Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Why There Are No Reformers Pushing for Refoms of the BOE and to Dump the Party Bosses

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Reform Movement MIA Today

In the 1970's Anti-War Organizers Made New York the Center of the Cities Reform Movement to Eliminate Party Bosses

The Rise of the Reform Democrats in Manhattan to the late 1960s (Tails From the Sausage Factor).  By the later 1960s, antagonism to the Vietnam War had generated rapid growth in the Manhattan reform movement. With a huge influx of student activists, the new umbrella group of reform Democratic clubs, the New Democratic Coalition began to beat Tammany Hall last lion Carmine DeSapio. 

Anti-War Activist Pushed the Machine Out of Manhattan in the 60's

By 1968, the new group of young reformers were able to take leading positions in Eugene McCarthy’s presidential primary campaign in New York, and in 1970, they elected one of their own, Richard Gottfried, age 23, to the New York State Assembly. As of 2012, he’s still there. 

 
Another, Jerrold Nadler, went to the Assembly in 1976 and to Congress in 1992, where he continues to serve. Some of the other names — Dick Morris, Mark Leeds, Sy Barsky, Joe Mercurio. Former Assemblyman Dan Feldman the author of Tails from theSausage Factor wrote about anit-war activist in the 60's recruited college students to join Democratic clubs to take over the clubs and local politics.  




Today, Manhattan Bosses  picked Most Elected Officials in Special Elections . . .  OWS Has No Anti War Movement Impact On Local Politics
Up Through System Profession Pol

Today New Elected Officials Come From the Political System Not Movements
Most if Not All of the Recent State Elected Officials Have Won Their Positions in Special Elections. Given the Democratic Nomination by a Party Boss, devoid of any activists movement.  Professional pols like Liz Kruger, Dan Quart, Micah Z. Kellner all won in party controlled special elections. Almost a third of those serving in Albany were elected by party bosses. Even in city council elections most come from the staffs of other elected officials.  
OWS Empty Movement Leadership
Today the only thing left of reform in Manhattan is the name of the clubs:  Three Park Independent Democrats, Stuyvesant Independent Democrats,  Tilden Independent Democrats.  Thomas Jefferson said for good government to existed their has to be a revolution or renewal ever 20 years.   Unlike the anti-war generation 40 years before the OWS activists have stayed clear of the local politics.  It seems the impact of OWS on local politics is as empty as Zuccotti Park.



Brooklyn Reform Movement Sells Out to Vito Lopez Replacement Frank Seddio

Brooklyn Reformers Silent on Election Law Reform
New Brooklyn Boss Frank Seddio visited a reform club last week and told the members that there is no corruption in the Kings County courts, told them patronage is not a bad thing and promised more transparency, as he served them cannolis he brought for them.  A couple of days before his visit the Daily News called his word worthless because he went back on his promised to release documents related to a state Commission on Judicial Conduct investigation of his conduct while running for Surrogate judge. The problem the reformers have with Seddio is that except for the Daily News warning the press has done very little to inform them who is the real Frank Seddio.  There is a lot to be learned by investigating how Seddio used the machine and government to make $$$ and remain in power in a community with dramatic racial change and his loss of ability to deliver the vote.  

Social Issues Replace Party and election Reform

Today Social Issues Like Gay Rights, Against Homelessness and social issues like Sick Pay, Have Replaced Fighting the Party Bosses, Election Law Reform and Corruption

 

 Progressives Ignore Corruption

If you ask today's progressives and NY's corruption problems they will argue that are for election reform they are just silently supporting it.  The real reason for the silence is that make deals with the corrupt pols to push their social agenda.


