Attorney General's Office of Special Investigation Opens Investigation into Civilian Death in The Bronx

The New York Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation (OSI) has opened an investigation into the death of Michael Dotel, who died on December 23, 2023 after an encounter with members of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) in the Bronx. 

On the morning of December 23, NYPD officers responded to a residence in the Bronx following reports of a domestic dispute. Upon arrival, officers found Mr. Dotel with his arm wrapped around a woman’s neck with a knife. She and a second woman present at the scene appeared to have been slashed by Mr. Dotel. An officer fired at Mr. Dotel, striking him in the head. Mr. Dotel was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Officers recovered a knife at the scene. The two injured women are expected to recover. 

Pursuant to New York State Executive Law Section 70-b, OSI assesses every incident reported to it where a police officer or a peace officer, including a corrections officer, may have caused the death of a person by an act or omission. Under the law, the officer may be on-duty or off-duty, and the decedent may be armed or unarmed. Also, the decedent may or may not be in custody or incarcerated. If OSI’s assessment indicates an officer may have caused the death, OSI proceeds to conduct a full investigation of the incident.  

These are preliminary facts and subject to change. 

Attorney General James Takes Down Car Theft Ring in The Bronx

 

Investigation Led by Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force and NYPD Auto Crime Division Leads to Indictment of Two Individuals

 Attorney General Letitia James announced the indictment of brothers Ricky Paulino, 25, and Rahinier Paulino, 30, who have been charged with 16 crimes related to theft and possession of vehicles between January and October 2023. The indictment, unsealed in Bronx Supreme Court, came as a result of a joint investigation by the Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force (OCTF) and the New York City Police Department’s (NYPD) Auto Crime Division.

“For many New Yorkers, their car is their most valuable possession, and having it stolen can be devastating,” said Attorney General James. “These individuals used sophisticated methods to steal cars throughout New York City, but we are bringing them to justice. I want to thank the NYPD and our partners in law enforcement for their assistance in this investigation to help protect New Yorkers.”

“These men were involved in a complex, high-tech undertaking that victimized innocent New Yorkers,” said NYPD Commissioner Edward A. Caban. “I commend the dedicated NYPD detectives from our Auto Crime Division who brought these vehicle thieves’ operation to a screeching halt, and I thank our many law enforcement colleagues – especially the investigators and prosecutors from the Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force – for recognizing the seriousness and intricacy of this case and helping to build a solid prosecution.”

 

Surveillance footage of Ricky Paulino entering stolen vehicles

Footage of Ricky Paulino in a stolen vehicle

As alleged in the indictment, from January to October 2023, Ricky Paulino stole at least four Honda vehicles throughout New York City. The investigation revealed that the stolen cars were identified and selected, and on the date of the theft, Paulino and others drove in a “follow car” to the parked location of the desired vehicle. Once they arrived, Paulino would break into the desired vehicle and reprogram the vehicle’s computer system to gain control of it. In a matter of minutes, Paulino was able to steal a vehicle without sounding alarms or drawing any attention, even in a dense urban setting. Paulino was also able to reprogram the vehicle to stop recognizing the true owners’ electronic keys, so that their keys stopped working. The stolen vehicles were then transported into the Bronx. Paulino’s crimes did not stop at New York’s borders. During one of the thefts, the follow car was tracked to a location in Massachusetts where the stolen vehicle was later observed and identified.

The investigation further revealed that Ricky Paulino and Rahinier Paulino acted together to sell a stolen vehicle in the Bronx. The investigation included covert cameras, as well as analysis of data from cellular telephones, license plate readers, vehicle infotainment, and tracking systems.

In a 16-count indictment, Ricky Paulino is charged with Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Second and Third Degrees, Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, and Conspiracy in the Fifth Degree. Rahinier Paulino is charged with Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Third Degree, Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle in the First Degree, and Conspiracy in the Fifth Degree. If convicted, Ricky Paulino faces a maximum of 15 years in prison, and Rahinier Paulino faces a maximum of 7 years in prison.

The charges against the defendants are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Attorney General James would also like to thank the Massachusetts State Police, the Randolph Township Police Department in New Jersey, the Clinton Township Police Department in New Jersey, the Yonkers Police Department, and the Bronx District Attorney’s Office for their valuable participation and assistance in this investigation.

