CITYWIDE

Ground Zero Insurers Refuse To Pay $1B in Claims

Rep. Anthony Weiner is calling for the state to fine the insurance companies that he says have delayed work at ground zero by refusing to pay more than $1 billion in claims from the terrorist attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center. Citing data that shows that the companies have earned more than $188 million in profits from the interest on the unpaid claims, Mr. Weiner urged the State Insurance Department to levy fines equal to those profits. The revenue, he said, should go toward the completion of the World Trade Center Memorial. Some of the many insurers paid developer Larry Silverstein immediately, but others have challenged the claims in court.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun

Site of Exploded East Side Townhouse for Sale

The East Side lot where a townhouse stood until Dr. Nicholas Bartha blew it up so that his ex-wife couldn’t profit from its sale is on the market for $8 million. Florrie Milan, a broker with Brown Harris Stevens, said yesterday that there has been “a lot, a lot, a lot of interest” in the 20-by-100-foot lot on East 62nd Street. Bartha, 66, died July 15, five days after authorities say he caused a gas explosion to level the mansion so that his former wife, Cordula Hahn Bartha, couldn’t benefit from its sale. The 124-year-old mansion was worth $4 million, according to court papers filed by Bartha’s daughter, Serena, who asked the court to appoint her administrator of her father’s estate since a will has not been found. Serena and another daughter own 25% of the lot. Bartha owed slightly more than $4 million to his ex-wife as a result of their divorce settlement, according to the papers. The listing for the vacant lot reads: “Seize this opportunity to build your dream house!” and touts its location on “a quiet, lovely tree-lined street in New York City’s Upper East side Historic District.”

— Associated Press

Teenager Posed As Reporter at Shea Stadium

Suffolk County teenager Ryan Leli loves the Mets — so much that authorities say he posed as a reporter to get into Shea Stadium and talk with players. Police arrested the 18-year-old Mr. Leli Friday night at Shea just before the start of the New York Mets-Colorado Rockies game and charged him with impersonating a journalist, the Queens District Attorney announced Saturday. Prosecutors say Mr. Leli told New York Mets management that he worked for NBC Universal and showed a fake NBC employee identification card so he could get press credentials. Mr. Leli first used the press pass to attend an August 10 game between the Mets and the San Diego Padres. He used the fake credentials again Friday to get another press pass for the Mets-Rockies game. Mets management apparently became suspicious and contacted authorities. Mr. Leli was also charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument, falsifying business records, larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, criminal impersonation, and criminal trespass. Mr. Leli was scheduled to return to court on September 27. He faces up to seven years in prison if he’s convicted.

— Associated Press

POLICE BLOTTER

Man Killed In Brooklyn Dispute

Two men were shot, one fatally, in the East New York section of Brooklyn early yesterday morning, police officials said. The men were involved in a dispute at 5:16 a.m. when the shooting broke out, police said. Anthony Graves, 33, of Brooklyn, was shot in the torso, police said. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. The other victim, a 23-year-old whose name wasn’t released by police, was shot once and brought to Brookdale Hospital, where he was in stable condition yesterday. It wasn’t clear how many people were involved in the dispute, and no arrests have been made, police said.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun

Man Killed In Queens Hit and Run

A man was hit and killed by a dark-colored car in the Elmhurst section of Queens yesterday, police officials said. The driver of the car didn’t stop after hitting Leopolio Ramirez, 20, and police were searching for witnesses and surveillance camera footage to piece together a better description of the car. The car hit Ramirez on Junction Boulevard near 42nd Avenue. Ramirez was pronounced dead at the scene.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun

Gun-Wielding Men In Bronx Shoot at Police

A dispute in the Morris Heights section of the Bronx led to a short gunfight between two men and the police, officials said yesterday. At about 3:30 a.m., police officers responded to 911 calls about a dispute between two men who were firing their weapons at each other. Arriving at the corner of Anthony Avenue and East 174th Street, one or more of the men fired at the police. One officer returned fire, police said. Though both the perpetrators fled, one of them was caught and brought to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he was treated for bullet wounds, police said. Two 9 mm handguns were recovered at the scene.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun

Tenant Dead After Dispute With Landlord

A man stabbed his landlord and then jumped to his death from the third-story window of his apartment in the East New York section of Brooklyn yesterday, police officials said. Sebastian Catalan, 17, lived with his brother and brother’s wife at the apartment. Witnesses said Catalan, who was inebriated, got into an argument with the landlord at about 1 a.m. yesterday about a crack in the bathtub that was causing a leak in the building. Catalan stabbed the landlord, Andreas Bautista, once in the torso, police said. A neighbor said that when Catalan heard police arriving, he tried to jump out the window to escape but fell head-first on concrete. He died before he reached the hospital, police said.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun