Crime reduction continues in 70th Precinct

By Helen Klein
Courier-Life

In terms of crime reduction, the 70th Precinct is “doing three times better than last year.”

That was the word from Deputy Inspector Ralph Monteforte, the precinct’s commanding officer, during the September meeting of the 70th Precinct Community Council.

Monteforte reminded the group gathered at Belsky House, 140 Lawrence Avenue, that last year -- with overall crime down five percent -- the precinct had won NYPD’s coveted unit citation.

As of September 27th, the precinct was down, year to date, 14.16 percent in major crimes, according to CompStat, the system the NYPD uses to track crime.

The largest decrease was in the category of rape, which has seen a 64.3 percent drop, comparing 2009 with 2008. So far, this year, there have been 10 rapes; at this point, last year, there had been 28.

Also significantly down are robberies. Year to date, there have been 285 in the 70th Precinct, compared with 391 at this point last year, for a decrease of 27.1 percent. “Those are not just numbers,” Monteforte stressed. “Every number is a person.”

There has also been a decrease of 16.7 percent in murder, year to date, with five so far in 2009, compared to six at this time in 2008.

Also way down are grand larcenies. There have been 549 so far this year, compared with 640 at this time last year, for a 14.2 percent decline.

Felonious assaults are also down, 10 percent, with 235 so far in 2009, compared with 261 at this point in 2008.

Finally, burglaries are down 5.9 percent so far in 2009, with 270 so far this year, compared with 287 at this time last year.

“The only crime in which the precinct is up,” Monteforte said, is “stolen cars.,” which falls in the category of Grand Larceny Auto. So far in 2009, 149 autos have been taken within the precinct’s confines; last year, at this time, 138 had been stolen, for an increase of eight percent.

While shootings aren’t tracked as part of CompStat’s profile of the seven major crime categories, they are clearly important, and the precinct keeps a close watch on them. So far, this year, there have been the same number of shooting incidents, 18, as there were last year at this time. However, the number of victims is fewer: 21, this year, compared to 24, last year.

The number of gun homicides is also lower this year: five in 2009, compared to seven at this point in 2008. In addition, both years show a dramatic drop in the number of shootings from the two previous years, which each had 26 shooting incidents at this point in the year, with 36 victims in 2007 and 30 victims in 2006, though the number of gun homicides was lower in 2007 (four) and higher in 2006 (eight).

Particular attention is being paid to the precinct’s transportation hubs. According to information supplied by Monteforte during a PowerPoint presentation to the community council, so far this year over 3,800 “directed visits” have been made to the subway stations within the precinct’s catchment area, the vast majority by precinct personnel. The most visited station in the precinct is the one at the Junction, which has had 761 police visits so far this year.

The second most visited station is Newkirk Avenue on the Brighton line, which as of the date of the meeting had received 636 cop visits, followed closely by Church Avenue on the Brighton line, with 587 visits, and Avenue M, on the Brighton line, with 548 police visits.

While the efforts of the precinct’s police officers are key to its success in reducing crime, the participation of area residents is vital, Monteforte noted. “One of the reasons why the precinct is so safe is because of civilians,” he told one woman, urging her to form a block association on the street where she lives.

Crack thugs sue city: Lawyers settle cop-abuse raps for $500K; same dealers score many times

BY Patrice O'Shaughnessy
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Members of a brazen Brooklyn crack gang raked in more than $500,000 in taxpayer money by repeatedly suing the city for civil rights violations, records show.

Accused drug dealers from the East 21st St. Crew and associates sued the city more than 20 times - and the city settled every time, even though many of the same people sued again and again.

The reason: The city's policy of aggressively settling cases rather than risk a big judgment after a costly trial.

Law enforcement officials are outraged at the repercussions.

"They [the reputed drug dealers] are raising hell in the community and collecting judgments on top of it," one police source said. "They were emboldened; taunting cops."

Authorities say the gang ran a street-level crack operation that wreaked havoc on an East Flatbush neighborhood before being busted last month.

Investigators say they have gang members on tape making more than 100 sales to undercover cops in two years.

"This was a very violent crack crew," city Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan said. "A real thorn in the side of the community."

Incredibly, court records show the gang pulled in much better money from suing the city in Brooklyn Federal Court, claiming cops violated their civil rights.

One crew member, Shamel King, got $117,500 from the city, in six separate claims, including one for $35,000 and three for $20,000 each. King, charged with 37 sales, was caught on video smiling as he counted out crack rocks, a law enforcement source said.

