NYPD: 4 fatal shootings in five hours in the Bronx and Brooklyn

Bullets flew across two boroughs early Saturday — killing four men in separate incidents during a bloody five-hour span, cops said.

The violence erupted about 1:30 a.m. after two teens were shot, one fatally, inside the first-floor hallway of a W. Farms Road apartment building in the Foxhurst section of the Bronx, cops said.

Anthony Rivera, 18, was hit in the left arm and his 19-year-old pal was shot in the left leg in the spray of gunfire, police said.

Rivera — who sources said had 14 prior arrests that include busts for robbery, assault and criminal mischief — died after he and his friend were taken to Lincoln Hospital.

At 2:50 a.m., gunfire erupted during a card game in front of a Carlton Ave. building in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, sources said.

Cops arrived and found Duran Hesterbey, 23, lying faceup with a bullet in his head.

Hesterbey — whose rap sheet included arrests for drugs and grand larceny — was taken to Brooklyn Hospital, where he died.

About an hour later, cops were called to Leland Ave. in Parkchester, Bronx, where a 32-year-old man was shot while sitting in a car before he collapsed and died at the scene, police said.

Back in Brooklyn, a 26-year-old man was shot and killed on E. 93rd St. about 6:45 a.m., cops said.

Frantlee Alcinder — who had prior arrests for reckless endangerment and driving on a suspended license — was found riddled with bullets on the Brownsville street and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said no arrests were immediately made in any of the four killings.

The spate of bloodshed comes nearly a week after the NYPD reported another dramatic dip in the city’s murder rate.

There have been 284 killings investigated this year, a 17.7% drop from the 345 murders reported at the same time last year, according to NYPD statistics published on Sept. 2.

There have been 1,001 shootings this year, about 3.4% more than the 968 reported at the same time last year, the statistics show.

s hit in the left arm and his 19-year-old pal was shot in the left leg in the spray of gunfire, police said.

Rivera — who sources said had 14 prior arrests that include busts for robbery, assault and criminal mischief — died after he and his friend were taken to Lincoln Hospital.

At 2:50 a.m., gunfire erupted during a card game in front of a Carlton Ave. building in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, sources said.

Cops arrived and found Duran Hesterbey, 23, lying faceup with a bullet in his head.

Hesterbey — whose rap sheet included arrests for drugs and grand larceny — was taken to Brooklyn Hospital, where he died.

About an hour later, cops were called to Leland Ave. in Parkchester, Bronx, where a 32-year-old man was shot while sitting in a car before he collapsed and died at the scene, police said.

Back in Brooklyn, a 26-year-old man was shot and killed on E. 93rd St. about 6:45 a.m., cops said.

Frantlee Alcinder — who had prior arrests for reckless endangerment and driving on a suspended license — was found riddled with bullets on the Brownsville street and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said no arrests were immediately made in any of the four killings.

The spate of bloodshed comes nearly a week after the NYPD reported another dramatic dip in the city’s murder rate.

There have been 284 killings investigated this year, a 17.7% drop from the 345 murders reported at the same time last year, according to NYPD statistics published on Sept. 2.

There have been 1,001 shootings this year, about 3.4% more than the 968 reported at the same time last year, the statistics show.

Anyone with information regarding these incidents is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).

By Erik Badia AND Joe Kemp / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Hostage situation reported at Denver Radio Shack

DEVELOPING -- Police are on the scene of a reported hostage situation at a Denver Radio Shack, Fox 31 Denver reports.

Denver police confirm to Fox 13 there are at least two officers, one hostage and at least one suspect inside. A crisis negotiation team is reportedly on the scene.

Fox 31 reports one of the suspects, a 19-year-old male, has been posting on his Facebook. He reportedly posted a picture of himself inside the store, along with his cell phone number, urging friends to call him.

He reportedly also recently posted, "Swear to God, I'm gonna die."

Denver Police Det. John White says police arrived at the Radio Shack after receiving a call about a robbery in progress. Police were reportedly fired at outside the store.

A three-block barricade has been set up around the store, according to Fox 31 reporters.

Police say four local schools are now on lockdown due to the standoff.

Re-cycled bikes! High-end motorcycles nabbed in international theft ring bust vanish from NYPD lot

FIRST, COPS announced they’d captured some stolen motorcycles — then, someone stole them back.

Sources said seven high-performance bikes seized during a highly touted bust of an international theft ring were, embarrasingly, swiped from a police yard.

The cycles were discovered missing Aug. 24 at the NYPD’s Auto Crime and Narcotics Division lot on Abbot St., the sources said.

