North Country Gazette

Manhattan Attorney Guilty Of Tax Evasion

North Country Gazette — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 23:11:02 +0000

MANHATTAN—A Manhattan attorney had pleaded guilty to failing to collect New York City and State withholding tax from his employees’ wages in the amount of $51,916. Ivan S. Fisher, 65, pleaded guilty to one count of a class A misdemeanor in violation of Tax Law and agreed to pay $68,517.50 in tax, interest and penalties to [...]

Jury Convicts Man Of Foreclosure Scam

North Country Gazette — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 21:44:07 +0000

SUFFOLK COUNTY—After a three week trial and three hours of deliberations, a Suffolk jury convicted a Medford man Friday of burglary, grand larceny and fraud charges for breaking into foreclosed houses in Patchogue, Medford, Shirley, and Holbrook and renting out the homes to unsuspecting tenants. Paul Salamone, 28, smashed lockboxes, changed locks, removed For Sale signs, [...]

Hot Dogs—Keep Them Safe This Summer

North Country Gazette — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 21:39:45 +0000

Dogs can make wonderful travel companions. Many dogs are quick to jump in the car and stick their head out the open window, but taking your dog with you is not always a good idea. The summer heat can quickly cause a car ride to become a deadly outing. Every year dogs die when they are [...]

Martino Named APA Executive Director

North Country Gazette — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 21:35:16 +0000

RAY BROOK—Onchiota resident and current Adirondack North Country Association Executive Director Terry deFranco Martino will be the next APA executive director, effective Aug. 12. Since 1986, Martino has worked for the Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA). She served as program director before her promotion, in 1991, to ANCA’s executive director. As executive director she managed the [...]

42 Arrested In California Health Care Fraud To Disabled

North Country Gazette — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 21:31:20 +0000

LOS ANGELES, CA—Federal and California authorities have arrested 20 defendants accused of being part of ring that defrauded Medi-Cal out of nearly $4.6 million by using unlicensed individuals to provide in-home care to scores of disabled patients, many of them children with cerebral palsy or developmental disabilities. The 20 defendants arrested are among 42 defendants named [...]

Ex-NYPD Cop Admits Transporting Minors For Sex

North Country Gazette — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 21:26:03 +0000

NEW YORK—A former New York City police officer has pleaded guilty in federal court to transporting three different minors across state lines for purposes of engaging in illegal sexual activity. Trent Young, 41, faces a maximum term of 30 years in imprison. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 15, 2010. Young has been detained without bail since [...]

Some NYC Dogs Ill With Leptospirosis

North Country Gazette — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:30:19 +0000

NEW YORK—The ASPCA reports that June’s near-constant rains may have helped make some dogs in New York City critically ill. Local news outlets have been reporting that several otherwise healthy dogs are believed to have died in recent weeks from leptospirosis, a bacterial infection that occurs worldwide and is transmitted in several ways: through bites, [...]

Clifton Park Price Chopper Hosting Tomato Challenge

North Country Gazette — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:25:56 +0000

NatureSweet® Tomatoes are vine-nurtured and hand-picked for homegrown taste. How do yours measure up? The NatureSweet Best Homegrown Tomato Challenge is coming to New York this year to find out! The event will be held at the Clifton Park Price Chopper at 15 Park Ave. on Saturday, Aug. 29. Two grand prize winners will be [...]

Couple Facing Forgery, Impersonation Charges

North Country Gazette — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:51:52 +0000

QUEENSBURY—A Corinth woman has been charged with second degree forgery, a felony, after she allegedly signed a false name to traffic ticket issued to a male acquaintance and mailed it to the court. Jennifer L. Purchase, 22, also faces a count of felony offering a false instrument for filing. State Police said that in May, William J. [...]

Glens Falls Transit System Awarded $1M

North Country Gazette — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:35:24 +0000

GLENS FALLS—The Greater Glens Falls Transit System will receive over $1 million in federal stimulus funds for the purchase of a hybrid electric bus for the region in addition to improvements to existing transportation infrastructure. The award of $1,242,494 through the Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration was announced Friday by U.S. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and [...]

Littlejohn Gets Life For Grad Student Murder

North Country Gazette — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 02:09:43 +0000

BROOKLYN–A nightclub bouncer, convicted of raping and strangling John Jay College graduate student Imette St. Guillen has been sentenced to life in prison without parole. Darryl Littlejohn, 44, was convicted of first degree murder on June 3, and received the maximum sentence. Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Abraham Gerges ordered the sentence to be served consecutive to [...]

Million Dollar Beach To Reopen After Sewage Spill

North Country Gazette — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 01:15:53 +0000

LAKE GEORGE—The Million Dollar Beach is scheduled to reopen Friday morning after testing by the state Department of Health showed that coliform levels were acceptable for swimming after last weekend’s sewage spill into the lake closed 15 public and private beaches. A 30-year old pipe burst Sunday night at the sewage pump station at Shepard’s [...]

Ex-Partner Of Penis Pump Judge Gets Protective Order

North Country Gazette — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:52:40 +0000

TULSA, OK—The saga of the penis pump judge continues. His former business partner who had disappeared during his trial on indecent exposure charges has now obtained an emergency protective order against him. Former Creek County District Judge Donald Thompson, 62, convicted in 2006 of four felony counts of indecent exposure as a result of exposing himself [...]

