TIMELINES 4/13/17

ST JOESPH’S PRAYS FOR MIRACLE $7M DONATION FOR ELDER CARE HOME

SLOATSBURG – A Catholic adult care home, St. Joesph’s is hoping for a miracle donation of $7 million during fundraiser campaign.

The fundraising goal St. Joseph’s Adult Care Home is needed to hit $7 million inorder to expand its facility located on over 260 acres in the village of historic property.

Sister Michele Yakymovitch, administrator of the home, said the renovation would enlarge its current building to accommodate 50 patients, 19 more residents from the current 31, and enable its services to now include assisted living.

The upgrades would be the first major renovation to the two-story building, previously used as a stable. The building sits on land once owned by a patrician family that included relatives of an American founding father and a banking tycoon.

When St. Joseph’s Adult Care Home was founded 75 years ago, Yakymovitch said, illnesses such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, as well as standard codes such as handicap accessibility, were not accounted for.

Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate, a Byzantine Catholic order founded in 1892, owns and manages the adult home, a nonprofit facility with that includes retired nuns and priests, as well as residents unaffiliated with the church.

CADET KICKED OUT OF WEST POINT

WEST POINT – After a military judge convicted a US West Point cadet Tevin Long of dealing prescription pills while attending West Post Military Academy, the cadet was dismissed from the Army.

At Monday’s court proceedings, Tevin Long was also sentenced to 30 days confinement and order forfeiture of pay.

Long was found guilty of wrongful possession and wrongful distribution of the controlled dangerous substances Oxycodone, a painkiller, and Aprazolam, an anxiety medication, and the academy said.

“Cadet Long’s behavior is inconsistent with the values of the military academy,” the academy’s spokeswoman said in a statement issued Monday evening. “The actions in this case were found to be in violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the standards of conduct in the U.S. Army.”

The Richmond, Texas, native was due to graduate this year and has been on administrative leave since the probe began in the fall. Long was among seven cadets charged following an investigation in drug dealing at the prestigious academy.  Only two of the cadets, Long and Christopher Monge of Coplay, Penn, were referred to military court for court-martial proceedings, according to an announcement made by West Point last month.

Five are on administrative leave awaiting the superintendent’s decision on court-martial or other action.

NYACK LIBARIAN CONFIRMED RARE BRIAN DISEASE CAUSED TRAGIC DELINE BEFORE GRIZZLY DEATH

Deven Black, 62, was a Nyack resident, librarian, and a teacher in the Bronx until his life took a tragic turn of events. After an incident with a female at his job, Black became homeless and eventually was murdered in an NYC homeless shelter after another male shelter resident slit his throat in January 2016.

In the months before Black became homeless, the former Bronx middle school teacher began acting strangely.

Black was disciplined for allegedly telling a student she looked sexy and began withdrawing from friends. He also sent thousands of dollars to internet scammers in Africa and ran into trouble with the law over alleged bank schemes.

After his death, Black’s wife Jill Rovitsky, called a neurologist from Massachusetts General Hospital to investigate.

Scientists discovered microscopic specks of protein on his brain linked to frontotemporal dementia, a nerve disorder that invades the frontal lobe and causes uncharacteristically impulsive behavior, Columbia University and Massachusetts General Hospital doctors released the findings to the public.

Black was suffering from a nerve disorder that scrambled his personality and caused him to make bad decisions, renowned brain experts said in a report.

“He got sick, but Deven was a good person,” said his sister, Loren Black. “I’m just so angry that this happened to him. And I really wish that we could have figured out how to protect him.”

Black, who was employed by the city’s Education Department, was nearly decapitated by Anthony White, 21, while staying at the shelter on Lexington Avenue near 123rd Street.

White later killed himself and was found floating in the Hudson River.

RAMAPO SUPERVISOR CHRISTOPHER ST. LAWRENCE FEDERAL TRIAL TO START APRIL 17

After 16 years of running Ramapo and continuously winning elections, Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence will be tried on 22 counts of bond and wire fraud. Jury selection is scheduled to open Wednesday, April 19, in White Plains.

The outcome will affect the government of Ramapo, especially if the 66-year-old St. Lawrence of Wesley Hills is convicted and forced to resign.

St. Lawrence has pleaded not guilty to 22 counts of committing security fraud and wire fraud contained in a federal indictment released in April 2016. He would face up to 20 years each on eight counts of securities fraud and 13 counts of wire fraud, and five years on one count of conspiracy

Based on the criminal charges, prosecutors will reveal a series of illegal financial maneuvers allegedly ordered by St. Lawrence that left Ramapo strapped for cash in order to finance an estimated $60 million baseball stadium and other projects under the quasi-government Ramapo Local Development Corp. Seventy percent of residents voted no on the expensive baseball stadium.

Prosecution will contend St. Lawrence and former deputy town attorney Aaron Troodler conspired to lie about the town’s financial health by hiding the town’s deficit to investors about the sale of $150 million in municipal bonds and defrauded Ramapo taxpayers and investors.

MARGUERITE ST. LAWRENCE PASSES AT 97

Marguerite St. Lawrence, wife of the late Joseph T. St. Lawrence, former state assemblyman,died Monday at 97.

St. Lawrence, of Suffern, volunteered at numerous non-profits and was a mother of four, including Ramapo Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence.

Marguerite Clinton St. Lawrence was born July 23, 1919, in Kingston, New York, and moved to Catskill, New York, where she met her husband, whom she married June 22, 1941. Joseph St. Lawrence died in 1994.

Marguerite worked at Good Sam for 35 years before retiring in 1982. She was named Women of the Year in 1964 by the Rockland Business and Professional Women, at which time she was cited by dozens organizations for her volunteerism.

After retiring, St. Lawrence opened the Ramapo Collectors antique shop in Nyack, which closed in the late 1990s.

