Volume 74, Number 23 | Octuber 6 – 12 , 2004
Police Blotter
Fifth Ave. shooting
The victim of a shooting on Fifth Ave. at 16th St. at noon on Tues., Oct. 5, was charged with heroin possession after a large amount of the drug fell out of his pockets when his clothes were removed when he was taken to the hospital for treatment, police said.
The shooter approached Ronald Kardis, 54, in front of 108 Fifth Ave., demanded something as yet unknown and fired a shot into his leg, police said. The shooter fled on foot toward Sixth Ave., and had not been arrested by press time on Tuesday, according to police.
Kardis, of 542 Northwest Blvd., Vineland, N.J., was taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital in stable condition. Police said the packets of heroin fell onto the floor when his clothes were being taken for safekeeping.
Ninth nabs burglars
Deputy Inspector James McCarthy, commanding officer of the Ninth Police Precinct, said that within the past two and a half weeks the precinct arrested four suspects responsible for a large percentage of the East Village precinct’s recent burglaries.
McCarthy described the four as “hardcore burglars,” adding that, “they’ve admitted to well over 40 burglaries.”
One individual used a crowbar to gain entry to apartments, two came through rear windows and a fourth also gained access through windows, he said.
“We should be seeing a definite impact from these arrests,” McCarthy said.
Death on Houston St.
A Lower East Side resident died on Thurs. Sept. 30 when a westbound car struck him as he crossed from the south side to the north side of W. Houston St. between Greene and Mercer Sts. at 3:42 a.m., police said. Andrew Wong, 55, of 19 Allen St. was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the car stopped after the accident and remained at the scene, police said. There was no arrest and no summons issued.
A recent study by Transportation Alternatives, which advocates for pedestrian safety, cites Houston St. for pedestrian fatalities. Between 1995 and 2001, there were three fatalities at the Houston intersection at Avenue A, two at the Bowery and one each at Avenue B, Second Ave./Forsyth St. and between Greene and Wooster Sts.
The Department of Transportation’s proposed reconstruction of Houston St. calls for left-turn bays, one from the westbound side of Houston St. onto Mercer St., narrowing the median where pedestrians can wait. Sean Sweeney, a Soho activist and member of Community Board 2, said earlier this year that the proposed bays would turn Houston St. into the equivalent of an interstate highway.
East Village DOA
Police found the body of Ramon Young, 31, of 205 Avenue C, in his car parked in the lot at the rear of 610 E. 12th St. in the Campos Plaza housing development at 11:10 a.m. on Sun. Sept. 26. An apparent suicide, the victim had a gunshot wound to the head and the gun was found in the car, police said.
Village realty scam
Sixth Precinct police arrested a Long Island couple on Sept. 25 and charged them with taking at least $6,800 from six victims by posing as real estate agents and fraudulently offering West Village apartments for less than $1,000 per month rent over an Internet site.
Frederick Forino, 34, of Port Washington, L.I., and, Carol Rodriguez, 25, also of Port Washington, were arrested in a sting in the Village on Saturday morning. Police said they illegally accepted money for rent deposits on two apartments they did not represent.
Forino is charged with listing apartment ads, apparently copied from real brokers, on Craigslist, an Internet classified service, beginning in April. The charge says that when prospective renters responded to the ads for apartments on Christopher, Cornelia and Jones Sts., Forino would meet them in the Village, often showed them the apartments and collected $100 fees and up to two months security deposits.
Law enforcement officials did not specify how they thought Forino gained access to the apartments, but they said he might have entered during open houses when legitimate agents were showing apartments or somehow obtained keys.
Forino was charged with conspiring to defraud, possession of stolen property and grand larceny. Rodriguez was charged with conspiring to defraud and illegal possession of credit card numbers.
East River death
A police diving unit, responding to a report of a man in the water at 6:08 a.m. Sat. Oct. 2 in the East River off Market St., recovered the body of Milton Maxon, 34, of 1400 East New York Ave., Brooklyn, about 200 yards north of the Manhattan Bridge.
West Chelsea drug bust
Police arrested Adam Calemmo, 25, for criminal possession of a controlled substance at 8:35 p.m. Sat. Sept. 25 outside a nightclub at 515 W. 26th St. Police identified the suspect as a New York City teacher.
