MAYOR DE BLASIO APPOINTS THREE JUDGES TO FAMILY, CRIMINAL AND CIVIL COURT

  Mayor de Blasio made three judicial appointments, including one appointment to Family Court; one appointment to Criminal Court; and one appointment to Civil Court, who will sit in Criminal Court. These appointments were designated in January in anticipation of vacancies arising at the beginning and end of March.

“I have the utmost confidence in the judges I am appointing today, whose role in upholding a fair and impartial justice system helps us build a fairer city for all,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Family, Criminal and Civil Court are part of the New York State Unified Court System. Family Court judges hear cases related to adoption, foster care and guardianship, custody and visitation, domestic violence, abused or neglected children, and juvenile delinquency. The City’s Criminal Court handles misdemeanor cases and lesser offenses, and conducts arraignments.

The Mayor appointed the following judge to Family Court:

Judge Ronna Gordon-Galchus started her legal career with The Legal Aid Society, Criminal Defense Division. She then formed a law practice partnership with her husband specializing in criminal and family law and appellate practice for nearly 29 years. She received her undergraduate degree from SUNY at Stony Brook and her J.D. from Touro College, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center.

The Mayor appointed the following judge to Criminal Court:

Judge Jeffrey Gershuny, a U.S. Army veteran, was first appointed as an Interim Civil Court Judge in March 2018 and has been serving in Criminal Court. Prior to his appointment, Judge Gershuny most recently served as Chief Counsel to the Administrative Judge of New York City Criminal Court. Prior to that, he was a Supervising Court Attorney in Criminal Court, New York County for seven years. Judge Gershuny is a graduate of SUNY Binghamton University and received his J.D. from Hofstra University Law School.

The Mayor appointed the following judge to Civil Court, who will sit in Criminal Court:

Judge Jay Weiner was in private practice with several firms, was a solo practitioner, a prosecutor for the Kings and Queens County District Attorney’s Offices, and a Staff Attorney with Appellate Advocates before serving with the New York State Unified Court System’s Appellate Division, Second Department. He had been a Principal Law Clerk to several justices. Judge Weiner graduated from Dartmouth and received his law degree from Fordham Law School.

MAYOR DE BLASIO APPOINTS VICKI BEEN AS NEW DEPUTY MAYOR FOR HOUSING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

  Mayor Bill de Blasio announced today Vicki Been will serve as the new Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development. Been is a nationally recognized expert on land use, urban policy and affordable housing and is the former Commissioner of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. As Deputy Mayor, Been will intensify and transform the City’s anti-displacement and affordability strategies and create economic opportunity for all New Yorkers.

“As HPD Commissioner, Vicki changed everything about affordable housing in New York City. As Deputy Mayor, she will dig deeper and ratchet up all our efforts to confront the biggest crisis facing our city: affordability,” said Mayor de Blasio. “She’ll kick anti-displacement strategies into high gear and open doors of opportunity to people who are struggling. Vicki will be instrumental in the fight to make New York the fairest big city in America.”

“I want to thank Mayor de Blasio for this exciting opportunity to make New York more affordable for 8.6 million New Yorkers," said Deputy Mayor Been. “Since my tenure as HPD Commissioner, the City has made great strides building more affordable housing units and benefited from record low unemployment. It's time to be bolder and find new, innovative ways to respond to the City's affordability crisis. I share the Mayor's goal to ensure that New Yorkers have the chance in our great City to thrive and live with dignity.  I look forward to working with our partners to make New York the world's fairest big city."

Vicki Been has extensive experience fighting to make New York a more affordable and equitable city. As HPD Commissioner from 2014 to 2017, Been helped craft Housing New York, the Mayor’s plan to tackle the affordability crisis and create and preserve 200,000 affordable homes by 2024. After HPD made rapid progress, the plan was updated in 2017, setting a new goal of 300,000 affordable homes by 2026. During her tenure, Been oversaw the financing of a record 62,500 affordable homes – enough for 170,000 New Yorkers. She restructured the City’s programs to reach a wider range of incomes and secure more affordable housing for every public dollar spent. She also reformed the regulatory process to reduce the risk and cost of building and preserving affordable housing while ensuring its safety, quality, and financial stability.  Been was instrumental in advancing the Mandatory Inclusionary Housing law that that requires developers to dedicate a certain percentage of rental units at below market rate rents in areas that are rezoned for higher density. There are nearly 5,600 additional MIH homes in the affordable housing pipeline.  

