NEW YORK — A former captain of the Bonanno crime family has been sentenced in New York to 10 years in prison for his role in a pair of mob hits.

Dominick Cicale was a central witness at the trials of mob boss Vinny “Gorgeous” Basciano. His testimony helped put Basciano behind bars for life.

A Brooklyn judge on Monday gave Cicale credit for seven years he already served. The former Basciano protege had faced life in prison.

He pleaded guilty to killing mob associate Randolph Pizzolo along with Frank Santoro, who had threatened to kidnap Basciano’s son.

Read More : Washington Post

The investigation into whether or now TV anchor Greg Kelly date-raped a woman will be over soon. Kelly is not only the host of “Good Morning New York”, but is also the police commissioner’s son. 

The DA’s sex crime unit is handling the case and is expected to wrap up investigations by the end of the week. 

Speculations have been raised as to the validity of the woman’s claims against Kelly. Kelly maintains that he is innocent. 

The woman, a 30-year-old paralegal, was encouraged to press charges by her boyfriend. The woman, who has not been identified claims that Kelly raped her on Oct. 8, that she then became pregnant and had an abortion. 

In 1983, Charles Dingle, went on a crime spree in Queens. When it was over an, article entitled ‘Headless Body In Topless Bar’ that recieved national attention.

Dingle has been granted a hearing via video conference on Wednesday.  He has been granted hearings in the past and was denied parole.

Dingle was convicted of murder, rape and kidnapping. He shot and killed Herbert Cummings, a bar owner, then kidnapped four women, rapped one of them, and forced another to cut off Cumming’s head. He is currently serving 25 to life for these crimes.

Dingle denies his guilt and refuses to take responsibility for his crimes.

Despite a recent surge in robberies in Syracuse, NY , The Post-Standard’s Reported Crime Database show crime is down from this time last year. There have been seven burglaries in the span of three days last week, but statistics show crime is actually down in the area.

Compared to last year crime in Syracuse is down from 43 burglaries during the week of Jan 10, 2011 to 36 during the same week this year.   Similarly serious crime dropped from 180 that week last year, to 149 in the same week this year.

Serious crime such as larceny and assault have dropped overall from last year, while robbery has slightly increased.

NEW YORK – Prosecutors and defense lawyers are in plea negotiations in a rare state-level terror case against a man charged with building a homemade bomb to try to attack soldiers, police and other government targets, both sides said Monday.

Prosecutors hope either to have a deal or to take the case to a grand jury by March 1, Jose Pimentel’s next court date, Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Brian Fields told a court.

But the DA’s office hasn’t made any firm offer yet, defense lawyer Lori Cohen said.

The negotiations come less than two months into a case that Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other officials have portrayed as a smart use of a state terror law against a man who posed a clear threat, but that some law enforcement officials have said the FBI declined to get involved in because of doubts about the strength of the case.

Read More : CBS News 

Wellington Ramos, 29, and Dijon Thomas, 20, were arrested Wednesday for possession of edged weapons.  The two are inmates at Wyoming County Correctional Facility in NY.

Ramos was arrested for having a weapon hidden in a bathroom vent. Thomas was arrested for hiding a metal razor in his underwear.

Both are facing charges of third degree criminal possession of a weapon. Ramos is facing additional charges of  first-degree prison contraband and third-degree criminal mischief, while Thomas is facing an additional charge of first-degree promoting prison contraband.

NEW YORK –  A man who killed four people in a rampage of stabbings and carjackings across New York City admitted Tuesday to slashing a subway passenger at the end of his violent spree.

Maksim Gelman pleaded guilty Tuesday to attempted murder in Manhattan. He is expected to get 25 years in prison, to be served after his sentence for the killings and other crimes he’d already admitted. He is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday in Brooklyn for those; he faces 100 years in prison.

Read more:  Fox News 

According to police statistics, crime rates in New York didn’t change overall in 2011 compared to 2012. Overall crime decreased by 0.8 percent through December 18 compared with the same period a year ago. There have been 102,445 felonies so far compared with 102,269 by the same time last year.

 Breaking it down further:

• Murders went down this year. There were 490 homicides in New York through Dec. 18 compared with the 519 killings by last Dec. 19. That’s a 5.9 percent decrease. Borough by borough, Brooklyn’s murders are down, Bronx’s are on the rise, and Manhattan’s are about the same.
• Slightly up this year: rapes, robberies, and felony assaults. Slightly down: burglaries.
• Shootings are also slightly up this year, with a 2.8 percent increase. There were 1,465 shooting incidents in NYC this year and 1,425 for this period last year.

Read More : The Village Voice 

NEW YORK — A sentencing for a man who pleaded guilty to a murderous citywide rampage that included stabbings, carjacking and other crimes was postponed Wednesday, but the brother of one of his victims asked the judge for the maximum prison term for him.

Maksim Gelman pleaded guilty last month to murder and other charges in the February 2011 spree, which authorities say involved stabbing his stepfather and two acquaintances to death, fatally running down a pedestrian and attacking a subway rider. No plea deal was offered.

Read More : WSJ

NEW YORK — The NYPD has arrested a city worker for allegedly hanging a black doll from a noose in the park department’s Bronx headquarters.

The Wall Street Journal (http://on.wsj.com/z061pS ) reports police charged 28-year-old Fariz Ahmemulic with aggravated harassment as a hate crime. He was arrested Wednesday in connection with the Dec. 20 incident.

Police say parks department employee Anthony Crum found the doll hanging from a noose inside a door near his work space.

Crum filed a notice of claim Jan. 4. His attorney, Eric Sanders, said he intends to sue the city for $15 million.

Read More : Wall Street Journal