Van Cortlandt Jewish Center
News and Notes
|
|
Thursday, April 14, 2022
VCJC News & Notes 4/15/21
Van Cortlandt Jewish Center
Frank James Charged in Brooklyn Mass Shooting on New York Subway
Defendant Allegedly Attempted to Kill Commuters During Morning Rush Hour
A criminal complaint was unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn charging Frank James with conducting a violent attack on a mass transportation vehicle in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1992(a)(7) and (b)(1). The charge, terrorist attacks or other violence against a mass transportation system, relates to the April 12, 2022, mass shooting on the New York City subway in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. James was arrested earlier today by New York City police officers in Manhattan and will make his initial appearance tomorrow before United States Magistrate Judge Roanne L. Mann.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), John DeVito, Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, New York (ATF) and Keechant L. Sewell, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the arrest and charge.
“As alleged, the defendant committed a heinous and premeditated attack on ordinary New Yorkers during their morning subway commute,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “All New Yorkers have the right to expect that they will be safe as they travel throughout our great city and use our vital transportation systems. I am grateful to our law enforcement partners, the first responders and the everyday New Yorkers who stepped up during this crisis and showed the best of our city. And, we continue to pray for the victims and their loved ones as they recover from this traumatic event, both physically and emotionally.”
Mr. Peace praised the outstanding efforts of the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which consists of investigators and analysts from the FBI, the NYPD, and over 50 other federal, state, and local agencies.
“As everyday New Yorkers commuted through Brooklyn on our subway system, Frank James – as alleged – committed a horrific act that resulted in an around-the-clock effort by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force in New York, the NYPD, and the ATF to find him and bring him to justice. Thanks to the incredible work by all involved to identify James and get the proper information out to the public, he's in federal custody and New Yorkers can breathe a little easier in our city today,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Driscoll.
“The arrest of Frank James was in large part due to the vigilance and a concerted effort by New Yorkers to aid law enforcement in the apprehension of violent criminals. We at ATF applaud the public’s engagement and participation in providing vital information to apprehend James, and we hope for a speedy recovery for all victims. ATF will continue to utilize our nationwide Crime Gun Intelligence capabilities to support our partners in the continued investigation of Tuesday’s horrific attack on the NYC subway,” stated ATF Special Agent-in-Charge DeVito.
“Today, after nearly 30 hours of dogged police work, Frank James was arrested by the NYPD without incident,” stated NYPD Commissioner Sewell. “From the moment Mr. James committed this appalling crime, the police began shrinking his world until he had nowhere to turn – and the people of our city were working right alongside us. So together with our law enforcement partners at the FBI, the ATF, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, I want to thank New Yorkers for their vigilance and their help in taking this violent criminal off our streets.”
As set forth in the complaint, during rush hour on the morning of April 12, 2022, James used a Glock 17 pistol he purchased in Ohio to conduct a mass shooting on an N subway train in Brooklyn. James, dressed in an orange reflective jacket, yellow hard hat, and surgical mask, set off a smoke-emitting device in one of the train cars before firing at subway riders. James had arrived in New York earlier that day in a rental van driven from Pennsylvania. He parked the van on Kings Highway, approximately two blocks from the entrance to an N-train station, near where the shooting took place. After the attack, James abandoned a bag containing, among other items, fireworks, a plastic container containing gasoline, and a torch.
In videos he posted publicly on YouTube before the attack, James made various statements about the New York City subway system. Among other things, James addressed statements to New York City’s mayor: “What are you doing, brother? What’s happening with this homeless situation?” and “Every car I went to was loaded with homeless people. It was so bad, I couldn’t even stand.” James also made statements, in sum and substance, about various conspiracy theories, including that: “And so the message to me is: I should have gotten a gun, and just started shooting motherf---ers.”
Following the attack, members of law enforcement executed court-authorized search warrants for properties associated with James in Pennsylvania. Agents recovered, among other items: 9mm ammunition; a threaded 9mm pistol barrel, which allows for a silencer or suppresser to be attached;.223 caliber ammunition, which is used with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle; a taser; a high-capacity rifle magazine; and a blue smoke cannister.
