CITYWIDE

WOMAN CHARGED WITH MAKING PHONY CLAIMS FOR KATRINA AID

A woman who was living in Brooklyn when Hurricane Katrina struck has been charged with grand larceny for allegedly claiming she lived in Mississippi and was a victim of the storm, prosecutors said yesterday. Authorities also charged Donna Fenton with welfare fraud for allegedly claiming her 14-year-old daughter lived with her when the child was actually adopted by another family in 1994, the Brooklyn district attorney, Charles Hynes, said in a statement. Ms. Fenton pleaded not guilty at her arraignment Wednesday. Ms. Fenton was the subject of a New York Times feature on March 8, describing her frustrations in obtaining federal aid.

– Associated Press

FUGITIVE WANTED IN 1991 PANAMA MURDER ARRESTED

A fugitive from Panama wanted in the 1991 stabbing death of a pregnant woman was arrested yesterday at her New York home, 12 years after she was convicted of the murder. Secundina Santana, 45, who had been living on Staten Island, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, according to the federal agency. A citizen of Panama, Santana had been sentenced there to 15 years in prison for the 1991 stabbing murder of Elizabeth Gonzalez Pineda in Tocumen, Panama. The victim was seven weeks pregnant.

– Associated Press

REPORT: CITY NOT READY IF HURRICANE STRIKES

New York City has an inefficient shelter system and won’t be able to effectively evacuate special needs populations in case of a hurricane or weather-related emergency, a report released yesterday stated. The report, released by the Assembly Committee on Corporations, Authorities, and Commissions, was the culmination of a six-month evaluation, and comes days after weather experts at AccuWeather.com predicted a severe hurricane could hit the Northeast as early as this summer.

– Special to the Sun

PROPOSED YANKEES, METS STADIUMS GET FINANCING APPROVAL

Proposed stadiums for the Yankees and Mets passed another hurdle yesterday with financing approval by the board of the Empire State Development Corporation. The move was expected after the board gave a preliminary thumbs-up to the plans in January. Each team will get nearly $75 million from the state for infrastructure improvements and capital, in addition to more than $100 million each from the city. The proposals for state funds now go before the Public Authorities Control Board. Both deals also still need approval from the City Council.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

HAL THE CENTRAL PARK COYOTE TO BE RELEASED INTO THE WILD

Hal, the frisky young coyote who caught the nation’s eye as he romped all over Central Park, will be released into his wild natural haven, a city parks official said yesterday. The young male coyote, who led police on a wild chase through the park on Wednesday before a dart tranquilized him, was recovering at an upstate wildlife facility, a spokeswoman for the city Parks Department, Carli Smith, said.

– Associated Press

ALBANY

POLICE: STATE SENATOR TO BE CHARGED WITH HARASSING STAFFER

A state senator, Ada Smith, will be summoned to court accused of assaulting a former staffer, state police said yesterday. Lieutenant Glenn Miner, a spokesman for the state police, said Ms. Smith is being charged with third-degree assault, a misdemeanor. Ms. Smith, a Queens Democrat, will be required to appear in Albany City Court April 6, he said. Lieutenant Miner could not confirm details of the case.

– Associated Press

FORMER AIDE TO ASSEMBLY SPEAKER READMITTED TO PRACTICE LAW

A former aide to the state Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, who left his post amid charges he sexually assaulted a former Assembly staffer was readmitted to practice law yesterday. A decision by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court said Michael Boxley “has complied with the provision of the order which suspended him and with the court’s rules regulating the conduct of suspended attorneys.”

