Tag: new york

Sanctuary city scandal: Migrant who set fire to woman as she slept on NYC subway avoids deportation

An illegal immigrant accused of burning a woman alive inside a New York subway car will remain in the US because of sanctuary city policies that prohibit him from being deported.  

Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, 33, is facing murder and arson charges relating to the killing of Debrina Kawam, 57. 

Prosecutors say Zapeta-Calil set the New Jersey woman on fire on a stopped train at Brooklyn’s Coney Island station on December 22.

He then fanned the flames with a shirt before sitting on platform bench and watching as Kawam burned, they allege.

Under current policies enacted in the Big Apple, the city’s corrections department have refused to honor an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer for Zapeta-Calil. 

That decision was slammed by Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, who was in NYC this week to meet with law enforcement. 

In a clip of her taken on the platform of the Coney Island stop, she said: ‘ICE lodged an immigration detainer with the NYC Department of Corrections to take this depraved alien into custody 

‘Because of current sanctuary city policy, the corrections department has indicated it will NOT honor the detainer.’

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New York FBI Field Office Head Forced Out Days After His Office Was Revealed to Have Been Hiding Thousands of Epstein Documents

There has been a significant shake-up within the FBI as one of its top officials has been forced out.

NBC News reported Monday that James Dennehy, the head of the FBI’s New York office, threw in the towel just days after his office was revealed to have been hiding thousands of Epstein documents.

“Late Friday, I was informed that I needed to put my retirement papers in today, which I just did,” Dennehy wrote in an email obtained by NBC. “I was not given a reason for this decision.”

Two sources confirmed to NBC that Dennehy was given the choice between getting fired or resigning. He chose the latter.

She later announced that a key FBI official involved in withholding these critical documents “will not be working for us anymore.” Was it Dennehy?

As The Gateway Pundit reported, Attorney General Pam Bondi revealed that the FBI was withholding thousands of Epstein files. She ordered the FBI to provide the complete Epstein files by Friday morning, February 28, and directed an immediate investigation into the oversight.

Last Thursday’s much-hyped release of “The Epstein Files: Phase One” fell flat for many Americans hungry for the truth. The 120-page dump, handed over to a select group of MAGA influencers, was a heavily redacted dud—mostly rehashed information previously seen.

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SCANDAL IN NEW YORK! Governor Kathy Hochul, “The Queen of Corruption,” Allegedly Rigged to $9 Billion Medicaid Contract.

An explosive lawsuit accused this darling of the Democratic left to have shamelessly manipulated the bidding process for a massive Medicaid contract—a program partially funded by the federal government—to favor her out-of-state cronies. The prize? A cool $9 billion.

Yes, you read that right: $9 billion! This isn’t a typo—it’s the size of the foot Hochul could have allegedly been rigged to fatten the pockets of his pals while everyday New Yorkers watch their healthcare system crumble.

Welcome to the circus of progressive corruption, where hypocrisy is the currency and taxpayers are the clowns.

The accusation targets the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP), designed to help the most vulnerable with in-home healthcare.

Hochul and his administration allegedly twisted the bidding process to hand the judgment contract to an out-of-state company, bypassing all transparency and fair competition.

The result? A firm with no roots in the state pocketed control of a vital program, while local providers were left high and dry.ADVERTISEMENT

Democratic Representative Ritchie Torres, in a rare moment of clarity for someone from his party, blew the lid off the scandal and demanded an investigation .

Torres points out that this company started hiring staff for the contract before it was even officially announced!

Coincidence? Please—this reeks of a fix from Albany to Manhattan.

Torres didn’t mince words: “There’s something rotten in the state of New York under Kathy Hochul’s watch.” And he’s right, even if it’s a Democrat saying it.

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NYC Mayor Adams Sues Trump Admin Over $80.5 Million in Migrant Shelter Funding Revoked by the Feds

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over $80.5 million in funding for migrant shelters being seized by the feds.