If convicted the defendant faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
The charge in the complaint is an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Anyone with information about Mr. James or this incident is asked to call the FBI at 1-800-CALLFBI. Digital tips may also be submitted by visiting www.fbi.gov/brooklynshooting.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and Cybercrime Section. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Douglas M. Pravda, Alexander A. Solomon, Craig R. Heeren, David K. Kessler, Ian C. Richardson, Artie McConnell, Alexander Mindlin, Sara Winik, Ellen Sise, and Meredith A. Arfa, and Paralegal Specialists Wayne Colon and Benjamin Richmond, handled the investigation, with assistance provided by Trial Attorney Larry Schneider of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation Opens Investigation Into Civilian Death in Brooklyn
The New York Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation (OSI) has opened an investigation into the death of a man who died on April 7, 2022 following an encounter with members of the New York City Police Department (NYPD).
On the evening of April 7, a civilian was standing on Eastern Parkway near Schenectady Avenue in Brooklyn when he was struck by an NYPD vehicle. The civilian was rushed to a local hospital and he was pronounced dead.
Pursuant to New York State Executive Law Section 70-b, OSI assesses every incident reported to it where a police officer or a peace officer, including a corrections officer, may have caused the death of a person, by an act or omission. Under the law, the officer may be on-duty or off-duty, and the decedent may be armed or unarmed. Also, the decedent may or may not be in custody or incarcerated. If OSI’s assessment indicates an officer caused the death, OSI proceeds to conduct a full investigation of the incident.
These are preliminary facts and subject to change.
MAN INDICTED FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER FOR PLOWING CAR INTO PARKGOER WALKING DOG
Victim Left with Multiple Fractures; Dog Was Also Injured
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a man has been indicted for Attempted Murder in the second-degree and other charges for critically injuring a woman in Claremont Park when he allegedly drove a stolen car onto a walkway and struck her as she walked her dog.
District Attorney Clark said “The defendant allegedly turned the 3,000-pound vehicle into a weapon that injured a 58-year-old woman and her dog while they were enjoying time at a local park. He put the lives of all parkgoers at risk when he allegedly recklessly drove into the park. After striking the victim he kept going, ultimately crashing the car into other vehicles. We are fortunate no one else was seriously hurt, and that police sprang into action apprehending the suspect.”
District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Becan Floyd, 22, was arraigned today on Attempted Murder in the second degree, two counts of first-degree Assault, two counts of second degree Assault, third-degree Criminal Possession of Stolen Property, Leaving the Scene of an Incident Without Reporting, and second-degree Reckless Endangerment before Bronx Supreme Court Justice George Villegas. Remand was continued and the defendant is due back in court on July 7, 2022.
According to the investigation, on March 12, 2022 at approximately 6:51 p.m. near the corner of Morris Avenue and Teller Avenue inside Claremont Park, the defendant allegedly drove a stolen rental car into Christina Emiliano and her dog Rocco, as the two were walking in the park on a grassy area. Patrolling officers observed the alleged attack and pursued Floyd. The officers pursued the defendant and arrested him after he crashed the stolen car into two vehicles.
The victim was taken to NYC Health + Hospitals Lincoln after suffering multiple fractures and was placed on a ventilator in critical condition until recently. Her dog Rocco had head lacerations and went missing. He was found and returned to his owners.
District Attorney Clark also thanked NYPD Officer Kevin Wallace and Detective Enmanuel Rosario of NYPD Collision Investigation Squad who assisted with the investigation and prosecution of the case as well as Police Officers Vincent Fortino and Michael Espenberg of the 44th Precinct.
An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.
