$600K Settlement for NYPD Officer Who Made Quota Tapes

An NYPD officer who claimed he was handcuffed and hauled off to a psych ward after he blew the whistle on supervisors faking crime statistics to make the stats look better reached a $600,000 settlement with the city on Tuesday.

It was Halloween night in 2009 when Adrian Schoolcraft said his fellow officers burst into his Queens home, declared him an emotionally disturbed person and brought him to a psychiatric facility.

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The officer, who worked in Brooklyn, had made hundreds of hours of secret tapes while on duty that chronicled everything from roll calls to locker room chatter to bosses yelling at him. He also claimed supervisors forged crime statistics to make the stats look better than they were.

Among other things, Schoolcraft alleged that officers were being told to hand out more summonses and make more arrests while others were downgrading crimes on purpose to make their precinct's numbers appear better. Schoolcraft claimed that officers who didn't were told they would be transferred or given undesirable schedules.

In October 2009, officers from the department's emergency service unit went with a police chief to Schoolcraft's home in Queens and forced him into an ambulance, he alleged. Schoolcraft was suspended from the force after his involuntary hospital stay and went into self-exile in upstate New York as his lawyer filed a $50 million civil rights lawsuit against the city.

On Tuesday, he reached a settlement with New York City and several former superiors. The settlement, which awards him $600,000, also includes back pay and benefits beginning in December 2009. The case had been set to go to trial in October.

"We are pleased that we were able to reach a just and fair resolution of this dispute with Adrian Schoolcraft," Nick Paolucci, a spokesman for the city's Corporation Counsel, said Tuesday. Paolucci said the settlement was not an admission of wrongdoing, but was "in the best interest of the city."
The only officer who was not represented by the city in the case, Insp. Steven Mauriello, said in a statement through his union Tuesday that he was disappointed with the settlement.

"Inspector Mauriello is disappointed this case settled," his union president Roy Richter said. "Although he was fully indemnified by the City, the Inspector was anticipating a trial decision that would provide a truthful account in a court of law."
Schoolcraft's attorney, Nathaniel Smith, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Associated Press writer Colleen Long contributed to this report.

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Retired Firefighter Breaches Security at JFK to 'Give Pope His Business Card': Complaint

A former New York City firefighter carrying five bullets and marijuana breached security at JFK Airport and drove onto the tarmac in order to give Pope Francis his business card, according to a criminal complaint filed against him.

Chris Cannella, 39, followed a United Nations motorcade into JFK around 6 p.m. Saturday and flashed his retired FDNY badge at a security check to get onto the tarmac, the document says.
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Cannella was driving a black Chevy Tahoe similar to the SUVs used by the NYPD and the United Nations, authorities said.

The retired firefighter was stopped by detectives as he sat outside a second checkpoint; they asked why he was following the motorcade. Cannella allegedly said he wanted to give the pope his business card and that he wanted to meet with world leaders to affect change.

Cannella also allegedly later tore apart a chair in an interrogation room and threatened an officer with the broken pieces.

He is charged with criminal impersonation, criminal mischief, unauthorized possession of a pistol and/or revolver/ammunition, firearms ammunition feeding device, criminal trespass and unlawful possession of marijuana. It was unclear if he had an attorney.

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'Swatting' plagues New Jersey

" It is called swatting... Fake calls that send police to an unsuspecting home... And it is a growing problem."

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NEWS) - Police across New Jersey have responded to dozens of phony 911 calls in recent months. The prank is known as "swatting" and investigators say it's often difficult to catch those responsible.

Robert Ianuale has been swatted multiple times. The first time was in April. He happened to be live streaming on his webcam when officers burst into his Keyport, New Jersey, apartment and the camera continued to roll. "Out of nowhere I hear in the back 'Police!' I'm just like what? I turn around and I see police officers coming through the door and three or four with automatic rifles and bullet proof vests," said Ianuale.

Ianuale said the officers told him they had received reports he shot his girlfriend and was holding hostages.

Swatting is officially defined as calling in a fake threat and triggering a deployment of a SWAT team and it has become an epidemic in New Jersey this year.

