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Bronx Politics and Community events
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Police Commissioner Dermot Shea announced today that Benjamin B. Tucker, who has served as the Department’s First Deputy Commissioner since November 2014, overseeing several of the department’s most integral operations, will be retiring on December 31, 2021.
Under his command, Commissioner Tucker oversees the Department’s Criminal Justice Bureau, Department Advocate’s Office, Force Investigation Division, Labor Relations Office, Office of Professional Development, Risk Management Bureau, Support Services Bureau, Training Bureau, and Trials.
Commissioner Tucker’s decision to retire is a capstone to an NYPD career that began in 1969 and led to his becoming the second-highest ranking departmental official – the NYPD’s 43rd First Deputy Commissioner, and the third African American to hold that position. Born and raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant Brooklyn, his passion for justice has honed an intimate understanding of crime, drug abuse, opportunities for kids, and the fundamentals of the law. Simultaneously, his experience on the frontlines of law enforcement, over an unprecedented period of American history, has given him firsthand expertise on the challenges facing both policing and the public.
“Ben Tucker has been a singularly thoughtful leader, friend, and colleague across the arc of time in our policing profession,” said Police Commissioner Dermot Shea. “Our city, its people, and our Department have benefited for decades from his position as a beacon of integrity and public service. We’ll miss him, but we’ll all be watching with great anticipation for the next storied chapters of his life.”
Commissioner Tucker’s history of service in the NYPD spans the modern era. He worked closely with many former police commissioners, including Benjamin Ward, the city’s first African American police commissioner, who guided his career in the 1980’s including his service as assistant director of the Department’s nascent Civilian Complaint Review Board before it was carved out as an independent city agency in the early 1990s.
The Commissioner also carried out key policy and law enforcement roles in the administration of two past United States presidents – Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama – before he was appointed by former Police Commissioner William J. Bratton to lead the NYPD’s training programs at the beginning of the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio, in February 2014.
“All good things eventually come to a close,” said Commissioner Tucker. “It’s bittersweet to leave a Department I love and helped to shape. But my heart is full and I will forever stand proud as successive generations of New York City police officers step forward, on our foundations, to make even deeper and more lasting contributions to this honorable profession, for our great city and for all its people.”
AG James Recovered Nearly 2,100 Guns Through 18 Buybacks and Other Efforts in 2021
AG James Has Taken Nearly 2,700 Firearms Out of Communities Since 2019
New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced that 56 firearms were turned in to law enforcement at a gun buyback event hosted by her office and the Poughkeepsie Police Department. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) accepts — with no questions asked — working and non-working, unloaded firearms in exchange for compensation on site. Today’s event — which marks the last OAG gun buyback this year — is a part of Attorney General James’ initiative to vigorously combat gun violence and protect New Yorkers throughout the state. In 2021, Attorney General James recovered nearly 2,100 guns from 18 buyback events and other measures that were held throughout the entire state. To date, Attorney General James has taken nearly 2,700 firearms out of communities through gun buyback events and other efforts since taking office in 2019.
“Over the past year, areas throughout New York state have experienced record high levels of gun violence and devastation,” said Attorney General James. “In an effort to crack down on this violence and protect our communities, we held 18 gun buybacks and successfully took nearly 2,100 guns off the streets. Every gun that is turned in at our gun buybacks is a potential tragedy averted and a potential life saved. I thank the Poughkeepsie Police Department and our other partners in law enforcement for their invaluable support and collaboration in keeping our neighborhoods safe.”
“The City of Poughkeepsie Police Department appreciates the assistance and resources made available through New York Attorney General Letitia James for the community beneficial gun buyback program,” said Poughkeepsie Police Captain Richard T. Wilson. “Any gun that is turned in and no longer accessible to those intent on committing acts of violence is a great benefit to the community as a whole.”
Today’s community gun buyback resulted in the collection of 56 guns, including 15 handguns, 33 shotguns and rifles, 6 assault rifles, and 2 non-working guns. Since 2013, the OAG has hosted gun buyback events throughout New York state and has successfully collected nearly 4,700 firearms.
