Category Archives: New York

Brooklyn subway shooting ‘person of interest’ is now suspect, says mayor

Posted on by

The manhunt ramped up for Frank R James who had rented a U-Haul found at a scene, keys to which were recovered by the police

Millions of New Yorkers began their commutes to work and school on Wednesday morning as law enforcement officers continued searching for the gunman who shot 10 people on a subway train during yesterday’s morning rush hour.

The manhunt ramped up for 62-year-old Frank R James, who police have identified as a “person of interest” in the mass shooting, but who Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday said was a suspect.

Continue reading...

Brooklyn subway attack: NYPD names ‘person of interest’ – live

Posted on by

A press conference updating on the Brooklyn subway shooting that happened this morning in the Sunset Park neighborhood just wrapped up, with officials updating that 16 people were injured in today’s attack, including 10 people who were shot, and five people who are in critical but stable condition.

Officials also noted that other injuries from the incident included smoke inhalation, shrapnel, or panic induced from the incident, but said that the shrapnel was not from an explosive device.

Continue reading...

Brooklyn shooting: over 20 injured, including 10 shot, in subway attack

Posted on by

Biden says ‘we’re not letting up until we find the perpetrator’ as manhunt under way for shooter

A gunman wearing a gas mask filled a crowded New York subway car with thick black smoke from a canister and opened fire on morning rush-hour passengers, injuring more than 20, including 10 with gunshot wounds.

A manhunt was under way on Tuesday after the shooter, described as a heavy-built Black male about 5ft 5in tall, wearing a green construction-type vest and hooded grey sweatshirt, fled the scene of the shooting. Officers were searching for a U-Haul truck with an Arizona license plate as of Tuesday afternoon, police told multiple media outlets, and the vehicle was later found.

Continue reading...

New York lieutenant governor quits after arrest on bribery and fraud charges

Posted on by

Democrat Brian Benjamin pleads not guilty to several charges, as arrest creates political crisis for governor Kathy Hochul

New York’s lieutenant governor, Brian Benjamin, resigned on Tuesday in the wake of his arrest in a federal corruption investigation, the state’s Democratic governor, Kathy Hochul, said.

The development created a political crisis for Hochul seven months after she selected Benjamin as a partner to make a fresh start in an office rocked by scandal after Governor Andrew Cuomo resigned amid allegations of bullying and sexual harassment.

Continue reading...

Ex-Goldman banker Roger Ng found guilty in billion-dollar 1MDB scandal

Posted on by

Ng, 49, found guilty of helping to embezzle money earmarked for development in one of biggest frauds in financial history

The former Goldman Sachs executive Roger Ng has been found guilty of helping to steal billions of dollars from Malaysia’s 1MDB sovereign wealth fund after a lengthy trial brought by US prosecutors, who described the fraud as one the largest financial scandals in history and who hoped to show that individuals are always at the center of corporate wrongdoing.

A New York jury found Ng, 49, once Goldman’s top investment banker in Malaysia, guilty of helping his former boss Tim Leissner embezzle money intended for development to benefit Malaysia’s poor from a fund connected to Malaysia’s then prime minister, Najib Razak, and then to launder the proceeds while bribing officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi.

Continue reading...

US arrests Japanese yakuza leader over alleged missiles-for-heroin plot

Posted on by

Takeshi Ebisawa accused of planning to purchase surface-to-air missiles for rebel groups in Myanmar and distribute drugs in US

US authorities have arrested a leader of a Japanese crime syndicate on charges of plotting to distribute drugs in the United States and purchase weapons including US-made surface-to-air missiles.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan said Takeshi Ebisawa, who they described as a leader in a network of Japanese crime families known as yakuza, and a co-conspirator agreed to buy the missiles for rebel groups in Myanmar during conversations with an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration agent.

Continue reading...

Judge in New York urged to hold Trump in contempt and fine him $10,000 a day

Posted on by

Attorney general Letitia James requests calls for fines until Trump complies with order to turn over files related to his businesses

New York’s attorney general on Thursday asked a state judge to hold Donald Trump in contempt of court for not turning over documents she subpoenaed for her civil investigation into the former US president’s business practices.

In a court filing, attorney general Letitia James said Trump failed to abide by his earlier agreement to comply “in full” with her subpoena for documents and information by 31 March.

Continue reading...

Disturbing claims of torture and sexual abuse at trial of New York ‘cult’ leader

Posted on by

Larry Ray accused of psychological abuse at the prestigious Sarah Lawrence college, in trial that echoes Nxivm case

New York is accustomed to high-profile trials, the details picked over like canapés at a cocktail party.

But the trial of Lawrence “Larry” Ray, on federal charges of sex trafficking, extortion and conspiracy has caused revulsion and horror, and raised troubling questions that go far beyond criminal justice.

Continue reading...

Ghislaine Maxwell’s bid for new trial denied, judge rules

Posted on by

Maxwell repeatedly requested a new trial after a juror on her case failed to disclose childhood sexual abuse during jury selection

Ghislaine Maxwell’s bid for a new trial has been denied, the judge in her Manhattan federal court sex-trafficking case said on Friday.

The daughter of the late British media baron Robert Maxwell repeatedly requested a new trial after a juror in the case failed to disclose childhood sexual abuse during jury selection.

Continue reading...

Mafia hitman escapes from federal custody in Florida

Posted on by

Dominic Taddeo, 64, pleaded guilty in 1992 to killing three men in 1980s mob wars for Rochester, New York, crime family

A New York mobster who killed three people and attempted to kill two others has escaped from federal custody after recently being moved to a halfway house, according to the Bureau of Prisons.