"I don't think there is a single county that hasn't been hit by swatting incidents," said Richard Frankel, the Special Agent in Charge of the Newark Bureau of the FBI. Swatting initially gained popularity among online gamers who would call police on an opponent in an act of revenge or as an attempt at distraction but Frankel says it's no longer exclusive to that community. "Everyone is making these calls now," Frankel said. The targets range from individuals like Ianuale, to schools, to mosques and even a Pizza Hut.

SAC Frankel estimated there have been around 80 incidents so far this year across New Jersey. Some towns like Freehold, Holmdel and Princeton have been hit especially hard. Local municipalities tell Fox 5 each swatting call can cost up to tens of thousands of dollars in resources. And then there's the issue of safety, explains Frankel.

"You'll have a SWAT team come in there thinking there is an active shooter based on what happened in the past-what's truly happened at schools, at institutions, at campuses," he said, adding "I'm surprised there hasn't been something of the equivalent of a friendly fire at this point." But despite the often massive law enforcement response when the calls come in, arrests are rare. It's not for lack of trying. The problem is technology is making it easier than ever to make web-based blocked calls. Easily accessible apps can spoof numbers to look like they're coming from a different caller.

"The technology exists where 911 is not just a phone call anymore," explains Mark Fletcher, an emergency number professional and the Chief Architect for Public Safety solutions at Avaya Telecommunications.


Fletcher explains many swatters don't actually call in their threats to 911 phone lines. Instead they call non-emergency lines via the web or send in their threats using internet text services designed for the hearing or speech impaired, tactics that make it easier to block the call's origins. Swatting has become so widespread the Federal Communications Commission stepped in and issued an order that would block non-verified 911 calls to IP relay services.

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Tropical storm system Juaqun could bring torrential rain flood to NY, NJ and CT

 NEW YORK – A strong onshore flow and an approaching cold front will bring the return of showers across the region for the next few days. On top of this, a tropical system which could become Joaquin by Monday night, and will drift northwest before getting caught with the cold front on Thursday.

The moist flow off the ocean could bring some drizzle and fog Monday night. Temperatures will be in the mid to upper 60s.

On Tuesday, the morning fog will eventually burn off by midday. The cold front will start to make its way east reaching the Appalachians by the afternoon. That could bring a few scattered showers late in the day. Ahead of the front, expect it to be warm and humid with highs at around the 80-degree mark.
Eventually the front approaches and rain will become steady Tuesday night into Wednesday. The front will be enhanced by deep tropical moisture so the rain will be heavy at times dumping anywhere from 1-3”. Rainfall rates are also expected to be high at times, so flash flooding will be a concern across the region.

Further down the road, we are watching a tropical system in the Atlantic Ocean. Tropical Depression 11 formed late on Sunday and is expected to become Tropical Storm Joaquin by Monday night. Current forecasts show the storm drifting northwest maintaining status as a tropical storm through Thursday.

The cold front that will pass through our region on Wednesday will “catch” the storm and drive it quickly up north on Friday as an “extratropical” low.  That is just a fancy name stating that the storm loses its tropical characteristics. Regardless of this fact, this storm could bring another round of drenching rains from late Friday into part of the weekend.


There is a lot of uncertainty this far out on what this storm will do to our area. We do not know the extent of the rain across the region. On top of that, coastal and river flooding will be questionable.  The exact details will have to be worked out for the next few days. We’ll keep you up to date as we get closer.

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Man Shoots Self in Groin as Officers Approach: NYPD

A man accidentally shot himself in the groin early Saturday morning in Brooklyn as he was approached by officers, who believed he was urinating in the street, police said.

The 26-year-old man was standing with his back to traffic near Clarkson Avenue and East 93rd Street in Flatbush around 1:15 a.m., police said. The uniformed officers, who had been patrolling the area in an unmarked van, thought he was urinating in public and pulled their vehicle over.
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As the officers approached the man, they heard one gunshot erupt from where the man was standing. After the gunshot, the suspect allegedly ran towards East 94th Street, where he was apprehended.
The officers noticed that the man had accidentally shot himself in the groin while he was handling the firearm. Paramedics took the man to Kings County Hospital in stable condition.
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Officers located the gun under the rear passenger tire of a minivan. Police say the suspect threw the weapon there while he was running from them. He remains in custody and charges against him are pending.

