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Friday, October 23, 2020
Theryn Jones And Arius Hopkins Sentenced To Life In Prison For 2014 Murder In The Bronx
Audrey Strauss, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that THERYN JONES, a/k/a “Ty,” a/k/a “Old Man Ty,” a/k/a “Tyballa,” and ARIUS HOPKINS, a/k/a “Scrappy,” a/k/a “Scrap,” were sentenced today to life in prison following their conviction for the January 2, 2014 murder of Shaquille Malcolm. A jury convicted JONES and HOPKINS on December 18, 2019, following a two-week trial before U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who also imposed today’s sentences.
Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “Jones and Hopkins were responsible for the murder of 20-year-old Shaquille Malcolm over six years ago in a Bronx apartment lobby. Now they have been sentenced to serve the rest of their lives in federal prison for this heinous crime.”
According to the evidence presented during the trial:
THERYN JONES was a high-ranking leader within the Mac Balla gang and the leader of a large-scale drug trafficking organization that distributed crack cocaine out of a residential building in the Allerton section of the Bronx. Because Malcolm and others were encroaching on JONES’s drug territory, JONES directed HOPKINS and another person to murder Malcolm. On January 2, 2014, HOPKINS shot Shaquille Malcolm multiple times in the lobby of an apartment building located at 2818 Bronx Park East in the Bronx, New York. Malcolm died at the scene.
For their participation in the Malcolm murder, JONES, 43, and HOPKINS, 25, of the Bronx, New York were each convicted at trial of using a firearm to commit murder in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and murder while engaged in a conspiracy to distribute 280 grams and more of crack cocaine.
Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of the NYPD.
BRONX DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE & NYPD TO HOLD GUN BUYBACK People Can Turn in Weapons No Questions Asked; Will Receive Cash Card and Free iPad for Operable Handguns
“Turn in a Gun, Turn on an iPad”
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark, New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea, the New York Yankees and elected officials today announced a Bronx Gun Buyback where people can turn in handguns and assault rifles, no questions asked, and receive a cash card and an iPad.
The Bronx Gun Buyback event will be held on Saturday, October 24, 2020 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, located at 777 East 222nd Street and Barnes Avenue in the Wakefield section of the Bronx.
District Attorney Clark said, “With so many shootings happening, it’s important to do all we can to take guns off Bronx streets. The police are recovering several guns a day out there, but we also need to get unlicensed firearms out of homes. Children can come upon them and be injured or even killed. This buyback event is an opportunity for people to turn in guns, no questions asked, and receive cash AND a useful tool to help their children’s education. Remember, if you are caught with an illegal gun, you face prison time. We hope to get as many guns as possible, but even one could save a life. I thank our partners for helping us with our goal of eradicating gun violence in the Bronx, and I am so grateful to the New York Yankees for donating iPads.”
Commissioner Shea said, “Every day, our NYPD officers work relentlessly to prevent gun violence and to keep illegal guns from victimizing New Yorkers. This gun buy-back event being carried out with our partners in the Bronx district attorney's office is a key part of our tireless efforts to work with those we serve to take guns off of our city streets.”
Brian Smith, Yankees Senior Vice President of Corporate/Community Relations, said, “The Yankees organization is proud to participate in this gun buyback initiative with the Bronx District Attorney’s Office and the NYPD. We continually strive to find creative ways to positively impact our neighbors in the Bronx, and this program generates clear and immediate benefits toward making our community safer. We offer our thanks to all those involved in bringing it to fruition.”
People can turn in operable handguns or assault rifles and receive a $200 pre-paid card, and a free iPad from the Bronx DA’s Office and the New York Yankees. The iPad will be given to the first 150 participants, with a limit of one per person. People who turn in rifles, shotguns or airguns will receive a $25 pre-paid card. Participants can turn in as many guns as they wish but will only receive payment for up to three guns. Only one iPad will be given per person, regardless of how many weapons they surrender.
There have been 315 shooting incidents in the Bronx this year, wounding 377 people, a major jump from 2019, when there were 176 shootings that wounded 196 people. In the 47th Precinct, where St. Luke’s is located, there have been 42 people wounded in 38 shooting incidents, more than double the number of victims and incidents at this time last year.
