Jeff Klein's Riverdale Concert Has Audience Twisting With Chubby Checker

  Last night at the Jeff Klein Summer Concert Series the crowd of over 500 people got a surprise twist from the Chubby Checker Concert in Seton Park. Instead of just staying on the stage famous recording star Chubby Checker came off the stage to say hello, and twist among the people. The photos below will show the rest of the story. 

Above - Before the concert State Senator Jeff Klein, Bronx BP Ruben Diaz Jr., and Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz make sure they, Chubby Checker, and the audience will be well protected as the elected officials join with 50th Precinct Commanding officer Deputy Inspector Terrance O'Toole who had several officers on patrol.

Below - Rock and Roll legend Chubby Checker. Checker who is 74 years old and real name is Ernest Evans tries to get the three elected officials to do the Twist.

Above - Councilman Cohen, BP Diaz, Senator Klein, Assemblyman Dinowitz, Dinowitz's son Eric, Chief of Staff Randi Martos, and Congressman Eliot Engel's Chief of Staff Bill Weitz all pose with Chubby Checker before the concert. 

Below - It's time for the concert to begin, and Chubby Checker is introduced by State Senator Jeff Klein.

Above and Below - Chubby Checker performing. That is the Whitehall building across the street from Seton Park in the background.

Above and Below - Chubby Checker went into the audience to say hello and do the twist.

Above and Below - Chubby Checker does the Twist with some members of the audience.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces $2.95 Million Settlement With Hospital Group For Improperly Delaying Repayment Of Medicaid Funds

 

Continuum Admits That It Did Not Fully Reimburse Medicaid For Erroneously Billed Claims For Over Two Years

   Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Scott J. Lampert, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (“HHS-OIG”), Eric Schneiderman, New York State Attorney General, and Thomas P. DiNapoli, the New York State Comptroller, today announced a $2,950,000 settlement of a civil fraud lawsuit against Beth Israel Medical Center d/b/a Mount Sinai Beth Israel (“Beth Israel”), St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center d/b/a Mount Sinai St. Luke’s and Mount Sinai Roosevelt (“St. Luke’s Roosevelt,” and together with Beth Israel, the “Hospitals”), and Continuum Health Partners, Inc. (“Continuum,” and together with the Hospitals, “Defendants”) for willfully delaying repayment of over $ 800,000 in Medicaid overpayments.  The settlement resolves claims under the federal False Claims Act and the New York State False Claims Act. 

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said:  “When Continuum learned that it had received over $800,000 in potential overpayments from Medicaid in 2011, it had an obligation under the law to return those funds within 60 days.  Instead, Continuum delayed repayment for more than two years and only fully repaid the Medicaid program in 2013.  With this settlement, Continuum has made admissions and is paying $2.95 million for its fraud on Medicaid.”

HHS-OIG Special Agent in Charge Scott J. Lampert said:  “Any threat to the financial health of Medicaid is a threat to the vulnerable citizens who depend upon it for critical services.  Today’s settlement should send a message to providers that this behavior will not be tolerated, and we will pursue justice in these cases.”

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said:  “Repaying Medicaid for false claims is not only vital to the integrity of the program, but it is also the law. We will not allow hospitals to drain important resources from the system, and will continue to ensure that the program is properly reimbursed for the funds that it is owed.”

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said:  “Our audits of the defendants revealed $700,000 in Medicaid overpayments.  After we were contacted about this matter, we quickly partnered with law enforcement to recover taxpayer dollars, including further overpayments that came to light only afterwards.  I thank U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara and his office for their perspicacity in seeing that justice was served.  There have been too many cases of Medicaid waste, fraud and abuse, and we will continue to partner with law enforcement to combat Medicaid fraud statewide.”

