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ENGEL STATEMENT ON COMEY FIRING & TRUMP-RUSSIA SCANDAL

  Congressman Eliot L. Engel, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, this evening made the following statement:

“The President’s abrupt firing of the official responsible for investigating the Trump-Russia Scandal is one of the most astounding and troubling actions I’ve seen from an American President since Watergate. I had my share of concerns over Mr. Comey’s recent actions as FBI Director, but firing Mr. Comey at the very moment a grand jury was summoning witnesses on the Trump-Russia scandal suggests an agenda of obstruction and obfuscation from the highest levels of the Trump Administration. The White House’s explanation for this firing doesn’t pass the laugh test.

“This action only underscores the need for a special prosecutor and an independent commission to get to the bottom of this scandal. Congress should act quickly to pass the Swalwell-Cummings Protecting Our Democracy Act to establish that commission.”

Senator Klein Honors Community Leader Antonia Figueroa at Annual New York State Women of Distinction Celebration

Senator Jeff Klein honored Antonia Figueroa, Female Democratic District Leader in the 85th Assembly District, at the annual Women of Distinction ceremony in Albany last night.

Since retiring from her 35-year career at Sony Music, Mrs. Figueroa has been actively involved in the local community. She currently serves as Female Democratic District Leader in the 85th Assembly District, but her leadership skills do not stop there. Mrs. Figueroa also sits on the executive committee of the Bronx Democratic County Committee, serves on both the 43rd Precinct and PSA 8 Community Council and is a member of the Neighborhood Advisory Board #9. In the latter position, Mrs. Figueroa helps to identify Community Service Block Grant priorities, which aid in the reduction of poverty and revitalize low income neighborhoods.  

“Antonia Figueroa is one of the hardest working women I know,” said Senator Klein. “Her civic engagement, leadership skills and community devotion are second to none. The Bronx is lucky to have such a brilliant role model and I’m thrilled to present Mrs. Figueroa with this year’s Women of Distinction award.”

“I am humbled and tremendously grateful to have been recognized as a Woman of Distinction,” said Antonia Figueroa. “It is such an honor to be acknowledged by Senator Klein. I could not do what I do without the help of so many women who came before me, stand beside me and learn with me. Behind every successful woman is a tribe of other successful women who have her back.”

Mrs. Figueroa will be featured alongside other honorees in a “Women of Distinction” showcase that will be in place in the Well of the Legislative Office Building in Albany.

ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN’S SERVICES COMMISSIONER DAVID HANSELL JOINED BY NYPD AT FIRST ENHANCED CHILDSTAT HEARING

Restructured CHILD-STAT model emphasizes weekly, rigorous review and deep analysis of critical performance data; focus on accountability at all levels

  Today, the New York City Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) Commissioner David Hansell led the first session of the re-launched CHILD-STAT model at ACS’ headquarters in Lower Manhattan.

Upon being appointed in February, Commissioner Hansell announced his reform vision for ACS, which included an in-depth review of ACS's protective functions and identification of opportunities for closer collaboration with the NYPD, including a deep review of CHILD-STAT to assess its effectiveness. At CHILD-STAT’s re-launch, Commissioner Hansell was joined by Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, Dr. Herminia Palacio and NYPD.

“The CHILD-STAT model is vital to improving the functioning of ACS, and fine-tuning our policies and practices. As we re-launch CHILD-STAT, we will continue to modify and improve it as needed to ensure accountability and high-performance throughout our system,” said ACS Commissioner David Hansell. “We will be rigorous and thorough in using data to improve our performance, with the goal of substantive reform.”

“I commend Commissioner Hansell and ACS for launching this enhanced CHILD-STAT model, a critical management tool to support the agency’s mission of protecting New York’s children,” said Dr. Herminia Palacio, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services. “I thank Chief Boyce for lending his expertise to this effort and look forward to ACS’s continued collaboration with NYPD as we work to keep children and families safe.”

