Thugs bash cop with tire iron

From the Daily News by John Lauinger:

A Queens cop had to have his face rebuilt by doctors after he was savagely beat down in a road-rage fight by three thugs, including one wielding a tire iron, relatives and friends said.

Officer Damian Bartels, 28, who works out of the NYPD's 112th Precinct, was off duty when he got into a traffic dispute Aug. 29 while driving back to his Queens home after a night in Manhattan, a relative confirmed.

Bartels, who was with his girlfriend and a cousin, had just crossed over the Queensboro Bridge into Queens when a car cut him off. He got out of the car to confront the driver and the trio "attacked" him, said the relative, who asked that his name not be used.

Bartels was initially taken to a Queens hospital, but he was transferred to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell, where an operation was performed Friday.

"They reconstructed his nose, his jaw and his two eye sockets," the relative said, noting that Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly visited Bartels in the hospital.

Police were unable to provide any information about the attack last night or the investigation into it.

At St. Stanislaus Kostka Catholic Church in Maspeth, Queens, yesterday, the Rev. Paul Wood asked congregants to pray for the injured officer.

"I have been saying prayers for him," Wood said.

jlauinger@nydailynews.com

State Pols Using Campaign Funds for Almost Anything They Want

From gothamist.com by Billy Parker:
How much do our elected officials in Albany get by on their salaries as legislators and how much of their regular expenditures come from campaign money raised for nonexistent election battles? The Daily News has an extensive piece today investigating just what state senators and assemblymen are using their campaign funds for—all within the scope of the law.

Campaign money is not supposed to be used for personal funds, but the last time a politician was nailed for violating that by the Board of Elections was 2005 when Brooklyn Assemblyman Clarence Norman cashed a $5,000 check made out to his campaign. A spokesman for the Board admits that they don't have the manpower to look into the over $6 million a year that comes into the campaigns run by members of the Senate and Assembly. Blair Horner of the NY Public Interest Research Group calls the law "too vague" and "a joke" and tells the paper, "The vast majority have no serious opposition. The vast majority of the money comes from interest groups. So what you have is Albany's lobbying elite subsidizing the lifestyle of elected officials."

Among the campaign expenditures the News uncovered in combing through over $19 million in contributions were:

• Senate President Malcolm Smith—$1,241 at Pamper Me, a St. Albans spa on gift certificates for staff and supporters (a spokesperson denied Smith used any himself)
  
• Senate Majority Leader John Sampson—$17,554 on three separate lines with bills running about $600 a month over the past two years (his treasurer said he has a "bad habit" of losing phones)
  
• Senator Martin Golden—$134,090 on his family's Bay Ridge catering hall, used for official luncheons and service projects, such as giving flu shots to senior citizens

• Senator Jeff Klein of the Bronx—$32,000 on food in the last two years (a staffer said, "He enjoys good food. He likes to eat well.")
• Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV of Harlem—$30,000 in meals, gas, stamps, tolls, parking and worldwide travel, uncluding thousands on a trip to Ireland ("to familiarize himself with Irish constituents")
• Brooklyn Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny—$1,000 on small purchases in various European cities
• Bronx Assemblyman Peter Rivera—$54,000 on his final year of Mercedes payments until upgrading to an Audi and continuing to use campaign funds to pay for that in 2007

When asked to discuss campaign financing by the News, Assemblyman Powell offered to take the reporter out to lunch on his campaign's dime and acknowledged he took staff out to eat all the time. Powell said, "It could be KFC, it could be a five-star restaurant. I'll take them out to lunch because I'm going to get reimbursed anyway." NYPIRG's Horner conclusion on the finance laws: "Enforcement is nonexistent. It's a disgrace."

Young woman shot dead at party in Queens; wounded by gunfire in same spot months ago

From the Daily News by Kerry Wills, Clare Trapasso, Wil Cruz and Joe Kemp:

A woman was killed early Saturday when bullets flew at a house party in Queens - just months after she was wounded in another shooting at the same location, police and witnesses said.

Shante Graham, 22, was shot in the chest when two gunmen in a black Nissan drove up to the party in Saint Albans about 12:20 a.m. and opened fire.

"She was running back toward the house, and they shot her," said Gavin Spence, 18, who saw the shooting at Nashville Ave. and 199th St. "She just fell to the ground."

Graham's mom, Arlette Graham, 44, said her daughter still had bullet fragments in her side from the March shooting.

