General News of Saturday, 19 May 2012

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Isaac Akoukoh (of Maryland) was the enterprise’s international broker and primary exporter

NEW YORK, May 16, 2012 – Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, joined by New York City Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, today announced the arrest of 14 individuals who operated a sophisticated international luxury-vehicle theft ring that stole dozens of vehicles valued at more than $1 million in New York City, and its surrounding areas.

Today, a series of early morning raids conducted by Attorney General Schneiderman’s Organized Crime Task Force and the New York City Police Department’s Organized Crime Control Bureau Auto Crime Division capped a year-long investigation dubbed “Operation EZ Steal.” According to today’s indictment, the illicit enterprise was comprised of 12 individuals including an international broker, local broker, steal men, a forged document specialist, a locksmith, key code brokers, and a Florida based Toyota dealership employee who covertly supplied the key codes needed to steal the vehicles. Two additional individuals were charged on a separate indictment for their alleged participation with members of the auto theft ring who were also marketing stolen vehicles in Chicago.

“This criminal enterprise used the streets of New York City as one giant showroom for stealing cars,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “The partnership between the Attorney General’s Office and NYPD has led to the takedown of an international luxury vehicle theft ring that left innocent New Yorkers in the lurch. We have put the brakes on this criminal operation and will bring all of its members to justice.”

Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said, “The outstanding work on this case is one of the reasons why the number of stolen cars in New York continues to plummet year after year. In 1990 there were 147,000 motor vehicles stolen in New York City and by last year the total had fallen to 9,334. That is a drop of about 95% over the last twenty years.”

The investigation utilized wiretaps and other surveillance to gather evidence against a Queens-based criminal ring that allegedly stole a large volume of vehicles from public streets, and in the Tri-State area. They specialized in stealing Toyota and Lexus automobiles and SUVs, including Toyota Venzas, Highlanders, Sequoias and Lexus RX350s, GX460s and GX470s, as well as other high end makes such as Acuras. Once in possession of the stolen vehicles, they allegedly created fraudulent documentation for the vehicles, and either shipped them from ports in New Jersey or Maryland in containers to Africa – Ghana, Senegal and Nigeria – disguising the containers’ contents by documenting false VIN numbers on the shipping manifests, or sold them on the black market in Chicago, Illinois.

In total, 14 individuals – including the international broker, steal crew boss, locksmith, key men, vehicle thieves, and other members of an alleged illicit crew – were arrested on felony charges filed in Queens County Supreme Court Part K-18. Twelve of them were charged in a 58-count indictment with, among other crimes, Enterprise Corruption, Criminal Possession of Stolen Property, Forgery, Grand Larceny and Conspiracy. Enterprise Corruption alone carries a maximum penalty of up to 25 years in prison. Two other defendants were separately indicted for Criminal Possession of Stolen Property and Grand Larceny for their participation in this illicit ring.

According to the indictment, the operation’s international broker would place an order with the local broker, who would relay the order to the steal crew boss, specifying what was to be stolen by model, year, color and accessory package. Members of the steal crew would then “fill the order” by locating the specified car on the streets of New York City. The steal team entered targeted cars using keys obtained from a locksmith by the steal crew boss. Once inside the targeted car, the steal man would use a portable computer to program the key to sync to the vehicle’s unique code, enabling him to cleanly steal the vehicle without causing any damage. Forged document specialists created the paperwork used to disguise the stolen vehicles, including VIN plates and titles, for the vehicle.

The stolen vehicles would then be stored, or “laid up,” at locations in Queens (33-24 69thStreet & 22-12 27thStreet) and the Bronx (300 Jackson Avenue) until they were loaded, often multiple vehicles at a time, into containers to be transported from ports in either New Jersey or Maryland to ports in Africa. In order to facilitate the movement of the containers containing the stolen vehicles, the ring provided false VINs to shipping companies, thereby disguising the containers’ true contents. Those vehicles that were not shipped to Africa were sold to buyers in Chicago.

