Attorney General James Announces 56 Guns Turned in at Poughkeepsie Gun Buyback

 

AG James Recovered Nearly 2,100 Guns Through 18 Buybacks and Other Efforts in 2021

AG James Has Taken Nearly 2,700 Firearms Out of Communities Since 2019

 New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced that 56 firearms were turned in to law enforcement at a gun buyback event hosted by her office and the Poughkeepsie Police Department. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) accepts — with no questions asked — working and non-working, unloaded firearms in exchange for compensation on site. Today’s event — which marks the last OAG gun buyback this year — is a part of Attorney General James’ initiative to vigorously combat gun violence and protect New Yorkers throughout the state. In 2021, Attorney General James recovered nearly 2,100 guns from 18 buyback events and other measures that were held throughout the entire state. To date, Attorney General James has taken nearly 2,700 firearms out of communities through gun buyback events and other efforts since taking office in 2019.

“Over the past year, areas throughout New York state have experienced record high levels of gun violence and devastation,” said Attorney General James. “In an effort to crack down on this violence and protect our communities, we held 18 gun buybacks and successfully took nearly 2,100 guns off the streets. Every gun that is turned in at our gun buybacks is a potential tragedy averted and a potential life saved. I thank the Poughkeepsie Police Department and our other partners in law enforcement for their invaluable support and collaboration in keeping our neighborhoods safe.”

“The City of Poughkeepsie Police Department appreciates the assistance and resources made available through New York Attorney General Letitia James for the community beneficial gun buyback program,” said Poughkeepsie Police Captain Richard T. Wilson. “Any gun that is turned in and no longer accessible to those intent on committing acts of violence is a great benefit to the community as a whole.”

Today’s community gun buyback resulted in the collection of 56 guns, including 15 handguns, 33 shotguns and rifles, 6 assault rifles, and 2 non-working guns. Since 2013, the OAG has hosted gun buyback events throughout New York state and has successfully collected nearly 4,700 firearms.

In exchange for the firearms, the OAG offered monetary compensation, in the form of prepaid gift cards, when an unloaded gun was received and secured by an officer on site.

Attorney General James wishes to thank the City of Poughkeepsie Police Department, the Town of Hyde Park Police Department, and the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office for their support and collaboration on today's event.

Gun violence is a public health crisis that is plaguing communities throughout New York, and today’s event is the latest action that Attorney General James has taken to combat this crisis and protect New Yorkers from harm. This year alone, Attorney General James has held 18 gun buybacks across the state and has secured nearly 2,100 guns out of communities through gun buybacks and other measures. To date, Attorney General James has taken a total of nearly 2,700 guns out of communities since 2019.

Governor Hochul Announces Three More Confirmed COVID-19 Omicron Variant Cases in New York State for a Total of Eight Cases

 

Discovery Reinforces Need for New Yorkers to Get Vaccinated, Get Boosted and Wear a Mask

Rising Cases Continue to be Traced to Delta Variant

 Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the detection of three more confirmed cases of the COVID-19 Omicron variant in New York State, for a total of eight confirmed cases. So far, the cases appear unrelated and have been confirmed through sequencing of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. All three of the new cases are from New York City, for a total of seven New York City residents and one from Suffolk County confirmed to have the Omicron variant.

"We knew the Omicron variant was coming and we expect to see more cases. But let me be clear: We are not defenseless," Governor Hochul said. "We have the tools to help prevent the spread of this deadly virus: Get your vaccine, get your booster, and wear your mask. Let's use these tools to protect ourselves and our loved ones as we approach the holidays."

Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett said, "The Omicron variant is here, and as anticipated we are seeing the beginning of community spread. We continue to work closely with our partners at the national, state, and local levels. At this time, we do not know how quickly Omicron will spread or how severe the symptoms of Omicron will be. What we are seeing is that the rise of cases across New York State continues to be traced to the Delta variant. We encourage all New Yorkers to use the best preventative tools we have: get vaccinated, get boosted and wear a mask." 

Three of the Omicron cases were identified at Mt. Sinai, three cases were identified at the Pandemic Response Lab (PRL), one case was confirmed by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Suffolk County case was identified by PRL on December 2. While all of these cases are believed to be unrelated to the recent Anime NYC convention at the Javits Center, the Department still urges anyone who attended to get tested for COVID-19 and wear a mask in public places. 

New York State Department of Health's Wadsworth Center Laboratory continues to actively monitor COVID-19 virus samples selected throughout the State to compare sequences and identify circulating and new variants, including Omicron. 

