Month: April 2016
Rechnitz, Reichberg, Peralta -Mayor de Blasio… Too blasé?
Just the Beginning…
LostMessiah, April 10, 2016:
While Rechnitz and Reichberg are being investigated and there have been no arrests, we are basing our opinions on articles and our own investigations into the activities of these men. It is our opinion that the simple fact that R&R have left their own personal fingerprint, or those of their business endeavors, on every aspect of the web of corruption and scandal in NYC right now says a lot. We also do not believe it ends there. We believe that it carries all the way to the top, and the “abrupt” resignation of New York’s top cop is the icing on the cake. However, whether or not that cake was baked by R&R remains to be seen. We are posting our comments along the way hoping that the connections can be filled in by our readers.
As to Jeremy Reichberg, the New York Daily News is reporting that he used high ranking officials to protect his nephew from assault charges. The report states that his nephew was allegedly a member of a street gang. High ranking officials within the 66th Precinct repeatedly ignored crimes allegedly reported and committed by that nephew. As a prominent member of the ultra-Orthodox community, it would not be unlikely that he also paid NYPD officers to look the other way in a fair number of sex crimes, though that piece remains to be seen.
As to Hamlet Peralta, we do not feel that R&R were duped. Rather, we believe that their investment was intended for the purpose of assisting Peralta in entertaining some of the top cops who fancied his Hudson River Cafe, which hosted many of them. We believe that the three kept the highest ranking officials to the lowest ranking officials wined, dined and properly reimbursed for favors within the ultra-Orthodox community and within their wealthy circles. Further, JSR Capital L.L.C. owns buildings in Manhattan and Brooklyn. One of the investors in Peralta’s scheme allegedly was a high ranking member of the zoning board. Hamlet Peralta managed and may have owned buildings in Georgia, from where he was arrested. We are being told by former tenants and employees of his that he covered up instances of black mold and other health violations by painting over them or ignoring them. We are being told by confidential sources that he treated his tenants brutally and that everything for him was about money.
Jona Rechnitz/Jeremy Reichberg:
Served on Mayor de Blasio’s Inaugural Committee
$9,900.00 – combined donation
$35,000.00 – Fundraiser
$50,000.00 – Campaign One
$40,000.00 – Contributions
$102,300.00 – To Democrats in the Senate [(Agudath Israel America) lawmakers ignoring Hassidic crimes, photographs) – How many Democrats are supporting causes helping ultra-Orthodox – Meziza b’Pehde Blasio’s Allure -no Forgetting Friends]
[LostMessiah – Rechnitz is represented by Marc S. Harris, a Los Angeles attorney. Harris is highly credentialed . We do find it odd, however, that Rechnitz’s attorney is from California (where his cousin currently lives). All of the firm’s attorneys are in California, as are all of its offices. We are not certain if his attorney is licensed in the State of New York as the website gives no indication that he has NY credentials. And, of course, there are highly credentialed attorneys in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts. So, why California? See Harris’ credentials: Formerly Assistant U.S. Attorney, United States Attorney’s Office, Central District of California; Deputy Chief, Public Corruption and Government Fraud, United States Attorney’s Office]
Jeremy Reichberg:
Life is but a Poor Player- Cuomo and de Blasio may Need R&R
Schedule Date.
dinner with Riechberg
LostMessiah April 9, 2016
“The serpent that did sting thy father’s life
Now wears his crown.”
Rosencranz and Gildenstern are… being investigated?
The news reports have been full of stories about Jona Rechnitz and Jeremy Reichmen, JSR Capital and its investments, a 12M Shakespearian (Hamlet) Ponzi scheme of which they claim to have been victims, and police officers who have resigned amidst alleged corruption. Mayor de Blasio has claimed that he did not accept donations from either R or R for his re-election and never accepted gifts from them. Governor Cuomo claims that he did not know that the top police officer in the State was going to “abruptly” resign, though the two have worked together for upwards of 27 years. We have our doubts. Mayor de Blasio claimed not to know anything about the controversial sale of an AIDS Facility called the Rivington House and the conversion of a deed from a not-for-profit to a residential facility, a transaction which yielded the purchasers of the facility millions.
Somehow Rechnitz and Reichman have been intertwined in every one of these scandals and all of the events, whether as fundraisers, attendees, honorees, investors, guests, hosts, alleged victims… You name it, they are part of it and they have been part of it for at least 6 years. They jumped on any ship they thought would float their needs and now that the ship is sinking, little by little. We wonder who’s going to throw whom overboard first.
