Friday, December 4, 2020

MAYOR DE BLASIO APPOINTS MARGARET FORGIONE AS ACTING TRANSPORTATION COMMISSIONER

 

 Mayor Bill de Blasio today appointed Margaret Forgione the Acting Commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT). Forgione, a 26-year DOT veteran and the Department’s current Chief Operations Officer, will assume the role when Commissioner Polly Trottenberg leaves her position on December 11. 

“Margaret Forgione has the experience and vision to build on the agency’s extraordinary reimagining of public space throughout our fight against COVID-19,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “I look forward to working with her on Vision Zero street safety, accessibility, and the continued expansion of cycling and bus access.”
 
"Margaret Forgione is widely respected throughout City Hall and has consistently demonstrated her creativity and reliability in overseeing the operational divisions within DOT,” said Deputy Mayor Laura Anglin. “I look forward to her taking the helm of this vital agency and also want to thank Polly Trottenberg for her years of exceptional work in advancing this Administration’s transportation and mobility initiatives. It’s been an absolute pleasure working alongside Polly and I wish her nothing but success in her next endeavor. While Margaret certainly has some big shoes to fill, I have all confidence in her and the entire team at DOT.”
 
"I thank Mayor de Blasio for this opportunity to lead DOT in these challenging times,” said DOT Acting Commissioner Margaret Forgione. “Commissioner Trottenberg made historic strides in improving safety and mobility throughout her tenure and then guided us through the pandemic, safeguarding our workforce while transforming our streets to meet critical space needs. I look forward to continuing and building on this essential work to create a safe and livable street network to support the city in enduring through the pandemic and thriving beyond it.”
 
Margaret Forgione has served at DOT in senior roles since 1994, most recently as Chief Operations Officer, a position she has held since June 2016. Prior to that, Forgione had served as DOT’s Manhattan Borough Commissioner. She has also led DOT’s Arterial Maintenance Unit, directed the Adopt-A-Highway program, and served as a Special Assistant to the First Deputy Commissioner. Forgione began her work in New York City government as a Senior Analyst in the Mayor’s Office of Operations.
 
As Chief Operations Officer, Acting Commissioner Forgione oversaw the agency’s operational divisions, totaling roughly 5,000 employees, including within the Staten Island Ferry, Bridges, Roadway Repair and Maintenance, Sidewalks and Inspection Management, Traffic Operations, Transportation Planning and Management, the Office of Construction Mitigation and Coordination and five Borough Commissioner offices. As Manhattan Borough Commissioner between 2002-16, she oversaw the pedestrianization of Times Square, the creation of the City’s first on-street protected bike lane (along Ninth Avenue) and the rollout of Citi Bike, the nation’s largest bike share program.
 
Acting Commissioner Forgione was raised in Stamford, Connecticut. She holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Connecticut and a Master of Public Policy and Administration from Columbia University.
 

Thursday, December 3, 2020

Governor Cuomo Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress During COVID-19 Pandemic - DECEMBER 3, 2020

 

Governor to Sign Executive Order Expanding Eligibility for New York's COVID Rent Relief Program and Reopening Application Window

Positive Testing Rate in All Focus Zone Areas is 5.91 Percent; New York State Positivity Outside All Focus Zone Areas is 4.49 Percent

Statewide Positivity Rate is 4.84 Percent

61 COVID-19 Deaths in New York State Yesterday

State to Partner with Prescryptive Health to Launch 150 New Rapid Testing Sites Statewide

 "It's all about hospitalization rate and hospital capacity. In the broad scope of things, we're dealing with increases in hospitalizations, but we're doing dramatically better than essentially every other state in the country. The total number of hospital beds in the state is 53,000 - currently 35,000 beds are occupied, and about 4,000 of those with COVID patients. At our height, we had about 19,000 people hospitalized with COVID, to put this recent increase in perspective," Governor Cuomo said. "The next chapter is going to be vaccine distribution and vaccine acceptance. The vaccine is the weapon that is going to win the COVID war, and that is the light at the end of the tunnel. It's not a short tunnel, but we know the way through this. We just have to get there, and we have to get there with as little as loss of life as possible."

The Governor also announced he will be signing an executive order expanding eligibility for New York State's COVID Rent Relief Program and reopening its application window. The Program, which was created by the state legislature when it passed the Emergency Rent Relief Act of 2020, appropriated up to $100 million from the federal CARES Act to provide subsidies for tenants who lost income due to the pandemic. Based on the legislature's parameters, as much as $40 million is expected to be paid to eligible applicants approximately 15,000 New York households. This executive order will expand the program's eligibility so more rent relief can be provided to New Yorkers. Additional details will be available in the coming days.

Additionally, New York State is partnering with Prescryptive Health to provide expanded COVID-19 testing capacity across New York State. The partnership will help expand testing capacity in areas where testing access is limited and will include 150 new rapid testing locations statewide opening in the coming weeks where testing will be offered. Prescryptive's digital health platform will manage deployment of rapid test kits provided by New York State, and provide the technology to manage inventory, schedule appointments and report results in a timely manner. Residents can find participating sites, schedule a test, receive results and follow-up with licensed clinicians directly from their mobile device. All testing sites will be searchable on the state's COVID test site website (https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/find-test-site-near-you) and appointments for these sites will be also available at www.prescryptive.com

The Governor noted that the positive testing rate in all focus areas under the state's Micro-Cluster strategy is 5.91 percent, and outside the focus zone areas is 4.49 percent. Within the focus areas, 50,800 test results were reported yesterday, yielding 3,003 positives. In the remainder of the state, not counting these focus areas, 152,640 test results were reported, yielding 6,852 positives.

