Tag: new york

Howard Rubin, ex-NYC financier with ties to George Soros, arrested for allegedly sex-trafficking women to ‘sex dungeon’ penthouse: feds

A retired Big Apple financier with past ties to George Soros allegedly “tortured” former Playboy models and other women in a Midtown penthouse turned soundproofed BDSM “sex dungeon” for years, federal prosecutors said Friday.

Howard Rubin, 70, was arrested by federal authorities at his home in Fairfield, Ct., Friday morning on charges he sex-trafficked at least 10 women between 2009 and 2019, luring them to swanky New York City hotels and the leased luxury pad near Central Park — where he restrained, beat and electrocuted them, the Brooklyn US Attorney’s Office charged.

The famed former money manager – known as “Howie” or “H” and worth at least tens of millions of dollars – even appeared to revel in the stomach-turning encounters in text messages with his personal assistant, Jennifer Powers, who is also facing sex-trafficking charges tied to the scheme.

“As alleged, the defendants used Rubin’s wealth to mislead and recruit women to engage in commercial sex acts, where Rubin then tortured women beyond their consent, causing lasting physical and/or psychological pain, in some cases physical injuries,” Brooklyn US Attorney Joseph Nocella said in a statement.

One of the West 57th Street penthouse bedrooms was soundproofed and painted red, and had a device that was used to shock or electrocute the women, the feds said. The room also had a cross and bed with restraints where the women would be bound and gagged, according to the authorities.

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SHOCKING INJUSTICE: Soros-Funded DA Alvin Bragg Lets Violent Pro-Abortion Thug Walk Free After Brutal, On-Camera Assault on Pro-Life Woman

In yet another glaring example of the radical left’s two-tiered justice system, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has dismissed all charges against Brianna J. Rivers, the unhinged pro-abortion extremist who viciously assaulted pro-life activist Savannah Craven Antao on camera back in April.

What started as a felony assault charge was downgraded to a mere misdemeanor and then quietly dropped entirely, leaving victims of leftist violence without recourse while criminals roam free.

Savannah Craven Antao, a courageous advocate for the unborn with the pro-life organization Live Action, was out in the streets of Harlem on April 3, 2025, conducting peaceful street interviews for her eye-opening video project titled “What Does Planned Parenthood Do? Perception vs. Reality?”

Her mission was simple: to expose the grim truths about America’s largest abortion mill and spark honest conversations about the sanctity of life.

But in Biden’s America, where free speech is under siege from the radical left, even polite dialogue can turn deadly for conservatives. According to Savannah and her husband, Henry Antao, the encounter began innocently enough.

The assailant, later identified as 30-year-old Brianna J. Rivers, approached the couple with compliments. “Oh my gosh, I love your dress. You look so cute,” she said, even praising Henry’s skin tone and calling them “so cute.”

The conversation quickly revealed Rivers’ pro-abortion stance, but Savannah remained calm and respectful, as she always does in her videos—challenging people with thoughtful questions rather than confrontation.

Things escalated when Rivers shockingly declared that we should “kill all the kids in foster care.” Stunned, Savannah sought clarification: “Oh, that’s really violent and interesting.”

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Syracuse students accused of hate crime after pork was thrown into Jewish frat house

Two Syracuse University students have been charged with burglary as a hate crime after one of them was alleged to have thrown a bag of pork into a Jewish fraternity house as people gathered to observe Rosh Hashanah, police said Wednesday.

The two 18-year-olds were also charged with one count each of criminal nuisance in the incident at the Zeta Beta Tau house about 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, police in Syracuse, New York, said.

Allen Groves, the university’s chief student experience officer, called it a “deeply troubling incident” in a message to the campus community Tuesday night.

“Tonight’s incident as reported to us is abhorrent, shocking to the conscience and violates our core value of being a place that is truly welcoming to all,” he said. “It will not be tolerated at Syracuse University.”

One of the accused students entered the frat house and threw the bag of pork inside while the second drove the vehicle that they then used to flee, Groves said. Police arrested both soon afterward, he said.

Police said the two students were detained and charged after consultation with the Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office.

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NYC passes new appliance mandate that critics argue will make rent, other costs skyrocket

The City Council overwhelmingly approved new rules for installing appliances on Thursday despite critics arguing the mandates would mean higher costs for building owners — and larger rent bills.

Lawmakers voted 47-1 on a bill to require New Yorkers to hire master plumbers or specially qualified handymen to handle putting in gas ovens, dryers and other appliances.

But critics have argued the legislation could cost homeowners or landlords as much as $500 more per installation — which would ultimately be passed along to renters.

