"The loss of Deborah Danner was a tragedy felt deeply by our city. Now that the grand jury has made its decision, we have full faith in the district attorney to lead a fair and thorough prosecution."
Wednesday, May 31, 2017
STATEMENT FROM ASSEMBLYMAN SEPULVEDA ON INDICTMENT IN POLICE SHOOTING OF DEBORAH DANNER
"We respect the grand jury's decision and look forward to the swift resolution of the case."
State Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda today called today's indictment of an NYPD police sergeant in the shooting death of a mentally disturbed elderly woman in his Assembly District "a step that will now bring the issue into a court of law, where justice can prevail."
NYPD Sergeant Hugh Barry was indicted by a Bronx grand jury on murder, manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide charges in the Oct. 18, 2016 shooting death of 66-year-old Castle Hill resident Deborah Danner, who had a long history of mental illness.
Police said Danner came at the officer in her Pugsley Avenue apartment, swinging a bat at him "at a close distance." The officer fired two shots, hitting her. She died later at Jacobi Hospital.
At issue is whether the officer, an eight-year department veteran working in the 43rd Precinct, had time to use his Taser stun gun to stop her.
"I was not there, but it would seem, and apparently the grand jury believes, that the officer had time to use a non-lethal weapon to stop Miss Danner," said the Assemblyman. "It is a shame that Deborah Danner had to die. We respect the grand jury's decision and look forward to the swift resolution of the case."
STATEMENT FROM BOROUGH PRESIDENT DIAZ RE: The Indictment of Sgt. Hugh Barry
“What happened to Deborah Danner was an outrage. Today’s announcement that the police officer involved in Ms. Danner’s fatal shooting will face charges is a positive first step towards addressing an issue that has been long neglected, and that is how to deal with our mentally ill residents in volatile situations. Clearly, there were options available to Sgt. Barry which he failed to implement, and his conduct in this case is by no means a reflection on the great work of the New York City Police Department and its dedicated members.
"My office has the utmost confidence in District Attorney Darcel D. Clark and her staff, and will continue to monitor this case as it moves forward. We once again offer our condolences to Ms. Danner’s family during this difficult time,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.
Congressman Eliot L. Engel, on President's Decision to Pull U.S. Out of Paris Climate Agreement
Congressman Eliot L. Engel, the Ranking Member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a top Member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, issued the following statement in response to President Trump signaling he will pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement:
“I am deeply disappointed that President Trump has decided to pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement, the most comprehensive global climate agreement in history. This shortsighted decision threatens to unravel the entire agreement, imperiling the planet and further straining relations with our allies.
“Climate change is a global crisis that demands American leadership. What does it say when the President of the United States abdicates that responsibility, brazenly ignoring facts and evidence? Whether the President or his Administration want to admit it, climate change is real, driven by human activity, and cannot be ignored.
“We have a moral obligation to our children and our grandchildren, and to ourselves. This is not a future problem; we are already seeing the effects of our changing climate through excess flooding, stronger storm systems, erratic weather patterns, and extreme drought. We cannot put our heads back in the sand, recklessly consuming fossil fuels while expanding our carbon footprint. We must refocus our energy sector on cheap, renewable sources of fuel before climate change gets even worse.”Congressman Eliot L. Engel, the Ranking Member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a top Member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, issued the following statement in response to President Trump signaling he will pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement:
MAYOR DE BLASIO AND COMPTROLLER STRINGER ANNOUNCE PLAN TO CUT TIES WITH WELLS FARGO FOR CITY DEPOSITS AND BANKING TRANSACTIONS
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Comptroller Scott M. Stringer jointly announced today that they will vote to prohibit New York City from entering into new contracts for deposits with Wells Fargo, as well as suspend the bank’s role as a senior book-running manager for NYC General Obligation and Transactional Finance Authority bond sales.
