STATEMENTS FROM MAYOR DE BLASIO AND DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS’ SERVICES COMMISSIONER SUTTON ON VETERANS DAY

Statement from Mayor Bill de Blasio

“Today we honor and give thanks to the brave men and women who have served and continue to serve our nation. These are men and women who answered the call of duty and who have traveled to the ends of the globe to protect freedom at home and abroad. For this sacred sacrifice, the 8.5 million Americans who call New York home will forever remain in the debt of their service.”

Statement from Brigadier General Loree Sutton (Ret.), Commissioner of the Department of Veterans’ Services

“The Department of Veterans’ Services honors the veterans of our beloved City and nation by strengthening the democracy and freedoms for which they have fought to protect – and for which our active duty military service members and families continue to defend every day. On this Veterans Day, we join all New Yorkers – veterans, their loved ones and the civilians who support them – in honoring those who have raised their right hand to defend our nation’s freedoms. The greatness of our country is truly a function of the goodness of our citizens, working together to achieve a more perfect union. We firmly believe that veterans and their families are extraordinary civic assets whose tested strengths and enduring commitment to service continue to reinforce the resilience of our communities and will greatly contribute to defining this next chapter of our nation’s history. To this end, the Department of Veterans’ Services and I proudly devote ourselves to improving the lives of each and every veteran in New York City, their families and their communities – today and every day. There simply is no greater privilege.”

The Department of Veterans’ Services has made tremendous strides in their first year as an agency by focusing on their three lines of action: Housing and Support Services; Integrative Health and Community Resilience; and Education, Employment and Entrepreneurship.

Housing and Support Services

Over the past few years, City agencies, landlords, and nonprofits and private partners have banded together to help end veteran homelessness in New York City. Together they have:

• Ended chronic veteran homelessness.

• Reduced overall veteran homelessness by over 90 percent in the last five years and 70 percent in the last two years alone.

• Built a rapid rehousing system for veterans that has reduced veterans’ length of stay in shelter by 50 percent.

The work doesn’t end there. The City’s commitment to ending veteran homelessness isn’t just about housing all of the veterans that are currently homeless – it’s also about doing all that the Administration can to decrease the number of veterans that become homeless and, for those that do, have a system and resources in place that can rapidly rehouse them.

This past year, City agencies have worked together with community partners to build out a network of prevention and aftercare support for veterans that the City housed. This includes:

• Dedicating a team of clinical social workers at DHS to work with veterans that need additional support once housed.

• Establishing an interagency working group with the VA and public and private partners to develop and implement best practices for homeless prevention work and identify and fill any gaps in the system.

• Launching the Veteran Transition Assistance Program at DVS, an aftercare program that assists both the veterans that have been recently housed and the landlords that have housed them.

Integrative Health and Community Resilience

The VetsThriveNYC Integrative Health Program is the veteran-focused complement to the First Lady’s ThriveNYC Mental Health Roadmap. The program includes the VetsThriveNYC City-wide consortium and the Core4 integrative health model, which incorporates clinical treatment, community holistic services, connection to peer social support and engagement through cultural initiatives, education and the arts. Access to VetsThriveNYC resources and services will be coordinated through the DVS portal VetsConnectNYC, a comprehensive service network comprised of 80 service providers.

Education, Employment and Entrepreneurship

As part of the agency’s first year priorities, DVS committed to creating satellite offices that serve as an accessible venue for veterans who may find it difficult to leave their borough to access services. Currently, DVS has established offices in Queens, Staten Island, the Bronx and Northern Manhattan with Brooklyn to follow. Many veterans identify that navigation is one of the barriers to accessing services. By establishing satellite offices in the outer-boroughs, DVS is working with borough leaders to better serve the City’s 200,000 veterans in their own communities, sending a powerful message to veterans that the City will go the distance to ensure they receive the resources they need. 

Bronx Chamber of Commerce Salutes Six Veteran Heroes at our Veterans Recognition Luncheon and Bronx H.I.R.E. Veterans Jobs & Resource Fair

Assemblymember Michael Blake - Join us as I preach on Sunday

Friends--

At this time where we need healing, reflection and unity, I invite you to join us on this Sunday as I preach at the 114th church anniversary service at Epworth United Methodist Church at 830 Concourse Village East in The Bronx, NY at 11 a.m. EST

We need to come together.  We also need to plan next steps in our lives.