The investigation was jointly led by NYPD Auto Crime Division’s Detective Scott Berger and OCTF Detective Luis Flores. Detective Berger is under the supervision of Sergeant Dominick Pazmino and Lieutenant Daniel Gallagher, and the overall supervision of Inspector Robert LaPollo. Detective Flores is under the supervision of Supervising Detective Bradford Miller, OCTF Assistant Chief Ismael Hernandez and OCTF Deputy Chief Andrew Boss. The Office of the Attorney General’s Investigations Division is led by Chief Oliver Pu-Folkes.

Governor Hochul Announces New York National Guard Leads Nation in Recruiting and Retention

 New York Army National Guard Exceeds 107 Percent Strength with Over 11,100 Soldiers Assigned

New York Number One in Quality Strength; Soldiers Attending their Required Military Training

Governor Hochul Met With New York National Guard Leadership to Congratulate Them on Leading the Nation in Recruiting and Retention; 

Governor Kathy Hochul announced that the New York Army National Guard was first in the nation in recruiting and retaining soldiers for the federal Fiscal Year 2023. The New York National Guard achieved a score of 118.12 percent for the 12 months from October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023, according to a year-end analysis of each state’s recruiting and retention success. The score is based on the number of enlisted soldiers, the number of new officers and warrant officers who joined, and the number of soldiers who reenlisted as a percentage of each state’s total Army Guard strength. A score of 100 percent means the state met its recruiting goals. Scores above 100 percent indicate a state exceeded those recruiting goals.

“The New York National Guard has proven time and time again that when they are needed in times of crisis they will be there with the resources and the power to keep their communities safe,” Governor Hochul said. “Their strength, recruiting and retention show impressive leadership and dedication, an organization like no other. Congratulations and thank you to all who serve their fellow New Yorkers – we are grateful for your work.”

Governor Hochul today met with New York National Guard leadership and greeted recruiters and new recruits of the National Guard to congratulate them. This was the third time that New York was rated best in recruiting among the states with “large” Army National Guard contingents and the second time the New York Army National Guard Recruiting and Retention Battalion has been rated best in the nation, according to Lt. Col. Josh Heimroth, the commander of New York’s recruiting force.

At the beginning of fiscal year 2023, the NYNG authorized a strength of 10,209 Soldiers and had 10,706 personnel assigned. The NYNG finished the fiscal year with 10,969 Soldiers in the ranks. This reflects an increase of 270 soldiers, 760 soldiers above the authorized strength for the NYNG. During this same year the NYNG recruited 1,594 Soldiers, with 1,521 new enlisted Soldiers and 73 officers who were not previously in the ranks.

Another 1,731 Soldiers chose to reenlist in the NYNG during the year, while 1,235 Soldiers left the force. All these gains and relatively few losses resulted in New York finishing first in overall recruiting achievement for 2023.

Adjutant General of the New York National Guard Major General Ray Shields said, “We just had the best year for our retention mission that we have ever had. Our soldier-first strategy is now showing results and our recruiting and retention teams are performing at an exceptionally high performing level of effort and achievement.”

Success in recruiting and retention also led to the Army Guard ranking New York as the number one state for Army Guard “Strength Health” in 2023. The combination of assigned strength, recruiting efforts, and moving Soldiers who missed drills out of the ranks without delay resulted in this designation for fiscal year 2023. This recruiting success has also allowed New York to add a division artillery headquarters and a finance battalion headquarters to the New York Army Guard force structure.

Statewide Deployment

Throughout the COVID pandemic the NYNG was deployed throughout New York, providing more than 1.8 million workdays over a 27-month period. Additionally, since September of 2022, the NYNG has been responding to the Asylum Seeker support mission where our service members have assisted New York City and Western New York with 612,000 workdays to date.

Nationwide Deployment

In June, Governor Hochul deployed the New York Air National Guard's 106th Rescue Wing to assist the United States Coast Guard search and rescue operation for a missing submersible which had been exploring the wreckage of the Titanic. NYNG Soldiers are also currently deployed in Arizona at the Southern Border.

Global Deployment

NYNG Soldiers have been deployed in Europe to support training for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Africa, and other overseas missions throughout 2023.

The NYNG is also continuing to strengthen ties with foreign militaries. The NYNG and the Danish military command responsible for patrolling Greenland plan to start conducting joint training, key leader discussions, and exchange observers in 2024 and 2025. A Statement of Intent outlining the partnership arrangement was signed during a November 7 meeting between Major General Ray Shields and Major General Søren Andersen, commander of the Danish Joint Arctic Command, at New York National Guard headquarters in Latham.

VCJC News & Notes 12/29/23

Van Cortlandt Jewish Center
News and Notes

Here's this week's edition of the VCJC News and Notes email. We hope you enjoy it and find it useful!

