MORE THAN 90 ILLEGAL SCOOTERS SEIZED BY QUEEN'S DA OFFICE AND NYPD

 

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced the seizure of 95 scooters from the streets of Corona, Elmhurst and Long Island City. The crackdown is part of an ongoing joint operation involving the District Attorney’s office and local police precincts to address the persistent use of scooters in crimes such as drive-by shootings and robberies. A total of 412 scooters have been removed since the start of the joint operation in February.

District Attorney Katz said: “Unregistered scooters are not only illegal, but they are also being used to commit violent crimes, including shootings and robberies, without any accountability or ability to identify the culprit. Through our proactive enforcement efforts in collaboration with the NYPD, we have taken more than 400 of these illegal vehicles off our streets, enhancing safety and security for our communities. Our proactive enforcement efforts will continue to ensure compliance and eradicate the public threat they pose.” 

Detectives from the District Attorney’s office, working with officers from the NYPD’s 110th and 114th Precincts, searched five locations in Elmhurst, Corona and Long Island City. Of the 95 scooters confiscated, all were parked illegally and 71 were unregistered and uninsured. 

Additional operations are planned in Queens as part of an enforcement effort to get illegal motorized scooters off the road. 

The operation was conducted in partnership with members of the NYPD by the District Attorney’s Detective Bureau under the supervision of Sergeants Joseph Diehl, Felix Ramos and Agim Rugova, Deputy Chief Janet Helgeson, Assistant Chief Daniel O’Brien, and under the overall supervision of Chief Investigator of the District Attorney’s Detective Bureau Robert C. LaPollo.

NYC Council Calls for Restorations and Greater Funding for Runaway Homeless Youth, Childcare and Adult Literacy Services Ahead of Children and Youth Executive Budget Hearing

 

Mayor’s Fiscal Year 2025 Executive Budget fails to restore funding to key children, youth and community development programs

Ahead of the City Council’s Executive Budget hearing with the Committee on Children and Youth and the Committee on Finance, the Council called for funding restorations and deeper investments to services provided through the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) and Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD). Specifically, the Council urged funding for childcare, youth development programs, services for runaway and homeless youth, adult literacy programs, the Office of Neighborhood Safety and other community development initiatives that have been left out of the Mayor’s Fiscal Year 2025 Executive Budget.

The omitted budget priorities outlined by the Council were included in its Preliminary Budget Response released in April. They include:

DYCD Budget Cuts Restoration for Youth and Neighborhood Safety Programs

•   The Council has called for the mayor’s administration to restore $44.4 million in cuts to DYCD from the Mayor’s 2023 November Plan and Fiscal Year 2025 Preliminary Budget. The budget cuts include baseline reductions to some of its most utilized programs, like COMPASS that provides after-school enrichment to K-12 students and Summer Rising that provides K-8 students with enrichment opportunities in the summer months. The lack of funding also impacts programs supported by the Office of Neighborhood Safety, which advances community-driven solutions to public safety. 

Runaway and Homeless Youth Services Funding Restorations

•   As overall homelessness has increased in the city, the homeless youth shelter system has been particularly strained. The Council has called on the mayor’s administration to protect and strengthen critical services for runaway and homeless youth (RHY) by restoring cuts and expanding investments to key programs that serve the population. Specifically, the Council has identified the need to restore the $1.6 million cut to Housing Navigator positions that assist and connect homeless youth with safe housing and baseline the funding. Similarly, the $1.6 million cut to Peer Navigators that help homeless young people access services and support to achieve stability must be restored. Additionally, the Council urged an increased investment of $6.2 million to fund 100 additional shelter beds for RHY, so that young people in need of shelter are not turned away when seeking temporary housing options. The Crisis and Transitional Independent Living (TIL) Program also requires an additional $5.5 million to increase the per-bed rates of currently contracted programs to match their actual cost of operation. 

Promise NYC Childcare

•   The Council has called for $25 million in baselined funding to expand Promise NYC, which provides childcare for undocumented children and families. This would provide an extra $9 million, in addition to the $16 million allocated in the Fiscal Year 2024 adopted budget to cover 600-700 slots that was left out of the Mayor Fiscal Year 2025 Executive Budget. The program provides critical services for families, who are ineligible to access other childcare services because of their immigration status.

