Two Charged In Manhattan Federal Court With Conspiring To Traffic In Counterfeit Goods

   Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Angel M. Melendez, Special Agent in Charge of New York, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), Robert E. Perez, Director, Field Operations New York, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”), and James P. O’Neill, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced charges today against two individuals for conspiring to traffic in counterfeit goods.  DAYE DONG and HONGYU CHEN are charged with importing counterfeit goods from China into the United States with the intent to distribute and sell the counterfeit products to retailers in New York City and elsewhere.  The defendants were arrested today and will be presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin Nathaniel Fox later this afternoon.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said:  “These defendants allegedly sold counterfeit goods, fueling consumers’ desire for low prices on high end products.  But the cheap prices come at a high price for legitimate businesses.  Protection of intellectual property remains an important priority for my office and for our partners at CBP, ICE, and the NYPD.”  

HSI Special Agent in Charge Angel M. Melendez said:  “People wrongly assume intellectual property theft is a victimless crime.  The reality is, individuals like those charged today are allegedly robbing from law abiding merchants and from the legitimate companies that manufacture these items.  Brand-name knockoffs are not a harmless way to beat the system.”

CBP Director Robert E. Perez said:  “U. S. Customs and Border Protection is proud of the expertise we provide in support of investigations that result in the takedown of criminal enterprises.  It is through interagency partnerships and collaborative efforts, like the one leading to today's arrests, that law enforcement successfully combats today's criminal organizations.”

NYPD Commissioner James P. O’Neill said:  “This sale of conterfeit merchandise is a scheme that is old as crime itself.  Today’s arrests led by Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement ensures consumers have confidence in the products they purchase.”

According to the allegations in the Complaint[1]:

From March 2012 to October 2016, DONG and CHEN, who are married, imported counterfeit luxury and designer brand goods into the United States from China.  DONG and CHEN stored the imported counterfeit goods in two warehouses with the intent to transfer the goods to retailers in New York City, including a Manhattan retail store operated by CHEN, and elsewhere.  On October 27, 2016, federal and New York City law enforcement officers conducted a search of DONG and CHEN’s residence, warehouses, and retail store, and found more than 30,000 pieces of counterfeit goods, including handbags and wallets, for various luxury and designer brands. 

DONG, 49, and CHEN, 48, of Bayside, New York, are both charged with one count of conspiring to traffic in counterfeit goods, and one count of trafficking in counterfeit goods.  Each count 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 defendants will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations.  He also thanked the New York Police Department for its assistance.

This case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit.  Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan E. Rebold is in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Yonkers Man Sentenced In White Plains Federal Court To More Than 22 Years In Prison For Kidnapping And Sex Trafficking A 19-Year-Old Victim

   Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that CLYDEDORO GRAHAM was sentenced in White Plains federal court to 270 months in prison for kidnapping a 19-year-old victim (the “Victim”), conspiring to engage in sex trafficking of the Victim, and attempting to engage in sex trafficking of the Victim.  CLYDEDORO GRAHAM was convicted in November 2015 after a seven-day jury trial before United States District Judge Nelson S. Román, who imposed today’s sentence.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated:  “Clydedoro Graham orchestrated a horrifying plot to lure a 19-year-old woman to his apartment, hold her against her will, and coerce her—through repeated sexual assault and other physical and psychological pressure—to work as a prostitute for him.  A unanimous jury convicted him of kidnapping and sex trafficking, and today, the Court imposed a significant sentence that reflects the viciousness of the defendant’s crimes.”

According to the allegations in the Complaint and Superseding Indictment filed in federal court, and the evidence presented at trial:

On the evening of June 16, 2014, CLYDEDORO GRAHAM was at his apartment in Yonkers, New York, (the “Apartment”) with his girlfriend and accomplice, Alisa Papp.  His cousin, Kevin Graham, and his friend, Hector Garcia, were also present.  As Papp, Kevin Graham, and Garcia knew, CLYDEDORO GRAHAM was a “pimp.”  That night, the four co-conspirators agreed to lure a prostitute to the Apartment for the purpose of forcing her to work for them.

