Bronx Electeds Urge Action on Missing Mailboxes

Bronx Electeds Pen Letter to Postmaster General Urging Immediate Action on Missing Postal Boxes

   Congressman Eliot Engel, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., State Senators Jeff Klein and Jamaal Bailey, Assembly Members Michael Benedetto and Jeffrey Dinowitz, and City Council Members Andrew Cohen and Andy King penned a letter to current United States Postmaster General Megan Brennan calling on her office to look into the ongoing issues in the borough regarding missing postal boxes, and for mobile collection units to be dispatched in affected areas until the new boxes are in place.

In an effort to combat fishing—the act of stealing people’s private mail from postal boxes—the Bronx Post Office began removing postal boxes throughout the borough in late November in order to replace them with new boxes that cannot be fished. But most of the postal boxes removed have still not been replaced several months later, and the Bronx Post Office has yet to offer a timeline for replacement or any  temporary measures to help senior or disabled residents living in apartments who rely on those mail boxes to send their correspondences or pay their bills.

Full text of the letter to Postmaster Brennan can be found below:

January 26, 2017

Megan J. Brennan
Postmaster General of the United States
475 L'Enfant Plaza
Washington, DC 20260

Dear Postmaster General Brennan:

We are writing to request your office’s assistance in resolving an ongoing postal issue affecting our constituents in the Bronx, New York. Since late November, the Bronx Post Office has been removing mailboxes all throughout the borough in order to replace them with new boxes that will prevent mail fishing. We appreciate the post office’s concern with the safety of our constituent’s mail and are pleased to see them taking a proactive approach to combatting this issue. However, most of the mailboxes that have been removed still have not been replaced, and the Bronx Post Office has either been incapable or unwilling to give us a timeline as to when these new mailboxes will be installed.

We represent a large constituency of people who are elderly and living in apartment buildings that are not easily accessible to our local post office branches. These people rely on the mailboxes on their block to pay their bills and send their correspondences. After more than 2 months of these mailboxes missing, we find it completely unacceptable that the Bronx Post Office still has not replaced them and cannot give us an answer as to when, if ever, they will all be replaced.

We would appreciate it if your office would look into this matter immediately and provide any possible assistance to help resolve the problem. The USPS should also consider dispatching mobile collection units in the affected communities as a temporary measure. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Eliot L. Engel -         Member of Congress

Jeffrey Dinowitz -     Member of Assembly

Ruben Diaz Jr. -        Bronx Borough President

Jeffrey Klein -           New York State Senator

Andrew Cohen  -      Council Member

Jamaal Bailey -         New York State Senator

Michael Benedetto - Member of Assembly

Andy King -             Council Member

Croton Filter Plant - Croton FMC Meeting on February 13 -POSTPONED

 

Dear Croton Community,

Since the Croton FMC meeting scheduled for the evening of Monday, February 13 now conflicts with Mayor de Blasio's State of the City address, Chairman Bill Hall will propose another date for the next meeting.

Thank you,

Martha

mholstein@urbansol.com

718 625 1005

FOREIGN AFFAIRS DEMOCRATS TO TRUMP: DISSENTING DIPLOMATS PROTECTED BY LAW

Committee Announces New Whistleblower Tool to Report Abuse of Authority

WASHINGTON—Democratic Members of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs today reminded the Administration that State Department personnel who dissent from policy are protected by law and sought assurances that State Department personnel would not be subject to harassment or retribution for offering dissenting viewpoints.  In a letter to the President, the Members expressed concern over comments from White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer that diplomats who disagree with Administration policy should “get with the program or they should go.”

Additionally, as part of an effort to ensure State Department personnel can easily report waste, fraud, and abuse of authority, the Committee Democratic Office has launched a new online whistleblower portal.

The Members wrote, “It’s deeply troubling that your Administration isn’t interested in hearing different perspectives, especially those transmitted through the State Department’s revered Dissent Channel.  The State Department’s Foreign Affairs Manual prohibits reprisal or disciplinary action against anyone who uses the Dissent Channel.  We are requesting your assurances that State Department personnel will not be subject to harassment or retribution if they take advantage of the Dissent Channel or offer policy advice that doesn’t align with White House policy decisions.”