The Department also monitors all data submitted to public sequence databases by the many other sequencing laboratories throughout New York State and across the US, contributing to a robust and collaborative surveillance program for variant analysis. The Wadsworth Center is currently sequencing COVID-19 virus specimens with a capacity up to approximately 100 per day. Specimens are selected at random from throughout the state to provide surveillance across all geographic locations and data analyzed across the entire sequence of the virus. The analyses include assessment for mutations that indicate variants of concern and variants of interest. 

Other laboratories in New York State are conducting similar work. These results from Wadsworth and other laboratories are uploaded into public databases, primarily GISAID. From this database, sequence data from all contributors can be downloaded and analyzed for a more complete picture of virus trends across the state and the distribution of variants from these analyses summarized over time. The State has made this data available for all New Yorkers at their COVID-19 Variant Page.

Maryland Attorney Charged In Manhattan Federal Court With Over $8 Million Escrow Fraud

 

 Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Michael J. Driscoll, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the unsealing of a Complaint in Manhattan federal court charging BRIAN O’NEILL, the managing partner of O’Neill & Partners LLC (“O’Neill & Partners”) with wire fraud, perjury, and making false statements.  As alleged, O’NEILL defrauded two victim companies of over $8 million that he had promised to hold in escrow.  O’NEILL was arrested this morning in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and will be presented later today before United States Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Sullivan in the District of Maryland.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As alleged, Brian O’Neill violated the canons of his profession to put self-interest above the interests of his clients; to be blunt, he stole their money.  Further, as alleged, when ordered by the federal court in this District to deposit escrow funds he had failed to return to one client, O’Neill misappropriated escrow funds from a second client to make partial satisfaction of the court’s order pertaining to the first client.  In addition, as alleged, O’Neill lied to the FBI about his robbing Peter to pay Paul.  Now he faces serious criminal charges for his alleged misdeeds.” 

FBI Assistant Director Michael J. Driscoll said: “As alleged, Brian O'Neill didn’t just hold his clients’ money in escrow, he held it hostage, and eventually lied to the FBI about his unlawful deeds. His alleged actions weren’t only unethical, they’re punishable by federal law. Today’s charges reflect our ongoing commitment to weeding out criminals who use other people’s money for their own personal gain.”

As alleged in the Complaint unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:[1]

Beginning at least as early as August 2020, O’NEILL engaged in two related fraudulent schemes.

First, O’NEILL engaged in a scheme to defraud a medical equipment company headquartered in Pennsylvania (“Victim-1”) by falsely promising to hold over $5 million of the company’s funds in escrow.  Specifically, in August 2020, Victim-1 entered into an agreement with a Florida-based medical wholesale company (“Seller-1”) for the purchase of Personal Protective Equipment (“PPE”).  Victim-1 sought to purchase PPE from Seller-1 in order to donate the PPE to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA”) to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic.  Contemporaneously with the execution of the Purchase Order, Victim-1 and Seller-1 entered into an escrow agreement (“Escrow Agreement-1”) with O’Neill & Partners.  Pursuant to Escrow Agreement-1, O’Neill & Partners was to act as escrow agent for the transaction and hold $5.1 million deposited by Victim-1 in escrow.  Instead of holding the deposited $5.1 million in escrow, however, O’NEILL secretly used the funds to execute personal deals for the purchase of PPE; O’NEILL dissipated the $5.1 million by approximately November 2020. 

In November 2020, Victim-1 served a cancellation notice on O’Neill & Partners and Seller-1 cancelling the transaction (the “Cancellation Notice”).  In light of the Cancellation Notice, counsel for Victim-1 sent a letter to O’Neill & Partners requesting that the $5.1 million in escrowed funds be returned to Victim-1 within 48 hours, pursuant to the terms of Escrow Agreement-1.  When O’Neill & Partners refused to return Victim-1’s deposited funds, Victim-1 filed a civil action in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (the “Civil Action”).  In connection with the Civil Action, the Court ordered O’Neill & Partners to deposit the $5.1 million of escrowed funds with the Clerk of the Court.  On September 22, 2021, O’NEILL deposited $3.3 million with the Clerk.  Because O’NEILL’s deposit was $1.8 million short of the full $5.1 million he had been ordered to deposit, the Court held O’Neill & Partners and O’NEILL in civil contempt and ordered O’NEILL’s arrest.     

