Friday, May 4, 2018

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW - COUNCILMAN REV. RUBEN DIAZ INVITES YOU TO CELEBRATE CINCO DE MAYO WITH REAL BULLS


You should know that El Festival-Jaripeo will be coming to the Bronx to my Council District to celebrate el Cinco de Mayo.

There will be musical groups such as the Alacranes, Sonora Dinamita, Los Principes, and many other Mexican musical groups that will be entertaining the community. There will be Mexican folklore dancing groups and a live rodeo with real cowboys.

This activity will take place tomorrow, Saturday, May 5th at noon at 2069 Bruckner Blvd Bronx, NY. As a Council Member representing the District, it is an honor for me to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with such a tremendous event and unique activity.

I am Council Member Rev. Ruben Diaz, Sr and this is what you should know.

For more information please call 646-408-6587 / 646-281-2094 / 212-804-8998

I am Councilman Rev. Rubén Díaz, and this is what you should know.

49th Precinct 30th Annual Fellowship Breakfast Conference on Friday, May 18th, 9:00 AM at Maestro's,


49th Precinct 30th Annual 
Fellowship Breakfast Conference
*** On Friday, May 18th, 9:00 AM ***
At Maestro’s, 1702 Bronxdale Ave. 
RSVP by May 10th (Det. Jay Sturdivant - PO David Lepore (718) 918-2025)

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The 49th Precinct NYPD
Commanding Officer, Captain Thomas J. Alps
Precinct: (718) 918-2000 
Emergency: call  911 Non-Emergency: call 311
Community Affairs: (718) 918-2025 
Crime Prevention: (718) 918-2026

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW By Councilman Rev. Ruben Diaz - Why Not Staten Island?


  You should know that it seems NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio wants to dump everything on the residents of four boroughs, exempting Staten Island from the pain & suffering he is inflicting on others.

It is important for you to know. First, the Mayor wants to close Rikers Island – House of Detention. In order to do that, our beloved Mayor plans to build houses of detention in different boroughs. He will build one in the Bronx, one in Manhattan, one in Brooklyn, and one in Queens, but none in Staten Island. My question is – Why not Staten Island?

Now, our beloved Mayor has come with the idea of opening four different sites where drug addicts may freely inject their daily doses. Once upon a time, these were known in the streets as “shooting galleries”.

My dear reader, I just want you to know that once again the Mayor is proposing to open these “shooting galleries” in only four boroughs of the City. The Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens, but for some unknown reason, the Mayor once again proposes to exempt Staten Island. They are being given this exemption even though Staten Island has one of the highest overdose rates in the City. So again I have to question – Why not Staten Island?

It is my opinion that all five boroughs should equally bear the burden the Mayor wants to force on only four boroughs. That way, people will not be asking in the future – Why not Staten Island?

I am Councilman Rev. Rubén Díaz, and this is what you should know.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

We agree 100 PERCENT with Councilman Reverend Ruben Diaz Sr. 

Thursday, May 3, 2018

Former CEO of Volkswagen AG Charged With Conspiracy And Wire Fraud In Diesel Emissions Scandal