All Democratic Members of the Foreign Affairs Committee signed the letter, the full text of which follows and can be found here:

The President

The White House

Washington, DC  20500

Dear Mr. President: 

Yesterday, from the White House podium, your spokesperson, Sean Spicer, announced that State Department employees who offer dissent to your executive order on immigration and refugees should “get with the program or they should go.”  We are alarmed by Mr. Spicer’s apparent lack of knowledge about the way foreign policy is made in the United States.

We would like you to know that during the Administration of President Nixon, the State Department established a formal mechanism to allow personnel to express dissent from Administration policy.  According to the State Department, “the Dissent Channel was created to allow its users the opportunity to bring dissenting or alternative views on substantive foreign policy issues, when such views cannot be communicated in a full and timely manner through regular operating channels or procedures.”  For decades, the Dissent Channel has offered our diplomats the ability in critical circumstances to express concerns and warnings contrary to Administration policies. Notable examples have included dissents from policies toward Vietnam and Syria.

So it’s deeply troubling that your Administration isn’t interested in hearing different perspectives, especially those transmitted through the State Department’s revered Dissent Channel.  The State Department’s Foreign Affairs Manual prohibits reprisal or disciplinary action against anyone who uses the Dissent Channel.  We are requesting your assurances that State Department personnel will not be subject to harassment or retribution if they take advantage of the Dissent Channel or offer policy advice that doesn’t align with White House policy decisions. 

Please reply as soon as possible confirming that your Administration will respect the law (P.L. 96-465) governing the State Department and the treatment of its personnel.

“2fly” Gang Leader Pleads Guilty To Racketeering And Firearms Charges

   Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that LAQUAN PARRISH, a/k/a “MadDog,” a/k/a “Quanzaa,” pled guilty today to racketeering and firearms charges in connection with his leadership of the “2Fly YGz” (“2Fly”) gang, a violent street gang that operated in and around the Eastchester Gardens public housing development (“ECG”) in the Bronx. As part of his guilty plea, PARRISH admitted his involvement in a shootout with rival gang members on August 7, 2012, during which three victims – including a 14-year-old girl caught in the crossfire – were shot in a Bronx park. PARRISH faces a maximum term of life in prison, and will be sentenced before United States District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan on May 10, 2017, at 3:00 p.m.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “For far too long, Laquan Parrish and his cohorts with the 2Fly street gang terrorized the Bronx with violence, robberies, and drug dealing. Today’s guilty plea by one of 2Fly’s leaders, Laquan Parrish, to federal firearms and racketeering charges, including an admission to a shootout in which a 14-year old girl and two others were shot in a Bronx park, makes the community around Eastchester Gardens safer. That is why we bring these cases – to make our neighborhoods free from gang violence and drugs – and that is what today’s plea helped achieve.”

According to the Indictment and other documents filed in the case, as well as statements made during the plea proceedings:

PARRISH was a leader of 2Fly, a subset of the “Young Gunnaz,” or “YGz” street gang, which operates throughout New York City. 2Fly is based in the Bronx, within and around ECG and in an area called the “Valley” or the “V,” which is in the vicinity of Gun Hill Road. ECG is a rectangular complex of residential buildings bordered by Burke, Adee, Yates, and Bouck Avenues, in the middle of which is a playground. The gang war between 2Fly and rival street gangs has led to an enormous amount of fatal and non-fatal violence between 2007 and 2016 in the Northern Bronx, including shootings, stabbings, slashings, beatings, and robberies. Members and associates of 2Fly controlled the narcotics trade at ECG, which took place in the open air at the playground and in apartments at ECG. 2Fly primarily sold marijuana and crack cocaine, but also sold powder cocaine and prescription pills, such as oxycodone. 2Fly members and associates stored guns at the playground or in nearby apartments or cars in order to protect the narcotics business and for protection against rival gangs.

As part of his involvement in 2Fly, PARRISH participated with other 2Fly members in a shootout with rival gang members on August 7, 2012, in a public park in the Bronx. Three victims were shot, including a 14-year-old girl caught in the crossfire.

PARRISH was arrested in this case as a result of a multi-year investigation by the New York City Police Department’s Bronx Gang Squad (the “Bronx Gang Squad”), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Violent Gang Unit (“HSI”), the New York Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), and the Joint Firearms Task Force of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”) into gang violence in the Northern Bronx. On April 27, 2016, the Indictment was unsealed, charging 57 members and associates of 2Fly with racketeering conspiracy, narcotics conspiracy, narcotics distribution, and/or firearms charges. To date, 42 of these defendants have pled guilty.

