July 23, 2018

Battle erupts over estate of wealthy recluse who froze to death inside his Upper East Side mansion

A battle has erupted over the estate of a reclusive Upper East Side man who froze to death inside his multimillion-dollar townhouse, the Daily News has learned.

The son of Peter Knoll has filed court papers alleging that his father was coerced into leaving the bulk of his estate to a Vermont boarding school he attended in his teens.

Aaron Knoll claims his reclusive father’s financial adviser, as well as representatives of The Putney School, took advantage of the man when he was deteriorating physically and mentally.

“After having spoken with many of his friends, colleagues and family, everyone was in shock that he left virtually his entire estate to the school because it was contrary to conversations they had personally had with him,” Aaron Knoll told The News in an email.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-metro-battle-estate-upper-east-side-man-20180722-story.html

July 23, 2018

Jury awards $425,000 in Penfield Subway sexual harassment case

Justice prevailed in a federal courtroom in Rochester recently when a jury awarded $425,000 to a woman who was fired from her job managing a Subway restaurant in Penfield after complaining about relentless sexual harassment by her supervisor.

“I cried,” the plaintiff, Sherielee Figueroa, said of hearing the verdict. “I cried so hard and not because I wanted the money. It was more like I found justice. It made me feel complete.”

The award was bolstered by punitive damages of $275,000, an amount that, in this case, exceeds the federal statutory cap for such damages and that her lawyer said sends a message in the #MeToo era.

“Employers should know that when you do this to someone, it sends shockwaves of damage all over, and I think the jury understood that,” said her lawyer, Anthony LaDuca.

Read more: https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/local/columnists/andreatta/2018/07/20/jury-awards-woman-425-000-penfield-subway-sexual-harassment-case/806153002/

July 23, 2018

New York corruption scandals: Here's who has been convicted in 2018

ALBANY - Can't keep track of all the corruption scandals in New York state government? You're not alone.

The year 2018 has been a busy one for corruption convictions in the Empire State, with some of the state's most powerful lawmakers and some of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's top allies among those who have been found guilty since the year began.

Many of those government officials are due for sentencing in the days and months ahead.

Here's who has been convicted since the beginning of the year and when they're expected to learn their fate:

Read more: https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/politics/albany/2018/07/20/new-york-corruption-scandals-heres-who-has-been-convicted-2018/795849002/

July 23, 2018

State will pay $325,000 to cover food truck's legal bill

ALBANY — Taxpayers will have to serve up $325,000 to cover the legal bills of a controversially named food truck that prevailed in a federal lawsuit prompted by a state agency's decision to ban it from selling its wares on the Empire State Plaza.

The Wandering Dago won its case in January at the end of a years-long legal battle with top officials at the state Office of General Services, which in 2013 rejected the truck's application to take part in the plaza's summer lunch program.

The stipulation covering legal fees and costs was signed July 6 by the truck's attorney, George Carpinello of Boies Schiller Flexner, and lawyers from Attorney General Barbara Underwood's office, which represented the Cuomo administration in the suit. U.S. District Judge Mae D'Agostino approved it on July 10. The state has four months to pay up.

"We are pleased to conclude this action, but wish we did not have to bring a lawsuit to begin with. It has cost everyone, including the taxpayers, a lot of time, money and aggravation," Carpinello said in an email.

Read more: https://www.timesunion.com/7day-state/article/State-will-pay-325-000-to-cover-food-truck-s-13093918.php

July 23, 2018

Democrats largely undecided in primary for AG

A plurality of registered Democratic voters haven’t made up their mind about the four-way Democratic primary for state attorney general, according to a poll by Quinnipiac University.

New York City Public Advocate Tish James leads the field, with 26 percent, but she trails the 42 percent of registered Democrats who didn’t identify a candidate. U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney was at 15 percent, Zephyr Teachout was at 12 percent and Leecia Eve was at 3 percent.

-snip-

“The clear winner in the Democratic primary for State Attorney General right now is undecided. Democrats ticked the ‘don’t know’ column more than any other. That stretches across almost every demographic group,” Quinnipiac University polling analyst Mary Snow said in a statement.

Despite the primary being less than two months away, the poll didn’t narrow down to likely voters for the Sept. 13 election. The Democratic primary electorate will likely be a fraction of the number of registered voters.

Read more: https://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/283277/dem-voters-largely-undecided-in-crowded-primary-for-ag/

July 23, 2018

Fundraising in the state Senate could foreshadow control of the chamber

Contributions suggest donors are betting on Democrats


ALBANY - The political winds in the state Senate may be shifting if recent campaign contributions are a barometer.

