July 23, 2018

Contractor pleads guilty to bilking Sandy victims of more than $170K: DA

Andrew Troiano, a former L.I. resident, was sentenced up to three years in prison for the grand larceny of over $170,000 from three Superstorm Sandy (2012) couples he promised new homes in the Rockaways, according to the Queens district attorney’s office.

Troiano pleaded guilty to in September 2017 to the crimes committed from July 19, 2013 to June 26, 2014, according to DA Richard Brown’s office.

“In pleading guilty, the defendant admitted he ripped off people who had already had their lives destroyed by a natural disaster. Then, he came along offering to build them new homes to start over,” said Brown.

Two of the families lived in Breezy Point and the third resided at Rockaway Point, according to Brown. Both neighborhoods are at the western tip of the Rockaway Peninsula.

Read more: https://www.timesledger.com/stories/2018/29/sandystormthief_2018_07_20_q.html

July 23, 2018

Westchester cancels its garbage contract with Joseph Spiezio's firm. Company owes NLRB $780K.

A company owned by Mount Vernon’s controversial deputy police commissioner, Joseph Spiezio, lost its contract to pick up garbage at Westchester County facilities because of a $4.2 million civil judgment for failing to pay employee benefits.

The county Board of Acquisition & Contract last week approved an emergency six-month solid waste contract with City Carting for $720,000 to replace Spiezio’s R&S Waste Services.

R&S, which landed the county contract in 2011, got a new three-year pact in 2017 for $1.4 million after it was the only bidder. The contract would have run to 2020 and the company had a pair of one-year options after that.

But in late March, R&S was found liable for a $4.2 million judgment for violating the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act. That decision was for a 2012 federal lawsuit by trust and pension funds of Local 813 of the Teamsters union.

Read more: https://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/westchester/2018/07/17/westchster-county-ends-contract-joseph-spiezio-garbage-company/791085002/
(Rockland/Westchester Journal News)

Additional information: http://www.yonkerstribune.com/2018/07/westchester-county-rescinds-solid-waste-carting-contract-with-joseph-spiezio-due-to-780000-arrears-with-national-labor-relations-board-and-4-2-million-in-civil-judgments-for-failure-to-pay-employee

July 23, 2018

The Real Link Between the White House and the Kremlin

‘At the root of the Russia scandal are the parallels between Trump and Putin that animate all our president’s unsavory behavior: a willingness to loot and an eagerness to lie’


In the late 1980s, a scandal began to unfold in the Soviet Union that would ultimately engulf members of the highest levels of government and the military, a case of corruption that was astounding in its brazenness.

For decades, the leader of the Communist Party in the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic, Sharaf Rashidov, had overseen Uzbekistan’s cotton production. With the help of Yuri Churbanov — Leonid Brezhnev’s son-in-law and a four-star general — and a slate of local KGB officers, Uzbek officials had fed the Kremlin a steady stream of statistics detailing excellent harvests, quotas met and exceeded, new fields planted, and irrigation networks created. Some 3 billion rubles in crop subsidies flowed back to Uzbekistan to help keep this agricultural bonanza flourishing; the state’s resources poured into the cotton fields to such an extent that the crop earned the moniker “white gold” among Uzbek elites, according to Mark Galeotti’s magisterial history of Russian crime, The Vory. There was just one problem with the Uzbek bounty: The harvests were faked in their entirety, as hollow as the “dead souls” once collected by Gogol’s hero Chichikov. In 1982, the new general secretary, Yury Andropov — on the warpath against corruption since succeeding Brezhnev — resorted to desperate measures to break through the cozy patronage networks and cheerfully shameless conspiracy that defined the gambit: He directed spy satellites to photograph the fields where Uzbekistan’s cotton wealth supposedly flourished. The photos turned up endless swathes of scrub and steppe. The cotton had never existed.

At the heart of the Uzbek scandal was a vastly overpromoted son-in-law, one with unprecedented responsibility over national security. Churbanov, who had worked as a security guard before marrying Brezhnev’s daughter Galina, served as the well-placed Moscow connection for the cotton scheme; he was sentenced to twelve years in a prison camp in 1988. But the Uzbek cotton scandal, while dramatic, was merely the natural outgrowth of a culture of corruption that defined late-Soviet life. From ordinary citizens bribing doctors and shopkeepers for basic necessities to the ostentatious black-market ventures of party officials, the bureaucracy of the Soviet Union thinly veiled an economy that hinged on under-the-table transactions. The state was the prime mover of that society while, at the same time, serving as the personal bank of its highest-placed stewards.