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Fordham, Marquette rescind honorary degrees they gave Cosby

NEW YORK (AP) — Fordham and Marquette universities have rescinded from Bill Cosby honorary degrees amid allegations from women accusing the comedian of sexual assault.

The two Jesuit schools announced the actions Thursday.

In Milwaukee, Marquette's Board of Trustees approved a resolution rescinding an honorary degree presented to Cosby in 2013.

Fordham's Board of Trustees also voted to take back an honorary doctor of fine arts degree given to him in 2001.

Both schools say it is the first time they have rescinded an honorary degree.

Cosby admitted having extramarital relationships with several women, including some who now accuse him of sexual assault. He has never been charged with a crime.

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Exclusive: City to pay $70K to settle suit alleging NYPD erased footage of beating

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The city will pay $70,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging an NYPD officer let CCTV footage of a suspect's beating get erased before the suspect or his lawyer could review it.

Keashon Gillam, 22, alleged in a federal lawsuit that an NYPD "VIPER" camera recorded an Oct. 8, 2011 incident outside the Stapleton Houses where officers pummeled him badly enough to leave him with a concussion, medical staples and a scar on his head.

One of the officers who worked inside the housing complex's camera room rushed out to join the beating, the lawsuit alleged, then failed to flag the footage for archiving, meaning that, by NYPD policy, it would be erased after seven days, the lawsuit alleged.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge I. Leo Glasser dismissed the case, after Gillam and the city agreed to a settlement a month earlier.

"It was right in front of video cameras, and the video evidence was recorded over before we could get it, and we tried very hard," said Gillam's lawyer, Gregory Antollino. "We didn't even find out that it had been recorded over until years later. And so I think the policy with regard to those tapes needs to be looked at so that the truth can be preserved."

According to the NYPD patrol guide, recordings made by the city's Video-Interactive Patrol Enhanced Response, or VIPER cameras, are erased and destroyed every seven days, unless the recording is the subject of an incident report.

"I knew there was cameras out there, because basically I've been living out here all my life," Gillam said in an interview with the Advance Thursday. "For them to say that had no videotape, I knew that was BS.... Me and my mother went to get the tape so many times."

SUIT FILED IN 2012

Gillam filed his lawsuit in December 2012, while the criminal case against him was still pending.

According to the lawsuit, the officers had been chasing a "big fish" suspect, and when they couldn't catch him, "turned to a group of young black men standing near 218 Broad St."

Gillam, who was then 18, was standing outside with his cousin, tried to walk away from two officers, Christopher Parco and Timothy Lake, the lawsuit alleged. He had a small amount of marijuana on him, according to the lawsuit.

Moments earlier, Gillam told the Advance, he had watched a man who had been sitting on a bench run as soon as police showed up at the housing development.

The officers yelled, "Get the (expletive) up on the gate, get the (expletive) up on the gate!" Gillam recalled.

"Me and my cousin, we're going home, we're not doing nothing, so we didn't think they were talking to us," he said.

Parco grabbed him, "spun him to the ground" and bashed his head with a police radio, and Lake joined in, punching and kicking him, the lawsuit alleged.

NO 'INCIDENT REPORT'

Officer Daniel Magee was watching the scene unfold in the VIPER surveillance room at the Stapleton Houses and rushed out to join the two officers, the lawsuit alleged, beating Gillam after he was cuffed.

"Although it was procedure to do so, Magee should have prepared an incident report to flag the video of the incident, which was caught on camera. He purposely did not to protect Parco and his brethren from being charged with excessive force," the lawsuit alleged.

At one point, the lawsuit alleged, Lake cut his finger on a safety razor while searching Gillam's pocket, flicked blood into Gillam's face and referred to him as a "n----r."

Gillam suffered a concussion and needed medical staples in his head, the lawsuit alleged.

He was planning to start classes at ASA College in Manhattan the next day, he told the Advance, but after recovering from his injuries, he could only focus on classes for the first couple of months.

"It just took a toll on me, I just didn't want to keep going to school every day just thinking about that day," he said. Gillam said he now works as a security guard and plans to return to school.