Today's data is summarized briefly below:

  • Patient Hospitalization - 4,063 (+139)
  • Patients Newly Admitted - 664
  • Hospital Counties - 55
  • Number ICU - 783 (+41)
  • Number ICU with Intubation - 377 (+4)
  • Total Discharges - 86,638 (+437)
  • Deaths - 61
  • Total Deaths - 26,955

Governor Cuomo Announces 1,779 Tickets Issued by State Police During "Operation Hardhat," Surpassing 2019's Total by Nearly 70 Percent

 

Initiative between NYSP, Department of Transportation and Thruway Authority Aims to Keep Highway Workers Safe in Construction Work Zones
 
 Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that the New York State Police issued 1,779 tickets during this year's Operation Hardhat, an initiative between State Police, the New York State Department of Transportation and the New York State Thruway Authority, to crack down on work zone violations and highlight the importance of safe driving when encountering construction, maintenance and emergency operations along state highways. With dozens of details held in almost every region of New York State, the number of violations issued was 69.8 percent higher than the 1,048 tickets issued by State Troopers during all of 2019's Operation Hard Hat.  

"Building and maintaining a 21st Century transportation system cannot be done without the work performed by highway construction workers and it's imperative we do all we can to make their jobs as safe as possible," Governor Cuomo said. "Preventing tragedies takes everyone working together, so while the state will continue to crack down on those who endanger those working on our roadways, I am urging all New Yorkers to not only obey the speed limit and other traffic laws, but to do the right thing and use care while traveling through work zones." 

Beginning in July and stretching through November, New York State Police spent a total of 243 hours at DOT and Thruway-operated work zones in 2020. The 1,779 tickets included the following violations:

  • Speeding - 618
  • Seatbelts - 187
  • Cell Phone - 297
  • Failure to Move Over - 141
  • Failure to Obey Flagger - 2
  • Failure to Obey Traffic Control Device - 17
  • DWI - 1
  • Other violations - 516 

Under "Operation Hardhat" State Troopers are present within the work zones, dressed as highway maintenance workers, to identify motorists who disobey flagging personnel, speed through the work zone or violate the state's Move Over Law, which applies to both emergency and maintenance vehicles.

Additionally, the State Department of Transportation partnered with local law enforcement agencies on separate "Operation Hardhat" initiatives in 2020, including the Utica Police Department, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, Livingston County Sheriff's Office, Wyoming County Sheriff's Office, Steuben County Sheriff's Office, Canisteo Police Department, Village of Mohawk Police Department and the Schuyler County Sheriff's Office.  Separately, these operations have resulted in 215 tickets issued to motorists, including tickets for speeding, seatbelt violations, cell phone/electronic device use, expired inspections, among other violations. 

State Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez said, "Safety is always our top priority at the Department of Transportation and I can't thank our partners in law enforcement enough for the work they are doing to help protect our team members.  Our highway crews and contractors work in dangerous conditions to keep our roads and bridges safe, so that we can all get where we need to go safely and efficiently. It's imperative that motorists pay attention, obey posted speed limits and be aware of workers and equipment in highway work zones." 

State Police Acting Superintendent Kevin P. Bruen said, "Highway work zones present a hazard to both construction workers and travelers, which is why it is imperative that drivers comply with posted speed limit reductions and proceed with extreme caution. State Troopers will continue to actively patrol work zones and violations of the law will not be tolerated."

DMV Commissioner and Chair of the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee Mark J.F. Schroeder said, "The results of this year's Operation Hard Hat mobilization underscore the importance of this enforcement campaign. Highway workers put their lives on the line so that the rest of us have access to safe roads and bridges.  We owe it to them to drive safely in work zones so they can do their essential jobs and get back home to their families each night."

Motorists are reminded to Move Over a lane, if safely possible, or slow down significantly whenever encountering roadside vehicles displaying red, white, blue, amber or green lights, including maintenance and construction vehicles in work zones. Motorists are urged to slow down and drive responsibly in work zones. Fines are doubled for speeding in a work zone. Convictions of two or more speeding violations in a work zone could result in the suspension of an individual's driver license.

Mayor de Blasio on the Rising COVID-19 Indicators

 

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Good morning, everybody. Today, we want to focus on not just the fight against the coronavirus right now, but where we're going, how we're going to defeat this virus once and for all, rebuild this city, recover as a city, move forward and then have the ability to be a global leader in public health, based in fact, on the very experiences that we went through this year, the painful experiences we learned so much from, the innovations we created, the forces we marshaled together, the extraordinary ingenuity and energy that New Yorkers showed in addressing this crisis. That is also the beginning of building out a role as the global leader in public health and the place that people can look to from all over the country, all over the world to help ensure there won't be the next pandemic or, God forbid we're faced with a challenge, that we handle it a lot better based on the lessons we learned here.
So, we're going to talk about our plans for that future, and we're going to frame it, of course, with the reality that we're fighting an intense fight against the coronavirus right now, we'll talk about that, but that thank God the cavalry is coming. The vaccine is coming, starting this month, this month of December. In fact, just 12 days from now, we expect the first dosages to arrive, and we'll talk about that and how we're going to be distributing the vaccine here in this city quickly and effectively. But let's be clear. This whole crisis has taught us so much. It's taught us so much about the need to create, to do things that haven't been done before, to be willing to try new things and figure out what will work to recognize truths that were too often swept under the rug, including profound disparities that must be addressed head on. All of that has made us stronger, even though none of us wishes we went through any of this pain, any of these challenges, it has made us stronger and it's made us clear about what we have to do for the future.  
 
I had a great example of this yesterday. I toured the Pandemic Response Lab. This is a brand-new facility. It was set up during the coronavirus crisis to help New York City respond to the challenge we faced, and it is absolutely extraordinary. This was created from scratch, using new approaches, new technology, taking some of the best minds in this city, in the business sector, universities, hospitals, bringing them together at the Alexandria Center to focus on solutions we needed right now, and we all know one of the biggest challenges was getting all those tests processed quickly. Remember, from the very beginning, I remember the first press conference we ever had about the coronavirus, the key point was testing, and today the key is still testing. But what we found is crisis is testing is only as good as your ability to process the results and process them quickly, and that's what the Pandemic Response Lab has been doing brilliantly – 20,000 individual tests a day being processed right now, the ability to get up to 30,000 soon, and then we're going to build beyond, and it's remarkable to see how effective this process is considering it was something only thrown together in the last few months. I really want to thank everyone at the pandemic response lab for their amazing effort, and this video will give you a sense of the work they are doing to protect all of us. 
 