"Shante was full of life and it was cut too short," said Graham.

Shante Graham was pronounced dead at Franklin Hospital about an hour after the shooting, sources said.

The gunmen drove off and were still being sought late Saturday. Cops found their vehicle on 118th St.

Two others at the party were wounded. Police said a 20-year-old woman walked into North Shore University Hospital with a graze wound to the head. A man in his 20s was shot in the hand and treated at Jamaica Hospital. Their names were not released.

wcruz@nydailynews.com

With Sarah Armaghan

S.I. baseball-bat wielding neighbor rescues girl from abductor in woods

From the Daily News by Henrick Karoliszyn, Alison Gendar and Joe Kemp:

A baseball bat-wielding Staten Island homeowner was hailed as a hero after he chased away a man who dragged a 15-year-old girl into the woods, police and witnesses said.

Patrick Klatt, 51, was inside his Great Kills home Thursday night when he heard the young girl's screams from a wooded area across the street.

"He kept telling her to be quiet," Klatt said about the sicko. "[But] she yelled just loud enough for me to hear."

Klatt grabbed a baseball bat and ran out his door.

As he crossed the street, the man saw Klatt approaching and fled.

"I ran in the woods as he was running out," Klatt told the Daily News yesterday.

Ready to pursue the attacker, Klatt saw the young girl instead.

He stopped to help.

"I saw her halfway in and grabbed her by the hand," he said. "She was shaking, crying."

The teen told Klatt her attacker had grabbed her by the throat. She was hurt and her voice was raspy.

Klatt grabbed her hand and helped her to her feet.

"As long as you're with me, nobody's going to hurt you," Klatt assured the distraught teen as he led her out of the woods.

Klatt brought the frightened girl back to his house and told his brother to call 911.

The horrifying moment began as an innocent afternoon stroll for the young girl, who is not being identified because she's the victim of an attempted sexual assault.

As she walked to a friend's house, she passed a man on the street. He turned and began following her.

Suddenly, he grabbed the teen and dragged her into the woods, police and witnesses said.

Klatt said saving the young girl was not an act of heroism.

"I didn't want to make a big thing out of it," Klatt said. "I'm not a hero."

"I did what anyone should have done."

The teenager's family believes different - that Klatt saved the young girl's life.

"We are forever indebted to him," said a woman who identified herself as the girl's aunt.

"We've never met him, but he's a hero," she said, on the verge of tears. "We're so blessed with him helping."

The girl was treated for minor injuries from the attack. Her family said the attack was severely traumatic for the teenager.

"He [the attacker] was choking her quite a bit," the aunt said.

"It could have been a terrible tragedy" if Klatt had not acted, the aunt said.

The attacker is described as a Hispanic male, about 5-foot-5 and about 200 pounds.

He was wearing a red shirt, police and witnesses said.

Klatt said he never thought twice about saving the young girl.

"I'd do it again in a heartbeat," he said.

agendar@nydailynews.com

With Wil Cruz

Cop Shoots Suspect in Brooklyn

From myfoxny.com:
A police officer shot and critically wounded an armed suspect in Brooklyn Thursday night, according to the NYPD.

Cops responded to a robbery call on Ralph Avenue at about 6:45 p.m. When officers got there, a teenager told them that two men with a gun had tried to rob him, the NYPD said.

Officers searched the area for the suspects and radioed the information in.

Officers in a nearby patrol car at Marion Street and Howard Avenue spotted a man who fit the description and approached him. That's when cops spotted the man holding a Glock 10mm semiautomatic pistol, the NYPD said. One officer fired, hitting the suspect in the torso.

Medics took the wounded suspect to Kings County Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition Thursday night.

Police still seek a second suspect. The NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau is investigating as it does for any shooting involving an officer.

Hate Crime task force hunting for thugs in epithet-filled attacks on Mexicans in Bronx

Fromthe Daily News by Mike Jaccarino and Bob Kappstatter:

It was fear and loathing on the streets of the west Bronx on Wednesday after a string of bias attacks on members of the local Mexican community.

A group of Hispanic males, believed to be Dominican, attacked a total of five men in the early morning hours over a three-day period, spewing anti-Mexican epithets, beating them and - in one case - stabbing one.

The NYPD's Hate Crime Task Force is pursuing the attackers, as locals in the Tremont neighborhood condemned the attacks.