Russian Legislator And Two Staff Members Charged With Conspiring To Have A U.S. Citizen Act As An Unregistered Agent Of The Russian Government In The United States
Russian Legislator Aleksandr Mikhaylovich Babakov and Staff Members Aleksandr Nikolayevich Vorobev and Mikhail Alekseyevich Plisyuk Allegedly Conspired to Commit U.S. Crimes in Furtherance of a Global Foreign Influence Scheme
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Matthew G. Olsen, the Assistant Attorney General for National Security, 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 an Indictment charging ALEKSANDR MIKHAYLOVICH BABAKOV, ALEKSANDR NIKOLAYEVICH VOROBEV, and MIKHAIL ALEKSEYEVICH PLISYUK, citizens of the Russian Federation (“Russia”), with conspiring to act in the United States as an unregistered agent of Russia, conspiring to violate United States sanctions, and conspiring to commit visa fraud. BABAKOV, a Deputy Chairman in the Russian legislature, VOROBEV, and PLISYUK are based in Russia and remain at large.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Russian legislator Aleksandr Babakov and two of his staffers allegedly orchestrated a covert Russian propaganda campaign in the U.S. in order to advance Russia’s malevolent political designs against Ukraine and other countries, including the U.S. Today’s indictment demonstrates that Russia’s illegitimate actions against Ukraine extend beyond the battlefield, as political influencers under Russia’s control allegedly plotted to steer geopolitical change in Russia’s favor through surreptitious and illegal means in the U.S. and elsewhere in the West. Such malign foreign interference will be exposed, and we will pursue justice against its perpetrators.”
Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen said: “The indictment alleges that a high-ranking Putin-aligned legislator and his closest staffers, all three of whom are sanctioned, engaged in a global campaign to influence and gain access to U.S. elected officials. The Department will not hesitate to prosecute those who seek to covertly influence the American political process and evade U.S. sanctions.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael J. Driscoll said: “Beginning as far back as 2012, Aleksandr Babakov, an oligarch who has served as a leader in the Russian legislature along with two of his deputies, operated a nonprofit organization as a subterfuge for an international foreign influence and disinformation network to advance the interests of the Russian Government. As alleged, Babakov sought to undermine Western sanctions - including those imposed against him - promote Russia’s illicit actions designed to destroy Ukrainian sovereignty, and co-opt and cultivate relationships with U.S. politicians to advance Russia’s malign foreign policy objectives. Today’s action demonstrates the FBI’s unwavering commitment to the identification and disruption of Russian Government schemes to target the national security and foreign policy of the United States.”
According to the allegations contained in the Indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal court[1]:
Beginning in or around January 2012 and continuing into at least June 2017, Babakov, a member of the Russian legislature, Vorobev, his Chief of Staff, and Plisyuk, another member of Babakov’s staff, operated an international foreign influence and disinformation network to advance the interests of Russia. The defendants used a nonprofit organization based in Russia, the “Institute for International Integration Studies,” as a front for this global foreign influence campaign to advance Russia’s foreign policy objectives. Through these operations aimed at influencing the course of international affairs, the defendants worked to weaken U.S. partnerships with European allies, undermine Western sanctions, and promote Russia’s illicit actions designed to destroy the sovereignty of Ukraine. The defendants schemed to affect U.S. policy towards Russia through staged events, paid propaganda, and the recruitment of at least one American citizen (“CC-1”) to do their bidding in unofficial capacities. In pursuit of these goals, the defendants sought to co-opt U.S. and European politicians and to influence public opinion in their favor, using American and European citizens as their proxies in an effort to validate them, bring them access to power, evade sanctions, and obscure their true objective to advance Russia’s foreign policy.
Among other things, the defendants contacted members of the U.S. Congress from 2012 into 2017 to seek meetings and to offer free travel to at least one Congressmember on behalf of BABAKOV, as well as other foreign officials aligned and associated with BABAKOV. For example, in 2012, at the direction of the defendants, CC-1 sought to secure a meeting for BABAKOV with multiple members of Congress, including by offering a trip to a particular Congressmember “all expenses paid” to meet with European politicians and receive “an award.” Congressmembers rebuffed these efforts.
In March 2017, the defendants sought to arrange a meeting for BABAKOV with a member of the U.S. Congress in pursuit of the objective of “strengthen[ing] the ties of cooperation between” Russia and the United States. To secure that meeting, the defendants, through CC-1, transmitted a letter drafted by CC-1 and signed by BABAKOV to a particular Congressmember.
Also in March 2017, the defendants contacted at least one member of the U.S. Congress to offer free travel to a BABAKOV-affiliated conference in Yalta, part of Russia-controlled Crimea, as a service to benefit the purported “Prime Minister of Crimea,” Sergey Aksyonov, who was organizing and attending the conference, and had been sanctioned by the United States Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) as a Specially Designated National since 2014 based on his role in actions and policies threatening the sovereignty of Ukraine. The defendants worked together and with their associates to organize, facilitate, and promote the Yalta conference, including by soliciting Americans to attend and present at the conference and receive funding from Aksyonov’s organizing committee, for the benefit of Akysonov and his Russia-backed purported government of Crimea. The Congressmember did not accept the offer.