Marguerite’s funeral was held Friday, April 7 at Sacred Heart Church, 125 Lafayette Ave., Suffern and the burial at Ascension Cemetery in Airmont.

TRUMP ACCUSES RUSSIA OF COVER UP IN SYRIA

WASHINGTON- The White House accused Russia of conducting a cover up of the Syrian government’s role in the chemical weapon attack last week.

US intelligence has confirmed the Assad regime used sarin gas on its own citizens and has released the dossier to the public. The United States bombed a Syrian base where government officials believe the sarin gas attacks originated.

National Security Council (NSA) declassified a four-page report on the attack and a rebuttal of Moscow’s claim that insurgents unleashed the gas to frame the Syrian Government. Contrary, the White House says that Damascus and Moscow had created “false narratives” to mislead the world in the Syrian government’s role in gassing its own population.

The document urges international condemnation of Syrian government’s use of chemical weapons and strongly criticizes Russia “shielding” an ally that used weapons of mass destruction.

The release of the document at a White House briefing has created a clear shift by President Donald Trump, who expressed a desire for better relations with Russian President Vladimir V. Putin during the 2016 campaign.

PUTIN SHOOTS BACK TO WHITE HOUSE CLAIM THAT RUSSIA HELPED SYRIA COVER UP ATTACK

RUSSIA-With in 24 hours, Russian President Vladmir v. Putin pushed back on White House information saying the charges were fabricated and the evidence was exaggerated in order to create a fake confrontation between Russia and US government. American intelligence agencies believe Trump benefited from Russian cyber-attacks intended to embarrass his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton during last year’s presidential election.

“This reminds me very much of the events of 2003, when U.S. representatives in the Security Council showed alleged chemical weapons discovered in Iraq,” Russian leader Putin said referring to false intelligence U.S. released to the public. Putin claimed, “ The exact same thing is happening now.”

Putin joked while quoting a 1928 Russian Satire “The 12 Chairs,” “It’s boring ladies we have all seen this before.”

US SECERTARY OF STATE TILLERSON VISITS RUSSIA FOR DIPLOMATIC MEETING

RUSSIA- U.S. Secertary of State Tillerson took his first trip to Russia and the outcome will decide whether President Trump’s initial desire to create strong relations with Russia will succeed or continue to have strained relations as with past U.S> President Barrack Obama’s administration.

Russian officials declared the President Putin will not meet with Tillerson, but on Wednesday the Russian leader’s spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov held out the possibility of a meeting later in the day.

After the meeting Tillerson announced the “current relations between US and Russia are at a low-point. Tillerson said the two superpowers can not have relations this strained and more diplomatic relations must continue to “ease tensions”.

“There is a low level of trust between our countries, “Sec of State Tillerson told reporters at a joint news conference with his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov, after his meeting with Russian leaders, including President Vladmir Putin.

“The world’s two foremost nuclear powers cannot have this kind of relationship,” Mr. Tillerson said.

Talks between the two countries are expected to continue.

CONGRESS EXPANDS “UNMASKING” PROBE AND BEGINS TO QUESTION SUSAN RICE’S ROLE

The House and Senate intelligence committees are expanding their investigation into the so-called “unmasking” controversy. Fox News reported that officials looking into whether other candidates or lawmakers beyond President Trump’s associates were affected.

“We will be performing an accounting of all unmasking for political purposes focused on the previous White House administration,” a member of the committee told Fox News. “This is now a full-blown investigation.”

Until now, the investigation focused on how the identities and communications of Trump transition members were collected by U.S. intelligence agencies and then transmitted to high-ranking members of the Obama administration.

These reports were then disseminated to about 20 to 30 people who had top-level clearance in the Obama administration, these sources said.

The intelligence reports that Rice and others in the administration reportedly assembled are similar to what a private investigator might piece together, congressional and U.S. intelligence sources said. In some cases, rather than documenting foreign intelligence, the files included salacious personal information that, if released, could be embarrassing or harmful to the person’s reputation, U.S. intelligence and House Intelligence Committee sources said.

CSX TRAIN HITS TRUCK IN HAVERSTRAW

A CSX train headed to Newark, NJ struck a commercial truck carrying cars on Wednesday. The crash occurred around 4:30 at New Main St. and Rt. 9W.

There were no injuries to the train crew members or to the driver of the truck. The 124-car train did not derail.

 

 

 

 

 

ROCKLAND MAN ACCUSED IN COCAINE CONSPIRACY

A Haverstraw man was accused of being involved in wholesaling cocaine around Rockland County. Prosecutors indicted Matthew Draper on Wednesday.

Draper, aka “Mata” had allegations on him that he was involved in the smuggling of cocaine into airports through contacts and flying it out to the Dominican Republic for sale.

Draper, 49, was arrested on a criminal complaint on October 6, 2016 when agents recovered $23,000 in cash and what appeared to be an additional kilogram of cocaine from his vehicle. He will be charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute narcotics and one count of possession of narcotics with intent to distribute. Both can sentence him to life in prison.

The charges contained in the Indictment and Complaint are just accusations as of now. Draper is innocent until proven guilty.

FIVE ROCKLAND HIGH SCHOOLS RANKED IN TOP 100

Niche.com’s 2017 list of “best public high schools in New York” was released, containing five of the local high schools here in Rockland. These rankings are based on academics, such as SAT/ACT scores, students-teacher ratio, reviews, etc.; and outcomes, as in students who go on to college and graduate.

Suffern High School was ranked the highest out of Rockland schools at number 40. Tappan Zee was ranked at 54, Clarkstown North at 56, Nyack at 68, and Clarkstown South at 81.

Many other Westchester and Orange County schools were ranked in the top 100 as well.