For now, 4 officers have been relieved of duty, 2 of them required to turn in their badges and guns and the other 2 administratively moved. One top police official has resigned. Mayor de Blasio was not going to return any money he received from R or R because he did not receive any contributions. As of this evening, he is returning contributions (that he earlier claimed not to have received)
Preet Bharara has his work cut out for him…
On Friday evening, April 8, 2014, PoliticoNew York published: Continue reading
de Blasio Might Need Some R&R –
dinner with Riechberg
Schedule Date.
UPDATE: Tangled Webs, Where’s Hamlet?
“Though this be madness, yet there is method in it.”
CBS News Report, April 8, 2016
NYPD Corruption Probe Expands To Mayor De Blasio’s Campaign Fundraising
“But the investigation also involves businessmen Jeremy Reichberg and Jona Rechnitz, who both served on de Blasio’s inaugural committee in 2013 and contributed to his campaign.”
We here at LM are still wondering who is paying for Banks’ attorney who apparently charges a small fortune for his services. We are also wondering how this plays into the resignation of Superintendent D’Amico.
There is no rational explanation for Deputy Inspector James Grant who was “was so cozy with his pals in the Orthodox Jewish community that he kept a mezuzah on his office doorpost — even though he isn’t Jewish” [One would have thought that the ultra-Orthodox would have been offended].
New Hampshire Union Leader Posts from Newsday:
“A dissident former official of the correction officers union has charged in a civil suit that Seabrook placed $5 million in a hedge fund [Rechnitz] in return for favors, such as paying for overseas trips.”
“Seabrook has denied any improprieties, and Banks’ attorney, Benjamin Brafman, issued a statement Thursday denying his client has done anything wrong.
Some of the police officers under scrutiny are suspected of engaging in a not uncommon, if frowned upon, practice in the department.
“This is going to end a long-standing practice in the department,” said one source, noting that some brass and lower-level officers provide protection while off-duty for businessmen in some communities who are afraid of being robbed while transporting cash or jewelry.
The businessmen or community leaders also get the “benefit” of getting close to police to help with community issues such as parking problems and security at block parties.
In one case, a police officer is suspected of receiving a “tip” of several hundred dollars to provide protection to a businessman transporting cash or jewelry, and assistance with a community issue, the sources said. –
See more at: http://www.unionleader.com/Four-NYPD-commanders-removed-from-posts-in-corruption-probe#sthash.7EVdcJ9G.dpuf
Mezuzah toting officer – How ‘f—d’ cop used Judaism to curry favor with probed businessmen
THE PLOT THICKENS, CONTINUED: NYS top cop resigns
(AP File 2015)
D’Amico Abruptly Steps Down
We have received this article from different sources about 10 times today and we really don’t know what to make of it. From where we sit, it is clear that Cuomo panders to the Bloc. It is further clear to us that decisions regarding education funding and state laws have a Bloc sensitive lean to them. There is also no doubt in our minds that Preet Bharara should be looking as closely at Governor Cuomo as he is at New York City’s police department. What is not quite clear, as of this moment, is why this abrupt resignation occurred. New York’s top state cop, Joseph A. D’Amico is in enough of a pickle to tender his resignation. Whether that pickle is sour, half-sour or dill remains to be seen. It is likely not of the kosher variety.
Cruz and the Matzoh Bakery That Employed a Convicted Sex Offender
We have tried to stay away from politics, for the very reason that it rarely ends well. Because of the nature of this one, we decided to share. While Cruz should have been condemning the rapes and molestations, abuses and criminal activity of a Hassidic community, he was making Matzoh. He was pandering. We are sharing a post kindly sent to us from a FB site called Block the Block Vote: https://www.facebook.com/Block-The-Block-Vote-1530634483842845/ In this case, the opinion that is written, meshes pretty well with our opinion on this one. We leave it to you, however, to come to your own conclusions.
LostMessiah, April 8, 2016
ON TED CRUZ
“Cruz is so “thirsty” for the bloc vote he can’t use google for the seconds it took for me to find the backstory. The pull of the bloc vote is just too much for some people, so we have fools rushing in before they even look.
Ted Cruz bakes matzoh with rabbi who had sex offender employee, and in a letter the rabbi signed he was suggesting others should not be “jumping to conclusions solely based upon media accounts”, when there was already a known conviction.
The rabbi did fire the offender, and the rabbi did do what he could to keep that offender from vulnerable people under that rabbis direction, and that is great, and I say “Well done”.
But it is an insult to victims to say in letter to the public, “jumping to conclusions solely based upon media accounts” when that offender has already plead guilty in court.
*For those who are unaware, there is victim blaming offender backing pattern in the bloc vote community. This post is more than about an oversight by one candidate. In the bloc vote world, the victim will be called a liar and shunned, the family of the victim will be shunned, people will financially boycott the victims family business, and even as went on in NYC, the victim was photographed and harassed right on the witness stand in front of the Judge. This is about a victim blaming pattern.
