Friday, November 1, 2019

Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez Halloween Party



 With a line continuously down the block as children and their parents came from all directions it was questionable if Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez would attend due to an impeachment vote in Washington, and bad weather in both Washington and New York. 


Above and Below - Children go around and play in the middle area set up waiting for AOC.





Above and Below - Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez would make the event by the midway mark, and everyone wanted their picture with AOC.



Al Shaib Community Peace Meeting




  Al Shaib President Yaseen Shaibi tells of some of the accomplishments of guest Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark at the monthly community meeting. DA Clark would then get up to speak about her first term as Bronx DA, and what lies ahead for her next term. DA Clark is running on the Democratic Party line with no opposition.


Above - District Leader John Perez a regular at the community meetings gives some insight as to what is going on in the area.
Below - Shiek Musa gives an overview of the job of Bronx District Attorney.




Above - Bronx District Attorney Clark took questions, here answering a question about the new no cash bail law recently passed in Albany, When questioned about repeat offenders, she said that she did not write the new laws, but has to be guided by said new criminal laws,
Below - A group photo with DA Clark.



Bronx Chamber of Commerce Halloween Party



  Early on at the Bronx Chamber of Commerce Halloween Party are (L - R) Darry Saldana, Lisa Sorin, June Eisland, Anna Reyes, Vanessa Baijnauth, and Dolores Saldana.

BRONX VETERANS DAY PARADE November 2nd


The Bronx Veterans Parade will be taking place Saturday, November 2, 2019.
Gather with the Bronx Veterans Parade Task Team at 11:00 am at the corner of Crotona Parkway & East 175th Street Bronx NY, to start marching at 12:00 Sharp!!!

Bronx Man Sentenced To More Than 12 Years In Prison For Conspiring To Distribute Narcotics On The Dark Web


Luis Fernandez Shipped Fentanyl and Carfentanil from New York to Customers Across the United States

  Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that LUIS FERNANDEZ was sentenced to 151 months in prison for participating in a conspiracy to distribute carfentanil, fentanyl, and a fentanyl analogue over the “dark web,” and for possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony.  Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is significantly stronger than heroin, and carfentanil is a fentanyl analogue that is approximately 100 times stronger than fentanyl.  FERNANDEZ was also ordered to forfeit $269,623 in narcotics proceeds.  FERNANDEZ pled guilty on July 30, 2019, before U.S. District Judge Denise L. Cote, who imposed today’s sentence. 

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “Luis Fernandez and his co-defendant Richard Castro sold large quantities of fentanyl and carfentanil to hundreds of individuals across the country, including over the dark web.  Today’s sentence should be another clear reminder that any short-term profits from drug dealing are not worth the long-term price.”
According to the allegations in the Superseding Information to which FERNANDEZ pled guilty, public court filings, and statements made in court:
From at least in or about November 2015 through March 2019, FERNANDEZ and his co-defendant Richard Castro[1] conspired to distribute carfentanil, fentanyl, and phenyl fentanyl (an analogue of fentanyl).  For most of this period, the conspiracy dealt drugs over the dark web, using the monikers “Chemsusa”, “Chems_usa”, and “Chemical_usa.”  Castro was an operator of these online monikers and the leader of this conspiracy.  On one dark web marketplace, Dream Market, Castro boasted that he had completed more than 3,200 transactions on other dark web markets, including more than 1,800 on AlphaBay.  The customer feedback for “Chemsusa” included, “Extremely potent and definitely the real Carf,” as well as “The Carfent is unbelievably well synthesized, keep up the amazing work.”  In June 2018, Castro, using the “Chemsusa” moniker, informed customers that he was moving his business off of dark web marketplaces and would accept purchase requests for narcotics only via encrypted email.  To learn the off-market email address, “Chems_usa” required willing customers to pay a fee.  An undercover law enforcement officer paid this fee, obtained the encrypted email address, and placed orders with Castro.  Castro’s customers paid him in Bitcoin.
FERNANDEZ managed the conspiracy’s stash house, packaged narcotics, and shipped the narcotics via U.S. mail from the New York City area to hundreds of individuals throughout the United States.  For example, in early March 2019, FERNANDEZ was observed dropping several envelopes in a mailbox in Coney Island, New York; law enforcement seized and searched these envelopes, each of which contained carfentanil. 
In mid-March 2019, law enforcement searched FERNANDEZ’s residence in the Bronx, New York.  During this search, officers found, among other things, the following evidence in FERNANDEZ’s bedroom: (1) mailing labels similar to those found on packages connected to the conspiracy, (2) addresses of customers who had received packages from the conspiracy, and (3) approximately 78 grams of fentanyl analogues and 307.5 grams of u-47700 (an opioid analgesic that is approximately 7.5 times more potent than morphine).  Law enforcement also recovered a fumigation mask and rubber gloves.  In a different bedroom of FERNANDEZ’s residence, law enforcement recovered a Model R-73 handgun.  Because FERNANDEZ had previously been convicted of a felony (stemming from his sale of cocaine), he was legally prohibited from possessing this handgun.
In imposing sentence, the Court stated that the defendant played a “critical” role in the conspiracy and that he was responsible for “shipping death.”
In addition to his prison term, FERNANDEZ, 42, of the Bronx, was sentenced to four years of supervised release.
Mr. Berman praised the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the New York City Police Department for their outstanding investigative work.  Mr. Berman also thanked the Internal Revenue Service and the Orange County, Florida, Sheriff’s Office for their valuable assistance.  
[1] Castro pled guilty to money laundering and narcotics distribution conspiracy on July 25, 2019.

