Tag: new york

Man confesses to Queens murder, called victim a ‘witch’ who cursed him: NYPD

A man charged in the fatal shooting of a woman in Queens reportedly confessed to detectives, also saying the victim — a psychic who does tarot card readings in her home — was a “witch” who had cursed him to his death.

Authorities say 41-year-old Giuseppe Canzani walked up to 51-year-old Anna Torres’ home, located on 109th Avenue in Ozone Park, around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, knocked on the door, and fired three shots when she opened the door, striking the victim twice.

Torres, whose son is an NYPD officer, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police officials said Canzani told investigators that Torres had tried to kill him with her curses.

“They tried to kill me,” he reportedly said. “I am supposed to be dead already.”

In surveillance video obtained by Eyewitness News, school children can be seen running as the crack of gunfire echoed down 109th Avenue.

Seconds later, a man matching Canzani who appeared to be holding a silver gun in his right hand, was captured casually walking from the home at the corner of 96th Street, before getting into the driver’s seat of a black Chevy Traverse.

Keep reading

Video Appears to Show Local NBC Anchor Get Busted in Underage-Sex Sting – Station Issues Statement

A group that hunts sexual predators in New York state posted a video on Friday that it says shows a local TV anchorman trying to meet up with an underage boy to have sex with him.

Although not fully identified in the video posted to YouTube by the 607 Predator Hunters, the man looks very similar to Zach Wheeler of NBC affiliate WETM-TV in Elmira, New York, and is addressed as “Zach.” At one point he offers to do a TV spot on the group — “607” is an area code in the Elmira area.

On its Facebook page, the 607 Predator Hunters say its mission is “exposing child predators, protecting our communities.” Members of the group pose as minors online in an effort to entrap predators.

WETM posted a statement on the video on its Facebook page.

“WETM has been made aware of a video posted to YouTube regarding one of our employees. The local group that posted the video claims that the employee engaged in inappropriate behavior. WETM management is looking into the questions raised by the video, and the employee will remain off the air until the situation is resolved. No charges have been filed in connection with the video.”

Keep reading

Brave Entrepreneurs Openly Defy Licensing Laws and are Selling Cannabis Even Though it’s “Illegal”

So far, New Yorkers in 2022 have seen a massive increase in crime across the city. For the month of February 2022, New York City saw a 58.7% increase in overall index crime compared to February 2021. Every major index crime category saw an increase for the month of February 2022. Robbery increased by 56 percent, grand larceny increased by a whopping 79.2 percent, and grand larceny auto more than doubled, jumping up a massive 104.7 percent.

So, what are the politicians doing about it? Drafting legislation to shut down family-owned businesses for selling a plant. That’s right, currently, politicians in New York are moving through legislation to shut down honest mom and pop operations who would dare to sell a plant to a willing customer — without first paying the state for the privilege of doing so.

In March of 2021, New York legalized recreational marijuana and that’s where the progress stopped. Despite legalization, the state of New York requires businesses to obtain a license from the government before they can legally sell the plant. There’s only one problem… for an entire year, the state didn’t issue any licenses.

In the land of the free, attempting to earn money in certain professions without first paying the state for the privilege of doing so can and will get you kidnapped and extorted. These laws are applied to children behind lemonade stands as well as adults selling flowers. The state callously and with extreme prejudice has been documented arresting people, or even beating up women to enforce these licensing laws.

Instead of focusing on their rampant crime problem, legislators in New York are using their authority to continue this disturbing cycle. They are now going after unlicensed cannabis companies who dared to earn a living without first obtaining a license that didn’t exist.

The good news is that many folks aren’t waiting for the state to give them permission and are openly defying the licensing requirement — and they’re doing so successfully.

Keep reading

‘I’m now full of hate, anger and bitterness’: NYC subway shooting ‘person of interest’ posted unhinged and bigoted videos ranting about ‘killing everything in sight’ and slamming Mayor Eric Adams, homelessness and unsafe subways

The ‘person of interest’ in the Brooklyn subway shooting posted hundreds of unhinged and bigoted videos on his YouTube channel ranting about ‘killing everything in site’ and slamming New York City Mayor Eric Adams, the city’s homelessness crisis and unsafe subways.

Frank James, 62, has been named as a person of interest in the attack which left 10 people with gunshot wounds, with police offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.    

Police said keys found at the 36th Street subway station in Sunset Park belong to a U-Haul truck in Brooklyn that was rented by James and found abandoned five miles from the scene in Brooklyn.

Authorities are now examining social media videos in which James made ‘concerning’ threats against Mayor Adams and raged against white people, Puerto Ricans, Jewish people, climate change and the police, whilst also decrying the United States as a racist place awash in violence. Officials have since tightened security for Adams.

‘This nation was born in violence, it’s kept alive by violence or the threat thereof and it’s going to die a violent death. There’s nothing going to stop that,’ James said in a ranting video on YouTube under the name ‘Prophet of Truth88’. 

The rambling, profanity-filled YouTube videos posted by James, who is black, are replete with violent language and bigoted comments, sometimes against other black people. He is also featured sharing conspiracy theories – such as claiming that the Twin Towers could never have been brought down on 9/11 by planes. 

One video, posted April 11, criticizes crime against black people and says drastic action is needed.

