IN THE COURTS

100 WEAPONS SEIZED, INCLUDING ASSAULT RIFLES, GRENADE LAUNCHER

HAUPPAUGE — Two men arrested this week after investigators uncovered an arsenal of weapons at their homes — ranging from hand-guns to a grenade launcher — are likely to face upgraded charges when a Suffolk County grand jury convenes, District Attorney Thomas Spota said yesterday. John Acompora, 46, of West Islip, and Gregory Brozski, 57, of Queens, were initially charged with third-degree criminal possession of a weapon following searches of their homes earlier this week.The pair, who were charged with the same crime a decade ago, were arrested after a three-month investigation, Mr. Spota said.

— Associated Press

JUDGE BLOCKS WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK REDESIGN

A judge has blocked the city’s planned $16 million redesign of Washington Square Park until it undergoes the entire approval process again. A Manhattan state Supreme Court justice, Emily Jane Goodman, ruled that the makeover could not begin because the Parks Department failed to fully disclose details of the renovation to the public.

— Associated Press

TWO BROOKLYN MEN INDICTED IN MONEY TRANSMITTING PROBE

Two men were indicted yesterday for operating a multimillion-dollar money laundering scheme out of their apartments, illegally transmitting funds worldwide for customers who paid as much as six figures per transaction, prosecutors said. The indictment, capping a six-month undercover investigation, said the defendants received and illegally transmitted $4 million through their company, GOLDAGE, between January and June 2006. Arthur Budovsky, 32, and Vladimir Kats, 33, both of Brooklyn, were arraigned yesterday on charges of engaging in the business of transmitting money without a license, a felony violation of state banking law.

— Associated Press

JUDGE DISMISSES CHARGES AGAINST HIP-HOP DJ

A judge yesterday agreed to dismiss criminal charges against a former hip-hop radio disc jockey who insulted a rival DJ’s young daughter in sex-laced on-air rants. Justice Ellen Gesmer adjourned the case against Troi Torain, known as DJ Star, for six months. At that time, endangering the welfare of a child and weapon possession charges will be dropped as long as he has stayed out of further trouble, prosecutors said. An assistant U.S. attorney, Penelope Brady, said her office agreed to this resolution “because it serves the best interest of the 4-year-old victim by sparing the victim any further attention.”

— Associated Press

BILLIONAIRE CHARGED IN PROSTITUTION STING

PALM BEACH, Fla. — A billionaire named one of New York’s most eligible bachelors has been charged with solicitation of prostitution after authorities alleged he paid women to have sex with him in his Florida mansion on several occasions. Jeffrey Epstein, 53, was booked into the Palm Beach County jail on Sunday and later released on $3,000 bond. His attorney, Jack Goldberger, said yesterday that Mr. Epstein “would never knowingly break the law.” He did not elaborate.

— Associated Press

STATEWIDE EPA SAYS IT MUST DELAY HUDSON DREDGING TO 2008

The Environmental Protection Agency said yesterday it has to push the dredging of the Hudson River back to 2008, the third such delay in the expensive project to remove PCB’s from the river bottom. “We are now facing several obstacles beyond our control that make it unrealistic to begin dredging during the 2007 dredging season,” an EPA regional administrator, Alan Steinberg, said in a statement.

— Associated Press

HOUSE COMMITTEE TO HOLD UPSTATE IMMIGRATION HEARING

A House committee will travel to upstate New York next month for a field hearing on immigration reform, an issue that has deadlocked Congress and split Republicans. House GOP leaders said the Judiciary Committee hearing will be held in Rep. John Sweeney’s congressional district, though a site had not yet been chosen, his spokeswoman said. Mr. Sweeney is a Republican whose district stretches from the Albany suburbs north to Lake Placid. The House and Senate are deadlocked on competing proposals for immigration reform, an issue that has divided Republican leaders over what should be done about an estimated 11 to 12 million people currently in America illegally.

— Associated Press

INDEPENDENCE PARTY SEEKS REMOVAL OF FULANI ALLIES

The state’s third largest political party, the Independence Party, is seeking to purge about 100 registered voters from its ranks in New York City because they align themselves with the reputed anti-Semitic activist in the party, Lenora Fulani. The case was heard in state Supreme Court in Manhattan yesterday, and another lawsuit is set to begin in Brooklyn on Monday. Lawyers for the party, which has about 339,000 members statewide, said the defendants are out of sync with the party’s principles. Defense lawyers argued that since the party doesn’t take a stance on social issues, and that the chairman is trying to unfairly control the party.

— Staff Reporter of The Sun

POLICE BLOTTER

MAN SHOT DEAD IN CROWN HEIGHTS

A 20-year-old man was shot dead yesterday while visiting his grandmother in Brooklyn. Police said Travis Lee, of Manhattan, was shot three times by an unidentified suspect in front of an apartment building on Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights. The incident occurred around 5:15 p.m., when Lee reportedly went to his grandmother’s apartment to take a shower because the water at his home was broken. After he was shot, Lee was taken to Brookdale Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. As of last night, police had no leads or suspects in the shooting.

— Special to the Sun

TWO CITY EMPLOYEES ARRESTED

Two city employees were arrested on separate domestic assault cases that took place within the same 24-hour period, police said. In the first incident, police in Crown Heights arrested a Metropolitan Transportation Authority cleaner, Jerome Hamlet, 52, around 6 p.m. on Wednesday. He was charged with domestic assault and menacing his family. In the second case, reported at 4:40 a.m. yesterday, a police officer, Amdrzej Steckiewicz, was arrested in Woodside on charges of domestic assault.

— Special to the Sun