POLICE BLOTTER

AUTOPSY SCHEDULED FOR SLAIN OFFICER

An autopsy will be performed Friday on Officer Eric Hernandez, who died Wednesday, the medical examiner’s office said. Hernandez was taken off life support after being listed in “extremely critical condition” since January 28, when he was mistakenly shot by another officer outside a Bronx White Castle restaurant. The shooting took place after six men were videotaped taunting, kicking, and beating Hernandez inside the fast-food restaurant. According to the district attorney’s office, the autopsy results could upgrade charges against the six individuals who assaulted him.

– Special to the Sun

DAILY NEWS DELIVERYMEN STOLE COMPETITION

Two Daily News newspaper deliverymen on Long Island were arrested Wednesday for stealing their competition’s newspapers, the Nassau County police said. Marc Rosenfeld, 56, the driver of a Daily News delivery truck, and his assistant, Scott Miller, 42, allegedly stole $2,100 worth of newspapers. Police said they were alerted to the deliverymen’s scheme when the owner of a newsstand located at the Long Island Railroad’s Nassau station reported that his New York Times and New York Post deliveries were stolen over the course of three and a half months, starting in October 2005. Mr. Rosenfeld and Mr. Miller were charged with grand larceny, police reported.

– Special to the Sun

ALBANY

FASO TO ANNOUNCE CANDIDACY TUESDAY

A former minority leader of the Assembly, John Faso, will officially announce his candidacy for governor on live television on Tuesday, the first paid TV spot by any candidate in the race. His campaign is spending more than $100,000 for the 90-second segment, which will air at 7:58 p.m. on nine television stations throughout the state.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

IN THE COURTS

GARSON CASE STALLS

The prosecution of a Brooklyn judge, Michael Garson, who is accused of looting the savings of an elderly aunt, failed to move forward yesterday with lawyers agreeing to adjourn for six weeks. The amount of money that Judge Garson is accused of stealing has nearly doubled since May 2005, when the Brooklyn district attorney’s office announced the charges against Judge Garson, court documents show. The prosecution now alleges Judge Garson took nearly $290,000 from the bank account of his elderly aunt, Sarah Gershenoff in the late 1990s. Judge Garson allegedly forged a power of attorney for his aunt in order to have access to her savings.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

DECISION IN UPSTATE JEWISH CEMETERY

A Supreme Court judge in New York issued a ruling in a dispute over who should run a Jewish cemetery in upstate New York. Ownership of the Kiryas Joel cemetery in Monroe, N.Y., stems from a larger fight between two competing factions of Satmar Jews, each headed by one of the brothers – Rabbis Aaron and Zalman Teitelbaum – who are competing to succeed their father, Rabbi Moses Teitelbaum, as the grand rabbi of the fervently Orthodox Jewish group. Currently, Rabbi Zalman maintains support in Brooklyn, the group’s stronghold, while his brother leads a smaller following in Monroe, where the cemetery is based, a spokesman for one of the brothers said. At the center of yesterday’s ruling a decision is whether an appointed corporate leader of the sect, Berl Friedman, was expelled from his position by the grand rabbi. Mr. Friedman, who is aligned with Rabbi Aaron, approved Rabbi Aaron’s control of the cemetery in 2001, so if Mr. Friedman’s leadership were void, Rabbi Aaron and the Monroe Satmars would lose their claim to the cemetery. In the decision, Judge Stewart Rosenwasser ruled that Mr. Friedman was not expelled. He also said that a letter claiming to be written by the grand rabbi, written in Yiddish but which reportedly stripped Mr. Friedman of his role, was a forgery.

– Special to the Sun

CITYWIDE

MTA IN TALKS WITH TWU

The Transport Workers Union and Metropolitan Transportation Authority have started up high-level, informal meetings this week, an MTA spokesman said yesterday.

– Special to the Sun