District Attorney Clark said, “I believe providing iPads will entice more people to do the right thing and turn in illegal guns and at the same time help members of their households. Children are home now more than ever and, especially in the Bronx, in need of technology that connects them to school and to the world outside their quarantine. Their caregivers are also home now more than ever, because they are working remotely or, unfortunately, because they lost their jobs. Bronx unemployment rates have soared to 25%, the highest in the city.”
Thursday, October 22, 2020
United States Attorneys Available To Receive Election Complaints
Acting United States Attorneys Audrey Strauss and Seth DuCharme announced today that Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) will lead the efforts of their Offices in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming November 3, 2020, general election. AUSA Erik Paulsen has been appointed to serve as the District Election Officer (DEO) for the Eastern District of New York, and David J. Kennedy has been appointed to serve as the DEO for the Southern District of New York. In their capacity as DEOs, these AUSAs are responsible for overseeing the Districts’ handling of complaints of election fraud and voting rights concerns in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.
Acting United States Attorneys Audrey Strauss and Seth DuCharme said: “Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and to have that vote counted without it being stolen because of fraud. The Department of Justice will always act appropriately to protect the integrity of the election process.”
The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring election fraud and discrimination at the polls, and combating these violations whenever and wherever they occur. The Department’s long-standing Election Day Program furthers these goals and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the integrity of the election process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible election fraud and voting rights violations while the polls are open through Election Day.
Federal law protects against such crimes as intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from acts that intimidate or harass them. For example, actions of persons designed to interrupt or intimidate voters at polling places by questioning or challenging them, or by photographing or videotaping them, under the pretext that these are actions to uncover illegal voting, may violate federal voting rights law. Further, federal law protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or illiteracy).
The franchise is the cornerstone of American democracy. We all must ensure that those who are entitled to the franchise exercise it if they choose, and that those who seek to corrupt it are brought to justice.
In order to respond to complaints of election fraud or voting rights concerns during the voting period that ends on November 3, 2020, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, the Acting United States Attorneys said that their Offices will be available to receive complaints at the following numbers on Tuesday, November 3, 2020:
(646) 369-4739 (for Manhattan, Bronx, Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, and Westchester counties) and
(718) 254-7000 (for Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Nassau, and Suffolk counties)
In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on Election Day. The local FBI field office can be reached by the public at (212) 384-1000.
Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, DC, by phone at 800-253-3931 or by complaint form at https://civilrights.justice.gov/.
Please note, however, in the case of a crime of violence or intimidation, please call 911 immediately and before contacting federal authorities. State and local police have primary jurisdiction over polling places, and almost always have faster reaction capacity in an emergency.
The Acting United States Attorneys also noted that the following additional telephone numbers are available on Election Day for citizens to call for routine inquiries, such as where to vote or how late the polls are open, or to register complaints that may concern violations of New York State election laws:
IN NEW YORK CITY
City Board of Elections
Main Office (866) 868-3692; TTY #: 212-487-5496
IN COUNTIES OUTSIDE NEW YORK CITY
County Boards of Elections
Dutchess (845) 486-2473
Nassau (516) 571-8683
Orange (845) 360-6500
Putnam (845) 808-1300
Rockland (845) 638-5172
Suffolk (631) 852-4500
Sullivan (845) 807-0400
Westchester (914) 995-5700
Acting United States Attorneys Strauss and DuCharme said: “Ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the cooperation of the American electorate. It is imperative that those who have specific information about discrimination or election fraud make that information available to my Office, the FBI, or the Civil Rights Division.”
Two Men Convicted In Manhattan Federal Court Of Conspiring To Commit Murder For Hire
Audrey Strauss, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that VANCE COLLINS, a/k/a “Big AK,” and RAMON RAMIREZ, a/k/a “Obendy,” were found guilty of hiring gang members to murder an individual believed to be having an affair with RAMIREZ’s wife. COLLINS was also convicted of possessing a firearm after having been convicted of a felony. COLLINS and RAMIREZ were convicted yesterday after a five-day trial before U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel.
Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “Vance Collins and Ramon Ramirez tried to arrange for a murder. Now, in the first criminal trial in this District since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the defendants stand convicted and will face punishment for their crimes.”