DYCD Adult Literacy Restorations

•   The Council has called for the Administration to restore and baseline the additional $10 million for adult literacy programs to recover its reductions to the programs, increase the per-student service rate, and expand the number of areas designated for program funding. Adult literacy programs provide adult basic, English language, high school equivalency, and English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) education for over 12,000 New Yorkers. In a city home to over three million immigrants, who make up more than one-third of our population, these programs are vital to communities.  

Doctor Convicted of $6.3M Medicare Fraud Scheme

 

A federal jury convicted a Michigan doctor for causing the submission of over $6.3 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare for medically unnecessary orthotic braces ordered through a telemarketing scheme.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Sophie Toya, M.D., 55, of Bloomfield Hills, signed thousands of prescriptions for orthotic braces for over 2,500 Medicare patients during a six-month period. Toya was not the treating physician for any of these patients and, instead, was connected with some of the patients over the telephone through a telemarketing scheme and spoke to the patients briefly before signing orthotic brace prescriptions for them. For other patients, Toya signed prescriptions without having any contact with them. In one instance, Toya prescribed a lower back brace, right and left shoulder braces, a right wrist brace, right and left knee braces, and right and left ankle braces for a single Medicare patient. Toya also prescribed multiple braces for undercover agents posing as five different Medicare patients after speaking to each agent for less than a minute over the telephone. The evidence presented at trial showed that Toya could not possibly have diagnosed the patients or determined that the braces were medically necessary for them. Nonetheless, Toya signed medical records and prescriptions for braces that falsely represented that the braces were medically necessary and that she diagnosed the beneficiaries, had a plan of care for them, and recommended that they receive certain additional treatment. Toya’s false prescriptions were used by brace supply companies to bill Medicare more than $6.3 million. Toya was paid approximately $120,000 in exchange for signing the fraudulent prescriptions.

The jury convicted Toya of one count of health care fraud and five counts of false statements relating to health care matters. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 15 and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for health care fraud and five years in prison on each of the false statements relating to health care matters counts. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Assistant Director Michael D. Nordwall of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; and Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Christian J. Schrank of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) made the announcement.

The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case. The case was charged as part of Operation Rubber Stamp, a coordinated nationwide law enforcement operation that targeted medical professionals who participated in fraudulent telemedicine schemes.

Assistant Chief Rebecca Yuan and Trial Attorney Christopher Wenger of the National Rapid Response Strike Force of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,400 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $27 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.

Riverdale Block Party Festival - ONE WEEK AWAY!

 

Happy Mother's Day to all! RIVERDALE BLOCK PARTY is only one week away! Join us on Sunday, May 19 from 1:00-7:00pm! West 259th Street & Riverdale Avenue We welcome you to come join the endless fun at what is arguably our neighborhood's largest community fair! Exciting news: The Riverdale Art Fest will now be held at our block party!

Additional Spring Volunteer Opportunities Questions? Email us at rmsabx@gmail.com

THE NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR HIGHLIGHTS RESOURCES AVAILABLE FOR MOTHERS

 

This Mother’s Day, the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) is reminding New Yorkers there are a variety of resources available to help mothers. As recently announced in Governor Hochul’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget, Sick Leave has now been expanded to cover prenatal care, a first-in-the-nation initiative, allowing pregnant people to seek the care they need without fear of taking time off work. Studies show that prenatal health care is highly correlated with improved health outcomes for mothers and infants; and that pregnant mothers who have access to regular prenatal medical visits are less likely to die in childbirth, and their newborns are more likely to be healthy.

“We know that being a mother in the workforce isn’t easy,” said New York State Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon. “Governor Hochul’s historic move to include prenatal care in sick leave builds on our progress to improve all workplaces for mothers. I encourage all mothers to use our free resources.”

Prenatal leave is part of a series of actions by Governor Hochul to support new parents and improve maternal health outcomes. Prior innovative actions include offering 12 weeks of fully paid parental leave benefits to more than 80 percent of the state workforce and extending postpartum coverage for up to a full year after the end of a pregnancy for Medicaid and Child Health Plus enrollees.