CLYDEDORO GRAHAM was the leader of this scheme.  Using his cellphone, he went to Backpage.com, a website where prostitutes post advertisements.  He trolled through the advertisements searching for a target, and eventually decided on the Victim.  Kevin Graham called the Victim and led her to believe, falsely, that he wanted to hire her for a prostitution “date.”

When the Victim arrived, the co-conspirators were lying in wait.  Papp served as the lookout, making sure the Victim did not arrive with anyone else.  Kevin Graham met her outside and led her into the Apartment, while CLYDEDORO GRAHAM and Garcia hid inside.  Once inside the Apartment – and at the direction of CLYDEDORO GRAHAM – the co-conspirators took away the Victim’s purse and phone, removed the battery from her phone, and told her that she was there to work as a prostitute for them.  The Victim asked repeatedly to leave, but CLYDEDORO GRAHAM and his accomplices refused.

The co-conspirators told the Victim that she had no choice but to have sex with each of the men.  She refused and asked again to go home.  CLYDEDORO GRAHAM said she could give it up or they would “take it.”  CLYDEDORO GRAHAM, Kevin Graham, and Hector Garcia took turns having sex with the Victim, against her will.

Later that night, Kevin Graham and Garcia left the Apartment.  For the next two days and two nights, CLYDEDORO GRAHAM and Papp held the Victim captive in the Apartment.  Among other coercive measures, CLYDEDORO GRAHAM removed the doorknob from the interior side of the Apartment’s front door to prevent the Victim from escaping.  He then made plans to bring the Victim out onto the streets of Yonkers to prostitute her for his own benefit.

CLYDEDORO GRAHAM’s scheme unraveled on June 18, 2014, when two Yonkers police officers arrived at the Apartment after receiving a tip from individuals who had been searching for the Victim.  The officers demanded to speak with the Victim, immediately determined that she was being held against her will, and brought her to safety.

In addition to the prison sentence, CLYDEDORO GRAHAM, 28, of Yonkers, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release.

Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI’s Westchester Violent Crimes Task Force, which comprises agents and detectives of the FBI, United States Probation, the City of Yonkers Police Department, the City of Peekskill Police Department, the New York City Police Department, the Westchester County Police, and the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Extradition Of International Arms Traffickers For Their Involvment In Conspiracy To Import Cocaine Into The United States

  Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Mark Hamlet, Special Agent in Charge of the Special Operations Division of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), announced today the extradition of MEMET GEZER, a/k/a “Muhammad Altrky,” a/k/a “Wissam Abdel Rahman Younes,” a/k/a “Mohamed Subhe Al Gazar” (“GEZER”) and SABER KARIMCH, a/k/a “Abu Farouk” (“KARIMCH”), international arms traffickers charged with conspiring to sell large quantities of military-grade weaponry to individuals GEZER and KARIMCH believed were representatives of a Mexican drug trafficking organization (the “DTO”).  GEZER and KARIMCH, were arrested by Montenegrin authorities on April 14, 2016, extradited from Montenegro today, and will be arraigned in front of United States Magistrate Judge Kevin Nathaniel Fox later today.  The case is assigned to Chief United States District Judge Colleen McMahon.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated:  “Highlighting the global nature and impact of the drug trade, two men from the Middle East working with what they believed to be members of a Mexican drug trafficking organization, allegedly agreed to provide military-grade weapons, including machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, to help protect cocaine shipments headed for the United States.  Thanks to the DEA’s relentless efforts, these alleged international arms traffickers are now on American soil facing criminal charges.”

Special Agent in Charge Mark Hamlet stated:  “This global conspiracy uncovered by DEA and its partners further highlights the dangerous and potentially deadly connection between arms dealers and drug trafficking networks worldwide.  DEA’s vast global presence allows us to pursue some of the world’s most dangerous criminals so they may face justice for their crimes in the United States.”

