TIMELINES 10/12/17

CLARKSTOWN PHONY CHECK SCAM HAS POLICE ALERTING RESIDENTS
Clarkstown Police are alerting all local residents to be more vigilant and wary of scammers after an 86-year-old man say he was scammed out of close to $20,000 by way of a phony check.
According to police, the male victim told police that he received a phone call from a Key Bank employee in New City, alerting him that an alleged fraudulent check had been written for $19,810 from his checking account.
The man said to police that he had not authorized, nor did he sign the check, which was paid out to an unknown female suspect. Police said that the victim said that the signature on the alleged phony check was not his own and that he was still in possession of the check that had been used.
Bank officials said the check transaction was completed electronically, and the man is in the process of following up with Key Bank to recover the funds.
Police said that they have seen an “increase in these fraudulent checks. One way to fight the ongoing problem is to constantly check your accounts and report any irregularities to the bank immediately.”

PLAN TO SHIP NUCLEAR WASTE DOWN HUDSON CAUSES DEBATE
In recent months, routes to dispose of 76,000 metric tons of used fuel have been discussed in Congress.
In a 2002 report, the Department of Energy laid out a plan to get rid of the nation’s spent nuclear power plants’ waste, which has been piling up for several decades.
The report envisioned shipped the county’s nuclear waste from various locations via barge, rail and truck routes to the Yucca Mountain in the Mojave Desert, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
Among the report’s more controversial proposals is a plan to move spent fuel out of Indian Point in Buchanan along with 16 other power plants without direct access to railroad lines, by barge, down the Hudson River.
Over the course of decades 58 shipments of nuclear waste would be loaded on barges at Indian Point for the 42 miles trip down the River, passing under the new Mario Cuomo Bridge and past New York City on the way to the seaport in New Jersey.
At the NJ seaport, cement and steel casks of spent nuclear matter weighing up to 100 tons, would be placed on rail cars for a 2,600-mile trip west to the Yucca Mountains.
The plan has caused much debate among politicians in New York. Former New Jersey Sen. Robert Torricelli stated the New Jersey ports should not be used “as rest stops for nuclear material.”

SLOW TRAFFIC AFTER TAPPAN ZEE BRIDGE CLOSES
Tuesday Morning eastbound traffic was completely shifted to the new bridge and the Tappan Zee Bridge officially has closed after 60 years of service to the area.
The new 3.9 billion dollar Mario Cuomo Bridge saw an overwhelming amount of traffic the day after Columbus day. Around 7 a.m. traffic was slowly moving, but traffic continued to back up until after morning rush hour.
The new commute was burdened by an accident on 287 in Greenburgh between exits 3 and 4 that was cleared after 9 a.m.
Later that morning, accidents in Nanuet, Tarrytown and South Nyack further slowed things down.
Another accident near the toll barriers of the new bridge backed up traffic on the Thruway travelling into Rockland after 10 a.m.

THRUWAY AUTHORITY RESPONDS TO TRAFFIC CONCERNS
Commuters have complained about stand still traffic on their morning and evening drives and the Thruway Authority has confirmed that more cars are making use of the bridge.
A recent September Monday showed more than 1,500 cars during the morning rush hour.
The Thruway Authority has said the new bridge should alleviate some of the traffic and large breakdown lanes should help move minor accidents or disabled cars out of travel lanes. The proposed bus and emergency vehicle only lanes should help traffic move better and potentially take cars off the bridge, according to the Thruway Authority.
In coming months the old Tappan Zee Bridge will be demolished by work crews. The new bridge project will be finished sometime in 2018.

SPRING VALLEY UNDERCOVER BUST HERION AND COCAINE RING
Eight individuals have been arrested in Spring Valley during heroin and cocaine ring bust.
Spring Valley poice said agencies spent five months investigating “a network of career criminals” who had been alleged to be dealing heroin and crack cocaine in the Lakeview Village apartment complex on Memorial Dr and South Lake Street in Spring Valley.
Rockland County Drug Task Force made undercover drug deals as part of the investigation, which lead to the October 5 arrests.
Spring Valley tactical Unit and Rockland Task Force search 71 Lakeview Village that same day and found 5.5 grams of Crack cocaine and heroin according to police.
Arrested were Gerald Cotton, 54, Spring Valley; Robert Downing, 58, of Spring Valley, Tara Shine, 40, of Spring Valley; Beverlyn Richardson, 40, of Monsey; Marco Alarcon 25, of Port Chester; Marcus Perkins, 34, of Nanuet; and Dennis Pitt, 55, of Garnerville. Each individual was charged with felony counts of third degree criminal possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell and the fourth degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, stated police.

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