To be fair, the Catholic Church engaged in similar behaviors, but some lawsuits and the media tuned them up. “
The links are below.
www.politico.com/story/2016/04/ted-cruz-new-york-matzoh-bakery-221702
njjewishnews.com/article/18699/sex-offender-agrees-to-steer-clear-of-englewood-shuls#.Vwejt12COSO
HAMLET PERALTA – Arrested for Running $12M Ponzi Scheme
LostMessiah update, April 8, 2016 Hamlet Peralta
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
From the US Department of Justice, Friday April 8, 2016
Former Manhattan Restaurant Owner Arrested For Running A $12 Million Ponzi Scheme
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Diego Rodriguez, Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and William J. Bratton, Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced today that HAMLET PERALTA, the former owner of a restaurant in Manhattan, was charged in Manhattan federal court with committing wire fraud through a scheme in which he obtained more than $12 million from investors on false pretenses and used that money to repay other investors and for personal expenses. PERALTA was arrested by FBI agents in Macon, Georgia, yesterday and will be presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles Weigle in Macon this afternoon.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “As alleged, Hamlet Peralta solicited investors for his fictitious wholesale liquor business by peddling wholesale lies. Peralta’s Ponzi scheme allegedly fleeced his victims out of more than $12 million, virtually all of which he spent on himself or to repay other investors. Thanks to the work of the FBI and NYPD in this investigation, Peralta will not be able to victimize any other investors.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Diego Rodriquez said: “Fraud cases remain a priority for the FBI as we continue to identify and investigate those who commit financial crimes against unwitting victims. Peralta, who allegedly engaged in a multimillion-dollar enrichment scheme, will ultimately be brought to justice for his actions. We are appreciative of the support and cooperation we continue to receive from our law enforcement partners in this and so many cases.”
NYPD Commissioner William J. Bratton said: “As alleged, Hamlet Peralta violated the trust that investors placed in his fictitious wholesale liquor business venture by spending millions of his victim’s investments on clothes, food, and to continue the scheme. Thanks to the NYPD investigators and our federal law enforcement partners, Peralta will be held accountable for his actions.”
According to the allegations in the Complaint unsealed today in Manhattan federal court[1]:
From at least in or about July 2013, up to and including at least in or about 2014, PERALTA solicited more than $12 million from various investors by falsely representing that the investors’ money would be used to engage in wholesale liquor distribution for a profit. PERALTA promised investors high rates of return in the form of regular interest payments on their investments, which he represented were based on the profits to be generated by what he claimed would be his successful wholesale liquor business.
In truth and in fact, however, PERALTA misappropriated the millions of dollars in investments he received, and used those funds to repay other investors or for his own purposes. Of the more than $12 million provided to him by investors based on the representation that their money would be used to purchase wholesale liquor for resale, PERALTA in fact purchased no more than $700,000 in wholesale liquor. He used nearly all of the remaining money – more than $11 million – to repay other investors, wire money to himself, take out large cash withdrawals, and pay for personal expenses other than liquor.
As one example, in or about 2013, PERALTA told a prospective investor (“Investor-1”) who was a frequent customer at PERALTA’s restaurant and who had become friendly with PERALTA that he (PERALTA) owned a separate business called West 125th Street Liquors and that he had been approved as an exclusive wine distributor to a major national restaurant supply company (the “Restaurant Supply Company”) that was beginning a wholesale wine business. PERALTA told the investor that he would receive four percent interest on his investments, based on profits from the wholesale liquor distribution business. In truth and in fact, however, PERALTA did not own West 125th Street Liquors, and he had not been approved to be a distributor for the Restaurant Supply Company.
Over the course of the next year, based on PERALTA’s representations, the investor provided PERALTA with more than $3.5 million. Of that amount, none, or at most only a minimal amount, was spent on wholesale liquor purchases. Rather, Investor-1’s money was used to pay back other investors; was used to pay for expenses such as restaurant bills and high-end clothing purchases; and was wired to PERALTA’s personal accounts and/or withdrawn in cash. In or about June 2014, PERALTA provided Investor-1 with a document that purported to be on the letterhead of the Restaurant Supply Company indicating that the Restaurant Supply Company would be electronically transferring PERALTA $1,826,350 within seven days. In truth and in fact, however, neither PERALTA nor West 125th Street Liquors has ever been a supplier to the Restaurant Supply Company.
* * *
PERALTA, 36, of the Bronx, New York, has been charged with one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison. The maximum potential sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the FBI and the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau, and noted that the investigation is continuing.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Martin Bell, Russell Capone, and Kan M. Nawaday are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
LOSTMESSIAH 