Dominic Taddeo, a hitman from a Rochester-area crime family, pleaded guilty in 1992 to racketeering charges that included the killings of three men during mob wars in the 1980s.

Continue reading...

Amazon workers in New York close to forming historic union after key vote

Posted on by

Elsewhere, a unionization vote by Alabama workers is pending as hundreds of votes were challenged

Amazon workers in New York are close to voting to form a union – a major win for labor activists who have failed in previous efforts to organize at the tech giant that is now the second largest private employer in the US.

Workers at an Amazon fulfillment center in Staten Island will find out on Friday whether or not they want to form a union, Amazon’s first in the US where it now employs over one million people.

Continue reading...

New York court urged to uphold order for Donald Trump to face questioning

Posted on by

State attorney general Letitia James says her office has every right to question Trump and his two oldest children over possible fraud

The attorney general of New York state is asking an appeals court to uphold a lower-court ruling requiring Donald Trump to answer questions under oath, after a civil investigation uncovered evidence he may have misstated the value of assets like golf courses and skyscrapers on financial statements for more than a decade.

In papers filed late on Monday, the office of Letitia James said it had every right to question Trump, who is appealing against the lower-court ruling, as it seeks to determine whether the misrepresented values shown to lenders, taxing authorities and other business interests constituted fraud and, if so, who committed that fraud.

Continue reading...

Buffalo Bills will receive $850m from New York taxpayers to build new stadium

Posted on by
  • NFL and team will commit $550m towards new facility
  • New 60,000 capacity stadium set for 2026 completion date

State and county taxpayers will be asked to commit $850m in public funds toward construction of the Buffalo Bills’ new stadium which has a state-projected price tag of $1.4bn as part of a 30-year lease agreement reached on Monday.

New York state will commit $600m in funds, which will be in included in the budget due on Friday, Governor Kathy Hochul announced in a press release. Erie county will commit $250m toward the project, with the NFL and the Buffalo Bills committing $550m in financing.

Continue reading...

Former Catholic bishop admits covering up sexual abuse allegations

Posted on by

Howard Hubbard made admission during a deposition last year as part of a response to dozens of claims filed in New York

The former bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Albany, New York, has acknowledged covering up allegations of sexual abuse against children by priests in part to avoid scandal and protect the reputation of the diocese.

Howard Hubbard made the admission during a deposition taken last year as part of a response to dozens of claims filed under New York state’s Child Victims Act. A judge ordered the deposition released on Friday.

Continue reading...

Mayor orders New York’s homeless camps dismantled ‘within two weeks’

Posted on by

Eric Adams says officials will place people in ‘healthy living conditions with wraparound services’ as debate swirls

New York mayor Eric Adams has ordered that every homeless encampment in the city should be taken down within two weeks, arguing that the situation is not only dangerous to those living there but to the city itself.

“We’re going to rid the encampments off our street and we’re going to place people in healthy living conditions with wraparound services,” Adams said Friday, though he provided few details on exactly how that extra provision would be provided for them.

Continue reading...

Uber strikes deal to list all New York City taxis on its ride-share app

Posted on by

Passengers will pay roughly same fare for taxi and Uber X rides in move that could help overcome shortage of drivers

Uber Technologies Inc has agreed a deal to list all New York City taxis on its app, a move that could help the ride-hailing firm overcome a shortage of drivers in one of its biggest markets.

The agreement was announced by Creative Mobile Technologies, which makes apps for the city’s yellow cabs, and Curb, a ride-hailing app for licensed taxi and for-hire rides in North America.

Continue reading...

NYPD officer was harassed by superior after good deed, lawsuit alleges

Posted on by

Louis Sojo claims that his captain racially harassed him and said he was ‘not a real cop’ after he paid for an alleged shoplifter’s food

A New York police officer who made headlines after buying food for an alleged shoplifter is now suing the department and his captain over racial harassment and slurs following his good deed.

In July 2019, Louis Sojo and a few other officers were asked to confront a woman who was suspected of shoplifting at a Whole Foods grocery store in New York City. Sojo found food containers in the woman’s bag, filled with food from the store’s hot food bar.

Continue reading...

Prosecutors accuse China of campaign to spy on and harass dissidents in US

Posted on by

Prosecutors have launched a series of criminal cases including one involving an alleged attempt to smear a congressional candidate

US prosecutors have accused Chinese government agents of trying to spy on and intimidate dissidents living in the United States, including a congressional candidate, according to a criminal complaint unsealed in federal court in New York.

The US justice department convened a Washington news conference to detail the accusations in a series of criminal cases.

Continue reading...

New York mayor’s crime plans reinforce ‘worst parts of NYPD’, say experts

Posted on by

Plainclothes unit and enthusiasm for facial recognition technology are worrying civil rights advocates

While New York City’s mayor, Eric Adams, has been defending his veganism and equating drug dependency to liking cheese, he has been escalating the city’s police powers, deeply concerning civil rights advocates.

Adams, the second Black person to serve as New York mayor, largely won the mayorship through securing the votes of Black, brown and working-class New Yorkers.

Continue reading...

Accused 9/11 plotters reportedly in talks over deal to avoid death penalty trial

Posted on by

New York Times reports talks under way for plea agreement that could bring an end to one of biggest criminal cases in US history

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four co-defendants accused of planning the 9/11 attacks are reportedly in talks with US prosecutors over a potential plea deal that would see them plead guilty in exchange for avoiding the death penalty.

The New York Times reported that negotiations are under way for a possible plea agreement that could bring to an end what is arguably the biggest criminal case in US history. The five defendants were first charged in 2008 with plotting or logistically supporting the terrorist attacks that led to the murder of almost 3,000 people in New York’s Twin Towers, the Pentagon in Washington, and in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Continue reading...