Bronx Councilwoman Pierina Sanchez, who spearheaded the proposal, pointed to a deadly 2015 gas explosion in the East Village as justification for the bill, which still needs to be signed into law by Mayor Eric Adams.

The explosion — which killed two people and leveled three buildings — was caused by an illegal hookup.

“Y’all, public, in the city of New York, should not be installing a gas range yourself,” Sanchez said Thursday ahead of the council’s vote. “It’s not safe.”

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Zohran Mamdani Wants to Spend $100 Million in NYC Tax Dollars on Increased Services for Illegal Aliens

Zohran Mamdani, the communist running for mayor of New York City, wants to spend $100 million in tax dollars on increased services, specifically legal services, for illegal aliens living in the city.

It’s so stunning to see this man admit that he wants to take the hard earned dollars of the citizens of New York City and give the money to non-citizens who are in the country illegally, and yet is leading in the polls. Has everyone in New York City gone insane?

His candidacy is being driven by far left progressive hipsters in the city, but are they really the majority?

Townhall reported:

New York City’s sanctuary policies don’t go far enough for Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, who said on MSNBC’s “The Weekend” he wants to spend even more taxpayer money to help illegal immigrants if he’s elected…

“I would also commit to increasing the staffing of our law department by 200 to bring us back to pre-COVID levels, and to ensure that when we look at this city we are using every tool at our disposal to keep New Yorkers together, to keep families together,” the democratic socialist continued.

Mamdani emphasized the urgency of his plan, claiming “400,000 of our residents are right now in urgent risk of deportation.”

“The city knows that when it provides legal assistance to those same New Yorkers, their chances of going home increase 11-fold, and yet it has only assisted fewer than 200 of those New Yorkers,” he added. “That’s why also a cornerstone of our campaign is a commitment to increase funding for those very legal defense services by more than $100 million so we can ensure we’re taking every step we can to keep New Yorkers safe, to keep New Yorkers together, and to show the world that they are welcome in this city.”

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New York man sentenced for online threats against Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel

A 40-year-old New York man has been sentenced to federal prison for threats he made against Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel in 2023. 

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan on Monday announced that Kevin Delgado would receive a year and a day in prison after pleading guilty to one count of transmitting threats in interstate commerce earlier this year. 

According to court documents, Delgado posted a threatening response in response to a post Nessel made honoring her friend, community leader and activist Samantha Woll, who was murdered. He told Nessel to “watch every step u take,” called her a string of insults which included a homophobic slur, and said she would be “#murdered.”

The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Frances Lee Carlson.

While pleading guilty, Delgado admitted that he threatened Nessel because of her religion and her perceived sexual orientation. Nessel is Jewish and gay. 

“The sentencing of Kevin Delgado sends a strong message that public officials elected to serve the people cannot be hindered by threats and must be able to do their jobs free from intimidation,” Reuben Coleman, acting special agent in charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office said in a statement. “The FBI in Michigan will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to identify, and hold accountable, those who issue dangerous threats against officials dedicated to protecting and serving our communities.”

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Letitia James Indictment: Here’s the Prosecution Memorandum for Federal and State Charges

A Prosecution Memorandum is an internal legal document prepared by prosecutors that summarizes the facts, law, and reasoning supporting (or recommending against) bringing criminal charges.

It is not filed in court, rather it’s an internal document the prosecutors use to guide decision-making. Below is a mock Prosecution Memorandum that could easily be used to consider charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James.

PROSECUTION MEMORANDUM

Re: United States v. Letitia James
Prepared for: Eastern District of Virginia, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York and Special Prosecutor’s Office

Date: September 21, 2025

I. Introduction

This memorandum addresses potential federal, Commonwealth of Virginia, and New York State charges against Letitia James, Attorney General of New York, arising out of an alleged 43-year pattern of mortgage-related fraud and false filings. The investigative reporting of Joel Gilbert (The Gateway Pundit), as well as Sam Antar (White Collar Fraud), provides documentary evidence and witness analysis suggesting that James repeatedly misrepresented the legal status of her properties, particularly a five-unit apartment building at 296 Lafayette Avenue in Brooklyn, as well as a residential home in Norfolk, Virginia in order to obtain loans and preferential loan terms she was not entitled to. James also is harboring a wanted fugitive in the Virginia home.

If corroborated, these acts constitute violations of both federal statutes (bank fraud, false statements to financial institutions, wire fraud, RICO) and New York State statutes (residential mortgage fraud, offering false instruments for filing, scheme to defraud, enterprise corruption).

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‘Sounding bodies:’ NEH spends $12,600 on professor’s ‘musical erotics’ book

The National Endowment for the Humanities underwrote a digital access book about sexuality in Victorian literature by a Siena College Professor.