‘You got kids going in here now taking machine guns and mowing down innocent people,’ James says. ‘It’s not going to get better until we make it better,’ he said, adding that he thought things would only change if certain people were ‘stomped, kicked and tortured’ out of their ‘comfort zone.’ 

Several of James’ videos mention New York’s subway. One, posted on February 20, says the mayor and governor’s plan to address homelessness and safety in the subway system ‘is doomed for failure’ whilst another on January 25 criticizes Adams’ plan to end gun violence.

James references psychiatric facilities he has attended in the Bronx and in New Jersey, saying the staff failed to help him and ‘made me more dangerous’.

‘Mr. Mayor, I’m a victim of your mental health program,’ James said in one lengthy video.

‘I’m 63 now full of hate, full of anger, and full of bitterness.’

Keep reading

NYC Subway Shooter and Black Supremacist Frank James Is Arrested in Manhattan

New York City subway shooter Frank James was still on the loose on Wednesday morning after shooting at least 10 people inside a Brooklyn subway station Tuesday. Officials say five victims are in critical condition but are expected to survive.

Frank James was a black nationalist and posted several videos on the oppression of black people.

Frank James was also previously on the FBI terrorist radar until 2019. Then they stopped watching him.

Earlier today Brooklyn subway shooter and black supremacist Frank James was arrested following the manhunt.

Keep reading

NYC subway shooter’s Philly-rented U-Haul is found abandoned on Brooklyn highway five miles from where he shot ten straphangers: Gunman was on FBI’s terrorist radar until 2019

The suspect in the Brooklyn subway shooting was on the FBI’s terrorist radar in New Mexico until 2019, according to a report – and was cleared after ‘multiple interviews’. 

The shooter has not yet been publicly identified and he remains on the loose hours after opening fire on a busy northbound N train as it approached 36th Street in Sunset Park.

Investigators believe they know who he is, having identified the suspect after finding a credit card at the scene that was also used to rent the U-Haul cargo van, two law enforcement sources told CNN.  

A federal law enforcement source told Newsweek the suspect was the previously known to the FBI, having been entered into the Guardian Lead system in New Mexico.

The system is the FBI’s way of coordinating information from other law enforcement partners about potential terrorism-related threats and suspicious activity reports. 

He was cleared after multiple interviews in 2019. 

The federal law enforcement source said that he is believed to have driven to New York from New Mexico. 

The FBI has now joined the hunt for him and armed police units are patrolling Brooklyn for any clue of his whereabouts. 

NYPD has located the U-Haul believed to have been used in Tuesday morning’s subway shooting abandoned in the street in Brooklyn, five miles from the scene of the crime. 

Keep reading

‘Not Operational’: Camera Watching Doomed New York Subway Train Not Working — As Video Emerges Of Panicked Commuters Fleeing ‘Smoke Grenade’ Explosion

The camera overlooking the bloody scene of the Brooklyn subway shooting was “not operational,” meaning it did not capture the terrifying ordeal that 16 injured.

The incident happened at the 36th Street station in the Sunset Park neighborhood on Tuesday around 8:30 AM.

Video shows panicked commuters pushing their way out of the subway and running for their lives down the platform. Those injured emerged from the train bleeding profusely while collapsing on the cement.

During the press conference, it was confirmed of those 16 victims, 10 are suffering from gunshot wounds. Five are in critical but stable condition.

As of this post, the suspect is not in custody.

Keep reading

NY Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin Arrested in Campaign Finance Fraud Case

New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin has surrendered to authorities to face campaign finance fraud-related charges in connection with a past campaign, two people familiar with the matter said Tuesday.

Benjamin is expected to appear in Manhattan federal court later Tuesday. Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office couldn’t immediately be reached for comment on the arrest, nor could a representative for Benjamin.

His arrest comes after reports that Manhattan federal prosecutors and the FBI were investigating whether Benjamin knowingly engaged in a campaign finance fraud scheme. Subpoenas were issued in connection with the investigation, two sources familiar with the subpoenas said at the time.

The investigators also looked into whether Benjamin helped dole out state money to contributors and/or their projects as part of the alleged fraud.

Keep reading

New York City Will Mandate Masks for Children Under 5 Years Old

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said that the city would mandate children aged 2 to 4 to continue wearing masks after a judge issued an order in favor of his administration.

“Every decision we make is with our children’s health and safety in mind. Children between 2 and 4 should continue to wear their masks in school and daycare come Monday,” the Democrat mayor said on Twitter on April 1.

It came after State Supreme Court Justice Ralph Porzio earlier that day struck down the city’s mask order for young children. However, an appellate court issued a stay in the lower court’s ruling, allowing the mask mandate to remain intact amid the appeals process.

Porzio stated that the mandate was “absurd” after it was lifted for children aged 5 and older, and characterized it as “arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable.” That ruling was handed down in response to a lawsuit from a group of parents who sued Adams and New York City agencies.

“Universal masking, therefore, presents one of the strongest, if not the strongest defense against COVID-19 for settings with children ages two to four,” New York City attorneys said in court papers, although numerous studies have shown that young children have exceedingly low COVID-19 death and hospitalization rates compared with other age groups—even compared with older children.

“For these reasons,” the city added, “throughout the pandemic, both the City and New York State had more stringent rules in place for this setting.”

Keep reading