Mayor: So that gives you a flavor of the amazing work being done at the lab. This was put together so quickly and effectively, and this is again the spirit of this city, the ability of this city, and this is what makes us special, even irreplaceable in the national and global context. New York City can do things that no other place can do, and we learned that with the Pandemic Response Lab, but now we're going to go farther because the next step is to build something even bigger that will be about the future and protecting this city and every place in this country and this world from future challenges, and so today we're announcing the creation of the Pandemic Response Institute, housed here in New York City at the Alexandria Center to lead the world to the solutions that will protect us in the future.  
 
Now, look, we know that research is necessary in an unprecedented way. We know that during this crisis, there was so much catching up that had to be done. That work can be done in many ways in advance, going forward. The training to prepare people for future challenges can be done – now that we know the depth of the challenge we can get ahead of it and we can prove it can be done right here in New York City. The fact that we have learned a lot more about how to detect outbreaks and manage them, but we have to go a lot farther – that can be done here in New York City. Creating a blueprint for addressing this kind of crisis and do it in a systematic way – that can be created right here in New York City. To tell you more about the Pandemic Response Institute and what it'll mean for the city and far beyond the city someone who has really shown tremendous vision in fighting the crisis here, but also in helping us to envision where we can go as a city, my senior advisor, Dr. Jay Varma. 
 
Senior Advisor Dr. Jay Varma: Great, thank you very much, Mr. Mayor. On April 3rd, I boarded a plane in Ethiopia and flew to New York City to help respond to the most lethal crisis the city has ever faced. I remember arriving in New York and being struck by two feelings. First, how unsettling it was to see the storefronts closed, to hear the air pierced by the sound of sirens, to see people on the streets, masked, walking away from each other as much as possible. Second, I was also struck by how eerily familiar it all felt. I've responded to outbreaks all over the world, from Ebola in West Africa, to refugee camps in Thailand, and I'm unfortunately all too familiar with the devastating impact that epidemics can have on societies. In the work I've done throughout the world one principal message I've always tried to deliver is that public health, isn't an investment, it's not a cost. It's an investment in our physical safety, an investment in our economic prosperity, and an investment in justice, ensuring that health and opportunity are available to all, and that is why the Mayor's announcement today about a new Pandemic Response Institute is so important to the city, the country, and indeed the world. New York City had to fight its way back from one of the worst COVID outbreaks of any city in the world, and one of the ways it did that was through a partnership as you've just heard between government academia and the private sector to create the Pandemic Response Lab, and that lab has been the key that unlocked the Test and Trace Corps to prevent thousands of infections in the city, and the key that unlocked the safe reopening of our public school system.  
 
The Pandemic Response Institute is an opportunity to expand beyond laboratory work, into training, research, innovation – into all of the areas we know were important for outbreaks: detection, investigation, management, and this will position the city as a leader in pandemic response and strengthen our infrastructure for future outbreaks. How do we forecast when an outbreak might emerge, just like we do the weather? How do we develop tests for COVID and other infections that you can use at home, like a pregnancy test? How do we develop PPE that's easier and safer for anyone to use? How do we develop and test vaccines even faster than what we've done with COVID? This Institute can bring together partners from all around the city to answer these questions, to spur innovation, and create new jobs and new business ventures.  
 
To develop this Institute, the city will support its initial home at the Alexandria Center positioned right next to the Pandemic Response Lab. We'll be meeting with public health experts next month to further develop the strategy and focus for the Institute and then issue an RFP for partners to operate the Institute shortly thereafter, with a goal to select an organization to begin operating it in 2021. Central to all of this is really public and private partnership, bringing together the best from the city, from government, our universities, our biotech and technology centers and our civic organizations. Together, they can spur economic development, build a stronger workforce, and make New York City the public health capital of the world. 
 
Mayor: Thank you so much, Dr. Varma, and look, this is going to be crucial to our future. It's going to be crucial to our ability to protect people. It's going to be – it's so important to the recovery of New York City to bringing back and building an even stronger base of jobs. This is part of what's going to make New York City great going forward. So thank you Dr. Varma, and thank you to all my colleagues to be a part of putting this initiative together.  
 
All right, now let's talk about, as I said earlier, the cavalry is coming, let's talk about the vaccines. The moment we have all been waiting for is finally here. Vaccines are being approved. Vaccines are being shipped. We expect the first shipments as early as December 15th. That is 12 days from now, the Pfizer vaccine shipments, we expect to begin for New York City – Moderna shipments a week later on the 22nd. 
 
We are working closely with the State of New York on a distribution plan with an important focus on those who have the greatest need and need to get the vaccine in the first efforts. We're going to be working with the state to fine tune the approach. But what we all agree on is high risk health care workers, obviously absolutely crucial to protect those who protect all of us, and we know from a painful experience, how much have to focus on our nursing home residents and the good people who work in our nursing homes. So those will be among the top priorities, of course.  
 
Now, over time there will be enough vaccine for everyone, but we're going to have to prioritize in waves to make sure that those in greatest need get the vaccine first. This will obviously take months, but we're going to focus on the people have the greatest needs. We're going to focus on those 27 neighborhoods that were most deeply affected by the coronavirus. We're going to certainly focus on folks who have borne the brunt, like people who live in public housing, but we're going to throughout this process, work on the fastest and most effective distribution because the faster we can move, and the more we can educate people, and the more we can get people involved, the more people who will be safe. Here to tell you about it representing our Health Department, which has a lot of powerful history, making sure that New Yorkers get vaccinated and protected, so leading this effort with a lot of tremendous expertise to support them, our Health Commissioner, Dr. Dave Chokshi. 
 