Been is currently the Director of NYU's Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy, the Boxer Family Professor of Law at NYU School of Law, and an Affiliated Professor of Public Policy of the NYU's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.   The Furman Center is the leading authority on land use and housing issues in New York City and one of the premier research centers on urban policy in the United States. She has worked on assessing New York City’s land use patterns, the effects of Hurricane Sandy on housing and neighborhoods, the interplay of community benefit agreements and land use practices, and on a variety of affordable housing issues, including inclusionary zoning and supportive housing.

The Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development leads the administration's efforts to grow and diversify New York City's economy, invest in emerging industries across the five boroughs, build a new generation of affordable housing, and help New Yorkers secure good-paying jobs.  The Deputy Mayor oversees and coordinates the operations of over 20 agencies, offices and affiliated entities, including:  the Economic Development Corporation, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the Housing Development Corporation, the New York City Housing Authority, the Department of City Planning, the Public Design Commission, the Board of Standards and Appeals, the Department of Cultural Affairs, the Landmarks Preservation Commission, Libraries, the Department of Parks and Recreation, the Office of Media & Entertainment, the Office of Housing Recovery Operations, NYC & Company, Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation, the Trust for Governors Island, the Hudson River Park Trust and the Rent Guidelines Board.

Been graduated from Colorado State University and received her J.D. from New York University School of Law. Been has served as a Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, and an Associate Professor of Law at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. She clerked for Judge Edward Weinfeld of the Southern District of New York and Justice Harry Blackmun of the Supreme Court of the United States. Her first day as Deputy Mayor will be May 6.

ENGEL, NADLER, LOFGREN, JAYAPAL, ESPAILLAT Question CBP Move of Detainees

Reports Indicate CBP May Have Relocated Detainees to Keep Members of Congress from Seeing the Conditions of their Confinement 

  Representatives Eliot L. Engel, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs; Jerrold Nadler, Chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary; Zoe Lofgren, Chairwoman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship; Pramila Jayapal, Vice-Chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship; and Adriano Espaillat, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, today released the following statement after reports surfaced that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) may have misled the Members on their recent trip to El Paso. According to reports, CBP moved asylum seekers who were being held in overcrowded conditions under a bridge to other unfit locations, potentially to hide them from the Members on their tour.

“It is deeply concerning that CBP would spend taxpayer dollars to move families and children from one grossly inadequate outdoor facility to another. If CBP intentionally chose to do this to hide the truth from Congress, it would be of great concern.

“As Members of Congress, we have the responsibility of asking hard questions of any Administration, including to ensure that federal agencies are following the law and working in the best interest of the American people.  In this case, part of our duties was to ensure that CBP was enforcing the law consistent with its responsibility to protect the health and safety of individuals coming to our borders.

“The Department of Homeland Security and CBP must immediately respond to us with a full explanation of this possible misuse of resources that misled lawmakers.”

Wave Hill events April 18‒25

Thu, April 18

Garden Highlights Walk

Join a Wave Hill Garden Guide for a public tour of seasonal garden highlights. Free with admission to the grounds.

Meet at Perkins Visitor Center, 1PM

Fri, April 19

Garden Highlights Walk

Join a Wave Hill Garden Guide for a public tour of seasonal garden highlights. Free with admission to the grounds.

Meet at Perkins Visitor Center, 1PM

Sat, April 20

Family Art Project: The Earth on the Turtle’s Back

Come listen to the Iroquois story of how earth came to be. Honor the history of our planet, and all that it has given us, by screen-printing a turtle image and building layers of earth atop its shell, creating a printing plate using natural and upcycled materials. Free, and admission to the grounds is free until noon.

