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Seven Charged In Westchester With Narcotics Trafficking Seven Charged In Westchester With Narcotics Trafficking
Seven Charged In Westchester With Narcotics Trafficking Seven alleged drug traffickers are facing decades to life in prison after being indicted in White Plains federal court for their roles in pushing cocaine in Orange County. Geoffrey Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the unsealing of an indictment charging seven people with trafficking more than five kilograms of cocaine in Newburgh. According to the federal complaint, beginning last year, through the beginning of last month, Edwin “Eddy” Guerrier, Carlos Fabian and Fernando Ferrer conspired to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine as…

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by Zak Failla
News
Westchester Developer Will Pay $175K To Settle Fair Housing Lawsuit Westchester Developer Will Pay $175K To Settle Fair Housing Lawsuit
Westchester Developer Will Pay $175K To Settle Fair Housing Lawsuit A prominent Westchester developer has reached a $175,000 settlement with federal officials for violating the Fair Housing Act by failing to make a pair of Rockland County developments not properly accessible to people with disabilities. Geoffrey Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced on Friday that Valhalla-based Ginsburg Development Companies reached the settlement from a 2016 lawsuit alleging that two developments in Haverstraw, with several hundred units, were inaccessible. As part of the agreement, Berman said that Ginsburg has agreed to make…

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by Zak Failla
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Two Dealers Charged In Overdose Death Of Hudson Valley Teacher Two Dealers Charged In Overdose Death Of Hudson Valley Teacher
Two Dealers Charged In Overdose Death Of Hudson Valley Teacher Two men are facing multiple charges for allegedly selling fentanyl to a Hudson Valley special education teacher who was found dead inside a bathroom stall at the New York City school that employed him late last year. Geoffrey Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the arrests of Bronx residents Kashawn Lyons and Terrick Whitaker, both 31, who allegedly distributed heroin and fentanyl near the grounds of a public school in the Bronx, where Carmel native Matthew Azimi, 36, was found dead of an alleged overdose. According to the criminal complaint f…

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by Zak Failla
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Area Man, 49, Sentenced For $6M Ponzi Scheme Area Man, 49, Sentenced For $6M Ponzi Scheme
Area Man, 49, Sentenced For $6M Ponzi Scheme A 49-year-old Wilton man was sentenced to more than three years in prison Tuesday for using hedge-fund money for his own personal use as part of a $6 million-plus Ponzi scheme. Steven Simmons was sentenced to 37 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Kimba M. Wood. Simmons, who solicited over $6 million in investments for a hedge fund, misappropriated nearly $2 million of these funds for his own use and that of a co-conspirator, said Geoffrey Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Other investor funds solicited by Simmons were used by the owner of the He…

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by Joe Lombardi
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Westchester Resident Among Four Charged With Trafficking Women For Sex Westchester Resident Among Four Charged With Trafficking Women For Sex
Westchester Resident Among Four Charged With Trafficking Women For Sex A Westchester resident is among four men facing charges for their roles in allegedly trafficking women for sex in multiple states. Geoffrey Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District announced the arrest of the four on Tuesday, including 49-year-old Bronxville resident Guixia Wu “stemming from a conspiracy to engage in the interstate trafficking of women, primarily Chinese nationals, for the purpose of prostitution." The women were reportedly moving into and out of hotels and motels in seven states, including New York and Connecticut. According to the indictment unse…

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by Zak Failla
Politics
Westchester Resident, Ex-Cuomo Aide Found Guilty On Three Felonies Westchester Resident, Ex-Cuomo Aide Found Guilty On Three Felonies
Westchester Resident, Ex-Cuomo Aide Found Guilty On Three Felonies After finding themselves deadlocked for more than a week, the jury deliberating over the fate of Joseph Percoco, a former top aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo - and Northern Westchester resident - convicted him on three corruption charges. Percoco, a South Salem resident, was found guilty of two counts of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and one count of solicitation of bribes or gratuities and acquitted of two extortion charges related to his acceptance of $300,000 in bribes to benefit Competitive Power Ventures, an energy company that sought to build the power plant in the…

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by Zak Failla
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Mount Vernon Man Pleads Guilty To String Of Livery Cab Armed Robberies Mount Vernon Man Pleads Guilty To String Of Livery Cab Armed Robberies
Mount Vernon Man Pleads Guilty To String Of Livery Cab Armed Robberies A Mount Vernon is facing decades in prison after pleading guilty to a rash of robberies where he threatened drivers and robbed them of cash and personal items after arriving at their drop-off location. Geoffrey Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District, announced this week that Allanmon Mavumkal, 30, pleaded guilty in Manhattan Federal Court to four counts of Hobbs Act robbery in connection to a spree that began in the Bronx last year. Berman said that on Sept. 21 last year, Mavumkal hailed a livery cab in the Bronx, and directed him to a particular destination. Once at t…

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by Zak Failla
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Retail Hudson Valley Heroin Store Operators Sentenced In White Plains Retail Hudson Valley Heroin Store Operators Sentenced In White Plains
Retail Hudson Valley Heroin Store Operators Sentenced In White Plains A group of area men is heading to prison after pleading guilty to running an organized heroin ring out of an Orange County storefront. Geoffrey Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced the sentencing of Victor R. Rivas this week, who will spend the next seven years behind bars for his role in operating the heroin-selling organization out of the storefront on Broadway in Newburgh. Berman said that beginning in 2016, Victor M. Rivas, with the assistance of Julio Davila, Victor R. Rivas, Ronald “Louis” Matias and Edward Cardona ran an organization enga…

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by Zak Failla
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Trump Taps Former Giuliani Partner As Preet Bharara Replacement Trump Taps Former Giuliani Partner As Preet Bharara Replacement
Trump Taps Former Giuliani Partner As Preet Bharara Replacement President Donald Trump has nominated a former law partner of New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani to serve as United States Attorney Preet Bharara’s replacement in the Southern District of New York. If confirmed by the Senate in the next 120 days, Geoffrey Berman will take over for Bharara, who was fired last March by the president as he cleaned house from the Obama era. He will serve as an interim basis until confirmation, according to the Justice Department. Berman is a partner at Greenberg Traurig in Manhattan, where Giuliani remains a partner. He previously served as an Assistant United St…

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by Zak Failla