New Rochelle Resident Steve Mayo has filed a court action called an Article 78. Article 78 is a mechanism of New York Civil Law that allows a regular citizen like Steve to stop a government agency or officer from acting outside their jurisdiction. That is precisely what the Mayor and Council are attempting to do by flouting the law that prevents them from using illegal revenue sources like the Garbage Fee/Tax.

Upon filing the Article 78 action, Mr. Mayo said, “I’m just one taxpayer and taking on city government is kind of a David Vs. Goliath proposition but I believe that when taxpayers see how outrageous this fake ‘fee-tax’ is, this issue will gain attention and support. Then we can work together as an informed and mobilized citizen group to stop this ‘slight of hand’ type of accounting in our city budget.

Mr Mayo added, “The presumptuousness, the disingenuousness of the majority in masking their machinations is positively insulting, never mind being a textbook example of 'opacity in government.'"

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Moments ago, at approximately 10 am this morning, two men dressed in black clothing with black gloves and wearing black ski masks over their heads, kicked in the door to a residence at 77 Centre Avenue in Downtown New Rochelle this morning. At home was a woman with a small child.

The pair of intruders brandished handguns and forced the woman under a bed. The victim told police that the two men stole documents. A police dispatcher later said that money and jewelry was reported stolen. There was word on the child or injuries.

The two men, both described as male/black and speaking Spanish, fled the scene. Police were not sure if the men fled on foot or in a vehicle.

This is a breaking story. Police are currently searching the area for the two men. They are considered armed and dangerous. The New Rochelle K-9 Unit has been called to the scene. The NRPD Forensic Unit has been called to the scene.

Agents of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and officers from the New York Police Department arrested 5 men this morning in connection with a series of violent robberies in The Bronx And Westchester County including one robbery and assault on Pelham Road last fall.

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Joseph Anarumo Jr., the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Raymond W. Kelly, the Commissioner of the Police Department for the City of New York (“NYPD”), announced charges today against Fahd Hussain, Jermaine Dore, Dwayne Barrett, Taijay Todd, and Tameshwar Singh – five members of a violent robbery crew that operated in the Bronx and Westchester County, New York.

According to an indictment handed down this morning, on October 11th, 2011, Fahd Hussain, Jermaine Dore and Taijay Todd robbed at knifepoint a person engaged in the business of selling telephone calling cards during which the victim was beaten and more than $6,000 in cash and another $6,000 worth of telephone calling cards was taken from the victim. Other violent robberies like to the five-man crew occurred in Mount Vernon and The Bronx in which one victim was shot and killed and two others in which victims were stabbed during the course of the robberies.

At a recent New Rochelle City Council meeting, newly-seated Council Member Ivar Hayden caused New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson to visibly squirm in his seat by mentioning a recent New York Times article during a discussion of Forest City/Ratner's MOU for Echo Bay. For those who missed it, Times reporter Michael Powell documents the many crooked twists and turns by which various Forest City/Ratner projects have been advanced by corrupt politicians and the convictions obtained by the U.S. Attorney. Yonkers is up next.

A Developer Between Legal Clouds

Last week, the lobbyist Richard Lipsky stood in a courtroom to acknowledge bribe-making. His partner in crime, Carl Kruger, the former state senator and a Brooklyn Democrat, had taken his tear-soaked turn two weeks earlier. They face years in prison.

Westchester County Police arrested a Connecticut man this morning after he was found in possession of almost 500 prescription drug pills following a traffic stop on the Hutchinson River Parkway in New Rochelle.

Police Officer Steven Stromberg was on patrol on the northbound Hutch about 1:30 a.m. when he stopped a 2003 Chevy Trailblazer for a traffic violation near Wilmot Road. A computer check revealed that the driver’s license was suspended on seven occasions for failure to answer summonses and pay fines.

Jeffrey Becker, 23, of Thaddeus Avenue, Danbury, was placed under arrest and his vehicle was impounded. A subsequent inventory search turned up 453 Oxycodone tablets and 43 Opana (oxymorphone) tablets hidden in several places in the car.

Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore announced that James Pileggi (DOB 4/06/80) of 40 Mill Road, Eastchester, New York was sentenced today to an indeterminate term of three to nine years in state prison on his conviction after a jury trial of: one count of Manslaughter in the Second Degree, a class “C” Felony, for causing the death of Andre Everett.

On the evening of November 3, 2009, the victim, a New Rochelle realtor, was inside his home on Albert Place in New Rochelle.

He went out onto his driveway to talk to a group of acquaintances who were seated in the defendant’s car.

The car was owned by James Pileggi who at the time was an off-duty Eastchester Police Officer.

Pileggi was seated in the front passenger seat of his car and was playing with his off-duty gun, a Glock 9mm, with a laser sight affixed to it.

At some point while the victim was standing by the rear driver’s door, the defendant discharged the weapon and the bullet struck the victim in the throat.