Relatedly, O’NEILL engaged in a second scheme that defrauded a Hong Kong-based investor (“Victim-2”) out of over $3 million.  Specifically, on April 19, 2021, a Delaware-based company involved in the PPE market (“Buyer-2”) entered into a sale and purchase agreement to purchase certain PPE from an Australia-based medical supply company (“Seller-2”).  Funding for the deal was to be provided by Victim-2.  At the same time that Buyer-2 and Seller-2 entered into the Sale and Purchase Agreement, they, along with Victim-2, entered into an escrow agreement (“Escrow Agreement-2”) with O’Neill & Partners.  Pursuant to Escrow Agreement-2, O’Neill & Partners was to hold certain funds associated with the transaction in escrow.  Instead of holding the funds deposited by Victim-2 in escrow, however, O’NEILL used $3.3 million of the funds to attempt to satisfy the Court’s order in the Civil Action by Victim-1 directing him to deposit $5.1 million with the Clerk of the Court.     

In an effort to conceal his wrongful conduct, O’NEILL made false statements to the FBI and submitted a false declaration, sworn to under penalty of perjury, to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in connection with the Civil Action.  In particular, on or about September 10, 2021, O’NEILL stated to FBI agents that the $5.1 million placed in escrow pursuant to Escrow Agreement-1 remained in an escrow account.  Similarly, on or about October 1, 2021, O’NEILL submitted a declaration in the Civil Action stating, under penalty of perjury, that he “still [had] control of the $1.8 million of the subject escrow funds . . . remaining to be deposited pursuant to the interpleader ordered by [the] Court.”  Neither of those statements was true.    

O’NEILL, 48, of Chevy Chase, Maryland, is charged with two counts of wire fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count each of false statements and perjury, each of which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.  The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.

Mr. Williams praised the investigative work of the FBI. 

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

[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text 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.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. - Bronx Christmas Tree Lighting

 

29 Days and Counting

 

If Max Scherzer can get over forty-three million dollars a year for three years, I should be able to get at least ten million dollars a year from the Mets. After all how many hundreds of millions of dollars in goodies did I give the Mets, and built them a new stadium. 

I watched many Red Sox games, and learned a couple of different pitches. Just ask some of my donors and those who endorsed me when I ran for mayor. I have a great fastball, a mean curve, and my best pitch though is my Splitter, where I divide the media so they don't know what to write about me. It's that pesky reporter from the Bronx who can tell which pitch I am throwing, and how to hit it out the park. 

Charlene are you packing everything that isn't nailed down?

Governor Hochul Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress Combating COVID-19 - DECEMBER 3, 2021

 

Issued Guidance on Limiting Non-Essential and Non-Urgent Procedures at Certain Hospitals Experiencing Limited Capacity

159,560 Vaccine Doses Administered Over Last 24 Hours

49 COVID-19 Deaths Statewide Yesterday

 Governor Kathy Hochul today updated New Yorkers on the state's progress combating COVID-19.

"New York State has confirmed five cases of the omicron variant. Let me be clear: this is not cause for alarm, we knew this variant was coming and we expect to see more cases," Governor Hochul said. "I want to remind all New Yorkers to use the tools they have at their disposal to keep themselves and their communities safe: get your vaccine, get your booster, and wear your mask. We will get through this."

The Governor and the Department of Health today also released written guidance on Executive Order No. 11, which enables the Department to protect access to critical health care services by limiting non-essential, non-urgent procedures at certain hospitals currently experiencing limited capacity. While this order is effective today, determinations will be issued to facilities by December 6 to apply to procedures scheduled to occur on or after December 9.

Today's data is summarized briefly below:

• Test Results Reported - 230,961
• Total Positive - 11,242
• Percent Positive - 4.87%
• 7-Day Average Percent Positive - 4.85%
• Patient Hospitalization - 3,107 (+14)
• Patients Newly Admitted - 437
• Patients in ICU - 595 (+4)
• Patients in ICU with Intubation - 309 (-5)
• Total Discharges - 216,609 (+391)
• New deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 49
• Total deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 46,673

The Health Electronic Response Data System is a NYS DOH data source that collects confirmed daily death data as reported by hospitals, nursing homes and adult care facilities only.

• Total deaths reported to and compiled by the CDC - 60,354

This daily COVID-19 provisional death certificate data reported by NYS DOH and NYC to the CDC includes those who died in any location, including hospitals, nursing homes, adult care facilities, at home, in hospice and other settings.

• Total vaccine doses administered - 30,164,634
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 24 hours - 159,560
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 7 days - 668,526
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose - 86.1%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series - 78.5%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 91.2%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 80.9%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose - 74.5%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series - 66.8%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 78.6%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 68.7%

Former CEO Of Real Estate Private Equity Investment Firm Sentenced To 5 Years In Prison For $58 Million Securities Fraud

 

 Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ERIC MALLEY, the founder and former chief executive officer of real estate private equity investment firm MG Capital Management L.P., was sentenced by United States District Judge Edgardo Ramos to 60 months in prison in connection with a securities fraud scheme in which he fraudulently induced hundreds of individuals to invest a total of approximately $58 million in two real estate investment funds.  MALLEY pled guilty before Judge Ramos on May 20, 2021.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “For years, Eric Malley swindled investors through false promises about himself, his credentials, his track record, and the state of his real estate investment funds.  This sentence sends an important message that there are grave consequences to such deception.”

