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NY Man Nabbed For Role In Capitol Riot After Showing Video At Dentist's Office, FBI Says NY Man Nabbed For Role In Capitol Riot After Showing Video At Dentist's Office, FBI Says
NY Man Nabbed For Role In Capitol Riot After Showing Video At Dentist's Office, FBI Says A New York man was arrested for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the US Capitol after being heard showing off videos of the pro-Trump riot at an upstate dentist’s office, according to the FBI. Daniel Warmus, of Buffalo, was arrested this week and accused of taking part in the deadly riot after the FBI received a tip from someone who overheard him talking about the incident. The tipster told the FBI that he could hear Warmus playing a video taken from inside the Capitol building on Jan. 6. It is further alleged that Warmus proclaimed that he smoked marijuana while inside the building. …

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by Zak Failla
News
COVID-19: Cuomo Defends Nursing Home Death Reporting, Calling It 'Political Football' COVID-19: Cuomo Defends Nursing Home Death Reporting, Calling It 'Political Football'
Covid-19: Cuomo Defends Nursing Home Death Reporting, Calling It 'Political Football' Gov. Andrew Cuomo defended his administration’s handling of the counting of COVID-19-related deaths in New York nursing homes, calling it “political” and driven by former President Donald Trump. In his latest public comment on the subject following a scathing report that found his top aides worked for months to obscure the number of virus-related deaths in nursing homes, Cuomo sought to defend his administration while explaining the confusion in the data that was publicly released. Earlier story - Report: Cuomo Aides' Effort To Keep Nursing Home Deaths Secret Greater Than Previously Known …

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by Zak Failla
Politics
COVID-19: Cuomo Admits Lack Of Transparency On Reporting Nursing Home Data Amid Backlash COVID-19: Cuomo Admits Lack Of Transparency On Reporting Nursing Home Data Amid Backlash
Covid-19: Cuomo Admits Lack Of Transparency On Reporting Nursing Home Data Amid Backlash In his first public comments on a top aide's admission that his administration "froze" when asked by both federal and state officials to release data on COVID-19 nursing home fatalities, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the lack of transparency was a mistake. Cuomo said “there was a delay,” in reporting the data, and that void led to “skepticism, cynicism and conspiracy theories which furthered confusion" in a news briefing held in Albany on Monday, Feb. 15. "We should have provided more information faster," Cuomo said. "We were too focused on doing the job and addressing the crisis of the …

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by Joe Lombardi
Business
Stamford-Based Purdue Pharma Admits To Crimes, Facing Billions In Fines For Opioid Crisis Role Stamford-Based Purdue Pharma Admits To Crimes, Facing Billions In Fines For Opioid Crisis Role
Stamford-Based Purdue Pharma Admits To Crimes, Facing Billions In Fines For Opioid Crisis Role Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, has agreed to pay billions of dollars in fines and will plead guilty to federal criminal charges for its role in the nation’s opioid crisis. The Fairfield County-based Connecticut company agreed to plead guilty in federal court in New Jersey to a three-count indictment that includes one count of dual-object conspiracy to defraud the United States and to violate the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and two counts of conspiracy to violate the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute. As part of the agreement, Purdue Pharma, whose headquarters is in Stamford, will…

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by Zak Failla
News
Long Island MS-13 Members Charged With Multiple Murders, Assaults Long Island MS-13 Members Charged With Multiple Murders, Assaults
Long Island MS-13 Members Charged With Multiple Murders, Assaults Several MS-13 gang members from Long Island were among nearly a dozen arrested following an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security division. Eight members of MS-13 were charged in a 24-count indictment for racketeering charges that includes multiple alleged murders, attempted murders, attempted kidnapping, drug, and weapons offenses. The gang members from Long Island charged were: Carlos “Russo” Alfaro, 23, of Roosevelt; Jose Jonathan Guevara-Casto, 25, formerly of Roosevelt; Victor Lopez-Morales, 32, of Roosevelt; Ever Morales-Lopez, 26, of Fre…

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by Zak Failla
News
COVID-19: Alert Issued For Fake Mask Exempt Cards Being Sold Online COVID-19: Alert Issued For Fake Mask Exempt Cards Being Sold Online
Covid-19: Alert Issued For Fake Mask Exempt Cards Being Sold Online While mask-wearing amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has become politicized, federal officials are cautioning of a new scam for fraudulent face mask exempt flyers that have been circulating online. The Department of Justice has issued a warning of a card that has been circulating online which falsely claims its holder is exempt from wearing a mask - contrary to local, state, and federal mandates. The cards are purportedly from the “Freedom to Breathe Agency” - which is not an official federal or state agency - and states that wearing a mask will incur mental or physical risk fo…

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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
News
Former Long Island High School Teacher Sentenced For Transporting Child Porn Former Long Island High School Teacher Sentenced For Transporting Child Porn
Former Long Island High School Teacher Sentenced For Transporting Child Porn A former high school teacher on Long Island will spend time behind bars and register as a sex offender after being sentenced for transporting child porn. Joseph Zanco, 45, who taught at Massapequa High School, was sentenced to five years in prison in Central Islip federal court for transporting child pornography in interstate and foreign commerce.  As part of his sentence, Zanco will also serve seven years of supervised release following his prison stint, at which point he will have to register as a sex offender. Zanco also cannot have unsupervised contact with minors. U.S. Attorney …

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by Zak Failla
News
Ex-Long Island Investment Advisor Sentenced For Multi-Million Dollar Ponzi Scheme Ex-Long Island Investment Advisor Sentenced For Multi-Million Dollar Ponzi Scheme
Ex-Long Island Investment Advisor Sentenced For Multi-Million Dollar Ponzi Scheme An investment advisor from Long Island will spend more than a decade behind bars for his role in defrauding his elderly victims in a multimillion-dollar scheme, U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue announced. East Setauket resident Steven Pagartanis, 60, was sentenced to a term of 170 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $6.5 million in restitution after pleading guilty in December to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud for orchestrating a securities fraud scheme over the course of 18 years.   “Today’s sentence is a well-deserved reckoning for Pagartanis, who preyed on el…

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by Zak Failla
News
Queens Woman Sentenced For Teaching, Distributing Information About Weapons Of Mass Destruction Queens Woman Sentenced For Teaching, Distributing Information About Weapons Of Mass Destruction
Queens Woman Sentenced For Teaching, Distributing Information About Weapons Of Mass Destruction One of two women from Queens who were “inspired by radical Islam” has been sentenced for her role in planning to build a bomb for use in a terrorist attack, U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue announced. Asia Siddiqui, also known as “Najma Samas” and “Murdiyyah,” 35, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison in Brooklyn federal court after admitting to learning how to build a bomb to further a potential terror attack. Siddiqui and co-conspirator Noelle Velentzas, 31, pleaded guilty last summer to a charge of teaching or distributing information pertaining to the making and use of an explosiv…

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by Zak Failla
News
Three Long Island Companies Ordered To Stop Distributing Misbranded Drugs, Supplements Three Long Island Companies Ordered To Stop Distributing Misbranded Drugs, Supplements
Three Long Island Companies Ordered To Stop Distributing Misbranded Drugs, Supplements Three Long Island corporations have been ordered to stop distributing adulterated and misbranded and unapproved drugs and misbranded dietary supplements. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York announced on Thursday, Dec. 26 that it issued a consent decree to the three corporations, ABH Nature’s Products, Inc., ABH Pharma, Inc., and StockNutra.com, Inc. (together, “ABH”), each of Edgewood in Suffolk County, and their owner, Mohammed Jahirul Islam. The consent decree approved by United States District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall requires ABH and Islam to dest…

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by Joe Lombardi
News
Nassau, Suffolk Counties Awarded $635K To Support Crime-Fighting Efforts Nassau, Suffolk Counties Awarded $635K To Support Crime-Fighting Efforts
Nassau, Suffolk Counties Awarded $635K To Support Crime-Fighting Efforts The Department of Justice has awarded grants totaling $635,000 to Nassau and Suffolk Counties in an effort to support crime-fighting initiatives. Grant funding of more than $376 million was allocated to improve local, state and tribal law enforcement initiatives across the US. Of these funds, the department awarded $360,000 to the Office of the Nassau County District Attorney and $275,000 to Suffolk County. These funds will also be used for the reinforcement of public safety throughout various widespread jurisdictions. “DOJ’s Office of Justice Programs’ grants will provide additional suppo…

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by Valerie Musson