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Compromised  Election Reform

 Without the Pressure of the Reform Movement the Self Interests of the Albany Pols Will Determine Any Changes to the Election Law . . .  Even In An Environment of Abuse and Corruption








Cuomo Open Primary for Candidates . . . Why Not With NY Falling Voter Participation Open Primaries for Voters?
Cuomo Has A Plan to Save Cross Endorsements Without the Party Leaders
Spoil the bosses’ party: gov(NYP)  Cuomo yesterday proposed stripping political party bosses of the power to cross-endorse favored candidates. It’s part of his anticorruption package in the wake of the bribery scandals that rocked the Capitol this month — including charges that Democratic Sen. Malcolm Smith (Queens) tried to pay off GOP officials to put him on this year’s Republican mayoral ballot.  Candidates could still get on other parties’ ballots, but would have to collect thousands of petition signatures under Cuomo’s proposal. “Allow them to run without the party hierarchy, without the party bosses,” said Cuomo, who noted minor party bosses have given their lines to candidates in exchange for big campaign contributions. Cuomo also called for permitting voters to change their party enrollment up to three months before an election or primary instead of the current one-year minimum.

9:30PM Corruption Is Seen as a Major Problem in New York State, Poll Shows(NYT)
Where is the Opposition to Keeping the Bosses Running the Corrupt BOE ?
Trashing the state Board of Elections as a “toothless tiger,” Cuomo called for an independent enforcement unit to go after corrupt politicians who violate campaign laws.

 Cuomo See Election Law Reform As A Way To Pressure Silver and the IDC and Skelos to Get Other Bills He Wants Passed
Cuomo Adds Election Law Office to Anticorruption Proposals(NYT) Cuomo’s proposals included creating an office to enforce state election law and allowing voters and candidates to switch their party enrollment closer to the election date. * Cuomo Sets Next Target on Corruption(WSJ)
* Poll: Approval Up, But Cuomo Gets Poor Marks on Corruption *
Cuomo Unveils New Proposal To Fight Corruption(NY1)* Cuomo urges crackdown on campaign crooks(NYDN) * Cuomo Calls For 'Open Primaries' Following Scandals(Huff Post)
* Cuomo has regained some ground – especially among Republicans, according to a new Q poll, which shows his approval rating at 57-29, compared to 55-27 last month. But deep regional and partisan divides remain, especial on the SAFE Act.* Fifty-two percent of voters said the governor’s efforts to address corruption were “not so good” or “poor,” the poll found, while 37 percent said they were “excellent” or “good.”* Following Scandals, A Bunch Of Plans For Reforming Albany(Gotham Gazette)* Someone Has To Pick Someone To Probe Corruption, Gov. Cuomo Says(NYDN) Taking Pensions*Cuomo Questions Taking Corrupt Officials’ Pensions(NYDN)
* Cuomo’s anti-corruption push doesn’t impress Soares(TU)
* Why Weiner’s Mayoral Bid Is a Long Shot(538)
Gov. Andrew Cuomo's 2nd anti-corruption salvo is a retreat from a campaign promise (by ) Poll NYS Corruption Major Problem* NY voters say corruption is a major problem

to Capitol reporters on him not wanting to put his ideas into bill form until there is a final deal:

4
Will Silver Save Wilson-Pakula?
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and his fellow Democrats yesterday unveiled their own plan to create a taxpayer-backed campaign-finance program. The Silver plan would prohibit spending public campaign money on food, gifts, defense lawyers and challenges to opponents’ nominating petitions.* Assembly Democrats unveiled a package of proposed changes to the state’s campaign finance laws, including taxpayer-funded election campaigns, while Gov. Cuomo offered up his own ideas for reform, The Buffalo News reports * An Assembly plan to finance elections, minus the Seabrook provision (Capital) * The Assembly Democrats released a retooled public campaign finance plan, which would apply just to the state comptroller’s race in 2014.

IDC Klein Wants to Limit His Opponents Senate Dems Ability to Raise Money 
“IDC’s campaign reform would aid…IDC.”

The Independent Democratic Conference's recent campaign finance reform plan would greatly enhance the conference's own electoral prospects by eliminating the rival Senate Democrats' ability to give unlimited money to preferred candidates, Crain's Insider reports: * Both Cuomo and IDC leader Jeff Klein want to strip political party bosses of the power to cross-endorse favored candidates. * Klein Says He Can Convince GOP To Go Along With Ethics Plan(YNN)


Third Party Leaders Like Conservative's Long Oppose Getting Rid of Wilson-Pakula
State Conservative Party Chairman Michael Long opposes eliminating cross-endorsements. “What’s wrong is the crooks who are in office who try to game the system,” he recently told The Post.