Wave Hill House, 10AM–1PM

Sat, April 20

In The Shop: Spend $75, Receive a Free Pot of Bulbs!

Spend $75 in The Shop and receive the gift of spring bulbs!

Perkins Visitor Center, 10AM–4:30PM

Sat, April 20

Wave Hill History Walk

Discover the fascinating history of Wave Hill’s architecture and landscape on a walk with a Wave Hill Garden Guide. Hear about the people who once called Wave Hill home, among them Mark Twain, Theodore Roosevelt, Bashford Dean and Arturo Toscanini. Free with admission to the grounds.

Meet at Perkins Visitor Center, 1PM

Sat, April 20

Gallery Tour

Tour Glyndor Gallery with Wave Hill’s Curatorial Fellow or Gallery Greeter to get an insider’s view of current exhibitions. Here We Land features three, former Winter Workspace artists Camille Hoffman, Maria Hupfield and Sara Jimenez who return explore narratives about contested space that draw on personal and cultural touch points in their immersive installations. Rachel Sydlowski fills the Sunroom Project Space walls with complex, screen-print collages of flora and fauna, architectural details and decorative motifs from Wave Hill, Inwood Hill Park and other surrounding green spaces. Free with admission to the grounds.

Glyndor Gallery, 2PM

Sun, April 21

Family Art Project: The Earth on the Turtle’s Back

Come listen to the Iroquois story of how earth came to be. Honor the history of our planet, and all that it has given us, by screen-printing a turtle image and building layers of earth atop its shell, creating a printing plate using natural and upcycled materials. Free with admission to the grounds.

Wave Hill House, 10AM–1PM

Sun, April 21

In The Shop: Spend $75, Receive a Free Pot of Bulbs!

Spend $75 in The Shop and receive the gift of spring bulbs!

Perkins Visitor Center, 10AM–4:30PM

Sun, April 21

Garden Highlights Walk

Join a Wave Hill Garden Guide  for a public tour of seasonal garden highlights. Free with admission to the grounds.

Meet at Perkins Visitor Center, 2PM

Mon, April 22

Closed to the public.

Tue, April 23

Gallery Tour

Tour Glyndor Gallery with Wave Hill’s Curatorial Fellow or Gallery Greeter to get an insider’s view of current exhibitions. Here We Land features three, former Winter Workspace artists Camille Hoffman, Maria Hupfield and Sara Jimenez who return explore narratives about contested space that draw on personal and cultural touch points in their immersive installations. Rachel Sydlowski fills the Sunroom Project Space walls with complex, screen-print collages of flora and fauna, architectural details and decorative motifs from Wave Hill, Inwood Hill Park and other surrounding green spaces. Free with admission to the grounds.

Glyndor Gallery, 2PM

Wed, April 24

Garden Highlights Walk

Join a Wave Hill Garden Guide  for a public tour of seasonal garden highlights. Free with admission to the grounds.

Meet at Perkins Visitor Center, 1PM

Thu, April 25

Garden Highlights Walk

Join a Wave Hill Garden Guide  for a public tour of seasonal garden highlights. Free with admission to the grounds.

Meet at Perkins Visitor Center, 1PM

A 28-acre public garden and cultural center overlooking the Hudson River  and Palisades, Wave Hill’s mission is to celebrate the artistry and legacy of its gardens and landscape, to preserve its magnificent views, and to explore human connections to the natural world through programs in horticulture, education and the arts.

HOURS – Open all year, Tuesday through Sunday and many major holidays: 9AM–5:30PM, March 15–October 31. Closes 4:30PM, starting November 1.

ADMISSION – $10 adults, $6 students and seniors 65+, $4 children 6–18. Free Saturday and Tuesday mornings until noon. Free to Wave Hill Members and children under 6.

PROGRAM FEES – Programs are free with admission to the grounds unless otherwise noted.