"It's extremely upsetting," said Danny Martinez, a 19-year-old Bronxite of Mexican descent. "I live around here and to know that I may be in danger."

"It's abuse and racism," added Juana Ortega, 40. "I'm afraid, and, as a Mexican, I suffer with the people who were attacked."

Yesterday afternoon, local State Sen. Pedro Espada condemned the attacks as "hate crimes" and added $1,000 to a standing police reward of $2,000 for information leading to the arrest of the attackers.

"It's very disturbing," Espada said. "This kind of abuse knows no ethnic boundaries. It's against people perceived to have no power or rights."

The first attack occurred at 1:45 a.m. Saturday at 182nd St. and Grand Concourse when four men shouting anti-Mexican slurs chased and beat two 24-year-old men.

About 4 a.m. Sunday at 182nd St. and Walton Ave., a 53-year-old man was assaulted and stabbed in the torso by a group of five men. He was taken to Jacobi Hospital in stable condition.

Little over 24 hours later, several men pounced on a 47-year-old man outside a building on E. 181st St. He was taken Lincoln Hospital in stable condition.

Meanwhile, police were reaching out to the local community asking for their help with information.

"We're reaching out to the churches, which have a lot of Mexicans, to make them aware, to not be afraid to report crime to the police," said Detective Warren Thompson, the 46th Precinct community affairs officer. "There's a lot of fear - the same thing with Muslims, Africans and locals from other countries - they're afraid to go to the police because they're afraid the police will report them and they'll be deported. That's not the case. We don't function that way."

Police are asking anyone with information on the bias attacks to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS or log on to www.nypd-crimestoppers.com.

rkappstatter@nydailynews.com

SEC: Madoff Investigations Incompetent

From myfoxny.com:
The watchdog of the Securities and Exchange Commission has found that three agency exams and two investigations of Bernard Madoff's business were incompetent, despite ample warnings of the multibillion-dollar fraud.

But SEC inspector general David Kotz's report found no evidence of any improper ties between agency officials and Madoff.

Despite speculation that senior SEC officials may have tried to influence the probes, a summary of Kotz's report also found no evidence of that.

Revelations in December of the agency's failure to uncover Madoff's massive Ponzi scheme over a decade touched off one of the most painful scandals in the agency's 75-year history.

Police dog sniffs out gunman, weapon

From the Daily News by Alison Gendar:

The nose knows.

In this case, the nose of NYPD K-9 Blaze could not be fooled.

The 7-year-old police dog was called into action on Tuesday to find a gunman who had ditched his weapon under a car near 225th St. and White Plains Road in the Bronx.

The gun-loving German shepherd picked up the discarded weapon in his mouth, and then, matching the scent on the weapon to the scent on the pavement, tracked the suspect more than a block and a half.

With his handler, Officer Benny Colecchia, at his side, Blaze zeroed in on a backyard on E. 227th St., where identical twins were playing dominos.

Earlier, Police Officer Isabelle De La Cruz and her partner, William Beissel, had gotten the call of a man with a gun on a city bus.

When they rolled up to 225th St. and White Plains Road, the gunman bolted. By the time De La Cruz found him in the backyard, the suspect had brought in his twin and set up the dominos.

Blaze followed the scent to Rahsheim Francis, 17, who was busted for weapon possession. The realistic weapon turned out to be a BB gun.

"That dog ... did his job," De La Cruz said.

TRANSLATOR-VANISH SUSPECTS EYED IN 2 OTHER MYSTERIES

From the NY Post by Brad Hamilton:
The Russian couple suspected in the disappearance of a court translator is now being eyed by investigators searching for a missing NYPD mechanic and a New Jersey man, The Post has learned.

FBI agents are looking into what happened to Michael Klein, a civilian employee who fixed cars for the Police Department and vanished after he sold defendant Dmitriy Yakovlev his home in Sea Gate, Brooklyn, three years ago.

They're also searching for a Russian man who lived in Newark and may have had ties to Yakovlev, according to a source with the US Attorney's Office who declined to reveal the missing man's name.

Dmitriy and Julia Yakovlev stand accused of swiping $43,475 from the bank account and credit card of translator Irina Malezhik (Photo-top left) after she disappeared from her Manhattan Beach home on Oct. 15, 2007.

Klein, who retired from the NYPD in 1992, went missing in 2006 after selling his Manhattan Avenue home to Dmitriy Yakovlev for more than $300,000, a prosecution source said.