According to the allegations in the Indictment and evidence at trial:
In around 2017, RAMIREZ learned that his wife was having an affair with another man (the “Victim”). RAMIREZ enlisted COLLINS, a high-ranking gang leader, to hire someone to kill the Victim. COLLINS turned to a member of his gang, who in turn enlisted another gang member, and those two gang members took steps to locate and surveil the Victim, intending to shoot or stab the Victim to death. One night in October 2018, the two hitmen encountered the Victim at the Victim’s home; however, the presence of another person thwarted their plan. One of the hitmen was arrested shortly thereafter, and the Victim was not killed. During his arrest, COLLINS was found to be in possession of three firearms, including one that he and one of the hitmen had acquired to use in the plot to kill the Victim.
Count One charged the defendants with conspiracy to commit murder for hire in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1958, and Count Two charged the defendants with murder for hire in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1958 and 2. Count Three charged defendant COLLINS with possessing a firearm after having been convicted of a felony. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 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 defendants will be determined by the judge.
The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Castel on February 10, 2021.
Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force, which comprises agents and task force officers from the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, United States Probation Office, New York State Police, New York City Police Department, Mount Vernon Police Department, Yonkers Police Department, Greenburgh Police Department, Peekskill Police Department, Westchester County Police Department, and the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office.
Statement from New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer on NYCHA Lead Exposure
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“Every failure to protect children from lead exposure is outrageous and unacceptable. Sixteen years ago, New York City set a goal to eliminate lead poisoning once and for all, but mismanagement and bureaucracy have let thousands of children fall through the cracks. Last year, I issued a report revealing systemic breakdowns that left thousands of buildings uninspected for lead paint. The City had the data but failed to connect the dots — and more children were exposed to lead as a result. Now, NYCHA has suddenly discovered 6,000 more apartments where children may have been exposed. We can’t keep failing to protect our kids. We need real management and accountability. No amount of lead in a child’s blood is safe or tolerable — period. I won’t waver in my focus on this issue until we’ve done absolutely all that we can to eliminate the threat of lead paint from our city. Our children deserve nothing less.”
The Comptroller’s investigation is available here.
Governor Cuomo Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress during COVID-19 Pandemic - OCTOBER 22, 2020
Statewide Positivity Rate is 1.20 Percent
Positive Testing Rate in All Focus Zone Areas is 3.20 Percent; New York State Positivity Outside All Focus Zone Areas Included is 0.96 Percent
15 COVID-19 Deaths in New York State Yesterday
New Community Testing Sites Opening Tomorrow in Cortland County
Governor Cuomo updated New Yorkers on the state's progress during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
"We've been adjusting our focus in the micro-clusters - after 14 days of data, we rearranged the restrictions in Queens, Brooklyn, and we added focuses to Broome and Chemung," Governor Cuomo said. "Through the fall, we will see micro-clusters come and go - they can literally be generated by a couple of events that violated rules. We might all be feeling COVID-fatigue, but we cannot afford to go backwards: We must all keep washing our hands, wearing our masks and remaining socially distant to protect the progress we've made in New York."
The Governor noted that the positive testing rate in all focus areas under the state's Micro-Cluster strategy is 3.20 percent, and outside the focus zone areas is 0.96 percent. Full results for tests reported yesterday,
Today's data is summarized briefly below:
· Patient Hospitalization - 986 (+36)
· Patients Newly Admitted - 166
· Hospital Counties - 45
· Number ICU - 209 (+8)
· Number ICU with Intubation - 106 (+3)
· Total Discharges - 78,753 (+108)
· Deaths - 15
· Total Deaths - 25,694
NYS Office of the Comptroller - Wall St. Profits Soared in First Half of 2020
Securities Industry Buoyed by Federal Stimulus, Massive Influx of Liquidity
Wall St.’s Success Only Sustainable with Recovery on Main St.
“An injection of federal stimulus money, plummeting interest rates and rising volume in trading drove profits dramatically upward to a level hard to imagine in March,” DiNapoli said. “Wall Street’s successful first half helps our state and city budgets because the securities industry provides an outsized source of revenue, but the rising profits on Wall Street are disconnected from the pain being felt on Main Street. Our economy, and Main Street’s businesses and workers, are badly in need of additional support, including action in Washington on a new round of stimulus and relief. Wall Street’s growth can only be sustained if there is broad economic recovery.”