  An indictment was unsealed earlier today charging Martin Winterkorn, 70, the former chairman of the management board of Volkswagen AG (VW), with conspiracy and wire fraud in connection with VW’s long-running scheme to cheat U.S. diesel vehicle emissions requirements.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Schneider of the Eastern District of Michigan, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Jean E. Williams of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, and Special Agent in Charge Timothy R. Slater of FBI’s Detroit Division, made the announcement. 
The superseding indictment was issued by a federal grand jury sitting in the Eastern District of Michigan and charges Winterkorn with four counts of violating federal law.  The first count charges that Winterkorn conspired with other senior VW executives and employees to defraud the United States, defraud VW’s U.S. customers and violate the Clean Air Act by making false representations to regulators and the public about the ability of VW’s supposedly “clean diesel” vehicles to comply with U.S. emissions requirements. The remaining three counts charge Winterkorn with wire fraud in connection with the scheme.
“If you try to deceive the United States, then you will pay a heavy price,” said Attorney General Sessions. “The indictment unsealed today alleges that Volkswagen’s scheme to cheat its legal requirements went all the way to the top of the company.  These are serious allegations, and we will prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law.  I want to thank the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, the Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan as well as our partners at the EPA, FBI and in Germany for their hard work on this important case.”
“Volkswagen deceived American regulators and defrauded American consumers for years,” said U.S. Attorney Schneider.  “The fact that this criminal conduct was allegedly blessed at Volkswagen’s highest levels is appalling.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to pursuing accountability for corporate crimes, and the Winterkorn prosecution is a reflection of that commitment.”
“The indictment of former VW CEO Martin Winterkorn should send a clear message that EPA and its law enforcement partners will seek to hold corporate officers accountable for alleged criminal activities at their company,” said EPA Administrator Pruitt.
Today’s indictment of Volkswagen AG’s former CEO, Martin Winterkorn, sends a clear message that businesses both here in the United States and abroad are expected to conduct their business honestly,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Slater.  “Accountability will be sought for any individuals or corporations that cheat American consumers or harm the environment by circumventing the standards set by our legal system.” 
The indictment of Winterkorn represents the most recent charges in an ongoing investigation by U.S. criminal authorities into unprecedented emissions cheating by VW.  In March 2017, VW pleaded guilty to criminal charges that it deceived U.S. regulatory agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB), by installing so-called defeat devices in diesel vehicles emissions control systems that were designed to cheat emissions tests.  The defeat devices consisted of software designed to recognize whether a vehicle was undergoing standard U.S. emissions testing on a dynamometer or being driven on the road under normal driving conditions, in which case harmful nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions increased significantly. 
As part of its plea agreement with the Department, VW paid a criminal penalty of $2.8 billion.  VW also agreed to the imposition of an independent corporate compliance monitor for the duration of its probation, which is at least three years.  Subsequently, Larry Thompson was appointed as VW’s monitor.
Winterkorn, who served as VW’s management board chairman and thus VW’s highest ranking executive from January 2007 until September 2015, is the ninth individual against whom U.S. criminal authorities have announced charges in connection with this matter.  Two former VW engineers, Oliver Schmidt, 48, and James Liang, 63, both German citizens, pleaded guilty to participating in the conspiracy alleged in the indictment and are currently serving sentences of 84 months and 40 months in prison, respectively, imposed by U.S. District Judge Sean F. Cox of the Eastern District of Michigan.  Five additional defendants, including former VW executives and senior managers, were indicted in January 2017, but have not been apprehended.  Similar to Winterkorn, each of them is believed to be a German citizen and to reside in Germany.  Finally, one former manager of VW’s subsidiary Audi AG, Giovanni Pamio, 61, an Italian citizen, has been charged by complaint and currently remains in Germany pending extradition.  
The indictment of Winterkorn alleges that he was informed of VW’s diesel emissions cheating in May 2014 and again in July 2015.  The indictment further alleges that Winterkorn, after having been clearly informed of the emissions cheating, agreed with other senior VW executives to continue to perpetrate the fraud and deceive U.S. regulators. 
As the indictment sets forth, in the spring of 2014 a study commissioned by the International Council on Clean Transportation (the ICCT study) tested road emissions of two VW diesel vehicles sold in the United States.  The results of the study showed significantly elevated NOx levels of the two VW vehicles, with one emitting up to 35 times above the allowable legal limit.  VW management quickly learned of the results of the study and discussed potential consequences flowing from the revelations.  Specifically, the indictment alleges that Bernd Gottweis, a senior manager then responsible for product safety issues, met with employees of the engine development department to discuss the ICCT study.  Upon learning of the facts revealed by the study and the risks facing the company, Gottweis remarked that he needed to speak with Winterkorn immediately.  Shortly thereafter, on May 22, 2014, Gottweis wrote a one-page memorandum describing the results of the ICCT study and warning that VW could not give a well-grounded explanation for the dramatically increased NOx emissions and that it could be assumed that the authorities would investigate whether the vehicles contained test-recognition software.  Gottweis’s memorandum was then attached to a cover note authored by a then-senior VW executive, and addressed to Winterkorn. 
As alleged in the indictment, following publication of the ICCT study in the spring of 2014 the company knowingly continued to deny the existence of emissions cheating in its vehicles until late summer 2015.  Instead, VW sought to deceive U.S. regulators about the causes for the significant discrepancies between emissions tests and emissions values measured on the road.
By the summer of 2015, however, the indictment alleges that U.S. regulators threatened to withhold authorization for VW to sell Model Year 2016 diesel vehicles in the United States until VW answered their questions about the discrepancies uncovered by the ICCT study.  The diesel situation in the United States became increasingly alarming to VW senior management, culminating in a meeting on July 27, 2015 at VW’s headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany, internally referred to as the “damage table meeting.”  During that meeting, which was chaired by Winterkorn and attended by several senior VW executives, engine development department employees, with the help of a PowerPoint presentation, described to the attendees, and Winterkorn specifically: (1) how VW was deceiving U.S. regulators, including precisely what information had been disclosed and what had not yet been disclosed; and (2) the potential consequences of VW being caught cheating. 
The indictment alleges that upon being presented with those and other facts, Winterkorn did not order his subordinates to disclose the cheating but instead agreed to continue to deceive U.S. authorities.  Part of that strategy, which Winterkorn allegedly approved at the July 27, 2015 meeting, and which informed VW’s steps over the next several weeks, included sending Oliver Schmidt to meet with a senior CARB official on Aug. 5, 2015, in order to obtain the release of the Model Year 2016 vehicles without revealing the fundamental reason for the higher NOx measurements on the road: that software had been intentionally installed in VW vehicles so the vehicles could detect and evade emissions testing.  Consistent with Winterkorn’s alleged directive from the July 27 meeting, VW executives also approved a script for an Aug. 19, 2015 meeting with CARB that continued to conceal VW’s cheating.  At the meeting, however, in direct contravention of the instructions from his superiors, a VW employee, in answering a direct question from CARB, revealed that VW had been using software in its 2.0 liter diesel vehicles to cheat U.S. emissions tests.  On Sept. 3, 2015, VW officially admitted that it had installed defeat devices in various 2.0 liter diesel vehicles sold in the United States.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
FBI and EPA Criminal Investigation Division are investigating the case. 