Commissioner Dave Chokshi, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene: Thank you so much, Mr. Mayor. New York City, we don't make small plans. We think big, we build big, and we plan big, and the effort to vaccinate millions of New Yorkers in the months ahead will be, in a word, big. That is why we are calibrating our entire public health infrastructure to this project – this spans science, operations, data tracking, equity, and public communication. As the Mayor said, our first priority includes health care heroes. Those who cared for us in the worst moments of the pandemic and whom we continue to depend on now, as cases rise. The Mayor also highlighted the people most at risk, including residents and staff of nursing homes. Our goal is to ensure that a safe, effective vaccine gets to everyone who wants it. Doing so will require close coordination, yes, across the entire city, but also with the state and the federal government, and it also requires us to make sure that all New Yorkers have access to the latest information. 
That's why we're here today.  
 
But the process of turning a vaccine into a vaccination will be a challenge, a formidable one. For example, storage requirements vary. The Pfizer vaccine requires ultra-cold storage and special freezers. The Moderna vaccine can be stored in regular freezers. So we're shoring up capacity for both to be prepared. The Health Department itself currently has the ability to receive, store, and ship up to 320,000 doses of ultra-cold, that's at -80 degrees Celsius, as well as millions of frozen vaccines. This is in addition to hospital capacity and over 50 hospitals have access to ultra-cold storage, or will have the special ultra-cold freezer delivered very soon, for a total citywide storage capacity of at least 1.5 million doses. But making sure that we're getting vaccine to the people who are at highest risk from COVID-19 requires data, and we will use our citywide immunization registry to monitor inventory and administration and help make sure everyone gets both of the doses. 
 
This registry is like the air traffic control of vaccine distribution. Thousands of health care providers are already enrolled in the registry and report vaccine doses such as for the flu shot. I think of this as the everyday miracle of routine vaccination that prevents so much suffering and already saves lives, but we will build upon this for the COVID-19 vaccine. The Health Department will track in real time communities that may have a low uptake of the vaccine and pivot to ensure that the vaccine is distributed equitably. Our existing public health infrastructure allows us to work closely with health care providers, community health centers, and independent pharmacies across the city. We will be providing everything from technical assistance to resources for storing and handling the vaccine. When we anticipate that more access is needed, we will quickly stand up temporary vaccine centers as well. For instance, these centers will be in pre-identified schools across the city and operated by the Health Department. They're staffed by trained Health Department employees, other City employees from other agencies, as well as Medical Reserve Corps volunteers. These sites would serve essential workers initially, but could be expanded to serve members of the general public getting vaccine to people rapidly and safely. The process is simple. Appointments are scheduled. Eligibility is assessed online and after affirming on the day of their appointment that they are symptom free. They can show up and receive a vaccination. In 2009 during the H1N1 influenza outbreak, the Health Department immunized tens of thousands of New Yorkers in temporary vaccine centers just like that one. At one site, almost 6,000 people were vaccinated in just two days.   
But this is a marathon, not a sprint. And there is a long, long road ahead of us. Building trust has to be integral to our preparation as integral as storage and inventory. So we will also be working closely with our partners, including community organizers, faith leaders, and local clinicians in the coming months. As we get more details, we will be sharing information widely with community partners and the general public through public forums, media availabilities, ad campaigns, and social media. As important as sharing information is, my commitment is also to listen to our community partners. To make sure we're doing everything we can possibly do to be worthy of the public's trust. And make it as easy as possible for everyone who wants a vaccine to get one. Public trust in the vaccine is essential. I think about what it takes to earn the trust of the patients I've cared for as a doctor, starting with listening, communicating the science and following up. We will bring that same approach rooted in humility, evidence, and compassion to our vaccination campaign.   
One last note, the media has been extremely important in helping to combat misinformation, whether it was dangerous myths about the measles vaccine or more recently herd immunity and the effectiveness of masks. I want to thank you for the work that you've done and ask for your partnership to report the scientific facts about vaccines and their safety. Together, we can take this step forward into the beginning of the end of this public health emergency. Thank you.  
Mayor: Thank you so much, Doctor. And everyone, Dr. Chokshi’s last point is so important. The trust that we're all going to need to have here, the information that people need and deserve. Again, thanks to our colleagues in the media. You're going to play a crucial role here, getting the information out. And we do want to get the truth out. We know there's been, unfortunately, a lot of misinformation about vaccines. But vaccines are going to be absolutely crucial to ending the coronavirus crisis once and for all. And we're going to need everyone to be a part of this, and we should be thankful too, to all those who participate in creating these vaccines. This has been an unprecedented effort. So, to all the scientists, all the companies that have been involved, to the health care leadership on all levels of government, this is something that took tremendous work in record time, really. And we should be thankful to all involved.  
Now, vaccination campaign will begin immediately. We're going to be talking about that regularly. It says to us that we will be able to turn the corner on the coronavirus, but in the meantime, we have a tremendous challenge. And we're going to go over our indicators now, which certainly illustrate what we have to deal with right now to get to that point where the vaccine is widely distributed. And we turn that bigger corner. So, let's go over to indicators. Number one, daily number of people admitted to New York City hospitals for suspected COVID-19. Threshold is 200 patients. Today's report, 174 patients. So, we see a serious increase there. Confirmed positivity level of 49.7 percent. I'm going to talk about all three indicators and then I want to give a summary. The number two is new reported cases on a seven-day average threshold, 550 cases today, 1,962. And number three, percentage of people testing city-wide positive for COVID-19. Threshold, five percent. Today's report the daily, 3.9 percent, but the seven-day rolling average has really increased, to 5.19 percent. So what does this tell us? Well, we have three indicators and we've talked about the importance of looking at all three. This is something we've had the conversation with the people of this city for months and months, that we use different indicators to tell us different things and to see if they are aligning.  
What we're now seeing more than we have seen in a long, long time, unfortunately, is these three indicators all moving in the wrong direction or having already in the case of the daily cases, moved greatly in the wrong direction. So it's quite clear at this point that this second wave unfortunately, is right upon us. We are seeing a different reality in the hospitals for sure than in the spring. And this is a very, very important point. Even though that number has gone up, it's still a very different reality in our hospitals than what we experienced in the spring. The ability of our hospitals to deal with patients is greatly improved. The ability of patients to survive this disease is greatly improved. We are not seeing the kind of stress on our ICU's anywhere near what we saw in the past. But we're extremely concerned and vigilant to make sure that we protect our hospitals and we can protect people's lives. So, this says, at this point, these indicators either have been unfortunately met or on the verge of being met. It's why we're going to come up with new information to help people understand what comes next. But it is clearly, clearly a message that everyone needs to take maximum precautions now.  
And I want to amplify what Dr. Chokshi said earlier in the week. If you're over 65, if you're someone with one of those preexisting conditions like diabetes or heart disease, you need to stay in to the maximum extent possible, except for the most essential needs. And everyone has to do the hard work of continuing to distance and wear masks and take all precautions. This is a very serious situation. We all have to be part of the solution.