Reminders

1. Shabbos
2. Shabbos information is, as always, available on our website, both in the information sidebar and the events calendar.

3. Here are the times you need:  
   Shabbos Candles Friday 12/29 @ 4:18 pm
   Shabbos morning services at 8:40 am.  Please join the services if you can do so safely. 
   Shabbos Ends Saturday 12/30 @ 5:22 pm
    The office will be closed Monday for New Year’s Day

4. Send us recollections (more names added since last week)
   We are planning a salute to our recently passed members and would welcome any recollections of them that you can share.  In particular: Ted Meyrowitz, Mayer Sodden, Joel Garfinkle, Shirley Spira, Daniel Sullivan and Howie Kamiel.  Thanks in advance.

5. Last chance for a 2023 tax deduction
   The VCJC always needs and appreciates your support!  If you can make a donation now, it will be included in your 2023 tax return!  You can go to our donations page to make a general donation or go become a supporter here.

6. Your opinion is requested

   The VCJC Board has had discussions about having group meetings that we have not quite clarified as a book club, a current events discussion group, a mix of those, or something else.  Please send us an email with your thoughts on the matter.  We are interested in whether this is something you would attend and participate in, how frequently you think it should meet, what mix of topics it should address, and any other thoughts you might have.  Thanks in advance.

   
   

Our mailing address is:

Van Cortlandt Jewish Center

3880 Sedgwick Ave

Bronx, NY 10463

Attorney General James Secures $740,000 from Online Mental Health Provider for its Burdensome Cancellation Process

 

OAG Investigation Found Mental Health Provider, Cerebral, Took Days to Process Cancellation Requests and Charged Patients for Services Never Provided

Cerebral Required to Pay $540,000 in Restitution to Over 16,500 New Yorkers and Establish a Simple “Click-to-Cancel” Process

New York Attorney General Letitia James today secured more than $740,000 from Cerebral, an online mental health provider, for maintaining a long and burdensome cancellation process and continuing to charge consumers after they tried to cancel. An investigation by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) found Cerebral required subscribers to cancel by email, but then required consumers to take additional steps and wait as long as a week for their cancellation request to be processed. The investigation also revealed that Cerebral manipulated online reviews by asking its employees to submit positive reviews and hide negative reviews. Today’s agreement requires Cerebral to pay more than $540,000 in restitution to more than 16,500 affected consumers and stop its deceptive and burdensome tactics. Eligible consumers will be refunded in the original form of payment they used and do not need to take action to receive a refund.

“Making New Yorkers withstand stressful and extended delays to cancel a subscription for mental health care coverage is unacceptable,” said Attorney General James. “It is illegal and unfair to make consumers spend extra time or jump through hoops to try to cancel a subscription they no longer need. The law is clear that companies must make it easy and simple to end a subscription and my office will continue to hold them to that standard.”

Cerebral is an online telehealth company that provides consumers with mental health treatment on a subscription fee basis. Cerebral’s subscriptions provided consumers with access to virtual appointments with different types of providers, including licensed therapists, counselors, coaches, and individuals who are duly licensed and can prescribe medication. The OAG opened an investigation into Cerebral’s cancellation practices after consumers reported that they could not cancel their subscriptions.

The OAG’s investigation found that Cerebral informed subscribers they could cancel by email, but then made subscribers take a number of additional steps, such as completing a multi-question survey, before processing the cancellation. Cerebral had the ability to cancel subscriptions with the click of a button, however it allowed itself up to 72 hours to finalize cancellations – and at times took a week or more. The company used the extra time to contact subscribers with multiple retention offers to try and convince them not to cancel. When Cerebral’s delay straddled a consumer’s billing date, Cerebral charged the consumer for another month of service. The OAG’s investigation also found that Cerebral charged consumers for its mental health treatment services, even when it had no providers available to provide the treatment.

The investigation also revealed that the company illegally directed its employees to manipulate online reviews of its services by anonymously posting fake reviews and by “upvoting” positive reviews or “downvoting” negative ones. Employees were also instructed to contact customers directly and ask them to remove negative reviews, and to tell them, “We wouldn’t want anything online to deter someone from seeking mental health care and that’s really why we ask people if they are willing to” edit or remove the review.

Shortly after OAG commenced its investigation into the company, Cerebral started improving its cancellation process, including creating a “click-to-cancel” process and implementing other recommendations made by OAG regarding disclosure and refunds. Cerebral is also committing not to make more than one attempt to retain subscribers once they have indicated an intent to cancel.