Visitors to Wave Hill can take advantage of Metro-North’s one-day getaway offer. Purchase a discount round-trip rail far and discount admission to the gardens. More at http://mta.info/mnr/html/getaways/outbound_wavehill.htm

  

DIRECTIONS – Getting here is easy! Located only 30 minutes from midtown Manhattan, Wave Hill’s free shuttle van transports you to and from our front gate and Metro-North’s Riverdale station, as well as the W. 242nd Street stop on the #1 subway line. Limited onsite parking is available for $8 per vehicle. Free offsite parking is available nearby with continuous, complimentary shuttle service to and from the offsite lot and our front gate. Complete directions and shuttle bus schedule at www.wavehill.org/visit/.

Information at 718.549.3200. On the web at www.wavehill.org

SENATOR BIAGGI REPORTS ON THE STATE’S 2019-2020 BUDGET

  Senator Alessandra Biaggi (Bronx/Westchester) issued the following analysis of the 2019-2020 State budget:

On April 1, the legislature passed the $175.5 billion state budget, which included some extremely important reforms, but also some major disappointments. It was the first budget since the new Democratic majority took over the State Senate and the first I participated in. I was disappointed in the process and believe it needs to change, but I will have more to say on that soon. For now, here’s my view on the key results.

Criminal Justice Reform: How much money you have should not determine how you are treated by the criminal justice system. That’s not justice and these new reforms will result in major, long needed improvements in the fairness of our criminal justice system.

• There will be no cash bail for most misdemeanor and non-violent felony offenses. Now, too often too many people, usually the impoverished and people of color, who are accused but not convicted, can’t make bail and have to sit in jail for long periods, potentially losing their jobs and their homes. Now that changes.
• Changes to the discovery rules will mean that prosecutors will have to share evidence with the defense earlier.  Currently, the accused don’t know what the evidence is against them or how long they will have to wait for trial and too many are forced to plead guilty, whether they are actually guilty or not.
• Speedy trial provisions mean that trials will happen sooner and that no individuals will languish in prison for excessive amounts of time for crimes that they have only been accused of.

Voting: Earlier this year, we passed major reforms to make it easier for everyone to register and vote, which is essential to preserve our democracy, especially at a time when the right to vote is under attack in other areas of the U.S. The budget provided the funding to actually implement those reforms.

Funding to Fix Mass Transit.  The New York City metropolitan area doesn’t work without good mass transit. One of our most important tasks was to produce enough reliable funding to fix and expand our subways, commuter railroads and bus lines.

• We passed congestion pricing, which will establish tolls for driving into Manhattan south of 60th Street, excluding those just using the FDR or West Side Highways. Many of the details, such as exclusions and discounts based on, for example income or credit for bridge and tunnel tolls paid in the same trip, will be determined by a commission.
• An Internet sales tax will be imposed by Internet retailers such as Amazon on New Yorkers who buy items that would be taxed if bought in a store. That should both produce income and help small local businesses that are at a disadvantage when Internet sellers don’t collect sales tax.
• There was a proposal to tax expensive second homes owned by people who don’t live in New York City, the Pied-a-Terre tax. Those apartments will only maintain their value as long as New York City remains a good place to live and work, so it’s reasonable to ask that those super wealthy people contribute to maintaining the City. Unfortunately, that proposal was replaced with a tax on the sale of all homes above a certain value, starting with $3 million, and an increase in the mansion tax, starting with homes at $2 million. These taxes will fall on many New Yorkers who are not rich, and will produce less money to fix mass transit than the Pied-a-Terre tax. Sadly, the real estate industry used its power to push for the change, which will benefit only high-end developers and the super-rich, many of them foreigners. That’s a strong argument for campaign finance reform to get money out of politics. More on that below.   

Plastic Bag Ban: The budget protects our waterways and environment by banning plastic carry out bags, and authorizing counties and cities to impose a five-cent fee on paper bags. If they choose to opt-in, 40 percent of the funds raised from the fee will help cities and counties purchase and distribute reusable bags, especially in low and fixed-income communities. The other 60 percent will go to the Environmental Protection Fund.

Health Care: To protect New Yorkers access to health care, with the Affordable Care Act under attack in Washington, the State made the federal Affordable Care Act and the New York Health Care Exchange into State law.

