U.N. Employee Charged In Manhattan Federal Court With Fraud Offenses In Connection With Employment Of Bangladeshi Domestic WorkerU.N. Employee Charged In Manhattan Federal Court With Fraud Offenses In Connection With Employment Of Bangladeshi Domestic Worker

  Joon H. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Christian Schurman, Acting Director of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (“DSS”), announced the arrest of HAMIDUR RASHID, an economist working at the United Nations Secretariat ‎in the Development Policy and Analysis Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, on fraud and theft charges in connection with RASHID’s hiring of, and obtaining a visa for, a Bangladeshi national employed as a domestic worker at RASHID’s home in New York, New York.  RASHID was arrested today and will be presented this afternoon in Manhattan federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge James C. Francis IV.       

Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said:  “Domestic workers brought to our country from abroad find themselves in a vulnerable position, far from home and facing a huge power imbalance relative to their employers. As alleged, Hamidur Rashid, an employee of the United Nations, took cruel advantage of his position of power, grossly overworking his domestic worker while paying her well below the wage he reported to the State Department and to the U.N.  Rashid also allegedly obtained the visa for his domestic worker through lies about the wages he intended to pay her, and once she was brought here, he allegedly set up a sham bank account to spend for himself the wages he purported to pay her.  In this country, even the most powerless have the same human rights as the most powerful.  And everyone is subject, in an equal way, to the rule of law.  We thank the Diplomatic Security Service for their commitment to this important principle of justice.”

Acting DSS Director Christian Schurman said:  “As the lead agency in this investigation, the Diplomatic Security Service demonstrated its commitment to maintaining the integrity of U.S. travel documents and the rights of visitors to the United States. We pursue those who fraudulently use domestic worker visas, like the G-5, to manipulate and exploit their employees for personal gain.  Diplomatic Security Service’s strong relationship with our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, continues to be essential in the pursuit of justice.” 

According to the allegations in the Complaint unsealed today in Manhattan federal court[1]:

Employees of international organizations such as the United Nations (the “UN”) may obtain G-5 visas for their domestic workers if they meet the requirements set out in 9 Foreign Affairs Manual (“FAM”) 41.21 and 41.22.  As part of the application process, an interview of the domestic worker at the embassy or consulate is required.  Proof is required that the applicant will receive a fair wage by U.S. and State Department standards.  To apply for a G-5 visa, the visa applicant must submit an employment contract that must include, among other things, the number of hours of work per week and the hourly wage, which must be the greater of the minimum wage under U.S. federal and state law, or the prevailing wage.  The employment contract must also state that, after the first 90 days of employment, all wage payments must be made by check or electronic transfer to the domestic worker’s bank account, to which the employer should not have access.

RASHID made false promises to a Bangladeshi national (“Witness-1”), who was to be RASHID’s domestic employee at an address in Manhattan, New York, about Witness-1’s salary in order to procure her employment in the United States.  In order to obtain a G-5 visa for Witness-1, RASHID caused false statements about Witness-1’s salary to be transmitted to the State Department in the form of an employment contract (the “First Employment Contract”) that satisfied the State Department’s requirements for payment of a lawful wage.  The First Employment Contract stated, among other things, that RASHID would pay Witness-1 $420 per week, which equates to a rate of $10.50 per hour, that the prevailing hourly wage for domestic employees in the New York City metropolitan area is $9.63, and that Witness-1 was not to work in excess of eight hours a day, five days a week.

RASHID then entered into a second employment contract (the “Second Employment Contract”) with Witness-1 with a substantially lower rate of pay, which did not meet State Department requirements for payment of a lawful wage.  The Second Employment Contract stated, among other things, that RASHID would pay Witness-1 $290 per week, which equates to a rate of $7.25 per hour.