According to the Indictment and Complaints[1], which were unsealed in October 2016:

Between September 2015 and March 2016, GEZER and KARIMCH participated in a series of in-person meetings and telephone calls with individuals whom GEZER and KARIMCH understood to be representatives of a Mexican drug trafficking organization (the “DTO”).  However, those individuals were, in fact, two DEA confidential sources (the “CSes”).  During those meetings and telephone calls, which were recorded, GEZER and KARIMCH agreed to supply the DTO with high-powered weapons, including machine guns, grenades, and rocket-propelled grenades (“RPGs”), with the express understanding that those weapons would be used to protect large cocaine shipments as they traveled from and through Mexico for distribution in the United States. 

In early 2016, one of the CSes met with GEZER in a foreign country.  GEZER escorted the CS to a gated compound and showed the CS bulk quantities of weapons, including RPGs, grenades, sniper rifles, and machine guns.  In February 2016, GEZER sent the CS videos of some of the weapons that GEZER had shown the CS in the gated compound to confirm that GEZER was ready to proceed with the weapons deal. 

GEZER additionally offered to sell the CSes large sums of United States currency for a fraction of the currency’s face value, with the understanding that the money would help the CSes launder drug money for the DTO.  In early February 2016, GEZER showed one of the CSes what appeared to be approximately $2 million in U.S. currency, which GEZER indicated was a small fraction of what GEZER could make available to the CSes.

GEZER, 49, a citizen of Turkey, and KARIMCH, 50, a citizen of Syria, are each charged with one count of conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory sentence of 10 years in prison; two counts of attempting to import cocaine into the United States, each carrying a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory sentence of 10 years in prison; and one count of conspiracy to aid and abet the possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking offenses, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.  In addition, GEZER is charged with conspiracy to launder money, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. 

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

Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative efforts of the DEA’s Special Operations Division, the DEA’s Rome Country Office, and the Montenegrin National Police.  The defendants’ arrests and subsequent extradition are also the result of the close cooperative efforts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.

The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrea Surratt and Ilan Graff are in charge of the prosecution.

The allegations contained in the Complaints and Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Did Anthony Weiner Screw Up Clinton's Chance at the Presidency

  It has been reported that the computer used by Anthony Weiner to send photos of himself and his young child to an underage minor girl is going to cause problems for Hillary Clinton, and could possibly give Donald Trump the advantage to win the election for President. 

  The computer in question was a jointly used computer used not only by Anthony Weiner, but also Hillary Clinton Chief of Staff Huma Abin Weiner's wife at the time he was caught sending lewd photos to the underage girl. 

   The FBI is now in possession of said computer, and has released a letter stating that it will now be reopening the Hillary Clinton e-mail case due to the fact that many e-mails have been found on the computer which could have been of a very sensitive nature or could have been classified material. 

   The FBI will continue to investigate the matter in the statement by the Director of the FBI.

     More details in future posts.

Tax Attorney And CPA Indicted For Tax Evasion And Diversion Of Tax Shelter Fees From Major Manhattan Law Firm

Tax Attorney Also Charged with Making False Statements to IRS, and Causing Another Person to Lie to the IRS

   Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Shantelle P. Kitchen, Special Agent In Charge of the New York Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (“IRS-CI”), announced that HAROLD LEVINE, a Manhattan tax attorney, and RONALD KATZ, a Florida certified public account, were charged today in Manhattan federal court in an eight-count Indictment with engaging in a multi-year tax evasion scheme involving the diversion of millions of dollars of fees from a Manhattan law firm and the failure to report that fee income to the Internal Revenue Service.   

Mr. Bharara said:  “As tax professionals and partners at professional firms, both Harold Levine and Ronald Katz knew better.  But as alleged, they engaged in a multi-year scheme to divert and evade taxes on millions of dollars of fee income.”

IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Shantelle P. Kitchen said:  “Tax and accounting professionals who conceal their incomes, evade income taxes, and otherwise obstruct the Internal Revenue Service simply have no excuse for violating the very laws their professions are centered on.  IRS-Criminal Investigation works hard to ensure that everyone pays their fair sure and we take particular interest in allegations involving professionals who should simply know better.” 

