Westchester Developer Admits To Ponzi Scheme, Could Face Decades In Prison Westchester Developer Admits To Ponzi Scheme, Could Face Decades In Prison
Westchester Developer Admits To Ponzi Scheme, Could Face Decades In Prison A real estate developer has admitted to operating a years-long Ponzi scheme that included properties in Westchester. Michael D’Alessio, 53, has pleaded guilty to one count of committing wire fraud and one count of concealing assets from a bankruptcy court. He faces up to 20 years in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines when he is sentenced on March 22 next year. The elaborate scheme involved defrauding investors of luxury real estate developments in Manhattan, the Hamptons, Westchester and other locales. D'Alessio is the former president and CEO of real estate deve…
Nearly 200 Sears, Kmart Workers In Area Will Lose Jobs Following Bankruptcy Declaration Nearly 200 Sears, Kmart Workers In Area Will Lose Jobs Following Bankruptcy Declaration
Nearly 200 Sears, Kmart Workers In Area Will Lose Jobs Following Bankruptcy Declaration Nearly 200 Sears and Kmart employees will lose their jobs following the official filing for bankruptcy by Sears Holdings. Last week, Sears announced that it would be closing another 142 unprofitable Sears and Kmart locations, including several in the area. Those closures will reportedly impact According to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filed on Oct. 15, 42 employees at Kmart on Route 6 in Mahopac would be let go; 55 employees at Sears in the Jefferson Valley Mall would face termination; 76 employees at the Sears at The Shops in Nanuet; and 12 at Sears on Route 59 in Nanu…
Updated Sears/Kmart Closure List: Several Stores In Area Among 142 To Close Updated Sears/Kmart Closure List: Several Stores In Area Among 142 To Close
Updated Sears/Kmart Closure List: Several Stores In Area Among 142 To Close Sears, once the world's largest retailer, has now officially filed for bankruptcy, while announcing plans to close another 142 unprofitable Sears and Kmart stores, including several in the area. The Sears closures include two in the Hudson Valley: at 75 West Route 59 in Nanuet and at 600 Lee Boulevard in Yorktown. Two Sears stores in Connecticut are closing: at 1201 Boston Post Road in Milford (Lands' End) and 850 Hartford Turnpike in Waterford (Lands' End). Among stores closing are five Kmarts in New York, including the Kmart at 987 Route 6 in Mahopac. No Kmart closures in Connecticut are…
Sears Files For Bankruptcy, Closing 142 Stores, Including Several In Area Sears Files For Bankruptcy, Closing 142 Stores, Including Several In Area
Sears Files For Bankruptcy, Closing 142 Stores, Including Several In Area This story has been updated. Sears, once the world's largest retailer, has now officially filed for bankruptcy, while announcing plans to close another 142 unprofitable Sears and Kmart stores, including several in the area. The Sears closures include two in the Hudson Valley: at 75 West Route 59 in Nanuet and at 600 Lee Boulevard in Yorktown. Two Sears stores in Connecticut are closing: at 1201 Boston Post Road in Milford (Lands' End) and 850 Hartford Turnpike in Waterford (Lands' End). Among stores closing are five Kmarts in New York, including the Kmart at 987 Route 6 in Mahopac. No Kma…
Sears On Brink Of Bankruptcy, Report Says Sears On Brink Of Bankruptcy, Report Says
Sears On Brink Of Bankruptcy, Report Says After years of store closures, Sears, once the world's largest retailer, could be just days away from facing bankruptcy. The 125-year-old company, which has not turned a profit since 2010, has approached several banks to prepare for a bankruptcy filing, according to CNBC. Sears has a $134 million debt payment due Monday that it previously reported it cannot cover, the report said. Eddie Lampert, a hedge-fund manager who took over as Sears CEO in 2013, said in late September that despite changes in the way it does business, the future looked bleak for the once vibrant company. “The journey…
Nation's Largest Mattress Retailer Will Close 700 Stores Nation's Largest Mattress Retailer Will Close 700 Stores
Nation's Largest Mattress Retailer Will Close 700 Stores Mattress Firm, the nation's largest mattress retailer, will close 700 stores nationwide, including four in New York, after filing for bankruptcy. It has more than 3,200 stores and nearly 10,000 employees in the U.S. and in recent years had aggressively expanded its retail footprint. That rapid expansion of stores, including locations often close to each other, resulted in "cannibalization" of sales, the company said. The four New York locations closing are: Old Country Road, Plainview Hylan Blvd, Staten Island Avenue U, Brooklyn Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn
Westchester-Based Executex Sues Former Salesman For $4.4M Over Alleged Fraud Scheme Westchester-Based Executex Sues Former Salesman For $4.4M Over Alleged Fraud Scheme
Westchester-Based Executex Sues Former Salesman For $4.4M Over Alleged Fraud Scheme An Eastchester man is being sued in White Plains federal bankruptcy court for $4.4 over an alleged photocopier scheme, according to this report by Westfair. Executex Inc., a Hawthorne photocopy distributor he represented, has accused Joseph Holzberg of pocketing $436,000 in commissions on phony photocopy leases. Holzberg has filed for bankruptcy protection, and both times he failed to mention a significant debt, the report said. His conduct, the complaint states, “was wantonly dishonest, evinced a high degree of moral turpitude and was undertaken with criminal indifference to his civil obl…
Former Restaurant Site Eyed For New Hotel In Westchester Former Restaurant Site Eyed For New Hotel In Westchester
Former Restaurant Site Eyed For New Hotel In Westchester The owner of the Broadway Diner on South Broadway in Yonkers -- which previously filed for bankruptcy protection -- now wants is to convert one of his two restaurants into a hotel.  The Yonkers diner owners also operated the Executive Diner at 26 Saw Mill River Road (Route 9A) in Hawthorne As reported here by Daily Voice, the American Diner Group filed a Chapter 11 petition in federal Bankruptcy Court. Representatives for the Broadway Diner at 590 S. Broadway have proposed converting the 0.34-acre property into a hotel. An application for a land-use change to the city's zoning board is expe…
Cuomo Goes National In Battle Against NRA Cuomo Goes National In Battle Against NRA
Cuomo Goes National In Battle Against NRA The National Rifle Association, the nation's top pro-gun lobby and one of its most powerful interest groups, said regulatory efforts by Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New Castle could make it “unable to exist as a not-for-profit or pursue its advocacy mission." Cuomo, on Twitter, responded: "If I could have put the @NRA out of business, I would have done it 20 years ago. I'll see you in court." In a July 20 amended complaint, first reported by the New York Law Journal, the NRA accused Cuomo, as well as state Department of Financial Services Superintendent Maria Vullo, of issuing a “ser…
Three Area Brookstone Mall Stores To Close Three Area Brookstone Mall Stores To Close
Three Area Brookstone Mall Stores To Close Sorry shoppers, no more chair massages in the malls -- Brookstone announced Thursday it will be closing all of its mall locations. The retailer made the following announcement on Twitter: "Today, we made the difficult decision to close our remaining mall store locations – but the Brookstone you know and love is not going away. We will continue to offer the same great product quality and variety in our 35 airport stores and online at Brookstone.com. We are grateful to all our mall store employees and managers who have contributed so much over the years." In the area, Brookstone ha…
DMX In Prison: First Photos Released Show Rapper Flabbier, Grayer DMX In Prison: First Photos Released Show Rapper Flabbier, Grayer
DMX In Prison: First Photos Released Show Rapper Flabbier, Grayer One of the first photos released of Westchester rapper DMX from prison shows him heavier and grayer -- which some fans believe may be a good sign. The once-muscular Earl Simmons has a pot belly and gray hair in the photo published by The Jasmine Brand. Some fans say the additional weight could simply come from no longer using cocaine and crack.  Simmons was sentenced in March to a year in federal prison after pleading guilty last year in U.S. District Court in Manhattan to ducking $1.7 million in taxes. The judge at the time called Simmons "a good man" who deserved less than the…
Hudson Valley Accountant Sentenced, Ordered To Pay $600K Hudson Valley Accountant Sentenced, Ordered To Pay $600K
Hudson Valley Accountant Sentenced, Ordered To Pay $600K A Rockland County accountant admitted in White Plains federal court to his role in a multi-million dollar deception scheme is heading to prison and must pay $600,000 in restitution to his victims. Mitchell Klein, 62, has been sentenced to three years in federal prison and must pay the restitution for not reporting a theft from his real estate company, which was connected to the scheme involving his investors, family and friends. In total, more than 100 clients lost investments with Klein and his former business partners, who in total lost more than $60 million in real estate projects and ve…