By Thomas Tracy
The National Association of Letter Carriers is conducting its Annual Food Drive now through May 14. In conjunction with the U.S. Postal Service, the Campbell Soup Company, ValPak Direct Marketing Systems and the AFL-CIO, letter carriers are asking the public to donate canned and other non-perishable foods. The program is conducted nationwide and more than 1,500 NALC branches across the country have signed on for this worthy cause. Last year, letter carriers were successful in collecting more than 70 million pounds of food; in Brooklyn, 40,000 pounds of food. Letter carriers are asking that you help them surpass last year’s total by bringing donated food to your local post office during Food Drive Week. Donated food may be given to your local letter carrier as well, as well as brought directly to the Union Office, 2262 Bath Avenue in Bensonhurst. All of the food collected is donated to local food banks and pantries. This year, the food will be distributed to various organization, food pantries and shelters throughout the five boroughs. Most of the food collected in Brooklyn will be redistributed throughout Brooklyn. Those interested in learning more about the food drive or how to donate food, please contact Joe De Rossi, executive vice president and food drive coordinator, Jack Leventhal Branch No. 41, National Association of Letter Carriers, at 718-373-0618/27 or email www.branch41.org. THREE SHOT OUTSIDE OF BREUKELEN HOUSES: Cops are looking for a suspect who opened fire outside the Breukelen Houses last week, injuring three people. Police said that the shooting took place at the corner of East 105th Street and Flatlands Avenue at 9 p.m. on May 9. All three victims were shot in the legs, officials said. They were taken to area hospitals where they were listed in stable condition. As of this writing, cops had not released a description of the shooter. Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to come forward. Calls can be made to the 69th Precinct at (718) 257-6211. All calls will be kept confidential. *** ROBBED OF CELL PHONE: A 15-year-old boy was robbed of his cell phone as he took the B-82 bus to his home on Remsen Avenue, officials said. The child said that the bus was traveling up Kings Highway at 2 p.m. on April 20 when four thugs approached him, demanding to see his cell phone. When the teen refused, one of the suspects pulled up his shirt, showing a knife. The thieves took the victim’s cell phone and fled at the next stop, said authorities. The victim was not seriously harmed. *** ARRESTED FOR ROBBING CORRECTIONS OFFICER: A 16-year-old was arrested for allegedly robbing an off-duty corrections officer as he entered his Bergen Beach home last week. Officials alleged that Jamel Rosa and an accomplice held up their victim the afternoon of May 1 on East 70th Street. Police alleged that Rosa’s accomplice trained a gun on the corrections officer while Rosa demanded his money. The officer handed over his cash, but refused Rosa when the teen allegedly demanded his bankcard. Rosa allegedly told his accomplice to “shoot” the victim. Instead of following the orders, the suspect allegedly fled with Rosa in tow. The corrections officer called police, said officials. Cops from the 63rd Precinct tracked down and arrested Rosa a short time later, charging him with robbery. As of this writing, his accomplice remains at large. *** COPS: WE CLEANED UP PARK BEFORE STABBING: Police said that before four people were injured in a stabbing at Seaview Park last month, officers from the 69th Precinct had swooped in and handed out a dozen summonses for a number of criminal infractions, including having open containers of alcohol, according to officials. Cops told members of the 69th Precinct Community Council last week that 12 people received summonses for drinking in the park about two hours before an argument at the basketball courts ended in a stabbing. Police are currently looking for the assailants, who jumped the victims at about 8 p.m. on April 17. Witnesses said that at least ten suspects jumped the four victims when the argument became heated and more violent. Police said that one of the victims suffered a cut over his left eye. A second man was stabbed in the torso, said officials. The remaining two victims received stab wounds to their back and torso respectively, according to police, who would not disclose exactly what the argument was about. All four victims, who ranged between 18 and 22 years old, were taken to Brookdale Hospital where they were listed in stable condition. Police said that as the weather gets warmer, they would be paying more and more attention to the park. Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this incident to come forward. Tipsters could receive up to $2,000 for information that will lead investigators to the arrest and indictment of the ones responsible. Calls can be made to either the 69th Precinct at (718) 257-6211 or the NYPD Crimestoppers hotline at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential. *** GUNMAN LOOTS STORE: Police are looking for an armed man who held up M and J Foods at 9218 Avenue L last week. Witnesses said that the unidentified suspect entered the store at 11:20 a.m. on April 22 and pulled a gun on a worker, demanding the receipts from the register. Officials said that the thief made off with $5,000. Anyone with information regarding the robbery or the man responsible is urged to call the 69th Precinct at (718) 257-6211. All calls will be kept confidential. *** COPS: HELP CLEAN UP GRAFFITI WHILE EARNING SOME GREEN: As the ongoing war against graffiti vandals continues, cops are now offering up to $500 in reward money to anyone who can offer them information that can lead them to anyone who commits graffiti vandalism. The hefty reward is part of the city’s new push to rid New York of graffiti vandals. Graffiti is one of the leading quality of life complaints brought to police. Officials said that cleaning up graffiti is essential to the plan, to show that the community is no longer going to tolerate marred and tagged-up walls and street corners. According to police there is a perception that if a community will tolerate graffiti, they will tolerate other criminal activities, such as drug dealing and prostitution. Anyone with information about graffiti vandalism is urged to contact either 311 or 911. *** MURDERER SENTENCED: A reputed member of the Crips street gang was sentenced to 20 years in prison for killing a Good Samaritan who tried to break up a fight in Flatbush back in 2002. Alvin Rodriguez, 24, was convicted of shooting and killing Kenmar McCormock earlier this year. He was brought before the judge Monday, May 9, and given a maximum sentence of 20 years, said prosecutors. Rodriguez shot McCormock in the head as the James Madison High School gridiron star tried to break up a fight between a Crips member and another man outside 61 Martense Street on June 16, 2002. After an exhaustive investigation, cops caught up with Rodriguez in March 2004, hiding out in his grandmother’s home, according to published reports. *** WOMAN WAS MURDERED: More information has come to light about the woman found dead in an alley earlier this month. Officials said that the woman, who remained unidentified as this paper went to press, had been tied up, stabbed and slashed in the head, officials said. The woman, who is believed to be between 25 and 30 years old, was found wrapped in a carpet in the back of 558 Parkside Avenue just after 3 a.m. on May 3. Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this discovery to call the NYPD Crimestoppers hotline at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential. *** HOME AIDE CHARGED WITH ROBBING CHARGE: A 42-year-old home health aide was arrested last week after the handicapped man he was caring for alleged that the aide had stolen his cell phone. Police said that Ivan Nazarichuck of 800 Cortelyou Road was charged with petit larceny at 8:45 p.m. on May 8. Nazarichuck’s alleged victim, who is a quadriplegic, said that the aide took the cell phone from his wheelchair as he cared for him. His victim also alleged that Nazarichuck stole some bank statements, according to police. *** STICKY FINGERS TURN TO FISTS: A 53-year-old alleged shoplifter was arrested last week, when, after being caught by security, decided to fight off the police officers called to question her. The woman, identified as Geraldine Cousins of 253 East 48th Street in East Flatbush, was charged with resisting arrest after it took three police officers to subdue and handcuff her on May 3. Officials said that Cousins was inside a neighborhood pharmacy at 1720 Kings Highway at 2 p.m. when a security guard allegedly saw her put an item into her bag. The guard stopped her just as she was about to exit and asked for the police to come, officials said. When cops arrived, Cousins allegedly refused to give her name and began punching and kicking the officers as they tried to take her into custody on petit larceny charges. Cousins was also charged with criminal possession of stolen property, officials said. *** ARRESTED IN PARK SEX ASSAULT: A 45-year-old man was arrested recently for allegedly luring a woman into Prospect Park and then sexually assaulting her, officials said. Police said that Wilky Forest of 542 Parkside Avenue was taken into custody on charges of attempted first-degree rape, sex abuse, unlawful imprisonment and menacing in connection with the alleged attack, which took place at the corner of East Drive and Center Drive the night of April 25. Sources alleged that Forest and the victim had met earlier that night and were heading to the woman’s home when they decided to cut through the park at 8:30 p.m. As they neared the corner of East Drive