Baby Huey And The Dems Back In Power

North Country Gazette — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:33:15 +0000

COMMENTARY After costing state taxpayers millions of dollars and delaying state business for over a month, Bronx Democrat Sen. Pedro Espada has ended his power play and switched back from the Republican side to the Democrats. In return for his nonsense, Espada who assumed office in the 33rd District earlier this year, gains the title of Senate [...]

Vandal Sentenced For Subway Graffiti

North Country Gazette — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:43:21 +0000

QUEENS—An international graffiti vandal who allegedly spent last summer on a “tag” tour through Europe has been sentenced to six months in jail for spraying painting her tags – “Erin” and “Dani” – on subway cars on various Queens lines over an approximate three-year period. In addition, the defendant was ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution [...]

Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters Recalled

North Country Gazette — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:38:09 +0000

MINNEAPOLIS, MN—General Mills has announced a voluntary recall of a limited quantity of “Nut Lovers” flavor Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters product containing pecans. No illnesses have been reported in connection with the “Nut Lovers” Granola Nut Clusters product, and no other types, varieties or flavors of Nature Valley products are being recalled. This action is being [...]

Chestertown Man Gets Probation For Kiddie Porn

North Country Gazette — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:34:53 +0000

CHESTERTOWN—A Chestertown man, indicted last year for possession of child pornography, has been sentenced to 10 years of probation. David C. Butler Jr., 27, of 35 Theriot Ave. pleaded guilty in Warren County Court to possession of an obscene performance by a child. He had faced 11 felony charges after State Police allegedly found 11 images on [...]

AG To Social Networking Site—You’ve Been Tagged!

North Country Gazette — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:12:34 +0000

NEW YORK—The social networking site Tagged.com has been served with formal notice by the Attorney General’s Office that the office intends to sue the company for deceptive email marketing practices and invasion of privacy. According to the notice of intent, Tagged devised an illegal plan to lure new members and artificially inflate traffic on its [...]

Feds Seek To Shutdown NY’s Peregrina Cheese

North Country Gazette — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:03:51 +0000

BROOKLYN—The U.S. Department of Justice, on behalf of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, has filed a complaint seeking injunctive relief against Peregrina Cheese Inc., Brooklyn, and two of its officers, Javier Peregrina and Isabel Peregrina. The company prepares and processes a variety of cheeses, sour cream, flan and gelatin products and distributes them to specialty [...]

Software Writer Guilty Of SPAM Scam

North Country Gazette — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 21:59:57 +0000

DETROIT, MICH—An individual has pleaded guilty in federal court in Detroit for his role in creating and marketing software designed and used to send bulk commercial e-mails, known as “spam,” in violation of the CAN-SPAM Act. David S. Patton, 49, of Centreville, Va., pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting violations of the CAN-SPAM Act committed by [...]

Florida Prison Guard Sentenced For Inmate Assault

North Country Gazette — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 21:55:37 +0000

JACKSONVILLE, FLA—Paul Tillis, a former Florida Department of Corrections officer, has been sentenced in federal court in Jacksonville, Fla., on a federal civil rights charge related to assaulting an inmate. Tillis was sentenced to three years in prison followed by two years of post-release supervision. Following a week-long trial, a federal jury in Jacksonville convicted Tillis [...]

Cops: Sunoco Employee Ripped Off $22K

North Country Gazette — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 21:44:02 +0000

WHITEHALL—A Whitehall woman is facing grand larceny charges for allegedly stealing over $22,000 from her employer. Theresa F. McKee, 41, of 2 Brookdale Ave. has been charged with third degree grand larceny and first degree falsifying business records, both felonies. McKee was employed as a manager at Exit 18 Sunoco, located at 108 Main St., Queensbury. [...]

AG Busts Bronx Health Care Fraud Scheme

North Country Gazette — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 21:41:54 +0000

NEW YORK—A dozen individuals and nine corporations across New York City have been indicted for their alleged roles in a criminal enterprise that the Attorney General’s office says paid hospital employees for confidential patient information, lured patients into receiving unnecessary treatment, and then submitted over a million dollars in phony personal injury claims to insurance [...]

Lawyer Bernstein Faces Second Indictment

North Country Gazette — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 21:39:36 +0000

MANHATTAN—The second indictment has been unsealed, charging lawyer Marc Bernstein with stealing settlement and escrow monies from his clients. This second indictment charges Bernstein, 54, of East 33rd St., with stealing more than $1.5 million from five clients. This follows a previous indictment that was unsealed on May 19 charging the defendant with stealing $652,600 [...]

Insider Dinners With News Outlets Leave Public Hungry

North Country Gazette — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 21:36:38 +0000

INSIDE THE FIRST AMENDMENT By Gene Policinski First Amendment Center The general notion is not really open to dispute today that the news media of tomorrow will be very different from the news media of yesterday – but the specifics are. The challenges of operating a successful news business while maintaining an independent First Amendment role are encapsulated in [...]