The New York City Banking Commission, which is scheduled to meet today, and of which the Mayor and the Comptroller are members, approves and oversees the banks that hold City deposits. Currently, Wells Fargo holds contracts with the City to provide banking services, including to operate “Lock Box” services that hold taxes and fees collected by the City. There is approximately $227 million of City dollars held in Wells Fargo accounts currently. Additionally, Wells Fargo acts as a trustee to the New York City Retiree Health Benefits Trust, which has current assets of approximately $2.6 billion. Recently, Wells Fargo received a Federal Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) rating of “needs improvement.” The ban will be revisited only when the bank’s rating is raised.
As such, today the Mayor and Comptroller will vote to prevent agencies from entering into new banking services or related contracts with Wells Fargo, as well as bar agencies from renewing or extending existing contracts on expiration. The City will also suspend the use of Wells Fargo as a senior book-running manager for municipal bonds – a position that allows the bank to take the lead on City bond sales – for one year. The only allowable exemption will be for affordable housing financing, which has a direct benefit to New York City residents.
Mayor de Blasio said: “The rules are very clear: if you fall below ‘satisfactory,’ we will no longer do banking business with you. I encourage Wells Fargo to quickly clean up its act and do right by the millions of customers who trust the bank with their savings. Until then, we will not be entering new contracts with the bank. Thank you to Comptroller Stringer for his partnership on this issue.”
Comptroller Stringer said: “What happened at Wells Fargo was a fraud – and there should be consequences. We need to send a message to this bank and the broader industry that ethics matter. Public trust is a must – and accountability is non-negotiable. That’s why we plan to take action. We have an opportunity to stand up and do the right thing today, and that’s a moment we plan on seizing. I would like to thank Mayor de Blasio and his team for their leadership on the issue.”
John Marano Pulls Out of 13th Council Race
The above photo of Mr. John Marano was taken in 2013 during a graffiti clean up of the walls on the highway leading to the Throggs Neck bridge when he was the Community Board 10 Chair. John was not afraid to go where no one would go as you see.
Mr. Marano was a candidate in the upcoming 13th City Council race until yesterday when he dropped out of the race. It is expected that Mr. Marano will support current Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj for the term-limited 13th City Council seat of Councilman James Vacca.
Tuesday, May 30, 2017
BRONX MAN INDICTED FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER FOR ATTACKING WOMAN DURING BURGLARY; VICTIM’S YOUNG SON STOPPED HIM
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Bronx man has been
indicted for Attempted Murder and several others charges for attacking a 32- year-old mother of-two
after forcing his way into her apartment in a botched burglary.
District Attorney Clark said “The defendant viciously attacked a young woman in front
of her two children, trying to smother her and proceeding to injure one of her children. Thanks
to the heroic acts of a little boy, the defendant faces many years behind bars.”
District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Brian Febus, 22, of Ryer Avenue, was
arraigned today before Bronx Supreme Court Justice George Villegas and bail was continued
at $500,000. He is due back in court on Sept. 5, 2017. If convicted on the top charge he could
face up to 25 years in prison.
Febus was indicted on second-degree Attempted Murder, two counts of first-degree
Burglary, three counts of second-degree Burglary, third-degree Burglary, first-degree
Attempted Assault, three counts of second-degree Assault, second-degree Attempted Assault,
two counts of third-degree Assault, two counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child and
Criminal Obstruction of Breathing or Blood Circulation.
According to the investigation, on April 25, 2017, Febus knocked on the door of Denise
Soto’s apartment in the Mount Hope section of the Bronx and asked to use the bathroom. After
she refused, he forced his way in, striking her several times and trying to smother her face
down on her mattress. Soto’s 11-year-old son stabbed Febus twice. Despite his wounds, Febus
continued to assault Soto and fled the apartment after a call was made to police by the boy,
who also suffered injuries during the attack.
An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.
