Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams - A Message on the Observances of Holy Week and Passover

As Holy Week continues, I hope this is a truly meaningful Good Friday to all Christian communities observing in Brooklyn. I also offer my deepest wishes for a happy Easter to all those celebrating in and around the borough. 

Tonight also marks the first night of Passover. Jewish communities in and around Brooklyn will begin to celebrate this festive season, and I wish everyone a zissen Pesach. 

 

Our diverse communities of faith help bring Brooklyn together. I take this opportunity to once again thank all of our religious leaders, regardless of their faith, for working together as One Brooklyn. In unity, we're helping to build a safe place to raise healthy children and families in every corner of the borough. Let us all join together to celebrate the hope and renewal of this season.

-Eric

P.S. Save the dates for these upcoming events, which I am proud to support, at and around Brooklyn Borough Hall; please contact our office for additional information  and  visit our Bulletin Board to post items that can be shared across One Brooklyn:   Saturday, March 31st Free Screenings for Colon Cancer Awareness Month Monday, April 2nd to Saturday, April 21st (Select Dates)  Prom Dress & Suit Drive Tuesday, April 3rd  Brooklyn Borough Board Meeting Wednesday, April 4th Financially Savvy Youth Conference Wednesday, April 4th to Monday, April 16th (Select Dates)  FREE Tax Preparation and Filing Wednesdays, April 4th to April 25th Brooklyn Crochets for a Cause: Homeless Outreach Thursday, April 5th to Wednesday, May 16th (Select Dates) FREE Overdose Prevention Training Monday, April 9th to Friday, April 13th Participatory Budgeting Open Voting Period Tuesday, April 17th Uniform Land Use Review Procedure Public Hearing Wednesdays, from April 18th to May 2nd 700 Credit Score Club Thursday, April 19th Stop 'N' Swap Tenant Resource Fair Thursday, April 26th Financial Education Expo Every Monday through Thursday Constituent Assistance Center Walk-In Every Monday through Friday  SCORE NYC Small Business Mentoring Every Tuesday FREE Legal Services for All - Veterans' Issues Every Wednesday FREE Legal Services for All - Family Law Second Wednesday of Every Month FREE Legal Services for All - Foreclosure Intervention and Prevention Second Thursday of Every Month FREE Legal Services for All - Housing Matters, Trusts and Estates, Elder Law, and Government Benefits Second Friday of Every Month  FREE Legal Services for All - Housing Discrimination for Individuals with Disabilities Third Monday of Every Month FREE Legal Services for All - Domestic Violence

Brooklyn Borough Hall | | askeric@brooklynbp.nyc.gov | http://www.brooklyn-usa.org 209 Joralemon Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201

MAYOR DE BLASIO ANNOUNCES THE FIRST EVER HIRING OF A WOMEN-OWNED FINANCIAL FIRM TO MANAGE $100 MILLION OF THE CITY’S DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN

Announcement comes on the heels of new policies that seek to increase participation of minority and women-owned firms in the second largest public Deferred Compensation Plan in the country

  To mark the end of Women’s History Month, Mayor Bill de Blasio today announced that, for first time in City history, a women-owned financial firm has been hired to manage $100 million of the City’s Deferred Compensation Plan the voluntary retirement plan for over 180,000 City employees and retirees. The firm – Longfellow Investment Management Co., LLC – is a City-certified, women-owned firm and will be managing assets in the Plan’s Stable Income Fund. The Stable Income Fund is one of seven investment options offered by the Deferred Compensation Plan. Longfellow will be managing assets in the Stable Income Fund’s portfolio that primarily focuses on government fixed income securities.

“While the numbers of women in the workforce are growing every day, asset fund management is still an industry that lags behind. We’ve decided to do our part to help right this wrong,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “I always say that this City works best when everyone – regardless of race, gender or ethnicity – has a chance to participate in our economy. The time for women to get a seat at the table has been long overdue, and I look forward to the unique prospective Longfellow Investment Management Co. will bring to the table.”

“With the hiring of Longfellow Investment Management Co. and EARNEST Partners and the implementation of our new M/WBE policy, we are taking steps towards an inclusive and equitable economy,” said Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives J. Phillip Thompson. “We are setting new standards across agencies by having them take a hard look at the diverse and talented businesses that are ready to work with us at every level of City government. Our City knows that investing in our M/WBEs means investing in our communities across the five boroughs.”

“We are excited to partner with the City of New York in the management of assets for its Deferred Compensation Plan,” said Barbara McKenna, Managing Principal of Longfellow Investment Management Co., LLC. “More asset owners are seeking out firms like Longfellow because they recognize the value of diversity and realize that they are missing out on talent if they limit their manager roster to only the largest firms.”

This announcement comes on the heels of the recently enacted policy that seeks to increase the participation of minority and women-owned firms in the Deferred Compensation Plan. The Office of Labor Relations, which acts as the administrator of the Plan, will actively encourage minority and women-owned businesses, and firms that partner with them, to participate in the hiring process. The qualifications of any MWBE firms that make proposals are examined and analyzed in the same manner as is used in examining all other firms. Longfellow was selected because they provided the Plan with the best combination of investment performance and low-cost fees. Over time, $9 billion of funds across the entire plan will become available for management.

This policy also led to the hiring of EARNEST Partners, an African-American led financial firm that will manage assets in the Stable Income Fund. EARNEST Partners will manage $100 million of the same portfolio.