Here in the United States, bribery is a rarity in ordinary life; money is everything, but by and large it’s exchanged over the table. And yet over the past two years, we’ve watched an unprecedented culture of corruption take over the highest levels of the executive branch of our government. Unlike the Uzbek cotton conspiracy, American corruption is happening right out in the open. Our very own overpromoted son-in-law, Jared Kushner, takes in high-level national security information while raking in millions from outside ventures, including real estate deals with foreign countries. President Trump followed up on a disastrous NATO summit and a meeting with British prime minister Theresa May by spending a weekend at his own golf resort in Scotland, Trump Turnberry; the U.S. government reportedly paid nearly $70,000 directly to Trump’s private business for the privilege. As has become numbingly routine, Trump took advantage of his presidential audience to tout his own business: “This place is incredible! Tomorrow I go to Helsinki for a Monday meeting with Vladimir Putin,” he wrote on Twitter.

Read more: https://www.villagevoice.com/2018/07/19/the-real-link-between-the-white-house-and-the-kremlin/

July 23, 2018

Fort Worth Med School Wants to Stop Making Scary Doctors

A doctor in a white coat walks into a examination room. The patient’s diagnosis: veisalgia. There is no cure, only treatments. The patient will have to live with nausea, lethargy, muscle aches and a sensitivity to bright light and loud noises. Doctor leaves the room. Next patient.

Relax, dude, it’s just a hangover. Why did this imaginary patient go to the doctor for a hangover? It doesn’t matter. It’s certainly not because the writer of this story actually has a hangover as he dredges up a rhetorical example for a story about a new medical school in North Texas that will begin teaching future doctors how not to talk down to patients.

Even if he did, that does not discount the fact that doctors can induce anxiety in patients when they describe even the simplest of medical issues and follow-up instructions in scientific jargon and terminology. So a new medical school in Fort Worth is rolling out a first-of-its-kind curriculum that will condition future doctors to be more sensitive in how they relate with patients.

“I’ve seen the impact that is made when you sit down with a family rather than stand over them,” says Dr. Stacey Vanvliet, one of the educators inside the Texas Christian University-University of North Texas Health Science Center School of Medicine. “We don’t want any of our future doctors to be that intimidating presence in the room.”

Read more: https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/fort-worth-med-school-wants-to-stop-making-scary-doctors-10918632

July 22, 2018

Deal Finalized to Revive Notorious 1,000-Bed South Texas Immigrant Detention Facility

On Wednesday, private prison company MTC announced it had finalized a deal to revive the notorious immigrant detention facility once known as “Ritmo,” in the tiny South Texas town of Raymondville. In a press release, MTC said the newly christened El Valle Detention Facility will hold 1,000 adult detainees for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Details about the deal are scarce. Willacy County officials haven’t publicly released the contract with ICE and MTC, and the county judge has refused to provide details to the press, such as how much federal money the county will be funneling to MTC. Earlier this month, about 50 protesters showed up to a county commissioners meeting to urge officials not to resurrect the facility, which they described as a disastrous boondoggle of human rights abuses and financial pitfalls.

In 2005, two Willacy County officials were convicted of bribery for trading their votes on the prison contract for money. After prisoners nearly burned “Ritmo” to the ground in 2015, local officials were left with an empty prison and a mountain of debt. Willacy County even sued MTC for mismanagement in 2016, but none of that has deterred county officials.

In MTC’s press release, Willacy County Judge Aurelio Guerra gave the company an enthusiastic endorsement. “MTC is a strong partner,” he said. “They are committed to the well-being of the people in their care. As you know, the last few years have been financially challenging for the county, so we look forward to this new facility and the economic benefits it will bring to our area.”

Read more: https://www.texasobserver.org/deal-finalized-to-revive-notorious-1000-bed-south-texas-immigrant-detention-facility/

July 22, 2018

Trump Orders New Air Force One Planes to Be Built in San Antonio

When he’s not consorting with Vladimir Putin or making payments to Playboy Bunnys, President Donald Trump is taking interviews.

On Tuesday, the president boasted to CBS his plans for the new set of presidential Air Force One planes, which haven’t seen change in more than 30 years. In a press release earlier this week, the U.S Department of Defense announced that construction for the millennial-era airships will take place in San Antonio as part of a $3.9 billion contract.

The current plans are a retro robins egg blue color, the product of a vision by the ever aesthetic-conscious Jackie Kennedy and chic Lucky Strike cigarette ad designer Raymond Loewy. Given this opportunity for the new vehicles, Trump naturally wants something more patriotic.