CHILD-STAT, modeled after the NYPD’s COMP-STAT, is an important tool in strengthening the agency’s focus on performance accountability around child protection, and building a more unified culture of excellence across the agency. Chief Boyce met with Commissioner Hansell in February, and was subsequently appointed to advise CHILD-STAT, bringing with him vast operational experience on the ‘STAT’ model. Similarly, Commissioner Hansell has built a reputation as a proven manager with a data-driven focus on improving outcomes for vulnerable populations on the national, state and local levels.

Data presented during the CHILD-STAT meetings focuses on decreasing repeat maltreatment, with a specific focus on the highest-risk ACS families. Cases presented are randomly selected from a pool of high-risk active cases.

The newly restructured ACS CHILD-STAT launched today features the following major components: 

 ·   An emphasis on weekly, rigorous review of randomly selected high risk cases, including ongoing investigations, and a deep analysis of critical performance data;

· Elevation of CHILD-STAT to include regular participation of executive leadership—Commissioner and senior ACS staff to demonstrate the priority placed on the process;

·    A focus on accountability at all levels of the agency;

·  Continuity from session to session to ensure that change results from each meeting; and

·  Building a more unified culture of excellence in practice that reaches across the five boroughs;

The ACS Commissioner, First Deputy Commissioner, additional Deputy Commissioners, and the Senior Advisor for investigations will serve as panel members, posing questions for presenters.

CHILD-STAT meetings will broadcast to Borough Offices via closed-circuit video for Borough Commissioners and frontline staff to hear from their peers and facilitate a discussion regarding each meeting.

All members of the Commissioner’s Executive Cabinet – both program and administrative – are expected to attend in person.  At the conclusion of each ChildStat meeting, a summary of derived actions will be announced.

MAYOR DE BLASIO SIGNS LEGISLATION TO BETTER PROMOTE TRANSPARENCY, EQUITY AND SAFETY FOR ALL NEW YORKERS

Signs legislation to disclose bedbug infestations, study how to bring increased transit to less well-served communities, and allow the City to begin to modernize the VENDEX procurement process

  Mayor Bill de Blasio today held public hearings for, and signed, fourteen pieces of legislation into law. Intro. 648-A requires landlords to post a record of bedbug infestations in their buildings and provide any tenant signing a lease with bedbug history; Intro. 891-A gives businesses the option to be informed by text or email if they receive a 3-1-1 complaint; Intro. 1311-A requires DOT to notify NYPD and FDNY about resurfacing; Intro. 965-A requires DOT to create a citywide transit study. In particular, focusing on how to bring increased transit to less well served communities; Intro. 1254-A requires that information about college savings plans be sent home with Pre-K students and requires DOHMH to send this information to families within 3 months of a birth; Intro. 1224-A increases the types of contracts that require vendors to fill out questionnaires; Intro. 1271-A requires vendors to submit information to VENDEX digitally; Intro. 1324-A requires MOCS to post information about City of New York contracts and contractors online; Intro. 81-A requires DOB to notify OSHA about Construction Code violations that may endanger workers; Intro. 1433-A requires DOB to list online incidents that have occurred on a construction site; Intro. 1448-A, requires construction superintendents for all major projects at buildings over three stories; Intro. 1421-A requires certain types of complex cranes to have GPS or other locating devices or for DOB to be notified when these cranes are moved on or off a work site; Intro. 1435-A requires certain cranes to be equipped with data-logging equipment to record operations & work conditions; Intro. 1446-A requires Class-B hoisting machine operators to get a license rating to use cranes with a long boom or jib configuration.

“Today we have a mix of bills that improve transparency and public access to information, help create a more equitable and accessible city, increase construction safety, as well as bills involving the web portal used by vendors who do business with the City of New York,” said Mayor de Blasio. "I would like to thank Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and the sponsors of these bills for continuing the fight for transparency, equity, accessibility and safety for all New Yorkers."