We need to have our spirits strengthened.  All of us.

I hope to see you this Sunday at 11am.

Yours in Service,

 

Assemblymember Blake 

Assemblymember Michael Blake
837 Washington Avenue 3k
Bronx NY 10451

Bronx Jewish Community Council - Breakfast of Champions Wed. Nov. 30th

Help us keep our food pantry full!  Tickets for the breakfast can be  purchased at our NY Charities Page.  We need your journal ads by Friday,  November 18! Looking forward to  seeing you on November 30.

Visit our Website:  http://www.bjcconline.org/ and  Like us on Facebook

Gun License “Expediter” Pleads Guilty In Manhattan Federal Court To Bribery In Connection With NYPD-Issued Gun Licenses

   Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that ALEX LICHTENSTEIN, a/k/a “Shaya,” pled guilty to bribery and offering a bribe in connection with his efforts to pay bribes to obtain gun licenses through the New York City Police Department’s (“NYPD”) License Division.  LICHTENSTEIN pled guilty before United States District Judge Sidney H. Stein today. 

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said:  “As he admitted today, Alex Lichtenstein acted as a corrupt gun ‘expediter,’ bribing police officers to obtain gun licenses, offering thousands of dollars per license.  In a recorded conversation, Lichtenstein bragged of using his NYPD connections to obtain 150 gun licenses.  This type of corruption not only undermines public confidence in law enforcement, but it undermines public safety.  And it cannot be tolerated.  I thank the FBI and the NYPD for their dedication and commitment to this case and this important investigation.”           

According to the Complaint and Indictment filed in Manhattan federal court and statements made during the plea proceeding:

LICHTENSTEIN is a member of the Borough Park Shomrim, a volunteer, ostensibly unarmed, Orthodox Jewish patrol society whose mission includes combating criminal activity and locating missing people.  LICHTENSTEIN ran a business charging clients thousands of dollars to expedite their gun license applications.  LICHTENSTEIN charged his clients as much as $18,000 per gun license.

In April 2016, LICHTENSTEIN approached an officer for the NYPD and offered the officer cash bribes in order for the officer to help LICHTENSTEIN obtain gun licenses for LICHTENSTEIN’s customers from the NYPD’s License Division.  The License Division is responsible for reviewing, investigating, and approving or disapproving all applications for gun licenses in New York City.  The License Division receives approximately 5,000 applications for gun licenses per year.  LICHTENSTEIN told the officer that he charged customers thousands of dollars to help obtain License Division approval for their gun license applications, and that he was able to get the licenses approved using his own connections in the License Division, although those connections had recently cut him out. 

The officer did not agree to assist LICHTENSTEIN, and reported the encounter to the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau (“IAB”).  Working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) and IAB, the officer set up and recorded a meeting with LICHTENSTEIN, at which LICHTENSTEIN offered the officer $6,000 per license application that the officer could help get through the License Division.  In that recorded meeting, LICHTENSTEIN told the officer that he had obtained gun licenses for approximately 150 individuals in the past, and that his customers needed his services because the License Division would otherwise reject applications “for the biggest stupidity,” such as a history of moving violations.  LICHTENSTEIN boasted that he was able to use his connections in the License Division to “expedite” the application process, i.e., to forego the full investigation typically conducted before the NYPD License Division approves or disapproves an application.  The officer asked LICHTENSTEIN if his previous connections in the License Division were making money, to which LICHTENSTEIN responded, “now they cut down, now nobody’s making money.”

