|
|
As reported in the Pawling Press (May 21st ), there was a break-in at the Pawling Library on May 12th. According to the story, approximately $100.00 in cash was stolen and access was gained by breaking a window. Please call DCSO at 845-486-3800 if you have any information on this break-in.
On May 27th, Detective Kurt Twaddell of DCSO said an arrest has been made of the individual responsible for this crime.
Officials warn homeowners
about door-to-door repair
scams
Emily Stewart • Poughkeepsie Journal • May 17,
2010
KINGSTON — They come door to door, offering to
reseal the driveway, fix the roof or clean out a
chimney.
The high-pressure pitch may involve a load of
blacktop from a job just finished “down the street,”
and a deeply discounted price — but only for today.
In Kingston, the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office
charged three men earlier this month with third-
degree grand larceny, a felony. They are accused of
being involved in a driveway-sealing scam.
Two of the men, Rodney Cooper, 48, and James
Lambert, 45, are wanted on arrest warrants, said
Detective Sgt. Drue Lynch of the Ulster County
Sheriff’s Offoce.
The third, Rodney T. Cooper, 28, turned himself in
to police May 3, Lynch said. He was released May 11
from the Ulster County Jail on a court order.
The Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that the
men preyed upon a homeowner by offering to seal
her driveway for a reduced price.
When they finished, the cost had jumped into the
thousands. The homeowner did not have the cash to
pay them, so they drove her to the bank to remove
the money, police said.
An employee at the Citizens Bank in Kingston alerted
authorities and stopped the transaction before the
woman could remove $5,000 from her account,
Lynch said.
While most home repair companies are legitimate,
authorities said, this isn’t the first time they have
seen this kind of scam.
“This is when we start to have problems with door-
to-door home improvement scams,” Nelson Kranker,
director of the Dutchess County Consumer Affairs
Department, said in an e-mail.
“We get that around this time of year,” said Deputy TJ
Hanlon of the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office.
“They claim to have extra blacktop from a job. They
want to sell it cheap — get in, get out. Or they say,
‘We have to get rid of this today.’ They’re not
reputable,” Hanlon said.
“Anyone who comes looking to pressure you into a
sale is not going to be a reputable paver,” he said.
Afterward, they may do shoddy work, or only part of
the job, then want more money. Worse, it could cost
even more to undo the work they did, he said.
Janet Caffo, director of the Ulster County Consumer
Fraud Bureau, said in addition to driveway repairs,
the bureau tells people to be aware of chimney
scams as well.
Caffo said eight complaints involving driveway
repairs were reported to the bureau between July 9,
2009, and May 12 of this year.
“Of those, some were inconclusive. Some were
successfully mediated. One was referred to the
Ulster County District Attorney as a larceny, and the
company fled the state,” she said.
Caffo said consumers can call the bureau to inquire
about a company they may be unsure of.
“It doesn’t have to rise to the level of a complaint.
They can call if they just have a question or seek
guidance,” she said.
Residents of Dutchess may contact the county’s
Department of Consumer Affairs.
The state also has a consumer protection hotline.
Lynch said the Sheriff’s Office has gotten more
complaints of this nature than usual this year.
He said this kind of scam differs from others — such
as identity theft — because the perpetrators actually
talk to the person face to face.
“This is totally different. It’s hands-on,” Lynch said.
When asked why this particular swindle “works,”
Lynch said, “It’s quick, it’s easy and it’s lucrative.”
Also, the perpetrators often skirt the line between
what would constitute civil or criminal charges.
“There’s a saying, ‘Push the envelope,’ ” Lynch said.
“They don’t push it off the table.”
These kinds of scams “give the honest guy a bad
name,” he said.
“Crime Beat,” which explores law enforcement
issues and cases worked by police in the mid-
Hudson Valley, appears each Monday. To suggest a
topic, call 845-437-4834. Reach Emily Stewart at
estewart@poughkeepsiejournal.com or 845-437-
4882.
Who can help
• To lodge a complaint with the New York state
Consumer Protection Board, call 800-697-1220 or
visit www.nysconsumer.gov/complaint.htm.