According to the allegations in the Indictment[1] returned today in Manhattan federal court:

HAROLD LEVINE, a tax attorney and former head of the tax department at a major Manhattan Law Firm (the “Law Firm”), schemed with RONALD KATZ, a certified public accountant, to divert from the Law Firm over $3 million in fee income from tax shelter and related transactions that LEVINE worked on while serving as a partner of the New York Law Firm.  In addition, LEVINE failed to report that fee income to the IRS on his personal tax returns during the period 2005-2011.  For his involvement in this scheme, KATZ received and failed to report to the IRS over $1.2 million in fee income.     

As part of the fee diversion scheme, for example, LEVINE caused tax shelter fees paid by a Law Firm client to be routed to a partnership entity he co-owned with KATZ and thereafter used those fees – totaling approximately $500,000 – to be used to purchase a home in Levittown, New York.  LEVINE caused the home to be purchased as a residence for a Law Firm employee (the “Law Firm Employee”) with whom he carried on a close personal relationship.  Although LEVINE allowed the Law Firm Employee to reside in the Levittown house for over five years without paying rent, LEVINE and KATZ prepared tax returns for the entity through which the home was purchased to claim false deductions as a rental property.

In or about 2013, LEVINE was questioned by IRS agents concerning his involvement in certain tax shelter transactions and the fees received for those transactions.  During that questioning, LEVINE falsely represented that the Law Firm Employee paid him $1,000 per month in rent while living in the Levittown home.  In addition, when the Law Firm Employee was contacted by the IRS and summoned to appear for testimony, LEVINE urged the employee to represent falsely to the IRS that she had paid $1,000 per month in rent to LEVINE.

LEVINE, 58, of New York, New York, and KATZ, 59, of Boca Raton, Florida, are scheduled to be arraigned in magistrate’s court on Monday, October 31.  The case was assigned to United States District Judge Jed S. Rakoff, and a conference was set before Judge Rakoff for Tuesday, November 1, 2016, at 11:00 a.m.

LEVINE, who was charged with one count each of obstructing the IRS, conspiracy, tax evasion, and wire fraud, and two counts of making false statements, faces the following penalties, if convicted:

Statutes Violated	Number of Counts	Description	Maximum Sentence
26 U.S.C. ' 7212(a)	1	Corruptly endeavoring to   obstruct and impede the    due administration of the  Internal Revenue Laws		Three    years in  prison
26 U.S.C. ' 7201	1-	Tax Evasion		Five  years in  prison
18 U.S.C. ' 1343	1	Wire Fraud		20 years  in prison
18 U.S.C. ' 371	1-	Conspiracy		Five  years in  prison
18 U.S.C. ' 1001	2-	False Statements		Five  years in  prison

KATZ is charged with one count each of obstructing the IRS (maximum penalty three years in prison) and conspiracy (five years in prison), and two counts of tax evasion (five years).

The statutory maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencings of the defendants will be determined by the Court.

Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the IRS. 

The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit.  Special Assistant United States Attorneys Stanley J. Okula and Assistant United States Attorney Daniel Noble are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

CONVICTED KILLER PLEADS GUILTY TO MANSLAUGHTER FOR 1998 RAPE AND KILLING OF RUNAWAY BRONX TEEN

Defendant Will Be Sentenced to 20 Years Consecutive to His PA Prison Term

Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a 44-year-old convicted murderer has pleaded guilty to Manslaughter for raping and strangling a14- year-old girl in the Bronx in 1998, and will get 20 years in prison to run consecutive to his sentence in Pennsylvania.

District Attorney Darcel Clark said, “This defendant brutally killed a young girl and was finally brought to justice 13 years later, when DNA tied him to the crime. He is currently in prison for murdering his wife, and now this sentence ensures that he will remain there for many more years.”

District Attorney Clark said the defendant, James Martin, 44, pleaded guilty on October 27, 2016, to first-degree Manslaughter before Chief Administrative Judge Robert Torres. Martin is expected to receive 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on November 10, 2016. The sentence will run consecutively to 22 to 40 year sentence he is serving in a Pennsylvania prison for the 2005 murder of his wife. 

According to the investigation, on Feb. 23, 1998, the body of Marleny Cruz, 14, who was from the Dominican Republic and was living in the Bronx, was found on Valentine Avenue in the University Heights section of the Bronx. Her body was bruised and she had been sexually assaulted and strangled. 

