VCJC News & Notes 11/22/24

 

Van Cortlandt Jewish Center

News and Notes

Here's this week's edition of the VCJC News and Notes email. We hope you enjoy it and find it useful!

Reminders

Shabbos 
 
Shabbos information is, as always, available on our website, both in the information sidebar and the events calendar. 
Here are the times you need:   
Shabbos Candles Friday 11/22/24 @ 414 pm 
Shabbos morning services at 8:40 am.  Please join the services if you can do so safely.  
Shabbos Ends Saturday 11/23/24 @ 5:17 pm 
If you require an aliyah or would like to lead services, read from the torah or haftorah please speak to one of the gabbaim. 
Kiddush sponsored by Benz Panush in celebration of the birthdays of Stanley Krell, Merrill Penn, and Neil Harrow. 
  
If you have been meaning to do this, but haven’t, it’s not too late! 
Yizkor was said on Yom Kippur and  again on Shemini Atzeret. 
It is customary to make a charitable donation in conjunction with Yizkor.  If you wish to donate to VCJC as part of your Yizkor observance, it can be done in person at the office, by check, or online through our website 

Jewish Holidays: A Journey Through Tradition and Celebration - a VCJC book 
is now available in a printed version and in a pdf version. Read all about it on our blog. Printed versions need to be ordered ahead of time and can be picked up in the office or mailed to you. 

Our mailing address is:

Van Cortlandt Jewish Center

3880 Sedgwick Ave

Bronx, NY 10463

Man Sentenced to Nine Years in Federal Prison for Detonating an Explosive Device Outside the Alabama Attorney General’s Office

 

Kyle Benjamin Douglas Calvert, 27, of Irondale, Alabama, was sentenced to nine years in prison for the malicious use of an explosive device outside of the Alabama Attorney General’s Office in Montgomery.

“Kyle Calvert attacked the Alabama Attorney General’s Office with a shrapnel-filled explosive and then fled the scene, but this sentence ensures he will not escape accountability for his crime,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Acts of violence like this one against our public institutions endanger public servants and entire communities, and they must not be tolerated. I am grateful to the FBI, ATF, and our state and local law enforcement partners for ensuring accountability for this attack, and for the work they do every day to protect our communities.”

“This sentencing is the final step holding Kyle Calvert accountable for detonating a shrapnel-filled explosive device outside a public office in downtown Montgomery,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “This case demonstrates the FBI’s continued commitment to working with our partners to bring to justice anyone who attempts violence to injure or intimidate members of our community.”

“This sentencing shows that any attack on America’s justice system, and on the civil servants and public officials who serve our communities and country, will not be tolerated,” said Director Steven Dettelbach of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). “The sentence handed down today reflects not only the severity of the crime, but also ATF’s commitment to working with our federal, state, and local partners to hold those who attack American institutions accountable.”

“This prosecution would not have been possible if not for the coordinated efforts of numerous federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kevin Davidson for the Middle District of Alabama. “Working together, investigators and analysts were able to identify Calvert as a suspect and ensure he was held accountable for his attempt to intimidate public officials and create chaos.”

According to the plea agreement and other court documents, during the early morning hours of Feb. 24, 2024, Calvert placed an explosive device outside of the Alabama Attorney General's Office in downtown Montgomery. During his plea hearing, Calvert admitted to manufacturing the device and to using nails and screws as shrapnel. After positioning the explosive device near the Attorney General’s Office, Calvert lit its fuse and left the area. No injuries were reported. Before planting and detonating the device, Calvert placed stickers with graphics advocating for various political ideologies on various downtown buildings. Some stickers included the phrase “Support your local antifa.” As reflected in the plea agreement, Calvert claims he has no affiliation with antifa. Law enforcement arrested Calvert on April 10, 2024.

The FBI investigated the case with assistance from the ATF.

