RIKERS ISLAND INMATE INDICTED ON ATTEMPTED MURDER FOR ATTACKING NYC DOC OFFICERS

 

Defendant Put Officer in Chokehold and Struck Officers With Broomstick; Victims Needed Hospital Treatment

 Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Rikers Island inmate has been indicted on Attempted Murder charges for attacking multiple NYC Department of Correction Officers with a broomstick and for putting one of the Officers in a chokehold.

 District Attorney Clark said, “The defendant, a Rikers Island inmate, allegedly put a DOC Officer in a chokehold during an unprovoked attack and struck him with a broomstick taken from a janitor’s closet. He also allegedly struck a DOC Captain with the broomstick directly in the face. He did all this while kicking and biting other DOC staff who responded to the incident. Attacks against Correction Officers doing their jobs on Rikers Island will not be tolerated.”

 District Attorney Clark said the defendant Rafael Mieses, 36, was arraigned on Attempted Murder in the first and second degree, Attempted Assault in the first degree, 12 counts of second-degree Assault, first, second and third-degree Robbery, third and fourth-degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon, four counts of third-degree Assault, Petit Larceny, fifth-degree Criminal Possession of Stolen Property, and second-degree Obstruction of Governmental Administration before Bronx Supreme Court Justice George Villegas. The defendant was remanded and is due back in court on April 6, 2023.

 According to the investigation, at approximately 9:20 PM on December 21, 2022, in the de-escalation area in the Vernon C. Bain Center, the defendant got out of his cell and began taking items from the janitor’s closet. When a Correction Officer told Mieses to leave the items, the defendant allegedly charged at the Officer, kicked him repeatedly and struck the Officer multiple times about the body with a broomstick. While the Officer was on the ground, the defendant lay on top of him, placed him in a chokehold, pressed the broom handle up against the victim’s neck, and attempted to take the Officer’s pepper spray canister. Additional DOC Staff arrived and the defendant allegedly released the chokehold and turned to a DOC Captain and struck her in the face with the broomstick. Mieses then turned to the first victim again, held the broomstick against his throat and forced him to the ground for a second time, causing him to drop his chemical spray canister. The defendant then picked it up and attempted to use the pepper spray against staff.

 According to the investigation, when the DOC probe team arrived, the defendant allegedly resisted staff, kicking and striking several Correction Officers with the broomstick. Mieses also bit a probe team member in the forearm. The Correction Officers were treated for head trauma, multiple body contusions, and lacerations at a local hospital.

 District Attorney Clark also thanked the New York City Department of Correction Intelligence Bureau, specifically Investigator Lakeisha White, for her work in the investigation.

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

Maine Man Charged With Participation In A Murder-For-Hire Scheme

 

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Michael J. Driscoll, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced the arrest of HYUNKOOK KORSIAK for participating in a plot to commit murder for hire in Midtown Manhattan.  Thankfully, and unbeknownst to KORSIAK, he plotted with undercover FBI agents and the intended victim was fictitious.  KORSIAK was arrested in Tarrytown, New York, and wa presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge James L. Cott.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As alleged in the complaint, Hyunkook Korsiak agreed to murder another person for the price of $50,000.  Thanks to the work of our remarkable law enforcement partners, Korsiak now stands charged in federal court for his alleged role in this terrible crime.”

FBI Assistant Director Michael J. Driscoll said: "As alleged, the defendant was willing to travel over three hundred miles in order to fulfill his depraved desire to be paid for taking another human’s life.  The defendant displayed callous disregard for life and planned to conduct his act of violence in the middle of Manhattan.  The FBI will not tolerate such acts of violence, and any individual willing to cold heartedly kill another person will be made to face the consequences in the criminal justice system."