Witness-1 worked for RASHID as a domestic employee in New York, New York, from approximately January 2013 through approximately October 2013.  Notwithstanding the terms of the First Employment Contract, Witness-1 worked far more than 40 hours per week, and Witness-1 was paid substantially less than what was required by both the First Employment Contract and the Second Employment Contract.  In order to deceive the UN into believing that RASHID was paying Witness-1 a lawful wage, RASHID created a sham bank account (“Bank Account-1”) purportedly belonging to Witness-1, into which RASHID deposited what would have amounted to a lawful wage.  RASHID then provided bank statements to the UN as proof that RASHID was paying Witness-1 as required.  However, RASHID never gave Witness-1 access to Bank Account-1 and instead used Bank Account-1 as RASHID’s own account.

HAMIDUR RASHID, 50, of New York, New York, is charged with one count of visa fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; one count of access device fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison; one count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory sentence of two years in prison; and one count of fraud in foreign labor contracting, which carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison.  The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Kim praised the efforts of DSS in this investigation.  He added that the investigation is continuing.

The allegations contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Bronx Borough President Diaz, NYC Police Commissioner O'Neill, and Police Foundation launch #MyBronxStory

  New York City Police Commissioner James O’Neill, Bronx Borough President Rubén Diaz Jr., and the New York City Police Foundation today at the Bronx Community College’s Roscoe C. Brown Student Center Playhouse launched #MyBronxStory, a new campaign that aims to strengthen the relationship between law enforcement and the communities they serve. The campaign invites Bronx residents to submit photos, videos, and other media to honor the history of their borough and prominent figures in their communities, as well as help identify ways that their neighborhoods can be improved through engagement with community partners and law enforcement.

To help promote the program to Bronx residents, the New York City Police Foundation and the NYPD are working with local schools, businesses, and organizations. Several of these Bronx community partners participated in the kick-off festivities including groups from the Renaissance Youth Center, Bronx High School for the Visual Arts, and renowned photographer Joe Conzo.

“The people who are most attuned to what’s happening in our neighborhoods are those who live and work here every day,” said Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill. “With the latest installment of this story campaign launching here in the Bronx, members of the NYPD are truly excited about connecting with the public we serve. We previously saw in Brooklyn that the benefit of fostering such positive relationships between the police and the community is a shared responsibility for fighting crime and keeping people safe, in every corner of our great city.”

“#MyBronxStory is a great initiative that brings Bronx residents closer to the police department and to one another by sharing what they love about their neighborhoods and how they are working to make their community’s a better place. I thank New York City Police Commissioner James O’Neill, and the New York City Police Foundation for launching this innovative new program, and for their continued efforts to strengthen police/community relationships,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

Applicants can submit their entries via www.mynycstory.org/bronx through September 29, 2017. The New York City Police Foundation is providing prizes for winning submissions.

“The New York City Police Foundation is thrilled to support #MyBronxStory to see how Bronx residents pay tribute to their neighborhoods, honor the people who make them exceptional, and help identify ways that communities and law enforcement can continue to work together to make the Bronx even stronger,” said Susan Birnbaum, New York City Police Foundation President and CEO. “We are so encouraged by the responses we received with #MyBrooklynStory, not just from residents who sent in submissions, but also the support from local businesses and neighborhood institutions who committed to being active participants in their borough. As we continue to expand the campaign throughout New York City we need everyone – residents, neighborhood leaders, and law enforcement – to work together to make all five boroughs of New York City safe places to live, work, and visit.” 

#MyNYCStory launched in Brooklyn in late 2016 and will expand to all boroughs in the coming months. For more information visit www.mynycstory.org/bronx.

About the New York City Police Foundation

The New York City Police Foundation provides strategic resources in support of NYPD initiatives that make New York City a safer place to live, work, and visit. The NYPD’s budget covers most expenditures for operations, personnel, facilities and equipment, but leaves little to finance innovative initiatives. The Police Foundation invests in programs that are designed to help the NYPD keep pace with rapidly evolving technology, strategies, and training that could not get funded in the city budget.