Statement from Governor Kathy Hochul on Agreement to Advance New York City's "City of Yes" Housing Plan

“New York has a housing affordability crisis and there's only one way out: build more housing. That's why earlier this year, I fought tooth-and-nail for a major package of reforms and investments that will build thousands of new homes for everyday New Yorkers. We got it done in part because of strong partnerships with our colleagues in New York City, and I'm proud to stand with them as they move forward with their plan to build a little more housing in every neighborhood. Now we're adding a $1 billion state commitment to support affordable housing in New York City. We need all hands on deck to build more housing and make New York more affordable for all of us.” 

Former NYPD Officer Turned Forex Investment Fund Operator Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud

 

Defendant Solicited Nearly $5 Million from Investors Based on False Representations

In federal court in Brooklyn, former New York Police Department (NYPD) officer Jason Rodriguez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud related to his role as the Chief Operating Officer of Technical Trading Team, LLC (Technical Trading Team).  The proceeding was held before United States District Judge Ramon E. Reyes, Jr.

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and James E. Dennehy, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the guilty plea.

“With this guilty plea, the defendant has accepted responsibility for taking advantage of close friends and family members and defrauding them out of millions of dollars,” stated United States Attorney Peace.  “The defendant deceived retail investors into investing with his company based on false promises that he would invest their money in accordance with clear guardrails and that he had left the NYPD because of his success as a trader.  In reality, there were no guardrails, he resigned from the NYPD in disgrace, and he lost most of the money, inflicting substantial harm on his victims.”

According to the indictment, Rodriguez founded Technical Trading Team in April 2020.  Rodriguez, who served as Chief Operating Officer, pitched the fund as focused on foreign exchange (forex) investment, and represented that he was in charge of all trading.  Rodriguez promised investors that Technical Trading Team would have a “loss reserve account” that could be used to repay investors if the company lost money trading; that Rodriguez would never risk more than 1% of assets under management on any single trade; and that he would not hold positions open overnight.  Each of these promises was meant to assure investors that their investments would be safe.  However, Rodriguez and Technical Trading Team broke all of these promises, and as Rodriguez lost more and more money in the forex markets, he used new investor money to pay older investors the promised investment returns.  In total, between April 2020 and September 2022, Rodriguez solicited approximately $4.8 million in investor funds that were wired to accounts he controlled; to date, approximately $3.5 million of those funds have not been paid back to the investors.

Prior to founding Technical Trading Team, Rodriguez served as an NYPD officer for approximately seven years.  During the solicitation process, Rodriguez told prospective Technical Trading Team investors that he had quit the NYPD because he had become so successful at forex trading.  The Technical Trading Team presentation similarly represented that Rodriguez’s “zealous ambition for trading took precedence resulting in the end of his law enforcement career.”  However, Rodriguez failed to disclose that he resigned from the NYPD after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor crime and incurring several disciplinary infractions.

In July 2022, Mr. Peace was selected as the Chairperson of the White Collar Fraud subcommittee for the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (AGAC).  As the leader of the subcommittee, Mr. Peace plays a key role in making recommendations to the AGAC to facilitate the prevention, investigation and prosecution of various financially motivated, non-violent crimes including securities fraud, wire fraud and money laundering, as charged here.

Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation Opens Investigation into Civilian Death in Queens

 

The New York Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation (OSI) has opened an investigation into the death of Gary Dean Worthy who died on November 19, 2024 following an encounter with members of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) in Queens. 

On the evening of November 19, NYPD officers responded to a 911 call reporting a robbery in Queens. When officers arrived at the scene, a witness identified Mr. Worthy as the alleged robber. During the ensuing encounter, officers exchanged gunfire with Mr. Worthy. Mr. Worthy was transported to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. Officers recovered a gun at the scene. One officer sustained non-life-threatening injuries during the encounter and was transported to a local hospital, where he was treated and has since been released.

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 may have caused the death, OSI proceeds to conduct a full investigation of the incident. 

These are preliminary facts and subject to change.