6 Mexican Nationals Plead Guilty To International Sex Trafficking Offenses


  Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that EFRAIN GRANADOS-CORONA, a/k/a “Chavito,” a/k/a “Cepillo,” pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Andrew L. Carter to sex trafficking by use of force, fraud, or coercion.  Five additional defendants in this case – JULIO SAINZ-FLORES, a/k/a “Rogelio,” JUAN ROMERO-GRANADOS, a/k/a “Chegoya,” a/k/a “El Guero,” ALAN ROMERO-GRANADOS, a/k/a “El Flaco,” PEDRO ROJAS-ROMERO, and EMILIO ROJAS-ROMERO – pled guilty to sex trafficking offenses last month before U.S. District Judge Andrew L. Carter.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “These defendants systematically preyed on innocent women and girls in Mexico, smuggled them into the United States, and forced them into prostitution – depriving them of their freedom and dignity.  The devastation to these victims caused by the defendants is beyond comprehension.  With the defendants’ guilty pleas, we seek to deliver justice for the victims, and to deter others from engaging in this reprehensible conduct.”
According to the allegations in the Indictment to which each defendant pled guilty, public court filings, and statements made in court: 
EFRAIN GRANADOS-CORONA, a/k/a “Chavito,” a/k/a “Cepillo,” JULIO SAINZ-FLORES, a/k/a “Rogelio,” JUAN ROMERO-GRANADOS, a/k/a “Chegoya,” a/k/a “El Guero,” ALAN ROMERO-GRANADOS, a/k/a “El Flaco,” PEDRO ROJAS-ROMERO, and EMILIO ROJAS-ROMERO, the defendants, are members of an international sex trafficking organization (the “STO”).  Many of the members of the STO are related by blood, marriage and community. 
Between at least in or about 2000 and 2016, members of the STO (the “Traffickers”) have used false promises, physical and sexual violence, threats of the same, lies, and coercion to force and coerce adult and minor women (the “Victims”) to work in prostitution in both Mexico and the United States.
In most cases, a Trafficker enticed a Victim – frequently a minor – in Mexico.  The Trafficker then used multiple means to isolate the Victim from her family.  In some cases, the Trafficker used romantic promises to induce the Victim to leave her family and live with him.  In other cases, the Trafficker raped the Victim, making it difficult for her to return to her family due to the associated stigma of the rape.  Once a Victim was separated from her family, the Trafficker frequently monitored her communications, kept her locked in an apartment, left her without food, and engaged in physical or sexual violence against the Victim.  Traffickers often told Victims that the Traffickers owed a significant debt and that the Victim must work in prostitution to assist in repaying the debt.  Traffickers typically began forcing the Victims to work in prostitution in Mexico.  Victims were often required to see at least 20 to 40 customers per day.  Traffickers monitored the number of clients a Victim saw by surveilling the Victim, communicating with brothel workers, and by counting the number of condoms provided to a Victim.  Traffickers typically required the Victims to turn over all of the prostitution proceeds to the Traffickers. 
After a Victim worked in prostitution in Mexico for some time, Traffickers typically arranged for the Victim to be smuggled into the United States.  Members of the STO assisted one another in making smuggling arrangements.  In many cases, multiple Traffickers and multiple Victims were smuggled into the United States together.  In other cases, one Trafficker remained in Mexico while arranging for a Victim to be smuggled together with another Trafficker and other Victims.
Once in the United States, the members of the STO generally maintained their Victims at one of several shared apartments in New York City.  Victims living in the same apartment were frequently forbidden to communicate with one another.  Once in the United States, Traffickers continued to use physical and sexual violence, threats of the same, lies, and coercion to force the Victims to work in prostitution. 
In most cases, the Trafficker or another member of the STO provided a Victim with contact information with which to find work.  The Victims typically worked weeklong shifts either in a brothel, or in a “delivery service.”  In a delivery service, the Victim was delivered to a customer’s home by a “driver.”  These brothels and delivery services were located both within New York and in surrounding states, including but not limited to Connecticut, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, and Delaware.
Generally, each customer paid $30-35 for 15 minutes of sex.  Of that, half of the money typically went to the driver (in the case of a delivery service) or to the brothel.  The other $15 went to the Victim, who was then typically forced to give all of the proceeds to the Trafficker.  When a Trafficker was unavailable, a Victim might also give the proceeds to another member of the STO.
The Traffickers then frequently sent, or had their Victims send, some of the prostitution proceeds to Traffickers’ family members and associates in Mexico by wire transfer.  Such transfers provided financial assistance to the Traffickers’ families and provided financial support to the Traffickers themselves if they returned to Mexico.   
EFRAIN GRANADOS-CORONA, 43, of Mexico, pled guilty to sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
JULIO SAINZ-FLORES, 37, of Mexico, pled guilty to sex trafficking of a minor, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
JUAN ROMERO-GRANADOS, 33, ALAN ROMERO-GRANADOS, 28, PEDRO ROJAS-ROMERO, 40, and EMILIO ROJAS-ROMERO, 37, all of Mexico, pled guilty to conspiring to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Carter in early 2020.