The motorcycles were part of a haul of at least 50 that were collected during a 17-month probe by the NYPD and the Manhattan district attorney’s office.

Investigators believe the bikes were taken out of a truck in the fenced lot, then rolled out because the batteries had been removed, making it impossible to start the engines, sources said.

The lot, which is shared by the NYPD and another business, is not guarded and doesn’t have surveillance cameras inside the facility, sources said.

A camera outside the lot recorded images of a van parked nearby over the weekend, but investigators were still trying to determine if it was part of the theft, sources said.

Because the bikes disappeared from NYPD custody, the department's Internal Affairs Bureau is looking into the ripoff to see whether it was an inside job, sources said.

The motorcycles were taken to the lot shortly after city investigators called a glitzy press conference in July to hail the arrest of 33 people in connection with the international motorcycle theft ring.

Prosecutors said at the time that the runners, or “procurers,” would use stolen minivans to grab Ducati, Kawasaki and Husqvarna motorcycles parked on streets across the five boroughs.

A team of undercover officers who posed as buyers also wiretapped conversations between the ring’s runners and sellers.

The investigation also netted at least 10 guns.

Some defense lawyers said the loss of evidence could destroy efforts to prosecute the ring.

“There goes the case,” said Anne Beane Rudman, a lawyer involved. “The defense counsel has the right to inspect any evidence to determine the value of the item. This is a major problem for the police.”

But Erin Duggan, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan DA, said prosecutors aren’t sweating the theft, since the case was already made with wiretaps, informants and surveillance cameras.

“We are proceeding fully with the cases against all the defendants,” Duggan said.

By Janon Fisher AND Joe Kemp / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Gay couple turns to rabbis for divorce

The judges at Israel's rabbinical courts have seen many divorce cases in their lives, but none of them were prepared for what happened last week, when a gay couple arrived at the Tel Aviv Rabbinate and filed for divorce.

The two are Prof. Uzi Even, the first openly gay Knesset member, and Dr. Amit Kama. They had a civil marriage ceremony in Canada eight years ago, becoming the first Jewish Israeli male couple to marry each other.

 

When they returned to Israel, the Interior Ministry refused to register their marriage, forcing them to petition the High Court of Justice, which forced the Interior Ministry in 2006 to acknowledge the Canadian marriage certificate.

Following the historic decision, the Interior Ministry registered the marriages of additional male couples married abroad. But the couple which paved the way experienced marital problems and split three years ago.

After the separation, Prof. Uzi Even met another man and the two decided to get married abroad. But before being able to remarry, he must get a divorce – a procedure which appears to be quite difficult for a gay couple in the Jewish state.

According to Israeli law, the rabbinical court is the only body authorized to annul the marriage of Jewish citizens in Israel. However, the rabbinical court has never recognized same-sex marriages.

Even and Kama cannot divorce in Canada either, as Canadian citizens are the only ones allowed to file for divorce there.

The two approached Attorney Judith Meisels to help them solve this legal entanglement. They drafted a separation agreement that was approved by the Ramat Gan Family Court, which even recommended that the Interior Ministry approve the divorce.

But the Interior Ministry refused to cancel Even and Kama's marriage registration without an official divorce ruling.

Having no other choice, the couple decided to seek the help of the rabbinical court in order to end the marriage. The court's secretaries were extremely surprised by the appeal, as it was the first time they were forced to deal with such a situation.

"The rights to get married and divorced are basic rights, and the State must find a way to allow every person to act on that right," said Attorney Meisels.

Police to double security escort for New Year’s pilgrimage to Ukraine

Some 20,000 Israeli followers of the Hasidic mystic Rabbi Nachman of Breslav are expected to make the annual pre-Rosh Hashana pilgrimage to the Ukrainian village of Uman to visit his burial site next week.

According to a report in Yedioth Ahronoth, 130 flights will depart Ben Gurion International Airport for Ukraine between September 11-16.

Amid increasing concerns of terror threats to Israelis traveling abroad, Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch on Thursday instructed Israeli police to double the number of officers traveling with the pilgrims this year.

On July 18, a suicide attack killed six people, including five Israeli tourists, in the Bulgarian resort town of Burgas.

The yearly pilgrimage to Uman has crossed sectarian lines to become one of the central events on the Jewish spiritual calendar in Israel.

Rabbi Nachman of Breslav died in 1810 at the age of 38, but is remembered fondly by thousands of his followers in Israel.

Aharonovitch’s decision to increase security for this year’s pilgrimage was the result of a recommendation by the Counter-Terrorism Bureau.

Last year’s pilgrimage was marred by a protest in Uman by the far-right nationalist Svoboda Party. The protesters, shouting slogans such as “Ukraine for Ukrainians,” claimed that the influx of Israeli visitors every year to the burial site presented a security and health risk.

