Senator Biaggi's Week in Review: 3/14/22-3/18/22

 

Dear Community,

I am proud to announce that Governor Hochul has signed S812A, my bill with Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou to establish a toll-free confidential legal hotline for victims of workplace sexual harassment. This hotline will connect complainants with experienced pro-bono attorneys who will help inform them of their legal rights and advise them on the specifics of their individualized cases. 

Unfortunately, only 30% of victims of workplace sexual harassment report the harassment to an official channel. This is often because employees don’t know where to go or what their options are. By creating a free legal hotline, employees across the state – in a variety of workplaces and industries – can now easily access confidential legal guidance through the Division of Human Rights.

The Governor also signed two other bills, S3395A and S5870, to address workplace sexual harassment. I am grateful to Governor Hochul for prioritizing survivor justice in New York, and would also like to acknowledge and thank the Sexual Harassment Working Group for their tireless commitment to building a harassment-free New York. 

This week, the State Senate also passed its one-house budget resolution. This resolution lays out the priorities of the legislature, and is the starting point for our negotiations with the Governor as we finalize the state budget. Stay tuned for another email from my office with more details on the crucial investments made in this year’s one-house budget resolution. 

Lastly, I would like to wish everyone a happy Purim, St. Patrick’s Day, and Holi! I hope everyone celebrating had a festive and joyful week. 

With Gratitude,

State Senator Alessandra Biaggi

NYC PUBLIC ADVOCATE RELEASES EDUCATION EQUITY REPORT CENTERING INVESTMENT IN SCHOOLS

 

The new report on recovery and renewal for New York City public schools comes two years after school buildings closed due to COVID-19.

 New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams today released a new report outlining key priorities for equitable investment in and renewal of the city's school system as the city works to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper, Invest in Education, explores how New York City public schools can better support and empower young people across the city. It comes two years after city school buildings closed in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, and as the city and state now remove some COVID precautions from schools.

The following two years of the pandemic have laid bare the inequities among different students, schools, and communities. As the future of education funding is being discussed and debated on both city and state budget levels, this report sets a framework of investment, not austerity, to address the issues that predated the pandemic as well as those it exacerbated, and build a more sustainable, more equitable future through recovery. 

“Combating inequity through investment, not austerity, should be at the center of our approach to education as we move forward in recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic that upended our schools, creating immense new challenges and exacerbating the old for students, teachers, parents and school staff,” said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams on releasing the report. “If we return to the old patterns and practices, rather than forging a new normal, we will have failed our students. We can’t rely on one-time expenditures or federal infusions to move forward in recovery and renewal for our our schools – we need sustained investment of attention and resources to correct longstanding inequities, injustices, and inadequacies and strengthen a school system that forms the foundation of our city.” 

The report outlines several key priorities for improving accessibility and equity across the system, highlighting a series of areas in need of attention and investment. Among them are ensuring the health and safety of students in the classroom amidst the past two years of trauma, creating healing-centered educational environments where all types of students can thrive, developing offices and programs to better serve the most vulnerable students, and expanding and implementing extracurricular initiatives that complement classroom learning. The report also looks to other school systems and individual schools from outside of the city for inspiration and information on potential models to implement these reforms on the ground. 

To renew our school system to better serve our young people, as well as teachers, parents, and school staff, the report recommends:

• Creating healthier school environments for students. 
• Schools must have lead-free pipes, enhanced ventilation, social distancing, testing capacity to meet demand, and a remote option for students who need it. 
• Equitably funding all of our public schools.
• The DOE must commit to a plan for spending and allocating fair student funding
• Transitioning to healing-centered schools.
• Schools should adopt a healing-centered framework to support their students, and this framework would take steps to ensure that all students, staff, and families feel safe, supported, and seen.
• The DOE must also invest in funding for this training for staff and school communities
• Supporting students with disabilities.
• All students with disabilities must have access to the services to which they are entitled, such as speech, physical, and occupational therapies, from preschool through college
• Ensuring every student feels safe at school.
• Schools should focus on restorative justice instead of simply punishment.
• Prioritizing students who are English learners.
• Immigrant families and households need to be engaged in the languages that they speak
• Implementing culturally responsive teaching in our schools.
• Some studies have linked culturally relevant teaching and targeted support for students of more color to reduced dropout rates and increased attendance and grades. 
• Establishing an Office for Students in Foster Care
• Students in Foster Care have specific and unique challenges, and the public school system must work to help these students and keep them in their original schools whenever possible. 
• Ending the digital divide.
• The city must continue its efforts to ensure that all students have access to devices and the internet when at home. 
• Reducing class sizes.
• Too many students are learning in overcrowded classrooms, and this leads to insufficient resources for all students but especially disabled students or students still learning English. 
• The Department of Education must hire more teachers and improve teacher retention.
• Desegregating our schools.
• New York City’s public schools are among the most segregated in the nation, and this hurts all of our students. Eliminating gifted and talented programs would be a significant step towards desegregating our schools; at the same time, screened and specialized schools continue to perpetuate and worsen school segregation. 
• The Department of Education must create an established diversity planning process and implement a whole-school enrichment model. 
• Streamlining and growing successful programs like Summer Rising, the Student Academic Achievement Plan, and the Academic Recovery Plan Transporting students safely and reliably to and from school. 
• The Office of the Public Advocate suggests a pilot program for the recruitment, training and nomination of sub-paras (part-time paraprofessionals) specifically for the use of serving students in need. 
• Providing more professional experience for recent high school and CUNY graduates
• Experiences provided through SYEP and city-funded internships, fellowships, and networking and professional development opportunities help graduates improve employment prospects.

With the city budget hearings for education beginning next week, the state budget for education in late stages of negotiation and development, and both students and adults in schools adapting to new changes in pandemic protocols, this is a critical moment to address both the urgent and the underlying issues in our schools. Invest in Education provides a framework of priorities to help renew the system with justice, equity, and opportunity.  

The full report is available for review on the Public Advocate’s website.

U.S. Attorney Announces Conviction Of Chappaqua Man For Gunpoint Robbery Of Over 100 Kilograms Of Cocaine, Smuggling A Firearm And Other Contraband Into The Metropolitan Correctional Center; Wife’s Conviction For Her Role Also Unsealed

 

 Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the unsealing today of a four-count superseding information charging DEEJAY WHITE with offenses relating to his participation in a May 29, 2019 gunpoint robbery in the Bronx targeting more than 150 kilograms of cocaine, his participation in a conspiracy to smuggle contraband—including narcotics and a firearm—into the Metropolitan Correctional Center (“MCC”), a federal detention facility, and his possession of that firearm while incarcerated.  DEEJAY WHITE pled guilty on July 23, 2021, before U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel. 

Mr. Williams also announced the unsealing of a five-count information charging DAWNTIANA WHITE, DEEJAY WHITE’s wife, who pled guilty on July 13, 2021 before U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla to conspiracy to distribute narcotics, conspiracy to provide prison contraband, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.  DAWNTIANA WHITE also pled guilty on March 17, 2022 before Judge Failla to a one-count superseding information charging her with perjury.

DEEJAY WHITE is scheduled to be sentenced on May 17, 2022, and DAWNTIANA WHITE is scheduled to be sentenced on June 14, 2022.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said:  “Deejay White was responsible for a dangerous gunpoint robbery of more than one hundred kilograms of cocaine that left several victims injured.  Even after he was arrested and in jail, facing up to a life sentence on those charges, Deejay White continued to commit crimes.  Deejay White and his wife, Dawntiana White, placed inmates, staff, and court personnel in grave danger by smuggling drugs and a firearm into a federal detention facility.  Individuals who are tempted to defy law and order should be on notice that we will continue working to identify and put an end to their alarming conduct and to hold them accountable.”

According to the Informations unsealed today, court filings, and statements made during earlier court appearances:

In late May 2019, a Bronx-based member of a Puerto Rico-based drug trafficking organization (“DTO”) was expecting a delivery of furniture concealing approximately 176 kilograms of the DTO’s cocaine.  DEEJAY WHITE and others learned of the expected shipment and planned a violent robbery of the DTO’s cocaine.  On May 29, 2019, DEEJAY WHITE parked outside the Bronx apartment where the DTO’s cocaine was stored while four co-conspirators forced entry into the apartment and held up the ten victims, including four children, at gunpoint.  Two victims were pistol-whipped during the robbery and a third sustained serious injuries after jumping out of the apartment’s third-floor window in an attempt to flee to safety.  One of the robbers threw a duffel bag containing kilograms of cocaine into DEEJAY WHITE’s car, which then drove off.