In connection with these foreign influence activities, the defendants also submitted fraudulent visa applications in February 2017 seeking to travel to the United States under the false pretense of each traveling alone for a “vacation,” when in fact they planned to conduct unofficial meetings with U.S. politicians and advisors to further their influence objectives. In June 2017, OFAC sanctioned the three defendants as Specially Designated Nationals. The defendants’ visa applications were ultimately denied in January 2018, disrupting the defendants’ planned meetings in the U.S.
BABAKOV currently serves as the Deputy Chairman of the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian legislature. From approximately September 2014 to October 2021, BABAKOV served as a member of the Russian Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian legislature, and therefore had the title of “Senator.” From approximately 2003 to 2014, BABAKOV served as a member of the State Duma, where he held prominent roles such as Chair of the State Duma Commission on Legislative Provisions for Development of the Military-Industrial Complex of the Russian Federation. In or about 2011, BABAKOV joined the United Russia party, which is the political party of Russian President Vladimir Putin. On or about June 17, 2012, Putin appointed BABAKOV to be the Russian Federation’s Special Representative for Cooperation with Organizations Representing Russians Living Abroad. BABAKOV has become a leader in the “For Truth” party formed in or about 2021, which supports Putin. At all times relevant to the Indictment, VOROBEV has held the position of Chief of Staff for BABAKOV, and PLISYUK has served on BABAKOV’s staff.
BABAKOV, 59, VOROBEV, 52, and PLISYUK, 58, of Russia, are charged with one count of conspiring to have a U.S. citizen act as an unregistered agent in the United States for Russia and Russian officials without notifying the Attorney General, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; one count of conspiring to violate and evade U.S. sanctions, in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; and one count of conspiring to commit visa fraud, 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 defendants will be determined by a judge.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI and its New York Field Office, Counterintelligence Division, and thanked the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, for their assistance.
On March 2, 2022, the Attorney General announced the launch of Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement task force dedicated to enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export restrictions, and economic countermeasures that the United States has imposed, along with allies and partners, in response to Russia’s unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine. The task force will leverage all the Department’s tools and authorities against efforts to evade or undermine the economic actions taken by the U.S. government in response to Russian military aggression.
The case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly J. Ravener and Kyle A. Wirshba are in charge of the case, with assistance from Trial Attorney Scott Claffee of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
The charges in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the Indictment, and the description of the Indictment set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
The Bronx Tourism Council - Update on Bronx Week 2022
|
|
|
WILLIAMS RESPONDS TO THE EXPANSION OF THE GIFTED AND TALENTED PROGRAM
"As someone who benefited from the gifted and talented program in its original construction, I know the value of accelerated and enriched education. Adding more seats, more access, more opportunity is an improvement that will extend these benefits to more students. At the same time, it is also an expansion of a program that is inherently inequitable. Even when I was enrolled, the gifted and talented program had deep inequities, which have only become more pronounced in the decades since.”
“The most effective path forward is through a schoolwide enrichment model, integrating subject-specific accelerated programming, and the students receiving it, into mixed level classrooms rather than separating children onto different tracks as toddlers. The best way to ensure each of our children has the highest quality education is to remove harmful barriers in the classroom and the social, racial, and economic inequities they represent and perpetuate."
Statement from NYGOP Chairman Nick Langworthy on Assemblywoman Paulin's Legislation to Get Corrupt LG Benjamin off the Ballot
“Once again, New York’s Democrat governor is colluding with the Democrat legislature to sweep their corruption under the rug. This legislation is a gross abuse of power that is trying to rig the system and cheat their lawful opponents. Not only did they let another dirty politician escape impeachment, but they are now working to rewrite the law to try and save Kathy Hochul’s political career, rather than face the consequences of their actions with the voters. It’s yet another reason why one-Party rule has been a disaster for our state. This entire corrupt cabal must be met with a seismic reckoning this November.”