Former Arkansas State Senator And Consultant Convicted For Bribery Scheme


  Former Arkansas State Senator and an Arkansas consultant have been convicted for a bribery scheme in which state funds were directed to non-profit entities in exchange for kickbacks funneled through the consultant’s business, announced Duane (DAK) Kees, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas and Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

Jonathan E. Woods, 40, of Springdale, Arkansas, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit honest services mail and wire fraud in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. §  1349, twelve counts of honest services wire fraud, one count of honest services mail fraud and one count of money laundering.  Randell G. Shelton Jr., 38, of Alma, Arkansas, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit honest services mail and wire fraud in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. §  1349, ten counts of honest services wire fraud and one count of honest services mail fraud. 
“Jonathan Woods abused his position as an Arkansas State Senator by soliciting and accepting kickbacks and Randall Shelton covered it up by funneling the kickbacks through his consulting company,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Cronan. “The Criminal Division is committed to preserving the public’s confidence in our government by investigating and prosecuting corrupt public officials and those that help them conceal their crimes.” 
“Abuse of the public trust cannot be tolerated and must be met with severe consequences.” said U.S. Attorney Kees. “I hope this verdict serves as a warning to all those that have been entrusted with serving the people.”
According to the evidence presented at trial, Woods served as an Arkansas State Senator from 2013 to 2017.  Between approximately 2013 and approximately 2015, Woods used his official position as a senator to appropriate and direct government money, known as General Improvement Funds (GIF), to two non-profit entities by, among other things, directly authorizing GIF disbursements and advising other Arkansas legislators – including former State Representative Micah Neal, 43, of Springdale, Arkansas, to contribute GIF to the non-profits.  Specifically, Woods and Neal authorized and directed the Northwest Arkansas Economic Development District, which was responsible for disbursing the GIF, to award a total of approximately $600,000 in GIF money to the two non-profit entities.  The evidence further showed that Woods and Neal received bribes from officials at both non-profits, including Oren Paris III, 49, of Springdale, Arkansas, who was the president of a college.  Woods initially facilitated $200,000 of GIF money to the college and later, together with Neal, directed another $200,000 to the college, all in exchange for kickbacks.  To pay and conceal the kickbacks to Woods and Neal, Paris paid a portion of the GIF to Shelton’s consulting company.  Shelton then kept a portion of the money and paid the other portion to Woods and Neal.  Paris also bribed Woods by hiring Woods’s friend to an administrative position at the college. 
For his part in the scheme, Neal pleaded guilty on Jan. 4, 2017, before U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks of the Western District of Arkansas to one count of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud.  Paris pleaded guilty on April 5, 2018, before Judge Brooks to one count of honest services wire fraud.  Sentencings will be scheduled at a later date.
The FBI and IRS investigated the case.  