The United States Complaint-In-Intervention (the “Complaint”) alleges that between 2009 and 2010, CONTINUUM erroneously submitted claims to Medicaid for payment due to a software error.  In 2010, Continuum was alerted to the software error by the New York State Comptroller.  In February 2011, an internal investigation by CONTINUUM identified approximately 900 claims totaling over $1 million that may have been wrongly submitted to and paid by Medicaid.  This list, created by the whistleblower who filed this qui tam lawsuit, contained all of the claims that were affected by the software glitch.  Rather than using the list to repay the claims, CONTINUUM terminated the whistleblower, failed to bring this list to the attention of the Government and took nearly two years to complete its repayments.  Specifically, between 2009 and 2010, DEFENDANTS erroneously billed 444 claims to Medicaid.  These claims were identified in the whistleblower’s list on February 4, 2011, yet DEFENDANTS did not fully repay these claims until March 2013, i.e., nearly two years later, in violation of a Federal law requiring recipients of Government funds to repay the Government within 60 days of discovering the overpayment. 

DEFENDANTS moved to dismiss the Government’s Complaint and, in a first-of-its-kind decision, Judge Edgardo Ramos denied the motion in an opinion that was referred to in the New York Law Journal as “the most significant case interpretation” of the “reverse false claims provision” of the federal False Claims Act.  Brian Feldman, Health Care Overpayments and Reverse False Claims, New York Law Journal, September 8, 2015. 

Today, U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos approved a settlement to resolve the Government’s claims against DEFENDANTS.  Under that settlement, DEFENDANTS agree to pay $2,950,000 to resolve the claims under the federal and New York false claims acts.  In the settlement, DEFENDANTS admit, acknowledge and accept responsibility for the following conduct:

1. During the relevant time period, the Hospitals had managed care agreements with Healthfirst, Inc. (“Healthfirst”), a managed-care organization (“MCO”), and rendered care to numerous patients who obtained their Medicaid managed-care plans through Healthfirst.Pursuant to their contracts with Healthfirst, the Hospitals obtained from Healthfirst contractually fixed managed-care payments for services rendered to the Healthfirst beneficiaries.
2. Pursuant to Medicaid regulations, the Hospitals were entitled to receive as payment for services rendered to Medicaid managed-care patients only the amount paid by the MCO and were not permitted to seek additional payments from Medicaid or, with certain limited exceptions, the patients.
3. Beginning in or around 2009, due to a software compatibility issue, the Healthfirst remittances contained coding that caused the Hospitals and Continuum to mistakenly submit claims on behalf of the Hospitals to the Medicaid program, as a secondary payor, for additional payment for services rendered to enrollees of Healthfirst, above and beyond what they had received from Healthfirst for these services, and Medicaid paid Beth Israel and St. Luke’s Roosevelt for such claims.
4. In September 2010, the New York Office of the State Comptroller (the “Comptroller”) brought to Continuum’s attention a small number of claims submitted by Continuum on behalf of the Hospitals that had been wrongly billed to Medicaid as a secondary payor.
5. In late 2010 and January 2011, Relator and other Continuum staff members gathered and analyzed Continuum’s billing data in order to discover possibly affected claims.
6. On February 4, 2011, Relator sent an email to certain members of Continuum’s management, attaching a spreadsheet (“Relator’s Spreadsheet”) containing 890 claims of which 444 had been erroneously billed to Medicaid.
7. Continuum terminated Relator on February 8, 2011.Continuum reimbursed Medicaid in February 2011, for only five of the improperly submitted claims.
8. In March 2011, and continuing through February 2012, the Comptroller brought additional affected claims to Continuum’s attention, at which time Continuum would return the overpayments.
9. Continuum never brought Relator’s analysis to the attention of the Comptroller.
10. Continuum did not fully reimburse Medicaid for claims erroneously billed to Medicaid for over two years and did so in more than thirty tranches after February 2011, beginning in April 2011 and concluding in March 2013.

The Complaint in this case was filed under the federal False Claims Act, which punishes violators who submit false claims to the Government or knowingly attempt to avoid an obligation to repay federal funds. The allegations of fraud stated in the Complaint were first brought to the attention of the Government by a whistleblower, who filed a lawsuit under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  Those provisions allow private parties who have knowledge of fraud committed against the Government to file suit on behalf of the Government and share in any recovery.  The United States may then intervene and file a complaint, as it did here.

Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the Office of the State Comptroller.  He also thanked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, and the Office of the New York Attorney General for their assistance in this case.

