Corrupt Threats, Misuse of Leadership, Children as Political Capital

 

 

A Threatening Foreshadowing – War on Education Moves to Ramapo Central

See past distractions such as the Ed Day vs. Alden Wolfe smokescreen, created and exacerbated by Hasidic political leadership, and you’ll see a far more sinister agenda at play. There have been inklings of it for some time now, obscured in large part by East Ramapo, but now the battle for Ramapo Central School District is coming into focus.

If we have learned anything about the bloc’s political strategy, it’s that they do not care about expending long-term political capital to satisfy short-term selfish purposes. While this may seem illogical, the fact of the matter is any losses in political capital (special influence) will be made up by what they will have in terms of human capital (i.e., votes). So while the bloc’s activities may seem completely unreasonable and self-defeating (e.g., continuing to loot and pillage the East Ramapo school district, even after the brightest of spotlights has been cast upon them), they are not in fact hurting their bottom line, or their goal.

Enter Ramapo Central School District. While the bloc does not yet – keyword being “yet” – have the demographics to “take over” the board, as Yossi Gestetner threatened last night, they do however know how to game the system through other means. They’ve adeptly learned from East Ramapo how to manipulate well-intentioned State mandates for their own illegitimate purposes.

The District has made a financially sound decision in limiting busing for all students to days on which public schools are in session. Even the East Ramapo board made this “painful concession,” as it was phrased at the time, and the world is still spinning.

Yet the “Newspaper of Torah Judaism” has, unsurprisingly, began to hyperbolize the situation. As it describes it, the RCSD board is “beginning to limit funding for essential services for its growing Orthodox Jewish population. “Essential services” speaks to the bloc’s manipulation of education entitlements. Busing is “essential” but apparently a sound secular education is not. And “growing Orthodox Jewish population” speaks to the threat Yossi Gestetner advanced last night.

Ramapo Central must continue to remain vigilant and non-complacent. The district and its residents must enact strict safeguards to ensure that the bloc’s tactics employed in East Ramapo, and those that have evolved out of their experiences in East Ramapo, are met with an insurmountable wall of defiance.

Make no mistake, Hasidic political leadership sees in its future total control of the Town of Ramapo. If there is one way to quickly decimate a town, it is to destroy its education system. The district and its residents must make it abundantly clear that this district will not give anyone carte blanche to manipulate the system.

Make no mistake, this is a war for our towns, villages, schools and quality of life.

Make no mistake, if we do not act now, all will be lost.

Diamonds, Platinum, Reichberg and Tunnels

 

DIAMONDS ARE A GIRL’S BEST FRIEND? 

Lost Messiah, June 21, 2016

A Ring of Diamonds and Platinum…

On April 12th and April 13th, we reported on the intimate connection between Jona Resnitz, Jeremy Reichberg, Africa Israel, JSR Capital, JSTD Madison and Diamonds. It was our theory then and continues to be our theory now that the criminal enterprise, including the private piloted jets and the transporting of bodies, all under the watchful eye (or with the assistance of) NYPD top brass was and continues to be all about transporting elicit diamonds.

We stand by our position, that it is no coincidence that Jona Reznitz worked for Africa Israel, that 23 Wall Street was owned by Africa Israel and is now owned by Sam Pa, a businessman with connections to Africa Israel, to diamonds, the Queensway Group and Lev Leviev. We contend that it is no coincidence that many of the R&R companies have addresses at the World Diamond Center, 580 Fifth Avenue in NYC, that Platinum Partners was also connected to Africa Israel and has investments in diamonds and oil mines and that Rechnitz paid a fortune for Solomon Plaza, a building in Brooklyn that shares offices with other diamond dealers. 

In an article we received today, it was reported in no uncertain terms that when Jeremy Reichberg covertly had a lane  in the Lincoln Tunnel to traffic it was to escort Lev Leviev to a fundraiser. This was, from our perspective deliberate and the name behind the article is not serendipitous. We unequivocally hypothesize that there are diamonds lining the pockets of nary a businessman, a politician and a NYPD officer, but many. The numbers are in our view staggering. 

From our perspective there are likely dozens of other names of people who should be under investigation: Leopold Friedman, Joe Chetrit, Landa, Philipson, Fensterman, Bodner and the list goes on.

We believe it is all about tying the knot and a ring of Platinum and Diamonds.  

