SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

The following is a press release from the offices of Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes:

Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes has received $103,000 in public protection funds from Brooklyn State Senator Martin J. Golden that will provide support the District Attorney’s existing alternative to incarceration programs for at-risk youths and to victims of domestic violence cases pending in Brooklyn’s Domestic Violence Court parts.

“Brooklyn is the only county in New York State with two separate Integrated Domestic Violence Courts,” said DA Hynes.  “Thanks to this generous grant, for the first time, we will have one dedicated social worker who will not only assist victims in the two courtrooms, but will also form the bridge connecting the court parts to the Brooklyn Family Justice Center.”

“I am proud to have secured more than $100,000 in public protection funds to support programs offered by Kings County District Attorney Charles Hynes,” Senator Golden said.  “I am confident that through his office, this funding will be used to create better opportunities for youth and family justice in Brooklyn.”

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Former Brooklyn Democratic Party Chairman and current Assemblyman Vito Lopez, in happier times. Photo by Aaron Short

“Politics are a labyrinth without a clue.” – John Adams

BETWEEN THE LINES: More than a year ago, Congressman Anthony Weiner resigned after he admitted taking part in virtual trysts with other women over the course of several years. The stupidity of that incident — and numerous others that preceded it — has apparently not penetrated the minds of shameless politicians as to what constitutes inappropriate conduct.

For decades, from casting to corporate couches, men in positions of power have taken advantage of women in the workplace. Decades after feminism inspired equal rights for women and brought such matters to light, you’d think the sleazy, obnoxious “boys will be boys” mindset would have fizzled out, but the creepy practice still permeates our culture.

For what it’s worth, let’s call groping, womanizing and related acts the “Dirty Old Man Syndrome,” though age, clearly, has no bearing on the matter.

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Source: Offices of Charles Hynes

For more than six years, Rivka Baror, 51, and her husband Avraham Baror, 64, fraudulently collected $108,715.57 in Medicaid and food-stamp benefits while using phony names to hide assets, including a home and several luxury automobiles, prosecutors allege.

Kings County District Attorney Charles Hynes and Human Resources Administration Commissioner Robert Doar announced the indictment of the husband and wife team for their participation in the crimes, which spanned from January 1, 2006, through June 30, 2012.

According to the defendants’ welfare application forms filed under the names Avraham Baror and Rivka Baror, the couple claimed to have minimal income and no assets, which enables them to receive food-stamp and Medicaid benefits.

However, investigators from HRA and the District Attorney’s office uncovered documents showing the defendants used aliases to maintain bank accounts and purchase property, cars and vacations.

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Source: abegeorge2013.com

Abraham George began his campaign for Brooklyn District Attorney last week by blasting incumbent Charles Hynes, saying he has failed to protect Brooklyn’s children.

The New York Law Journal reports that George, 33, accused Hynes of focusing on small crimes like marijuana possession charges, as opposed to larger and more violent ones, such as child molestation. George specifically referred to the manner in which Hynes dealt with the prosecution of child molesters in the Orthodox Jewish Community, a recent sore point for the sitting DA, who was accused of hiding the names of alleged molesters in order to secure the Jewish vote.

“He’s actually harming people,” George told the Daily News. “There are children who are being harmed because he runs a political office. I’m not going to stand around when I know I can do something about it.”

George said he wishes to pursue the individuals who scare witnesses from coming forward and testifying against molesters. He also hopes to form a campaign committee later on in the summer. He has considered running for this position for a while now, and feels that based on his credentials, he is now prepared to assume this role.

Hynes’ spokesman told the Daily News that Hynes will be running for re-election in 2013.

George grew up in Sheepshead Bay and now lives in Williamsburg.

He graduated from Hofstra University School of Law, and has served as an assistant prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office for the past eight years.

The following is a message from the offices of Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz:

In a push to punish those responsible for hate crimes, including the latest epidemic of anti-Semitic crimes plaguing our community, as a member of the Assembly’s Codes Committee, I called on the City’s District Attorneys to immediately seek the maximum penalty for defendants accused of hate crimes and asked Judges to impose the maximum sentence allowed upon conviction.

We are seeing an increase in the frequency of anti-Semitic incidents. Those who commit these abominable crimes must realize that there is a real penalty to pay for their actions. Most of these offenses are property-based, but the recent physical assault upon a Jewish man walking home from Sabbath services, by teens who hit him in the face and shouted derogatory epithets about his obviously religious appearance, highlights the critical need for harsher penalties.

Those who choose to act on the hatred in their hearts must know that they can expect to receive the maximum penalty that our Penal Code allows. We need to show the perpetrators of these offensive acts that there is no place for their hatred in our civilized society. We as legislators intended that the penalty for the commission of a hate crime be harsher than other crimes.The judiciary must now use its power to carry out our legislative intent.