• The Dutchess County Consumer Affairs Department
can assist residents with histories of retail businesses.
The department can be reached at: 845-486-2949.
• The Ulster County Consumer Fraud Bureau can be
reached at 845-340-3260.
78 charged in crackdown on
Newburgh drug gangs
Sarah Bradshaw • Poughkeepsie Journal • May
14, 2010
NEWBURGH — In neighborhoods, including one
nicknamed “Blood Alley,” cash is exchanged for
crack and heroin.
Violent clashes occur between rival gang members
over drug territories.
Children initiated as gang members act as police
lookouts and carry weapons.
Since March 2007, federal, state and local law
enforcement agencies have been building files
against City of Newburgh gang suspects and their
associates.
The indictments stemming from their three-year
investigations, dubbed Operation Blood Drive and
Operation Black Crown, read like scripts for crime
movies.
At a news conference Thursday, the U.S. Attorney’s
Office unsealed two federal indictments against 78
suspects, accusing them of drug trafficking.
Confidential informants, undercover officers and
physical surveillance helped law enforcement
officials infiltrate the drug rings.
Some of the charges carry maximum penalties of life
in prison if the suspects are found guilty .
“The drug problem has overwhelmed the city, and
the cycle of violence that always comes with gangs
and drugs has reached crisis proportions,” Preet
Bharara, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of
New York, said in a statement.
Bharara added, “Today, we bring new hope to the
City of Newburgh.”
The operations were conducted and coordinated by
the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the U.S. A
ttorney’s Office; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement; New York State Police; Orange
County District Attorney’s Office; Orange County
Sheriff’s Office; and the City of Newburgh Police
Department.
Nationally affiliated Newburgh Bloods and
Newburgh Latin Kings gangs were charged with
conspiracies to distribute and possession with the
intent to distribute crack cocaine, powder cocaine
and heroin.
Of the 78 suspects, 60 reputed Newburgh Bloods
and associates face charges, including their alleged
leader, Anthony “Double-O” Boykin, 27, of
Newburgh.
Of the Newburgh Latin Kings gang, 18 reputed
members and associates were named in an
indictment including suspected leader 23-year-old
Wilson “King Gunz” Pagan of Newburgh.
A strike Thursday by several of the law enforcement
agencies forming the Hudson Valley Safe Streets
Task Force apprehended 19 of the 78 suspects.
Forty-four suspects were already in custody.
The remaining 15 suspects are still being sought by
police.
The task force executed search warrants during the
arrests, seizing a machete, shotgun, three
handguns, thousands of dollars in drug proceeds
and crack at the defendants’ homes.
Advertisement
Rep. John Hall, D-Dover Plains, praised police,
saying in a news release, “Violent gangs have no
place in our communities. Today’s arrests should
go a long way towards disrupting gang activity
throughout Orange County and the entire Hudson
Valley.”
The City of Beacon and City of Poughkeepsie police
departments, Dutchess County Sheriff ’s Office and
others assisted in the arrests Thursday.
Most of the gang suspects and associates were
Newburgh residents, ages 18 to 51.
Poughkeepsie resident Clifton Catts, 32, was named
in the Bloods drug-trafficking indictment.
City of Poughkeepsie Police Capt. Steven Minard said
Thursday’s crackdown on gangs shows other
criminals what law agencies can do if they work
together.
He cited the 2006 multi-count indictment against 13
members of the Partners N Crime Poughkeepsie
street gang as another example.
“I think that with our fairly close proximity to
Newburgh, it’s very possible that gang members
frequent both cities,” Minard said. “By having
(Newburgh gang members) off the streets, it will
help us have less possibilities of gang violence
here.”
The Bloods suspects taken into custody were sent to
federal court in Manhattan while the Latin Kings
suspects were processed in federal court in White
Plains.
Newburgh led the state in violent crimes per capita
in 2008 and could do so again this year, Rep.
Maurice Hinchey, D-Hurley, said in a release.