5 Current/Former MTA Employees Charged With Extensive Overtime Fraud

 

Extraordinary Overtime Hours for LIRR and NYC Transit Employees Fueled by Fraudulent Claims; Defendants Were Being Paid While at Home, on Family Vacations or Bowling

 Audrey Strauss, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, William F. Sweeney Jr., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and Carolyn Pokorny, Inspector General of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (“MTA OIG”), announced today the unsealing of complaints charging THOMAS CAPUTO, JOSEPH RUZZO, JOHN NUGENT, and JOSEPH BALESTRA, four current and former longtime employees of the Long Island Rail Road (“LIRR”), and MICHAEL GUNDERSEN, a longtime employee of the New York City Transit Authority (“NYC Transit”), with federal program fraud for submitting time reports falsely claiming to have worked hundreds of hours of overtime that they did not in fact work.  CAPUTO, RUZZO, NUGENT, and BALESTRA were charged in a criminal complaint unsealed today (the “LIRR Complaint”), and GUNDERSEN was charged in a separate criminal complaint unsealed today (the “NYC Transit Complaint”).  CAPUTO, RUZZO, NUGENT, BALESTRA, and GUNDERSEN are expected to be presented this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker.

Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said:  “These defendants, senior LIRR and New York City Transit employees, allegedly made themselves some of the highest-paid employees at the entire MTA by claiming extraordinary, almost physically impossible, amounts of overtime.  As alleged, those almost impossible claims were fueled by brazen, repeated fraud, including falsely claiming to be working overtime hours while the defendants were at their homes or, in some instances, bowling.  All New Yorkers ultimately bear the burden of fraud targeting our mass transit systems, and we will continue to work tirelessly to expose and prosecute those who engage in it.  Our investigation remains ongoing.”

FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said:  “Today we’ve arrested five individuals, all senior MTA employees, for their role in an incredibly blatant overtime fraud scheme.  In the case of at least one defendant, the excessive compensation he received from the MTA was equivalent to purportedly working 10 additional hours a day, every day, for 365 days.  The others weren’t far behind, collectively earning more than $1 million in overtime pay.  This type of double-dealing directly contributes to rising MTA fares for the average, hardworking commuter.  Today these individuals learned the end of this line is the federal courthouse here in Lower Manhattan.  If you or someone you know has additional information regarding this case, we want to hear from you.  You may reach us by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI.”

MTA Inspector General Carolyn Pokorny said: “These employees allegedly worked very hard – to steal MTA time and money, ignoring their duty to keep the tracks and rails safe for their fellow workers and riders.  For MTA employees who earn hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, it takes some nerve to steal overtime by only working a fraction of your shift – if at all. The situation underscores what our Office has been saying, again and again – the lack of management systems and controls at the MTA creates an environment where fraud could easily occur undetected – and it did, as alleged in these criminal complaints.  When employees are on the clock, management needs to know that they are actually working, and not – say, enjoying concerts in Atlantic City, vacationing at resorts, or competing in a bowling league.  In grateful cooperation with our law enforcement partners at the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the FBI, MTA OIG continues to probe how these defendants allegedly succeeded in stealing so much overtime.”

According to the allegations in the LIRR Complaint and the NYC Transit Complaint (the “Complaints”):[1]

CAPUTO, RUZZO, NUGENT, BALESTRA, and GUNDERSEN each schemed to fraudulently receive thousands of dollars in compensation from the MTA by falsely claiming to have worked hundreds of voluntary overtime hours (and in the case of GUNDERSEN some regular time hours as well) that in fact they did not work.  The overtime pay the defendants claimed led to significant increases in their salary and led to them being among the highest-paid MTA employees, and in the case of CAPUTO, the highest-paid MTA employee in 2018.  The defendants frequently volunteered for overtime and then claimed to have been working lucrative overtime shifts at times when they were in fact at home or at other non-work locations, such as, in the case of CAPUTO, a bowling alley, or in the case of GUNDERSEN, family vacations.

The Defendants’ Employment at the MTA

The MTA runs North America’s largest transportation network, providing bus, subway and rail service to a population of more than 15 million people in New York City and the surrounding areas.  The MTA’s operating agencies include the LIRR, a commuter railroad providing service between Manhattan and locations on Long Island, and NYC Transit, which operates New York City subways and buses. 

CAPUTO, RUZZO, NUGENT, and BALESTRA are current or former LIRR employees.  CAPUTO was an LIRR employee responsible for track inspection until he retired on or about April 1, 2019.  RUZZO, who retired on or about October 1, 2019, and NUGENT and BALESTRA, who are still employed by LIRR, were all LIRR foremen during the relevant period. 

In addition to their regular duties, CAPUTO, RUZZO, NUGENT, and BALESTRA each volunteered to work and were assigned a number of lucrative overtime shifts during which they were required to, among other things, support third-party contractors working on construction projects on or around LIRR properties.  These voluntary overtime shifts were offered to LIRR employees in order of their seniority under the applicable union collective bargaining agreements, enabling CAPUTO, RUZZO, NUGENT, and BALESTRA to be assigned large numbers of voluntary overtime shifts due to their seniority.

GUNDERSEN is a current NYC Transit employee.  Since in or about 2015, GUNDERSEN has been a Maintenance Supervisor Level II, which requires him to, among other things, provide managerial-level oversight and support of Third Rail Contract Compliance and Circuit Breakers.

