SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

Our sincerest apologies to both our readers and the Shorefront Y for not getting this out sooner. But there’s still time to check out this awesome free event, where you can find free screenings and educational materials in Brighton Beach.

Here’s the info from the Shorefront Y:

 The Shorefront Y will host a community health fair on May 30th, 2013 at 12PM. The health fair is designed to provide free screenings & educational materials to the Brighton Beach community and beyond.

This yearly event is free and open to the public. Many local vendors along with nationally recognized brands will participate including Fideliscare, United Health Care, Amita Healing Center, Project HOPE, MJHS, NYCDOH, Walgreens, Coney Island Hospital, Liberty Mutual Insurance, & many more!

Free screenings will be available to everyone and include blood pressure, blood sugar, and body mass index (BMI).  This event is appropriate for people of all ages.

What: Shorefront Y Health Fair

Where: Shorefront Y, 3300 Coney Island Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11235

When: Thursday, May 30th, 2013 at 12PM

Emergency responders from the FDNY rushed to Coney Island Avenue and Avenue T this morning, after a car flipped over, landing on the sidewalk.

The incident, which occurred at approximately 9:00 a.m., was first reported by @NYScanner, who published the photo above.

@NYScanner adds that there were no serious injuries reported.

Participants in this year’s Autism Walk.

When the Southern Brooklyn community wants to raise awareness for a good cause, they know how to do it – even in stormy weather.

On Sunday, May 19, approximately 170 Southern Brooklyn locals gathered at the New York Aquarium to walk 1.2 miles of the boardwalk to Coney Island Avenue. Together, they marched until Shorefront YM-YWHA of Brighton Beach to raise awareness for autism.

Lilach Koch, the Special Needs Program director at the Shorefront Y, said that walks like this are vital to create greater knowledge and education about autism, as well as raise funds.

“This will create a community that recognizes and accepts individuals with autism and supports their families,” Koch said.

The three main goals of the walk? To educate, to recognize, and to gain support for the programs for disabilities.

“It’s important that the leaders of the community understand that it’s a great cause. We are here. We need your support. These programs are scarce,” Koch said.

Two other local Jewish Community Centers – the JCH of Bensonhurst and Kings Bay Y – collaborated on the effort.

Autism is a developmental disorder of brain function. Characteristics typically include impaired social interaction, problems with verbal and non-verbal communication, and unusual, repetitive, or severely limited activities and interests.

According to AutismSpeaks.org, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identify 1 in 88 American children on the autism spectrum. Statistically, there are more children affected by autism than diabetes, cerebral palsy, or Down syndrome combined.

The event saw well known community figures like Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and a host of community volunteers.

“Our mission is to strengthen the skills of our clients and support them and their families from early childhood to adulthood. We believe in our developmentally disabled clients and direct them to become more independent, functional and happy individuals,” Koch added.

Koch explained that many of these programs are free to the community, and that Southern Brooklyn families cannot afford many of the more expensive options available.

“We do understand our families’ needs on both the practical and emotional levels, and we constantly seek for channels to provide families with as many free and low cost services and programs as possible,” said Koch.

Karreell Pereira, a Shorefront Y member, visits the community center weekly with her husband and young boys.  Her two sons, age seven and eight, were at the event as well, supporting after-school classmates.

“It means a lot to me, being around other parents. It opens my eyes. It shows me how other parents operate, and shows me how blessed I am,” Pereira said. “We are capable of making a drastic change. These programs need to be nourished and should be promoted.”

“They love it here,” she said. “It opens their eyes to what’s really going on in our community. It helps you see not only your situation, but other people’s situations.”

Currently, the Shorefront Y offers free after-school programs for children ages 5 to 13, a Sunday Funday social skills recreational program for children ages 5 to 12, and a series of other educational workshops for parents and families. They hope to support families in need.

Michelle Pisani-Hinojo said that rain or shine, she will support this walk for years to come. Her 11-year-old daughter, Amber, has autism.

“The weather put a damper on the event, but not on the spirit. It makes me feel like I’m not alone. The public is becoming aware. It feels good that people are willing to work together for awareness,” Pisani-Hinojo said.

“It’s symbolic, you know? Some days will be sunny days, and other day’s it’ll rain,” Pisani-Hinojo said. “Even on the bad days, you need to stay strong and still be supportive. We can’t give up.”

Rasputin, the windowless, mausoleum-like restaurant and nightclub at 2670 Coney Island Avenue, has been shuttered and padlocked.

There is a notice taped near the entrance that shows it was closed by city marshals and turned over to the landlord.

It’s unclear if this is related to the criminal case against Michael Levitis, the owner of Rasputin Restaurant. Levitis is alleged to be the ringleader of a fraud scheme, in which a company he controlled – Mission Settlement Agency – preyed on debt-laden victims. The company claimed to reduce a client’s debt to creditors and make payments on their behalf. In reality, prosecutors say, the company collected fees and did little or nothing to help clients, and Levitis used the fees to pay operating expenses at Rasputin, lease two luxury Mercedes and pay off his mother’s credit card bills.