A main target of the East 21st St. Crew, Anthony Lawrence, was shot multiple times and wounded Aug. 31 in his apartment, apparently by gunmen who went to rob him of his latest settlement check from the city - for $17,500, law enforcement sources said. Lawrence collected $40,000 in settlements. He was indicted on 11 counts of drug selling.

Another reputed crew member, Affection Johnson, got three settlements totaling $41,500. Johnson was indicted on 39 counts.
"It's crazy," said Michael Palladino, president of the Detectives Endowment Association. "How could this happen more than once?"

Law Department spokeswoman Connie Pankratz said, "Within the last 10 years, there has been a significant increase in the number of cases that we've settled."

She said the city is sued 200 times a week, and that claims against the police have increased.

As of July 1, the city has paid out $637.7 million in judgments and settlements this year.

The department "is responsible for protecting the city's [fiscal situation]," she said. "Although we are often successful at trial, it can be more expensive to defend a case than to settle it."

She said that since the indictment, these cases were being reviewed "at the highest levels" of the department.

Asked if the agency would make any changes to prevent such an egregious playing of the system, she said, "We would like to prevent this, but each case has to be weighed."

Asked if city lawyers checked into King's background after the first three suits, Pankratz said they believed it was more responsible to settle than go to trial.

In the suits, some of which date back several years, the accused dealers claimed that cops - most of them assigned to Brooklyn South Narcotics - fabricated cases, conducted illegal strip searches, falsely arrested them and harassed them while they were merely walking down the street.

They sued after their arrests were dropped or adjourned contemplating dismissal.

The majority of the suits were handled by lawyer Richard Cardinale, who was successful in a class-action suit against the city for illegal strip searches at Rikers Island, and in cases against Brooklyn South Narcotics cops.

He said the clients paid him one-third of their settlements as his fee.

"The cases that I brought, those individuals were innocent of those charges," Cardinale said. "The district attorney had dismissed the cases."

He suggested the recent indictment was retaliation.

"I spoke to some of the families, and they said the officers who arrested them made comments like, 'You like to bring stupid lawsuits?'"

The dozen accused members of the East 21st St. Crew were indicted in September. Eight were arrested; four already were in jail.

Undercovers made dozens of crack purchases in and around the Ditmas Arms on E. 21st St., where King and Lawrence live.

Brennan said the gang made 171 sales to undercovers totaling $10,460, many from inside Star USA, a 99 cent store at Flatbush and Ditmas Aves.

Cops started focusing on drug-dealing in the area after community complaints and shootings in the vicinity linked to feuding gangs.

One shooting, still unsolved, took place on July 30, 2007, outside 501 E. 21st St. near Dorchester Road. Gunmen killed Robert Dixon - who had a criminal record for marijuana possession and assault - in a hail of bullets. Two women who were walking by were wounded.

Here’s looking at you - Skywatch security camera rises over Flatbush Ave. (Flatbush Life)

by Tom Tracy

Those walking past the corner of Flatbush and Church avenues found themselves gazing up in the sky this weekend as they feasted their eyes on the area’s newest resident – an NYPD “SkyWatch” tower.

The technology, which gives cops a birds-eye view of everything within several blocks of where it’s posted thanks to an assortment of cameras and video surveillance at the crest of the state-of-the-art eagle’s nest, moved into the area late last week, officials said.

Since reaching its new address, not a single crime has taken place in the area, cops from the 70th Precinct said.But, if you ask Deputy Inspector Ralph Monteforte, the commanding officer of the 70th Precinct, it’s not at Flatbush and Church avenues to quell any crime spikes.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

BRAVE B'DAY BOY'S GIFT OF A LIFETIME (NY POST)

By PHILIP MESSING

May 9, 2008 -- His simple wish was their willing command.

Responding to terminally ill Yuri Benefeld's modest hope - that a cop and firefighter stop by to say hello on his 12th birthday - some 40 members of the NYPD and FDNY showed up yesterday for a surprise party beyond his wildest dreams.

The Midwood, Brooklyn, youngster, wheelchair-bound and ventilator-dependent, was serenaded with a chorus of "Happy Birthday" - and then chauffeured around in an NYPD Emergency Service truck.

"All the neighbors got scared. They came running out to see what's going on. Nobody was expecting anything like this," said Yuri's delighted mom, Debbie, referring to the maze of firetrucks and police vehicles that descended on their East 28th Street home.