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Weiner's 2nd Place

Gaining On Bland Nobodies
Weiner Does Well Against Nobodies Who Say Nothing . . .  None of the Field Has Gain Any Traction in the Polls in Months . . .Quinn has Fallen from 37% to 30% Without Weiner in the Race

Weiner is polling second in the New York City mayoral race behind Democratic candidate Christine Quinn
Weiner’s poll rising: Trails only Quinn among mayoral Dems(NYP) The Marist poll is the first to include Weiner, and shows him pulling 15 percent of the Democratic vote in a hypothetical race — trailing only Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who garners 26 percent. Liu receives 12 percent of the vote, and de Blasio and Thompson get 11 percent apiece. A sizable 22 percent of the Democratic electorate is still undecided and 3 percent support goes to former City Councilman Sal Albanese or other candidates. * Weiner in Second Among Democrats in Mayor's Race: Poll (WSJ) If Weiner's in race BDB relegated to one slot above Sal Albanese per latest poll. No room for 3 white BK guys...* Poll Shows Weiner In Second Place In Hypothetical Democratic Mayoral Primary(NY1) * Weiner 2nd Place in Democratic Mayoral Poll(NBC) *Anthony Weiner Website Back Online As Talk Of Potential Mayor Candidacy Continues(NY1) * Mixed view of Weiner's possible run for mayor(Fox 5)

Candidates Fail to Inspire After 2 Months of Debate
And, in a head-to-head general election match-up against Republican front-runner Joe Lhota, Weiner is ahead, 51 percent to 28 percent. Only 40 percent of registered Dems want Weiner to run for mayor, while 46 percent do not. Another 14 percent aren’t sure. “Weiner’s support is well below his pre-scandal levels, and nearly half of Democrats do not even want Weiner to run. With near 100% name recognition, he has little room to grow, unlike de Blasio,” the source said.* Weiner Hasn’t Joined Race for Mayor, but a Poll of Democrats Puts Him in Second(NYT) *  In the Daily News, NY1 political anchor Errol Louis examines how Anthony Weiner’s potential mayoral run could “change all the odds” in the New York City mayoral race.  “Weiner would make the road to victory tougher for every other candidate, Democrat or Republican.”Anthony Weiner's website has sprung back to life! His webpage is active.


Might mean that or might mean poll is still very early. See former poll leaders Abzug, Biaggi, Green


The latest Quinnipiac University poll finds that New York State voters give Gov. Cuomo a 57 percent overall job approval rating and shows a divide between upstate and city voters in supporting the state’s gun control laws, 46 percent to 67 percent, respectively:


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Campaign 2013


Alighting on Staten Island, Democratic Mayoral Hopefuls Make Their Appeals(NYT) On Monday night, five Democrats running for mayor made their way to the College of Staten Island for a forum at which each pledged to help the island if elected.



"Quinn doesn’t realize a political rival from Bill Thompson’s campaign is seated next to her" (NYP) *  Quinn Does Not Have Good Restaurant Radar(NY Mag)


Giuliani Cousin Considering Campaign for Dan Halloran's Seat   (Barkan)
 



Corrupt Citytime lobbyist Holtzman Supports Quinn
    1. Many names of women supporting listed twice on long list handed out at event.Quinn announces female support, gets pelted w/ questions about Weiner(Capital)

      For Quinn, Weiner Is the Possible Candidate Who Must Not Be Named(NYT)

      Quinn Launches ‘Women for Chris’ With Liz Holtzman, Whoopi Goldberg(NYO) In the first four months of 2011, Holtzman was paid a whopping $80,000 to lobby the comptroller's office and mayor's office on CityTime. CityTime a bigger scandal even than Boss Tweed - New York Daily ... * Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Payment Of More Than $466 from CityTime to the city.

      LGBT Activists Accuse Christine Quinn Of “Selling Out”(Buzz Feed)






      Bill Thompson
      Hard to believe that 1/3 of Dem primary voters don't know who Bill Thompson is, since they nominated him overwhelmingly in '09.