Education: Nothing is more important than ensuring that every student in every school in every zip code has access to an excellent education. In my campaign, I promised to fight for full funding for our schools, but we did not win that fight this year. This budget includes $27.86 billion in General Support for Public Schools, a $1 billion increase over the 18-19 school year, and a total of $18.4 billion in Foundation Aid, an increase of $622 million in Foundation Aid. Both the Senate and Assembly proposed double that amount. I’m determined to continue fighting for full funding of our schools. Clearly, it will take all of use working together to achieve that.

Campaign Finance Reform: As noted above on the issue of funding for mass transit, when big money is involved, decisions benefit them, not all of us. That’s why it’s essential that we implement a program of matching small donor contributions and lower the maximum contribution, which will require candidates to spend time talking to and asking for support from their constituents, not special interests. Instead of passing that program, the job has been given to a commission. It’s essential that we ensure that the people who are appointed to that commission fully support real reform. And that the commission is not used to end fusion voting, which allows candidates to run on the lines of more than one political party.

In my first three months as your Senator, there are some major accomplishments to point to in the legislation passed before the budget and in the budget itself. But clearly there are also fights yet to be won, for which I will need your support. One clear lesson already is that elections matter and your vote matters. Much of what we have been able to accomplish would not have been possible without the new Democratic majority in the Senate. So I urge everyone to register and vote. And with the new law allowing teens 16 and 17 to pre-register, make sure your children and family members also register and vote.

Bronx Man Sentenced To Life In Prison In Connection With Fatal Carjackings Of Two Livery Cab Drivers

  Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that TYRONE FELDER, a/k/a “Man Man,” was sentenced to life in prison plus 34 years for killing two livery cab drivers during fatal carjackings: Maodo Kane, whom FELDER killed in the Bronx on August 5, 2014, and Aboubacar Bah, whom FELDER killed in the Bronx on August 12, 2014.  FELDER was also sentenced for participating in two armed robberies in Yonkers on August 5, 2014, as well as firearms offenses related to the carjackings and the robberies.  A jury found FELDER guilty on September 6, 2018, after a trial before U.S. District Judge Vincent L. Briccetti, who also imposed today’s sentence. 

United States Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “Tyrone Felder cruelly killed two innocent men who were simply trying to earn an honest living.  The swift action of the FBI, the NYPD, and the Yonkers Police Department stopped him before he could kill again.  Now Felder will spend the rest of his life behind bars.”

In pronouncing the sentence, Judge Briccetti said he was “astonished by the audacity and brutality” of FELDER’s crimes.

According to the allegations contained in the Indictment and the evidence presented in court during the trial:

On August 5, 2014, FELDER and three other men carjacked Maodo Kane in order to steal his cab.  FELDER and his crew forced Mr. Kane to drive to an isolated street near Hunter Avenue in the Bronx.  After another carjacker pulled Mr. Kane from his vehicle, FELDER shot Mr. Kane once in the back of his head, killing him.  FELDER’s crew then used the stolen car to commit two gunpoint robberies of businesses in Yonkers.

Subsequently, on August 12, 2014, the same crew carjacked Aboubacar Bah, again to steal his car to use in robberies.  When Mr. Bah resisted, FELDER shot him in the back of the head inside his vehicle on Bryant Avenue in the Bronx.  Mr. Bah’s vehicle careened down the street, crashing into parked cars before coming to a stop.  FELDER and his crew pulled Mr. Bah’s body from the car and drove off in the vehicle, intending to commit further robberies.   The carjackers soon abandoned the cab and their plans because they believed police were onto them. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), and Yonkers Police Department caught FELDER and his crew several days later.  Among other investigative techniques, the special agents and detectives working the case gathered surveillance video from dozens of cameras in the Bronx and Yonkers, piecing together the crew’s movements during their crimes.

FELDER’s co-defendants, Kareem Martin, a/k/a “Jamal Walker,” Takiem Ewing, a/k/a “Mulla,” and Tommy Smalls, a/k/a “Tommy Guns,” previously pled guilty to participating in the fatal carjackings described above and await sentencing by Judge Briccetti. 

Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the NYPD, the City of Yonkers Police Department, and the FBI’s Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force.