The funding was revoked last week.

“This morning, our office learned about the federal government clawing back more than $80 million in FEMA grants applied for and awarded under the last administration, but not disbursed until last week,” Adams said in a statement at the time.

“While we conduct an internal investigation into how this occurred, our office has already engaged with the White House about recouping these funds and we’ve requested an emergency meeting with FEMA to try and resolve the matter as quickly as possible.”

The money was part of a series of Federal Emergency Management Agency payments to local governments to help cover migrant costs.

“Without a doubt, our immigration system is broken, but the cost of managing an international humanitarian crisis should not overwhelmingly fall onto one city alone,” Adams said in a statement on Friday night after the lawsuit was filed.

“With very little help from the federal government, our administration has skillfully managed an unprecedented crisis, which has seen over 231,000 people enter our city asking for shelter. The $80 million that FEMA approved, paid, and then rescinded — after the city spent more than $7 billion in the last three years — is the bare minimum our taxpayers deserve,” Adams continued.

The controversial mayor added, “And that’s why we’re going to work to ensure our city’s residents get every dollar they are owed.”

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Promise Kept: Trump Administration Orders Halt to NYC Congestion Tolls

President Donald Trump’s administration moved Wednesday to halt congestion pricing tolls in Democrat-run New York City, a move designed to spare small business owners, commuters and workers the burden of paying to access Manhattan.

As Breitbart News reported, the punitive tolling system was launched on Jan. 5. It uses license plate readers to impose a $9 toll on most vehicles entering Manhattan neighborhoods south of Central Park.

The federal government has rescinded its approval of the program, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy confirmed, calling the toll’s financial burden “a slap in the face to working class Americans and small business owners.”

The Federal Highway Administration will work with the state on an “orderly termination of the tolls,” according to the statement.

The president vowed to kill the plan as soon as he took office.

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Biden Hangover Part 2: NYPD Does The Meme, Arrests Illegals At Anti-ICE Protest

The idea had been percolating online for a week or more: why wouldn’t law enforcement officers simply show up at a rally supporting illegal aliens? Logically, there would likely be plenty of undocumented individuals present.

Turns out, the illegals turned out. So did the NYPD.

The difference between Trump’s first term and this one? Instead of chuckling and saying “That’s a good idea,” concerned parties emboldened by the Trump mandate are taking action.

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Hochul’s Former Aide Faces New Charges In Chinese Spy Case

Linda Sun, former deputy chief of staff to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, and Sun’s husband, Chris Hu, are facing additional charges in a case that alleges they acted as agents of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Sun and Hu were arrested and charged in September 2024 in a case that is part of the Department of Justice’s broader effort to root out communist China’s secret agents, who U.S. officials say are covertly advancing the CCP’s interests and targeting Chinese dissidents on U.S. soil in an effort known as transnational repression.

On Feb. 11, Sun and Hu pleaded not guilty at a hearing in Brooklyn federal court, prosecutors said, adding that the money laundering charge against the two had been amended to include additional legal statutes.

Hu also pleaded not guilty to three additional money laundering counts, according to prosecutors.

A superseding indictment filed on Feb. 4 didn’t provide more details other than saying that Hu’s charges were connected to three separate financial transactions totaling $1.5 million in 2020.

A spokesperson for federal prosecutors declined to comment beyond what was stated in the superseding indictment.

Jarrod Schaeffer, one of Sun’s attorneys, said the revised indictment also does not “remedy critical errors identified in the prior indictment.”

Sun and Hu remain free on bond and are scheduled to return to court on April 23.

Last year, Sun was charged with violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), visa fraud, alien smuggling, and money laundering conspiracy. Hu was charged with money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and misuse of means of identification.