DEEJAY WHITE was arrested on November 25, 2019 on charges relating to the robbery and conspiracy to distribute the stolen cocaine, ordered detained, and housed at the MCC in Manhattan.  Days after entering the MCC, DEEJAY WHITE began using contraband cellphones to conspire with others—including his wife, DAWNTIANA WHITE—to commit additional crimes.  Among other things, DEEJAY WHITE directed DAWNTIANA WHITE to smuggle drugs to DEEJAY WHITE in the MCC, which DAWNTIANA WHITE did on multiple occasions.

In or about January 2020, DEEJAY WHITE conspired with DAWNTIANA WHITE and others to have a firearm (the “Firearm”) and drugs smuggled to DEEJAY WHITE inside the MCC.  After they successfully smuggled the Firearm and contraband into the MCC, DEEJAY WHITE confirmed to DAWNTIANA WHITE that he had received the Firearm. 

On or about February 26, 2020, Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) officials discovered a contraband cellphone in DEEJAY WHITE’s cell and transferred him to the Specialized Housing Unit (“SHU”).  While in the SHU, DEEJAY WHITE lied to a MCC investigator about his own role in smuggling the Firearm into the MCC and his possession of the Firearm inside the MCC, which led to an extensive lockdown of the MCC while BOP officials searched for the gun and other contraband.  Following a search of the MCC, on or about March 5, 2020, the Firearm, which was loaded, was recovered from inside a wall of DEEJAY WHITE’s MCC cell. 

On or about July 14, 2021, DAWNTIANA WHITE falsely testified before a Grand Jury in the Southern District of New York about how she obtained the Firearm to smuggle to DEEJAY WHITE inside the MCC.

DEEJAY WHITE, 45, of Chappaqua, New York, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, which carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, which carries a statutory maximum sentence of life in prison, and a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison to run consecutively to any other term of imprisonment; being a felon in possession of a firearm, which carries a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; and conspiracy to receive contraband in prison, which carries a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison.  The maximum potential sentences in DEEJAY WHITE’s case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of DEEJAY WHITE will be determined by the judge.

DAWNTIANA WHITE, 38, of Brooklyn, New York, pled guilty to narcotics conspiracy, which carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; prison contraband conspiracy, which carries a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison; obstruction of justice, which carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years; two counts of wire fraud, each of which carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; and perjury, which carries a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison.  The maximum potential sentences in DAWNTIANA WHITE’s case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of DAWNTIANA WHITE will be determined by the judge.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.  Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The prosecutions of DEEJAY WHITE for conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and of DAWNTIANA WHITE for narcotics conspiracy and wire fraud, are being handled by the Office’s Narcotics Unit.  Assistant United States Attorneys Juliana N. Murray, Ryan B. Finkel, Peter J. Davis, and Kaylan E. Lasky are in charge of the prosecutions.  Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”), the New York Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), the New York Office of the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the New York State Police (“NYSP”) in this investigation.

The prosecutions of DEEJAY WHITE for conspiring to receive contraband in prison and being a felon in possession of a firearm, and of DAWNTIANA WHITE for participating in a prison contraband conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and perjury are being handled by the Office’s Narcotics and Public Corruption Units.  Assistant United States Attorneys Juliana N. Murray, Ryan B. Finkel, Peter J. Davis, Kaylan E. Lasky, Aline R. Flodr, Daniel H. Wolf, and Jonathan E. Rebold are in charge of the prosecutions.  Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General New York Field Office, Special Agents from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection in New York, the DEA, ATF, NYPD, and NYSP in this investigation.

MAN INDICTED FOR MURDERING ESTRANGED WIFE

 

Defendant Stabbed Victim Multiple Times After Lying in Wait in Her Home

 Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a man has been indicted for second-degree Murder and additional charges for stabbing his estranged wife in her home.

 District Attorney Clark said, “The defendant allegedly sought out a key to the victim’s home, waited for her arrival, and repeatedly stabbed her, leading to her death. He stole a mother away from two children. We will seek justice for this heinous act and continue to hold perpetrators of domestic violence accountable.”

 District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Exiquio Castillo, 47, last of 840 Grand Concourse, was arraigned today on second-degree Murder, first-degree Manslaughter, fourth-degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon, and fourth-degree Criminal Mischief before Bronx Supreme Court Justice George Villegas. The defendant was remanded and is due back in court on June 1, 2022.

 According to the investigation, in the early morning hours of February 16, 2022 inside her home in the Van Nest section, the defendant allegedly entered Flor Recio Noble’s home, knowing she wasn’t there. While waiting for her to return, he allegedly slashed furniture, clothing, and the bed, and destroyed televisions and personal items.

