The Jewish Voice
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De Blasio Donor Jona Rechnitz Infuriates Synagogue Congregants By Hannah Hayes
Major NYC Landlord Steven Croman Sent to Rikers By Sam Stein
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embers of a Los Angeles synagogue were infuriated last week when Jona Rechnitz, a disgraced real estate developer and crooked donor to Mayor de Blasio, donated over $30,000 so that he and his father could participate in the Yom Kippur services on Saturday, October 1. Sources told The Post that Rechnitz was permitted to pick up the Torah while his father read aloud from the holy Jewish text. According to the sources, an honor purchased for the rabbi by Rechnitz was included in the more than $30,000. Rechnitz’s “pricey piety” upset one congregant so much that he slammed down his prayer book, and left the Yeshivat Yavneh temple to go worship somewhere else, sources told The Post. One source at the synagogue told The Post, “There’s no shame, nothing. No regrets, no calming down. To just come in and spend $30,000 on honors is a sense of arrogance and entitlement. I think that he’s ruined so many peoples’ lives and he’s sitting here just trying to pretend that nothing is wrong.”
Jona Rechnitz is scheduled to return t New York City in two weeks to testify at Norman Seabrook’s trial.
after he returned to LA this past summer. The Altmans, who sell multi-million-dollar homes in West Los Angeles, didn’t return a request for comment. Rechnitz, who founded New York City firm JSR Realty, gained notoriety last year by agreeing to serve as a key witness in several public-corruption probes. Rechnitz scored that gig by admitting he bribed two NYPD cops and acted as the middleman for a hedge-fund man“There’s no shame, nothing. No ager seeking to bribe a union official. He also admitted to paying off a de Blasio regrets, no calming down.” fund-raiser, identified by sources as Ross Offinger, in exchange for official favors, The Post reports, “A congregant also but the feds opted against charging the described how Rechnitz previously mayor or anyone around him following a showed off by bringing real-estate-agent lengthy probe. Rechnitz’s reputation took brothers Josh and Matt Altman — stars a further hit when details emerged about of the Bravo cable network’s ‘Million See De Blasio Donor Jona , page 36 Dollar Listing’ series — to the synagogue
Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman wants to send a strong message to landlords that he will pursue anyone who engages in these types of practices to the fullest extent of the law.
extent of the law. AG Schneiderman said, “Steven Croman thought he was above the law. But today, he begins a sentence in Rikers Island for perpetrating an elaborate “The measures Mr. Croman took scheme that was intended to push out to boost his own bottom line – rent-stabilized tenants. The measures while blatantly disregarding the Mr. Croman took to boost his own bottom line – while blatantly disregarding wellbeing of his tenants – are the wellbeing of his tenants – are shockshocking.” ing. A booming real estate market is no excuse for criminal activity aimed at disRarely, if ever, has a landlord been placing New Yorkers already struggling sentenced to serve time in jail for engag- with high rents. My office will continue ing in these practices. The jail time and to ensure that all landlords play by the multi-million settlement send a strong rules – and pursue anyone who doesn’t message to landlords that the Attorney to the fullest extent of the law.” General will pursue anyone who engages See Major NYC Landlord , page 36 in these types of practices to the fullest
30 Indicted for Using Forged Parking Placards to Park Illegally in Manhattan Edited by: JV Staff
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anhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., and New York City Department of Investigation Commissioner Mark G. Peters announced last week the indictment of 30 people for using forged parking placards to park illegally or to dispute previously issued parking tickets. The defendants are charged in New York State Supreme Court indictments with various charges including Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree, Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, and Criminal Impersonation in the Second Degree. “New York City is one of the most expensive and challenging places in the world to park a car,” said District Attorney Vance. “It came as no surprise to my Office and our law enforcement partners that alleged scammers have taken advantage of this industry in an effort to park for free and avoid paying tickets. I hope this indictment sends a clear message to anyone using a fake
“It came as no surprise to my Office and our law enforcement partners that alleged scammers have taken advantage of this industry in an effort to park for free and avoid paying tickets” – District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr
An example of a questionable parking placard used in Brooklyn (Photo Credit: JV Photographer)
parking placard in Manhattan that this behavior is illegal and may result in a criminal prosecution. I thank our partners at DOI for their work on this investigation and the prosecutors in my Office’s Financial Frauds Bureau for ensuring this conduct was put to a stop.” DOI Commissioner Mark G. Peters said, “Using a fraudulent placard to get around City parking regulations is no different than stealing any other City benefit or service. As our investigation shows, luxury vehicles with fake placards were restricting access to parking for the disabled, creating potentially dangerous situations and breaking the law. In fact, some of this abuse was observed right outside of DOI’s headquarters in Lower Manhattan. DOI has issued an investigative summary describing the investigation and will continue to work with its partners to ensure these fake
permits are taken off the streets.” New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg: “I applaud DOI for its investigation and the DA’s office for these indictments. NYC DOT is doing its share to address placard abuse by pursuing electronic real-time verification, training law enforcement on the designs of legal placards and by enhancing our holograms. We look forward to a continued crackdown on this activity.” According to the indictment and statements made on the record in court, the defendants are charged with using forged parking placards to park illegally or dispute previously issued parking tickets, predominantly in Lower Manhattan, between March and September. Sixteen of the forged placards uncovered during this investigation were purportedly from the following New York City gov-
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n the morning of Tuesday, October 3, Steven Croman, a major New York City landlord who owns more than 140 apartment buildings across Manhattan, was officially sentenced to one year in jail for fraudulently refinancing loans and committing tax fraud. Croman was taken into custody on Tuesday and will serve out his sentence on Rikers Island. As part of his guilty plea, he is also paying a $5 million tax settlement to the State; Croman paid the first $3 million of that settlement last month. A year-long investigation by the Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman’s office found that Croman purchased buildings with rent-stabilized units and, immediately after purchase, began the process of displacing rent-stabilized tenants while simultaneously attempting to refinance the initial mortgage.
OCTOBER 13, 2017
Pictured above is a car illegally parked on a Brooklyn street. While shopping for groceries, the driver of the vehicle parked it here and blocked the street sweeper from coming through (Photo Credit: JV Photographer)
ernmental agencies: the Administration for Child Services, the New York City Law Department, the New York City Department of Health, and the Fire Department of the City of New York. Fourteen placards were purportedly issued by non-municipal agencies: the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the American Red Cross, and the New York Blood Center. Three of the defendants filed forged parking placards with the New York City Department of Finance in an attempt to dispute parking tickets that were previously issued. Five of the defendants used forged handicap placards that included their vehicle’s license plate number printed on the placard. Four of
these defendants never applied for a legitimate handicap placard; one had previously possessed a legitimate placard, but had since reapplied and been rejected. Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Gross is handling the prosecution of the case, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Gloria Garcia, Deputy Chief of the Financial Frauds Bureau; Anne Ternes, Deputy Chief of the Financial Frauds Bureau; Archana Rao, Chief of the Financial Frauds Bureau; and Executive Assistant District Attorney Michael Sachs, Chief of the Investigation Division. Assistant District Attorney Katarina Braafladt and Paralegal Marissa Volpe also assisted with the investigation. District Attorney Vance thanked the New York City Department of Investigation, specifically Special Investigators Dan Taylor and Christina Clyburn, Deputy Chief Investigator Robert Miller, Detective William Orange, the NYPD Squad assigned to DOI, Inspector General Jessica Heegan, and Chief Investigator James McElligott; the members of the NYPD’s 20th Precinct, specifically Officer Zackary Bloomfield; the Federal Emergency Management Agency; Director of Security Operations for the NYC Department of Transportation Stefanie Panuccio; the American Red Cross, Office of Investigations, Compliance and Ethics; and the New York City Office of Payroll Administration.
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