Today’s agreement requires Cerebral to pay $200,000 in penalties and $540,162 in restitution, which will be distributed to 16,552 New York consumers who continued to be charged after submitting a cancellation request, or who canceled having never met with any provider.  Cerebral is required to pay restitution directly to consumers within 90 days, by crediting the payment account originally used for the subscription.  Consumers entitled to restitution do not need to take any action in order to receive the payment. 

Last week, Attorney General James filed a lawsuit against SiriusXM for trapping consumers in subscriptions they did not want. Attorney General James asks any consumers who have been affected by deceptive or fraudulent cancellation practices of any automatic-renewal service to file a consumer complaint online.

Governor Hochul Announces Funding to Support Safe and Affordable Homeownership for More Than 1,400 Households

 

$46 Million in Grant Awards Will Help Low- and Moderate-Income Homeowners Make Repairs and Safety Modifications, Provide Downpayment Assistance for First-Time Homebuyers

Complete List of Statewide Awards Available Here

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that 1,400 households will benefit from more than $46 million in grant awards to support affordable homeownership. The grants will help low- and moderate-income families make repairs or safety upgrades to their homes, replace manufactured homes, and provide down payment assistance for first-time buyers.

“As housing costs continue to rise, this significant investment will help carve out a path to affordable homeownership for 1,400 New York families,” Governor Hochul said. “My administration is using every tool at our disposal to address the state’s housing crisis, and we will continue to push forward on programs, strategies, and funding initiatives that put New Yorkers in safe, affordable homes.”

Today’s announcement complements Governor Hochul’s $25 billion comprehensive Housing Plan that will create or preserve 100,000 affordable homes, including 10,000 with support services for vulnerable populations plus the electrification of an additional 50,000 homes.

The grants – administered by New York State Homes and Community Renewal’s Office of Community Renewal – were awarded to nonprofit organizations and localities to help preserve affordable housing, support veterans and older New Yorkers, increase access to homeownership, and strengthen local economies.

HCR Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas said, “Improving access to safe, secure, and affordable housing is important for every New Yorker, but especially for the most vulnerable populations in our communities – seniors, veterans, and those with disabilities. Thankfully, we have a variety of programs that are designed to provide them with the helping hand they need to make their homes safer or be able to afford new homes. We thank all of our local partners for their dedication in creating and preserving housing across New York and for helping those who need it most.”

A summary of awards by region is available in the table below:

Region	Awards	Proposed Units Served
Capital Region	$8,094,000	236
Central New York	$4,183,870	109
Finger Lakes	$2,788,000	104
Long Island	$1,100,000	45
Mid-Hudson	$3,125,000	94
Mohawk Valley	$5,363,719	191
New York City	$1,800,000	70
North Country	$7,723,458	155
Southern Tier	$8,180,490	268
Western New York	$4,385,000	129
Grand Total	$46,743,537	1401

The awards are made through State and federally funded programs including NYS HOME, NYS Community Development Block Grant, Access to Home, Access to Home for Heroes, Access to Home for Medicaid, Mobile and Manufactured Home Replacement, and RESTORE. Each program accepts applications in an annual competitive funding round.

NYS HOME Program funds can be used to acquire and/or rehabilitate single-family housing, provide down payment assistance, replace dilapidated mobile and manufactured homes as well as provide tenant based rental assistance to households with incomes at or below 80 percent of Area Median Income.

NYS Community Development Block Grant Program provides federal funds to help localities with projects that improve communities and benefit their residents. Housing grants can be used for housing rehabilitation of owner-occupied or renter-occupied homes, down payment assistance for low- and moderate-income first-time homebuyers, and private water/wastewater system assistance for low- and moderate-income homeowners.

Access to Home program provides financial assistance to make homes accessible for low- and moderate-income persons with disabilities so that they can continue living safely and comfortably in their residences or return to live in their residences instead of in an institutional setting.

Access to Home for Heroes provides financial assistance to make homes accessible for low- and moderate-income veterans with disabilities.

Access to Home for Medicaid provides financial assistance to make residential units accessible for Medicaid-eligible persons with disabilities.

Mobile and Manufactured Home Replacement program assists low- and moderate-income homeowners to replace dilapidated mobile or manufactured homes that are sited on land owned by the homeowner with a new manufactured, modular, or site-built home.

RESTORE provides financial resources to assist senior citizen homeowners with the cost of addressing emergencies and code violations that pose a threat to their health and safety or affect the livability of the home. Assistance for the cost of these critical repairs enables seniors to continue to live independently in their homes.