      GOP mayoral candidate Lhota to speak at Staten Island Tea(SI Advance)
       
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Liu Trial

Liu Trial Starts
Campaign Finance Trial Starts for Ex-Associates of Liu(NYT) At the opening of their trial on Tuesday, Jia Hou and Xing Wu Pan were accused of conspiring “to corrupt an election” through an illegal campaign financing scheme. At the opening of the federal trial of two former associates of New York City Comptroller John Liu, prosecutors accused the defendants of conspiring “to corrupt an election” by hiding the sources of campaign contributions made to Liu* Liu Aide, Backer Stand Trial(WSJ) * Poll Shows Weiner In Second Place In Hypothetical Democratic Mayoral Primary(NY1) * John Liu fund-raisers begin corruption trial(NYDN)


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Political Corruption
In Dark Humor and Stiff Drinks, Albany Finds Relief From Scandal(NYT)
Accusations against four lawmakers have led to new anticorruption proposals and a need for distraction among the rank and file in Albany.
Corruption Is Seen as a Major Problem in New York State, a Poll Shows(NYT)
A poll by Quinnipiac University found that voters have very negative views of the State Legislature, and nearly 9 in 10 said government corruption was a serious problem in New York State.

 Pension Crook Morris Wants Out of Jail

Albany corruption champ has the gall to say he's done too much time(NYDN Ed) Alan Hevesi's partner in crime Hank Morris got off too lightly in the first place







Malcolm Smith
NY Senate Group Removes Malcolm Smith After Arrest(NBC)


5m
Queens-based Our Times newspaper asks, "IS THERE A WITCH-HUNT FOR BLACK POLITICIANS?" -- Racial hokum! I say. Manes, Leffler, McLaughlin, Monserrate, Seminero, Meng, Halloran, Tabone not black pols targeted by law enforcement.
Malcolm Smith’s Fall from Power(Our Times)

The (Very) Earthly Pursuits of Rev. Calvin O. Butts III(Village Voice)




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NYS Government

Safe Act and Mental Health
 In the Times-Union, Michael Biasotti, president of the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police, makes the case for leaving mental health provisions in the New York SAFE Act: 

Pay Increase
Members of the state Senate Finance Committee endorsed a bill that, if approved and signed by Cuomo, would create a commission to study and, if needed, mandate regular pay raises for the more than 8,000 affected state employees.

MSG
Both the governor and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver say they won’t lift a tax break enjoyed for three decades by Madison Square Garden.


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Boston Terror

 9:00PM

Update: Videos point to 2 suspects in Boston Marathon bombing(LA Times)


Boston Update Break Suspect
 RT : CNN's reports Boston officials have used department store video to reach 'significant breakthrough.'.
SUSPECT IDENTIFIED IN - CNN alert says authorities believe that they have identified a suspect in BostonMarathon BULLETIN: 
 
Pressure cooker bombs were hidden inside bags(NYP) * Recipe for disaster: Pressure cookers a savage’s favorite(NYP)

Protecting NYC
Bloomberg ordered a dramatically increased police presence and searches of large parcels in an effort to re-assure New Yorkers that the city was taking the proper precautions in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing, The Wall Street Journal writes *  Severe case of NYC jitters: 77 suspicious packages in wake of Boston(NYP) * Officials Highlight Challenge of Protecting New York From Attacks(NYT) * The explosions appeared to have caused several scares in NYC: La Guardia Airport’s main terminal was temporarily evacuated after an unattended parcel was found; and subways were stopped or diverted after the discoveries of suspicious packages.

Security Experts Ponder Whether Any Long Race Can Be Completely Safe(NYT) * Mayor Sets Precautions(WSJ) * Newsday details some of the keys to combating terrorism in New York City in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings, though concludes that there is no winning strategy * Police Presence To Remain High In NYC As Boston Bombing Investigation Continues(NY1) *A tough act to follow(Goodwin, NYP) With their tag-team press conference yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly assured New Yorkers that they are doing all they can to keep the city safe. Their performance was crisp and steady, just as we have come to expect from them in nervous times like these.
 

