East Side gunfire
An argument that started among some patrons at ER Lounge, 211 Madison St., around closing time on May 6 ended on the ramp of the Brooklyn Bridge after a car chase and gunfire, police said. No one was hurt and two suspects were arrested.
The victim told police the argument with two other patrons was over an insult to his girlfriend but he left the club with her and drove off. The two followed in another car, fired off some shots and chased the victim east on Madison to Grand St., then down the F.D.R. Dr., police said. The chase ended at about 5 a.m. after more shots were fired and the two men turned onto the Brooklyn Bridge ramp.
Police arrested two suspects, Danny Cabrera, 30, and Pedro Diaz, Jr., 21, both of South St., Brooklyn, on the ramp after they said they saw them toss something from their car off the ramp. A .22 caliber handgun was recovered on the street below, police said. The two were charged with criminal possession of a weapon and assault.
Motorcycle river death
Leonard Becket, 38, a member of a Queens motorcycle club and a foster father who with his wife took in 40 children over the years, was killed in a freak motorcycle accident at about 10:20 p.m. Thurs. May 4. He crashed into a livery car while going over the Williamsburg Bridge and was thrown from his bike over the concrete barrier and into the river more than 100 feet below, police said.
Known in his club as a cautious biker, he was the last rider in a group of bikers going over the bridge when he hit the car, according to reports.
An arresting reward
A visitor from Vancouver walked into the First Precinct at about 2 p.m. Tues. May 2 and told police he had left his cell phone in a cab. Police let him dial the number from the station and a man who answered said, “I’m the guy who got into the cab just after you.” The man said he would return the phone but demanded a $50 reward and arranged to meet the visitor in front of 15 Maiden La.
At 15 Maiden La., the man told the visitor, “No phone without the money, go to the bank and get it.” But a couple of plainclothes officers who came with the visitor arrested the suspect, David Ham, 22, and charged him with grand larceny.
Bribery arrest
Police charged Saleh Zonfol, 32, with bribery on May 6 after stopping him for a parking offense at E. Houston and Orchard St. The suspect told the officer, Efraim Lugo, “I’ll give you anything if you let me go,” police said. When brought to the Seventh Precinct station for booking, the suspect offered Sgt. Victor Leandry $100 and Lugo $50 to let him go. After more discussion, which police recorded on tape, the suspect gave Lugo and Leandry $100 each, police said. He was arrested and charged with second degree bribery.
Car stolen
A man who parked his 2006 Nissan at the curb on Sixth Ave. between King and Charlton Sts. on Monday afternoon May 1 returned at 6:40 p.m. to find the front window smashed and his briefcase with a cell phone, DVD player and an electronic organizer missing.
Construction site thefts
The manager of a construction site in an office at 45 Broadway told police that burglars entered the site on the night of May 2 and made off with equipment valued at $12,000.
Burglars broke a plywood wall at a construction site on Leonard St. near Baxter St. on May 4 and took 160 feet of copper wiring valued at $6,000, police said.
Theft from office
The manager of an office on the 13th floor of 15 Maiden La. told police that a thief made off with a laptop computer valued at $2,800 from an unlocked conference room on Mon. May 1.
BBy Ronda Kaysen
WWW Downtown Express