 

New York – Diamond Magnate Identified As Businessman In Illicit NYPD Lincoln Tunnel Closure

New York – Diamond Magnate Identified As Businessman In Illicit NYPD Lincoln Tunnel Closure

New York – One day after U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara announced that a Brooklyn man with close connections to the NYPD arranged to have one lane closed in the Lincoln Tunnel so that a wealthy businessman could be escorted to a fundraiser for Mayor de Blasio, sources have identified the visitor as Israeli diamond dealer Lev Leviev.

As previously reported on VIN News (http://goo.gl/MRVlu0), Jeremy Reichberg and three members of the NYPD were arrested yesterday as part of an ongoing federal corruption probe.  Reichberg is said to have plied police with fancy trips and expensive gifts in exchange for preferential treatment, which included the lane closure.

According to the New York Post, law enforcement sources said that there is no official record of the shutdown, which did not go through official channels.  The date of the actual incident is currently unknown.

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New York – Diamond Magnate Identified As Businessman In Illicit NYPD Lincoln Tunnel Closure – Central Florida Shmooze

 

New York – Diamond Magnate Identified As Businessman In Illicit NYPD Lincoln Tunnel Closure

Leviev, a billionaire with diamond mines in Africa and Russia, is the primary shareholder of Africa Israel, an international real estate firm. Jona Rechnitz, who worked hand in hand with Reichberg and is now cooperating with authorities, was once employed by Africa Israel.
Leviev owns high end diamond boutiques in New York, London, Dubai and Singapore.

 

REICHBERG- A Lane Closed in a Tunnel, no Wrongdoing? What?

COPS ON CALL? NO – COPS ON CALL-GIRLS? UMMM.. WE’RE CONFUSED, OR IS IT CONFUZZLED?

There are so many words that we have for the commentary by the attorneys we heard from today. Reichberg “did not commit a crime” is perhaps almost as amusing as when President Clinton stood before an audience to announce that he had not had sex with an intern, but believable it isn’t. Apparently Reichberg only befriended the wrong person and G-d love him, Clinton only likes cigars.

Is the public really that stupid?

We could do something like a “David Letterman-Style” Late Night parody of all of the most outrageous things we have heard and read today. We would not, however, be able to limit that list to only ten…

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/fbi-arrests-high-ranking-york-city-police-officers-39986127

ABC News is reporting:

NYC Police Officials Charged in Bribery Corruption ScandalIn exchange for the bribes, Reichberg and others “got a private police force for themselves and their friends,” Bharara said at a news conference. “Effectively, they got ‘cops on call.'”

The four arrests follow months of revelations that have embarrassed the nation’s largest police department and put Mayor Bill de Blasio on the spot about his campaign financing. Both Reichberg and another businessman who has already pleaded guilty in the case contributed heavily to de Blasio’s campaign.

The mayor, a Democrat, hasn’t been implicated in any wrongdoing.

A criminal complaint accompanying the latest charges described how Reichberg exploited his connections within the police department to speed up gun license processing, make tickets disappear, get police escorts for him and his friends, get assistance from uniformed personnel to resolve personal disputes and boost security at religious sites and events.

Reichberg even managed to get his connections to shut down a lane of the Lincoln Tunnel connecting New Jersey and Manhattan and obtain a police escort for a businessman visiting the U.S., the complaint said.

In return, Reichberg and another businessman showered his favored police officials with well over $100,000 in benefits from 2012 to 2015, including prostitutes, home improvements and prime seats to sporting events, prosecutors said. Harrington and an unidentified police official let a businessman buy dinner once or twice a week for 18 months at expensive Manhattan restaurants, where bills ran $400 to $500, they said.

Among the other favors was $59,000 spent on a private jet in February 2013 that took Reichberg, an unidentified detective and Grant, commander of an Upper East Side precinct, to Las Vegas, the court papers said. The complaint said Reichberg and another businessman arranged for a prostitute to join the flight and spend the weekend with the group, staying in Grant’s luxury hotel room.

According to the complaint, the prostitute told law enforcement agents that Grant and others “took advantage of her services” during the trip.

The court papers also alleged Reichberg and an unidentified real estate businessman who has pleaded guilty and is cooperating with authorities wore elf hats as they drove to Grant’s Staten Island home on Christmas 2013 to give Grant a video game system for his children and a $1,000 piece of jewelry for his wife. Authorities said they captured Grant on a recorded telephone call a year later grumbling that his two “elves” did not come for Christmas that year.