Stadium pays tribute to wounded Boston(NYP)
Behind Page One survivor’s moment in hell(NYP)
Boy slain but dream lives(NYP)


Watch CNN Gradually Walk Back Its Reporting on the Nonexistent Boston Bombing Arrest(NY Mag)

Tragic victim’s ‘heart of gold’
From Sandy Hook to Boylston Street, Terror Anew(NYT)
 Jon Stewart Gets Serious For A Moment, Thanks Boston For Being Courageous In The Face Of 'Gross Inhumanity'

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Gentrification
Bedford-Stuyvesant Historic District Triples in Size(NYT) * A Slice of Brooklyn Reaches New Heights(WSJ)










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NYCHA

NYCHA allows payment of new parking fees in installment (NYDN)
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Sandy

  Despite concerns raised by superstorm Sandy, the city is moving forward in developing an 80-acre waterfront site in Far Rockaway with more than 1,000 new housing units, in addition to two other waterfront developments, the Journal reports:
Queens Man Left Homeless Following Sandy Allowed Back In Damaged Home(NY1)


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Education

 New tests’ dummy questions, opt-out policies stress par … (NYDN) New state exams stumped public school students across the city Tuesday as they struggled to answer more difficult questions aligned to national standards. More »
* 400 NYC Test Scores Go Missing(NBC)
Schools have no obligation to offer students who refuse to take state exams alternative instruction, the state Education Department said this week, and principals should use regular attendance or disciplinary policies to decide how to deal with those students.

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Bike Share

Bicycle roulette (NYDN Ed) New Yorkers hold their collective breath as bike share comes to Brooklyn and Manhattan







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 Water

The Remarkable Story Of How New York City Gets Its Water(Gotham Gazette)


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Media

‘Mad Men’ City Hall vs. Real 1967 City Hall(NYT)







Jon Stewart Tears Apart CNN For ‘Completely F*cking Wrong’ Boston Reporting: ‘Human Centipede Of News’
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Washington



Man arrested for allegedly sending poison to President Obama, US Senator(NYP)
Mississippi Man Is Arrested in Sending of Suspicious Letters(NYT)
12 Noon
WASHINGTON (AP) _ FBI says preliminary test indicates poisonous ricin in letter to Obama.
Michigan Senator Carl Levin says his regional office received suspicious letter * Envelope with ricin poison sent to president, Capitol cops probe more 'suspicious' items(NYP)


 POTUS: "This is a shameful day" for Washington
Gun Vote Update Senate Votes Down Expanded Background Checks In Gun Sales: An amendment to the federal gun control bill that.  Republicans who are quick to blame Democrats for not being tough on crime have handed criminals a huge victory. The amendment got the support of 54 members and was opposed by 46. It needed 60 votes to move forward. Feinstein angry. "Show some guts," she says. Assault weapons ban fails 40-60 
* Bloomberg Rips Senate For Failing To Expand Background Checks (WCBS)
* Seven different gun measures failed to pass in the U.S. Senate today. How they voted(NYT)




44s
Count on it. “: Interested to see if Bloomberg who have worked hard on this issue remain active in 2014 elections.

Obama blasts Republicans, says gun lobby ‘willfully lied’(Wash Post)
Federal Action After Newtown Shootings Effectively Derailed(NYT)

A Senate in the Gun Lobby’s Grip(NYT)
By GABRIELLE GIFFORDS
Quote from Gabby Giffords' op-ed:
SENATORS say they fear the N.R.A. and the gun lobby. But I think that fear must be nothing compared to the fear the first graders in Sandy Hook Elementary School felt as their lives ended in a hail of bullets.

Here Are The Twitter Handles Of The Senators Who Voted No On Background Checks Bill(Huff Post)*

The Senate Fails Americans(NYT Ed)Bowing to the gun lobby rather than the public, lawmakers kill crucial gun control legislation a mere 18 weeks after the massacre in Newtown, Conn.


Immigration deal blocks criminals(NYP) *An Immigration Blueprint(NYT Ed)
The Minority Rules (NY Mag) How America's crappy political system killed background checks with 90 percent support.

