Good Morning, Brooklyn: Wednesday, September 14, 2022

September 14, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

Share this:

SENTENCED FOR ROLE IN GUN TRAFFICKING TO BROOKLYN: A Brownsville man, Montoun Hart, 50, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in a gun trafficking ring that transported dozens of illegal firearms from South Carolina and Virginia for sale on the streets of Brooklyn, Kings County District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced. Also, that a second defendant, Vernal Douglas, 51, of Flatlands, and a former MTA subway conductor was sentenced in August to five years in prison by Justice Del Giudice following his guilty plea on June 14, 2022 to second-degree criminal sale of a firearm.

The investigation, which involved other members of the trafficking ring, spanned from October 2019 to October 2020, helped recover numerous firearms, including two assault weapons: a German Sport Guns .22 caliber rifle and a Smith & Wesson 9mm semi-automatic pistol, as well as a Ruger .44 caliber revolver, a Smith & Wesson .357 caliber revolver, a Springfield Armory 9mm pistol, a Taurus 9mm, a Glock .380 caliber, a Glock 9mm, and a Ruger P89 9mm pistol.

✰✰✰

WANTED IN CONNECTION WITH SUBWAY STABBING: The NYPD is asking the public to help apprehend a man in connection with a stabbing that took place around 12:40 a.m., Monday, Sept. 12, aboard a northbound #2 train approaching the Bergen Street IRT station. The unidentified man allegedly approached and engaged his 49-year-old male victim in an argument, and stabbed him in the back with a knife.

The victim sustained a puncture wound and was transported via ambulance to New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, in stable condition.

Surveillance cameras caught this man, wanted in connection with a stabbing, exiting a turnstile in the vicinity of the Bergen Street. IRT subway station.
Photo credit: NYPD/Crime Stoppers

✰✰✰

BANKER PLEADS GUILTY IN MONEY LAUNDERING SCHEME: United States Magistrate Judge Ramon E. Reyes Jr. presided over a guilty plea from Hanan Ofer, an experienced banker, for failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program in violation of the Bank Secrecy Act, as part of a scheme to bring lucrative and high-risk international financial business to a small, unsophisticated credit union. Although Ofer represented to the New York State Employees Federal Credit Union Services Organization that he and the NYSEFCU-CUSO would conduct appropriate anti-money laundering oversight as required by the Bank Secrecy Act, he did not, instead facilitated more than $1 billion in high-risk transactions.

When sentenced, Ofer faces up to 10 years in prison.

✰✰✰

MALLIOTAKIS RALLY: NO TO CONGESTION PRICING: U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-11/southwestern Brooklyn/Staten Island) yesterday joined a bipartisan coalition of city and state elected officials urging Governor Hochul to withdraw her support of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) Manhattan Central Business District Tolling Plan (CBDTP), otherwise known as Congestion Pricing. Specifically, Malliotakis renewed her calls for the MTA and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to extend the public comment period (https://mta-nyc.custhelp.com/app/cbd_tolling ) on the Environmental Assessment (EA) to 60 days, and push the MTA to conduct complete, thorough, and transparent economic and environmental impact studies to learn the program’s true impact before it’s implemented.

Under the city’s plan, which is modeled after London’s failed congestion charge zone, commuters may be forced to pay an additional $23 toll to enter Manhattan south of 60th street, costing drivers more than $5,000 per year, and potentially more for Staten Islanders, who already pay a toll to connect to the rest of the city.

✰✰✰

CONSTRUCTION BEGINS ON THROOP CORNERS DEVELOPMENT: Unified Neighborhood Partners (a united group of local North Brooklyn nonprofits) this morning will celebrate the start of construction on 88 Throop Ave. (Throop Corners), the first of five buildings in the Broadway Triangle Development. This celebration acknowledges the full project that will include commercial and community space, along with 390 new affordable apartments, including those for formerly homeless households.

In 2019, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) designated the Broadway Triangle development sites to non-profit developers St. Nicks Alliance, RiseBoro Community Partnership, Southside United Housing Development Fund Corporation – Los Sures, and United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg and North Brooklyn (UJO) — collectively referred to as Unified Neighborhood Partners, which received financing from a variety of sources including HPD’s Extremely Low- and Low-income Affordability (ELLA) program.

✰✰✰

‘THE PEOPLE’S MONEY’ LAUNCHES: City leaders this morning will launch “The People’s Money” — New York City’s first-ever citywide participatory budgeting process. All New Yorkers ages 11 and up will be able to decide how to spend $5 million of mayoral expense funding to address local community needs, with the kickoff bringing in a diverse group of 86 partner organizations. Residents can submit ideas and find further idea-generating sessions via the CEC’s online platform: participate.nyc.gov.

The event takes place at Roberto Clemente Plaza in the Bronx, a site named for the baseball great who once played for the Pittsburgh Pirate.

✰✰✰

NY STATE’S VIRTUAL CAREER CENTER EXPANDS: The New York State Department of Labor has expanded its Virtual Career Center, a cutting-edge online platform to help New Yorkers accelerate their career searches. Previously, only unemployed job seekers were able to access this resource through a pilot program, which Gov. Kathy Hochul has now expanded, so that all New Yorkers can access the Virtual Career Center by creating or signing into an ny.gov account, including the New York State Job Bank, Part-Time Hiring Opportunities Job Bank, and NY Seasonal Jobs to browse available statewide jobs.

All new weekly Unemployment Insurance benefit claimants are automatically added and invited to the Virtual Career Center to help them use this new tool to find jobs that match their experience, knowledge, and skills.

✰✰✰

CITY TECH HOSTS CONGRESSIONAL CAREER FAIR: Brooklynites who would like to work for the government have a chance to network at a Congressional Career Fair, taking place this Saturday, Sept. 17, at New York City College of Technology in Downtown Brooklyn. Three members of Congress representing Brooklyn, Reps. Nydia Velazquez (D-7), Hakeem Jeffries (D-8) and Yvette Clarke (D-9) are sponsoring the fair, where city agencies such as the New York City Police Department, Fire Department, the NYC Public Advocate’s Office New York State Department of Labor, the State Comptroller’s office, as well as the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Local 79/Construction and General Building, Council for Airport Opportunity will be screening attendees for employment. https://tinyurl.com/bkcareerfair2022

Attendees should bring a resume and be prepared for on-spot interviews.

✰✰✰

PUBLIC HEALTH CORPS MARKS FIRST ANNIVERSARY: September 29 marks the one-year anniversary of the New York City Public Health Corps (PHC), a joint initiative between Health and Hospitals and the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. They will celebrate by hosting the event series “Public Health Corps in Your Borough,” with the Brooklyn event taking place September 24 (registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/brooklyn-public-health-corps-phc-in-your-borough-tickets-399054561937).

Each borough event will include a recognition ceremony highlighting Public Health Corps CHW’s from local community-based organizations, Federally Qualified Health Centers and the aforementioned city health agencies; a fall festival with screenings, activities and job resources will follow the ceremony.