“Air Force One is going to be incredible,” Trump told CBS reporter Jeff Glor. “It’s going to be the top of the line, the top in the world, and it’s going to be red, white and blue. Which I think is appropriate.”

Read more: https://www.sacurrent.com/the-daily/archives/2018/07/20/trump-orders-new-air-force-one-planes-to-be-built-in-san-antonio

July 22, 2018

How Pete Sessions Lives the High Life on Corporate Donors' Dime

For years, the powerful Dallas congressman has used a largely unregulated political fund to court powerful special interests with luxurious perks.


Golf outings at an exclusive country club. A catered suite at a Dallas Cowboys game. Swanky ski resort getaways in the mountains of Utah. Life is good for Congressman Pete Sessions (R).

As the chair of the House Rules Committee, Sessions is Congress’ gatekeeper — the man who controls if and when legislation is considered on the House floor. And he’s used his position, aided by an under-the-radar political action committee (PAC), to finance a pampered life among fellow elites.

A new report released this week by Issue One and the Campaign Legal Center, campaign-finance reform groups based in Washington, D.C., explores how leadership PACs — special pots of money meant to help other politicians and build influence — have become lawmakers’ “preferred ticket to luxurious living.”

Leadership PACs are an obscure fundraising tool ostensibly used to support other candidates directly, or to subsidize a lawmaker’s travel while campaigning for other candidates. In other words, they can cover some peripheral expenses a lawmaker’s campaign account can’t. But with next to no spending restrictions and little oversight, politicians are increasingly using the money as a personal slush fund for extravagant flourishes and expensive events. In fact, less than half of the $160 million that leadership PACs spent in the 2016 cycle — about $74 million — actually went toward other federal candidates or political committees.

Read more: https://www.texasobserver.org/pete-sessions-leadership-pac-lavish/

July 22, 2018

Fire Union Files Federal Free Speech Lawsuit Against San Antonio

The San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association is filing a federal lawsuit against the city over its “free speech areas” at city libraries. The union claims the city violated the First Amendment when it prevented union petitioners from entering the buildings.

When the fire union gathered signatures for its charter amendment petitions at some city libraries in March, union officials said library staffers asked the petitioners to stay a few dozen feet away from the libraries' front doors. The city confirms the petitioners were asked to move to another part of the library grounds.

Union President Chris Steele said that kept them from interacting with some of the patrons, which violated their free speech rights.

“Not only are these rights to petition your government protected by federal law, but it's also protected by the state law and should be protected by the city of San Antonio charter,” Steele said.

Read more: http://tpr.org/post/fire-union-files-federal-free-speech-lawsuit-against-city

July 22, 2018

Chick-fil-A opening in Dallas' Oak Lawn gayborhood

Chick-fil-A opening on Cedar Springs


Chick-fil-A is opening on Cedar Springs Road at Mockingbird across from Love Field on July 25.

The restaurant is celebrating its grand opening by giving a free meal once a week for a year to 100 people who show up between 5:30 and 6 a.m. on July 24.

The restaurant chain is known for it’s anti-LGBT donations and statements made by its owner. Among the organizations the company has made donation to are Family Research Council, a leader in opposing same-sex marriage and Exodus International, a defunct “ex-gay” organization.

Chick-fil-A Chief Operating Officer Dan Cathy said, “I think we are inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say, “We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage”. I pray God’s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to define what marriage is about.”

When protests began, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee started Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day, however, Cathy said the company would stop donating to anti-LGBT organizations.

https://www.dallasvoice.com/warning-chick-fil-a-opening-on-cedar-springs-10256017.html

July 22, 2018

For Edna, Texas, Walmart Leaving Is A Turning Point

In big cities, businesses open and close all the time – usually with little fanfare. But when a retailer leaves a small town, it’s big news. Small town economies are fragile, and even one business packing its bags could spell major problems for locals. And that’s exactly what’s happening in Edna, Texas.

Edna is a town of a little less than 6,000 people. It’s located in Jackson County, 100 miles southwest of Houston. The area is mostly rural – farmers grow crops like cotton, corn and rice. And before we get to what’s happening in Edna today, let me tell you about what used to happen in Edna.

Joe Hermes has lived in Edna for over 60 years, and he’s been the town’s mayor for the last 32.

“When I was a youngster, the stores in this town stayed open on Saturdays from 7 in the morning to 10 at night,” Hermes says. “And people from outside the city would come in at 6:30 in the morning to get a parking place on Main Street. And they’d stay in town until 10 at night. People would sit on the hoods of their cars and as people walked up and down have big conversations. I mean, it was a different world.”

Read more: http://kut.org/post/edna-texas-walmart-leaving-turning-point