They also complained about disrespectful treatment of local residents by the pilgrims.

NYPD In Israel: Police Department Opens Branch In Kfar Saba

Kfar Saba, Israel -The NYPD has opened a new branch in a seemingly unlikely locale – the Sharon District Police headquarters in Kfar Saba, Israel.

According to the Maariv The NYPD made the decision to open a division in Israel in order to maintain close ties and regular contact with the Israeli police.

 

The branch is being overseen by former NYPD detective and Israeli Charlie Ben-Naim. Ben-Naim’s journey from Israel to New York and back is an interesting one.

 He originally left Israel to study in New York, wound up marrying a New York City resident, and later joined the NYPD, where he was involved in the extradition of criminals, intelligence matters, and searches for missing persons.

The NYPD decided that the Sharon District Police headquarters better fit their needs instead of operating out of the United States embassy in Israel. An NYPD sign that reads “New York Police Department, the world’s best police unit” now hangs at the entrance of the police headquarters.

Crown Heights - Few Answers in Mysterious Carroll Street Fire

For the second time this summer, 83-year-old Mordechai Gil stood outside his charred Carroll Street apartment, watching helplessly as firefighters combed the debris for clues about the blaze that destroyed his home.

“I haven’t been back,” said the longtime resident, who has been staying nearby since a May 28 kitchen fire gutted his apartment.

“This fire, I don’t know how it started. Nobody knows. There was nobody there — no gas, no people, no nothing.”

Firefighters identified Gil’s apartment as the source of the fast-moving blaze that engulfed the building in Crown Heights just after 2:30 a.m. Monday morning, injuring 22 and badly damaging two other units.

Eleven residents were treated at the scene, and 11 firefighters were transported with minor injuries. Most residents were able to return to their apartments by Tuesday morning.

But for others, the ordeal was only just beginning. The entire western face of the building was boarded up, and neighbors said the residents of the other two units damaged in the blaze are out of town.

One of those residents left her 7-year-old cat, Mashka, in the care of a neighbor. The cat hasn't been seen since the fire broke out.

“I was taking care of her beloved cat twice a day,” neighbor Zee Rocker told DNAinfo.com New York on Monday.

“They have a very special relationship. I can’t even describe it.”

Fire officials declined to state if the fire was suspicious.

  The Department of Buildings said it had no record of recent complaints or violations at that location.

 

DNA Info

NY Website Operator Gets 4 Years In Prison

New York - A New York judge has sentenced an eyewear website operator to four years in prison, saying his threats to murder or rape customers who complained about their orders required a serious sentence.

U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan sentenced Vitaly Borker on Thursday. He also ordered him to pay nearly $100,000 in fines and restitution.

Borker has been jailed since July, when the Manhattan judge listened to some of Borker’s victims testify about his threats.

Borker says he is “deeply sorry.” His lawyer blames his client’s behavior on alcohol and marijuana abuse and mental illness.

Borker pleaded guilty last year to making threats and fraud charges. Prosecutors say well over 200 complaints against Borker had been filed with the Federal Trade Commission over the operation of his website, DecorMyEyes.com.

NJ - Swastikas Spray Painted Throughout Monmouth Heights Neighborhood

Manalapan, NJ - Spray painted symbols of swastikas were placed on a road sign and similar symbols and defamatory graffiti was found on approximately 12 houses in the Monmouth Heights neighborhood, according to Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Grammiccioni.

The graffiti was found solely in the area of Route 9 and Taylors Mills Road, Grammiccioni said. The Prosecutor’s office was made aware of the defacement at approximately 12:30 a.m. on Thursday and an investigation immediately began.

The Anti-Defamation League issued a statement this afternoon condemning what they referred to as a “hate filled grafitti spree” citing that red swastikas were painted on fences, street signs, sidewalks, mailboxes and even a car. In some areas the words “kill the Jews” were even painted, according to the statement.

“The defacement of public and private property in Manalapan with red swastikas and the message ‘kill the Jews’ represents an attack on the entire community.” Jeffrey K. Salkin, ADL New Jersey Community Director said in the statement. “The swastika is a universal symbol of hate, meant to instill fear and intimidation. By targeting multiple locations the perpetrators in this case intended to send a message to the entire community.”

The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office is working in conjunction with the Manalapan Police Department in investigating this vandalism.

 Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Monmouth County Detective David D’amico at 732-620-2307 or Detective Thomas Mantle of the Manalapan Police Department at 732-446-4300.

Hasidic Rabbis Meet On Metzitzah B'Peh 'Crisis'