 When Recio Noble arrived home, the defendant allegedly pulled her inside while holding a knife. A friend who was with the victim attempted to stop the defendant by wrestling away the knife. The defendant retrieved a second knife from the kitchen and stabbed Recio Noble multiple times. The victim was taken to a nearby hospital and died from her wounds.

 District Attorney Clark thanked NYPD Detective Manuel Figueroa of the 43rd Precinct and Detective Sheldon Smith of Bronx Homicide for their work in the investigation.

An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.

Governor Hochul Delivers Remarks at Buffalo Irish Center St. Patrick's Day Luncheon

 

Governor Hochul: "There's a great Irish saying that says, may your house be too small for all of your friends. That's what I feel is going on in this room today.” 

Hochul: “I honor all of you today because this is what unites all of us in a common belief that we help people who've come here with nothing, and we helped them achieve their full potential and their dreams. You are all part of that story.” 

 Home sweet home. This is actually more emotional than I thought it would be because I have been coming here for decades and I've honored my Irish heritage with many of you, starting with our great host here today, Mark Schroeder and his wife, Kate, who've done an extraordinary job keeping the flame alive all of these years at this event. 

Mary Heneghan, Megan Corbett, and so many others. And I see, I feel I can harness the spirit of Brian Higgins in this room as well, it's not the same without him but we send our love to him as well. And to have a great friend like Tim Kennedy, who is in every corner of the state working as the chair of the Senate Transportation Committee. 

So if you have any potholes in your neighborhood, any problems at all, let's give out his cell phone number right here. And other leaders in our local community - Mayor Byron Brown, great ally, great supporter, as well as Mark Poloncarz and so many others, our County Executive. But I also want to give a shout out to someone who travels a greater distance. There's never been an event that I've been at as important as this that Tom DiNapoli, our Comptroller, was not at as well. He shows up, he cares, he fights hard as well. 

And to have our Bishop here, Bishop Mike, I want to thank you for, in anticipation of a possible dispensation... I just want to, just got to set down... It's kind of how I negotiate. Just kind of put it out there. But I do see the Kerry flag in a place of prominence. And I want you to know, I've been asked many times, you know, could a woman handle the rough and tumble of politics in New York State and what it takes to get elected? 

Because it's never happened before. And I say, but you don't know where I come from. I come from the hardy Irish. I come from immigrants who left great poverty in search of a better life, who worked as migrant farm workers and domestic servants before they landed in the promised land of Western New York. Working with their hands to make steel. 

My dad, my grandpa, his brothers, all worked here to help build this community and make the steel that went up in buildings all across our nation. So to me, I have that steel running through my veins and I've been tested before, but I have the resiliency of the Irish in me. Those who will always fight for justice and freedom, and for those who've been left out of the finer things in life.  

Because that's where I come from. And every time I'm in town, I make a trip with my husband Bill, and he is your first First Gentlemen in the State of New York. So I want to give a round of applause to Bill Hochul as well. 

We'd circle around and we'd go out to the trailer park that still exists today on Electric Avenue in Lackawanna. And we'd go to the little diner around the corner and think about the fact that this is where my family started, but we're not unique. All of our families started and they lifted themselves up, whether it's your grandparents, your parents, we all have that same story. 

And that is a story that unites all of us as New Yorkers. That is a unifying force that I'm going to continue to celebrate in this incredible honor. To not just be the chair of this lunch, which is a very big deal to me as someone who sat out here for decades - I am honored to have this - but also the honor of being the governor of the greatest state in this nation. And with all of your support, we will continue in this position, because I will say, there's no one scrappier or tougher than someone who comes out of the roots in the Irish center, the Irish community right here in Western New York. So thank you, my friends. There's a great Irish saying that says, may your house be too small for all of your friends. That's what I feel is going on in this room today. 

So thank you for your friendship on this long journey - my family, my grandparents. But I honor all of you today because this is what unites all of us in a common belief that we help people who've come here with nothing and we helped them achieve their full potential and their dreams. You are all part of that story. 

I thank you. 

President Of Sham United Nations Affiliate Convicted Of Cryptocurrency Scheme

 

 Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the conviction today of ASA SAINT CLAIR, a/k/a “Asa Williams,” a/k/a “Asa Sinclair,” following a one-week trial before the Honorable P. Kevin Castel.  SAINT CLAIR devised an investment scheme in which he defrauded more than 60 victims into providing loans to his organization, the World Sports Alliance, tied to a purported digital coin offering called IGObit.  SAINT CLAIR falsely represented to investors that the World Sports Alliance was a close affiliate of the United Nations and that they would receive guaranteed returns on their investment, but instead diverted the investors’ funds for his personal expenses and benefit. 