The first bill, Intro. 648-A requires landlords to disclose bedbug infestations in their buildings and provide any tenant signing a lease with bedbug history. 

The second bill, Intro. 891-A gives businesses the option to be informed by text or email if a 311 complaint is issued for the address of their building.

The third bill, Intro. 1311-A requires DOT to notify NYPD and FDNY about resurfacing.

The fourth bill, Intro. 965-A requires DOT to create a citywide transit study. In particular, focusing on how to bring increased transit to less well served communities.

The fifth bill, Intro. 1254-A requires that information about college savings plans be sent home with Pre-K students and requires DOHMH to send this information to families within 3 months of a birth.

The sixth bill, Intro. 1224-A increases the types of contracts that require vendors to fill out questionnaires.

The seventh bill, Intro. 1271-A requires vendors to submit information to VENDEX digitally.

The eighth bill, Intro. 1324-A requires MOCS to post information about City of New York contracts and contractors online.

  "Today's bills will help vendors shift time from managing paper submissions to delivering services to New Yorkers. We look forward to our partnerships with the City Council, especially Chair Rosenthal, creating many more opportunities to introduce procurement innovations." said Director Michael Owh, Mayor’s Office of Contract Services.

The ninth bill,  Intro. 81-A requires DOB to notify OSHA about Construction Code violations that may endanger workers.

The tenth bill, Intro. 1433-A requires DOB to list online incidents that have occurred on a construction site.

The eleventh bill, Intro. 1448-A, requires that contractors retain construction superintendents for all major projects at buildings over three stories.

“We’re grateful for the Council’s partnership on construction safety. The law requiring construction superintendents for all major projects at buildings over three stories will expand safety supervision to an additional 2,300 higher-risk sites citywide. This measure, along with the crane-safety bills signed today, will enshrine in law safety enhancements that DOB has been implementing through regulation. We look forward to working with the Council on additional legislation to improve construction safety and hold accountable bad actors in the construction industry,” said Buildings Commissioner Rick D. Chandler, PE.

The twelfth bill, Intro. 1446-A requires Class-B hoisting machine operators to get a license rating to use certain cranes.

The thirteenth bill, Intro. 1421-A requires certain cranes to have GPS or other locating devices or for DOB to be notified when these cranes are moved on or off a work site.

DA VANCE: LANDLORD SENTENCED TO 3-to-6 YEARS IN PRISON FOR WIDESPREAD BRIBERY SCHEMES INVOLVING CITY EMPLOYEES

  Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., announced the sentencing of HERMAN EPSTEIN, 37, to 3-to-6 years in state prison for bribing a New York City Department of Buildings (“DOB”) employee to remove stop work orders, complaints, and violations associated with properties owned by or affiliated with the defendant. On February 7, 2017, the defendant was convicted by a New York State Supreme Court jury of the sole count in the indictment against him, Bribery in the Third Degree.

  “Herman Epstein is a serial briber who has shown time and again that nothing—including criminal convictions—will stop him from cutting corners to make a profit,” said District Attorney Vance. “In this case and previous ones, he did not hesitate to pay for favors, ignore safety regulations, flout the law with seeming impunity, and even use aliases in an attempt to disguise his dishonest conduct. The construction industry in New York City is experiencing a historic boom, with construction spending projected to top $42 billion this year. This unprecedented demand comes with enormous economic incentives to build quickly, which unfortunately, can invite corruption. ‘Pay-to-play’ culture within government agencies not only compromises the integrity of these important institutions, but endangers our entire city by allowing potentially unsafe buildings to secure rubber-stamp inspections.” 

  “I thank my Office’s Rackets Bureau and our partners for their assistance putting an end to this widespread corruption. We will continue to collaborate to ensure the integrity of New York City agencies and fair competition in our housing and real estate development markets.”