Hinchey, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and
Newburgh Mayor Nick Valentine will host a crime-
prevention roundtable with community leaders and
local activists at 5 p.m. today at Newburgh City Hall,
83 Broadway.
Thursday’s federal indictment alleges the Bloods
used codes such as “food” or “plate” during
meetings, discussing the killings and assaults of
other members and nonmembers.
They are accused of controlling South Miller,
Lander, Farrington, Lutheran and Van Ness streets
with the primary objective to sell crack. Their supply
often came from Manhattan or the Bronx, it is
alleged.
Minors were used to commit crimes such as
distributing drugs, acting as lookouts, carrying
weapons and engaging in violent acts, the
indictment claims.
Bloods committed, attempted and threatened acts
such as beatings, stabbings and shootings to
protect and expand their drug operations, including
against rival gangs such as the Latin Kings,
according to the indictment.
On the East End of Newburgh, on the streets of
William, Broadway, Washington and Clark, the
Hispanic gang Latin Kings is alleged to have
operated a crack- and heroin-trafficking operation.
This gang is accused of charging “rent” or large fees
to those not in their gang to distribute narcotics in
their neighborhoods in addition to performing the
same violent acts as the Bloods to protect their
territory.
During the investigation of the Latin Kings,
members and their associates sold narcotics more
than 45 times to law enforcement officers and
informants, officials said.
Advertisement
These transactions often were recorded with audio
and video.
In a statement, City of Newburgh Chief of Police Eric
Paolilli said the crackdown on gang-related
activities will dissuade potential gang members due
to the “long federal prison sentences that these
defendants are facing.”
James Hayes Jr., the special agent in charge for the
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, pledged his
office will use “all of its investigative tools and
unique capabilities to disrupt and dismantle gangs.”
Reach Sarah Bradshaw at
sbradshaw@poughkeepsiejournal.com or 845-
437-4811.
Dear Friends,
I have received this important notice from the Town of Carmel Police and the Superintendent of Mahopac Schools. Please contact the Town of Carmel Police at 845-628-1300 if you would like more information, or you have information pertaining to the report.
Sincerely,
Greg Ball
Member of Assembly
99th District
—————————————————-
On May 4, 2010 a Police Department in Westchester County received a call of a white male in a red Mercedes sitting outside of a High School in Westchester taking photographs of young girls. The suspect was identified by the police that responded as a Lake Carmel resident. Subject is a white male 6′0″ tall, 260 lbs thin white hair and a white mustache wearing glasses. Subject was operating 1996 Mercedes Benz E320 color red bearing New York plate. Subject was found in possession of a Motorola droid cellular telephone which contained 5 pictures of 12 to 14 year old girls in mini skirts, which he had taken at that High School. Subject was also in possession of a palm sized Sony digital video recorder which contained approximately 30 videos of young girls outside of a Mahopac School building as well as Carmel and Kent area schools. When questioned the subject confirmed that he had recorded the aforementioned videos, but would not elaborate on his intentions. The subject may also be operating a 2003 Saab 9-3 color white bearing New York plate. There are no criminal charges against the subject at this time.
Same Subject From LOHUD.com follows below:
Cops: Man who took pictures
of girls at Bronxville school
also had videos from Putnam
CARMEL — A man stopped last week by police after
taking pictures of young girls in miniskirts outside
Bronxville High School also was found to have
videos of girls outside of Putnam County school
buildings, police said.
There are no criminal charges at this time against
the man, who lives in Lake Carmel, but local
authorities are asking anyone who sees a man
taking photos or video near a school to alert a
school administrator and contact the police. The
individual was described as 6 feet tall, weighing
260 pounds, with thin white hair and a white
mustache. He may be driving a red 1996 Mercedes-
Benz or a white 2003 Saab, both with New York
plates.
In Bronxville, he was found with a Motorola Droid
cell phone containing five photographs of 12- to
14-year-old girls in miniskirts, which he had taken
at that high school. He also was found to have a
Sony digital videorecorder containing about 30
videos of young girls outside a Mahopac school as
well as Carmel and Kent schools.
The man told police he made the videos but
wouldn’t elaborate on his intentions, said Lt. Mike
Cazzari of the Carmel police Based on his subjects
in Bronxville, police said, they assume the Putnam
videos were made outside the Carmel or Mahopac
high schools or middle schools. They have not seen
the footage.