ACQUITTED AT TRIAL

Gillam was ultimately acquitted of resisting arrest charges at a bench trial this past March, and was adjudicated as a youthful offender on a marijuana possession charge in April.

His cousin, who was also arrested, was only charged with marijuana possession, and received an adjournment contemplating dismissal.

The city's Civilian Complaint Review Board and the NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau investigated the incident, but did not substantiate any allegations against Lake or Parco, the lawsuit alleged. Magee was "retrained" over his handling of the VIPER video, according to the lawsuit.

The NYPD has not yet responded to a request made Wednesday seeking both comment on the case and general information about the department's policies regarding VIPER recordings.

"Settling the case was in the best interest of the city," said city Law Department spokesman Nick Paolucci.

Court records show the three named officers have been defendants in multiple lawsuits against the NYPD. One case involving both Lake and Magee is still pending, while the rest have ended with settlements.

Last September, Patrolmen's Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch criticized the city for settling so many cases against police officers, referring to them as "quick buck" lawsuits that "have a secondary impact of seriously injuring the reputation of good police officers who often are not given the opportunity to defend themselves."

TWICE THE AVERAGE PAYOUT

The city has spent $428 million between January 2009 and October 2014 to settle nearly 11,000 NYPD-related lawsuits, according to numbers provided by the Law Department to the website MuckRock.com.

Gillam received more than double the $33,000 average paid out in those cases.

"I think the city was fair. I think it was a fair settlement," Antollino said.

While he's grateful for the settlement money, Gillam said, "I'd rather see officers like that off the streets."

Antollino called for the NYPD to revise its policy on deleting VIPER recordings.

"Who knows what the tape would have shown? But we think that it would have shown exactly what we alleged, and I think that the city policies on these VIPER cameras have got to change," Antollino said. "As it is, they record over them every week, and only if they get flagged do they save them."

Lawyer Jason Leventhal, who regularly handles cases against the NYPD, including several unrelated lawsuits against the officers named in Gillam's suit, also called for better handling of VIPER footage.

"Videos provide the most compelling evidence to determine what happened during a police encounter.  The destruction of videos strikes at the heart of the integrity of our justice system," he said. "The NYPD should immediately institute policies requiring the prompt examination and preservation of potential video evidence to ensure that the truth prevails."

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Cops: Port Richmond teen allegedly stabs 65-year-old woman

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.—A Port Richmond teen allegedly stabbed a 65-year-old woman multiple times during a purse-snatching incident Tuesday.

The victim was standing at a bus stop on Post Avenue and looking down at her phone when the 14-year-old male, whose name is being withheld because he's a juvenile,  came up from behind and stabbed her three times in the back at approximately 10 p.m., according to allegations in court documents.

The woman was taken to Richmond University Medical Center, West Brighton, police said.

The teen was caught by good Samaritans, according to a law enforcement source.

Police then recovered the gravity knife and pocketbook.


The defendant was arrested a half hour later on Post Avenue and charged with robbery in the first degree, a felony, robbery in the second degree, three accounts of assault, grand larceny in the fourth degree, criminal possession of property in the fifth degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, according to a spokesman for Acting District Attorney Daniel Master.

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EXCLUSIVE: Woman held in psych ward over Obama Twitter claim

#IMNOTCRAZY!

A Long Island woman’s insistence that President Obama follows her on Twitter made doctors at the Harlem Hospital psych ward think she was delusional and suffering from bipolar disorder — but she was actually telling the truth, a lawsuit charges.

Kam Brock’s frightening eight-day “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” ordeal at the mental facility included forced injections of powerful sedatives and demands she down doses of lithium, medical records obtained through her suit filed in Manhattan Federal Court show.

They also indicate that doctors didn’t believe the leader of the free world followed her on Twitter — though @BarackObama follows over 640,000 accounts, including hers. They were also skeptical she worked at a bank, records show.

“I told (the doctor) Obama follows me on Twitter to show her the type of person I am. I’m a good person, a positive person. Obama follows positive people!” Brock, whose Twitter handle is @AkilahBrock, said.

A “master treatment plan” from Harlem Hospital backs up the Astoria Bank worker’s story.

“Objective: Patient will verbalize the importance of education for employment and will state that Obama is not following her on Twitter,” the document reads.