“For the past four years, this Administration has tackled and implemented every policy with an eye towards equity and equality,” said Jonnel Doris, Senior Advisor and Director of the Mayor’s Office of Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises. “Today is no different. With the hiring of Longfellow Investment Management Co. and EARNEST Partners, we are reminding Cities across America that women and minorities have the talent and expertise to do this work. Not only that, but these businesses also offer diverse and unique perspectives to City programs and projects that impact the lives of countless New Yorkers.”

Recording Artist And Performer DMX Sentenced In Manhattan Federal Court To 1 Year In Prison For Tax Fraud

  Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that EARL SIMMONS, an internationally known recording artist, performer, and actor known professionally as “DMX” and “X,” was sentenced today in Manhattan federal court to one year in prison for tax fraud in connection with evading the payment of income taxes in the period from 2010 through 2016.  In total, during that time period SIMMONS concealed millions of dollars of income from the IRS and avoided paying $1.7 million of tax liabilities.  SIMMONS pled guilty on November 30, 2017, before United States District Judge Jed S. Rakoff, who imposed today’s sentence.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “Earl Simmons, the recording artist and performer known as DMX, stole from the American taxpayers when he earned millions of dollars but failed to pay any taxes on his income.  Today’s sentence shows that star power does not entitle people to a free pass.  Together with our partners at the IRS, we will vigorously enforce our tax laws to make sure that people pay their fair share.”

According to the Indictment and statements made in open court:

SIMMONS worked as a recording artist, performer, and actor.  Beginning in 1997, SIMMONS released a series of hip-hop albums that sold millions of records.  Many of his albums went platinum and occupied the top positions on musical charts.  During his career, SIMMONS has performed at venues across the United States and around the world, and has acted in motion pictures.

As a result of the income SIMMONS earned from sources including musical recordings and performances, from 2002 through 2005 he incurred federal income tax liabilities of approximately $1.7 million.  Those liabilities went unpaid, and in 2005, the IRS began efforts to collect SIMMONS’s unpaid tax liabilities. 

During the period from 2010 through 2015, SIMMONS earned more than $2.3 million, but SIMMONS did not file personal income tax returns during that time period.  Instead, he orchestrated a scheme to evade payment of his outstanding tax liabilities, largely by maintaining a cash lifestyle, avoiding the use of a personal bank account, and using the bank accounts of nominees, including his business managers, to pay personal expenses.  For example, SIMMONS received hundreds of thousands of dollars of royalty income from his music recordings.  SIMMONS caused that income to be deposited into the bank accounts of his managers, who then disbursed it to him in cash or used it to pay his personal expenses.  SIMMONS also participated in the “Celebrity Couples Therapy” television show in 2011 and 2012 and was paid $125,000 for his participation.  When taxes were withheld from the check for the first installment of that fee by the producer, SIMMONS refused to tape the remainder of the television show until the check was reissued without withholding taxes.

SIMMONS took other steps to conceal his income from the IRS and others, including by filing a false affidavit in U.S. Bankruptcy Court that listed his income as “unknown” for 2011 and 2012, and as $10,000 for 2013.  In fact, SIMMONS received hundreds of thousands of dollars of income in each of those years.

In addition to his prison sentence, SIMMONS, 47, of Yonkers, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $ 2,292,200 in restitution to the IRS.  

Mr. Berman praised the work of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation.

Bronx Man And Staten Island Man Arrested For Stealing Over $900,000 In Produce And Services

  Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Bethanne M. Dinkins, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General (“USDA-OIG”), and Daniel D. Brownell, the Commissioner of the New York City Business Integrity Commission (“BIC”), announced today the unsealing of a complaint charging ROBERT GUILIANO and RODIN DIAZ with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a scheme to steal more than $900,000 from produce growers, shipping services providers, and others.  GUILIANO and DIAZ were arrested this morning and were presented this afternoon before Magistrate Judge Barbara C. Moses in federal court in Manhattan.  

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “As alleged, Robert Guiliano and Rodin Diaz engaged in a long-term fraud, stealing nearly $1 million in sweet potatoes, peppers, and other goods and services from small farms and businesses located across the United States.  Thanks to the hard work of the BIC, NYPD, and USDA, their scheme has come to an end.”  

USDA-OIG Special Agent-in-Charge Dinkins said:  “The USDA strives to ensure integrity within the produce industry through its administration of the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, which protects businesses dealing in fruits and vegetables by establishing and enforcing a code of fair business practices and helping to resolve disputes.  When presented with evidence of extensive fraud being committed against hardworking produce growers by entities not licensed under PACA, we were glad to assist our investigative partners in identifying and holding accountable those responsible.”

Business Integrity Commission Commissioner Daniel D. Brownell said:  “The defendants’ alleged actions undermine the integrity of New York City’s wholesale markets.  The NYC Business Integrity Commission, along with our law enforcement partners, will continue to protect the markets and their participants from those who seek to prey on them through fraudulent schemes such as the one the defendants have been charged with today.”

According to the allegations in the Complaint unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:[[1]]

GUILIANO and DIAZ used multiple corporate entities and fictitious names in order to obtain produce and shipping services on credit, for which the defendants did not pay.  To further their scheme, GUILIANO and DIAZ represented that they were independent businessmen operating within the produce industry when, in fact, they were co-conspirators working together to defraud victims of goods and services worth over $900,000. 

GUILIANO, 40, of the Bronx, New York, and DIAZ, 53, of Staten Island, New York, are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of wire fraud, which 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.

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

Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the Business Integrity Commission, the New York City Police Department, and the United States Department of Agriculture. 

[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the texts of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.