Sun, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in China, worked for the New York state government under Hochul and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo for about 15 years. During her political career, she held various posts, including deputy superintendent for intergovernmental affairs, chief diversity officer at the state’s Department of Financial Services, deputy chief diversity officer and director of Asian American Affairs for the state’s Executive Chamber, and director of external affairs for Global NY at Empire State Development.

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Prosecutors were prepping to charge Eric Adams with destroying evidence, Manhattan US attorney’s resignation letter reveals

Manhattan federal prosecutors were prepared to bring a new bombshell indictment charging Mayor Eric Adams with destroying evidence and telling people to lie to the FBI, a letter obtained by The Post reveals.

The letter sent by Danielle Sassoon, who resigned from her post Thursday rather than obey an order from President Trump’s Justice Department to kill the case, also blasts the “rushed and superficial” reasoning that she says was behind Washington DC’s demand.

“Because the law does not support a dismissal, and because I am confident that Adams has committed the crimes with which he is charged, I cannot agree to seek a dismissal driven by improper considerations,” wrote Sassoon, a Republican.

The former clerk for conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia also explicitly accused Adams of offering to help Trump’s immigration agenda in exchange for the case being dropped.

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Trump asked to shut down NYC ‘injection sites’ where drug addicts consume with impunity

The Trump administration is being urged to shut down two controversial city-approved “safe” injection sites — where drug addicts can use illegal drugs like meth, heroin and cocaine under supervision.

Republican US Rep. Nicole Malliotakis is asking Trump to step in to close the government-sponsored centers in East Harlem and Washington Heights, saying they violate federal law.

“These sites not only enable but also perpetuate illegal drug use,” Malliotakis wrote in a Feb. 11 letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, a copy of which was obtained by The Post.

The Staten Island congresswoman cited a Third Circuit of Appeals ruling in Philadelphia that concluded it was a federal crime to “open a supervised injection site or ‘consumption room’ for illegal drug use.”

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BOOM! Pam Bondi Announces Charges Against Kathy Hochul and Letitia James

On Wednesday, Attorney General Pam Bondi made headlines during her inaugural press briefing, where she delivered a powerful message to New York Democrats protecting illegal immigrants by announcing that charges have been filed against Gov. Kathy Hochul, Attorney General Letitia James, and DMV Commissioner Mark Schroeder.

Bondi made it clear that the Department of Justice is taking aggressive action to enforce immigration laws and hold states accountable.

“This is a new DOJ, and we are taking steps to protect Americans, American citizens, and angel moms like the mom standing right behind me,” Bondi said. “New York has chosen to prioritize illegal aliens over American citizens. It stops. It stops today.”

Bondi pointed to legal action already taken against Illinois, saying, “As you know, we sued Illinois, and New York didn’t listen. So now you’re next.” She warned that the consequences of the state’s policies have been devastating.

“Millions of illegal aliens with violent records have flooded into our communities, bringing violence and deadly drugs with them,” Bondi stated.

She then introduced Tammy Nobles, an angel mom whose daughter, Kayla Hamilton, was murdered by an MS-13 gang member in 2022.

“Tammy is an angel mom. Her beautiful daughter Kayla, Kayla Hamilton, was murdered by an MS-13 member in 2022,” Bondi said. “Kayla had just turned 20 years old—just turned 20 years old—and she was raped and murdered by someone who should not have been in our country. Yet he was released, flown to Maryland, where he committed this violent murder.”

Bondi urged Americans to listen to Nobles’ story. “I just want you to hear from… I want you to hear from Tammy. Tammy represents not only herself and her family, but all of the great angel moms around this country who have suffered because of what the Biden administration did. And it is over.”

Her remarks made it clear that the DOJ is taking a hard stance against states that defy federal immigration law, vowing accountability and action.

After Nobles spoke, Bondi warned states intent on protecting illegals that they will suffer the consequences. “If you don’t comply with federal law, we will hold you accountable,” she said. “We did it to Illinois. Strike one. Strike two is New York. And if you are a state not complying with federal law, you’re next.”

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