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Former Teacher, Elected Official In Area Sentenced For Trying To Set Up Teen Sex Meeting Former Teacher, Elected Official In Area Sentenced For Trying To Set Up Teen Sex Meeting
Former Teacher, Elected Official In Area Sentenced For Trying To Set Up Teen Sex Meeting A former elected official and substitute teacher who once unsuccessfully ran for mayor of an area village will spend years behind bars after being sentenced for attempting to entice an underaged former student to engage in sexual activity. Putnam County resident Charles Hustis III, a former educator and village board member in Cold Spring, has been sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to the attempted receipt of child pornography from a former student. United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Audrey Strauss said that between Sunday, Dec. 8, 2019, and …

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by Zak Failla
Sports
Sports Hall Of Famer Identified As Man Accused Of Possessing Child Porn Videos, Images Sports Hall Of Famer Identified As Man Accused Of Possessing Child Porn Videos, Images
Sports Hall Of Famer Identified As Man Accused Of Possessing Child Porn Videos, Images A Northern Westchester man accused of receiving and possessing videos and images containing child porn has been identified as a retired teacher and sports fixture in the area. Richard Leaf, age 72, of Somers, was arrested on Tuesday, Feb. 23, following an investigation by the FBI, said Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017, Leaf, a Scarsdale High School graduate who was a social studies teacher in the Harrison School District, has been the announcer for the Section 1 boys and girls basketball tournaments for…

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by Kathy Reakes
News
Northern Westchester Man Accused Of Possessing Child Porn Videos, Images Northern Westchester Man Accused Of Possessing Child Porn Videos, Images
Northern Westchester Man Accused Of Possessing Child Porn Videos, Images Updated story: Sports Hall Of Famer Identified As Man Accused Of Possessing Child Porn Videos, Images A Northern Westchester retired teacher and sports fixture in the area has been accused of receiving and possessing videos and images containing child porn, federal authorities announced. Richard Leaf, age 72, of Somers, was arrested on Tuesday, Feb. 23, following an investigation by the FBI, said Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. According to the allegations contained in court papers between March 2019 and April 2020, Leaf, who is in the…

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by Kathy Reakes
Police & Fire
Renowned 'New Yorker' Cartoonist Faces Child Porn Charge In Hudson Valley Renowned 'New Yorker' Cartoonist Faces Child Porn Charge In Hudson Valley
Renowned 'New Yorker' Cartoonist Faces Child Porn Charge In Hudson Valley A cartoonist famous for his work in the "New Yorker," has been arrested in the Hudson Valley for alleged possession of a sexual performance by a child. Dutchess County resident Daniel (Danny) P. Shanahan, 64, of Rhinebeck, was arrested by New York State Police on Wednesday, Dec. 9, and charged with possession of a sexual performance by a child, said Trooper AJ Hicks. According to Hicks, the materials were found on his computer after a warrant was obtained by the Village of Rhinebeck Police. State police declined to provide additional information saying the incident was still under investig…

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by Kathy Reakes
News
Westchester Tutor Charged With Sexually Exploiting Minor, Transporting Child Porn Westchester Tutor Charged With Sexually Exploiting Minor, Transporting Child Porn
Westchester Tutor Charged With Sexually Exploiting Minor, Transporting Child Porn A tutor from Westchester is facing charges for allegedly sexually exploiting a minor he was teaching, recording it on his phone, and transporting child pornography to and from Fairfield County. Tuckahoe resident John Mueser was arrested on Thursday, Nov. 19 and charged with sexual exploitation of a 7-year-old minor and with transporting child pornography. Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said that on May 1 last year, Mueser induced a 7-year-old he was tutoring to engage in sexually explicit conduct, using his iPhone to record it and then transported the images from Fairfield County to W…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Man Accused Of Possessing Obscene Sexual Performance By A Child, State Police Say Man Accused Of Possessing Obscene Sexual Performance By A Child, State Police Say
Man Accused Of Possessing Obscene Sexual Performance By A Child, State Police Say A 34-year-old local man has been arrested and charged for allegedly possessing footage of an obscene sexual performance by a child.  State Police in Montgomery announced that Ulster County resident Edwin Laboy Jr., of the hamlet of Wallkill in the Town of Shawangunk, was charged with a felony on Wednesday, Nov. 4 after investigators found child pornography in his possession.  According to troopers, the arrest was preceded by an investigation conducted by the agency's Computer Crimes Unit, spurred on by allegations, lodged on Jan. 21, that multiple images of possible child por…