NYSDOL found in the 2023 Gender Wage Gap Report that mothers face significant challenges in the workplace that contribute to the wage gap. The report also found the pivot to remote learning and pandemic-driven closures of childcare facilities elevated the severe impact of childcare access, which has long been a major problem for working women.

With mothers bearing the brunt of care responsibilities, labor force participation for women in New York dropped from 59.3 percent to 58.9 percent from 2019 to 2021, while the unemployment rate nearly doubled from 4.2 percent to 8.2 percent. In 2021, over 405,000 women were unemployed, a significant increase from 207,000 in 2019. The report notes that even a temporary exit from the workforce can have significant long-term financial implications. Women also face salary challenges when they become mothers. It was found in the 2018 Gender Wage Gap Report that working moms were paid just 58 cents for every dollar paid to working dads.

To ease the burden of childcare on parents, Governor Hochul increased the State's investment to an unprecedented $7.6 billion over four years to make the childcare system more accessible and affordable.

NYSDOL also has a variety of programs available that can help mothers re-enter the workforce or elevate their careers. NYSDOL’s Career Centers provide counseling to help workers find a fulfilling and family sustaining career. NYSDOL’s Salary Negotiation Guide is also available and can help workers and job seekers advocate for themselves in the workplace.

For those looking to change or advance their careers, apprenticeships are an opportunity to earn while they learn. NYSDOL has also partnered with Coursera to allow those who are unemployed to take courses for free.

New York State law protects workers’ rights to paid sick leave -- which can be used for parents to care for sick children – and nursing mothers’ rights to accommodations in the workplace.

For more information and NYSDOL’s recommended solutions to achieve pay equity, visit NYSDOL’s Gender Wage Gap Hub.

Federal Law Enforcement Dismantles Brooklyn Gun Trafficking Ring

 

Defendants Sold Dozens of Semi-Automatic and Defaced Guns Midday in a Drive-Through Restaurant’s Parking Lot

At the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, a six-count indictment was unsealed charging Yashiya Louisdor, Zaire Alman, Marques Seals and a fourth defendant with conspiring to illegally traffic more than 40 firearms in three months.  Louisdor, Alman and Seals were arrested and arraigned before United States Magistrate Judge Vera M. Scanlon.  The fourth defendant is still at large.  During the arrests 33 guns, including several rifles and shotguns, were recovered.

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Thomas Kalogiros, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Edward A. Caban, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the charges.

“As alleged, in just three short months the defendants attempted to bring over 40 guns into our community to sell them on our streets, including selling near an elementary school,” stated U.S. Attorney Peace. “Thanks to our Office and our law enforcement partners, this gun trafficking ring has been dismantled and we hope this sends a message to all who seek to profit from the illegal gun trade that we will not stop in our efforts to keep our community safe.”

“This indictment highlights NYPD investigators’ ongoing intelligence-driven efforts to pinpoint, arrest, and hold accountable gun traffickers,” stated NYPD Commissioner Caban. “Allegedly selling these illegal firearms in broad daylight, close to a school, makes these charges especially disturbing. Along with our partners at the ATF and the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, the NYPD vows to remain relentless in our quest to eradicate gun violence in all New York City neighborhoods.”

Stated ATF Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Kalogiros: “Firearms trafficking is a central focus of the ATF strategy to protect the public from violent crime. These individuals are alleged to have brought dozens of illegal firearms to the streets of New York. With their arrests we have disrupted and dismantled a trafficking ring that profited from bringing illegal firearms to our city streets endangering each and every one of their fellow citizens. I would like to thank the ATF Special Agents and Task Force Officers of the NYPD/ ATF Joint Firearms Task Force for their diligent efforts on this case. This case is yet another example of how the many units in the NYPD and ATF can collaborate and coordinate their efforts with their Federal partners at the United States Attorney’s Office to make the streets safer for all.”

According to the indictment and other court documents, the defendants made multiple sales of at least 40 illegal firearms, including semi-automatic and defaced weapons, between February 2024 and April 2024.  The defendants conducted many of these firearms sales in a vehicle in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant in Brooklyn, New York, which was at a busy intersection and mere blocks away from an elementary school and a sports venue and concert arena.  The defendants also conducted these firearm sales in a vehicle near a public transportation hub in Manhattan.  Three members of the gun-trafficking operation obtained the firearms in Georgia and then transported them to New York to be sold on the streets of Brooklyn.  The firearms deals often occurred in the middle of the afternoon and in broad daylight.  Some of the firearms had defaced serial numbers. 