Attorney General James Provides Funds For Police Body-Worn Cameras To The Rochester Police Department And Monroe County Sheriff's Office


AG Presents Checks for more than $163,000 to Agencies for 100 Body-Worn Camera Systems as Part of Statewide Program to Support Local Law Enforcement

   Attorney General Letitia James today presented the Rochester Police Department and Monroe County Sheriff’s Office with checks to support body-worn camera (BWC) programs. The Rochester Police Department received $104,450 for 70 body-worn camera systems and 15 body-worn camera docking stations. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office will receive approximately $59,694 for approximately 30 body-worn camera systems and six body-worn camera docking stations. These funds were provided by the Attorney General’s Capture an Account of a Material Situation (CAMS) program, which is awarding 13 law enforcement agencies around the state with more than $1 million to purchase 891 body-worn cameras and 321 body-worn camera systems through the CAMS program.

“Body-cameras are commonsense tools that protect both civilians and law enforcement,” said Attorney General Letitia James. “They are critical for transparency and accountability, but too often law enforcement agencies do not have the resources needed to outfit their officers. These funds will go a long way in increasing public safety and I am proud to play a role in protecting communities in Rochester and across Monroe County.”
The CAMS program, which was launched in July 2018 and is funded with money recovered from organized crime takedowns carried out by the Attorney General’s Office, provides body-worn cameras and body-worn camera systems to local law enforcement agencies. Body-worn cameras create independent accounts of encounters between police and the public, increasing transparency and accountability and often providing critical evidence in investigations.
In addition to the Rochester Police Department and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, funds have been or will be provided to:
Albany County Sheriff’s Office 
Amherst Police Department 
Buffalo Police Department 
Niagara Falls Police Department 
Suffolk County Police Department 
Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office 
Syracuse Police Department 
Troy Police Department 
Utica Police Department 
Ulster County Sheriff’s Office 
Westchester County Department of Public Safety  

Attorney General James Provides Funds For Police Body-Worn Cameras To The Buffalo, Niagara Falls, And Amherst Police Departments


AG Presents Checks for more than $238,000 to Three Agencies for 442 Body-Worn Cameras as Part of Statewide Program to Support Local Law Enforcement Departments 

 Attorney General Letitia James today presented the Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and Amherst Police Departments with funds to support body-worn camera (BWC) programs. The Buffalo Police Department received $150,000 for 300 BWCs, the Amherst Police Department received $37,240 for 49 BWCs, and the Niagara Falls Police Department will receive $51,759 for 93 BWCs and eight BWC docking stations. These funds were provided by the Attorney General’s Capture an Account of a Material Situation (CAMS) program, which is awarding 13 law enforcement agencies around the state with more than $1 million to purchase 891 body-worn cameras and 321 body-worn camera systems through the CAMS program. 

“The safety of our communities is our top priority and body-worn cameras are critical tools for promoting public safety,” said Attorney General Letitia James. “Body-worn cameras provide increased transparency and accountability that help to keep all New Yorkers safe. Communities throughout Erie and Niagara Counties will be better served because of this program.”
The CAMS program, which was launched in July 2018 and is funded with money recovered from organized crime takedowns carried out by the Attorney General’s Office, provides body-worn cameras and body-worn camera systems to local law enforcement agencies. Body-worn cameras create independent accounts of encounters between police and the public, increasing transparency and accountability and often providing critical evidence in investigations. 
In addition to the Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and Amherst Police Departments, funds have been or will be provided to:
Albany County Sheriff’s Office
Monroe County Sheriff’s Office
Rochester Police Department
Suffolk County Police Department
Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office
Syracuse Police Department
Troy Police Department
Utica Police Department
Ulster County Sheriff’s Office
Westchester County Department of Public Safety