In exchange for the firearms, the OAG offered monetary compensation, in the form of prepaid gift cards, when an unloaded gun was received and secured by an officer on site.
Attorney General James wishes to thank the City of Poughkeepsie Police Department, the Town of Hyde Park Police Department, and the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office for their support and collaboration on today's event.
Gun violence is a public health crisis that is plaguing communities throughout New York, and today’s event is the latest action that Attorney General James has taken to combat this crisis and protect New Yorkers from harm. This year alone, Attorney General James has held 18 gun buybacks across the state and has secured nearly 2,100 guns out of communities through gun buybacks and other measures. To date, Attorney General James has taken a total of nearly 2,700 guns out of communities since 2019.
Discovery Reinforces Need for New Yorkers to Get Vaccinated, Get Boosted and Wear a Mask
Rising Cases Continue to be Traced to Delta Variant
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the detection of three more confirmed cases of the COVID-19 Omicron variant in New York State, for a total of eight confirmed cases. So far, the cases appear unrelated and have been confirmed through sequencing of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. All three of the new cases are from New York City, for a total of seven New York City residents and one from Suffolk County confirmed to have the Omicron variant.
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Michael J. Driscoll, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the unsealing of a Complaint in Manhattan federal court charging BRIAN O’NEILL, the managing partner of O’Neill & Partners LLC (“O’Neill & Partners”) with wire fraud, perjury, and making false statements. As alleged, O’NEILL defrauded two victim companies of over $8 million that he had promised to hold in escrow. O’NEILL was arrested this morning in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and will be presented later today before United States Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Sullivan in the District of Maryland.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As alleged, Brian O’Neill violated the canons of his profession to put self-interest above the interests of his clients; to be blunt, he stole their money. Further, as alleged, when ordered by the federal court in this District to deposit escrow funds he had failed to return to one client, O’Neill misappropriated escrow funds from a second client to make partial satisfaction of the court’s order pertaining to the first client. In addition, as alleged, O’Neill lied to the FBI about his robbing Peter to pay Paul. Now he faces serious criminal charges for his alleged misdeeds.”
FBI Assistant Director Michael J. Driscoll said: “As alleged, Brian O'Neill didn’t just hold his clients’ money in escrow, he held it hostage, and eventually lied to the FBI about his unlawful deeds. His alleged actions weren’t only unethical, they’re punishable by federal law. Today’s charges reflect our ongoing commitment to weeding out criminals who use other people’s money for their own personal gain.”
As alleged in the Complaint unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:[1]
Beginning at least as early as August 2020, O’NEILL engaged in two related fraudulent schemes.
First, O’NEILL engaged in a scheme to defraud a medical equipment company headquartered in Pennsylvania (“Victim-1”) by falsely promising to hold over $5 million of the company’s funds in escrow. Specifically, in August 2020, Victim-1 entered into an agreement with a Florida-based medical wholesale company (“Seller-1”) for the purchase of Personal Protective Equipment (“PPE”). Victim-1 sought to purchase PPE from Seller-1 in order to donate the PPE to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA”) to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Contemporaneously with the execution of the Purchase Order, Victim-1 and Seller-1 entered into an escrow agreement (“Escrow Agreement-1”) with O’Neill & Partners. Pursuant to Escrow Agreement-1, O’Neill & Partners was to act as escrow agent for the transaction and hold $5.1 million deposited by Victim-1 in escrow. Instead of holding the deposited $5.1 million in escrow, however, O’NEILL secretly used the funds to execute personal deals for the purchase of PPE; O’NEILL dissipated the $5.1 million by approximately November 2020.
In November 2020, Victim-1 served a cancellation notice on O’Neill & Partners and Seller-1 cancelling the transaction (the “Cancellation Notice”). In light of the Cancellation Notice, counsel for Victim-1 sent a letter to O’Neill & Partners requesting that the $5.1 million in escrowed funds be returned to Victim-1 within 48 hours, pursuant to the terms of Escrow Agreement-1. When O’Neill & Partners refused to return Victim-1’s deposited funds, Victim-1 filed a civil action in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (the “Civil Action”). In connection with the Civil Action, the Court ordered O’Neill & Partners to deposit the $5.1 million of escrowed funds with the Clerk of the Court. On September 22, 2021, O’NEILL deposited $3.3 million with the Clerk. Because O’NEILL’s deposit was $1.8 million short of the full $5.1 million he had been ordered to deposit, the Court held O’Neill & Partners and O’NEILL in civil contempt and ordered O’NEILL’s arrest.
