Biodun.BBC: New York Police Department

Showing posts with label New York Police Department. Show all posts

Saturday, May 18, 2019

NYC policewoman sought murder of her husband and 14-year-old girl

May 19, 2019 05H23 GMT/ZULU

by Biodun Iginla, BBC News and Reuters, New York/Ventimiglia

A New York City policewoman was arrested on Friday and charged with asking a man to arrange the murder of her estranged husband and a 14-year-old girl, court documents showed.

Officer Valerie Cincinelli, 34, was taken into custody by the FBI on Friday and charged in U.S. District Court in New York with conspiracy to commit murder. She was ordered detained without bail during a brief initial court appearance.

In the federal criminal complaint filed against Cincinelli, prosecutors allege that the 12-year New York Police Department veteran had been discussing a murder-for-hire plot with an unnamed man since February.

A person with knowledge of the case told us at Reuters under condition of anonymity that the man, referred to in the seven-page complaint only as a “confidential source,” was Cincinelli’s boyfriend.

That person did not identify the boyfriend by name and the extent of his cooperation with authorities in the case is not clear.

Cincinelli gave the confidential source $7,000 after he claimed he knew someone who would kill both his own 14-year-old daughter, identified in court documents only as “Jane Doe,” and Cincinelli’s husband for an equivalent amount in gold coins, prosecutors say.

The complaint and a petition filed by prosecutors seeking Cincinelli’s detention do not state why she sought the death of the confidential source’s teenage daughter.

Earlier this week, Cincinelli discussed details of the crime with the confidential source, agreeing that the hit man would kill her husband near his workplace in Holtsville, New York, prosecutors said in the court papers.

The charging documents describe Cincinelli as impatient, using social media to locate Jane Doe in Warwick, New York, and suggesting the hit man run her over.

On Friday morning FBI agents arranged for a Suffolk County Police Department detective to tell Cincinelli that her husband had been killed and sent the confidential source a text, purportedly from the hit man, of a murder scene.

Cincinelli then discussed potential alibis with the confidential source and said they would both need to delete incriminating text messages and pictures from their cell phones, the court papers say.

Long Island Federal Defender Tracey Gaffey, who is representing Cincinelli in the case, could not be reached by us at Reuters for comment on Friday.

Local NBC4-TV, citing police officials, reported that Cincinelli had been placed on modified duty by the NYPD in 2017 following a domestic incident.

A New York Police Department spokeswoman said Cincinelli had been suspended without pay following her arrest.

Sunday, May 20, 2018

Celebrity chef Mario Batali accused of sexual assault

21 May 2018 - 05H06 GMT/UTC/ZULU TIME

by Biodun Iginla, France24, New York

NEW YORK -

Already accused of sexual harassment and groping, US celebrity chef Mario Batali now faces allegations that he sexually assaulted impaired women at a New York restaurant, CBS television's "60 Minutes" reported Sunday.

Batali had already stepped away from his eponymous gastronomic empire over previous allegations of sexual misconduct.

One woman who was employed at one of Batali's establishments said he invited her to a party at "The Spotted Pig" restaurant, in which he had invested, where she drank white wine with him.

ADVERTISING

inRead invented by Teads

"I remember a moment where I was on his lap, kissing him. Like, he was kissing me. And then I remember throwing up -- in a toilet. And that is all," the unidentified woman told "60 Minutes."

"I woke up by myself on the floor, I don't know where I am, of an empty room, wooden floor. I see broken bottles. The first thing I think is, 'I've been drugged.' That was the first thing I thought is, 'I've been -- I've been assaulted.'"

After finding what appeared to be semen on her skirt, she called a crisis hotline and went to a hospital for an examination, but declined to file a police report, and her "rape kit" from the hospital was not processed.

Batali said in a statement that he "vehemently" denies assaulting the woman.

Jamie Seet, a former manager at "The Spotted Pig," said she witnessed via surveillance footage Batali carrying out another assault at the restaurant, and that she intervened to stop it.

"He crossed a line. A huge, a huge line... assaulting someone that's unconscious," Seet said.

"So we all went out there, and we -- we stopped what was going on. 'Hey Mario. How are you doing? Let's get you a cab.' Just -- you know, we were saying something just to snap him out of this," Seet said, adding that she regrets not contacting police.

One of the most famous figures in American cuisine, the 57-year-old Italian-American is a popular TV personality whose empire includes 26 establishments nationwide, as well as cookbooks, cookware and food products.

Controlled by private shareholders, the group does not publish its accounts, but US media has estimated its worth to be at least $250 million.

According to CBS, the New York police confirmed that "there is an ongoing criminal investigation into Mario Batali."

Friday, November 18, 2016

New York City Mayor: No permanent ban on traffic near Trump Tower

Sat Nov 19, 2016 | 04H:27 GMT/UTC/ZULU TIME

by Biodun Iginla, BBC News and Reuters, New York

New York City has no plans to close the Manhattan streets surrounding Trump Tower on a permanent basis even though President-elect Donald Trump is expected to spend much of his time there ahead of his inauguration, officials said on Friday.

Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters the city aimed to provide proper security around the 58-story skyscraper while allowing commuters to move safely through the area. Even so, he urged people to avoid the area if possible.

The president-elect has spent most of his time since his Nov. 8 election in the tower. For years, he has used the building as his main residence and headquarters for his business empire.

"The details of his future plans are unknown but we certainly know that for the next 65 days he will be here regularly," de Blasio said.

Since Trump's election last week, heightened security at the Fifth Avenue tower has caused massive traffic jams in midtown Manhattan, frustrating commuters, shoppers, residents and workers in the area. The building sits in the heart of one of New York's busiest retail stretches.

Police have closed some of the streets in the area on a temporary basis, mostly in response to roving protest marches that began immediately after Trump's victory.

With Trump and his advisors stationed inside the tower to plan the presidential transition, the New York Police Department and the Secret Service have set up metal and concrete barricades in front of the building.

Nearly 50 officers equipped with heavy weapons and bomb-sniffing dogs have been assigned to work daily shifts at the tower, providing security and managing the flow of traffic, police officials said. If needed, authorities said they would add more officers to the details.

"We look to strike a proper balance," Carlos Gomez, NYPD's Chief of Department, said, "providing as much security as possible around the president-elect ... while at the same time not having an adverse impact on ... the lives of other New Yorkers."

Small businesses in the area have complained about periodic street closures and high level of security in the area.

Dominic Amato, general manager of Obica, a cafe located in the atrium behind Trump Tower, said his business began losing customers the day after the election.

"With all the security that's been beefed up, a lot of people are staying away," he said.