In fact, LICHTENSTEIN had substantial connections to a sergeant in the License Division, David Villanueva, who had worked at the License Division for more than a decade.  A Commanding Officer at the NYPD with whom Villanueva was friendly introduced LICHTENSTEIN to the License Division and Villanueva in or about 2013.  From that introduction through early 2016, LICHTENSTEIN spent significant time at the License Division with Villanueva, often on a near daily basis.  From at least 2012 through 2016, LICHTENSTEIN gave Villanueva cash bribes and other benefits to pay for Villanueva’s work in expediting and approving gun license applications for LICHTENSTEIN’s clients.  Richard Ochetal, a police officer who worked under Villanueva, did first-level review of many of these applications and was instructed to approve them.  Ochetal was compensated in the form of some of the cash that LICHTENSTEIN gave to Villanueva.  Villanueva[1] is currently charged in a case pending before Judge Stein, and Ochetal pled guilty to accepting bribes in exchange for the approval of gun license applications, and is cooperating with the Government in the investigation.

In reviewing and approving applications for LICHTENSTEIN’s clients, Villanueva and Ochetal omitted some of the required checks, such as criminal history checks, and in other instances ran checks only after they approved licenses.  They also approved applications despite red flags that, had they not been bribed, may have led those applications to be rejected.  For example, they approved applications of individuals with prior arrests and previous allegations of domestic violence.  In addition, Villanueva and Ochetal approved applications for licenses to carry firearms, which require certain business-related justifications, in scenarios were there was no real business justification for the request.  A review of the applications of LICHTENSTEIN’s clients reveals that Villanueva and Ochetal were able to secure licenses for those clients often within weeks, whereas the process normally takes months to, in some instances, over a year.  Villanueva and Ochetal did this for LICHTENSTEIN’s clients because of the cash payments coming from LICHTENSTEIN, as well as other benefits, such as limousine rides, bottles of liquor, and a wine tour.

LICHTENSTEIN, 44, who now resides in Pomona, New York, has pled guilty to one count of bribery, which carries a maximum term of 10 years in prison, and one count of offering a bribe, which carries a maximum term of 10 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 the judge.

Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the FBI and the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau, and noted that the investigation is continuing.  

This case is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit.  Assistant United States Attorneys Kan M. Nawaday, Russell Capone, Martin S. Bell, and Lauren Schorr are in charge of the prosecution.

Statement Of U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara On The Presentment Of Ahmad Khan Rahami On Terrorism Charges In Manhattan Federal Court

   “Ahmad Khan Rahami, the alleged Chelsea bomber, was brought today to Manhattan to face terrorism charges.  Allegedly driven by a commitment to violent jihad, Rahami planted bombs in the heart of Manhattan and in New Jersey.  One of the bombs exploded on a Saturday evening in Chelsea, injuring over 30 people and shattering windows hundreds of yards away.  For his alleged acts of terror, Rahami will now face justice in a federal courthouse just blocks south of where he allegedly planted his bombs.  Rahami will be presented on his federal terrorism charges today in the Southern District of New York before United States Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn.”

Manhattan United States Attorney Announces Superseding Indictment Charging Turkish And Iranian National With Conspiring To Evade U.S. Sanctions Against Iran And Other Offenses

Superseding Indictment Further Alleges That Four Defendants Allegedly Used the U.S. Banking System to Conduct International Financial Transactions for Iranian Airline Sanctioned for Supporting Terrorist Groups

    Mohammad Zarrab et al. S2 Indictment.pdfPreet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today the filing of a superseding indictment charging MOHAMMAD ZARRAB, a/k/a “Can Sarraf,” a/k/a “Kartalsmd,” with using the U.S. financial system to conduct hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of transactions on behalf of the Government of Iran and other Iranian entities, which were barred by United States sanctions; laundering funds in connection with those illegal transactions; and defrauding several financial institutions by concealing the true nature of these transactions.  The superseding indictment further alleges that MOHAMMAD ZARRAB’s co-defendants – REZA ZARRAB, a/k/a “Riza Sarraf,” CAMELIA JAMSHIDY, a/k/a “Kamelia Jamshidy,” and HOSSEIN NAJAFZADEH, who previously were charged in this case with the same offenses – participated in financial transactions for the benefit of Mahan Air, an Iranian Airline sanctioned for providing services for the Iranian Qods Force and Hizballah. The case is assigned to United States District Judge Richard M. Berman.