Industry performance is traditionally measured by the pretax profits of the broker/dealer operations of New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) member firms. There are now about 120 member firms, down from more than 200 before the Global Financial Crisis.
First half profits in 2020 were nearly equal to the entirety of 2019’s profits of $28.1 billion. The jump was propelled by $2.4 trillion in federal stimulus funds and the lowering of interest rates to near zero, which reduced the cost of borrowing. These actions spurred growth in securities offerings, particularly debt, which reached record levels. The pandemic also significantly disrupted financial markets. Wild market swings drove trading volume upward along with firms’ commissions and trading income. Firms’ income from underwriting rose by more than one-third in the first half of 2020 over the same period last year.
While continued profit growth in the second half remains to be seen, 2020 profits are on pace to surpass last year, barring any further unforeseen events.
In 2019, the securities industry was at its highest employment level since the 2008 financial crisis with 182,100 jobs. Immigrants made up over one-third of industry employees in New York City, a higher share than in 2008. This year, Wall Street is on pace to shed 7,300 jobs, erasing nearly half (45 percent) of the jobs gained since 2013.
The average salary, including bonuses, for industry employees in New York City was $406,854 in 2019, an increase of 2 percent compared to 2018. It is nearly five times more than the $82,938 average salary for the rest of the private sector in the city in 2019. As an illustration of the increase in the pay gap over time, in 1981 the average industry salary was two times higher than the rest of the private sector.
The average bonus paid in the industry for 2019 was $164,100, up 3 percent from 2018, and in line with last year’s increased profits. In the first half of 2020, firms have set aside nearly 5 percent more for compensation than last year. The size of 2020 bonuses will heavily depend on the resumption of broad economic activity in the second half of the year, as well as associated loan performance.
The city has forecast a one-third (34 percent) decline in bonuses this year. The state Division of the Budget has projected a decline in finance and insurance bonuses of 28 percent as part of the state’s first quarter financial plan update. Bonus declines of larger magnitude occurred only during the last two recessions. DiNapoli will release his annual estimate of Wall St. bonuses in March 2021.
New York remains the capital of the securities industry, with a greater share of jobs than anywhere else, but its share has long been in decline. As firms have moved to less expensive locales around the metropolitan region and the country, New York’s share of jobs has fallen from one-third in 1990 to 19 percent in 2019.
State and city economic impact from the securities industry has also lessened. The industry is still the largest single contributor to the city’s economy, responsible for 17 percent of all economic activity in 2018, but that share is down from its pre-recession contribution of 25 percent. Similarly, Wall St.’s share of state economic activity (5.9 percent in 2019, still the largest in any state) has declined from its 2006 peak of 8.2 percent.
Wall St. provides an outsized contribution to state tax collections, accounting for 18 percent ($15.1 billion) of all tax collections in state fiscal year ending March 30, 2020. The industry’s estimated contribution of $3.9 billion to the city’s total tax collections in its fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, was down 5 percent from the previous year, reflecting a decline in jobs and capital gains. Wall St.’s share of city tax revenue has declined over the past several years as the city’s economy has diversified.
The Comptroller’s report also notes that:
- New York state relies more on Wall St. than New York City because it depends more on personal income tax revenue in its budget.
- DiNapoli estimates the securities industry’s high incomes create economic activity in other sectors and that each job gained or lost on Wall St. leads to the creation or loss of three additional jobs in other industries in New York state and that 1 in 10 jobs in New York City and 1 in 15 jobs in New York state are associated with the industry.
- Net revenue (gross revenue less interest expenses, the preferred industry measure) grew by 3.8 percent in 2019, slower than the previous two years.
- Three-fifths (60 percent) of industry employees were White, 22 percent were Asian American, 9 percent were Hispanic and 7 percent were African American (based on most recently available 2019 data). Immigrants (primarily from Asia and Europe) made up over one-third (35 percent) of the employees, a higher share than in 2008 (29 percent), but lower than the immigrant share of all City employment (41 percent).
- Commuters from outside New York City accounted for 41 percent of the wages paid by the industry in New York City, with one-fifth of industry employees in the city coming from New Jersey, 8 percent from Long Island and 5 percent from Connecticut, followed by Westchester County at 4 percent (based on most recently available 2019 data).
Report