It also notes “patient’s weaknesses: inability to test reality, unemployment.”

Adding insult to insanity, the hospital hit Brock with a bill of $13,637.10, she charges in her suit seeking unspecified damages.

The bizarre experience began Sept. 12, when the NYPD seized her prized 2003 BMW 325Ci in Harlem because they suspected she was high on weed, her attorney, Michael Lamonsoff, said. Cops found no marijuana but confiscated her ride anyway, he said. The NYPD declined to comment.

The following day, Brock walked into the NYPD’s Public Service Area 6 stationhouse in Harlem to retrieve her car, her suit charges.

Brock — an eccentric 32-year-old born in Jamaica with dreams of making it big in the entertainment business — admitted in an interview she was “emotional,” but insisted she in no way is an “emotionally disturbed person.”

Nevertheless, cops cuffed her and put her in an ambulance bound for the hospital, her suit charges.

“Next thing you know, the police held onto me, the doctor stuck me with a needle and I was knocked out,” Brock said, tearing up. “I woke up to them taking off my underwear and then went out again. I woke up the next day in a hospital robe.”

Lamonsoff said race may have been a factor in the way Brock was treated.

“How would you act if you were being told you were crazy?” he said.

For eight days, she attended group therapy, endured injections of sedatives, and took lorazepam and lithium, medical records show, according to Lamonsoff.

Obama follows more than 640,000 accounts on Twitter.
POOL/REUTERS

Obama follows more than 640,000 accounts on Twitter.

When she was finally let go, the doctors didn’t tell her why she was being allowed to leave, Brock said.

Harlem Hospital declined to comment. The city Law Department said the suit would be reviewed.

As Brock wages her court battle, she had one wish. “Follow me on Twitter! Like Obama does!” she said.

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LIVE STREAMING NOW | Pope Francis in New York | St Patrick's Cathedral (Exclusive Coverage)

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MAJOR K2 BUST IN THE BRONX UNCOVERS $10M IN DRUGS

NEW YORK (WABC) -- A major synthetic marijuana or K2 bust was made in the Bronx Wednesday evening.

Some two million packets were found with a value of approximately $10 million.

It happened on Poplar Street in the Bronx.

It was part of an undercover operation that was a continuation of a K2 bust from last week.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Department of Homeland Security were also involved in the investigation with the NYPD.

There have been no official arrests at this time.

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Selfies are actually more deadly than sharks: Report

NEW YORK – If you are afraid of sharks here's a new statistic that may make you feel better -- more people died from taking selfies this year than from shark bites.

According to the website Mashable, 12 people have died in 2015 from snapping selfies, while eight deaths were caused by shark attacks.

It's possible there's been an increase of people reportedly making dangerous attempts at a memorable photo.

Selfie deaths are becoming so common that there is even a Wikipedia page dedicated to listing selfie-related injuries or deaths.

The Russian government released a brochure advising against taking "cool" selfies after a string of death-by-selfie incidents in the country.

So remember, no matter how strong your selfie game is, best to check over your shoulder before you click.

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Cops: Man shot and injured by 4 suspects in Mariners Harbor

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. --  A 35-year-old man was shot and injured early on Tuesday morning in Mariners Harbor and police are seeking four suspects in the attack.

The man is likely to recover after being shot twice, in the back and hip, for unknown reasons at Brabant Street and Grandview Avenue near the Mariners Harbor Houses at 12:12 a.m. on Tuesday, according to a spokesman for the NYPD's Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.

Police are seeking four male suspects of unknown description. Cops also are unable to provide a motive for the shooting.

The man was treated at Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton.

Police radio transmissions indicated that a level-one mobilization was called as cops canvassed the neighborhood during the early morning hours.

This incident occurred just down the block from where a man was shot in the buttocks last week.

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Verizon could be sued by NYC over reportedly broken FiOS promises

A number of New York City officials said they are considering suing Verizon (NYSE: VZ) for not meeting their proposed FiOS buildout obligations set in their 2008 franchise agreement.

"We want them to make it available to everyone in every ZIP code and on every block so that everyone can get online, to do research, to do their homework," said Maya Wiley, the chief lawyer for Mayor de Blasio, in a New York Times article. "We need our residents to get online."