President Of Park Avenue Art Gallery In Manhattan Pleads Guilty To Defrauding Art Dealers And Collectors Of Millions Of Dollars Of Artwork


  Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that EZRA CHOWAIKI pled guilty today to defrauding art dealers and collectors out of millions of dollars by entering into fraudulent agreements with these dealers and collectors to buy or sell artwork through his Manhattan art gallery (the “Gallery”), and using these dealers’ and collectors’ funds and artwork for unauthorized purposes, such as to repay other dealers to whom CHOWAIKI had outstanding debts.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “As he admitted today in federal court, Ezra Chowaiki ran a multimillion-dollar fraud on art dealers and collectors around the country.  In some instances, Chowaiki sold artwork, purportedly on consignment, without the owners’ authorization.  In other instances, he took money from clients purportedly to purchase artwork, and kept the money but purchased no art.  This Office is committed to holding the perpetrators of such fraud responsible and returning these valuable works of art to their rightful owners.”
According to the allegations contained in the Information and other documents filed in federal court, as well as statements made in public court proceedings:
Until November 2017, EZRA CHOWAIKI was the president and the minority owner of a private art gallery located on Park Avenue in New York, New York (the “Gallery”).  CHOWAIKI founded the Gallery in or about 2004, and since that time, CHOWAIKI has used the Gallery to facilitate the purchase, sale, and consignment of works of fine art, as well as for the hosting of various art exhibitions featuring works of art and sculptures by well-known artists such as Pablo Picasso, Alexander Calder, Marc Chagall, Edgar Degas, and others.  CHOWAIKI lost control of the Gallery in or about November 2017 when the Gallery filed for bankruptcy and was taken over by a trustee to oversee its liquidation.
Between at least in or about 2015 and 2017, through the Gallery, CHOWAIKI engaged in a scheme to deceive other dealers and collectors of fine artwork into sending him money or valuable artwork under the false pretenses that CHOWAIKI would engage in legitimate transactions such as the purchase, sale, or consignment of these and other artworks.  In truth, however, CHOWAIKI did not, and often could not, conduct the transactions as promised, and instead kept funds and artwork for himself and the Gallery, or sold or consigned them to others both in and outside the United States, without authorization.  Through these fraudulent transactions, CHOWAIKI fraudulently transferred over $16 million of artwork.
CHOWAIKI, 49, of Brooklyn, New York, pled guilty to one count of wire fraud.  That offense carries a maximum prison term of 20 years.  The statutory maximum penalty is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant would be determined by the judge.
CHOWAIKI is scheduled to be sentenced on September 12, 2018, at 4:00 p.m.  

Mr. Berman praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”).  To date, the FBI has seized millions of dollars of artwork that was fraudulently transferred through CHOWAIKI’s scheme.  Any person who believes he or she is a victim of this crime is encouraged to send an email to NYArtCrime@fbi.gov

Three Men Arrested For Scheme To Defraud Elderly Victims In The Sale Of Worthless Stock


Vladimir Ziskind, a/k/a “Mike Palmer,” Keith Orlean, a/k/a “Jack Allen,” and Kevin Weinzoff, a/k/a “Mike Palmer,” Solicited Stock Purchases from Elderly Victims Using Fake Names, False Information, and Bogus Promises of High Returns

  Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced the arrests of VLADIMIR ZISKIND, a/k/a “Mike Palmer,” KEITH ORLEAN, a/k/a “Jack Allen,” and KEVIN WEINZOFF, a/k/a “Mike Palmer,” and unsealing of a criminal complaint charging ZISKIND,  ORLEAN, and WEINZOFF with conspiracy, securities fraud, and wire fraud in connection with their scheme to target elderly persons to solicit purchases of stock in a series of valueless companies through a variety of lies and misrepresentations.  The defendants are expected to be presented this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Debra Freeman.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “As alleged, the defendants worked together over several years to trick elderly individuals into investing millions of dollars in worthless stock.  The defendants allegedly deceived their victims into handing over their hard-earned money in exchange for nothing but lies and false promises.  Today’s arrests demonstrate that this profoundly harmful and cynical alleged conduct will not be tolerated.”
FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said:  “We take all cases of securities fraud seriously, but there are few fraud schemes sleazier than defrauding elderly victims through deceit and manipulation.  The defendants allegedly solicited more than $2 million in stock purchases from their more than four dozen victims.  While nothing could restore the damage that has already been done, today we begin the process of holding those charged accountable for their actions.”
According to the allegations in the Complaint filed today in Manhattan federal court:[1]
For several years, the defendants operated a fraudulent scheme in which a salesman named “Mike Palmer” would call elderly persons on the phone and offer them what he claimed was a time-sensitive opportunity to buy stock in certain companies.  In fact, there was no “Mike Palmer,” and the salesman was actually VLADIMIR ZISKIND or KEVIN WEINZOFF, who were taking turns using the fake alias.  The purported time-sensitive investment opportunity was also fabricated by the defendants, as the companies in which they solicited investments were actually companies under their control.  In one intercepted phone call conversation, ZISKIND described to KEITH ORLEAN his strategy for a successful investor sales pitch as: “You ram it down their fucking throat.”  In another intercepted call between ZISKIND and ORLEAN, upon learning that a particular victim investor died, ZISKIND remarked:  “I knew I should have pulled the last $10,000 out of him.”   
The most recent version of the defendants’ phony sales pitch included false representations about an impending initial public offering, or “IPO,” for their company, Digital Donations Technologies, Inc.  For example, in April 2018, one of the defendants assured a victim investor that “our company is doing great,” that the company had an offer for an IPO valued at approximately $300 million, and that defendant KEITH ORLEAN was considering a private sale of the company for more than $1.5 billion. In truth, however, the defendants knew that the company had little or no actual commercial value and that no such IPO or sale was taking place.   
The FBI estimates that since April 2014, the defendants have convinced more than approximately 50 elderly persons to purchase stock in companies controlled by one or more of the defendants based on false representations.  The defendants appear to have solicited more than $2 million in stock purchases from victims.
ZISKIND, 49, of Brooklyn, New York, ORLEAN, 60, of Dix Hills, New York, and WEINZOFF, 53, of Brooklyn, New York, are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, one count of securities fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and one count of wire fraud.  The securities fraud, wire fraud, and wire fraud conspiracy counts each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.  The conspiracy to commit securities fraud count carries a maximum penalty of five 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. Berman praised the outstanding work of the FBI.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
 [1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint, and the description of the Complaint set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation. 

Hector Rivera Sentenced To Life In Prison Plus 25 Years For Ordering 2004 Murder Of Jeweler In Midtown Manhattan


  Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that HECTOR RIVERA was sentenced today to life in prison plus 25 years for murder-for-hire, murder-for-hire conspiracy, and use of a firearm resulting in death, in connection with his role in ordering the 2004 murder of Eduard Nektalov, a Manhattan diamond dealer.  RIVERA was convicted following a six-day trial in November 2017 before U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer, who imposed today’s sentence. 

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “Hector Rivera ordered the execution-style murder of Eduard Nektalov, who was brazenly gunned down on a crowded street in midtown Manhattan nearly 14 years ago.  Thanks to the extraordinary work of our law enforcement partners, Rivera will now spend the rest of his life in prison.”
According to the allegations in the Indictment and the evidence presented in court during the trial:
RIVERA was the leader of a violent robbery crew that operated in the Diamond District in midtown Manhattan.  In 2004, RIVERA commissioned the murder of Eduard Nektalov because of a business dispute between Nektalov and one of RIVERA’s criminal associates.  During the evening rush hour on May 20, 2004, a hitman hired by RIVERA followed Nektalov from his jewelry store on West 47th Street.  Less than a block from the store, the hitman shot Nektalov once in the head and twice in the back, in the middle of a crowded sidewalk on Sixth Avenue.  Nektalov was pronounced dead within 20 minutes of the shooting.  RIVERA paid the hitman and another participant a combined total of $30,000 to carry out the murder.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York City Police Department. He also thanked the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the Bronx District Attorney’s Office for their assistance with the prosecution.