At all relevant times, CAPUTO, RUZZO, NUGENT, BALESTRA, and GUNDERSEN received hourly rates for their regular schedule, and were then entitled to be paid higher “overtime” rates – typically one and a half or two times the regular hourly rate, depending on the circumstances –  for additional hours worked.  At all relevant times, CAPUTO, RUZZO, NUGENT, BALESTRA, and GUNDERSEN were required to self-report their time.

The Defendants’ Excessive Overtime Claims

In 2018, CAPUTO was paid approximately $461,000 by the MTA.  Of that amount, approximately $117,000 comprised his base salary and other forms of compensation apart from overtime, while the additional approximately $344,000 was paid for overtime that CAPUTO ostensibly worked.  In total, this made CAPUTO the highest paid employee at the MTA during 2018 – higher than, for example, the Chairman of the MTA.

In 2018, CAPUTO claimed to have worked approximately 3,864 overtime hours, on top of 1,682 regular hours.  That is, if CAPUTO had worked every single calendar day in 2018 including weekends and holidays (although he did not), that would average out to approximately 10 hours of overtime every day for an entire year in addition to his regular, 40-hour work week.   

Similarly, RUZZO, NUGENT, BALESTRA, and GUNDERSEN also claimed to have worked and were paid for an excessive number of overtime hours in 2018.  Each of them was paid over $240,000 in overtime alone, putting each of them within the top 12 highest paid employees at the MTA during 2018.  These payments were based on reported amounts of overtime hours ranging from 2,918 to 3,914, which if the defendants had worked every calendar day in 2018 would average out to approximately 8 to 10 hours for every single day, in addition to the employee’s regular 40-hour work weeks. 

The Defendants’ Frequent Absences from Work

Staffers from the Office of the MTA Inspector General (“MTA OIG”) have worked with criminal investigators to perform a detailed review of the hours claimed to have been worked by the defendants in or around calendar year 2018.  This investigation, among other things, compared the time records for CAPUTO, RUZZO, NUGENT, BALESTRA, and GUNDERSEN with various records that established their true whereabouts, such as location information for their cellular phones, bank records, MTA building access card data, work and personal emails and social media records, and records from third parties such as a bowling alley where CAPUTO participated in bowling league games despite claiming to work an average of 10 hours of overtime every single day of 2018.

In sum, the MTA OIG’s investigation reflects that CAPUTO, RUZZO, NUGENT, BALESTRA, and GUNDERSEN were each absent from work for hundreds of hours, for which they falsely claimed to have been present and worked in time reports submitted to the MTA.  As a result, each received at least thousands of dollars in unjustified and fraudulently obtained compensation. 

For example, CAPUTO claimed to have worked, and was paid for, a regular shift from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on October 11, 2018, followed by an overtime shift at the West Side Yard in Manhattan (the site of a construction project in the vicinity of West 34th Street near the Hudson River) from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 a.m. on October 12.  However, CAPUTO’s phone records revealed that CAPUTO made several calls while in the vicinity of his residence in Suffolk County during his overtime shift on October 11, and records maintained by a bowling alley in Suffolk County revealed that he participated in a bowling league game beginning at 7:30 p.m. that night – i.e., hours into his shift.

Similarly, GUNDERSEN claimed to have worked, and was paid for, back-to-back overtime shifts from 4:00 a.m. on September 29, 2018 to 12:00 a.m. on September 30, 2018, and was paid for 20 hours of overtime during that period.  GUNDERSEN did not use any vacation time for this period, instead claiming in his time reports to be at work.  However, several weeks later, GUNDERSEN sent himself an email attaching three photographs with metadata showing the images were taken at 3:05, 3:28, and 3:30 p.m. on September 29, 2018 – i.e., in the middle of the shifts described above.  These photographs (one of which was posted to GUNDERSEN’s wife’s Facebook account) show GUNDERSEN and his family at a farm in Manalapan, New Jersey.  GUNDERSEN’s telephone records reflect that he engaged in two phone calls from the vicinity of Manalapan at 1:09 p.m. and 4:07 p.m. on September 29, 2018, also in the middle of the overtime shifts he claimed to have worked.

THOMAS CAPUTO, 56, of Holbrook, New York, JOSEPH RUZZO, 56, of Levittown, New York, JOHN NUGENT, 50, of Rocky Point, New York, JOSEPH BALESTRA, 51, of Blue Point, New York, and MICHAEL GUNDERSEN, 42, of Manalapan, New Jersey, are each charged with one count of federal program fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

The statutory maximum penalty is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants would be determined by the judge.

Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI and MTA OIG, and encouraged anyone with any information regarding overtime fraud or abuse at the MTA to contact the MTA OIG at 800-MTA-IG4U (800-682-4448), online at mtaig.state.ny.us/ComplaintForm.aspx, or via email at Complaints@mtaig.org.

The allegations contained in the Complaints 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 Complaints and the description of the Complaints set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.

14 Defendants Indicted For Participation In Manhattan Drug Trafficking Organization

 

 Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) in New York, and Dermot Shea, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced the unsealing of an indictment charging KENNETH SPEARMAN, a/k/a “Big Man,” a/k/a “Big Fella,” a/k/a “Friend,” SHELDON CLARK, a/k/a “Sal,” ERIC GRANT, a/k/a “E,” SIRRON STAFFORD, a/k/a “Sherm,” CAMERON FRANCIS, a/k/a “Cam,” ISAIAH LEDGISTER, a/k/a “Pooch,” TRISTAN OLIVER, a/k/a “Jay,” JOSEPH CAMPBELL, a/k/a “JoJo,” ERIC GASTON, HARVEY FOSTER, a/k/a “Fresh,” MAURICE WOMACK, a/k/a “Moe,” REGINALD CLAXTON, a/k/a “Dread,” a/k/a “Reggie,” LAVELLE MAITLAND, a/k/a “Vee,” and RAY BOYD, a/k/a “Mustafa,” with participating in a conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine in the vicinity of Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard (also known as 7th Avenue) between approximately 120th Street and 123rd Street, in Harlem.  The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein.

Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said:  “As alleged in the Indictment, the defendants were responsible for selling large amounts of crack cocaine in Manhattan.  Thanks to the extraordinary work of our partners at NYPD and HSI, the defendants now face federal charges for their crimes.”

HSI Special Agent in Charge Peter C. Fitzhugh said:  “HSI and NYPD dismantled a criminal organization that allegedly trafficked and distributed heroin and cocaine while terrorizing our streets with violence and no regard for the welfare of our community.  Eradicating this ruthless syndicate will provide some relief to our neighborhoods, and is a step forward in an effort to safeguard our homeland.”

NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said:  “The NYPD is relentless in combating the kind of violent crimes alleged in this federal indictment, which tear at the fabric of life in New York.  I commend the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, and all of our partners, for their sustained focus in this important case.”

As alleged in the Indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal court and in other court papers and proceedings[1]:

From at least in or about November 2019 up to and including in or about November 2020, KENNETH SPEARMAN, a/k/a “Big Man,” a/k/a “Big Fella,” a/k/a “Friend,” SHELDON CLARK, a/k/a “Sal,” ERIC GRANT, a/k/a “E,” SIRRON STAFFORD, a/k/a “Sherm,” CAMERON FRANCIS, a/k/a “Cam,” ISAIAH LEDGISTER, a/k/a “Pooch,” TRISTIAN OLIVER, a/k/a “Jay,” JOSEPH CAMPBELL, a/k/a “JoJo,” ERIC GASTON, HARVEY FOSTER, a/k/a “Fresh,” MAURICE WOMACK, a/k/a “Moe,” REGINALD CLAXTON, a/k/a “Dread,” a/k/a “Reggie,” LAVELLE MAITLAND, a/k/a “Vee,” and RAY BOYD, a/k/a “Mustafa,” participated in a conspiracy to distribute 280 grams and more of crack cocaine in and around Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard (also known as 7th Avenue) between approximately 120th Street and 123rd Street, in Harlem. 

On or about November 3, 2020, in the same area, FRANCIS and two others robbed at gunpoint someone attempting to purchase narcotics and a firearm from FRANCIS.

KENNETH SPEARMAN, a/k/a “Big Man,” a/k/a “Big Fella,” a/k/a “Friend,” 45, SHELDON CLARK, a/k/a “Sal,” 55, ERIC GRANT, a/k/a “E,” 45, TRISTIAN OLIVER, a/k/a “Jay,” 43, ERIC GASTON, 36, REGINALD CLAXTON, a/k/a “Dread,” a/k/a “Reggie,” 57, LAVELLE MAITLAND, a/k/a “Vee,” 25, and RAY BOYD, a/k/a “Mustafa,” 57, were arrested yesterday and presented before United States Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker.  JOSEPH CAMPBELL, a/k/a “JoJo,” 27, was arrested yesterday and will be presented before Judge Parker today.  SIRRON STAFFORD, a/k/a “Sherm,” 43, CAMERON FRANCIS, a/k/a “Cam,” 20, ISAIAH LEDGISTER, a/k/a “Pooch,” 30, HARVEY FOSTER, a/k/a “Fresh,” 36, and MAURICE WOMACK, a/k/a “Moe,” 51, remain at large. 

Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of HSI and the NYPD.

The charges contained in the Indictment 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 Indictment, and the description set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.

NYS Division of Consumer Protection - CONSUMER ALERT: NYS DIVISION OF CONSUMER PROTECTION ALERTS CONSUMERS TO TEXT MESSAGING SCAMMERS IMPERSONATING STATE AND FEDERAL AGENCIES

 

Text Messaging Scams Claim Relief Money is Waiting

Consumers Stay Vigilant: Do Not Share Personal Information and Never Pay to Access Government Relief Payments

 The New York State Division of Consumer Protection (DCP) is today alerting New Yorkers to new text messaging scams seeking payments and sensitive personal information by offering fake grants, tax refunds, pandemic relief, and unemployment insurance payments.

“Throughout this public health crisis, scammers have been hard at work preying on unsuspecting New Yorkers,” said Secretary of State Rossana Rosado, who oversees the Division of Consumer Protection. “This latest batch of scams prey on New Yorkers seeking pandemic relief by spoofing official government agencies. I urge all New Yorkers to be extra diligent and follow simple steps to keep your money and personal information safe.”

New York State Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon said, “It is deplorable that these scammers are misrepresenting themselves during a pandemic to prey upon New Yorkers who need assistance in a time of crisis. New Yorkers must be more vigilant than ever in protecting their personal information and should never share their Social Security number or other personal identifiers over social media channels or via text messaging. Block & report these fraudulent accounts as soon as possible.”

New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said, “While everyone is doing their best to stay informed throughout the pandemic response, unfortunately there are those who will seek to prey upon people during their most vulnerable time. As always, we must make it a habit to consider and verify the source of unsolicited promotions and monetary offers and keep personal information, including health information, protected.”

Scammers preying on consumers’ interest in pandemic relief programs are impersonating state and federal government agencies by enticing consumers to click on website links containing official-sounding text such as “pandemic stimulus relief,” “Treasury Department,” and “government payment.”  Consumers may also receive a phone call claiming they are a victim of identity theft and then receive the alarming text message, further confirming the “problem.”

After clicking the links from the text messages, consumers arrive at official looking websites designed to impersonate federal agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service or the Social Security Administration and New York State agencies, including the Department of Labor regarding unemployment payments or the Department of Health regarding contact tracing.  These sites solicit bank information and other sensitive personal details such as social security numbers, driver’s license numbers and bank account logins/passwords to enable the consumers to “accept payment.”

Sample of actual text messages:

Treasury Fund Payment: “You have received a direct deposit of $1,200 from COVID-19 Treasury Fund. Further action is required to accept this payment into your account.”