By supplying seed capital for numerous pilot programs, the NYPD is able to create model programs that stimulate and accelerate innovation to fight crime. Once established, these programs are often expanded and incorporated into the city’s budget, leveraging the Foundation’s initial investment many times over and having a major impact on NYPD operations.

The New York City Police Foundation is the only organization authorized to raise funds on behalf of the NYPD.

Police Foundation’s partnership with the NYPD in action:

·         The Foundation supports counterterrorist initiatives that include the International Liaison Program, which stations NYPD Investigators around the world to gather global intelligence for the protection of New York City.

·         All rewards for the Crime Stoppers and Gun Stop programs, which have assisted the NYPD in solving over 5,600 violent crimes and seizing more than 3,500 illegal weapons, are paid by the Foundation.

·         The Foundation supports the Neighborhood Policing community engagement activities to improve relations between the police and the communities they serve and to continue to drive crime down.

MAYOR DE BLASIO PARTICIPATES IN PRESS CALL URGING ALBANY TO PASS EXTENSION OF MAYORAL CONTROL

  Mayor Bill de Blasio: Thank you so much. Well, I want to welcome everyone and I just want to say a couple of words before we turn to Secretary Duncan, who I’m so pleased has joined us today. Look, this is about 1.1 million public school kids. It is not abstract. It’s very personal, it’s very tangible, it’s very real, and we know from painful experience what happened to our children when we had a system where no one was accountable and no one was in charge. We knew there was a tremendous inequality among schools and neighborhoods. Your education actually was determined by your zip code, and that was a bad thing, and there was a tremendous amount of patronage and corruption. That’s what 32 different school districts meant. It also meant 32 different sets of standards. I’ve said very clearly, some of the things we’re most proud of today in New York City, like Pre-K for All, and Computer Science for All, would not exist if 32 different districts were setting their goals and, in many cases, not being effective enough to put together such big, bold new approached. 

Remember, it was just 15 years ago that our school system barely graduated half of our students. I’m proud to say because of the work of Mayor Bloomberg, and now my administration – both believers of mayoral control – we now have the all-time high graduation rate of 72.6 percent. Our dropout rate is under nine percent compared to not so long ago in this city when it was well over 20 percent. It’s undeniable that mayoral control was at the essence of these fundamental changes. Schools are safer and they’re producing much better results for children. They’re also allowing us to create more of an approach based on equity. So, that’s what Pre-K for All is, and 3-K for All will be. That’s what Computer Science for All is. That’s what AP classes in every high school is – something that would have been unimaginable in the past system – to provide the highest quality courses in every kind of high school, again, regardless of zip code. 

So, I’ll just finish by saying there’s literally two days left. I’ve been in constant touch with the different players in Albany. I’m saying the same thing to every one of them. I can’t remember when an issue of this important went this late in the day with so little action. The support for mayoral control is across the ideological spectrum – 105 CEO’s signed a letter the other day. We had a number of the major labor leaders of this city together here at City Hall yesterday. There is a strong consensus that this is the only governance system that works. 

And now to turn to a man who has done a lot to improve education around the country and understands from a national perspective what actual accountability in education means. A tremendous pleasure to welcome not only a secretary of education, but someone who was one of President Obama’s closest advisors and friends, and I want to thank him for weighing in here at this crucial moment. Secretary Arne Duncan, welcome. 

Former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan: Thanks so much for the opportunity. I’m happy to say a couple of things, and the Mayor and I will obviously take any questions you might have. 

If you sort of step back, broader than the New York context, and just look nationally, I can’t say clearly enough that I wish every political leader was accountable for improving student achievement, whether it’s mayors, whether it’s governors, whether it’s congressmen, senators, the President. And [inaudible] almost no political leaders are accountable for educational achievement. They all love photo-ops, they all love to visit schools, they all love to read to kids and kiss babies, but almost no one’s accountable. And, as a result, the United States ranks 28th, 29th, 30th in access to high-quality pre-K – that’s something Mayor de Blasio’s worked very hard to improve on. We are often 10th, 15th, 20th in terms of reading and math scores. K-to-12 – higher education – we’re 12th internationally. So, at no level relative to our international competitors – early-childhood, K-to-12, higher-ed are where we need to be and where we should be. And part of that is structural – almost nowhere are politicians allowed to be held accountable. And part of it, often, candidly, is political lack of courage because education – often K-to-12 education is so difficult, many politicians actually run away from it, to be honest. 