MEET MILO THE STANDARD POODLE

   This is MILO a three years old Standard Poodle who is sitting patiently outside a juice bar West 238th Street in Riverdale this morning. His owner often changes the color of Milo's top, paws, tail, and most of his hair to make the pooch look even more adorable. If you are on West 238th Street in Riverdale you may be able to see Milo. By the way Milo posed for several photos, and liked this one the best.  

BRONX STREET TO BE RENAMED IN MEMORY OF LONGTIME ACTIVIST AND ASSEMBLYMAN

  Friends, family members and elected officials will gather on Wednesday,  Sept. 7^th at the corner of Ely Street & Strang Avenue in the Bronx, to rename the intersection “Honorable Samuel Bea Jr Way” in memory of the state lawmaker who is best known for his 30 years of service as district manager of Community Board 12.

The celebration and sign unveiling, officiated by Council Member Andy King (12^th C.D.), will take place at 3 p.m.

Samuel Bea Jr. became Community Board 12’s district manager in 1977 and retired in 1996.  He was re-elected three times to the New York State Assembly. He protested against sex shops on Connor Street and protested against the MTA’s attempt to reduce service on the #5 Dyre Avenue line.

Mr. Bea voted against the repeal of the commuter tax and voted for an increase in the minimum wage bill that was passed in the Assembly. 

He was the recipient of numerous awards from the Edenwald-Gunhill Tenants Association, the Northeast Bronx Caribbean Chamber of Commerce, the Bronx Borough President’s Citation Award, the National Council of Negro Women and the Williamsburg Branch NAACP.

MAYOR DE BLASIO ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES LIZ VLADECK AS HEAD OF NEW OFFICE OF LABOR POLICY AND STANDARDS

  The de Blasio Administration today announced the appointment of Liz Vladeck, an experienced, highly respected labor lawyer and advocate, as Deputy Commissioner of the new Office of Labor Policy and Standards (OLPS).

“The first Labor Day was celebrated here in New York City over a hundred years ago, and today we mark another important milestone in our City’s efforts to support working families,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “The strong leadership of Commissioner Salas and Deputy Commissioner Vladeck will grow our ability to protect, educate and empower workers across New York City’s five boroughs.”

The announcement comes just days before Labor Day, a time to commemorate the social and economic achievements of American workers. Mayor de Blasio announced the establishment of OLPS within DCA earlier this year, alongside the appointment of Commissioner Salas. OLPS will serve as the City’s focal point for research, advocacy, and relevant enforcement of related to labor issues in New York City, and will, for the first time, give working families a dedicated voice in City government.

City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito first proposed the creation of OLPS at her 2014 State of the City address.

“From extending paid sick leave to over one million New Yorkers, to making public transportation more affordable, and to standing up for vulnerable caregivers and carwash workers, this City Council is fully committed to protecting workers’ rights and to making our city a fairer and more just place for all people to work and live,” said City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. “The Office of Labor Policy and Standards will help educate and empower New Yorkers, and will ensure that the rights of all workers are protected. I look forward to working with Commissioner Salas and Deputy Commissioner Vladeck to strengthen the enforcement of our labor laws.”

“With Deputy Commissioner Vladeck now at the helm of OLPS and building her team, we are plowing ahead and working towards the Office’s goals of advocating on behalf of working families through policy, research, and community outreach,” said Department of Consumer Affairs Commissioner Lorelei Salas. “With the addition of OLPS to DCA’s portfolio of work, we can truly and holistically foster thriving communities by encouraging a fair and equitable marketplace for consumers.”

“I am honored by the confidence that Mayor de Blasio and Commissioner Salas have shown in me, and I intend to do everything I can to ensure this new office fulfills its goals to assist in the protection and empowerment of working people in New York City,” said Deputy Commissioner Liz Vladeck. “The creation of this office and the decision to house it in DCA show the commitment of the Mayor, the City Council, and the Commissioner to fighting inequality in our city. I am thrilled to become part of the team dedicated to realizing that mandate.”

Deputy Commissioner Vladeck, a third-generation New Yorker, has worked within the New York City labor movement for many years as both in-house and outside counsel for a number of unions. She got her start as a union organizer on local and national organizing and internal union campaigns, and served for a number of years on the Board and Executive Committee of Jobs with Justice – a coalition of labor and community groups. She also worked in Russia for several years with the nascent independent labor movement there, leading both a national organizing project and local campaigns, as well as advising on legal work in the field of labor and employment. She earned her law degree at Columbia Law School and holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard College.