The State University of New York received $6,600 to create an open access edition of Professor Shannon Draucker’s book, titled “Sounding Bodies: Acoustical Science and Musical Erotics in Victorian Literature.” The NEH’s Open Book Program “supports the conversion of recently published books funded by NEH into eBooks that are freely available online.” 

This is on the top of the $6,000 Draucker herself previously received for the book.

The book compares listening to music to orgasms, according to an NEH description.

“Can the concert hall be as erotic as the bedroom? Many Victorian writers believed so,” the description states.

The book reports how 19th-century “acoustical scientists” “described music as a set of physical vibrations that tickled the ear, excited the nerves, and precipitated muscular convulsions.”

“In turn, writers—from canonical figures such as George Eliot and Thomas Hardy, to New Women novelists like Sarah Grand and Bertha Thomas, to anonymous authors of underground pornography—depicted bodily sensations and experiences in unusually explicit ways,” the book states.

The Fix reached out to Draucker and asked via email if she believed she may have a harder time receiving grants from the NEH under the Trump Administration. She did not respond to emails and phone calls in the past month and a half.

The Fix also emailed Rebecca Colesworthy, the recipient of the open access grant, and asked what the money goes to and if she had any concerns about the funds being taken back by the Trump administration. She did not respond to an email on Sept. 19.

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New York Wants Online Digital ID Rules for Social Media Feeds Under “SAFE For Kids Act”

New York is advancing a set of proposed regulations that would require social media platforms to verify users’ ages before granting access to algorithm-driven feeds or allowing nighttime alerts.

Attorney General Letitia James introduced the draft rules on Monday, tied to the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) For Kids Act, which was signed into law last year by Governor Kathy Hochul.

Presented as part of an effort to reduce mental health harms linked to social media, the law would compel platforms to restrict algorithmic content for anyone under 18 or anyone who hasn’t completed an age verification process, which would mean the introduction of digital ID checks to access online platforms.

In those cases, users would be limited to seeing content in chronological order from accounts they already follow.

Platforms would also be barred from sending notifications between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m. to those users.

The rules give companies some flexibility in how they confirm a user’s age, as long as the method is considered effective and designed to protect personal data.

Acceptable alternatives to submitting a government ID include facial analysis that estimates age. Any identifying information collected during verification must be deleted “immediately,” according to the proposal.

For minors to access personalized algorithmic feeds, parental permission would be required.

That too involves a verification step, with the same data-deletion requirements in place once the process is complete.

The SAFE For Kids Act targets platforms where user-generated content is central and where at least 20 percent of time spent involves engagement with feeds tailored to user behavior or device data.

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With Cigarette Taxes Sky High, More New Yorkers Than Ever Turn to the Black Market

In 2023, New York raised its cigarette excise tax by $1.00 to $5.35 per pack. New York City imposes its own tax of $1.50 per pack, and that’s before you include federal and sales taxes, making for the most expensive smokes in the country. That is, cigarettes are expensive in New York for those who pay those taxes. But state officials were warned that such a high rate would drive consumers to the black market, and that’s exactly what happened. According to recent research, more New Yorkers than ever are turning to tax-evading illicit sources for their nicotine needs.

Taxes Into Good Health—or Not

When the New York excise tax was hiked, the Albany Times-Union noted, “it’s the nation’s highest and brings a pack of cigarettes at many retailers to about $12….Health advocates hailed the increase, saying it will lead to fewer smokers and cancer deaths. Anti-tax groups, though, predicted it will increase trafficking in illicit untaxed cigarettes in the state.”

Health advocates like taxing vices on the theory that raising taxes simultaneously generates government revenue while escalating prices for allegedly bad things—like cigarettes—out of reach of many consumers. What they rarely consider is that there are other options, such as buying cigarettes smuggled from jurisdictions with lower levies.

“New York has created a cigarette-smuggling empire, and the worst is yet to come,” Todd Nesbit, an economics professor at Ball State University, and Michael LaFaive, of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, warned even before the 2023 tax increase. “It’s the unavoidable consequence of the state’s decadeslong history of raising the cigarette tax.”

“If enacted, consumers will go across borders to do their shopping or rely on black-market suppliers,” agreed the Tax Foundation’s Adam Hoffer. “Tax revenues will fall, illicit activities will thrive, and law enforcement spending will need to increase.”

In fact, as Nesbit, LaFaive, and Hoffer emphasized, even before the dollar-per-pack tax hike, more than half of cigarettes sold in the state of New York lacked local tax stamps and were smuggled from elsewhere. Since 2023, illicit dealers appear to have claimed even more market share.

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