So, here we have in New York a counter-example to that. You have a structure as of today – or, at least, for the next two days – that for the past 15 years where there has been clear accountability. And you have a mayor who actually, rather than running away from that pressure, embraces it. And, for me, this is always about structure in governance, it’s never about this policy or that policy, or this mayor or that mayor. Clearly, the current mayor and the previous mayor in New York agreed on some things and disagreed on many things. But the one thing they both had in common was the courage to put their reputation, their resources, and their political future on the line to fight for kids. And where we have that – that unfortunately is a very unique and rare situation in the United States, and to have it in a place with so many students – as the Mayor said, over a million children who are receiving the benefits of that leadership and that courage and that accountability – to walk away from that makes no sense whatsoever. 

I think in the medical profession they have a basic threshold question of doing no harm. In education, I think we should have that same thing. At a minimum, we should do no harm. And if we were to lose mayoral control in New York for whatever reason, I think it’s unquestionable that harm would be done to children, and that, for me, is untenable. 

So, whatever the political issues are, I count on politicians of goodwill to find a way to resolve them. But to walk away from one of the only places in the United States – obviously such a critically, critically, important city – to walk away structurally from a place where the Mayor can control would be absolutely hurting children and, again, makes no sense to me whatsoever. 

EDITOR'S NOTE:

The above is from a press conference the mayor had on Tuesday.

Engel, Congressional Dems File Lawsuit Against President Trump Over Foreign Emoluments Clause

  Congressman Eliot L. Engel, the Ranking Member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and 195 House Democratic colleagues have filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against President Trump alleging a serious violation of the U.S. Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause. The lawsuit stems from multiple reports that the President is profiting from foreign officials staying at Trump International Hotel in Washington D.C., in addition to entities owned by foreign states leasing space in Trump Tower in New York City. The Foreign Emoluments Clause in the Constitution provides that “no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under [the United States], shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.” 

“By not completely and transparently divesting of his business interests prior to taking office, the President has created significant conflicts of interest that we believe violate the Constitution,” Congressman Engel said. “Foreign entities are staying or doing business at Trump properties as a means of building goodwill with the President and his family. Under this ‘pay to play’ culture, foreign governments are paying the Trump Organization to further their interests—potentially at the expense of the United States. Let’s be clear here: the Office of the President must not be for sale. Our Founding Fathers knew this, which is why they included the Foreign Emoluments Clause in the Constitution. No one should ever be allowed to buy influence in the White House, most especially if you represent a foreign entity. My Democratic colleagues in both the House and Senate understand and believe this fervently. That is why we have taken this important step.”

Save the Date: Hike-toberfest is Saturday Sept. 23rd, 2017

Hike, Eat, Drink & Celebrate with Friends during our new fun fundraiser for the hiking trails of Van Cortlandt Park. Come see why VCP is Where NYC Hikes.

Hikes start at 2pm: Hikers will have the option of going on a 4-5 mile hike throughout the park OR a 2 mile leisurely nature or history hikes. All hikes will be led by guides and take about 2 hours. All registered participants will receive a VCP Where NYC Hikes giveaway. 

Oktoberfest is from 4-7pm: Attendees will receive a Hike-toberfest Souvenir Mug, eat German food by Loreley Restaurant & Biergarten and enjoy local beers served by the Bronx Beer Hall. Special thank you to all the breweries for donating! Yard games will be set up to challenge your friends as you hang out on the Van Cortlandt House Museum Lawn. 

Tickets Available Now Online

or through the mail.