The new office will ensure New York City continues to be at the forefront of new issues impacting workers in today’s economy, particularly in our city’s unique and diverse economy. OLPS will be a leader in recommending new policies and programs that protect New York City workers and ensure rules, regulations, and laws designed to improve working conditions are enforced properly, and that workers and businesses know and understand those laws. Through extensive outreach to workers and employers; research and investigation; and ultimate pursuit of violators, the office will continue the enforcement of local labor laws.

The Office of Labor Policy and Standards will also work closely with the Council to expand upon the City’s labor policy and enforcement work, and with other state and federal agencies to ensure workers are aware of their rights at every level of government.

By engaging individual workers, communities, advocates, employers, and government partners to identify key labor issues facing working families in New York City, OLPS will seek to develop policy recommendations and also conduct enforcement of key municipal labor laws. OLPS will continue DCA’s enforcement of, and education about the City’s Paid Sick Leave and Commuter Benefits laws, which DCA has successful implemented over the past two years. DCA continues to lead the nation on advocacy around the importance of paid sick leave and to serve as a model for other jurisdictions looking to enact and implement sick leave and commuter benefits laws.

Under the leadership of Paid Sick Leave Executive Director Nicolas Smithberg, the agency has now closed more than 800 paid sick leave cases, securing more than $3.9 million in paid sick leave fines and restitution for more than 14,500 employees. DCA’s work has been particularly impactful for those in low-wage professions, such as security guards, home health aides, restaurant workers, and retail workers, who are now receiving sick leave as required by the law. DCA’s extensive outreach and education campaigns also informed millions of New Yorkers about the laws and helped both employers and employees to understand their rights and responsibilities under the law.

Also joining Deputy Commissioner Vladeck in the Office of Labor Policy and Standards is Sarah Leberstein, who will focus on policy and research, particularly with respect to those working in the paid care industry. Leberstein previously worked at the National Employment Law Project, a research and advocacy group for low-wage workers and the unemployed. Her work there focused on improving and enforcing labor standards, with particular emphasis on home care and domestic workers. She is a graduate of Wesleyan University and Fordham Law School, and was the recipient of an Equal Justice Works fellowship. She also organized healthcare and building service workers with the Service Employees International Union.

Assemblymember Pichardo Announces Family Fun Day in Partnership with State Senator Gustavo Rivera

  Assemblymember Victor M. Pichardo in partnership with State Senator Gustavo Rivera will hold their First Family Fun Day on Saturday, August 27th from11:00am to 6:00pm at M.S.363.

This event will offer fun activities for the children and information for parents on health, education and housing issues from partners like Union Community Health Center, NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs (IDNYC), South Bronx Healthy Families, VIP Community Services, NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, Department of Education, New York Public Library and more.

What: First Annual Family Day

Who:  Assemblymember Victor M. Pichardo

          State Senator Gustavo Rivera

When: Saturday, August 27, 2016

          11:00 am – 6:00 p.m.

Where: MS 363 School Yard

120 East 184th Street

 Bronx, NY 10468

Trains: 4 train, nearest stop: 183 Street

            Bx2, nearest stop: Grand Concourse/Field Pl

 **This event is free and open to the public.

Gustavo Rivera - Fernando Cabrera Breaks Election Law Again

   State Senator Gustavo Rivera's campaign is calling on the Board of Elections to investigate Fernando Cabrera and his campaign for once again blatantly violating election law by illegally using campaign funds designated for the general election during the primary. Recent filings demonstrate Cabrera has illegally spent over $8,000 above the primary limit of a contribution he received from right-wing, anti-choice donor Roger Hertog. 

 

Hertog contributed $7,000 to Cabrera's campaign, which is the maximum a campaign can receive for a primary elections under the law, and an additional $11,000, which was designated for the general election. However, given that Cabrera's pre-election filing reports a closing balance of $2,931.67, it is evident that a significant portion of the second contribution was illegally used by the Cabrera campaign. 