Relatedly, O’NEILL engaged in a second scheme that defrauded a Hong Kong-based investor (“Victim-2”) out of over $3 million. Specifically, on April 19, 2021, a Delaware-based company involved in the PPE market (“Buyer-2”) entered into a sale and purchase agreement to purchase certain PPE from an Australia-based medical supply company (“Seller-2”). Funding for the deal was to be provided by Victim-2. At the same time that Buyer-2 and Seller-2 entered into the Sale and Purchase Agreement, they, along with Victim-2, entered into an escrow agreement (“Escrow Agreement-2”) with O’Neill & Partners. Pursuant to Escrow Agreement-2, O’Neill & Partners was to hold certain funds associated with the transaction in escrow. Instead of holding the funds deposited by Victim-2 in escrow, however, O’NEILL used $3.3 million of the funds to attempt to satisfy the Court’s order in the Civil Action by Victim-1 directing him to deposit $5.1 million with the Clerk of the Court.
In an effort to conceal his wrongful conduct, O’NEILL made false statements to the FBI and submitted a false declaration, sworn to under penalty of perjury, to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in connection with the Civil Action. In particular, on or about September 10, 2021, O’NEILL stated to FBI agents that the $5.1 million placed in escrow pursuant to Escrow Agreement-1 remained in an escrow account. Similarly, on or about October 1, 2021, O’NEILL submitted a declaration in the Civil Action stating, under penalty of perjury, that he “still [had] control of the $1.8 million of the subject escrow funds . . . remaining to be deposited pursuant to the interpleader ordered by [the] Court.” Neither of those statements was true.
O’NEILL, 48, of Chevy Chase, Maryland, is charged with two counts of wire fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count each of false statements and perjury, each of which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.
Mr. Williams praised the investigative work of the FBI.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is 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.
If Max Scherzer can get over forty-three million dollars a year for three years, I should be able to get at least ten million dollars a year from the Mets. After all how many hundreds of millions of dollars in goodies did I give the Mets, and built them a new stadium.
I watched many Red Sox games, and learned a couple of different pitches. Just ask some of my donors and those who endorsed me when I ran for mayor. I have a great fastball, a mean curve, and my best pitch though is my Splitter, where I divide the media so they don't know what to write about me. It's that pesky reporter from the Bronx who can tell which pitch I am throwing, and how to hit it out the park.
Charlene are you packing everything that isn't nailed down?
Issued Guidance on Limiting Non-Essential and Non-Urgent Procedures at Certain Hospitals Experiencing Limited Capacity
159,560 Vaccine Doses Administered Over Last 24 Hours
49 COVID-19 Deaths Statewide Yesterday
Governor Kathy Hochul today updated New Yorkers on the state's progress combating COVID-19.
"New York State has confirmed five cases of the omicron variant. Let me be clear: this is not cause for alarm, we knew this variant was coming and we expect to see more cases," Governor Hochul said. "I want to remind all New Yorkers to use the tools they have at their disposal to keep themselves and their communities safe: get your vaccine, get your booster, and wear your mask. We will get through this."
The Governor and the Department of Health today also released written guidance on Executive Order No. 11, which enables the Department to protect access to critical health care services by limiting non-essential, non-urgent procedures at certain hospitals currently experiencing limited capacity. While this order is effective today, determinations will be issued to facilities by December 6 to apply to procedures scheduled to occur on or after December 9.
Today's data is summarized briefly below:
The Health Electronic Response Data System is a NYS DOH data source that collects confirmed daily death data as reported by hospitals, nursing homes and adult care facilities only.
This daily COVID-19 provisional death certificate data reported by NYS DOH and NYC to the CDC includes those who died in any location, including hospitals, nursing homes, adult care facilities, at home, in hospice and other settings.