Cazzari said the bulletin put out by police was a
means to alert the local community about the
incident and was initially aimed at school
administrators, teachers, bus drivers and other
district employees.
“People are paying attention now. This is as
proactive as we can be without trampling on
someone’s rights,” he said.
William Connors, a father in the Carmel school
district, said “parents have to remain vigilant and be
made aware of all potential threats to our children.”
He received a mass e-mail from the Carmel district
about the matter.
“I also would like to see more of a police presence at
all of our schools (to) help deter this type of deviant
behavior. The most important resource that we have
(is) our kids and we must keep them safe from the
predators that lurk out there,” he said in a separate
e-mail.
Lt. Alex DiVernieri of the Kent police said officers
have spoken with the administration at the town’s
two elementary schools.
Carmel Schools Superintendent James Ryan in an e-
mail advised parents to speak with their children
“about stranger safety and the importance of being
aware and vigilant regarding their surroundings.”
HPNW contacted the Dutchess County District Attorney’s Office today to follow up on the sentencing of Keith Johnson of Pawling who has previously plead guilty in the tragic death of 19 year old Patterson resident Shane Smith on July 27, 2009.
The April 22, 2010 sentencing has resulted in a 3-10 year sentence for Keith Johnson for vehicular manslaughter and driving while under the influence (heroin and alcohol) according to the District Attorneys Office.
Hopefully, the sentencing will discourage alcohol & drug abuse and driving while under the influence. Shane Smith was just 19 years old when he was killed on Highway 55.
The story was also reported on page 2 of the Pawling Press in their April 30th edition.
Please be advised that there was criminal mischief on Mountain View Drive in Holmes at 1:00 AM on Friday April 30th. The damage was done to at least two cars with Paint Guns and possibly a hatchet. The DCSO is investigating. Please be on the lookout for a pickup truck with square headlights and a really loud exhaust system. No better details are available. Please call DCSO at 845-486-3800 if you see anything or have further information. Try to get a license plate, make/model/color direction heading etc. The investigating Detective is Detective Twaddell. I just spoke with him at 6:00 PM tonight after being alerted to this criminal mischief by a HPNW member. Bob Eichinger
Warning: Suspicious Man – A car with EDV in the license plate is crawling around the neighborhood. The beige car (possibly a Toyota Camry) and male driver (estimated in his early sixties) seems to show up when the morning school bus comes around and seems to watch for kids getting on bus. He has been driving the Holmes neighborhood for a while. The sheriff is aware of his presence and knows his full license plate, if you see him stop and park near your home, please call the DC Sheriff immediately at 845-486-3800 or if an immediate danger dial 911.
He has parked in the front of certain houses. In one case he said “he had been tired and just fell asleep”.
HPNW has spoken with DCSO this morning and DCSO has confirmed they are investigating.
Please see below email from Dolores Ragsdale announcing the next P4P community meeting which continues the dialogue on protecting our children from drugs and alcohol. The meeting on March 6th was a good first step. Please email me if you have any questions at BMEichinger@aol.com. I hope to see you all on April 29th.
Hello!
The next community meeting will be held at the Town’s Teen Center at Lakeside Park. We will meet at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 29th.
The purpose of this meeting is to continue the dialogue about the challenges facing our children and teens that was initiated at the Pawling Central School District’s community forum last month.
Please take this opportunity to talk to representatives from the Town and Village, the School District and others. We will also have a look at the newly renovated Teen Center.
As you may already know, Progress4Pawling meetings are held on the last Thursday of every month at 7:00 p.m. The topics and speakers vary, but our mission is to build communication, coordination and cooperation among community members. Along the way, we hope to encourage and support the development of our assets, which will provide children with the tools they need to build brighter futures.
Thanks,
Dolores Ragsdale
Executive Director
Pawling Community Services, Inc.
March 29 & 30, 2010
From ABC News – Diane Sawyer
The New Face of Heroin – See below Video Links from ABC News March 29 & 30, 2010. Also, see News Story Post after Video Links. Copy and paste these links into your browser.