and Center Drive, Forest allegedly pulled a knife and knocked his victim to the ground. He was allegedly in the process of pulling the woman’s clothes off when the victim shoved him away and ran off. The woman ran toward a witness, who flagged down a passing cop from the 70th Precinct. The officer grabbed Forest and took him into custody without incident. *** BRUISER BUSTED: Cops have arrested a man accused of attacking an acquaintance with a coffee table back in March. Officials said that Steve Baptichon, 27, had slept over his victim’s East 14th Street home when he allegedly attacked the 56-year-old as he slept at 6 a.m. on March 17, breaking two of the man’s ribs. Baptichon robbed the victim of electronics and cash before running out of the apartment, police alleged. The victim told police that he didn’t see Baptichon again until May 3, when he spotted the younger man walking around Flatbush. The man called police, who took Baptichon into custody on robbery and assault charges. *** ROBBED WHILE JOGGING IN PARK: A 32-year-old jogger was robbed of her iPod and cell phone at Prospect Park’s Long Meadow recently, officials said. Police said that the two unidentified suspects grabbed the woman at 8:50 p.m. on April 19, covering her mouth. The victim said that she was then thrown facedown onto the ground. The suspects picked up her property and ran off toward Grand Army Plaza. The woman was not seriously harmed. As they begin to increase patrols in the park, police are asking anyone with information regarding this incident to call the 78th Precinct at (718) 636-6411. All calls will be kept confidential. *** MURDER SEARCH BEGINS ANEW: With the help of America’s Most Wanted, cops are renewing their hunt for a murderer involved in a shocking Independence Day killing. This past weekend, the picture of Raheem “Radio” Edwards was shown to the nation as investigators continue a multi-jurisdictional search for him. Edwards has been accused of gunning down Daniel Springer, a Canarsie resident, as he and a friend returned home on July 4, 2004. In a horrid case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, Edwards shot blindly in Springer’s direction on East 98th Street because he couldn’t find his intended victim. “I didn’t come here for nothing,” witnesses heard Edwards say as he pulled a gun and started blasting in Springer’s direction. Seven shots were fired. Springer was hit in the back as he and his friend ran away and died at the hospital a few hours later, according to police. Edwards fled the jurisdiction, but has since been spotted down south, police said. Detectives also discovered that Edwards is a suspect in another murder, this one in Anaheim, California. Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this incident to come forward. A $2,000 reward has been posted for information that leads to the arrest and indictment of the one responsible. Calls can be made to either the NYPD Crimestoppers hotline at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential. *** CUNNING CLEANING JOB: Police are looking for three hooligans who robbed an area laundromat at gunpoint last week. Police said that the suspects, described only as dark-skinned males, fled the store with over $700 in receipts following the brazen May 3 robbery. The victim, an employee at the laundry, located at 2948 Avenue R, said that he was about to close at 7 p.m. when one of the three suspects came in, asking how much it would cost to have his jacket cleaned. When the employee quoted a price, the suspect said that he lived nearby and would return in a few minutes with the money. A few minutes later, three men barged in, threw the employee against the wall and put a gun to his head. The suspects grabbed whatever money they could find and ran off, said police, who believe hat the “customer” was a scout for the robbery team. *** COURT CUTTING: A 14-year-old hoops player was attacked during a disagreement on the sidelines of an Avenue U basketball court, officials. The victim said that he was playing with his friends at 9:45 p.m. May 4 when an 18-year-old male approached, demanding to know why the victim had hit his girlfriend with the basketball. During the argument, the suspect threw the victim onto the floor, pulled a knife, and cut him with it, officials said. The teen was not seriously harmed, officials said. *** ROBBED OF DADDY’S CAR: A 23-year-old man said that he was knocked unconscious and car-jacked as he sat in his father’s 2000 Mitsubishi Diamante, enjoying a smoke, police were told last week. Cops are currently looking for the car. The victim claimed that he was at the corner of Avenue R and Coney Island Avenue, taking a drag from his cigarette when a stranger walked up to him and asked for a light. The stranger then slammed his fist into the victim’s face — knocking him out — dragged him out of the Mitsubishi and fled with the vehicle.