Andrew Weinstein, Harrington’s lawyer, said the charges against his client were politically motivated.

“Chief Harrington is a loyal and devoted family man who has an unblemished record and has spent the last three decades working tirelessly to keep New York City safe,” Weinstein said. “One would be hard-pressed to find a straighter arrow in their quiver.”

Susan Necheles, Reichberg’s lawyer, said in an email: “Mr. Reichberg did not commit a crime.”

Reichberg’s “only mistake,” Necheles said, was befriending a government cooperator “who is desperately trying to get others in trouble in order to curry favor with prosecutors and save his own skin.”

The head of Grant’s union declined to comment. His lawyer, John Meringolo, said his office had not yet evaluated all the evidence.

“We believe Mr. Grant did not commit a federal crime,” he said.

Villanueva’s lawyer, Andrew Quinn, declined to comment.

R&R are Racking up a Body Count – Wrack and Ruin

 

UPDATED : FBI, IAB arrest top NYPD brass, Jeremy Reichberg in latest developments of Federal corruption probe

http://www.progressqueens.com/news/2016/6/20/fbi-iab-arrest-top-nypd-brass-jeremy-reichberg-in-latest-developments-of-federal-corruption-probe

Four New York Police Department officers, including two who were formerly assigned to the gun Licensing Bureau, were arrested Monday morning, along with Jeremy Reichberg, a campaign contributor of Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-New York City).

The Licensing Bureau was previously implicated in the arrest of Brooklyn businessman Shaya (Alex) Lichtenstein. Two of the officers arrested or charged Monday were identified as NYPD Sgt. David Villanuevaand NYPD Officer Richard Ochetal, both of whom were formerly assigned to the gun licensing bureau. During a Monday press conference, it was announced by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara that NYPD Officer Ochetal had pleaded guilty and was coöperating with the Government.

Mr. Lichtenstein and NYPD Sgt. Villanueva were charged in a superseding grand jury indictment with crimes stemming from alleged bribes made by Mr. Lichtenstein to, amongst others, NYPD Sgt. Villanueva that related to the expedited processing of gun permits. Mr. Lichtenstein allegedly offered an unidentified undercover officer $6,000 in bribe money to process each gun permit that Mr. Lichtenstein was allegedly seeking. A separate, unnamed NYPD officer was identified in the superseding indictment as a coöperating witness in the Government’s case against Mr. Lichtenstein and NYPD Sgt. Villanueva, and that coöperating witness has pleaded guilty to bribery charges related to the charged conspiracy, according to the superseding indictment. Demands were made in the superseding indictment that each of Mr. Lichtenstein and NYPD Sgt. Villanueva forfeit the proceeds of their crimes.

NYPD Officer Ochetal was accused of soliciting, demanding, and accepting bribes in exchange for allegedly having expedited the processing of gun permits, and a demand was made that NYPD Officer Ochetal forfeit the proceeds of those alleged bribes, according to a charging document signed by U.S. Attorney Bharara, one of the nation’s top Federal prosecutors.

Two other officers arrested on Monday were identified as Deputy Chief Michael Harrington and Deputy Inspector James Grant. Deputy Chief Harrington and Deputy Inspector Grant were alleged to have received bribes from Mr. Reichberg in exchange for Mr. Reichberg and members of Mr. Reichberg’s community in Borough Park, Brooklyn, having received official police benefits, according to some of the allegations in the sealed complaint signed by U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses. The charges of the alleged crimes filed against Deputy Chief Harrington, Deputy Inspector Grant, and Mr. Reichberg, which allegedly date back to 2012, were made in the same complaint.

Revelations about the arrests were previously noted in a report filed by Rocco Parascandola for The New York Daily News and a report filed by Jonathan Dienst and Joe Valiquette for WNBC Channel 4 News.

Early, disparate information about the arrests were first reported by selected news outlets prior to the public release of the charging documents, which were later received by Progress Queens from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for New York’s southern district. The charging documents were published online by Progress Queens.

Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau reportedly conducted the arrests.