Prosecutors have filed to seize approximately 40 bank accounts connected to Levitis, as well as Rasputin Restaurant and two properties he owns in Manhattan Beach. The assets would be used to pay back his victims if Levitis is found guilty.

However, the property on which Rasputin sits is not owned by Levitis. Notices like the one above are often left when a lessee fails to pay his rent and the landlord wins an eviction in court. It’s unclear if that’s the case, or if the landlord was somehow able to wrangle back control of the property amid Levitis’ problems.

The landlord was not available to answer questions as we went to press, but we will update if we hear from them.

Meanwhile, a post on Michael Levitis’ Facebook page that had announced the closure late last week or over the weekend has since disappeared. In reply to comments left on the post, Levitis had credited the closure to “higher powers,” but had not elaborated beyond that point when we stumbled across it.

Levitis (Source: Facebook)

Rasputin owner and Russian Dolls co-star Michael Levitis pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud, mail fraud and conspiracy and was released on $1 million bail after his indictment yesterday. But, more interestingly, Levitis claims he’s a victim of government neglect who had tried to tip off authorities to malfeasance by “rogue employees.” He said he was ignored.

This nugget from the New York Times has all you need to know:

Mr. Levitis, who was charged with conspiracy, mail fraud and wire fraud, pleaded not guilty and was released on $1 million bond. His lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, said by phone that his client had known about the investigation for several months, had cooperated fully and had tried to provide information to the government about certain employees he believed were responsible for wrongdoing. Mr. Lichtman said his client was ignored.

“The frustrating part about this is we repeatedly attempted to present evidence to the government that there were rogue employees that were working at Mission and were engaging in the sort of fraud that we now see in the indictment,” Mr. Lichtman said.

“We’re prepared to fight it to the end,” he added.

The Times also notes that the investigation into Mission Settlement Agency and Michael Levitis was aided by undercover agents and a cooperating witness who posed as a customer.

As we first reported yesterday, Levitis is alleged to be the ringleader of a fraud scheme, in which a company he controlled – Mission Settlement Agency – preyed on debt-laden victims. The company claimed to reduce a client’s debt to creditors and make payments on their behalf. In reality, prosecutors say, the company collected fees and did little or nothing to help clients, and Levitis used the fees to pay operating expenses at Rasputin Restauraunt, lease two luxury Mercedes and pay off his mother’s credit card bills.

Prosecutors have filed to seize approximately 40 bank accounts connected to Levitis, as well as Rasputin Restaurant and two properties he owns in Manhattan Beach. The assets would be used to pay back his victims if Levitis is found guilty.

Levitis and three other co-conspirators face 20 years in prison for each charge. Two additional employees were charged, pleaded guilty, and are aiding the investigation.

His attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, has represented high-profile clients including John Gotti, Jr., and rappers The Game and Fat Joe.

Levitis’ home at 1001 Oriental Boulevard. Prosecutors are moving to seize it to repay his alleged victims. (Source: Google Maps)

Prosecutors have filed papers to restrain approximately 40 bank accounts operated by Michael Levitis or those connected to him, and have moved to seize two Manhattan Beach properties in order to preserve funds for victims of his alleged fraud, according to statements by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.

The home at 132 Norfolk, also owned by Levitis, which prosecutors are moving to seize. (Source: Google Maps)

According to the indictment, investigators have identified several bank accounts in the name of Levitis, Rasputin, Mission Settlement Agency and alleged co-conspirators which may be turned over to victims of the debt settlement fraud charges revealed this morning. They are also targeting his stake in Rasputin Restaurant, at 2670 Coney Island Avenue.

They also list two properties owned by Levitis – his home at 1001 Oriental Boulevard, and another property at 132 Norfolk Street.

If Levitis is found guilty and ordered to compensate as many as 2,200 victims of fraud through Mission Settlement Agency’s services, the properties will be liquidated to reimburse the victims.

The charges revealed this morning allege that Levitis and three co-conspirators offered debt settlement services, in which they collected fees without doing the services they advertised. Moreover, they are believed to have made false claims about their fees and their track record. And while clients forked over millions of dollars to be paid to their creditors, little if any ever made it that way. Instead, Levitis used it to pay operating expenses at Rasputin, lease two luxury Mercedes, and pay down his mother’s credit card debt.

Aside from the four that were charged this morning, two other Mission sales representatives were also charged: Felix Lemberskiy and Zakhir Shirinov. These two employees have been separately charged and have already pleaded guilty.

Mission Settlement Agency also went by the names Mission Abstract LLC and Alpha Debt Settlement.

View the U.S. Attorney’s remarks on the case, as well as the indictment.