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by Christina Coulter
News
Westchester Man Sentenced For Promoting, Possessing Child Porn Westchester Man Sentenced For Promoting, Possessing Child Porn
Westchester Man Sentenced For Promoting, Possessing Child Porn A Westchester County man has been sentenced after admitting to possessing and promoting child pornography earlier this year. Pelham resident Danny Manich, 62, has been sentenced to 10 years of sex offender probation after he pleaded guilty in Westchester County Court to one count of promoting an obscene sexual performance by a child and two counts of possessing an obscene sexual performance by a child dating back to two incidents last year. Manich pleaded guilty in March. His sex offender registration hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 17. According to Westchester County Distri…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Area Man Accused Of Driving 900-Plus Miles To Have Sex With 15-Year-Old Area Man Accused Of Driving 900-Plus Miles To Have Sex With 15-Year-Old
Area Man Accused Of Driving 900-Plus Miles To Have Sex With 15-Year-Old A 30-year-old Hudson Valley man has been accused of driving more than 900 miles to engage in sex with a teenager. Putnam County resident Andrew W. Wiese, of Patterson, was arrested by police just before 1 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 29 in Crystal Lake, Illinois. Crystal Lake is about 50 miles northwest of Chicago and about 910 miles away from Patterson -- a car drive of about 15 hours. The arrest came after an officer-initiated suspicious persons investigation in the area of Sands Road and Smithana Road, in which it was learned Wiese drove from New York to meet the 15-year-old female resid…

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by Joe Lombardi
News
Pastor Accused Of Exchanging Sexually Explicit Messages With Westchester Boy Pastor Accused Of Exchanging Sexually Explicit Messages With Westchester Boy
Pastor Accused Of Exchanging Sexually Explicit Messages With Westchester Boy A pastor from Queens has been arrested and charged with receiving pornographic images of a 15-year-old boy in Westchester and engaging in sexually explicit text communications. Francis Hughes, 65, was arrested Wednesday, July 29, Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced. According to the complaint filed today in White Plains federal court: On Feb. 16, 2020, Hughes communicated by text messages with the te…

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by Joe Lombardi
News
Westchester Man Sentenced For Possessing Child Pornography Westchester Man Sentenced For Possessing Child Pornography
Westchester Man Sentenced For Possessing Child Pornography A Northern Westchester man will avoid time behind bars after being busted with child pornography. Somers resident Michael Gagliardi was arrested at his home on July 10 last year, after investigators seized computers and other devices and was charged with possessing and promoting child pornography, felonies. Original story - 'Fake Cops' From DA's Office Arrest Man On Child Porn Charges In Northern Westchester On Thursday, July 23, Westchester County District Attorney Anthony Scarpino Jr. announced that Gagliardi has been sentenced to 10 years of sex offender probation on the possession and …

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by Zak Failla
News
Man, 64, Charged With Traveling Abroad From NY For Sex Acts With 13-Year-Old Man, 64, Charged With Traveling Abroad From NY For Sex Acts With 13-Year-Old
Man, 64, Charged With Traveling Abroad From NY For Sex Acts With 13-Year-Old A 64-year-old man has been accused of traveling abroad from New York to engage in sex acts with a minor. Following an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the indictment filed with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York accuses Long Island resident Thomas Blaha, of Garden City, with going to the Philippines with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, sexual exploitation of a child, distribution of child pornography and possession of child pornography. "The defendant allegedly traveled halfway across the globe to sexually exploit a mino…

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by Joe Lombardi
Police & Fire
Man Nabbed With Child Porn, 15 Pounds Of Pot During Warrant Search, Sheriff's Office Says Man Nabbed With Child Porn, 15 Pounds Of Pot During Warrant Search, Sheriff's Office Says
Man Nabbed With Child Porn, 15 Pounds Of Pot During Warrant Search, Sheriff's Office Says A 34-year-old man has been arrested on charges of child pornography and marijuana possession following an investigation. Members of the Ulster County Sheriff's Office report the arrest of Christopher B. Piccoli, of Shandaken, on Wednesday, June 10. Piccoli was arrested during the execution of a search warrant by deputies and investigators from the Ulster County District Attorney's Office at a residence on Silver Hollow Road in Chichester, the department said. The resulting search yielded evidence of child pornography on a computer and approximately 15 pounds of marijuana.  …

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by Kathy Reakes