Prior to Monday’s arrests, numerous NYPD officers had been reassigned or disciplined as a consequence of a reported wide-ranging, Federal corruption investigation examining whether NYPD officers were bestowing official acts in exchange for having received gifts. As reported by Progress Queens, the conduct of the Federal corruption investigation into the activities of NYPD officers has contrasted with past investigations of the troubled police department. In recent decades past, whenever corruption at the NYPD has been investigated, the mayor of New York City had formed a public commission to conduct public hearings, so that the proceedings could be transparent to the public. That precedent for transparency contrasts sharply with the conduct of private investigations being led by Federal prosecutors and other law enforcement agents.

The spectre of wide-ranging corruption allegedly running rampant at the NYPD has yet led to the removal of NYPD Commissioner William Bratton, despite calls for his resignation, made at various times by grass roots activists and police union officials. Commissioner Bratton’s on-going command of the NYPD is unique amongst other big-city police forces, where changes in leadership have been effected as a result of gross mismanagement or reports of wide-spread misconduct. Leadership changes have taken place at the Oakland Police Department, the San Francisco Police Department, and the Chicago Police Department, but not at the NYPD. This peculiarity is all the more inexplicable, because Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-New York City) invoked the language of police reform and accountability, in part, to win the Democratic Party primary in the 2013 mayoral race.

To read the remainder of the article click, here.

 

• U.S. v. Villanueva and Lichtenstein – Sealed Superseding Indictment [Scribd]
• U.S. v. Ochetal – Sealed Information [Scribd]
• 2016-06-17 U.S. v. Grant, Harrington, Reichberg – Sealed Complaint [Scribd]

New York Times Report – 3 NYPD Commanders and …Reichberg

 

3 N.Y.P.D. Commanders Are Arrested on Corruption Charges

https://a1.nyt.com/assets/article/20160616-163745/js/foundation/lib/framework.js

The arrests in the early morning hours by agents with the F.B.I. and investigators from the Police Department’s Internal Affairs Bureau would be followed by the execution of search warrants, according to officials. The charges included bribery, honest services wire fraud and conspiracy, and they were scheduled to be announced at a news conference later on Monday.

Arrested were Deputy Chief Michael J. Harrington, 50; Deputy Inspector James M. Grant, 43; and Sgt. David Villanueva, 42, and Mr. Reichberg. They were expected to appear in United States District Court in Manhattan on Monday afternoon. The officer who worked in the pistol license division who has already pleaded guilty was identified as Richard Ochetal. Their lawyers could not immediately be reached for comment.

While the charges being leveled against the police officials were uncovered during one of the half-dozen fund-raising investigations focused on Mr. de Blasio, a Democrat, and his inner circle, there has been no suggestion that the mayor himself was involved in the conduct described in the court papers, a criminal complaint charging Deputy Chief Harrington, Deputy Inspector Grant and Mr. Reichberg, and indictment charging Sergeant Villanueva. The fund-raising investigation and several other inquiries by federal prosecutors, the F.B.I. and other agencies focused on the mayor’s donors and fund-raising were continuing. The scope of the broader fund-raising inquiries remains unclear.

Police Commissioner William J. Bratton has said the department believes investigators have identified all of the police officials involved in the alleged misconduct, though it is unknown whether the charges on Monday will conclude that line of inquiry by federal prosecutors, F.B.I. agents and Internal Affairs investigators.

The particular fund-raising investigation that led to these arrests has been going on for well over a year, and in recent months, details of some of the accusations against the police officials who have been charged — and others — have been widely reported. Nearly a dozen mostly senior officials have been disciplined by the Police Department in some way as a result of the inquiry, including those charged on Monday. Those disciplined include five deputy chiefs and a deputy inspector; four of the deputy chiefs and the deputy inspector have put in for retirement.

Mr. Rechnitz’s cooperation with federal prosecutors and F.B.I. agents has already helped prosecutors bring corruption charges in another case linked to the same fund-raising investigation, people briefed on the matter have said. In that case, a criminal complaint unsealed on June 8 charged Norman Seabrook, the powerful head of the union that represents city correction officers, and Murray Huberfeld, a hedge fund financier, with honest services fraud and conspiracy.

Continue reading the main story

That complaint said Mr. Rechnitz had pleaded guilty to committing honest services fraud in connection with the scheme in which Mr. Seabrook and Mr. Huberfeld were charged, “among other things,” suggesting he was involved in additional criminal conduct, and that he was providing information in the hope of obtaining leniency when he is sentenced.

