – A construction crane owner was acquitted of manslaughter and all other charges Thursday in the May 2008 collapse of a 200-foot-tall rig that snapped apart, killed two workers and fueled concerns about crane safety.

James Lomma sat expressionless and looking frozen as a judge announced his verdict in the only criminal trial stemming from the accident on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Lomma chose not to have a jury in the two-month trial.

The slain workers’ relatives shook their heads as Lomma and his two companies were acquitted. They, their lawyers and a city councilwoman called the verdict an alarming signal for the safety of those who work and live around cranes.

Roommates Guilty of Taking $285,000 Joyride to NYC on Stolen Check

New York Criminal Defense Lawyer — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:59:14 +0000

Two roommates were convicted Thursday of stealing a check from a Newport Beach law firm, forging its value to more than $285,000 and using the cash to splurge on a luxury trip to New York for themselves and their friends, the district attorney’s office reported.

Alexa Antonella Polar, 35, of Garden Grove pleaded guilty to one felony count of forgery, and her ex-roomate Robin Johzen Pabello, 34, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of forgery and a sentencing enhancement for white collar crime over $100,000. Both were sentenced to three years of formal probation and 305 days in Orange County Jail with credit for time served.

At the time of the crimes, the women were living together in Garden Grove. Between Sept. 21 and Nov. 16, Polar and Pabello stole a $19,500 check made payable to the law firm where Polar worked as a paralegal. They removed the payee’s name and the dollar amount, then substituted in Pabello’s name and changed the value to about $285,000.

Judge dismisses charges against NYC’s alleged well-dressed groper

New York Criminal Defense Lawyer — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:57:21 +0000

NEW YORK — The man wrongly accused of being New York City’s best-dressed groper had his name cleared Monday.

A Manhattan criminal court judge dismissed all charges against Karl Vanderwoude, who had been accused of forcible touching, unlawful surveillance and sexual abuse last month after women were attacked in some of New York’s ritziest neighborhoods.

“I’m really glad this has come to an end,” Vanderwoude said outside the courthouse. “It’s been hard.”

Prosecutor Kevin Rooney revealed Monday that police picked up Vanderwoude after an anonymous tip from a Crime Stoppers caller who saw footage of a well-dressed man whom police suspected in the string of attacks.

Former NYC Police Officer Michael Peña Sentenced to 75 Years for Brutal Sex Crime

New York Criminal Defense Lawyer — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:55:40 +0000

A now-former New York City police officer will likely spend the rest of his in jail for brutally raped a woman who was on her way to work.

Michael Peña, 28, has been sentenced to at least 75 years in prison – 3 consecutively running terms of 25 years to life – for raping a 25-year-old schoolteacher on August 19.

While walking to her first day of work, the victim was snatched off the street by Peña in the early morning. He was reportedly drunk after a morning spent drinking and allegedly raped the woman at gunpoint, using his NYPD-issued pistol.

Lawyer: Reputed NYC mobster quit crime family

New York Criminal Defense Lawyer — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:46:58 +0000

NEW YORK — Borrowing a legal strategy that worked for John “Junior” Gotti, an accused killer for the mob is defending himself against murder charges in federal court by claiming he quit the Gambino organized crime family nearly a decade ago.

One-time Gotti associate John Burke realized “his so-called friends were not that at all. … that there is nothing glamorous about the mob,” defense attorney Richard Jasper said Tuesday in opening statements at Burke’s trial.

The defense wants to convince a jury that the 51-year-old Burke officially “withdrew” from his life of crime in 2003, around the time he was convicted in a separate state case. Prosecutors are seeking to prove that he was part of a racketeering conspiracy — including three murders — that began in 1980 and lasted until at least until 2008.

Prosecutors alleged that Burke used a shotgun to kill a rival in 1982, months after the man shot and wounded him. They also have accused him of participating in two gangland hits in the 1990s, including a drug dealer named Bruce Gotterup.