Copyright 2008 The New York Sun Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:40:15 -0400 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Lauren Elkies :: Stories from The New York Sun http://www.nysun.com/authors/Lauren+Elkies istoll@nysun.com (Ira Stoll) webmaster@nysun.com en-us LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/business/goldman-merrill-employees-charged-with-insider/30880/ Wed, 12 Apr 2006 00:00:00 EST A Merrill Lynch investment banking analyst, a fixed-income research associate at Goldman Sachs, and a third man were arrested yesterday in an insider trading case involving information from a Business Week column that has been at the center of other such cases. The column, called Inside Wall Street, is written by Gene Marcial. There have been at least three other known cases of brokers and individual investors trying to profit from learning what stocks are mentioned in it. Yesterday, a Merrill... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/bias-ruled-out-in-the-death-of-nyu-student/30676/ Mon, 10 Apr 2006 00:00:00 EST The death of a white New York University student who was struck by a car in East Harlem last week while allegedly fleeing a group of black would-be muggers crying "get the white boy" was not a hate crime, police said yesterday. Broderick Hehman, 20, a junior majoring in metropolitan studies, was struck by an automobile on April 1 when he fled into the street to escape. After slipping into a coma, he died three days later at Harlem Hospital. His death was ruled a homicide by the medical examiner... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/politicians-attack-nypd-official-following/30527/ Thu, 6 Apr 2006 00:00:00 EST Tuesday night's arrest of an elderly chasidic man for talking on a cell phone while driving, which caused a small riot in the Boro Park section of Brooklyn, yesterday prompted politicians and community leaders to accuse a high-ranking police official of cursing and making disparaging remarks about Jews when responding to the scene. A City Council member of Brooklyn, Simcha Felder, charged that the chief of department, Joseph Esposito, yelled, "Get the f- Jews out of here," then turned to Mr... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/investigators-probe-several-angles-in-ex-real/30391/ Wed, 5 Apr 2006 00:00:00 EST It began as a typical Monday morning. Workers from JB Moving Services arrived at the elegant house in Greenwich, Conn., to finish a job they had begun Saturday for Andrew Kissel, 46, a formerly high-flying real estate developer facing serious legal jeopardy. In fact, he was due in court this week to plead guilty to multiple charges of financial fraud,according to press reports. When the crew arrived at the job site between 8 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., they discovered Kissel's lifeless body in the... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/council-moves-to-give-every-officer-a-bullet/30255/ Mon, 3 Apr 2006 00:00:00 EST The City Council wants to allocate $9.9 million to replace bullet-resistant vests for about half the officers in the Police Department. State-of-the-art Level 3A bulletproof vests would be purchased for about 18,000 officers who are now wearing Level 2 vests. The other 18,000 officers already have been issued Level 3A vests. The level of the vests is based on bullet-stopping capability. The council speaker, Christine Quinn, said the council's proposal is feasible because the price tag... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/correction-officer-charged-with-disabling/29920/ Tue, 28 Mar 2006 00:00:00 EST After a fellow guard was slashed across the face by an inmate at Rikers Island, a city correction officer temporarily disabled the jail's surveillance system as a fight broke out between guards and inmates. That was the charge filed yesterday against a nine-year veteran correction officer, Nicholas Zito, by the city's Department of Investigation. Mr. Zito, 33, was cited for official misconduct, a misdemeanor. If convicted, he could face up to one year in jail. The accusation stems from an... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/police-group-likely-responsible-for-purse/29482/ Tue, 21 Mar 2006 00:00:00 EST A group of thieves is likely responsible for the recent spate of purse-snatchings at East Side restaurants and bars, police said. During the 30-day period through March 5, there were 26 reports of handbags and wallets being purloined from eateries and bars in the 17th Precinct, which covers the East Side from 30th to 59th streets. During the same time last year there were 13 reports, police officials said. A report can include cases where multiple bags were stolen in the same incident... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/19-anti-war-protesters-arrested/29395/ Mon, 20 Mar 2006 00:00:00 EST The next generation of anti-war protesters was in Times Square yesterday, and, as was the case with its famous Vietnam War forebears, some of its members were arrested for acts of civil disobedience. On the eve of the third anniversary of the start of the Iraq war, 19 people including the daughter of the late Philip Berrigan, a radical journalist, and a high school senior were arrested for blocking traffic when they stepped into the intersection of 43rd Street and Broadway, planning to read out... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/kelly-says-dna-in-murder-case-is-bar-bouncers/28985/ Mon, 13 Mar 2006 00:00:00 EST Calling Darryl Littlejohn the "prime suspect" in the rape and murder of graduate student Imette St. Guillen, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly announced that blood found on plastic ties used to bind the victim belonged to Littlejohn. "As a result of this and other evidence, Littlejohn is the prime suspect in this case and his indictment will be sought for the murder of Imette St. Guillen," Mr. Kelly said yesterday at a press conference to announce the "break in the case." Mr. Kelly said there... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/spike-in-robberies-on-upper-west-side/28846/ Thu, 9 Mar 2006 00:00:00 EST There has been a dramatic rise in robberies on the Upper West Side this year, according to data from the Police Department. In the 20th Precinct, which covers 59th to 86th streets, the number of robberies has increased 85% through Sunday, to 37 versus 20 for the same period two months last year, the statistics show. In the 24th Precinct, which covers 86th to 110th streets, there was a 25% spike, with 45 robberies for the first 64 days of the year versus 36 robberies last year. The surge in the... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/suspect-in-murder-of-student-out-of-control/28739/ Wed, 8 Mar 2006 00:00:00 EST Less than two years ago, the man suspected in the recent murder of graduate student Imette St. Guillen was told: "Your violent and out-of-control behavior shows you to be a menace." That was at a May 11, 2004, parole board hearing when Darryl Littlejohn - who has used a whole host of aliases - was denied parole, according to the hearing minutes. He was serving time in Fishkill Correctional Facility for a 1995 armed bank robbery while on parole, the minutes state, but parole officials said he... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/fugitive-cravath-lawyer-charged-with-child-rape/28483/ Fri, 3 Mar 2006 00:00:00 EST A married 42-year-old tax attorney from the prestigious law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP was indicted on charges of paying sisters aged 13 and 15 to have sex with him and also of paying them and their mother to stay quiet, the district attorney of New York County announced yesterday. James Colliton, 42, who worked at Cravath's Midtown Manhattan headquarters, was charged with rape, patronizing a prostitute, bribing a witness, and tampering with a witness for the systematic abuse of the... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/specter-of-terrorism-driving-insurance-costs-up/28495/ Fri, 3 Mar 2006 00:00:00 EST Small commercial insurance companies are pulling out of the New York market - or at least parts of it - because they claim they could not afford the losses in the event of another terrorist attack. Thus, business owners are being forced to purchase costlier insurance from larger insurance carriers. A spokesman for Utica National Insurance Group, Michael Austin, said the firm will no longer underwrite businesses within a quarter of a mile of a terrorist target. In New York City alone, Utica has... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/slain-student-left-bar-alone-after-4-am/28427/ Thu, 2 Mar 2006 00:00:00 EST The college student who was sexually assaulted, killed, bound, and dumped in Brooklyn was last seen at a Lower East Side bar affiliated with Dorrian's Red Hand, the Upper East Side bar where the convicted "preppy killer" Robert Chambers met Jennifer Levin before strangling her to death in Central Park in 1986. The student, Imette St. Guillen, 24, stayed behind at the Pioneer Bar on the Bowery Friday night when her friend went home, police said. Sometime after 3:30 a.m. Saturday, St. Guillen... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/probe-of-crime-family-yields-indictment-of-32/28125/ Fri, 24 Feb 2006 00:00:00 EST A three-year investigation of a powerful New York organized crime family has resulted in the indictment of 32 of its members and associates on charges including murder, extortion, racketeering, money laundering, narcotics trafficking, and the operation of an illegal gambling business, law enforcement officials announced yesterday. The defendants, who are allegedly affiliated with the reputed Genovese organized crime family of La Cosa Nostra, include an acting boss, three leaders, and five made... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/stolen-map-of-water-system-may-put-supply/28040/ Thu, 23 Feb 2006 00:00:00 EST New York City's water supply could be the target of contamination if a water system map made its way into the wrong hands, an environmentalist said. The threat has arisen since someone broke into a vehicle belonging to a Department of Environmental Protection maintenance supervisor and stole an agency laptop containing a map of the water system. If the map was detailed enough,"there could be the opportunity to pose a threat," the executive director for the Center for Environmental Information... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/kelly-police-did-not-save-girl-because-child/27961/ Wed, 22 Feb 2006 00:00:00 EST The Police Department could not save 7-year-old Nixzmary Brown because child welfare officials did not inform detectives about reports of alleged abuse, the Police Commissioner, Raymond Kelly, testified before the City Council's general welfare and public safety committees yesterday. Indeed, when detectives responded on December 1 to a report of physical abuse from a social worker at the Brooklyn girl's school, child welfare workers assured detectives that "everything was all right" and the... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/stricter-law-for-harming-officers-to-be-tested/27870/ Tue, 21 Feb 2006 00:00:00 EST Under a new state law that increases the sentences for people who harm or attempt to harm a police officer, Damien Henry faces 20 years to life in prison if convicted of attempted murder. He is expected to be arraigned in Kings County today for allegedly firing an Uzi at Brooklyn police officers last month. Mr. Henry, 24, is the first person to be charged under the Crimes Against Police Act, a sentencing statute touted by the Brooklyn district attorney, Charles Hynes, and the president of the... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/murder-rate-10-ahead-of-05-rate/27535/ Tue, 14 Feb 2006 00:00:00 EST The city's murder rate is running 10% ahead of the 2005 rate, the chief spokesman for the Police Department, Paul Browne, told The New York Sun. There have been 64 reported murders in the city through Sunday, Mr. Browne said, compared with 58 at the same point last year. This increase, he said, can be attributed to an unusual spate of six unrelated homicides in a 24-hour period during one weekend. The Sun reported yesterday that Police Department data through Friday showed that homicides in the... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/homicide-in-city-up-by-20-this-year/27455/ Mon, 13 Feb 2006 00:00:00 EST The January death of a 29-year-old Brooklyn man was deemed a homicide by the medical examiner's office yesterday, adding another statistic to a rising homicide rate so far in 2006. The victim was found dead in his bed, police said, after a night out drinking with a friend. There have been 63 homicides in the city so far this year, according to Police Department data through Friday, representing a 20% increase from the same point last year, when there were 53. The Police Department said the... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/former-member-of-mensa-is-convicted-of-welfare/27212/ Wed, 8 Feb 2006 00:00:00 EST A former member of the high intelligence society, Mensa, was convicted of welfare fraud while engaging in a "reign of terror against his ex-girlfriend," the Queens district attorney's office said. "Despite the defendant's high intelligence, his conduct was both criminal and dumb," the D.A., Richard Brown, said. "In this case, the defendant used deceit and fraud to feign a need for rent support and will now be held accountable for ripping off the system of thousands of dollars." The defendant... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/scores-employees-charged-with-cheating/27217/ Wed, 8 Feb 2006 00:00:00 EST Three employees at the gentleman's club Scores set up shell corporations as part of a scheme to cheat the government of taxes on $3.1 million of income, the Manhattan district attorney's office charged. For a two-year period ending in 2003, the state lost about $200,000 in taxes due to the alleged plot, the assistant deputy commissioner for tax enforcement, Bruce Kato, said. Interest and penalties would likely push the number significantly higher if the taxes were not paid. In what the D.A... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/bloomberg-kelly-announce-expansion-of-citys-real/27137/ Tue, 7 Feb 2006 00:00:00 EST A room in One Police Plaza is allowing police to keep tabs on New York in "real time." Allowing officers access to satellite images from space and images from dozens of cameras posted throughout the city, the Real Time Crime Center "has quickly become a powerful tool in our efforts to protect New Yorkers and make the safest big city in the nation even safer," Mayor Bloomberg said at a press conference announcing the expansion of the center. In the not so distant future, the Police Department... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/six-city-residents-are-killed-in-24-hour-period/27078/ Mon, 6 Feb 2006 00:00:00 EST There were six homicides in the city within a 24-hour period spanning Saturday and Sunday, including the gunning down of a member of hip-hop artist Busta Rhymes's entourage, police said. The latest homicide occurred at 1 p.m. yesterday at a Harlem Dunkin' Donuts, police said. After waiting for service at the shop at 110 W. 145th St., the suspect announced a robbery, pulled out a gun, and shot an employee once in the back, police said. The victim, in his 20s, tried to run away, but the suspect... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/police-arrest-man-suspected-in-3-sex-attacks/27024/ Fri, 3 Feb 2006 00:00:00 EST Police arrested a man who allegedly robbed and sexually attacked three women in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, one while he wore a "devil" mask, authorities said. Yesterday's arrest of Gerard Mitchell, 29, on charges of first-degree rape and robbery came the day after police released a sketch of the suspect. Police officials said Mr. Mitchell, an East Williamsburg resident, has no prior arrests. The assailant allegedly approached the women from behind, said he had a gun or displayed a knife, demanded... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/case-to-test-stricter-sentencing-for-harming/26930/ Thu, 2 Feb 2006 00:00:00 EST The case of Damien Henry is the first test of a new state law that increased sentences for people who harm or attempt to harm police officers. The Kings County District Attorney Charles Hynes emphasized the importance of the new sentencing statute at a press conference yesterday announcing Mr. Henry's indictment on charges of aggravated murder and menacing of a police officer. "Some crimes are so terrible that people who commit them need to be taken off the streets for the rest of their lives,"... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/boyfriend-charged-with-second-degree-murder/26831/ Wed, 1 Feb 2006 00:00:00 EST A mother and her boyfriend were charged yesterday in connection with the death of a 4-year-old Bronx boy, Quachaun Brown. The boyfriend, Jose Calderon, 18, was charged with second-degree murder for allegedly beating the boy to death because of an overturned television. Quachaun's mother, Alicia Smith, 26, was charged with second-degree manslaughter for allegedly failing to rescue her son. Both defendants awaited arraignment last night, according to the Bronx district attorney's office. If... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/kruger-housing-authority-should-do-background/26738/ Tue, 31 Jan 2006 00:00:00 EST The city's housing authority should conduct systematic criminal background checks on its tenants, state Senator Carl Kruger told the New York Sun yesterday. The "criteria for continuing tenancy should be no different than the initial application." People with criminal backgrounds residing in public housing became an issue after the death on Friday of a police officer while he was chasing three alleged shoplifters in Manhattan, two of whom were living in public housing despite their criminal... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/taxpayer-aided-suspects-in-case-of-police-death/26668/ Mon, 30 Jan 2006 00:00:00 EST One of the questions that surfaced following the death of Police Officer Kevin Lee on Friday is why two of the suspects not only have extensive criminal records but live in publicly subsidized housing in Brooklyn. Lee, 31, died after collapsing during a pursuit of three male suspects who were allegedly shoplifting on the Upper East Side. The three suspects, police said, in the past have been arrested for, among other things, grand larceny, robbery, forgery, burglary, resisting arrest, and... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/thomas-denies-harassing-colleague/26534/ Thu, 26 Jan 2006 00:00:00 EST The president of the Knicks, Isiah Thomas, yesterday denied charges that he sexually harassed, made sexual advances toward, and discriminated against one of the team's senior female employees. The charges are contained in a lawsuit filed by the employee, Anucha Browne Sanders. At a press conference, Mr. Thomas said, "I did not harass Anucha. I did not discriminate against her. I did not fire her." He added that he "will not allow her or anybody, man or woman, to use me as a pawn for their... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/priest-evades-possible-sex-offender-status-by/26446/ Wed, 25 Jan 2006 00:00:00 EST A Brooklyn priest charged with a series of sexual abuse counts that could have landed him in prison for up to 25 years and required him to register with the state as a sexual offender managed to evade that fate by pleading guilty to a lesser crime of endangering the welfare of a child. "People register when they're convicted of a sex offense," not when they are charged with one, the head of the Brooklyn district attorney's sex crimes unit, Rhonnie Jaus, said. The Reverend Joseph Byrns, a... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/many-pedestrian-injuries-at-site-where-bronfman/26448/ Wed, 25 Jan 2006 00:00:00 EST The Upper East Side street where Andrea Bronfman was fatally struck by a livery cab two days ago is the site of four pedestrian injuries between 1995 and 2001, data from the activist group Transportation Alternatives shows. Another three injuries occurred during that period one block away, at 64th Street and Fifth Avenue, and there were four at 66th Street and Fifth Avenue. "Vehicles turning into pedestrians is one of the leading causes of pedestrian fatalities and injuries in New York City,"... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/muggers-target-marmot-jackets/26234/ Fri, 20 Jan 2006 00:00:00 EST While you may not know the Marmot name, robbers in the city sure do. Last month, 11 jackets were stolen off the backs of children, six of which were the Marmot brand, law enforcement officials said. Also stolen were two North Face jackets and three of unknown brands, police officials said. The 11 seemingly separate and unrelated crimes occurred in the first half of December in Upper Manhattan. Two or more suspects would approach a male, age 11 to 18, and use physical force or a weapon to peel... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/parents-of-slain-7-year-old-charged-with-murder/26082/ Wed, 18 Jan 2006 00:00:00 EST The parents of 7-year-old Nixzmary Brown were charged with murder in connection with the girl's death from a fatal blow to the head. Nixzmary's stepfather, Cesar Rodriguez, 27, and mother, Nixzaliz Santiago, 27,who lived with six children including Nixzmary in a small Bedford-Stuyvesant apartment, were indicted yesterday on charges of second-degree murder. The January 11 death came after a long period of abuse, as evidenced by the wounds all over her body, the medical examiner's office... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/three-weekend-deaths-may-be-first-in-06-from/25969/ Tue, 17 Jan 2006 00:00:00 EST If three men who died on Sunday are found to be the victims of hypothermia, they would represent this year's first fatalities due to cold weather, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner's office said yesterday. On Sunday afternoon, police received a call that the frozen bodies of two men, ages 60 and 52, were found in a vacant lot at Calyer and Moultrie streets in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, law enforcement officials said. One man was found lying face up and the other was face down, police officials... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/interagency-fact-gathering-session-launched/25901/ Mon, 16 Jan 2006 00:00:00 EST The deputy mayor for health and human services, Linda Gibbs, pledged the city's commitment to learning how a 7-year-old Brooklyn girl, Nixzmary Brown, could have died when city agencies had received multiple reports of allegations that she was abused. Ms. Gibbs yesterday led "an interagency fact-gathering session ... to determine all actions these various agencies took and when they took them," she said in a statement. She found that "in some cases, the information from city agencies is... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/girls-murder-sets-off-child-welfare-debate/25806/ Fri, 13 Jan 2006 00:00:00 EST As the parents of a murdered 7-year-old Bedford-Stuyvesant girl were formally charged with the girl's death yesterday, child advocates wondered how the city's child welfare system failed the girl, who allegedly was abused, and the city's Administration for Children's Services pledged to begin an agency wide investigation. Nixzmary Brown's mother, Nixzaliz Santiago, 27, was arraigned on charges of second-degree manslaughter and child endangerment. Her common-law husband, Cesar Rodriguez, 28, who... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/officials-say-murdered-girl-had-signs/25727/ Thu, 12 Jan 2006 00:00:00 EST A 7-year-old Bedford-Stuyvesant girl was killed in her apartment yesterday amid an Administration for Children's Services investigation into a report that the girl had been abused. The medical examiner's office ruled the Nixmary Brown's death a homicide, Ellen Borakove, the spokeswoman for the office, said. The girl died as the result of child abuse syndrome - meaning she sustained injuries all over her body for some time - including blunt impact injury to the head with brain hemorrhage, she... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/lawyer-asks-da-for-gag-order-in-braunstein-case/25678/ Wed, 11 Jan 2006 00:00:00 EST The attorney for Peter Braunstein, the man charged with posing as a firefighter to sexually assault a Chelsea woman, is calling on the district attorney's office to investigate and sanction law enforcement officials who leaked information about his client's case to the New York Post. The attorney, Robert Gottlieb, also asked for an immediate gag order and requested a judge to bar certain evidence from trial due to its exposure in the newspaper. "The problem is that everything law enforcement is... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/two-recent-central-park-robberies-follow-on-spike/25610/ Tue, 10 Jan 2006 00:00:00 EST Sunday's two stickups in Central Park - the first two of the year there - come on the heels of a year when robbery was up 61% in the 843-acre park, end-of-year Police Department statistics show. In 2005, there were 37 robberies, compared with 23 in 2004, the data indicate. "We had unseasonably warm weather going into the end of the year," a police official said, adding that there was a dearth of rain. Of the 37 robberies in 2005, the majority involved use of force rather than a weapon, and four... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/police-arrest-man-who-allegedly-shot-15-year-old/25516/ Mon, 9 Jan 2006 00:00:00 EST NOTE: Charges against Kendall Hurley were dropped in this case after an investigation found insufficient evidence to prosecute (see story). A man suspected of shooting a 15-year-old girl last month as she spoke with another man who it is believed was the intended target was arrested Saturday on a warrant for violating probation. The girl, whose name is being withheld by The New York Sun because she is a minor, was discharged Friday from Harlem Hospital Center after undergoing surgery on her arm... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/braunstein-pleads-not-guilty-in-sexual-assault/25464/ Fri, 6 Jan 2006 00:00:00 EST Seated with his legs crossed, Alberto Braunstein, the father of the "fake fireman" sexual assault suspect, leafed through various newspapers as he waited two and a half hours for his son to arrive at state Supreme Court in Manhattan yesterday. He chatted a bit with Peter Braunstein's defense attorney, Robert Gottlieb, as well as with a television reporter. It was just after noon when Peter Braunstein arrived under police escort for his arraignment on the 11th-floor, where he pleaded not guilty... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/off-duty-sergeant-fatally-shoots-man-who/25350/ Thu, 5 Jan 2006 00:00:00 EST An off-duty New York Police Department sergeant fatally shot a man who stabbed another officer after a disturbance in a Yonkers bar spilled out onto the street, police said. After completing their 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. shift in the anti-crime unit of a Bronx precinct yesterday, three NYPD officers stopped at a popular Irish tavern, Rory Dolan's Bar and Restaurant at 890 McLean Ave. in Yonkers, for a drink. The officers were seated at the bar when they overheard Peter Lee, 20, and two unidentified... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/solitary-confinement-at-issue-for-suspect/25295/ Wed, 4 Jan 2006 00:00:00 EST Attorneys representing a man who could face the death penalty if convicted of killing two Staten Island detectives in 2003 will face off against prosecutors in a Brooklyn court on Friday over their client's long-term stay in solitary confinement. Standing before U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis, the defense attorneys also are expected to announce what kind of defense strategy they plan to pursue. The suspect, Ronell Wilson, 23, has been held in an isolation unit at the Metropolitan... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/city-records-six-murders-in-first-two-days-of-06/25194/ Tue, 3 Jan 2006 00:00:00 EST There were six murders in the city in the first two days of the new year, four of which occurred on New Year's Day, Police Department statistics show. The homicides of 2006 come on the heels of a record-low year of violence. The number of homicides dropped to 540 in 2005, the lowest figure since 1963, the first year the Police Department started formally tracking crime, when there were 549, police said. There were also six homicides on the first two days of 2005, police said. While homicide... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/nypd-attacks-report-on-covert-presence-of-police/24902/ Fri, 23 Dec 2005 00:00:00 EST The Police Department yesterday criticized a New York Times article accusing undercover police officers of covertly participating in activities at three staged events to gather information and provoke unrest among participants. The officers were seen incognito on unofficial video footage provided to the Times by a forensic video analyst, Eileen Clancy, at a protest during the Republican National Convention, a bicycle rally, and a vigil for a cyclist. The chief spokesman for the Police... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/braunstein-is-jailed-without-bail/24777/ Wed, 21 Dec 2005 00:00:00 EST The man who allegedly lied his way into a woman's apartment by posing as a firefighter, Peter Braunstein, underwent psychological examinations at Bellevue Hospital Center yesterday, according to the New York City Department of Corrections. The examinations followed a period at Rikers Island, corrections officials said, where he was detained for several hours after his 12:30 a.m. arraignment. Mr. Braunstein, 41, was charged with two counts of sexual abuse and one count each of kidnapping... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/braunstein-to-be-arraigned-today/24692/ Tue, 20 Dec 2005 00:00:00 EST Peter Braunstein, the man suspected of dressing as a firefighter as a ruse to sexually abuse a Chelsea woman, is expected to be arraigned by the Manhattan district attorney's office today, on charges of kidnapping, sexual abuse, robbery, and burglary. The New York court appearance comes the day after Mr. Braunstein spent a night in central booking at 100 Center St. Mr. Braunstein arrived to Newark Airport just after 9 p.m. yesterday on a Continental Airline flight from Memphis, Tenn. Flanked by... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/mother-says-she-hopes-son-will-kill-himself/24612/ Mon, 19 Dec 2005 00:00:00 EST The mother of Peter Braunstein, the man who allegedly posed as a firefighter and sexually abused a Chelsea woman on Halloween, told The New York Sun she hoped her son would commit suicide rather than be forced to serve a potential sentence in prison or a mental institution. "I hope he kills himself," Angele Braunstein, 75, said of her son from her Kew Gardens home yesterday as Mr. Braunstein sat in a solitary jail cell in Shelby County, Tenn. "It will be untenable for him" to be imprisoned, she... LAUREN ELKIES http://www.nysun.com/new-york/judge-tells-why-he-let-suspect-free/24543/ Fri, 16 Dec 2005 00:00:00 EST A plea bargain reached over the summer allowed the man accused of murdering a police officer on December 10 to avoid jail time. Had the suspect, Steven Armento, served what could have been a one-year sentence, the 28-year-old officer, Daniel Enchautegui, might be alive today. Adhering to a plea deal arranged between a judge and the probation department at Armento's arraignment, the lifelong criminal was sentenced in August to a one-year conditional discharge and a $500 fine for setting his pit...