MANHATTAN

PAIR OF AMERICAN CITIZENS DENY ‘RIDICULOUS’ TERRORISM CHARGES

Two American citizens accused of being Al Qaeda loyalists pleaded not guilty to terrorism charges yesterday, with one defense attorney calling the case against his client “ridiculous.”

An indictment unsealed in federal court in Manhattan late Monday charged Tarik Shah, 42, and Dr. Rafiq Abdus Sabir, 50, each with a count of conspiring to provide material support to Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network.

Both men were arrested May 27 following a sting operation that the government said started in 2003. They were being held without bail.

Prosecutors allege Dr. Sabir, an Ivy League-educated doctor, agreed to treat holy warriors in Saudi Arabia. Mr. Shah, a jazz musician and a self-described martial arts expert, allegedly agreed to train them in hand-to-hand combat. Court papers filed last month described Mr. Shah’s zeal to train “brothers” for urban warfare. Both men allegedly pledged their allegiance to Al Qaeda during a May 20 meeting in the Bronx that was secretly recorded. Outside court, lawyers for both men denied the allegations. Mr. Shah is “charged with wanting to give Al Qaeda members karate lessons,” his attorney, Anthony Rico, told reporters. “The concept in and of itself is ridiculous, given the seriousness of terrorism.”

Dr. Sabir’s lawyer, Martin Stolar, said his client was entrapped by the government. The Boca Raton, Fla., physician “is not a terrorist,” Mr. Stolar said. “He has no ties to terrorist organizations or even terrorist ideas.”

If convicted, each man could face a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

– Associated Press

MADAM PLEADS GUILTY TO RUNNING PROSTITUTION RING

A Long Island woman admitted yesterday that she ran a Manhattan prostitution ring that prosecutors had said used underage prostitutes and earned $3 million a year.

Julie Moya, 47, of Freeport, pleaded guilty in Manhattan’s state Supreme Court to third-degree promoting prostitution as part of a plea deal that requires her to serve 2 1/2 to four years in prison. She faced up to 15 years if convicted at trial.

Assistant District Attorney Matthew Bassiur said Moya’s plea deal required her to give up her house, her Cadillac SUV and Chrysler auto, her boat, and a bank account. Moya lawyer Daniel Ollen said the bank account contained about $3,500. He estimated that the total forfeited by Moya was less than $200,000.

Moya admitted that from July 2002 through April 2004 she “advanced and profited from prostitution” by managing two or more prostitutes. Justice Michael Ambrecht ordered her held without bail pending sentencing July 12.

– Associated Press

ELEVATOR CAPTURES IMAGES OF MAN WANTED IN ATTEMPTED RAPE

Police were questioning a suspect late last night in an attempted rape that happened Monday on the Lower East Side.

Earlier yesterday, police had released images from an elevator surveillance tape showing a suspect in the attack just minutes before he tried to rape a woman outside the laundry room of her building. No further information was available about the man in custody last night.

The multiple images show the attacker waiting as the elevator descended to the basement of the building. He was wearing a white T-shirt, baggy shorts, and a red cast over his right wrist.

Police said the man asked a 44-year-old woman doing her laundry for directions, pretending to be lost. After leaving the room, he allegedly hid behind the corner and pounced on her as she walked toward the elevator, police said. He allegedly began hitting her with his cast and attempted to rape her, before a second woman saw what was happening and began to scream, police said. The alleged rapist then fled the building, police said.

The woman, who is not identified because of sex crime laws protecting the victim, was taken to a nearby hospital for examination and then released, police said.

– Special to the Sun

VILLAGE VOICE WORKERS PLAN TO STRIKE OVER CONTRACT

About 150 Village Voice editors, writers, photographers, designers, and salespeople plan to strike if the alternative newspaper’s management does not revise their new three-year contract by tomorrow at midnight.

As it stands now, the contract would eventually eliminate contributions to workers’ 401(k) plans and switch employees to a less comprehensive health insurance plan, forcing them to pay a percentage of their health-care costs. To compensate, the paper’s management, Village Voice Media, is offering workers a $15-a-week raise. The strike committee’s leader, Kenneth Switzer, said that sum is unacceptable.

“Workers of the Voice are notoriously underpaid, and one of the few benefits that we have is our health care,” Mr. Switzer said. “Our pay doesn’t even come close to keeping up with the cost of living in the city or the rate of inflation.”

If the contract is not renegotiated by tomorrow night, Mr. Switzer said the workers will strike outside the Village Voice headquarters in the East Village.

– Special to the Sun

THE BRONX

SECOND FEMALE MARINE TO DIE IN IRAQ WAS BRONX RESIDENT

The Army announced yesterday a Bronx resident, 20-year-old Corporal Ramona Valdez, was the second female Marine to die in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Valdez entered the Marine Corps in May of 2002 and won five medals and one national defense service ribbon. On June 23, she was traveling in a convoy that was attacked by a suicide car bomb in Fallujah, Iraq. Valdez handled higher echelon communications for the Marines.

Of the at least 1,734 members of the American military who have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, 42 have been women, according to a compilation of Department of Defense press releases. About 15% of the Marine casualties have been Hispanic. Valdez was assigned to Headquarters Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

BROOKLYN

BARRON WANTS HANDCUFFING OF STUDENT INVESTIGATED

Council member Charles Barron is demanding an investigation into the handcuffing of a 7-year-old child as the student was removed from P.S. 115 in Canarsie on June 17, he told reporters yesterday at a press conference. According to witnesses, when school officials failed to calm the boy – a special education student – they contacted Emergency Medical Services and the New York Police Department for help.

“You’re going to tell me [NYPD police officers] can’t control a 4-foot-2, 70-pound child? There is no justification,” Mr. Barron said. He also alleged that the handcuffing was racially motivated as the child is black and the police officers are white.

A spokesperson for the Department of Education, Keith Kalb, said that there will be no further investigation. “We believe we have a thorough understanding of the event and that it was handled appropriately from the point of educational procedure.”

The NYPD said in a statement to The New York Sun that “the child was appropriately restrained.”

– Special to the Sun

CITYWIDE

SCHOOLS RAISE $300,000 IN TSUNAMI RELIEF

New York City public schools raised over $300,000 in tsunami relief funds, the Department of Education announced yesterday. Funds collected during the 12-week drive, in which the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators and District Council 37 also participated, have been sent to the American Red Cross in Greater New York and the International Rescue Committee. The two organizations will use the funds to maximize aid to children and rebuilding schools in the tsunami-stricken areas in Southeast Asia.

– Special to the Sun

LONG ISLAND

FORMER NEWSDAY PUBLISHER CHARGED IN CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CASE

A former Newsday publisher who has served on the state’s education policy board has been charged with possessing child pornography taken off the Internet, authorities said yesterday.

Robert Johnson, 59, of Huntington, pleaded not guilty in federal court in Manhattan after surrendering to agents with the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Mr. Johnson “was not involved in child pornography,” defense attorney Stephen Scaring told reporters outside court.

The defendant was released after posting a $500,000 bond and agreeing to have his home computer monitored by authorities and to continue a counseling program. Mr. Johnson represented Long Island on the state Board of Regents from April 1995 until he resigned in May 2004 without giving a reason.

– Associated Press