I am working with law enforcement officials in an effort to swiftly bring those who commit these and other hate crimes to justice. As the son of Holocaust survivors and a representative of one of the largest populations of Holocaust survivors, I am concerned over the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services’ annual “Hate Crimes in New York State” report, showing a 27 percent increase of hate crimes throughout New York City (350), while hate crimes in New York State dropped by 14 percent. The 2011 report also revealed that Jews were the most frequent targets of hate crimes and that, nearly 70 years after the end of the Holocaust, swastikas are still being placed on property throughout New York State. (Please see below a copy of a letter sent to our Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes. Also note similar letters were sent to all our Borough’s District Attorneys).

Read a copy of the letter Cymbrowitz sent to DA Hynes.

Madison H.S. (Source: Schools.nyc.gov)

A 36-year-old Madison High School teacher stands accused of having sex with a 16-year-old pupil on and off school grounds, as well as sharing marijuana with the youth.

The charges were revealed yesterday when a lawyer for the student’s family filed a $10 million notice of claim, charging that teacher Erin Sayar had sex with a 16-year-old she privately tutored between eight and 12 times last year, and also offered him pot from a stash kept on school grounds.

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Detective Kenneth Ayala (Source: NYPD)

Three of the four police officers shot and wounded during a gun battle inside a Nostrand Avenue apartment building in April will receive promotions today.

Detectives Kenneth Ayala and Michael Keenan and Officer Michael Granahan will receive the distinction at a ceremony at 1 Police Plaza, honored for their role in taking down a violent ex-con who held his pregnant girlfriend and 4-month-old son hostage in his barricaded apartment at 3301 Nostrand Avenue.

Ayala has been hailed as a hero for having helped save the lives of his fellow peacekeepers by protecting them with a bulletproof shield even after taking two shots to the leg.

Read more about the officers, and the courageous actions they took in April.

The following is an announcement from the Russian American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Committee:

Nakwon Foxworth (Source: MySpace)

Prosecutors charged Nakwon Foxworth, the suspect who shot and wounded four police officers on April 8, with seven counts of attempted murder this morning.

Foxworth, 33, opened fire on several members of the NYPD’s Emergency Service Unit in the early Sunday morning shooutout, striking four of them before taking a bullet to the belly. Police responded to the scene after the suspect allegedly brandished a gun during an argument with movers in front of his building at 3301 Nostrand Avenue, then took his pregnant girlfriend and their infant child hostage.

After police arrived on the scene, Foxworth’s girlfriend escaped with the infant. As the officers entered the apartment, Foxworth began shooting.

The four officers — Captain Al Pizzano, Detective Kenneth Ayala, Detective Michael Keenan and Officer Matthew Granahan – sustained non-life threatening wounds and have been released from the hospital.

Kings County District Attorney Charles Hynes unveiled the charges today, and Foxworth was arraigned from Kings County Hospital, where he is being treated for the gun shot wound to his torso.

He is charged with:

• seven counts of attempted murder in the first degree
• attempted aggravated murder
• attempted murder in the second degree
• attempted assault in the first degree
• attempted assault in the second degree
• attempted aggravated assault upon a police officer
• assault in the first degree
• assault in the second degree
• criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree
• criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree
• menacing in the second degree
• unlawful imprisonment in the first degree
• endangering the welfare of a child

If convicted, Foxworth faces a maximum sentence of 40 years to life. He was previously released from prison in 2010 after a 10-year stint for attempted murder and selling drugs behind bars.

We’ve all got old cell phones lying around. Assemblyman Steve Cymbrowitz just sent out this press release, giving us a way to finally get rid of that junk and simultaneously help out victims of domestic abuse:

In an effort to protect domestic violence victims, I am once again launching a campaign in our community, in conjunction with Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes, asking for no-longer-used cell phones, which will be reprogrammed to dial 911 instantly and then distributed to victims of domestic violence. Currently in the Assembly, as a member of the Codes Committee, we have several vital pieces of legislation before us to help prevent domestic violence; among those bills are proposals to further enhance penalties for people who commit violence against their own family members. Unfortunately, recidivism rates for violence against loved ones tend to be occurring at higher rates.

Although we are still a long way from eradicating domestic violence, our goal can be achieved with each life saved through having access to a cell phone. The NYPD responded to 249,440 domestic violence incidents in 2010, which averages to over 680 incidents per day. In addition, the NYPD’s Domestic Violence Unit conducted 67,761 home visits in 2010, a 77% increase since 2002. These donated phones will serve as a lifeline for a neighbor in need, providing them with an important sense of security and assistance in restoring a victim’s independence. Anyone who has an unwanted cell phone lying around can make a significant difference in a New York domestic violence survivor’s life by bringing it in or mailing it to my office located at 1800 Sheepshead Bay Road.

My office will also be collecting any pair of eye glasses that you no longer need, whether prescription, reading, sunglasses or especially children’s, to provide needy individuals the ability to fully function through corrected vision. Good vision is a precious gift. It’s also a daily necessity. That old pair of eyeglasses, cast aside in a drawer, can improve another person’s life.

Glasses will be donated to Jewish Heritage of the Blind, which is committed to assuring that those who are legally considered blind or visually impaired have access to a much needed pair of glasses they would otherwise be unable to afford on their own.

Please bring in your old cell phones and eyeglasses to my office located at 1800 Sheepshead Bay Road.

Thank you for your participation.