While the document does not identify Mr. Rechnitz by name, referring to him only as CW-1, or Cooperating Witness 1, several people with knowledge of the matter said CW-1 was Mr. Rechnitz. At a news conference announcing the arrests of Mr. Seabrook and Mr. Huberfeld, Preet Bharara, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, whose office filed the complaint, would not answer questions about the identity of CW-1 or the degree to which the witness could be helpful in other cases.

But Mr. Bharara indicated that the witness was “assisting other investigations.”

The criminal complaint in the earlier case details two trips that Mr. Rechnitz, Mr. Seabrook and another businessman — also a supporter of the mayor — took to the Dominican Republic. On the first one, in November 2013, they were accompanied by an unnamed officer from the Police Department. On the second one, in December 2014, the four men were accompanied by a fifth unnamed person. Mr. Rechnitz paid for the airfare for both trips.

Then, in March 2014, Mr. Seabrook, Mr. Rechnitz, the police officer and the other businessman — Mr. Reichberg, who was identified in the criminal complaint as Co-Conspirator 1 or CC-1 — traveled to Israel, with Mr. Rechnitz paying the airfare, according to the complaint. In July of that year, he paid for the same group to travel to Las Vegas and then Burbank, Calif., the complaint said.

https://a1.nyt.com/assets/article/20160616-163745/js/foundation/lib/framework.js

1. Why Mayor de Blasio Is Facing So Many Investigations APRIL 28, 2016

   

2. De Blasio Donor Emerges as Key Witness in Corruption Case. What Else Does He Know? JUNE 8, 2016

   

3. De Blasio Donors Took Pride in Connections With Top Police Officials APRIL 11, 2016

   

More NYPD Officers and Reichberg, Arrested

It’s about time….

Di Blasio – Your Turn May be Coming Up

 

4 NYPD officials busted in de Blasio fundraising probe

 

De Blasio’s buddy, Jeremy Reichberg, a police buff known for his NYPD connections, was also taken away in handcuffs. Reichberg, the proprietor of a venture capital firm, allegedly gave gifts to several officers in return for favors.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara and FBI officials were to detail the charges against the four defendants at a news conference later Monday morning.

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Jeremy ReichbergPhoto: Baruch Ezagui

Law enforcement sources have told The Post that several of the officers are tied to two Brooklyn businessmen who donated to de Blasio’s election campaign.

One of the businessmen, Jona Rechnitz, has already pleaded guilty to corruption charges and is cooperating with the FBI.

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Jona RechnitzPhoto: Baruch Ezagui/collive.com

Several more current and former police officials are still being investigated, including retired NYPD Chief of Department Phil Banks, who, along with his best friend and former correction union boss Norman Seabrook, allegedly took a freebie vacation with Rechnitz and other NYPD cops.

Seabrook was recently arrested on corruption charges and pleaded not guilty.

Many NYPD officers have retired or have been placed on modified duty since the start of the criminal probe.

One officer, Michael Milici, was fired for refusing to cooperate with the feds and another, Inspector Michael Ameri, fatally shot himself after being grilled by FBI investigators.

The feds are also probing the mayor’s fundraising practices and some of his closest confidants in an effort to find out if favors, contracts or positions were offered for campaign donations.

Seabrook and Platinum an Autocrat’s Venture, Capitalist

 

NYC Corrections Union Boss, Hedge Fund Manager Busted for Fraud

 

http://nlpc.org/stories/2016/06/15/corrections-union-boss-hedge-fund-manager-busted-fraud

Submitted by Carl Horowitz on Wed, 06/15/2016 – 18:33

It wasn’t as if Norman Seabrook needed the money.  But in accepting it, he jeopardized the retirement of union members.  Last Wednesday, June 8, Seabrook, president of New York City’s Correction Officers Benevolent Association (COBA), was arrested by FBI agents and charged with honest services fraud for receiving $60,000 in cash from an executive of a troubled Manhattan hedge fund, Platinum Partners, in exchange for steering $20 million in union pension money to the fund.  Platinum Partners CEO Murray Huberfeld was similarly charged.  Seabrook is out on $250,000 bond, but given his ouster by the COBA board, he doesn’t have much to do.  U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara (in photo) termed this “a straightforward and explicit bribery scheme.”  The actions are part of a wider probe into NYPD corruption.

For the complete article click here.