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said:  “As a jury has now found, Asa Saint Clair used lies to defraud everyday people out of their hard-earned money by promising them guaranteed returns if they invested in a IGObit, a digital currency he claimed the World Sports Alliance was developing.  Saint Clair touted the WSA as working closely with the UN to promote the values of sports and peace for a better world, while in reality promoting only the balance of his bank accounts.”   

The defendant was charged and convicted in one count with committing wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343, from in or around November 2017, through in or around September 2019.  SAINT CLAIR solicited investors for the launch of IGObit through promised investment returns, representations that the World Sports Alliance, a purported intergovernmental organization, was a close affiliate and partner with the United Nations, and representations about the World Sport Alliance’s development projects around the world.  World Sports Alliance did not in fact have any relationship with the United Nations and did not, and had not, participated in any international development projects. 

SAINT CLAIR also represented to investors that their money would be used for the development of IGObit, when he in fact diverted those funds to other entities controlled by him and members of his family, as well as to pay his personal expenses, including dinners at Manhattan restaurants, travel, and online shopping.

SAINT CLAIR defrauded more than 60 victims of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

SAINT CLAIR, 49, of Washington was convicted of one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.  The maximum potential sentence for the offense of conviction is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as the sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.  Sentencing before Judge Castel is scheduled for July 19, 2022.

Mr. Williams praised the work of Homeland Security Investigations.

MAYOR ADAMS APPOINTS ELIZABETH CROTTY AS BUSINESS INTEGRITY COMMISSION COMMISSIONER AND CHAIR

 

 New York City Mayor Eric Adams today announced the appointment of Elizabeth Crotty as commissioner and chair of the New York City Business Integrity Commission (BIC). The mission of BIC is to ensure that trade waste and wholesale market companies, which have historically been plagued by corruption and connections to organized crime, are conducting their business safely and with integrity. Previously, Crotty was the founding partner at Crotty Saland, PC. Crotty has an established record of successfully handling high-level cases of corruption, fraud, racketeering, and money laundering.

“From day one, my administration made a commitment to transparency and accountability, to establish a culture that adheres to the highest standards of integrity and good government, and the appointment of Liz Crotty is part of that work,” said Mayor Eric Adams. “Liz Crotty is delivering more than 20 years of criminal trial experience to help New York City in its mission to ensure businesses in the commercial trade waste industry and wholesale food markets conduct their affairs with integrity and honesty. Commissioner and Chair Crotty has a proven track record of managing the most complex and complicated cases, and I look forward to working with her.”

 

Mayor Adams has made clear that his administration will be guided by the values of accountability, transparency, and fidelity to the highest ethical standards. To that end, the administration undertook a reorganization to consolidate key ethics and enforcement agencies into a single portfolio under the Chief Counsel, including BIC, the Commission on Human Rights, the Civilian Complaint Review Board, the Commission to Combat Police Corruption, the newly-created Mayor’s Office of Risk Management and Compliance, the Office of Administrative Justice Coordinator, and the Mayor’s Judiciary Committee. The Chief Counsel’s Office also conducts an extensive and mandatory legal and ethics training program for all mayor’s office employees, which began even before the administration took office. Such steps, along with today’s announcement, emphasize the administration’s deep commitment to the principles of good government.

 

Mayor Adams also recently signed Executive Order 6, which reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to free speech transparency, particularly around the sharing of information by agencies. The order was based on the recommendations of a social justice commission led by civil rights attorney Norman Siegel, which delivered its report to the mayor last month.

 

“Liz Crotty is a seasoned and accomplished lawyer and leader who knows how to achieve results in government,” said Chief Counsel to the Mayor and City Hall Brendan McGuire. “The Business Integrity Commission will play a critical role in ensuring that those who conduct business in the city do so fairly and transparently, and Liz is the right person to lead the agency into its next chapter. Her appointment is one more example of the mayor’s commitment to establishing a culture of good government and accountability in this administration.”

 

“I am honored by Mayor Adams’ confidence in me to run this unique law enforcement and regulatory agency, ensuring trade waste and wholesale market companies are conducting their business safely and with integrity,” said incoming BIC Commissioner and Chair Crotty. “From my experience as a prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office overseeing complex domestic and international financial investigations, to my 13 years in private practice, I am ready to take on this task. A fair playing field with an open and competitive market in these industries is essential for New York’s economy and post-COVID recovery. I am ready to go to work.”

