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Area Firefighter Sends Sexually Explicit Photo To Purported Underage Teen, Police Say
A firefighter from the region is accused of sending a sexually explicit image to who he believed was a minor.
Albany County resident John Redick, age 68, of Colonie, was arrested Monday, March 18, on suspicion of disseminating indecent material to a minor, a felony.
Colonie Police said Redick, a lifetime member of the Colonie Fire Company, sent the illegal photo to who he believed to be an underage teenage boy.
“This is still an active investigation and although we are not aware of any other victims at this time, the nature of the allegations is concerning,” the agency said.
Redick was ar…
Area Woman Admits Abusing Granddaughter, Causing Her To Go Blind
A Hudson Valley grandmother has pleaded guilty to assaulting her baby granddaughter, causing the child to go blind.
Orange County resident Kimberly Bennett, age 45, of Middletown, made the plea on Wednesday, Oct. 27.
The assault, which occurred in February 2020, at Bennett’s home on Bedford Avenue, in the City of Middletown, resulted in the child suffering serious physical injury including damage to her brain and eyes, and rendered the child blind, said Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler.
According to Hoovler, Middletown Police officers and ambulance personnel …
Former NY Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver Sentenced For Conviction On Corruption Charges
Former New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, once one of the state’s most powerful politicians, will spend the better part of a decade behind bars after being convicted on corruption charges.
A federal judge in Manhattan sentenced Silver, 76, to six-and-a-half years in prison on Monday, July 20 following his 2018 conviction. The former Democratic leader, who acknowledged his wrongdoing at his sentencing, was also ordered to pay a $1 million fine.
Silver, who at one point represented most of Manhattan, was found guilty of two counts of honest service wire fraud, two counts of hones…
Trio From Area Nabbed In FBI Sting For Running $6M Unlicensed Money Transmitting Scheme In Area
Three area residents have been arrested and charged for running a multi-million dollar scheme to operate an unlicensed money transmitting businesses to launder money derived from illegal activities.
Rockland residents Chaskel Landau, 45, of Spring Valley, Alter Landau, 64, of Spring Valley, and Joseph Neumann, 78, of Monsey, were arrested this week, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman announced. The three were tied to an elaborate scheme to transmit approximately $6 million.
The three were arrested following an FBI sting operation.
It is alleged that between September 2014 and August 2016, the t…
Ex-Area Teacher Accused Of Sexually Abusing Student Found Dead
A Hudson Valley teacher who was recently accused of the alleged sexual abuse of an elementary student years ago was found dead at his Orange County home.
Shawn Memmelaar, a retired Newburgh physical education teacher, was found dead Sunday, Oct. 13, of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Town of Goshen Police said.
Memmelaar, who was a gym teacher at the now-closed Union Grove Elementary School in Newburgh, had denied the allegations after a recently filed lawsuit claimed he abused student Sandra Burke, 55, from 1969 through 1975.
Burke's attorney, Evan Foulke, told News 12, that Memmelaar wou…