According to the indictment, Isaac Akoukoh was the enterprise’s international broker and primary exporter. He was responsible for selecting the cars to be stolen, coordinating with his local broker, Fofana Makan (a.k.a. “Foll”), and arranging for the stolen vehicles to be shipped and sold abroad for as much as $40,000 in cash for one car.

Eddie Ledesma (a.k.a. “Mike” and “Carlos Sanchez”), with the assistance of Daisy Diaz, headed up the steal crew, which consisted ofAlfranci Reyes (a.k.a. “Frankfurter”), Rony Ramos, and Junior Aybar (“Alberto”) who, together with Ledesma and Diaz, stole and transported the vehicles. Franklin Rodriguez, Maximo Mendez, and Avery Springette, an employee of Central Florida Toyota, provided key codes to the ring, which made it possible for locksmith Carlos Lopez to create aftermarket keys that the steal crew used to steal the cars. Gustavo Valerio created forged Certificates of Title and VIN sticker that the ring used to give the stolen vehicles the appearance of legitimacy during transport.

The separate indictment alleges that Franklin Rodriguez and Eddie Ledesma obtained key codes, which he provided to locksmith Roman Dashevsky, who, in turn, created aftermarket keys used to steal cars that were transported to Chicago by steal crew member Joseph Tavares.

Those charged in the first indictment with Enterprise Corruption (class B felony) and other charges are:

· Isaac Akuokoh, 52, Frederick, MD

· Fofana Makan,57, Newark, NJ

· Eddie Ledesma (Carlos Sanchez and Mike), 36, Brooklyn, NY

· Daisy Diaz, 29, Brooklyn, NY

· Rony Ramos, 25, Brooklyn, NY

· Alfranci Reyes(Frankfurter), 38, Brooklyn, NY

· Junior Aybar(Alberto), 32, Brooklyn, NY

· Gustavo Valerio, (Tavi), 30, South Ozone Park, NY

· Carlos Lopez, 34, Flushing, NY

· Franklin Rodriguez (Sanders Smith), 31, Brooklyn, NY

· Maximo Mendez (Cucho), 49, Kissimmee, FL

· Avery Springette, 25, Orlando, FL

Those charged in the second indictment with Grand Larceny in the Third Degree (class D felony), and related charges are:

· Eddie Ledesma (Carlos Sanchez and Mike), 36, Brooklyn, NY

· Franklin Rodriguez (Sanders Smith), 31, Brooklyn, NY

· Joseph Tavares(Gante), 26, Brooklyn, NY

· Roman Dashevsky, 53, Brooklyn, NY

The charges are the result of a 12-month joint investigation by the New York State Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force and the New York City Police Department’s Organized Crime Control Bureau Auto Crime Division, with the assistance of the New York City Police Department’s Border Enforcement Security Task Force, New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the National Insurance Crime Bureau, New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, Illinois State Police and City of Frederick, Maryland Police Department.

Attorney General Schneiderman thanked these agencies for their partnership in the investigation.

The charges are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

The investigation was conducted by New York City Police Department Detectives Keith Mushorn and Guido Trivino of the NYPD Auto Crime Division, under the supervision of Sergeant Sam Melisi and Lieutenant Christopher Willis and the overall supervision of Inspector Joseph Kenney and Organized Crime Control Chief Anthony Izzo, and OCTF Investigator Jose Rojas under the supervision of OCTF Deputy Chief Eugene Black.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Deputy Attorney General Tarek Rahman, under the supervision of Deputy Attorney General Peri Alyse Kadanoff and Executive Deputy Attorney General for Criminal Justice Nancy Hoppock.

Source: New York State Office of the Attorney General

Two designers inspired by a previous New York City park want to turn an abandoned streetcar terminal into an underground public space.

Everyone knows about New York’s famous Central Park, the nearly one-and-a-half square mile strip of green in midtown Manhattan, with over 24,000 trees and 150 acres of lakes and streams. While that may be enough park to sustain many New Yorkers, some residents find the lack of grass a major downside to the city. Unfortunately, NYC doesn’t have a lot of open space for creating new viable parks for visitors and residents to enjoy. 

That hasn’t stopped New Yorkers from getting creative with park placement. In 1999, residents in Manhattan’s westside proposed renovating an abandoned rail line and turning it into a park. They were successful with the campaign and eventually, in 2006, construction began on the park, known as the “High Line.” What’s cool about the High Line is that it’s built on an elevated railway that runs for about 16 blocks, with elevator access and street entrances along the way. 

High Line officially opened for public use in the spring of 2009, with half of the park space completed. In 2011, the rest of the park was finished, however; there are plans to add another 10 or so blocks to the park with construction potentially starting in 2013.

With that project in mind, another group of New Yorkers are planning a similar projected, dubbed the “Low Line” or the Delancey Underground project. Instead of going up, the Low Line is going underground. The Low Line project aims to convert the abandoned Williamsburg Trolley Terminal located beneath Manhattan’s Delancey Street, which opened in 1903, into an underground public space. 

The original terminal was only in use for 45 years, from 1903 to 1948, when streetcar service was discontinued. For the last six decades, the terminal has been mostly unused. The Delancey project aims to revitalize the space by turning it into a park space that includes everything from farmers’ markets to art exhibitions. 

According to the designers, Dan Barasch and James Ramsey, the park will be able to support plants, trees and grasses through the use of solar lighting. Ramsey, of Raad Studio, created solar collectors that would be placed at street level to collect sunlight throughout the day. Using fiber optic cables, the light would be filtered and reflected below ground. They claim that the light emitted would not emit ultraviolet rays, but will still be able to distribute “light wavelengths supporting photosynthesis,” which would allow grass and trees to grow underground.

Delancey Underground aims to change how urban planners think of space and use it within cities while also saving remnant urban infrastructures. For example, the existing J/M/Z subway lines run near the Williamsburg Trolley Terminal and could be connected to the park for visitor and resident access.

At the moment, Low Line is still in its early stages. Baracsh and Ramsey have raised about $155,000 via KickStarter and have political and public support — but it will take some time to get the project approved by the city, a crucial first step to secure further funding and for construction to move forward. 

Check out the Low Line concept video below.

NEW YORK CITY (WATE) – Phillip Fulmer is the newest member of the Tennessee Volunteers to reach the College Football Hall of Fame.

He was named to the 2012 class during a Tuesday ceremony in New York City by the National Football Foundation.

Fulmer becomes the 22nd former UT player or coach to be enshrined.

Coach Fulmer is the first Vol to gain entry to the hall of fame since offensive guard Chip Kell in 2006.

Fulmer led the Vols to the first BCS National Championship after the 1998 season, finishing 13-0 with a 23-16 victory over Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl.

The 1997 and 1998 Vols remain the last teams to repeat as SEC champions, and Fulmer coached Tennessee to seven SEC Eastern Division titles in 16 seasons.

His won-lost record of 152-52 figures to a .744 winning percentage, and he left UT as the winningest coach in major college football with at least 10 years’ experience.

Joining Nebraska’s Tom Osborne as the only two coaches to lead a team to a bowl game in each of their first 13 years of coaching, Fulmer led the Vols to a 98-41 record during his final 11 seasons. That includes: four conference title games and one SEC championship, the 1998 BCS Championship, and eight January bowls.

Tennessee’s four-year stretch from 1995-98 under Fulmer was one of the best in college football history – a 45-5 record from 1995-98 that culminated in the BCS title.

For his efforts in that 1998 season, Fulmer was a near-unanimous pick as national coach of the year.

Fulmer led the Vols to 10 or more wins nine times and finished his career 44-37 against ranked teams.

Induction for this year’s hall of fame is on December 4 at the 55th National Football Foundation Annual Awards Dinner in New York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.