– Associated Press

STATE ORDERED TO PRODUCE HAVA PLAN

ALBANY – A federal judge on yesterday ordered New York to come up with a plan by April 10 to comply with provisions of the Help America Vote Act requiring new voting machines the disabled can use this fall. New York, which has lagged behind all other states in complying with the act adopted in the wake of the disputed 2000 presidential election, was sued March 1 by the U.S. Justice Department. – Associated Press

IN THE COURTS

BRAUNSTEIN’S LAWYER SAYS HE IS PLANNING PSYCHIATRIC DEFENSE AT TRIAL

The attorney for a man who allegedly posed as a firefighter as a ruse to sexually attack a woman in her Chelsea apartment said yesterday that he was planning to use a psychiatric defense at his client’s trial. “He suffered from a mental disease,” which renders him not “responsible for alleged criminal acts,” Peter Braunstein’s attorney, Robert Gottlieb, told The New York Sun after Mr. Braunstein’s appearance in court yesterday. Though prosecutors have turned over some evidentiary material including Mr. Braunstein’s diary, Mr. Gottlieb said they still need to hand over laboratory reports, and other photographs and writings by Mr. Braunstein. In the prison ward at Bellevue Hospital, Mr. Braunstein, 42, has received visits only from his attorney and his parents, Mr. Gottlieb said. Mr. Braunstein is expected back in court April 27.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

COURT: GUARDIANS CAN MAKE LIFE DECISIONS FOR MENTALLY RETARDED

ALBANY – Guardians for the mentally retarded may make decisions to withhold or withdraw extraordinary life-sustaining medical treatment for those they are caring for, the state’s highest court ruled yesterday. The state Court of Appeals said the March 2003 law granting such authority also applied to those who were appointed guardians for the mentally retarded before the law went into effect.

– Associated Press

STATEWIDE

CLINTON’S SPEECH INTERRUPTED BY WAR PROTESTERS

STONY BROOK – Senator Clinton’s speech on women and equal pay was interrupted twice yesterday by anti-war protesters at a Long Island university. The 26 protesters – in an audience of about 300 – shouted out “Stop the war” and “Troops out now” as the Democratic senator spoke at Stony Brook University. They said Mrs. Clinton supported President Bush and the war in Iraq.

– Associated Press

JUDGE SAYS GOVERNMENT DOES NOT HAVE TO SAY IF WIRETAPS WERE USED

BUFFALO – The government doesn’t have to tell three men accused of illegally sending $3.5 million to Yemen whether secret wiretaps were used to investigate them, a judge ruled. Lawyers for Mohamed Albanna, Ali Elbaneh, and Ali Albanna requested the information as they defend the men against charges of running an unlicensed business that delivered money from Yemeni-Americans in western New York to relatives overseas.

– Associated Press

POLICE BLOTTER

MAN DIES AFTER SUICIDE ATTEMPT WITH BABY

A Staten Island man died yesterday after he reportedly jumped into the Hudson River with his 8-month-old baby, police said. Police said Charles Walker, 32, fought with his child’s 22-year-old mother before he jumped off a pier at Edgewater Street and Clifton Avenue in an apparent suicide attempt. Around 10 a.m., rescue workers arrived at the scene and saw the baby floating in the water. They jumped into the water and retrieved the pair. Walker and the baby were taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital, where Walker died around 11:30 a.m., police said. The baby is in stable condition, police said.

– Special to the Sun

10 EDUCATION WORKERS ACCUSED OF DEFRAUDING HOUSING AUTHORITY

Eight current and two former Department of Education employees have been arrested for defrauding the city’s Housing Authority out of $235,755.As part of the scheme, the defendants allegedly submitted false documents, which concealed their DOE employment and thereby secured subsidized housing unfairly. The Department of Investigation said police arrested Noreen Little, 55, the principal of P.S. 156 in Queens, who allegedly earned more than $100,000 a year and owned a home in Hempstead, Long Island. Also arrested were Miriam Ramos, Ana Munoz, Penny Mays, Pat Bland, Janet McQuirter, Susanne Hill, Dorothea Choice, Joanna Cyrus, and Evelyn Ogletree, according to the DOI.

– Special to the Sun

TWO TEENAGERS SHOT AFTER ALLEGED DISPUTE

Two 13-year-olds were shot last night after an apparent dispute in a Manhattan playground, police said. The teenagers – one boy and one girl – were shot at around 7 p.m. by an unknown assailant who fled the scene. The incident took place in a playground near a city owned building at East 105th Street and FDR Drive, police said. Preliminary information indicated that the boy was shot in the leg, but police did not elaborate on the girl’s injuries. Both were taken to Cornell Medical Center.

– Special to the Sun