Former Managing Director At New York Broker-Dealer Pleads Guilty In “Pay-To-Play” Bribery Scheme Involving Public Pension Fund
Joon H. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that DEBORAH KELLEY, a former managing director of institutional fixed income sales at a New York-based broker-dealer (the “Broker-Dealer”), pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken for participating in a “pay-to-play” bribery scheme involving the New York State Common Retirement Fund (“NYSCRF”), the nation’s third largest public pension fund.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said: “As she admitted today, Deborah Kelley bribed Navnoor Kang to steer state pension business to her brokerage firm, reaping hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional commissions for the firm. In the process, she was complicit in defrauding New York pensioners and depriving them of Kang’s honest services. The hard-earned retirement savings of New Yorkers should not be a vehicle for corrupt pension administrators and securities brokers to profit.”
According to allegations contained in the Indictment charging KELLEY and statements made during her plea proceeding:
The NYSCRF
The NYSCRF is a pension fund administered for the benefit of public employees of the State of New York. From January 2014 through February 2016, Navnoor Kang served as Director of Fixed Income and Head of Portfolio Strategy for the NYSCRF. In that capacity, Kang was responsible for investing more than $53 billion in fixed-income securities on behalf of the NYSCRF. Kang owed a fiduciary duty to the NYSCRF and its members and beneficiaries, and was required to make investment decisions in their best interests and free of any conflict of interest. New York State law and NYSCRF policies prohibited Kang and other NYSCRF employees from receiving any bribes, gifts, benefits, or consideration of any kind, as KELLEY well knew.
The Scheme to Steer NYSCRF Fixed-Income Business in Exchange for Secret Bribes
From 2014 through 2016, Kang, KELLEY, and others participated in a scheme to defraud the NYSCRF and its members and beneficiaries, and to deprive the NYSCRF of its intangible right to Kang’s honest services. The scheme involved, among other things, an agreement among Kang, KELLEY, and others to pay Kang bribes – in the form of entertainment, travel, and lavish meals, among other things – in exchange for fixed-income business from the NYSCRF. Such bribes were strictly forbidden by the NYSCRF, and were paid secretly and without any disclosure to the NYSCRF and its members and beneficiaries concerning the conflicts of interests inherent therein.
In exchange for the bribes paid by KELLEY, Kang used his position as Director of Fixed Income and Head of Portfolio Strategy at the NYSCRF to promote the interests of KELLEY and her brokerage firm. Kang, in exchange for the bribes he received, agreed to steer fixed-income business to the Broker-Dealer. In so doing, Kang, with KELLEY’s knowledge and approval, breached his fiduciary duty to make investment decisions in the best interest of the NYSCRF and its members and beneficiaries, and free of conflict, and deprived the NYSCRF of its intangible right to Kang’s honest services.
As KELLEY paid bribes to KANG, the Broker-Dealer’s fixed-income business with the NYSCRF skyrocketed. The value of NYSCRF’s domestic bond transactions with the Broker-Dealer increased from zero in the fiscal year ending March 1, 2014, to approximately $156 million in the fiscal year ending March 1, 2015, and to approximately $179 million in the fiscal year ending March 1, 2016. Kang’s trades resulted in the payment of hundreds of thousands of dollars in commissions to the Broker-Dealer, of which KELLEY personally earned approximately 35 to 40 percent.
Obstruction of Justice
In late 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) opened an investigation into the entertainment and benefits that KELLEY had provided Kang, and the SEC subpoenaed both KELLEY and Kang for their testimony. In advance of their testimony, KELLEY and Kang agreed to align their stories and testify falsely before the SEC in order to conceal their scheme. In late 2015 and early 2016, KELLEY and Kang each falsely testified under oath before the SEC about expenses KELLEY had paid for Kang.
KELLEY, 58, of Piedmont, California, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and honest services wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and three years of supervised release.
In December 2016, Gregg Schonhorn, a former a vice president of fixed income sales at another New York-based broker-dealer, pled guilty for his participation in the scheme. Kang, against whom charges for conspiracy, securities fraud, honest services wire fraud, and obstruction of justice are currently pending, is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Mr. Kim praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and noted that the investigation is continuing. He also thanked the SEC, which filed civil charges against Kang, KELLEY, and Schonhorn in a separate civil action, and the Office of Inspector General for the Office of the New York State Comptroller.