 

“The NYPD looks forward to working closely with Commissioner Crotty, and continuing our long-standing partnership with the Business Integrity Commission,” said New York City Police Department Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell. “We are confident that her appointment will further enhance our shared public-safety mission, and her leadership of the BIC will benefit all the people we serve.”

 

“The Business Integrity Commission plays a vital role in maintaining the public's trust and rooting out corruption in industries long plagued by it. DSNY looks forward to working with Commissioner Crotty on this critically important work,” said New York City Department of Sanitation Commissioner Edward Grayson.

 

“The Business Integrity Commission works daily to ensure the businesses they regulate are operating ethically and safely,” said New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga. “Mayor Adams has made the perfect choice by appointing Liz, an experienced attorney and investigator, to lead BIC. I look forward to working with Liz to advance New York City’s economic recovery by protecting consumers and ensuring New York City businesses operate with integrity.”

 

“The regulatory work BIC does is crucial to helping NYC businesses operate safely and fairly,” said New York City Department of Small Business Services Commissioner Kevin D. Kim. “I am looking forward to working closely with Commissioner Liz Crotty to make it clear to all businesses that this city is not only open for business, but that we are committed to a business environment based on transparency and integrity.”

 

About Elizabeth Crotty

 

Elizabeth (Liz) Crotty will be the commissioner and chair of the Business Integrity Commission. She previously worked at Crotty Saland, PC where she was a Founding Partner. Before that, she was an Associate at Kreindler & Kreindler litigating major international complex civil cases. Crotty currently serves as a board member for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Association, a not-for-profit alumni organization of the Manhattan DA’s Office. In addition, she serves on the New York City Bar Association’s Judiciary Committee. Liz started her career as an Assistant District Attorney at the New York County District Attorney’s Office, prosecuting complex financial crimes under the Special Prosecutions Bureau.

 

Crotty holds a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law and a B.A. in European History and Art History from Hobart & William Smith Colleges.

 

Crotty will report to Chief Counsel to the Mayor and City Hall Brendan McGuire.

Attorney General James’ Office of Special Investigation Releases Report on Death of Brandi Baida

 New York Attorney General Letitia James’ Office of Special Investigation (OSI) today released its report on the death of Brandi Baida of Auburn. Following a thorough and comprehensive investigation, including interviews, surveillance and cell phone videos, radio transmissions, and ballistics testing, OSI concluded the evidence does not establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the shooting of Ms. Baida by a member of the Auburn Police Department (APD) was a crime. In addition, OSI recommends that APD accelerate its efforts to equip its officers with body-worn cameras (BWCs).

On the morning of September 21, 2021, 911 calls regarding an active shooter brought members of APD to a residential neighborhood in Auburn. A neighbor told an arriving officer that gunshots were coming from 12 Wheeler Street. Officers then saw and heard multiple shots fired in various directions from a second-floor window at that address, endangering the lives of the responding officers, nearby residents, and pedestrians. After the shooter ignored numerous commands to stop shooting and drop the weapon, an officer fired, striking the shooter and causing her death. The shooter was later identified as Ms. Baida. Officers later recovered the rifle that Ms. Baida had used along with multiple rounds of additional ammunition.

Under New York law, to convict a person of a crime when the defense of justification is raised, the burden is on the prosecution to disprove justification beyond a reasonable doubt. Justification includes using deadly physical force to defend oneself or others against another person’s use of deadly physical force. In this case, Ms. Baida was actively shooting a deadly weapon from a second-floor window onto a residential street, endangering the lives of police officers and civilians, while ignoring commands to stop. In these circumstances, a prosecutor would not be able to disprove that APD officers were justified in using deadly physical force to end the threat.

At the time of this incident, APD did not equip its officers with BWCs, which are critical to transparency, accountability, and safety. While APD has taken steps to obtain BWCs for its officers, OSI recommends the department accelerate its efforts.

“Our office reviews every case thoroughly and transparently in the pursuit of justice,” said Attorney General James. “Based on an extensive review of the evidence and facts in this case, my office determined that the officer was justified in his use of force because he had a reasonable belief that it was necessary in order to protect himself, his colleagues, and the public from harm. Nonetheless, Ms. Baida’s death was a tragedy, and I offer my condolences to the Baida family.”