The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Dentist Sentenced for Unlawfully Distributing Opioids That Caused Patient’s Death

 

A Kentucky dentist was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his unlawful prescribing of opioids, including morphine that caused the death of one of his patients.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Dr. Jay M. Sadrinia, 61, of Villa Hills, owned and operated dental clinics in Crescent Springs, Kentucky. Sadrinia prescribed powerful opioids to his patients for routine dental procedures despite clear signs, including notes within Sadrinia’s own patient charts, that these patients suffered from substance abuse disorder. Sadrinia’s unlawful prescribing of morphine to one patient led to her death. Sadrinia charged the patient $37,000 for dental procedures and prescribed the patient medically unnecessary quantities of narcotics, including morphine. Several days later, the patient fatally overdosed on the morphine.

A federal jury convicted Sadrinia in June 2023 of unlawful distribution of controlled substances and unlawful distribution of controlled substances resulting in death.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Carlton S. Shier IV for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Special Agent in Charge Orville O. Greene of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Detroit Field Division; and Special Agent in Charge Michael Stansbury of the FBI Louisville Field Office made the announcement. 

The DEA and FBI investigated the case.

Assistant Chief Katherine Payerle and Trial Attorney Thomas Campbell of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,400 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $27 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.

Governor Hochul Announces Pilot Program to Enhance Reach of Metro-North Railroad to Orange and Rockland Counties

Metro-North to Launch Weekend Service on Haverstraw-Ossining Ferry for First Time Ever and Provide Ticket Discounts on Newburgh-Beacon Ferry, Haverstraw-Ossining Ferry, Newburgh-Beacon Bus and Hudson Link Bus for Monthly UniTickets

Ferry and Bus Monthly UniTickets Discounted 50 to 90 Percent

Announcement Comes as Officials Announce Completion of Multi-Year Project at Harmon Yard that Modernized Repair and Support Shops, Allowing Metro-North to Continue Historic On-Time Performance Levels 

With congestion pricing set to begin on June 30, Governor Kathy Hochul announced a pilot program to enhance the reach of MTA Metro-North Railroad to Orange and Rockland Counties, as an alternative to driving to New York City. Under the pilot, Metro-North will begin weekend service on the Haverstraw-Ossining ferries for the first time ever, create massive monthly UniTicket discounts of 78 percent to 90 percent on the ferries and buses that cross the Hudson River, and slash parking rates by 25 percent for Orange and Rockland residents using Metro-North’s garage in North White Plains.

“Many residents from Orange and Rockland Counties commute to New York City for their jobs and leisure, and we are finding alternative ways for commuters to get to the city without the added costs and traffic,” Governor Hochul said. “This pilot program will give individuals from commuter areas easier and more accessible access to the central business district and beyond.”

Starting Saturday, May 25, the Haverstraw-Ossining Ferry will operate continuously between 9:30 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. on weekends. The ferry has traditionally operated only during weekday rush hours. Metro-North also will offer discounts for monthly tickets on the Haverstraw-Ossining Ferry, the Newburgh-Beacon Ferry, the Newburgh-Beacon bus and the Hudson Link. In addition, Rockland and Orange County residents will receive a 25 percent discount on monthly parking at the North White Plains station, which is served by the Harlem Line.

With the new discounts, monthly bus and ferry ticket add-ons purchased in conjunction with a monthly rail pass good for an unlimited number of trips for each calendar month will fall dramatically. The current monthly UniTicket fare on the Haverstraw-Ossining Ferry is $43.75. It will fall by $34.50 or 78.9 percent to just $13.75. The current monthly UniTicket fare on the Newburgh-Beacon Ferry is $14.50. It will fall by $13.50 or 93.1 percent to just $1.00. The Newburgh Beacon Bus monthly UniTicket fare is $10.00. It will fall by $9.00 or 90 percent to just $1. The Hudson Link Bus monthly UniTicket fare (to either Tarrytown or to White Plains) is $60.00. It will fall by $30.00 or 50 percent, to just $30.00.