  New York City Department of Investigation Commissioner Mark G. Peters said, “This investigation demonstrates the undeniable link between corruption and public safety. With just a bribe to a DOB inspector, this property owner had building code violations erased from the system, potentially endangering the safety of New Yorkers and compromising the integrity of the construction taking place. DOI and our partners, like the Manhattan District Attorney, remain committed to pursuing those who cut corners and engage in criminal conduct in the City’s construction industry.”

STATEMENT FROM NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF INVESTIGATION (“DOI”) COMMISSIONER MARK G. PETERS

   A DOI investigation has revealed that members of Department of Correction (“DOC”) staff, including Deputy Commissioner for the Investigation Division and Correction Intelligence Bureau Gregory Kuczinski, engaged in unauthorized surveillance of DOI undercover operations. Specifically, over a period of months this year, DOC staff, including at the direction of DC Kuczinski, used DOC technology to listen to calls placed between DOI and certain confidential informants. DOI’s investigation demonstrated that this was not inadvertent, but that DOC staff deliberately targeted DOI investigators for surveillance, and that they continued the surveillance even after written directives that such surveillance was to end. City rules expressly prohibit surveillance by DOC of calls made to DOI investigators. None of the DOC staff were able to provide a coherent explanation for this misconduct. DOI is particularly concerned that there was a renewal of this activity, directed by DC Kuczinski, immediately after he and other senior staff were informed that DOI was preparing a Report on their improper use of City vehicles. Our investigation provided no alternative explanation that would suggest this timing was coincidental. 

  We have sent a letter describing those findings to Mayor de Blasio. Because the letter contains significant technical information about security operations, we will not be making the letter available at this time beyond the summary of findings above. However, we note that the letter contains the following five recommendations, each of which the Mayor’s office has now agreed to implement immediately: 

  All members of DOC that are tasked with listening to inmate calls must immediately be retrained. This investigation determined that DC Kuczinski did not know the rules and at no time provided training or guidance on these rules to his staff. 

  DOC’s current organizational structure for telephone monitoring must immediately be overhauled to ensure sufficient safeguards are in place and DOI investigations are not further compromised. 

  DC Kuczinski must be terminated from his current position. His failure to demonstrate sound judgment in this matter raises concerns about his ability to oversee the Investigation and Intelligence Divisions, two crucial units to DOC operations. 

  DOC must sign a Memorandum of Understanding dictating that a newly created “Telephone Monitoring Unit” be under the direct supervision of DOI. 

 In order to make sure that similar problems do not occur at any agency, the Mayor should send a memo to all agency heads and agency general counsel reviewing the City rules mandating cooperation with DOI.

  I want to thank City Hall for taking this issue of improper surveillance by DOC seriously and for acting quickly to resolve the problems. Interference, by anyone, with a DOI investigation is a very serious matter that will not be tolerated. In particular, surveillance of DOI activities in the City’s jails by the very agency DOI is investigating, not only compromises investigations but can potentially put the lives of investigators, correction officers, inmates and others at risk.

A.G. Schneiderman Announces Guilty Pleas Of Leaders Of Heroin, Cocaine And Illegal Prescription Drug Trafficking Ring; Defendants Will Each Be Sentenced To 15 Years In Prison

A.G. Schneiderman’s Operation Uptown Red Alert Takes Down Defendants For Shipping Over $550k Worth Of Narcotics From New York City To The Capital Region

Last Month, The AG Launched The SURGE Initiative To Crack Down On Violent Heroin and Opioid Traffickers In Suburban And Upstate New York

Schneiderman: We Have No Tolerance For Dangerous Drug Trafficking Rings That Fuel The Cycle Of Addiction

  Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced the guilty pleas of Juan Ramos and Noemi Maldonado, the leaders of a large-scale narcotics trafficking ring that served as a multi-state heroin, cocaine, and prescription drug pipeline from New York City to the Capital Region, as well as Maine and Pennsylvania. Ramos and Maldonado, both from Brooklyn, pled guilty yesterday to Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the First Degree, a class A-1 felony; they will each be sentenced on July 20^th to 15 years in prison, followed by five years of post-release supervision.