Wiley said that her staff was working with Verizon and would like avoid a lawsuit, adding that "if that's what we have to do, then that's what we'll do."

John Bonomo, a Verizon spokesman told FierceTelecom in an e-mail that it wants to resolve the issues it has with the city in order to extend FiOS to more users.

"We want to work with the city administration on a workable solution to this and other impediments so that all New Yorkers can benefit from FIOS," Bonomo said. "In completing this massive infrastructure achievement, the company has both provided New Yorkers hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers with a choice for better TV, and a better value over the incumbent cable TV monopoly companies, and it has provided the City with a resilient, reliable telecommunications infrastructure that is the envy of cities the world over."

Verizon and the city have not been on the greatest of terms lately.

In June, an audit conducted by the New York City's Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications found that Verizon failed to deliver on its promise to provide fiber-optic service for television and broadband to anyone who wants it by 2014.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Verizon was quick to dismiss the audit, saying it was based upon erroneous information and incorrect interpretations of the company's franchise deal that was signed with the city in 2008, which allowed it to deploy FiOS throughout the city.

Following the audit, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio began requiring city hall to approve any business local agencies do with the service provider, a measure focused on getting it to fulfill its goal to wire the city with FiOS fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) service.

Under the terms of the agreement, Verizon agreed to pass all 3 million homes in New York City by the end of 2014, an obligation that the telco said it has met.

"By installing fiber-optic cables throughout the five boroughs -- an initiative no other communications company has done -- Verizon has met its commitment to New York City under the cable television franchise it was awarded in 2008," Bonomo said. 

According to city officials, FiOS is not available in large parts of the city, including the Co-op City complex in the Bronx, which comprises more than 15,000 apartments and whose residents say they want FiOS. 

Bonomo said that "Co-Op City has an exclusive agreement with Cablevision, which could make it unprofitable for us to market FiOS there."

Verizon has long argued that one of the issues it has run into in building out FTTH service to more areas of the city are landlords that restrict access to their facilities.

Kevin Service, senior vice president for network operations for Verizon, told theNew York Times as a way to illustrate the point of the challenges it faces with properties owners if it wants to wire 118th Street in East Harlem it will have to work with multiple property owners.

"To get to the 10th floor in the middle of the block," he said, "we've got to talk to not only that building, but the three buildings on one side and the four buildings on the other side."

For more:

- New York Times has this article

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Schumer Urges DEA to Target Online K2 Sales

Sen. Charles Schumer is urging the Drug Enforcement Administration to create a special investigative unit to target online sales of synthetic marijuana.

The New York Democrat said that despite state bans on fake pot, dealers are able to sell it online to users as well as retailers. A special unit within the DEA could investigate these dealers and notify credit card companies to stop transactions involved in purchasing the drugs, he said.

Federal statistics show some 2,300 emergency room visits in a two-month period were related to synthetic marijuana use, and that poison control center calls about the drug are surging around the nation, Schumer said.

Synthetic marijuana, commonly referred to as K2, is designed to mimic actual marijuana but can have very different effects on the brain and body.

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Boat capsizes in the East River near Queens; 19 rescued

QUEENS -- Multiple people were rescued after a boat capsized in the East River Sunday afternoon.

The Dragon Boat racing team was on board for their last practice of the season.

They started at the World's Fair Marina and were heading to the Whitestone Bridge when the boat capsized around 1:30 p.m. near College Point Yacht Club in Queens.

Nineteen people were tossed into the water.

"Our boat capsized because the wakes were too big," Franklin Chiu said.

The team of 19 clung to the boat until rescuers arrived. Each member of the team was equipped with a life jacket. They were pulled to safety by first responders and taken to College Point Yacht Club.

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10 Indicted, 80 Locations Raided in Biggest Synthetic Pot Crackdown in New York City History: Officials

Federal agents and New York City authorities raided about 80 locations throughout the city Wednesday and arrested six people in what officials are calling the largest crackdown on the importation, distribution and sale of synthetic cannabinoids, commonly known as synthetic marijuana, in New York City history, law enforcement officials said.

A total of 10 people were named in a federal indictment on charges of participating in a scheme to illegally import at least 100 kilograms of illegal synthetic compounds into the U.S., enough to produce 260,000 retail packets, officials said. The seizure had a street value of about $30 million.