COVID Relief Grant: "The IRS has deemed you eligible for the current COVID relief grant sponsored by the Treasury Clearinghouse, you stand a chance of getting a minimum of $100000 for being a regular tax payer, agent Davies Gran has been assigned.  Click the link below"

Unemployment Claim: “You have pending claim of $1,200 from covid-19 TREAS 310 tax ref.  Further action is required to disburse funds. Click here to confirm payment method:"

Stimulus Help: "From IRS-GO: You are eligible - Register for COVID-19 Stimulus Help MSG#: 123455668"

Collaborating with New York State’s Division of Consumer Protection and several federal government agencies, telecommunications carriers have blocked thousands of these fake text messages using sophisticated algorithms to look for keywords, malicious activity, and other trends.  As the pandemic continues and the holidays approach, consumers should be mindful of increasing scam activity.

To prevent falling victim to these types of scams, please take note of the following tips:

  • Do not click links in suspect texts or emails. These lead to convincing impersonation websites attempting to collect your sensitive personally identifiable information.
  • Call the government agency directly to confirm communications, if you are concerned. 
  • Hang up the phone immediately if someone unexpectedly calls claiming to be from any government agency and threatens police arrest, deportation or license revocation.

Additional information related to New York State agencies:

  • Text messages from the New York State Department of Labor will only come from the number 468-311 OR via DocuSign. A DOL representative will never reach out directly through a text message. If someone claims to be a DOL representative over text, please block and alert the DOL. NEVER give your SSN over social media – we will NOT ask for this information on social media. The DOL urges anyone who believes they have been a victim of fraud to report it immediately at ny.gov/uifraud.

Additional information related to federal agencies:

  • Federal agencies will typically first initiate contact with constituents via mail. Federal agencies do not request personal or financial information through text message or email and will not ask for credit card numbers over a phone call they initiate.
  • Contact the agency directly
    • Internal Revenue Service (IRS):1-800-829-1040
    • Social Security Administration (SSA): 1-800-772-1213

If you encounter a marketplace problem or are concerned about a scam, you are encouraged to call or file a complaint with the Division of Consumer Protection. 

The New York State Division of Consumer Protection serves to educate, assist and empower the State’s consumers. The Consumer Helpline, 800-697-1220, is available to assist consumers Monday through Friday, 8:30am-4:30pm. Consumer complaints can be filed anytime online at the Division website, www.dos.ny.gov/consumerprotection. To view consumer alerts, consumers can visit https://www.dos.ny.gov/about/newsroom.html. The Division can also be reached via Twitter at @NYSConsumer or Facebook at www.facebook.com/nysconsumer.

RECOVERY AGENDA: CITY INVESTS $20 MILLION TO CREATE PANDEMIC RESPONSE INSTITUTE, STRENGTHENING LONG-TERM HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE

 

 Today, Mayor de Blasio announced the creation of the Pandemic Response Institute (PRI), a facility dedicated to preparing New York City and other jurisdictions for future health emergencies and epidemics. PRI will strengthen New York City’s health infrastructure, build on the success of the Pandemic Response Lab and recent experiences in epidemic response, and position the City as a global leader in research, innovation, and pandemic response.

 
This effort is part of the Administration’s long-term recovery agenda, which seeks to accelerate the City’s economic recovery by building on the network of premier hospital systems, world leading medical universities, and growing life sciences and tech sectors to make New York City the public health capital of the world.
 
“The Pandemic Response Institute will establish New York City as a global leader in public health training, research, and management,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “No city in the county has sacrificed more, or worked harder to keep COVID-19 at bay. It’s time to put those lessons to work – and move forward with bold ideas to keep New Yorkers healthy and jump-start our economic recovery.”
 
The City has identified an initial space at the Alexandria Center for Life Science to house the Pandemic Response Institute as it starts up and will aim to select an operator by mid-2021, with the goal of opening PRI by the end of 2021.
 
PRI will advance research, training, and innovation on outbreak detection, investigation, and management. Specifically, it will focus on the following areas:
 
  • Building new technologies and systems that detect, track and monitor health issues, particularly those that signal vulnerabilities to disease outbreaks.
  • Advancing research on cutting-edge diagnostics and therapeutics, as well as the latest science on outbreak modeling.
  • Training public health, business, and community leaders in all aspects of pandemic prevention and management, and the roles that they each can play in future health emergencies.
  • Piloting new community-based partnership models that build local-level health infrastructure, improve emergency preparedness, and advance health outcomes across all communities.
 
Given the critical importance of laboratory diagnosis to tracking COVID-19 and safely re-opening the city, the near-term home of PRI will be near the Pandemic Response Lab. This investment will strengthen the city’s health infrastructure and allow for important collaboration as PRI advances research and new innovations related to outbreak detection, investigation, and management.
 
The City will also convene a meeting in early 2021 to gather insights and expertise from public health and community leaders to inform PRI’s design and priority activities.
 
"Investing in public health is critical, both to ensure that the City is as well prepared as possible for the next health emergency and to help spur the City’s economic recovery," said Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Vicki Been. "The Pandemic Response Institute builds on our existing health expertise, deep and diverse talent pool, and premier academic, research and innovation institutions to position New York City at the forefront of emergency response and preparedness, while also pioneering models to improve community health and health equity and fostering good-paying jobs in the life-sciences industry."
 
"Public health is an investment, not a cost,” said Senior Advisor Dr. Jay Varma. “It’s an investment in our physical safety, our economic prosperity, and in justice, ensuring that health and opportunity are available to all. The Pandemic Response Institute will strengthen the City's resilience and help position it as the public health capital of the world."
 
“Creating a stronger city means investing in our health infrastructure and ensuring we’re prepared for the next health crisis,” said James Patchett, president and CEO of New York City Economic Development Corporation. “This institute will not only position New York City as a leader in pandemic response, it will foster research and partnerships that improve health outcomes across the five boroughs, drive innovations that advance public health, and develop the City’s talent pool so we remain a hub for life sciences and public health for years to come.”
 
“The lessons we’ve learned during the COVID-19 pandemic – and other health emergencies – must inform future responses,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Dave A. Chokshi. “New York City can harness its expertise to serve the nation with this center for training and research.”