None of his family has seen him or heard from him since, the source said.

Dmitriy, 41, has been behind bars since he and Julia, 35, were busted last month and charged with stealing Malezhik's identity. Julia is free on $500,000 bail.

The couple allegedly used money they stole from Malezhik, 47, to buy jewelry and watches.

Dimitriy's lawyer, Kenneth Russo, said the FBI's search produced no evidence against his client.

Asked about the two missing men, Russo said, "Right now, he's not charged in the disappearance of anybody."

brad.hamilton@nypost.com

More Video of Serial Rapist in Upper Manhattan

From myfoxny.com:
The New York Police Department has released more security camera footage of a man suspected of robbing and raping three women in Upper Manhattan in August.

The women lived within blocks of each other, Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. All three were attacked as they arrived home at night.

Investigators are working on matching DNA evidence.

Police describe the man as black, in his 30s, with a medium build, about 5'9" to 6'. During one of the attacks, he was wearing black hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, and white sneakers with red stripes on the sole.

NYPD BLOTTER

Incident #1: Saturday, August 1, 2009, 2:45 a.m., in the vicinity of West 148 Street and Broadway, the suspect grabbed the victim, F/W/59, dragged her into an alleyway where he sexually assaulted her and robbed her at knifepoint.

Incident #2: Monday, August 10, 2009, 1:55 a.m., in the vicinity of West 144 Street and Convent Avenue, the suspect followed the victim, F/W/23, into an elevator where he sexually assaulted her and robbed her.

Incident #3: Tuesday, August 18, 2009, 4 a.m., in the vicinity of West 158 Street and Riverside Drive, the suspect followed the victim, F/W/69, into an elevator of a residential building where he raped and robbed her.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto Crime Stoppers Web site at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to CRIMES (274637), then enter TIP577.

DJ AM, Adam Goldstien, Daed at age 36 - Friends Say Plane Crash Took Toll on him

From gotamist.com by Jen Chung:
The NYC Medical Examiner's Office has completed an autopsy of celebrity DJ Adam Goldstein, known as DJ AM, whose body was found in his Soho apartment yesterday afternoon. According to TMZ, "There has been no determination as to the cause of death -- more tests are needed, including toxicology. That could take several weeks to complete." It's suspected that he may have died of a drug overdose, as a crack pipe and numerous prescription drugs were reportedly found near his body. Friends had become concerned when he didn't go to Las Vegas for a gig and called the authorities to Goldstein's $2 million apartment at 210 Lafayette Street (One Kenmare Square).

Goldstein, who previously battled drug addiction, had survived a private plane crash in South Carolina last year; four other people died and Goldstein and Blink-182's Travis Barker were the only survivors, suffering second- and third-degree burns. A friend, DJ Scott Schroer, told the Daily News, "Prescription drugs? If you had been in a plane crash a year ago, I'm sure you'd have prescription drugs, too... After the accident, he changed. He was more humble. He cared more about people and life." Another friend told the Post, "He was taking painkillers, and he slowly grew addicted," while a third told Fox News, "The need for drugs grew, and now here we are. It's terrible that no one was able to stop him soon enough, but it just happened so fast."

Besides DJing—he was "resident DJ" at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas and just played in Atlantic City last Saturday, telling the crowd, "Are you guys f**ked up tonight? I'm not."— and working on the video game DJ Hero, Goldstein was also working with MTV on a show about drug addiction and intervention called, Gone Too Far. He told Extra, "It's life or death, some of these people have come so close to dying, just as I did ... People were there for me when I asked for help, and I had no idea how to stop, so I'm there for them." Reportedly eight episodes of the show were completed.

2 Cop Cars Collide respoding to 911 Call

From myfoxny.com by Kathy Carvajal:
Four police officers with the NYPD were injured in a car collision on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

Two police cruisers crashed at West 72nd Street and West End Avenue at around 2 a.m. on Friday.

Police say both units were responding to a knife assault when the accident occurred.

The police officers were treated at St. Luke's Hospital and are expected to recover.

Infant Found Dead - Cops: Mother Denies Birth

From myfoxny.com by Kathy Carvajal:

BROOKLYN, N.Y. - It's not clear how a baby, who was found dead in Brooklyn, passed away.

Police say a woman went to see a doctor on Saturday complaining of stomach pains.

After examining her, they discovered she had recently given birth.