Of the 10 suspects, four are still being sought, officials say.

Several of the defendants are accused of importing illegal synthetic compounds in powdered form from China using commercial delivery services and transporting them to a processing facility in the Bronx where other defendants mixed the compounds with chemical solvents and then sprayed the mixture onto tea leaves, the indictment says.

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Co-conspirators then bundled the dried tea leaves into retail packets, labeled them and transported them to warehouses controlled by wholesale distributors, the indictment alleges.

Officials say the retail packets, which contained about 3 to 6 grams of synthetic marijuana, were sold to individual customers for $5 per packet. Packets were sold under names such as “AK-47, “Blue Caution,” “Green Giant,” “Geeked Up,” “Psycho” and other brands.

The investigation and raids were conducted by the DEA, the NYPD, Homeland Security Investigations and the NYC Sheriff’s office.

Those arrested Tuesday appeared in federal court in Manhattan later Wednesday. All are charged with conspiracy to distribute narcotics and face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Prosecutors asked for a high bail amount for the defendants because of the money involved in the operation -- $30 million worth of products have been seized so far.

Two of the defendants were released on $200,000 bond; three others were released on $500,000 bond. One other suspect, Murad Kassim, remains detained on $1 million bond because he was a flight risk, the judge said. Kassim is also believed to have access to to a significant portion of the money in the scheme.

All defendants have been ordered to surrender travel documents and were given travel restrictions within the southern and eastern districts of New York. 

Officials say synthetic marijuana is popular among teenagers and young adults because it is inexpensive and sold at legitimate retail locations.

The U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy has reported the effects of synthetic marijuana use include anxiety, nausea, vomiting, rapid heart rate, tremors, seizures and suicidal thoughts.

Authorities said potency can vary from batch to batch so no one knows the precise effects. Synthetic marijuana is not detected by drug tests, so some users see it as a way to use without the risk of testing positive, according to officials.

“Despite sometimes being calls synthetic marijuana, this stuff is not marijuana. It can cause unpredictably severe and even lethal effects," Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said at a news briefing. "It is not natural and it is not harmless in any sense of the word. In fact, some experts believe that spice can be up to 100 times more potent than pot.”

“What is being sold every day in bodegas and convenience stores throughout the city to teenagers, to homeless people, to addicts is literally poison," Bharara added. "Toxic chemicals that bind to receptors in the central nervous system to frightening and sometimes even deadline effect.”

At the news briefing, officials said phone calls to U.S. poison centers for synthetic marijuana in the first four months of this year increased 225 percent compared with the same time period last year. In New York state, use of synthetic pot resulted in 2,300 emergency room visits in a one-month period this year, a ten-fold increase compared with the same time period last year. 

"This is a scourge on our society, affecting the most disadvantaged neighborhoods and our most challenged citizens. It affects teenagers in public housing, homeless in the city shelter system, and it’s quite literally flooding our streets," Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said in a statement. "This is marketed as synthetic marijuana, some call it K2. It is sold by the names of Galaxy, Diamond, Rush, and Matrix. But its real name is poison.”

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BREAKING: Carey Gabay, an aide to Governor Andrew Cuomo, has died after suffering a gunshot wound to the head during a pre-West Indian Day Parade shooting.

CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn — Carey Gabay, an aide to Governor Andrew Cuomo, has died after suffering a gunshot wound to the head during a pre-West Indian Day Parade shooting.

Gabay, 43, was shot during the J'ouvert Festival on September 7. He was walking with his brother near the parade route just before 4 a.m., when shots rang out. He was rushed to Kings County Hospital where he remained for nine days before succumbing to his injuries.

Wednesday afternoon his family announced that Gabay was brain dead.
Gabay was a first deputy general counselor to Governor Cuomo. Cuomo called the Harvard-educated lawyer an "outstanding public servant." Gabay joined Cuomo's administration in 2011.

No arrests have been made at this time. Days after the shooting, police released a sketch of one of the suspects.

Police are looking for this man in connection to a shooting that fatally wounded an aide to Governor Cuomo. (DCPI)

The suspects are believed to be between 19 and 20. One of the suspects was wearing a white T-shirt, black pants and had a Jamaican flag around his neck.