Friends of Van Cortlandt Park

vancortlandt.org

718-601-1553

info@vancortlandt.org

80 Van Cortlandt Park South Ste. E1

Bronx, NY 10463, US 

MAYOR DE BLASIO DELIVERS REMARKS AT RALLY URGING ALBANY TO EXTEND MAYORAL CONTROL OF NEW YORK CITY SCHOOLS

  Mayor Bill de Blasio has Ernest Logan the head of the Council of Supervisors Union that he is speaking to at the rally.

  Ernie, I’ve got thank you for your powerful and passionate voice on behalf of our children. My friends, Ernie Logan has spent literally his entire life supporting our children, and he is retiring as president of CSA this summer. And he’s done an amazing job for his members and for all the children of this school system. But I want to tell you something that Ernie talks about all the time – how it was a teacher who turned his life around.

Ernie Logan’s an educator and a leader in this city. It might not have been that way, but a teacher turned his life around. And that is what we’re talking about today – whether we are going to continue to give our children that chance to be reached by great educators, to be put on a path where they fulfil their potential. That is what is hanging in the balance here – whether our schools are actually going to work for all our children or not. Because in the past they did not work for all our children, and we all saw with our own eyes the past in this city was not fair. It was not just. It was not right.

The rich got richer, the poor got poorer when it came to our school system. There was massive inequality. There were children left behind on a regular basis. There were schools that failed and nobody did anything about it. There was chaos and corruption. That’s what was all too true in too many of our districts. And there was nothing parents could do about it.

And we, in this city, came to the realization that we had been on the wrong path. That too many schools were failing, and too many children were failing, and there was no accountability. Literally no accountability, and it could not go on. And finally almost 15 years ago a change happened – a change that had been overdue for decades finally happened.

And what we have seen in the last 15 years has been breathtaking. Fifteen years ago we barely graduated 1 out of every 2 students from our high school. That was what was normal in New York City – about a 50 percent graduation rate. It was normal that our children didn’t do well enough, and somehow it got accepted. That’s less than 15 years ago. Today, due to what mayoral control allows in terms of speed and action and accountability – the ability to choose a great chancellor and let her do her job.

The graduation rate is one part of the puzzle. The dropout rate was the other piece of it. We used to talk about the dropout rate all the time in this city – in the 60s, in the 70s, in the 80s, in the 90s we talked about the dropout rate because 20 percent, 25 percent, 30 percent of our kids were dropping out. Never coming back.

We have more work to do. But at the end of the last school year only nine percent of our kids had dropped out – only nine percent, and we are on the right path. And year after year our students performed better. Year after year more of our students are going to college. But they’re not just students of one background. They’re students from every neighborhood, every zip code, every race, every ethnicity, every language because mayoral control also opened the doors for greater equity. The resources that we are putting into our schools for pre-K for all, for after school for all middle school kids, for the single shepherd initiative, for 3K coming up ahead – they will help to even up the score and give schools and districts that never got their fair share a chance to finally excel. That’s what this is about.

There’s only three days left. Three days left. Our children’s futures hang in the balance. Three days left – zero hour is coming in Albany for our children, and here’s the simple answer.

I say this to the Senate, the Assembly, and the Governor – get together and pass mayoral control now.

This is something that unites so many of us. And New Yorkers, we have strong opinions, and we often have different opinions from each other, but this is one where you find leaders of all stripes – elected officials, labor leaders, civic leaders, community leaders – in common cause because we do not want to go backwards. When we say chaos and corruption we mean it literally. For everyone who didn’t experience it, let me tell you. There were no guarantees that anything would be done for our children. There were too many places where things were broken, and there was nowhere to stop it.

There was corruption. It was rampant. It was obvious. There was patronage everywhere. Unqualified people got hired all the time. And nothing could stop it. And that hurt our children. That is why you see this outpouring. People who know and do not want to go back – a city that’s finally beginning to get it right on so many other fronts, and this would set us back years.

I want to thank everyone who’s here. Let me note first of all our colleagues from the City Council who have been so supportive.

Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña: Well, first of all, I would like to recommend that our Albany legislatures read Profiles in Courage. This is a very important book that says do what’s right, not what’s politically expedient. And for our children to be held hostage to a system that has by every [inaudible] possible shown success if you look at every single criteria of what you need to do in an education system.

We’ve improved the graduation rate, we’ve reduced the dropout rate, we have put more students in college that are college ready than ever before. We have trained more teachers, we have filled in more vacancies, we have 600 teachers going into the Bronx alone from our teaching fellows. We have insured that all superintendents are held to a higher standard, that all teachers have the materials in their classrooms that they need to be effective teachers. We have made sure that parents receive not only what they need in English but we have now opened workshops in every single language that is a predominant language in New York City. That’s our report card, and when you get a good report card you get promoted.

And if you also look at the two things that are most accountable, we have insured that many parents now have a quality review where they’re allowed to give their impression of their respective schools. And don’t you think that I don’t read these quality reviews very deeply, and visit certain schools when I don’t thinks are going correctly.

We have also decided that there are some schools that need more help than others. Those are called renewal schools. But look at the other things besides accountability; if you’re going to run a business you need stability. Who is going to come and apply for a job when they don’t know who’s in charge? And in this system, the way it is right now, we’re in charge. And that makes for us to be accountable for the people who want to come and work; they know when they come to New York City what they’re going to come for.

Also, I don’t want to be too paranoid but I always have to ask myself is there a conspiracy theory here? Is what they say why they’re not voting for this, the reason they’re not voting for this. Is it about not having a New York City that works well for all kids?

I was a superintendent, I was a regional superintendent, I was a principal. I know what happens in a system where you can literally work on someone’s campaign and the next thing you knew you’d became a principal, an assistant principal.

By the way, all of you reporters, all you have to do is to your homework and that’s very, very evident. So is that what we want to go back to? Or do we want to make sure that everyone who’s a teacher in our school, an assistant principal, principal is the most qualitied to be there. And then also is held accountable by me and their superintendent.

We have a very clear hierarchy right now. There is a Mayor, there is a Chancellor, there is a superintendent, there are the principals, there are the teachers. It’s very clear. We don’t have all these other people coming in and trying to take a piece of this because of what’s in it for them.

So for me, I just hope that the people in Albany understand. Stand up, be courageous, and make believe that you’re voting as if your children and your grandchildren depended on it.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

The above is taken from a rally at City Hall yesterday by the mayor for support of continued Mayoral Control of the public schools. 

The mayor took a few questions from reporters, and I unfortunately received word that the rally was to be held in Albany not at City Hall so I was not in attendance.

I was a member of the Chancellor's Parent Advisory Council when current Chancellor Farina was Deputy Chancellor under then Chancellor Joel Klein. When Mayoral Control came in parents were taken out of the picture as Parent Coordinators were hired at every school, because in the words of then Deputy Mayor Ed Skylar 'The position of Parent Coordinator was created because Principals are to busy to deal with parents'. 

Nothing has changed under the de Blasio administration. There is no accountability, and Mayoral Control must end.

News from the 38th Senate District

For years, countless students, teachers, parents and activists have tirelessly advocated for a solution to address the struggles within the East Ramapo Central School District and recently we have taken steps toward achieving it.

That is why it is so crucial for the residents of East Ramapo School District to pass the school budget today. Polls are open until 10 PM tonight.  If you have questions regarding registration or where to vote, you may call the District Clerk's office at 845-577-6015.  

The budget proposal respects the property tax cap and maintains momentum toward rebuilding public education.  

Over the last few years with state oversight and additional funding, the East Ramapo community has been given hope for a better future. By supporting the school district's budget today, we can continue to work together to provide our school district with the tools it needs to succeed and develop the leaders of tomorrow.

Sincerely,

David Carlucci

New York State Senator

38^th Senate District

EDITOR'S NOTE:

There is no Mayoral Control here or in any other School District outside of New York City.