Bronx Man Sentenced In Manhattan Federal Court To 20 Years In Prison For Attempting To Provide And Conspiring To Provide Material Support To ISIS

Adam Raishani, a/k/a “Saddam Mohamed Raishani,” Attempted to Travel to Syria to Join ISIS and Facilitated Another Man’s Travel to Join ISIS

  Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and John C. Demers, the Assistant Attorney General for National Security, announced that ADAM RAISHANI, a/k/a “Saddam Mohamed Raishani,” was sentenced to 20 years in prison for attempting to provide and conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (“ISIS”).  RAISHANI pled guilty to a Superseding Information on November 14, 2018, before U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams, who also imposed today’s sentence.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “Adam Raishani may be a U.S. citizen, but he pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, the terrorist organization that seeks to destroy the ideals inherent to America.  In his efforts to show support to the organization, he helped another man make a trip to the Middle East so that he could join and train.  Then, a year later, Raishani decided to follow him, leaving Raishani’s wife and child behind in the United States.  Thankfully law enforcement was there to arrest him before he could make his dream of jihad a reality.  Now, Raishani will spend the next 20 years of his life behind bars for his treachery.”

Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers said:  “Raishani tried to leave his young family to travel overseas to join ISIS.  Fortunately, he was arrested before he could leave the country.  Raishani is the latest in the long line of would-be terrorists whom we have arrested and prosecuted before they could accomplish their mission to provide material support to ISIS overseas.  I commend the agents, analysts, and prosecutors who are responsible for this result.”

According to the Superseding Information, other court filings, and statements made during court proceedings:

Beginning in the fall of 2015, RAISHANI conspired with another ISIS supporter (“CC-1”) to provide material support and resources to ISIS.  RAISHANI and CC-1 agreed to travel overseas to join and wage jihad for ISIS, with CC-1 to depart first.  On October 30, 2015, CC-1 departed from JFK Airport for Istanbul, Turkey, where he planned to cross into Syria to join and fight for ISIS.  RAISHANI helped coordinate CC-1’s transportation from the Bronx, New York, to John F. Kennedy International Airport (“JFK Airport”), and RAISHANI accompanied CC-1 from the Bronx to JFK Airport.

RAISHANI continued communicating with CC-1 following CC-1’s departure, using an encrypted email application in an effort to avoid law enforcement detection.  For example, on January 2, 2016, RAISHANI sent an email to CC-1 stating:  “Glad tidings brother. Its [sic] been some time since your voyage.  I pray to Allah The ALL MIGHTY to grant you success.  Until next time.”[1]  On April 1, 2016, RAISHANI sent another email to CC-1 stating:  “I hope Allah has bestowed you what you were seeking. . . . May Allah grant you sincere and clean intentions and make you among the righteous in Janatal Firdaus [a reference to Islamic paradise]. . . . Please return this email and respond to what we agreed upon before your departure.  Until next time.”  On May 3, 2016, CC-1 responded to RAISHANI, indicating that he had succeeded in joining the Islamic State.  CC-1 informed RAISHANI that CC-1 was “fine and well,” that CC-1 “wished you [RAISHANI] were here with me,” and that “here we are living with izza [honor].”

Also in May 2016, CC-1 posted content on a particular social media application (“Application-1”) indicating that CC-1 was living in the Islamic State and fighting on its behalf.  For example, CC-1 sent messages to another user of Application-1 stating:  “I’m living in the Islamic state safely and secure by the permission of Allah,” “[h]ere we are fighting the kuffars [non-believers],” and “I left the land of kuffars now I’m living in the khilafah [the caliphate].”  CC-1 also posted a photograph on Application-1 that shows CC-1 carrying an assault rifle and the flag of ISIS. 

Between January and June of 2017, RAISHANI had a series of meetings with individuals who were, unbeknownst to RAISHANI, a confidential source working at the direction of law enforcement and an undercover law enforcement officer.  In the course of those meetings, RAISHANI admitted that he had previously helped another person (CC-1) travel overseas to join ISIS, and stated that he intended to travel overseas to join ISIS himself.  During those meetings, RAISHANI also downloaded and viewed violent ISIS propaganda videos, and expressed his desire to wage jihad on behalf of ISIS and his belief that the Quran can be read to justify the violence, including beheadings, perpetrated by ISIS.   