Police later released a video of the two suspects.

A $12,500 reward for information about the attack has been posted by police.
The shooting was one of several violent incidents surrounding the parade. A 24-year-old man was fatally stabbed that same day, not far from the parade route.
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Blizzard warnings, travel bans, closures storm the East Coast

Travel bans, flight cancellations, power outages and school closures are being issued throughout the northeast coast. Here's a look at what's going on in each state:

NEW YORK

• Blizzard warning and coastal flood watch issued by the National Weather Service.
• No cars on the streets, outside of emergency vehicles, after 11 p.m. Monday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. Violation of this will count as a misdemeanor calling for a $300 fine, he said.
• Public transportation and commuter transportation out of Port Authority Bus Terminal shuts down at 11 p.m., Cuomo said.
• Free cab rides: Greater New York Taxi Association offered free cab service in NYC for emergency responders trying to get to work, and disabled and elderly residents who become stranded.
• Cuomo urged commuters to stay home Monday and warned that mass transit and roadways could be closed before the evening rush hour, even major highways such as the New York Thruway, Interstate 84 and the Long Island Expressway.
• All flights in and out of LaGuardia Airport on Tuesday are cancelled, Cuomo said. Flights in and out of John F. Kennedy Airport will be minimal, the governor said.
• Knicks vs. Kings: Monday night's New York Knicks game against the Sacramento Kings at Madison Square Garden is rescheduled for March 3.
• Nets vs. Trail Blazers: Brooklyn Nets' game against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Barclays Center is rescheduled for April 6.
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More People Moving Into NYC Than Moving Out for the First Time in Over 60 Years

Mayor Bloomberg announced that more people are moving to New York City than are moving out for the first time since before 1950, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau estimates released today. The estimates show New York City’s population has hit an all-time record high of 8,336,697. The city’s population increased by 161,564 since 2010 – about two percent in two years. This increase is among the largest two-year increases in recent decades.

The increase is fueled by a continuing increase in people moving to the city and a decline in the number of people leaving the city, as well as the continued growth in the surplus of births over deaths due to life expectancy in the city reaching new record highs. Each of the five boroughs registered gains in population. The largest percentage change occurred in Brooklyn, where the population grew by 2.4 percent or 60,900 people; followed by Manhattan (2.1 percent or 33,200 people); Queens (1.9 percent or 42,000 people); the Bronx (1.7 percent or 23,400 people); and Staten Island (0.4 percent or 2,000 people). New York City’s increase since April 2010 represented 84 percent of the total population increase in New York State, which slightly increased the city’s share of the state’s population, from 42.2 percent to 42.6 percent.

The city’s population has grown by more than 300,000 since Mayor Bloomberg took office. Earlier this week, the MTA announced that subway annual ridership for 2012 was 1.654 billion, the highest in 62 years. Average weekend ridership on the subway grew by three percent, matching the all-time historic high for weekend ridership set in 1946.

“For the first time since before 1950, more people are coming to New York City than leaving,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “We have many indicators of quality of life in the city – record low crime, record high tourism, record high life expectancy, record high graduation rates, record job growth and more – but there’s no better indication of the strength of our city than a record high population and a net population influx. People are voting with their feet.”

The all-time high population and net influx of residents for the first time in more than 60 years is one of a number of recent measures that show quality of life in New York City is better than ever:


Record Lows
Murders: 419 in 2012
Shootings: 1,353 in 2012
Incarceration rates: 474 inmates per 100,000 residents in New York City in 2011
Teen pregnancy: 72.6 pregnancies per 1,000 girls in 2010
Emergency response times: Six minutes and 30 seconds in 2012
Fire fatalities: 58 in 2012

Record Highs
Private-sector jobs:3.2 million
Life expectancy: Average of 80.9 years
Tourists: 52 million in 2012
High school graduation rate: 65 percent
Percentage of New Yorkers who live within a 10-minute walk of a park: 76 percent

The Census Bureau’s methodology for data gathered prior to 1950 does not allow for calculation of the influx of people to New York City. More information and analysis on the Census Estimates is available at www.nyc.gov.

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