September 2010 Archives

Hip hop artist Kid Cudi was arrested and charged for cocaine possession this past June. The New York Daily News reported the Manhattan Criminal Court granted Kid Cudi, also known as Scott Mescudi, an adjournment in consideration of a dismissal last Friday.

Rapper Kid Cudi, recognized for his music hit "Day 'n' Nite," was arrested after an angry and drunken fit in a woman's apartment, according to law enforcement officials. Police officers also managed to find a glassine envelope filled with cocaine when they came to take Kid Cudi into custody.

Police have investigated several cases of theft that occurred in late July and August at Hallmark Battery Park, a 13-story upscale retirement home. The New York Daily News reported three elderly residents were robbed of almost $60,000 in jewelry, and law enforcement officials think the caretakers may be the thieves.

Rhoda Galembo, a retired car dealer, was one of the victims of the heists who found $30,000 worth of jewelry missing after her July vacation. The 86 year-old lost a $10,000 Juvenia watch bought in Italy and a platinum bangle bracelet her late husband had made for a special anniversary. The bracelet contained 22 oval diamonds from her wedding band.

The New York Jets wide receiver Braylon Edwards suited up for Sunday's game but did not play due to a recent a DUI allegation. Edwards was charged for driving while under the influence with a blood-alcohol content twice the legal amount in New York. According to the New York Daily News, police said the wide receiver pungently smelled like alcohol when they found him driving two of his teammates in his Range Rover.

The cops initially pulled Braylon Edwards over because of his tinted windows, since New York state law says aftermarket tints are illegal if police cannot see inside an automobile. When the cops stopped his car, Braylon Edwards told police officers he only "had a couple of drinks" and was heading home from teammate Jericho Cotchery's fundraiser.

A Dynasty Deli and Grocery clerk tried to pocket the winning lottery ticket of Queens resident Milledge McCassell when the retired transit worker came in to claim his prize. According to the New York Daily News, McCassell could have almost been cheated out of his $14 million jackpot had he not contacted the New York Lottery and police to investigate the dilemma.

On August 26, 72-year-old Milledge McCassell scanned a stack of lottery tickets at the self-service station of the Dynasty Deli in Jamaica, Queens. One of the tickets triggered the screen to flash "big winner," and the excited grandfather went to the clerk to see how much money he had won. When the man behind the counter only gave Milledge McCassell a couple of dollars, McCassell knew something wasn't right.

Suzanne Porcelli pleaded guilty in Manhattan Federal Court after being accused of helping the mob sell young girls into prostitution. According to the New York Daily News, the Gambino Madam was brought to court earlier this year with fourteen other members of the Gambino crime gang, including Daniel Marino, her current boss. Porcelli was sentenced with up to two years in jail.

Sources claim forty-year-old Suzanne Porcelli became a madam after her husband was murdered. As part of the mob, Porcelli said she was responsible for answering telephone calls and making appointments for customers. The Gambino Madam admitted she "knowingly aided" and organized transportation for individuals to take part in prostitution, which she "knew was unlawful." 

NY1 reports the New York City Police Department is in pursuit of a man accused of theft, having mugged and stolen from at least three women on the subway at knifepoint. The subway robberies suspect was described as being in his late twenties and roughly six feet tall. He has also been seen wearing a white T-shirt and blue denim shorts with black sneakers.

The subway robberies have alarmed and frightened passengers from taking the subway to their routine destinations. "So what do you have to do, take a cab now for your safety?" said one rider when talking about the troubles of being scared to ride the train in the evening to go home. Most travelers have said they would rather give up their personal possessions than fight back.

Teenager Derrian Williams, 17, allegedly beat Mexican immigrant Christian Vasquez while calling out racial slurs, resulting in a charge for hate crime. According to the New York Daily News, prosecutors decided to drop the hate crime and other charges because the whole affair with Vasquez actually began as a drug dispute.

Vasquez had said Williams, along with a couple of black teens, yelled racially offensive names when they attacked him in his Port Richmond neighborhood. Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan, on the other hand, revealed another side to the story.

New York University professor Lawrence Schiffman has fallen victim to false claims initiated by a man who sought to discredit the scholar in an argument about the origin of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Associated Press reports Schiffman generated a criminal lawsuit against attorney Raphael Golb for creating blog posts and sending phony emails to Schiffman's colleagues and students accusing the professor of plagiarism. Prosecutors say Golb set the hoax to promote and honor his father's line of reasoning about who first developed the scrolls.

What an interesting way to defend your father.

As mentioned in a previous post, 21 year-old city film student Michael Enright was accused last month of trying to kill Ahmed Sharif in an alleged hate crime. Michael Enright was charged with attempted murder and assault as hate crimes because of the incident where he attempted to slash the cabbie's throat after learning that the cabbie is Muslim. The New York Daily News reports Michael Enright was temporarily denied bail. This denial came after his attorney claimed Sharif's injuries were not severe. Lawrence Fisher, Enright's lawyer, states Ahmed Sharif has made full recovery after being released with stitches.

Lawrence Fisher asserts that his client suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and severe alcoholism. He insisted that Enright be admitted into an upstate clinic and return to school. According to Fisher, the violent mayhem Michael Enright witnessed after covering the war in Afghanistan this past spring as a freelance reporter triggered the student's PTSD. To reinforce his argument, the New York criminal attorney added that an empty bottle of liquor was found at the scene of the attack.

Even the lowest degrees of vehicular manslaughter are considered felonies in New York. So it's not too surprising that many New Yorkers are outraged by Andrew Kelly's sentence.

The New York Post reports that the former police officer assigned to the 68th Precinct in Bay Ridge was sentenced to just 90 days in jail and five years of probation after pleading guilty to a vehicular manslaughter charge on Wednesday. The cop got himself into legal trouble after he was suspected of running over a Brooklyn woman while he was under the influence of alcohol.

Good fortune struck Foxy Brown as the grand jury dropped two felony and three misdemeanor charges against the ill-tempered rapper on Tuesday. "Never once did I worry about this," says Brown. But Foxy Brown may have to worry about the one remaining misdemeanor the jury has left to resolve. The New York Daily News reported the music artist faced seven years in prison for violating a restraining order by her neighbor Arlene Raymond. 

She was arrested in July for allegedly screaming profanities and harassing her neighbor, Arlene Raymond, after running into each other on the street. Brown also decided to take the opportunity to reveal her rear end. In the past, she was accused of hurling her cell phone at Raymond, which resulted in the restraining order in 2007.

Things have certainly taken a dramatic turn for the New York State Senate candidate David Mejias along his campaign trail. The politician was arrested in Long Island on Wednesday after allegedly following his ex-girlfriend in his car, forcing her off the road before she got away.

According to the New York Post, the state Senate candidate was charged and arraigned with menacing, reckless endangerment and stalking after the domestic incident. In this case, it looks like David Mejias will need a New York criminal defense attorney not only to defend him of the criminal charges, but also to ensure that his reputation is protected during the remainder of his campaign for senator.

Just after St. Lucian soccer star Isidore Philip Tisson scored the winning goal that would send his team to the finals at a New York tournament, a gunman opened fire and shot the athlete to death. New York Daily News reports that the incident occurred in front of Crown Heights Café on Monday morning after Isidore Tisson was leaving a nightclub.

The soccer star was apparently celebrating the team's 1-0 victory of Sunday's game at the Caribbean club Tropiks. It marked only the second time in 16 years that St. Lucia made it to the finals of the Digicel Caribbean Cup tournament.