By April 2017, RAISHANI was actively planning to travel abroad to join ISIS.  RAISHANI indicated that he aspired to join ISIS in Syria and that he aimed to travel before the end of Ramadan, an Islamic holy month that ran from approximately May 26 through June 24 of 2017.  In June 2017, RAISHANI made preparations to leave, including by paying off debts and purchasing clothing that he intended to wear for training with ISIS overseas.  RAISHANI indicated his intention to meet an ISIS member in Turkey, who would facilitate RAISHANI’s joining the terrorist organization in Syria.  In the course of communications with an undercover law enforcement officer, RAISHANI conveyed that he was prepared to die, to martyr himself, for ISIS.  On June 21, 2017, RAISHANI attempted to board a flight bound for Turkey (via Portugal) at JFK Airport, at which point law enforcement officers arrested him.

Following RAISHANI’s arrest, the FBI searched RAISHANI’s Bronx residence pursuant to a search warrant.  Among the evidence recovered was a letter from RAISHANI addressed to members of his family, which the FBI found in a safe in RAISHANI’s bedroom.  In the letter, RAISHANI – who left behind his wife and young son when he attempted to travel to Syria to join ISIS – advised his wife that she could still choose to “[j]oin” him in the Islamic State, and he expressed regret that she did not share his radical views and that he had been unable to convince her to accompany him to join ISIS.  RAISHANI also wrote:  “Do Not Divulge this document and other documents that I have giv[en] to you to the authorities.  Do not believe their plots.  Do not divulge my absences but instead say I went to do volunteering outside the country with my medical skills and health background.”          

In addition to the prison term, RAISHANI, 32, of the Bronx, New York, was sentenced to 20 years of supervised release.

Mr. Berman praised the outstanding efforts of the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which principally consists of agents from the FBI and detectives from the NYPD, and the NYPD’s Intelligence Division.  Mr. Berman also thanked the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, as well as the New York Office of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

[1] Communications and conversations discussed herein are described in substance and in part.

Bronx High School Teacher Charged With Possession And Distribution Of Child Pornography

  Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Angel M. Melendez, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), and James P. O’Neill, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced the arrest of JONATHAN SCHWEITZER for possession and distribution of child pornography.  SCHWEITZER was arrested today and presented before United States Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger. 

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “As alleged, Jonathan Schweitzer received, possessed, and distributed child pornography, including depictions of young children.  The allegations are particularly disturbing in light of Schweitzer’s position as a school teacher.  We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to protect children.”

Special Agent-in Charge Angel M. Melendez said:  “Schweitzer works in a position of trust, responsible for teaching the young people of New York City for more than a decade.  Yet, he is alleged to have shared and received child pornography in various dark-web chatrooms.  The abuse and exploitation of children for viewing pleasure is abhorrent, and we will seek to arrest those predators so that they face justice for their actions.”

Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill said:  “This individual allegedly violated his professional trust as a teacher to commit one of the most heinous crimes imaginable.  I’d like to thank our local, state and federal law enforcement partners involved in this case for their hard work and diligence to ensure that one less person allegedly responsible for these egregious offenses is held accountable for their actions.” 

According to the allegations in the Complaint filed today[1]:

Between at least February 2019 and March 2019, SCHWEITZER, who is employed as a teacher at a high school located in the Bronx, used a peer-to-peer file sharing network to share approximately 10 unique video files known to contain child pornography.  The child pornography included depictions of prepubescent children engaged in sexual activity with other children or adults.  On April 3, 2019, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at SCHWEITZER’S apartment and recovered his laptop computer, which contained numerous files containing child pornography.

SCHWEITZER, 41, of the Bronx, New York, is charged with one count of distribution and receipt of child pornography, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of possession of child pornography, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.  The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

The charges in the Complaint are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Mr. Berman praised the New York City Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations for their outstanding investigative work. 

 [1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth below constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.