For the first time since 2010 - when Democrats had a majority in the chamber - the state Democratic Senate Campaign Committee outpaced the state Senate Republican Campaign Committee in fundraising, according to campaign finance records from the past two months.

A majority of Democratic candidates in contested Senate seats also raised significantly more than their Republican opponents did during the same period.

The funds will be integral to the multi-million dollar battle for control of the state Senate, which Republicans run with a one-seat majority. In a Legislature where the agenda is almost exclusively set by majority politics the filings may also be an indicator of who donors are betting on for November.

Read more: https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Fundraising-in-the-state-Senate-could-foreshadow-13085841.php

July 23, 2018

Post about man in Nazi t-shirt at Crossgates goes viral

ALBANY -- The incident was jarring for those who saw it in person, but it didn't even register a blip in the Capital Region at large Friday:

An unidentified man wearing a T-shirt with the Nazi swastika was seen walking in downtown Albany and inside Crossgates Mall.

But after the owner of Jay St. Video Games in the mall posted a message on Facebook saying he refused to sell a book to the man and ordered him out of the store, the topic exploded on social media platforms, generating thousands of comments on Reddit, and hundreds of retweets on Twitter.

Pictures of the man surfaced. The onslaught of comments was on. Thousands offered either salty language of praise about the man's ejection from the store, or debated what kind of protections are in place even for those who display hateful symbols.

Read more: https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Man-who-wore-Nazi-T-shirt-at-Crossgates-goes-viral-13095575.php#photo-15904836


A photo taken by a patron at Crossgates Mall Friday, July 20, 2018 shows an unidentified man wearing a shirt that looks like the Nazi flag. (Provided)

July 23, 2018

Calls for D.A. to probe Long Beach payouts

More than 80 residents and elected officials gathered in front of City Hall on July 3 to call on Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas to investigate recent separation payouts to former City Manager Jack Schnirman and other current and former em-ployees who they claim were overpaid.

County Legislator Denise Ford (R-Long Beach), State Assemblywoman Melissa Miller (R-Atlantic Beach) and others questioned whether an audit of the city’s finances announced by State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s office in May included a review of the payouts. Residents, they said, have received little, if any, information.

“D.A. Singas confirmed that an audit was going on, yet this was denied by the comptroller’s office,” Ford told the crowd. “It makes you wonder, what are they hiding and why aren’t they communicating? We deserve answers, and truthful ones at that.”

In April, City Council members John Bendo and Anissa Moore voted against a $2.1 million bond measure to make up for separation payouts to 62 union and non-union employees in fiscal year 2017-18 when they learned that a number of them remained employed by the city. Bendo and Moore questioned whether some non-union employees in particular — including Schnirman, who left in January with $108,000 — should have received the payments they did.

Read more: http://liherald.com/stories/calls-for-da-to-probe-long-beach-payouts,105116

July 23, 2018

Merrick man charged in alleged $30M elder fraud scheme

A Merrick man was one of three charged in federal court on Wednesday in connection with a scheme to defraud seniors out of millions in fees to collect non-existent cash prizes.

According to U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue, Shaun Sullivan, 37, of Merrick, Tully Lovisa, 55, of Huntington Station, and Lorraine Chalavoutis, 61, of Greenlawn, were arraigned on Wednesday on multiple charges of mail fraud, perjury and money laundering.

The three made close to $30 million off of their victims, according to an indictment unsealed on Wednesday.

“The defendants perpetrated a cruel hoax on their victims, many of them elderly and vulnerable, by sending promotional mailings that falsely claimed that they would receive tens of thousands of dollars in prize money if they paid a fee,” Donoghue said.

Read more: http://liherald.com/stories/merrick-man-charged-in-alleged-30m-elder-fraud-scheme,105101

July 23, 2018

Jury finds Dean Skelos, son guilty in corruption retrial

Former State Senate majority leader used influence to help secure jobs for son


A jury found former State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and his son, Adam, guilty on all counts Tuesday in their corruption retrial in Manhattan’s U.S. District Court. The four-week proceeding wrapped up July 13, and the jury had deliberated for nearly three days.

The father and son from Rockville Centre were convicted on corruption, extortion and conspiracy charges in 2015, after the elder Skelos allegedly used his political power to secure work for Adam at no- or low-show jobs. The two returned to court on June 19 after their convictions were overturned last year.

Sentencing for the retrial was reportedly scheduled for Oct. 24.

Dean, 70, and Adam, 36, were sentenced to five and six and a half years in prison, respectively, in their first trial. They have been out on bail since last August, when a court order by U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood released them because there was “a substantial question whether jurors received the correct instructions to make an accurate ruling.”

Read more: http://liherald.com/stories/jury-finds-dean-skelos-and-son-guilty-in-corruption-retrial,105210