PARRISH, 27, of the Bronx, New York, was brought from state custody into federal custody on April 27, 2016. PARRISH pled guilty today to one count of racketeering conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, and one count of firearms possession, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison. The mandatory minimum and maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding work of the NYPD’s Bronx Gang Squad, HSI, DEA, and ATF.

Statement Of U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara On The Conviction Of Arizona Man Charged With Providing Material Support To ISIS

   “Once again, we have shown that terrorists and terrorist enablers can be brought to justice fairly, openly, and swiftly in the crown jewel of our justice system -- civilian courts. Today, a jury in federal court in Manhattan convicted Ahmed Mohammed El Gammal of material support of terrorism. To grow their brand of hate-filled violence and radicalization, terrorist organizations like ISIS need facilitators and promoters around the world. And the jury found today that Ahmed Mohammed El Gammal was one such terrorist facilitator. An Ambassador for ISIS right here in America, El Gammal actively touted and glamorized ISIS online, ultimately recruiting and helping a New York college student travel to an ISIS camp in Syria for military training. That New Yorker died waging jihad, and for El Gammal’s active role in sending him down that trail to terror, he now stands convicted of federal terrorism crimes.”

Arizona Man Convicted In Manhattan Federal Court For Material Support To ISIS

Ahmed Mohammed El Gammal Helped Samy El-Goarany Travel from New York City to Syria, where El-Goarany Joined, Trained with, and Died Fighting for ISIS

  Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that AHMED MOHAMMED EL GAMMAL, a resident of Arizona, was convicted today of multiple terrorism offenses in connection with his efforts to help Samy El-Goarany join and train with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, a/k/a the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, a/k/a the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (“ISIS”), a designated foreign terrorist organization. EL GAMMAL was convicted of providing and conspiring to provide material support to ISIS, aiding and abetting the receipt of military-type training from ISIS, and conspiring to receive such training. EL GAMMAL was convicted following a three-week jury trial presided over by U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Once again, we have shown that terrorists and terrorist enablers can be brought to justice fairly, openly, and swiftly in the crown jewel of our justice system – civilian courts. Today, a jury in federal court in Manhattan convicted Ahmed Mohammed El Gammal of material support of terrorism. To grow their brand of hate-filled violence and radicalization, terrorist organizations like ISIS need facilitators and promoters around the world. And the jury found today that Ahmed Mohammed El Gammal was one such terrorist facilitator. An Ambassador for ISIS right here in America, El Gammal actively touted and glamorized ISIS online, ultimately recruiting and helping a New York college student travel to an ISIS camp in Syria for military training. That New Yorker died waging jihad, and for El Gammal’s active role in sending him down that trail to terror, he now stands convicted of federal terrorism crimes.”

According to documents publicly filed in this case and evidence presented at trial:

Beginning in at least April 2014, EL GAMMAL was an outspoken supporter on social media of ISIS and ISIS’s Caliphate, or Islamic government, in Syria. Among other things, EL GAMMAL announced that he was with “[t]he State of Iraq and the Levant,” referring to ISIS; celebrated ISIS’s achievements in battle and announcement of the establishment of a Caliphate; proclaimed that he “support[s] jihad everywhere”; and declared that “[b]eheadings have a magical effect.” EL GAMMAL additionally announced that “[i]f Daesh [i.e., ISIS] gets to Egypt, I will go join them, so I can torture the Egyptians, and whip them.”

As of at least August 2014, a 24-year-old New York City resident named Samy El-Goarany began to express his support for ISIS on social media as well. On August 14, 2014, El-Goarany heard that EL GAMMAL had made comments supportive of ISIS. Minutes later, El-Goarany contacted EL GAMMAL and they communicated via an encrypted communications platform. Less than an hour after this online conversation, EL GAMMAL sent El-Goarany a documentary on life in the Islamic State that outlined the type of training ISIS provides. Over the next several months, EL GAMMAL and El-Goarany continued corresponding over the Internet, although EL GAMMAL and El-Goarany deleted almost all of these exchanges.

