Bravo to Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown and his hard working office on the conviction and sentencing of the graffiti vandal know as “Kiko,” who was responsible for thousands of dollars in damages to private and public properties in Astoria and Long Island City.
“Kiko,” whose real name is Oliver Siandre, 28, of West 92nd Street in Manhattan, left his graffiti tag, and his crew's name - “Crazy 8” or “C8” - on overpasses, trucks, walls, security gates, garage doors, roof shingles and even trees.
At his sentencing on Thursday, December 7, Siandre received six months behind bars from Queens Supreme Court Justice Barry Kron who ordered him to pay $25,000 in restitution to the City, businesses and homeowners whose property he damaged.
In announcing the sentencing, DA Brown said, “Graffiti is a symptom of crime and negatively affects the quality of life of all citizens through decreased property values, increased taxes and a financial burden on affected businesses and homes. … Today's sentencing demonstrated that we will not allow one individual to mar the beauty of our City or threaten to return us to the days when our transit system and our highways and buildings were covered with graffiti.”
This is a loud, clear message to other punks who think that they are above the law and graffiti is just a game and tagging is “art” that does not hurt anyone. The police will catch these vandals and the DA will prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law. The judges in Queens County will apply the law and punish them for their destructive acts.
We ask you, our readers, to keep your eyes open and report anyone engaged in graffiti to the police graffiti squad at your local precinct or to 3-1-1. If you report them, they will be caught and made to pay for the damage they have done to your borough and its neighborhoods.
Cops Not Trigger Happy
Despite shooting a gun-toting man they were arresting in Elmhurst on Friday, December 8, New York Police Department (NYPD) officers have fired only 518 shots while on duty this year - 100 fewer times than during the same period last year.
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said that, “Sometimes they come in spurts. That's just the way it is.”
NYPD investigated 34 police shootings where someone was wounded or killed last year and only 31 such incidents so far this year.
According to Eugene O'Donnell, a professor of law and police studies at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan, the NYPD's “shootings are almost always justified and their firearm discipline has been outstanding over the years.”