  Update BREAKING: Arrest Has Been Made In Ricin Mailings
Short Votes on Gun Bill
Why the Background Check Bill Is in Trouble(NYT)
New NRA web ad: listen to police, not Obama (CNN)
Background Checks to Fail in the Senate, for Now(NY Mag)
MSNBC Panelist Rips Dems On Guns, Invokes Bombing: Americans ‘Less Afraid Of Terrorism…Than You Are Of The NRA’
Key Senator Admits: We Don't Have The Votes On Background Checks


Ricin On Capital Hill
CNN Ricin CNN Reports Suspicious Ricin Poison-Tainted Letter Intercepted On Way To Senate  * ABC: Second letter sent to US Senate tests positive for ricin
 Poisonous powder(NYP ED) * Deadly ricin mailed to senator’s office(NYP)
Things Will Be the Same Again - Jeff Jacoby, Boston Globe
Messing With the Wrong City - Dennis Lehane, New York Times
A Pox on Both Sides' Rush to Politics - Charles Hurt, Washington Times
A Threat That's Always With Us - David Ignatius, Washington Post
Abortion: Journalism's Most Sacred Cow - Carl M. Cannon, RealClearPolitics
Five Lessons From the Gosnell Case - Scott Lemieux, The American Prospect
Killing Babies the Ultimate 'Progressive' Right - Noemie Emery, Examiner
The CIA's Angry Birds - Maureen Dowd, New York Times
Obama in Thrall to CIA Killing Machine - Toby Harnden, Sunday Times
How Out of Touch is Today's GOP? - Greg Sargent, Washington Post
Millionaire Obama Not Paying His Fair Share - Milton Wolf, Wash Times
Let's Hope the Bomber Is a White American - David Sirota, Salon
When Watchdogs Are Accused of Racism - Michelle Malkin, National Review
Can Rubio's Hip-Hop Cred Pay Dividends? - Scott Conroy, RealClearPolitics
Thatcher's Fight: Freedom vs. Tyranny - John O'Sullivan, New York Post
Hillary Clinton as America's Thatcher? - Margaret Carlson, Bloomberg
A Mother, a Feminist, Aghast - Judith Grossman, Wall Street Journal
Coming to Terms With Terror - Los Angeles Times
Boston: The Face of US Resolve - New Hampshire Union Leader
Enforcement Key to Immigration Deal - USA Today
A Start Up That Has TV Executives Fuming - The Economist
Reports filed this week with the FEC show many members of Congress – especially Rep. Dan Maffei – barely took a breather after the 2012 election in their quest for campaign cash.
President Obama says he misses former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, but she has “earned her rest.”


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Law and Order


Some Testimony on Police Tactic Undercuts Bias Claim(NYT)
 In testimony in the case examining whether the stop-and-frisk procedure is illegal, some plaintiff witnesses may have actually weakened efforts to prove racial bias.

Celeb game over: Posh ‘poker ring’ art scion busted  (NYP) A jet-setting Manhattan art baron was arrested yesterday for his role in a massive international gambling ring that counted Leonardo DiCaprio as a player, officials said.* Agents Descend on a New York Gallery, Charging Its Owner(NYT) * FBI Links Poker to Russian Mob(WSJ) * Feds: Alleged Organized Crime Ring Ran Poker Games For Rich And Famous(Ny1) * Feds: Russian mob ran celebrity poker games(WABC) * FBI, NYPD bust international sports gambling rings(Fox 5)
Woman admits to stealing $1 million from cemetery(NYDN)

NYPD Searching For Suspect In Alleged Sexual Touching Of 9-Year-Old(NY1)

Trinidad immigrant, 22, gunned down in Flatbush(NYDN)
Jealous gal runs down boyfriend with car, kills him: cops(NYP)
home near Arlington Ave. in Cypress …
Driver, 88, charged in Midtown DWI mayhem(NYP)

 Cops: This is a perv(NYDN)

Mistrial Declared in ’08 Killing of Psychologist(NYT)




Woman who lured man to his death with sexy texts testifies (NYP)
Suspect sought in Brooklyn shooting(WSJ)
Man shot, killed in his Brooklyn home(NYDN)
Suspect In Etan Patz Murder Case Wants Charges Dropped(WCBS)
Student-messaging HS gal gets kiss-off(NYP)