Last month, Attorney General Schneiderman announced a Suburban And Upstate Response To The Growing Epidemic – (“S.U.R.G.E”) Initiative – a new law enforcement effort that brings together the AG’s Organized Crime Task Force and local and state law enforcement to disrupt New York’s widening heroin and opioid distribution networks.

“We have zero tolerance for dangerous drug trafficking rings – and those who deal drugs and violence in our communities should be on notice: we won’t hesitate to bring you to justice,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “Our S.U.R.G.E Initiative is utilizing out state’s most effective law enforcement resources to crack down on the violent, expansive heroin and opioid networks around the state. We’ll continue to aggressively prosecute criminals who fuel the cycle of addiction, part of our multipronged approach to fighting the heroin and opioid epidemic that is tearing families apart across New York.”

Ramos and Maldonado led a drug trafficking ring that trafficked hundreds of thousands of dollars of heroin, cocaine and illegal prescription medication from New York City to the Capital Region, as well as Maine and Pennsylvania. During the underlying investigation, law enforcement seized more than two pounds of bulk heroin, capable of being packaged into 50,000 bags of heroin to be sold on the street—giving the heroin an approximate street value of $500,000. Law enforcement also seized more than a pound of bulk cocaine with an approximate street value of $50,000, a homemade heroin kilogram press, 1,067 Oxycodone pills, over $21,000 in cash, two shotguns, and one handgun. The investigation also revealed that Ramos and Maldonado transported narcotics to customers in a BMW valued around $120,000.

The investigation, called “Operation Uptown Red Alert,” was conducted by the Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force, the City of Albany Police Department, and the New York State Police, and led to the indictment of 27 people, all of whom have now pled guilty with the exception of two defendants that still have active warrants for their arrests. The charges against those remaining two defendants are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

New York State Police Superintendent George P. Beach II said, "Thanks to the hard work and partnership of our law enforcement members at the state, federal and local level, we have successfully shut down another illegal drug trafficking operation that was bringing dangerous narcotics into our communities. The sentencing of these two individuals serves as reminder that we will not tolerate the sale of illegal narcotics nor the criminal activity that is associated with them. Furthermore, we will aggressively pursue any criminal that threatens the safety of our neighborhoods and continue to do what it takes to protect our communities from the infiltration of these illegal substances.”

Attorney General Schneiderman’s Organized Crime Task Force has partnered with state and local law enforcement to bring over 800 accused drug and gun dealers to justice, since 2010. In addition to prosecuting major drug trafficking rings, the Attorney General has taken numerous steps to combat the opioid crisis in New York including but not limited to:

• Creating the Internet System for Tracking Over-Prescribing Act (“I-STOP), an online Prescription Monitoring Program (“PMP”) that enables doctors and pharmacists to report and track controlled narcotics in real time.
• Aggressively enforcing laws that require parity in health plan coverage of mental health and addiction treatment and reaching agreements with five companies: Cigna, MVP Health Care, EmblemHealth, Excellus, and ValueOptions.
• Obtaining settlements with Cigna, Anthem, and BlueCross BlueShield (BCBS), who all agreed to remove prior authorization requirements for medication-assisted treatment (“MAT”) nationwide.
• Reaching agreements with Purdue Pharma and Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. to ensure that these opioid manufacturers engage in responsible and legal marketing.

Most recently, Attorney General Schneiderman launched the Suburban and Upstate Response to the Growing Epidemic (“S.U.R.G.E.”) Initiative, which target gangs and individuals who deal heroin and opioids and commit acts of violence in suburban and upstate communities across New York State, in partnership with local and state law enforcement. As part of the S.U.R.G.E Initiative, Attorney General Schneiderman announced the take down a 52-person heroin and opioid ring in Operation Bricktown last month.