According to the allegations contained in the Complaint, the Information to which Malley pled guilty, other court documents, and statements made in public court proceedings:

MALLEY founded MG Capital Management L.P. (“MG Capital”) in approximately January 2013, and served as its chief executive officer and chief investment officer from that time until approximately December 2019.  During that time, MALLEY formed two real estate investment funds (collectively, “the Funds”) – MG Capital Management Residential Fund III (“Fund III”), in approximately February 2014, and MG Capital Management Residential Fund IV (“Fund IV”), in approximately September 2017.

MALLEY promised, when soliciting investors and throughout the life of the Funds, that the Funds represented an opportunity to own an equity interest in hundreds of luxury income-producing properties across Manhattan, following a debt-free investment strategy purportedly informed by sophisticated proprietary analytics that MALLEY had developed over the course of his career in real estate.  MALLEY touted two purportedly extremely successful prior funds he had formed, Fund I and Fund II; assured investors that the Funds would be and were debt-free; and represented that the properties held by the Funds would be and were leased primarily to corporate tenants, including, among others, well known technology companies and a prominent university based in New York City with which Malley had pre-existing agreements.  But MALLEY’s representations were false.  Funds I and II did not exist.  The Funds were not debt-free, but instead held mortgaged properties. The properties that made up the Funds were almost entirely leased to individual, not corporate, tenants.  Malley did not have the corporate relationships or pre-existing agreements he touted.  The Funds held far fewer properties than MALLEY had represented.  And although Malley promised the investments were fully protected from loss, they were not.

MALLEY induced approximately 335 investors to invest a total of approximately $58 million in the Funds through these and other fraudulent misrepresentations.  The Funds together incurred millions of dollars in losses and are currently being liquidated.

In addition to the prison term, MALLEY, 51, of New Canaan, Connecticut, was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to make restitution in the amount of $33,249,822.12 and forfeiture in the amount of $5,625,747.45.

Attorney General James’ Office of Special Investigation Releases Report on the Death of Tyler Green

 

  New York Attorney General Letitia James’ Office of Special Investigation (OSI) today released its report on the death of Tyler Green of Oneonta. Following a thorough and comprehensive investigation, OSI concluded that an officer from the Oneonta Police Department was justified in his use of force to prevent Mr. Green from killing a child.

At the time of the incident, Tyler Green and his partner were the parents of a nearly two-year-old boy. On April 6, 2021, the partner, her sister, and the child were visiting Mr. Green at his home in Oneonta. Because of violent threats made by Mr. Green, the sister left the home and secretly drove to the Oneonta Police Department to tell them of her fears for her sister and the child. Members of the Oneonta Police Department decided to conduct a welfare check on the child. While on their way to Mr. Green’s home, they received a dispatch that Mr. Green allegedly threatened to stab his partner with a knife.

Two officers drove to the home and saw Mr. Green, his partner, and the child in the front yard. Mr. Green pulled a knife from his pocket, lunged at his partner, and threatened to kill her. The officers drew their guns and instructed Mr. Green to drop the knife. Mr. Green then cut his partner’s leg with the knife and swung the knife at one of the officers.

He then grabbed his two-year old son by the leg, and as he began to swing the knife at the child, one of the officers fired two shots striking Mr. Green, who immediately released his hold on the child. Officers called an ambulance and provided care to Mr. Green before it arrived. Mr. Green was initially transported to a local hospital, but that hospital was not equipped to treat Mr. Green, so he was in the process of being transported by helicopter to another hospital when he was pronounced dead.

Analyzing the officer’s conduct under New York’s justification law, OSI concluded he was justified in his use of deadly force, as it was reasonable to believe that Mr. Green was about to use deadly physical force against the child and that only the officer’s use of deadly physical force could prevent him from doing so.

OSI also reviewed the medical care Mr. Green received after he was wounded and observed that New York law prohibited medical personnel from giving him blood during his medevac flight from Oneonta to Albany. Therefore, the Attorney General James recommends that New York consider joining every other state in the nation and permit air ambulances to carry and provide blood to critically injured patients.

“After a complete and exhaustive review of this incident, my office concluded that the officer was justified in his use of force to protect the life of a two-year old child,” said Attorney General James. “While this situation was tragic, it could have been even more devastating if not for the actions of the responding officers. Members of law enforcement put their lives on the line every day to protect our communities, and these officers bravely and responsibly fulfilled their duty.”