New York Desk

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun
NY Sun
NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

CITYWIDE


CAMPAIGN FINANCE BOARD LEVIES FINES


The city’s Campaign Finance Board levied fines yesterday on several candidates who ran in 2003 elections for the City Council for violations ranging from filing required disclosures late to accepting prohibited corporate contributions. The board fined four council members and two candidates who lost council races a combined $20,873. Council Member James Gennaro, a Democrat from Queens, was hit with the largest fine, $13,588, for spending more than the allowable limit. His office said it disagreed with the ruling. The violations were discovered after audits from the 2003 campaigns. The board is conducting the audits on a rolling basis and may issue another batch of fines next month.


– Staff Reporter of the Sun


COUNCIL MEMBER CRITICIZES TRANSFER OF BUS COMPANIES


The chairman of the City Council’s transportation committee criticized the Bloomberg administration and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority yesterday for what he said was a persistent failure to make headway on the transfer of seven private bus companies to the MTA. John Liu, who was joined by dozens of unionized bus drivers as well as other Council members, said the MTA and the mayor’s administration would undoubtedly miss their third deadline, December 4, to transfer control of the buses, which serve 400,000 residents in Queens, the Bronx, and Brooklyn. “The MTA itself is racked with problems, left and right, up and down, and I question whether they are going to be able to do this,” Mr. Liu said.


– Staff Reporter of the Sun


BROOKLYN


WOMAN ARRESTED FOR ASSUMING SISTER’S IDENTITY


A Brooklyn entrepreneur was arrested yesterday for assuming the identity of a long deceased sister and fraudulently claiming more than $29,000 in unwarranted welfare benefits. According to Brooklyn prosecutors, Desamone Crosland, 48, had assumed the name of her sister, Vanessa Crosland – who had died as a child more than 60 years ago – to own a number of businesses including Desamore Enterprises, a venture that offered security and manual labor services. The business was so successful, prosecutors said, that Ms. Crosland recently purchased two late-model, luxury automobiles under her fake name “Vanessa.” Meanwhile, the real Desamone Crosland had applied for and was obtaining welfare benefits under her own name since 1999. She was charged yesterday with welfare fraud, grand larceny, and other counts of forgery; if convicted, she stands to face seven years in prison. Calls to an attorney representing Ms. Crosland yesterday were not returned.


– Staff Reporter of the Sun


WITNESS TESTIFIES FBI AGENT DISCLOSED SENSITIVE INFORMATION


A corrupt FBI agent in cahoots with inside traders revealed a steady stream of sensitive information, including one corporate executive’s alleged ties to the Russian mob and an undercover agent’s presence at another firm, according to court testimony yesterday. The companies’ negative information was posted on the Web site of San Diego financial analyst and self-styled stock guru Anthony Elgindy, who profited when their stock went down, a former associate of Mr. Elgindy testified in federal court in Brooklyn. Derrick Cleveland testified that he rewarded the FBI agent, Jeffrey Royer, with a pickup truck and half the proceeds from trades based on the government information. Mr. Cleveland is cooperating with prosecutors against Mr. Elgindy and Mr. Royer in their trial on racketeering and fraud charges.


– Associated Press


STATEWIDE


NEW YORK DISTRIBUTES FLU VACCINE IT HAD ON HAND


New York state is starting to distribute the limited flu vaccine doses it had on hand before a British vaccination manufacturer was suspended by regulators, causing a shortage of doses across America. Health Commissioner Dr. Antonia Novello said 42,000 doses will be going to young New Yorkers who qualify under the federal Vaccines for Children Program, and 32,050 doses will go to county health departments outside New York City for allocation as they see fit. New York and other states are awaiting the decision by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on how 22.4 million doses of vaccine from manufacturer Aventis Pasteur will be distributed.


– Associated Press


BRUNO, SILVER MAY STANDARDIZE PAY OF LEGISLATORS


The state Legislature’s two most powerful leaders said they are interested in standardizing pay levels for members of the state Assembly and Senate, a change that could result in higher salaries for some members. Asked about persistent rumors that lawmakers may consider voting themselves a pay raise in the coming weeks for the first time in six years, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said a uniform base pay may have merit. Such a system would eliminate most, or all, stipends that legislators receive above their $79,500-a-year minimum salaries for service on legislative committees and in the political posts that Republicans and Democrats have set up in the Legislature.


– Associated Press


NYRA HIRES NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE


The New York Racing Association, under the watch of a court-appointed monitor as part of an agreement with federal prosecutors, said yesterday it hired a former NYRA trustee and CEO of the Daily Racing Form as its new chief executive. Charles Hayward’s appointment is effective immediately, NYRA said. He served as president and CEO of the Daily Racing Form for more than four years before leaving in August. Before that he was the president and chief executive of Little Brown Publishing.


– Associated Press


POLICE BLOTTER


DECEASED INMATE’S EX-WIFE CONSIDERS LITIGATION


The ex-wife of an inmate who was fatally assaulted in a fight with another prisoner is now exploring legal options to sue the city for wrongful death and negligence. On October 12, Ronald Fesce, 54, was in a waiting cell at Bronx Criminal Court when he hit his head on a steel bench and the concrete floor after getting into an altercation with another inmate, Kenny Taylor,27,who was subsequently charged with assault. Yesterday, an autopsy conducted by the medical examiner concluded Fesce’s death was a homicide. It was the second inmate allegedly murdered under the watch of the city’s Department of Correction last month. Fesce’s ex-wife, Carmen Cerezo, told The New York Sun yesterday that prison doctors had not treated Fesce quickly enough and that correction officers should have been present to stop the fight.


– Staff Reporter of the Sun

NY Sun
NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.


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