THIS WEEK IN THE NEWS
July 28 to August 1, 2014
TOP HEADLINES
In Newburgh And Schenectady, Schneiderman Announces New $20M Round Of Funding For New York Land Banks
Joined by local officials and staff from local land banks in both Newburgh and Schenectady, Attorney General Schneiderman detailed his Community Revitalization Initiative‘s second competitive round of funding – up to $20 million – for New York land banks, which are working to rebuild and restore neighborhoods hit hard by the housing crisis.
In Newburgh, the Attorney General highlighted the release of the Lander Street Community Revitalization plan, an ambitious redevelopment effort that the Newburgh Community Land Bank is undertaking – using a $2.45 million grant allocated by the Attorney General’s Office last year – to rehabilitate a highly distressed row of vacant and abandoned homes along Lander Street in the city. In Schenectady, Attorney General Schneiderman also celebrated the long-awaited demolition of a highly distressed property at 722 Eastern Avenue, which the local land bank – using last year’s $150,000 grant – recently acquired as part of its redevelopment effort.
Schneiderman Leads National Coalition In Striking Down Abusive Military Consumer Lender
Leading a partnership of the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and 12 other states, Attorney General Schneiderman announced a global settlement with a military consumer lender known as Rome Finance Company. The settlement liquidates Rome Finance and its successor corporations and provides nearly $92 million in debt relief to over 17,800 affected United States service members worldwide, allowing them to keep all merchandise purchased but erasing any debts associated with these lending abuses. The settlement also bans new business by the company and its principals. Over 550 New York State servicemembers, with a combined total of over $2.2 million in Rome Consumer debt, will benefit directly from this settlement.
Schneiderman Arrests Two Long Island Convenience Store Owners Alleged To Have Stolen Nearly $1M From Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
The Attorney General secured a 25-count indictment against two Suffolk County convenience store operators and one store employee, along with seven Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients for illegally trading cash for hundreds of thousands of dollars in SNAP benefits in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. The scheme stole nearly $1 million from this crucial government program, which provides nutritional assistance to those in need.
Schneiderman, New York State Police And Jamestown Police Department Bust Jamestown Drug Pipeline
With the New York State Police, the Jamestown Police Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Border Patrol, Attorney General Schneiderman indicted 47 individuals accused of taking part in a drug distribution network that funneled heroin from Philadelphia and New York City to Jamestown. This bust is only the latest tough and smart step by the Attorney General to stop the flood of illegal drugs in New York communities: Since 2011, the attorney general’s office has broken up 18 major drugs rings, recovered $1.3 million from drug dealers, seized 79 kilos of cocaine, more than 500 grams of crack, more than 3,800 grams of heroin, and made 385 felony arrests of drug dealers and kingpins statewide.
Schneiderman Arrests Troy Police Officer Who Allegedly Obstructed Investigation Into Capital Region Drug Ring
Attorney General Schneiderman arrested a Troy Police Officer charged with purposefully tipping off at least one suspect that law-enforcement agencies conducting a joint investigation into a Capitol Region drug ring planned to execute search warrants. Since 2013, the New York State Police’s Community Narcotics Enforcement Team (CNET) had been investigating a specific criminal narcotics ring in Rensselaer County. The defendant was assigned to assist CNET with the operation and thus had knowledge of and access to investigative intelligence, suspect information and details concerning the timing and location of search warrants.
Schneiderman Indicts Executive Tied To Capital Region Nonprofit Organizations
The Attorney General indicted the chief operating officer of 820 River Street, Inc. and The Altamont Program Inc., which are subsidiaries of the Peter Young Housing, Industries and Treatment (PYHIT). The indictment charges the defendant with 15 felony counts, including stealing over $1 million in state funds by directing that state contracts intended to help needy New Yorkers instead be used to alleviate organizational deficits and pay employee salaries. The defendant also allegedly completed false timesheets for former New York State Senator William Boland, Sr., who was purportedly a full-time employee but had what amounted to a no-show job.
Schneiderman Sues To Permanently Shut Down Unscrupulous Home Improvement Contractor In Western And Central New York
Attorney General Schneiderman filed legal action seeking a permanent injunction against a Rochester-based home improvement contractor who was contracted to install granite and marble countertops and tile to consumers throughout Western and Central New York. The contractor is alleged to have repeatedly and persistently defrauded consumers in Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse by receiving full or partial payments for home improvement projects and either failing to perform the work or performing shoddy and unprofessional work.
Schneiderman Announces Two Guilty Pleas In International Cocaine Trafficking Case
The Attorney General announced the guilty pleas of two individuals who were charged in connection with a cocaine pipeline that allegedly operated between New York City and the Dutchess County town of Wappingers Falls. This drug ring was busted following an investigation by the Attorney General’s Office known as “Operation Snowfall.” The defendants, both of Wappingers Falls, pleaded guilty to drug charges, and both face prison time.
Schneiderman & DEC Commissioner Secure Agreement With NYC Directing $960,000 To Clean Water Projects
Attorney General Schneiderman and NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Martens announced an agreement with New York City that will direct $960,000 to improving water quality in the upper East River and Long Island Sound. The City’s funding is in partial resolution of penalties assessed against it by the State for falling behind schedule in upgrading nitrogen pollution controls at its Tallman Island wastewater treatment plant in Queens. As part of the agreement, the City will use some of that money to restore an area of tidal wetland in Alley Pond Park in Queens, which is near the Tallman Island plant.
Schneiderman Requires Landowner To Clean Up Illegal Landfill That Polluted A Reservoir That Will Provide Drinking Water To New York City Residents
Attorney General Schneiderman won a State Supreme Court ruling holding a landowner and his contractor liable for illegally operating a landfill and discharging pollution into a New York City drinking water source that has historically provided water to one million New Yorkers daily. The owner of an estate on the shores of the City’s Croton Falls Reservoir and his contractor violated several state environmental laws in creating and operating the landfill on the property. The ruling orders the defendant to conduct a full cleanup of the landfill.
Schneiderman Reaches Settlement With Brooklyn Medical Center That Illegally Ran Satellite Facility
The Attorney General entered into a $600,000 settlement with Brooklyn Plaza Medical Center to resolve allegations that the diagnostic and treatment center ran a satellite facility without an operating certificate. The settlement also resolves allegations that Brooklyn Plaza Medical Center disguised the satellite facility’s Medicaid billings to make them appear as if the services were rendered at the Brooklyn Plaza Medical Center, fraudulently billing the Medicaid program for services rendered.
In Other News…
The Attorney General published an op-ed in the Home Reporter and Brooklyn Spectator newspapers on his efforts to protect consumers in Brooklyn and across New York State.
Attorney General Schneiderman applauded U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder for urging federal law enforcement officials to carry the heroin antidote, a step that New York has already taken with the Attorney General’s COP program.
The Attorney General also commented on news that a bulletproof vest saved the life of an NYPD detective during a shooting in the West Village – a real-life example of why he launched his inVEST Partnership, helping more departments equip their officers with vests.
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