In the midst of these communications, in October 2014, EL GAMMAL traveled to New York City, where El-Goarany was enrolled in college, and met with El-Goarany. During this October 2014 trip, EL GAMMAL provided El-Goarany with the phone number for EL GAMMAL’s contact in Turkey, Ateia Aboualala, who would be responsible for helping El-Goarany travel from Turkey across the border to ISIS in Syria. While in New York City, EL GAMMAL also contacted Aboualala in Turkey regarding El-Goarany’s plans to travel. EL GAMMAL later provided El-Goarany with social media contact information for Aboualala. Thereafter, in a coded conversation, EL GAMMAL assured Aboualala that he had vetted El-Goarany and El-Goarany could be trusted.

In late January 2015, El-Goarany left New York City for Istanbul, Turkey. Upon arriving in Turkey, El-Goarany immediately reached out to Aboualala. While El-Goarany was in Turkey, EL GAMMAL continued to communicate with El-Goarany over the Internet, providing advice on traveling toward Syria and on meeting with Aboualala. After arriving in Syria, El-Goarany received religious training and advanced military-type training from ISIS throughout 2015. On May 7, 2015, in the midst of his training with ISIS, El-Goarany reported to EL GAMMAL that “everything [was] going according to plan.” A few months later, on July 16, 2015, El-Goarany wrote to EL GAMMAL: “Life has changed a lot for me at this new job but I love it and I don’t regret taking up the offer,” and “May God reward you with goodness,” to which EL GAMMAL responded, “Great.”

In May 2015, El-Goarany’s father traveled to Turkey and met with Aboualala, in an attempt to locate his son. Upon learning of this, EL GAMMAL instructed Aboualala, “Don’t ever ever mention me. Not even my name[,]” and urged Aboualala not to meet with El-Goarany’s father. On May 5, 2015, Aboualala reported back to EL GAMMAL, assuring EL GAMMAL that, when Aboualala met up with El-Goarany’s father, “I covered up for you.”

In coded messages in mid-2015, EL GAMMAL reached out to El-Goarany to inquire about the possibility of his (EL GAMMAL’s) traveling to ISIS in Syria. On July 13, 2015, El-Goarany, again in a coded message, responded that he needed to ask his “supervisors at work first,” but commented that “it’s risky because the parking lot these days is going under a lot of renovation, especially in the north side,” alluding to military operations occurring in northern Syria at the time.

On November 23, 2015, El-Goarany’s brother received a message from a member of ISIS with an attached letter from El-Goarany. The letter read: “if you’re reading this then know that I’ve been killed in battle and am now with our Lord, inshaAllah. Remember what I told you . . . we will win this war one day, this war between Iman (Belief) and Kufr (Disbelief) between Good and Evil. . . .”

EL GAMMAL, 44, of Avondale, Arizona, was convicted of one count of providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization and one count of conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; one count of receiving military-type training from a designated foreign terrorist organization, which carries a mandatory sentence of 10 years in prison or a fine; and one count of conspiring to receive military-type training from a designated foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum sentence of five 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 Judge Ramos. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (“FBI”) New York Joint Terrorism Task Force – which principally consists of agents from the FBI and detectives from the New York City Police Department. Mr. Bharara also thanked the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona, and the Phoenix Field Office of the FBI for their assistance.

New York Man Found Guilty On Narcotics Trafficking Charges

  Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that STEVEN WILLIAMS was found guilty Friday of conspiring to distribute kilogram quantities of heroin and cocaine. WILLIAMS was convicted after a one-week jury trial before U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “As the jury swiftly found, Steven Williams used his music business as a front to traffic in massive quantities of cocaine and heroin. For pumping 100 kilograms of cocaine and more than 40 kilograms of heroin into New York City streets, Williams now stands convicted of federal narcotics conspiracy.”

According to the evidence introduced at trial, other proceedings in this case, and documents previously filed in Manhattan federal court:

Between 2009 and August 2015, WILLIAMS conspired with others to traffic in excess of 100 kilograms of cocaine and 40 kilograms of heroin from California to New York. WILLIAMS held himself out to be in the music business, and used his music business as a front to ship multi-kilogram quantities of heroin and cocaine across the country via industrial freight shipping companies, with heroin and cocaine hidden in speakers, amplifiers, and copy machines.

WILLIAMS, 46, of New York, faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, and a maximum sentence of life in prison. The maximum potential sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled before Judge Schofield.

Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the DEA’s New York Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Strike Force, which comprises agents and officers of the DEA, the New York City Police Department, Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the New York State Police, the U. S. Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Marshal Service, New York National Guard, the New York Department of Taxation and Finance, the Rockland County Sheriff’s Office, the Clarkstown Police Department, the Port Washington Police Department, and the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. The Strike Force is partially funded by the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), which is a federally funded crime fighting initiative.

A.G. Schneiderman Announces $20K Agreement With Pet Store Chain Owner Who Abused Animals And Falsified Documents To Make Them Appear Healthy Enough To Sell

Richard Doyle Performed Surgery Without Veterinary Training; Falsified Documents In Order To Sell Sick Dogs To Unsuspecting Consumers; Left Sick Animals To Die

Doyle Barred From Dealing Pets; Will Pay $20K In Fees And Penalties

Schneiderman: Shutting Down Abusive Operations Like This Sends The Message That This Disturbing Behavior Won't Be Tolerated

   Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced that pet store owner Richard Doyle has entered into an agreement with the Attorney General’s office permanently barring him from working as a pet dealer and imposing significant fines and penalties for repeated animal cruelty.

Doyle owned and operated three retail pet stores in Westchester and the Hudson Valley:  American Breeders, Inc. in Wappingers Falls, NY; Puppies and Kittens in Mohegan Lake, NY; and Best Breeds, Inc. in Larchmont, NY.  The Office of the Attorney General initiated an investigation into Doyle’s businesses in 2015 after receiving numerous complaints from consumers who purchased pets from Doyle’s stores only to discover shortly after purchase that the animals were sick.

Despite Doyle’s certification that his pets were healthy and free of disease, consumers reported that their own veterinarians found the animals to be suffering from serious health conditions such as parvo, giardiasis, pneumonia, intestinal parasites and kennel cough. In addition, the investigation revealed that Doyle falsified the names and license numbers of his suppliers in order to make it appear as though he purchased animals from reputable sources.

“By shutting down stores that mistreat animals – and sell sick animals - we can help ensure that consumers are purchasing healthy pets, while protecting the animals themselves from those who break the law to turn a profit,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “Disturbing cases like these reaffirm my commitment to encouraging those in search of a new pet to adopt from a local shelter, rather than purchasing an animal. This gives an animal in need a home, and gives the consumer the peace of mind that they are receiving a healthy pet.”

The Attorney General’s investigation also uncovered a number of disturbing practices carried out by Doyle and his staff in an effort to make sick animals appear healthy and maximize sales. For example, it was found that Doyle – who is not a veterinarian, regularly performed surgery on animals in the back rooms of his stores. Doyle also ordered high school aged employees to routinely administer injectable medications and intravenous fluids to mask rather than cure diseases and infections in sick animals. Doyle would then lie or ask his young employees to lie to the inspecting veterinarians regarding the illnesses so the veterinarians would not mark the animals unfit for sale. These procedures were not carried out in a sanitary environment and there was no veterinarian supervision or approval. Syringes were re-used and pre and post-operative infection control was not practiced.  In some cases, when Doyle was unable to “cure” an animal himself, he let the sick animal suffer and, in some cases left it to die, rather than paying for routine veterinary care.   

This investigation is the latest in the Attorney General’s ongoing Animal Protection Initiative, which launched in May 2013. The initiative seeks to help consumers and animals alike by cracking down on animal cruelty, shutting down criminal animal fighting rings and bringing to justice those who unscrupulously sell animals to unsuspecting consumers. The Initiative is comprised of Investigators and Assistant Attorneys General from around the state, the OAG's Regional Offices, the Consumer Fraud Bureau, the Criminal Enforcement and Financial Crimes Bureau, the Organized Crime Task Force and the Investigations Bureau.

Per the terms of the voluntary agreement, Richard Doyle is permanently barred from operating a pet sales business and must surrender all licenses relative to the sale of animals. Furthermore, he is required to pay $15,000 in restitution which will be distributed to the consumers who purchased sick animals from his stores and $5,000 in penalties and costs to the state.   

The Attorney General urges those interested in bringing home a dog or cat to adopt, not shop for their new best friend. By adopting from a local SPCA or shelter, an animal in need gets a home, and space and resources are freed up for the facility to take in more homeless dogs. In turn, the new owner can ensure that they are receiving a healthy pet, as these dogs have been fully vetted, immunized and given a clean bill of health.