In 2011, the Bronx Homicide Task Force connected DNA recovered from Cruz’s fingernails to Martin, who lived in the Bronx at the time, and he was indicted in 2012.

The case was prosecuted by Senior Homicide Counsel Nancy Borko of the Homicide Bureau, under the supervision of Christine Scaccia, Deputy Chief of the Homicide Bureau and Chief of the Gangs/Major Case Bureau.   

Bronx Chamber of Commerce Salutes Six Veteran Heroes at our Veterans Recognition Luncheon and Bronx H.I.R.E. Veterans Jobs & Resource Fair

Driverless Cars and What They Mean for NYC:

Chair, Council Member Rodriguez's Opening Statement

Good morning and welcome to the Transportation Committee's hearing on "The Future of Driverless Vehicles in New York City." My name is Ydanis Rodriguez and I am the chair of the committee. We are joined today by council members...

We are here today because we know the car is undergoing a technological revolution and we want to know how this will impact our streets, our industries and what we should be doing as a city to best prepare. Since the first Ford Model-T rolled off the assembly-line, advances in motor vehicle technology have progressed at rapid pace. Today, motor vehicles are safer and more environmentally friendly than ever before.

While this committee has sought to promote alternative modes of transportation, it is not lost on me that the personal car remains the preferred way to get around for over a million New Yorkers. As technology evolves and older models become obsolete, we know that our city must be prepared, with an understanding of how to adapt with the technological shifts to promote the best public policy.

This is why we recently heard an important bill about how to encourage environmentally friendly electric vehicles with new infrastructure. We hope that with the support of the Speaker and our colleagues we can pass this bill, sponsored by Council Member Constantinides and myself, very soon.

It is also why we are here today, to learn from industry leaders and advocates about what we can expect and what we need for autonomous vehicles to become a reality, as well as suggestions regarding regulation and safety. The crash avoidance technology installed in driverless cars represents a major advancement and one that is intriguing to this committee that has placed such a focus on eliminating traffic deaths. Driver distraction, negligence and recklessness contribute to an unconscionable percentage of motor vehicle related injuries and deaths and if new technology can help avoid crashes, that is a positive prospect.

New York City must be prepared to embrace the future that is all but imminent. We cannot and will not be a city that stifles innovation, nor suppresses market demand. However, we will search for a balance that places the public good at the forefront of our work and therefore think carefully about how autonomous vehicles interact with our city and its millions of people. Newly released Federal guidelines regarding driverless vehicles are a clear signal that we are getting closer to the future.

However, many questions must be answered before we arrive. What will autonomous vehicles mean for the thousands of people that work on existing industries like the taxi and for-hire industry?What are the prospects that goods will be transported by trucks with this technology? How can we protect autonomous vehicles from life-threatening hacks into their systems? Is there new infrastructure needed for these vehicles and who will be tasked with funding it? What are the opportunities for New Yorkers to get some of these important jobs? Are there issues specific to New York City not addressed by the federal guidelines that our city should be prepared to regulate? This hearing is intended to start that conversation.

We are interested in hearing from all parties: government, industry, and advocates. Driverless vehicles will reshape the future of personal transportation, and this Committee wants to ensure that our goals are represented throughout this time of change. Today we want to hear about what we have in store, how it will affect New York and how New York can help to shape the entry of these vehicles onto our streets. We know that technology will drive our future and it is why I constantly seek to lift up STEM education in my own district.

I understand that our DOT and TLC have been considering this topic themselves and I am eager to hear their thoughts and ideas about this new technology.

Before we begin, I'd like to wish a congratulations and best wishes to our policy analyst Jonathan Masserano who is in Washington DC today preparing for his wedding. I would also like to thank the committee staff here today, Counsel, Kelly Taylor, Policy Analysts Gafar Zaaloff and Emily Rooney, Finance Analyst Chima Obichere as well as my staff, Carmen De La Rosa-very soon, Assembly Woman De La Rosa and Chief of Staff, Russell Murphy.