As alleged in the amended Complaint filed in Manhattan federal court and in other court papers and proceedings:[1]

From in or about January 2023, through in or about March 8, 2023, KORSIAK participated in a scheme to murder a fictitious businessman in Manhattan in exchange for a payment of $50,000.  The FBI began its investigation after communications KORSIAK sent expressing his desire to kill a person for money were intercepted by the Bureau of Prisons.  Over the course of the last two months, KORSIAK met with an undercover FBI agent on multiple occasions in both New York and Boston and agreed to murder a fictitious businessman who was purported to be staying at a Midtown Manhattan hotel.  During one of the meetings with the undercover agent, KORSIAK described how he intended to commit the murder and what weapons he planned on using, including an AR-15 rifle and a 9MM pistol that he possessed.  KORSIAK asked the undercover agents to provide him with silencers for the two weapons and a latex mask so that he could defeat facial recognition technology.  In another meeting, KORSIAK told agents that he would use a car to approach the victim as he walked on a Midtown Manhattan street and planned to shoot the victim from inside the car.  KORSIAK’s plan also included the use of a police uniform in an effort to evade capture after he committed the murder. 

On March 8, 2023, KORSIAK traveled from Maine to Tarrytown, New York, where he intended to make his final preparations for the murder.  Instead, Korsiak was apprehended by FBI agents.  KORSIAK was found in possession of four firearms, including two AR-15 rifles and two 9MM semi-automatic pistols.  In addition to the firearms, agents seized (i) a bullet resistant vest; (ii) hundreds of rounds of various caliber ammunition; (iii) a latex mask; (iv) rifle scopes; (v) high-capacity magazines; and (vi) latex gloves, many of the same items KORSIAK told the undercover agents he intended to use during the murder.  These items are pictured below:

KORSIAK has a 2017 federal felony conviction for theft from a licensed firearms dealer. 

KORSIAK, 41, of Augusta, Maine, is charged with one count of murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum potential sentence of 10 years in prison, and one count of possession of a firearm following a felony conviction, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

The maximum potential sentences in this case 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. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI and the Special Agents of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.    

[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint constitutes only allegations, and every fact described herein should be treated as an allegation.

Bronx Metro-North Station Area Study - Monthly Update

 

Monthly Bronx Metro-North Study Update
March 2023

MTA Station Construction Kicks Off

In early 2023, the MTA held an official groundbreaking for the construction necessary to bring new Metro-North service to the East Bronx. 

Visitors to the location of the future Parkchester/Van Nest station (pictured below) will today see early signs of construction work as the MTA adds additional tracks to ensure that the Metro-North service is ready to run starting in late 2027 (projected).

The City is proud to continue its partnership with the MTA as it continues planning work around each of the four stations. This is a unique opportunity to thoughtfully integrate new service into the fabric of our Bronx communities and to add much needed housing -- including affordable housing --  commercial space, community-serving retail, and community facility space adjacent to new planned Metro-North service.

Rendering of the main entrance to the future Parkchester/Van Nest station. Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Plan Highlight of the Month: Jobs Planning Work

An important aspect of the City's Bronx Metro-North Study planning work touches on the importance of jobs and workforce development. This includes:

• Working to help grow jobs centers in the Bronx, including the important job center at Morris Park (one of the City's 10 largest jobs centers!)
• Working to identify gaps to connecting Bronxites to jobs in the Borough, the City, and the region

DCP recently completed updating its workforce and labor market analysis as part of this work. A couple of notable facts:

• Local health services accounts for the largest share of jobs in the study area centered around Morris Park and Parkchester/Van Nest
• Local government services and local education and training were the two fastest growing jobs sectors

Stay Up-to-date on Planning Work:

Please visit the Bronx Metro-North webpage to see a summary of recommendations and past planning work. 

Stay up to date: 

• Mailing List: To make sure you’re up-to-date on planning work, please sign up for our mailing list at bmns@planning.nyc.gov.

• Remote Office Hours: Have additional questions or thoughts you’d like to share with us? We’d love to hear from you. Sign up for one-on-one remote office hours with the study team here: Sign up!  
• Follow us on Twitter and Instagram: @nycplanning