Gang leader convicted
A Manhattan federal jury found Guang Ju Lin, 34, leader of a violent gang based in Manhattan’s Chinatown and in Los Angeles, guilty on July 13 of racketeering, murder, attempted murder, narcotics trafficking and running illegal gambling.
Lin participated in the November 2001 attempted murder in the shooting of a rival gang member in a Chinatown restaurant in which a two-year-old was also injured. Lin fled to Los Angeles in December 2001 after being involved in a murder in Queens, according to court documents. In Los Angeles, Lin and his gang continued to traffic in drugs, and operated gambling parlors. In August 2006 Lin and his gang stabbed, beat and shot to death a victim involved in a dispute with a gang member.
Lin faces a maximum life prison term in his sentencing in October. Yudi Liu, an associate of Lin in the Chinatown and Queens incidents, pleaded guilty to murder in March of this year before Judge Sidney Stein in Manhattan. He is to be sentenced later.
Canal St. fatality
A Brooklyn woman, 60 was struck by a truck and killed when a truck hit her around 1:26 p.m. Thurs. July 14 on Canal St. at Hudson St. Police said the victim, Suri Crawford, of Carroll St., was crossing from the north side of Canal to the south side when she stopped, turned, headed back to the north side and ran into truck traveling east on Canal. The truck driver stopped after the incident and police said no criminality was suspected.
Teenager DOA
Police responded to a 7:55 a.m. call on Sat, July 16 to the high-rise apartment tower at 131 Broome St. on the Lower East Side and found an unconscious girl, 18, on a bed in an apartment. An Emergency Medical Service team pronounced her dead on arrival. Police said no criminality was suspected and sources said the girl, who was visiting a friend in the building, had a pre-existing medical condition that might have contributed to her death. Her name was withheld pending family notification.
Driver suffers seizure
The driver of a flatbed truck suffered a seizure as he was driving south on W. Broadway around 9:50 a.m., Fri., July 15. Police said the truck jumped the curb, hit three parked cars, some street signs and came to rest on the sidewalk at the intersection of Barclay St. The driver was taken to Bellevue in stable condition and there were no other injuries, police said.
Fatal plunge
An as-yet unidentified man, 29, jumped or fell to his death from the roof of a 16-story building in the LaGuardia Houses on Cherry St. near Clinton St. at 3:36 a.m. Tues., July 12. Police said they did not suspect criminality.
Broome St. man charged
Port Authority police tackled Xiang Xun Shao, 39, of 288 Broome St. around 6:30 p.m. Sat., July 16 as he sprinted onto the tarmac at Newark Airport. The victim, who had a folding knife in his pocket, was charged with criminal trespass and weapon possession. He was taken to a Newark hospital for observation.
Snatched phone
A woman, 18, talking on her cell phone while sitting on a bench in the playground at West and Chambers Sts. around 1:30 p.m. Thurs., July 14 had the phone snatched from her hand by a thief who fled east on West St., police said.
Bags gone
A woman who attended a company function at Sequoia restaurant , 89 South St. in the Seaport at 6:30 p.m. Thurs., July 14 left her bag under a table and returned at 9 p.m. and found it was gone.
A woman shopping for shoes at Aldo, 579 Broadway in Soho around 1:40 p.m. Sat., July 16 put her bag by her chair and found it had been stolen by the time she was ready leave at 2 p.m., police said.
Vehicles stolen
A man who parked his motorcycle at the corner of John and South Sts, in the Seaport around 2 a.m. Thurs., July 14 told police he returned at 9:30 a.m. to find that his 2007 Suzuki was gone along with the lock and chain.
A man who parked his 2008 Suzuki at the corner of South End Ave. and W. Thames St. in Battery Park City at 9:45 p.m. Wed., July 13, returned at 9 p.m. the next day to find it had been stolen, police said.
A man who parked his company van in front of 27 Desbrosses St. in Tribeca at 10:30 a.m. returned at 2 p.m. and found it had been stolen, police said.
A man who parked his 1996 Lincoln Town Car at 111 Greene St. at 11a.m. Sun., July 17 went to retrieve it at 6 p.m. when he discovered it had been stolen.
Car burglaries
A woman who parked her car in front of 109 South St. between Beekman St. and Peck Slip around noon Sun., July 17 returned at 5 p.m. and discovered that her bag with a camera, lenses , an iPod, designer sunglasses and person papers had been stolen from the front seat.
A Tuckahoe, N.Y. man parked his car on King St. between Varick and Hudson Sts., at 1:30 a.m. Sun., July 17, and forgot to lock the door when he left. He returned at 4 a.m. and found that his global positioning system, cell phone and his wallet and credit cards had been stolen.
Sentence in ‘skimming’
Radostin Paralingov, 30, a Bulgarian national who pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court for stealing over $1.8 million from 1,400 Chase and Citibank customers in New York City, was sentenced on July 13 to 21 months in prison and restitution of $1,838,001.
Paralingov and his brother Ulian, who is a fugitive, installed electronic “skimming” devices and hidden cameras on ATMs to steal information from customers. They used the data to withdraw funds from the accounts. Citibank and Chase reimbursed their customers for reported losses, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.
— Albert Amateau