Her son suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a genetic disorder marked by progressive muscle weakness that leads to paralysis and death. Most victims don't survive their teens, according to the Web site cureduchenne.org.

Steve Zakaheim, a community activist, and Raizy Goldberger, of Chai Lifeline, a charity that aids sick children and their families, teamed up to honor Yuri's birthday wish.

First, a small entourage of firefighters came by with a birthday cake, a fire hat and an ax - and their firehouse Dalmatian, who gladly lapped up Yuri's attention.

When the firefighters realized the youngster had a blanket with various police and fire patches sewn on, James Breslin, of Engine Co. 309 took off his own to add to the collection, witnesses told The Post.

Soon more celebrants stopped in, including cops from the 70th Precinct, NYPD Canine Unit and Emergency Service Squad Truck 6.

"Everybody was shocked to the extent that everyone went just to bring a smile to this kid's face," said Jack Meyer, a community resident who serves as a liaison to the NYPD.

Yuri's mom called the impromptu party a "bittersweet" experience for her, but noted her son was "emanating a glow of happiness."

"He was happy," she said.

Added dad Michael Benefeld, "I feel that something like this was above and beyond what anyone could have expected.

"You don't see something like this, of this magnitude, every day."

Read original article on NY Post website.

Flatbush Life: "Stats show drop in 70th Precinct felonies" by Stephen Witt

Felony crime continues to plummet in the 70th Precinct, according to the latest police figures.

Six of the seven major crime categories are registering double-digit decreases led by murder, which has fallen from 11 at this time in 2006 to seven this year, or a 36 percent drop.

Read the rest of the article here. Originally printed December 27, 2007.

NY Post: "True-Blue Grads, Rookie Already a Rail Hero"

By Alana Casanova-Burgess and Perry Chiaramonte

More than 900 new cops graduated from the Police Academy yesterday in a Madison Square Garden ceremony - but at least one rookie got an early taste of the action.

Shaheed Ahmad told classmates how, a little more than two weeks ago, he helped pull a woman from the subway tracks at the Union Square station.

"At first it was scary, but it was just something inside me that made me react," he said. "It gave me an idea of what's expected of me out there - to react for the better good."

On Dec. 11, Ahmad was on his way to the academy when a woman fell onto the tracks.

Ahmad was lowered to the tracks and, with the help of a good Samaritan, was able to lift the victim out just before a northbound train rumbled into the station.

Ahmad, who will work at the 70th Precinct covering Flatbush, was a graduate of the most diverse class of recruits in NYPD history.

Twenty percent of the 914 graduates were born overseas, according to the NYPD, and the class had natives of 52 nations.

Among the foreign-born graduates was class valedictorian Karolina Wierzchowska, 27, who came to the United States in 1999. She said being a police officer has been a lifelong dream but "in Poland we didn't have such opportunities."

Many of the new cops will start their careers policing troubled areas, in a program known as Operation Impact.

Originally printed in the New York Post on December 28, 2007.

Flatbush Life: "They become detective’s champions" by Stephen Witt

In a bittersweet event, two police detectives and two attorneys from the Kings County District Attorneys office were given special awards for bringing the killer of Detective Dillon Stewart to justice.

Receiving the awards from Patrol Borough Brooklyn South and the 70th Police Precinct were Detective Charles Platt from the precinct and Detective James McCafferty from Brooklyn South homicide.

Read the rest of the article here. Originally printed December 13, 2007.

Flatbush Life: "Guardians of the Parade - 70th Precinct Cops Hailed for Safeguarding Labor Day Revelers" by Stephen Witt

The thousands of revelers at September’s West Indian Labor Day Parade had no idea that a perpetrator with a fully loaded Tech-9 semi-automatic handgun was among them.

Fortunately however, 70th Precinct Officers Michael Katinas and John Petrie were also on duty and their quick action nabbed both the perpetrator and the gun.

Read the rest of the article here. Originally printed November 8, 2007.

Flatbush Life: "70th Precinct Profile in Courage" by Stephen Witt

People looking for a living inspiration would do well to take a look at 70th Precinct Community Affairs officer Lt. Jacqueline Bourne.

The well-toned and always smiling Bourne has overcome several physical obstacles, which is the reason why Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly recently presented her with the prestigious Theodore Roosevelt Award.

Read the rest of the article here. Originally printed November 8, 2007.