REZA ZARRAB was arrested on March 19, 2016, and is scheduled to begin trial on January 23, 2017, before Judge Berman.  MOHAMMAD ZARRAB, JAMSHIDY, and NAJAFZADEH remain at large.

According to the allegations contained in the superseding indictment[1] filed today in Manhattan federal court:

Beginning in or about 1979, the president has repeatedly found that the situation in Iran constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States and declared a national emergency to deal with the threat.  Pursuant to these presidential declarations, the United States has instituted a host of economic sanctions against Iran and Iranian entities pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (the “IEEPA”).  This sanctions regime prohibits, among other things, financial transactions involving the United States or United States persons that were intended for the Government or Iran or Iranian entities. 

Between at least in or about 2010 and in or about 2015, REZA ZARRAB, MOHAMMAD ZARRAB, JAMSHIDY, and NAJAFZADEH conspired to conduct international financial transactions on behalf of and for the benefit of, among others, Iranian business, the Iranian government, and entities owned or controlled by the Iranian government.  Among the beneficiaries of the defendants’ scheme were:

• Mahan Air, an Iranian airline designated by the United States Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), as a Specially Designated National (“SDN”) pursuant to Executive Order 13224 for providing financial, material, and technological support to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (“IRGC-QF”), and providing transportation services to Hizballah, a Lebanon-based designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, including by transporting personnel, weapons and goods on behalf of Hizballah and omitting from Mahan Air cargo manifests secret weapons shipments bound for Hizballah;
• Bank Mellat, an Iranian government-owned bank designated as a SDN under the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations, the Iranian Financial Sanctions Regulations, and the Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferators Sanctions Regulations; Mellat Exchange, an Iranian money services business owned and controlled by Bank Mellat;
• the National Iranian Oil Company (“NIOC”), identified by OFAC as an agent or affiliate of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp; the Naftiran Intertrade Company Ltd., Naftiran Intertrade Company Sarl, and Hong Kong Intertrade Company, companies located in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Hong Kong that were acting on behalf of NIOC; and
• the MAPNA Group, an Iranian construction and power plant company. 

REZA ZARRAB, MOHAMMAD ZARRAB, JAMSHIDY, NAJAFZADEH, and their co-conspirators used an international network of companies located in Iran, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates (“UAE”), and elsewhere to conceal from U.S. banks, OFAC, and others that the transactions were on behalf of and for the benefit of Iranian entities.  This network of companies includes Royal Holding A.S., a holding company in Turkey; Durak Doviz Exchange, a money services business in Turkey; Flash Doviz Exchange, a money services business in Turkey; Al Nafees Exchange, a money services business in the UAE; Royal Emerald Investments, a company located in the UAE; Asi Kiymetli Madenler Turizm Otom, a company located in Turkey; ECB Kuyumculuk Ic Vedis Sanayi Ticaret Limited Sirketi, a company located in Turkey; Gunes General Trading LLC, a company located in the UAE; Hanedan General Trading LLC, a company in the UAE, and others.  As a result of this scheme, the co-conspirators induced U.S. banks unknowingly to process international financial transactions in violation of the IEEPA.

Mahan Air provided transportation, funds transfers, and personnel travel services to the IRGC-QF, including by, among other things, providing travel services to IRGC-QF personnel flown to and from Iran and Syria for military training, aiding the covert travel of suspected IRGC-QF officers into and out of Iraq by bypassing normal security procedures, and facilitating IRGC-QF arms shipments.  In addition, Mahan Air also provided services for Hizballah, transporting personnel, weapons, and goods on behalf of Hizballah.  MOHAMMAD ZARRAB and his co-conspirators facilitated financial transactions through U.S. banking institutions that concealed that the transactions were for the benefit of Mahan Air.  MOHAMMAD ZARRAB and his co-conspirators used their network of corporate entities in Turkey and UAE to conceal that Mahan Air was the true beneficiary of these transactions

REZA ZARRAB, 33, is a resident of Turkey and dual citizen of Turkey and Iran.  MOHAMMAD ZARRAB, 38, is REZA ZARRAB’s brother, and is a resident of Turkey and dual citizen of Turkey and Iran.  JAMSHIDY, 29, is a resident of Turkey and dual citizen of Turkey and Iran.  NAJAFZADEH, 65, is a resident of Iran and the UAE and a citizen of Iran.  Each defendant is charged with conspiracies to defraud the United States, to violate the IEEPA, to commit bank fraud, and to commit money laundering.  The conspiracy to defraud the United States count carries a maximum term of five years in prison.  The conspiracy to violate the IEEPA and money laundering conspiracy counts each carry a maximum term of 20 years in prison.  The bank fraud conspiracy count carries a maximum term of 30 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 the judge.

Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI and its New York Field Office, Counterintelligence Division, and the Department of Justice, National Security Division, Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit.  Assistant United States Attorneys Michael D. Lockard, Sidhardha Kamaraju, and David Denton, and Special Assistant United States Attorney Dean Sovolos, are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Trial Attorney Elizabeth Cannon of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.  Assistant United States Attorney Jaimie Nawaday is principally responsible for the forfeiture aspects of the case.

The charges contained in the superseding indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

“2Fly” Gang Member Pleads Guilty To Bronx Murder In Connection With Racketeering Conspiracy

   Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that JAQUAN MCINTOSH, a/k/a “BJ,” pled guilty today to participating in a racketeering conspiracy in connection with his membership in the “2Fly YGz” (“2Fly”), a violent street gang that operated in and around the Eastchester Gardens public housing development (“ECG”) in the Bronx.  As part of his guilty plea, MCINTOSH admitted to his participation in the murder of Donville Simpson on or about October 5, 2013 – Simpson’s 17th birthday – at ECG.  MCINTOSH faces a maximum term of life in prison, and will be sentenced next year by United States District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan. 

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said:  “In today’s plea, Jaquan McIntosh admitted to killing a 17-year-old boy as part of his membership in 2Fly, a violent street gang, that has been terrorizing the Eastchester Gardens public housing development in the Bronx.  Gang violence continues to threaten the safety and security of too many New Yorkers, particularly those in public housing.  Thanks to the work of the NYPD, HSI, DEA and ATF, one more source of gang violence in the Bronx has been brought to justice.”

According to the Indictment and other documents filed in the case, as well as statements made during the plea proceedings:

MCINTOSH was a member of 2Fly, a subset of the “Young Gunnaz,” or “YG” street gang, which operates throughout New York City.  2Fly is based in the Bronx, within and around ECG and in an area called the “Valley” or the “V,” which is in the vicinity of Gun Hill Road.  ECG is a rectangular complex of residential buildings bordered by Burke, Adee, Yates, and Bouck Avenues, in the middle of which is a playground.  The gang war between 2Fly and rival street gangs has led to an enormous amount of fatal and non-fatal violence between 2007 and 2016 in the Northern Bronx, including shootings, stabbings, slashings, beatings, and robberies.  Members and associates of 2Fly controlled the narcotics trade at ECG, which took place in the open air at the playground and in apartments at ECG.  2Fly primarily sold marijuana and crack cocaine, but also sold powder cocaine and prescription pills, such as oxycodone.  2Fly members and associates stored guns at the playground or in nearby apartments or cars in order to protect the narcotics business and for protection against rival gangs.

As part of his involvement in 2Fly, MCINTOSH shot and killed Donville Simpson at ECG on or about October 5, 2013 – Simpson’s 17th birthday – during a shootout with a rival street gang.

MCINTOSH was arrested in this case as a result of a multi-year investigation by the New York City Police Department’s Bronx Gang Squad (the “Bronx Gang Squad”), the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Violent Gang Unit (“HSI”), the New York Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), and the Joint Firearms Task Force of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”) into gang violence in the Northern Bronx.  On April 27, 2016, 57 members and associates of 2Fly were charged in the Indictment with racketeering conspiracy, narcotics conspiracy, narcotics distribution, and firearms charges.  To date, 19 of these defendants have pled guilty.

Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding work of the NYPD’s Bronx Homicide Task Force, the NYPD’s 49th Precinct Detective Squad, the Bronx Gang Squad, HSI, DEA, and ATF.  

He also thanked the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office for their support in this case.