 

"It is no secret that Fernando Cabrera is willing to break the law and ignore the values of Bronxites to try to advance his own political career and his right-wing ideals," said State Senator Gustavo Rivera. "He is not only taking money from an individual that is notorious for funding right-wing attacks on Black Lives Matter, criminal justice reforms and anti-poverty programs, but he is also illegally using these funds."

 

In addition, an investigation is also being called to determine the connection and possible coordination between the Republican-led SuperPac supporting Cabrera known as New Yorkers for Independent Action with both the Cabrera campaign and a tax-exempt organization called the Foundation for Opportunity In Education. Documentation links multiple individuals to all three parties. The main perpetrator being Roger Hertog, who has not only contributed $150,000 to the SuperPac and $18,000 to the Cabrera Campaign, but who also serves as the Foundation's Chair. 

 

This is not the first time Cabrera or his campaign have mishandled campaign funds. In 2014, Cabrera broke election law by illegally transferring $33,000 from his city campaign committee, which included $23,000 that had been allocated through the city's taxpayer-funded matching system, to his Senate campaign account.   

 

"It is not surprising that Cabrera's campaign or that his financial supporters are riddled with illegal and questionable activity. They have already demonstrated that they will stop at nothing to further their right-wing extremist views in Albany," said State Senator Gustavo Rivera.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

This comes from the Gustavo Rivera for Re-election campaign.

Leading Member Of Bloods Sentenced To 55 Years For Murder, Shooting, And Narcotics Trafficking

  Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that JAMAL SMALLS was sentenced today to 55 years in prison for the July 26, 2012, drug-related murder of Doneil White; leading a narcotics trafficking conspiracy that distributed powder cocaine, crack cocaine, and heroin in 2012 and 2013; and using and discharging firearms in connection with that narcotics conspiracy.  SMALLS was convicted in Manhattan federal court on November 20, 2015, following a two-week jury trial before United States District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald, who imposed sentence. 

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said:  “Jamal Smalls, convicted by a jury of a drug-related murder, narcotics trafficking, and gun charges, has now been sentenced for his crimes.  For his years of murder, mayhem, and drug peddling, Smalls has received an appropriately severe sentence.  Thanks to the FBI and the NYPD, Smalls no longer poses a threat to public safety.”

According to the Superseding Indictment, evidence admitted at trial, and statements made at court proceedings and in court filings:

JAMAL SMALLS, a/k/a “Poo Black,” a/k/a “Machiavelli,” a/k/a “Mack,” was a high-ranking member of the Bloods.  In 2012 and 2013, SMALLS ran a drug trafficking crew that operated in and around the John Adams Houses in the Bronx, New York.  SMALLS and his crew sold large quantities of powder cocaine, crack cocaine, and heroin in and around the housing project, as well as in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. 

In 2000, SMALLS was convicted of first degree manslaughter in New York State.  Throughout SMALLS’s term of incarceration, he received narcotics from his brother and people working on behalf of the crew to distribute within the state prison system.  In April 2012, SMALLS was released from New York State prison.  After his release, SMALLS began to lead the crew with his brother, participating in large-quantity narcotics deals in the Bronx and out-of-state. 

SMALLS was also involved in repeated violence committed in connection with the crew’s drug trafficking.  On July 18, 2012, SMALLS tried to shoot Doneil White, a rival drug dealer, but missed; SMALLS, however, hit a bystander in the back outside the Johns Adams Houses.  A week later, on July 25, 2012, SMALLS again shot at Doneil White in the John Adams Houses, but missed again.  Early the next morning, on July 26, 2012, SMALLS paid a member of his crew $10,000 to shoot Doneil White in a stairwell at the John Adams Houses.  White died a few days later as result of his severe injuries.

Following his arrest in August 2012, and while in pre-trial detention, SMALLS continued to lead the narcotics conspiracy, by, among other things, giving directives to members of the crew through telephone calls and in-person visits.   

In addition to the prison sentence, Judge Buchwald sentenced SMALLS to 10 years of supervised release and ordered SMALLS to pay a $300 special assessment fee.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York City Police Department for their continued outstanding work in this investigation.  Mr. Bharara also thanked the Bronx District Attorney’s Office for their valuable assistance with the investigation.