Michael and Marina Levitis (Source: James Edstrom)

Rasputin Restaurant owner and Russian Dolls co-star Michael Levitis, and three others, were charged with fraud this morning, as prosecutors claim they operated a debt settlement company that swindled more than 1,200 people out of a total of millions of dollars

The offices of Mission Settlement Agency at 2713 Coney Island Avenue, (Source: Google Maps)

Levitis, who owns Mission Settlement Agency at 2713 Coney Island Avenue in addition to Rasputin, was charged with mail and wire fraud along with three employees: Denis Kurlyand, its vice president of sales; Boris Shulman, a sales representative; and Manuel Cruz, an employee who assisted with customer solicitation.

(UPDATE: Prosecutors are moving to seize Levitis’ properties. Additionally, two other co-conspirators were identified and have already pleaded guilty.)

Prosecutors say that Mission Settlement Agency claimed to help customers struggling with credit card and bank debt by helping them reach settlements that could cut the amount owed. But the company “systematically exploited and defrauded” customer, the criminal complaint says, by charging fees without ever rendering services.

Mission also served as the middle man, collecting payments from customers that were supposed to be passed on to those they owed. Instead, the indictment says, from mid-2009 to March 2013, about 2,200 customers paid nearly $14 million, of which only $4.4 million went to the creditors.

The company kept $6.6 million for itself as fees. As many as 1,200 of the clients paid $2.2 million in fees without “a single penny” reaching their creditors.

Meanwhile, Levitis used the remaining funds as his personal piggy bank, directing some of it to pay his own debts on Rasputin Restaurant (2670 Coney Island Avenue), as well as to lease two luxury Mercedes cars. He did also manage to pay down the credit card debt of his mother, Eva, who owned the company on paper, the Post reports.

According to the indictment, as part of his sales pitch, Levitis touted an affiliation with the federal government and one of the three leading credit bureaus in the U.S., relationships that prosecutors say was all smoke.

It’s not the first time Levitis has claimed a government relationship he may not have had.

Back in 2010, Levitis was charged with lying to federal agents after he got caught up in a bribery case involving former State Senator Carl Kruger.

Levitis told a fellow nightclub owner, who was secretly recording the conversation for the FBI, that he had an inside line to the state pol, and could assist him with a liquor license issue if he steered thousands of dollars to Kruger – with a kickback for Levitis’ role in setting it up.

As the case moved forward, Levitis’ claim that he had influence in Kruger’s office began to unravel, and Levitis, who is also an attorney, later pleaded guilty to lying to federal agents, sentenced to three years probation and fined $15,000.

In April, Levitis was also hit with a six month suspension of his license to practice law – retroactive to January 2012 – for his role in the case. According to Reuters:

The appeals court said it took into account mitigating factors presented by Levitis, including “the aberrational and unplanned nature of his misconduct,” his remorse, his cooperation with the grievance committee’s investigation and his reputation as an “ethical and honest attorney.”

Levitis, his mother and his wife, Marina, were also the co-stars of Russian Dolls, a failed Lifetime reality series canceled less than two months after its premiere.

The case against Levitis and Mission is being hailed as historic, as it’s the first criminal referral from the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an agency established after passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in 2010. The CFPB is also bringing civil charges against Mission, Levitis and others.

Royalty is coming to 2663 Coney Island Avenue, for who else would reside in Sultan Palace other than the sultan?

Well, we passed by yesterday, and we didn’t see any sultans hanging around. We’re still not quite sure what the plan is yet. But if we were to guess, we’d say it’s one of those places where the menu will most likely say “restaurant, cafe, lounge and hookah bar.”

Just a feeling. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Photo by Bart Ettinger.

Advance Auto Parts – “a leader in the automotive aftermarket” – is coming to 3720 Nostrand Avenue, the location of the shuttered R & S Strauss Discount Auto.

The storefront has been empty since last June, when Strauss declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy and shuttered all stores overnight – a story that Sheepshead Bites was the first to report nationally. More than 700 were left without a job, and patrons of the two local stores – here and at 2570 Coney Island Avenue – were puzzled to find the buildings locked.

The Coney Island Avenue location is slated to become a seafood restaurant operated by the owners of Chateau De Alik (1223 Avenue U).

Advance Auto Parts is a Fortune 500 company with more than 3,500 stores nationwide, the nearest being in East New York. They are based in Roanoke, Virginia.

UPDATE (5/28/2013 @ 12:00 p.m.): This store opened today, May 28. Here are the store hours, from the company’s press release:

The store is open Monday through Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Other area stores are located at 832 Pennsylvania Avenue and 2686 Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn.

UPDATE (6/3/2013 @ 11:30 a.m.): Reader Bart E. tell us Advance Auto opened last weekend.

A 26-year-old special needs man has gone missing in Midwood, and police are looking to reunite him with his family.

The man, photographed above, was last seen this afternoon at Coney Island Avenue and Avenue J, according to the NY Scanner Twitter account.

Police have responded with a Level 1 mobilization.

If you have seen this person, please call 911 immediately.