The woman denied having delivered a child.

According to police, the baby's body was later found.

An investigation is underway.

No charged have been filed.

Staten Island man shoots wife, cats, says it was an 'accident,' then turns gun on self

From the Daily News by Edgar Sandoval, Alison Gendar AND Jonathan Lemire:

A Staten Island man called 911 Thursday morning and calmly admitted to fatally shooting his wife and their cat - moments before he turned the gun on himself, police sources said.

"I shot my wife," John Pizon, 52, told the 911 operator just before 10 a.m., claiming that the shooting was inadvertent.

"Yeah, it was an accident," said Pizon, "and I shot the cats too."

Pizon then assured the 911 operator he would leave the front door of their Bulls Head home open for emergency responders - but when police arrived moments later, they found him sprawled on the floor, dead of a gunshot wound to the head.

Karan Pizon, who was shot once in the back of the head, was rushed to Staten Island University Hospital North but died an hour later.

"I came out to see the woman being carried to the ambulance," said neighbor Robert Pacifici, 52. "She looked in bad shape.

"She was all wrapped up, bleeding," he said. "I felt horrible. It was pretty sad."

Investigators believe the couple was arguing over some recent financial struggles when John Pizon, a gun collector, reached for a .22-caliber pistol and opened fire. After gunning down his wife, he also fatally shot Midnight, the couple's black cat. They owned two other cats.

A police source said Pizon had a license for the handgun but it was not immediately clear why he was permitted to have the weapon.

The couple's financial records did not reveal any bankruptcy cases or outstanding debts, but neighbors said the Pizons had recently been worried about money.

"It is very shocking," said neighbor Franny Rizzi.

Neither Pizon had a criminal record and investigators had never before been called to their rented Goller Pl. apartment on a domestic dispute, police sources said.

Neighbors said Karan Pizon was always chatty when she was feeding her cats, but her husband, a plumber, kept to himself and devoted his free time to his gun collection.

"She was very sweet," said Valerie Lopiano, 42, who lived two doors down. "He was a little odd. He collected guns so my kids were not allowed inside the house."

Thug admits killing cabbie, says payback for drug theft

From the Daily News by Dorian Block:

A career criminal admitted gunning down a Bronx livery-cab driver in cold blood but claimed the slaying was in revenge for a botched drug deal, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Benny Delgado, 31, a paroled thug with a long rap sheet, told cops that he blasted cabbie Jose Peña-Segura, 42, because the hack's friend stole pills from one of his pals.

"We weren't able to find Jose's associate so we went after [Peña-Segura]," Delgado said, according to a statement read at his arraignment in Bronx Criminal Court yesterday.

Delgado, who has more than 20 arrests on his record, also confessed to shooting a Bronx drug dealer two days earlier in a fight over heroin, cops said.

In a one-man crime spree, Delgado robbed and shot Peña-Segura, a father of four, in the head on Sunday night after hailing his cab near St. Mary's Park in Mott Haven and telling him to go to a fake address, said prosecutors.

The cab hit two parked cars after the shooting, and Delgado fled the scene, said prosecutors.

Cops picked up Delgado in the park shortly afterward and found the .25-caliber gun tied to the crime.

Two other men were seen running from the scene of the killing, but no other arrests have been made, authorities said.

Delgado was arraigned and held without bail on first-degree murder and gun possession charges yesterday.

While being quizzed about the cabbie shooting, Delgado also confessed to shooting another Bronx man, John Latigua, also over drugs, two days earlier.

Delgado told cops that last Thursday, he went to pick up heroin on E. 146th St. from Latigua, and things got nasty, with Latigua nearly mowing him down during a drive-by shooting.

Delgado said he returned Friday for 25 bags of heroin and a healthy dose of payback, according to court documents.

"[Latigua] said he didn't give a f--- about us dope fiends," Delgado allegedly told prosecutors, according to a statement read during the arraignment. "I then took out my gun and shot him in the chest."

Latigua is in critical condition, awaiting surgery to repair a punctured lung.

Delgado was arraigned on attempted murder and weapons possession charges for that crime.

The thug was released from prison two years ago after serving a 12-year sentence on an attempted murder conviction.

Peña-Segura was the second livery-cab driver killed in a week in the Bronx.

Cabbie Amadou Ndiaye, 46, was murdered on Aug. 16 in Baychester.

dblock@nydailynews.com