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/face-heroin-10235268
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/heroin-heartland-10245066
Heroin Use In Suburbs On The Rise
Suburban Teens Are Getting Addicted, Overdosing And Dying
By SHARYN ALFONSI and HANNA SIEGEL
March 29, 2010—
It’s 7 a.m. and we’re on an undercover surveillance operation with the Drug Enforcement Agency.
At a bus stop 35 miles outside of New York City, drug dealers from the city are dropping off heroin that will be sold in the suburbs later that day.
These are not the kinds of communities you’d imagine having drug issues. But the rolling hills and picturesque houses betray a rising problem. In suburbs like this across the country, heroin use is skyrocketing and teenagers are dying.
“The interesting part too is when you start going to the schools and school events. You go back towards the bleachers, areas, you used to find little empty bags of marijuana, now you are actually finding the glassine stamps on the ground,” said DEA Agent Bradley Cheek. “Which means these kids have escalated from marijuana to heroin.”
The Ones You’d Least Expect
Honor students and athletes, some not even old enough to drive, are overdosing on heroin.
Jeffrey Veatch’s son Justin overdosed and died from his heroin addiction.
“The first reaction parents have — ‘I would never let my kids do this, this would never happen in my house,’” he says. “But we’ve learned a lot since then about substances and what’s available.”
“The signs weren’t overt. They weren’t always there and as parents you always look to the bright side and want to be optimistic that everything’s going to be fine.”
The Bigger Picture
The explosion of heroin in suburban America isn’t by accident. Rather, it is the plan of drug lords from Mexico and Columbia, who strategically market the drug to middle America with new, sophisticated techniques.
Packets of heroin are now stamped with popular brand names like Chevrolet or Prada, or marketed using blockbuster movies aimed at young people, like the Twilight series.
“Those drug traffickers were marketing that Heroin directly towards teenagers,” says John Gilbride of the DEA in New York.
Dealers even give it away for free in the suburbs at first. Once the kids are hooked, they sell it to them, dirt cheap.
In fact, kids can buy a small bag of heroin for as little as $5. It’s cheaper than movie tickets or a six pack of beer.
And this stuff is more potent than any pill.
“I was paying $60 a pill for oxycontin,” said one girl. “Heroin was a lot cheaper and the effects were a lot stronger.”
Stories From Users
Our New York affiliate, WABC, spoke to former heroin users at a rehab center.
“It’s euphoric,” said one patient. “It’s unexplainable.”
They start by snorting it.
“Whenever you’re having a bad day it makes you feel better,” said another. “If bad things were to happen to you that would hurt you…you don’t really care about it.”
“You’ll never get that same rush you got the first time you did it. That really warm sensation,” said another patient. “It’s unexplainable…you keep chasing it.”
That chase is what leads many to start injecting the drug.
We met “Jake” and “Katie,” two young users with similar stories.
“[I'm] definitely from the suburbs, pool in my backyard,” says Katie, “A nice big house, lots of brothers and sisters, big family, you know went to a good school.”
She says she first tried heroin for fun and instantly became addicted.
It’s not surprising. Today’s heroin isn’t just cheaper, it’s stronger. In the 70s, most heroin was about 3 percent pure. Today, it’s upwards of 60 percent. And the more potent it is, the more deadly.
“Every day you shoot up, you could overdose,” said Dr. Constantine Ioannou, vice chairman ofpsychiatry at Nassau University in East Meadow, N.Y.
We spoke to DEA agents across the country.
In Ohio, there were more heroin overdose deaths than deaths on the highway this year.
In the suburbs of Denver, Salt Lake City, even rural Wisconsin, heroin has taken its hold.
Charlotte, N.C., has seen a five-fold increase in heroin overdoses and death.
Back at the bus stop, we watch teens walk away with their fix for the day.
“I guess I’m surprised this is happening in broad daylight,” said Cheek. “It’s come out from the shadows. People need to realize it’s not confined to the alleyways and dark, dingy rooms, the heroin dens.
It’s here.
|
|
Recent Comments