The spanish-speaking court interpreter is accused of revealing the nature of testimony of two witnesses.

Nancy Rodriguez Walker  

Syracuse, NY -- A spanish-speaking court interpreter charged with leaking secret grand jury information in Onondaga County was arraigned in criminal court this morning.

Nancy Rodgriguez Walker, 48, was indicted last week on charges of perjury in the first degree and unlawful grand jury disclosure. She is accused of revealing to someone the nature of the testimony of two witnesses who testified before a grand jury on two dates between June 11 and Sept. 25.

Walker, who is being represented by attorney Jim McGraw, pleaded not-guilty to the charges before Judge Thomas Miller. She was then released on her own recognizance.

A felony complaint filed after her initial arrest and arraignment in November did not identify the witnesses, the case they were testifying about or the person to whom Rodriguez is alleged to have revealed the information.

Prosecutor Melinda McGunnigle declined to speak about any specifics of the case.

Unlawful grand jury disclosure is a Class E felony punishable by up to four years in state prison.

Attorneys for both sides will argue motions on April 15.

Mark Carrigan was sentenced to probation in November for engaging in a sex act with a 16-year-old boy.

Syracuse, NY - A former Syracuse Department of Public Works employee sentenced to six-years probation in November for engaging in a sex act with a minor appeared in court this morning on charges that he violated probation.

Mark Carrigan, 46, is being represented by attorney Paul Carey. His case was adjourned until March 8.

Carrigan was put on probation by Judge Donald Todd on November 16 after admitting in court he engaged in oral sex with a 16-year-old boy.

The prosecution reported in an earlier court appearance that Carrigan's record included 38 arrests and 13 prior convictions, including three felonies.

Carrigan was hired by Syracuse as a temporary trash collector in 2009 and became a full-time city worker in 2010. The city did not run a background check before his hire, which would have revealed more than three dozen arrests and three felony convictions, including sodomizing a 15-year-old boy, according to state records.

Carrigan is currently in custody at the Onondaga County Justice Center.

What the rest of the state thinks about Miner's letter about Cuomo.

Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner and Gov. Andrew Cuomo. File  

Syracuse, NY - Mayor Stephanie Miner made her boldest statement yet against the popular Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo when she said his plan to help cities with pension costs was an accounting gimmick and that the state lacks leadership.

Miner, who is also co-chair of the NYS Democratic Party, made her point in an op-ed piece published in the New York Times Thursday.

Miner took a victory lap the next day with a round of interviews and support from bloggers and political watchers.

The Miner for Mayor Twitter feed this morning:

Proud to be on the short list for City & State's "Winners" list for this week. Click on the link to vote! fb.me/2d4FJUgx3

— Miner for Mayor (@MinerforMayor) February 15, 2013

City & State said:

Stephanie Miner – The Syracuse mayor took her fight against the governor mainstream, penning an op-ed in The New York Times this week that takes him to task for a budget proposal that she says does little to help municipalities in dire financial straits. Miner could be accused of biting the hand that feeds her, considering that Cuomo partially controls the state’s purse strings and also made her co-chair of the state Democrats. But Miner’s job, first and foremost, is as an advocate for her city, and if that means calling out the governor for “budget gimmicks” that could increase the long-term fiscal pressure on Syracuse, then so be it. Not to mention, her courage could serve her well politically, as her re-election campaign just kicked into gear.

She was listed as a winner with Cardinal Timothy Dolan, a long-shot in the horse race to be the next Pope. There is still time to vote on the biggest winner and loser of the week.

(Former NYS Fair Director Dan O'Hara made the losers list for a report that revealed, among other problems, that an employee had a party den on the fairgrounds.)

The blogger WNY Planner used the hashtag #guts on Twitter to describe Miner:

RT: Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner tells it like it is to the Governor and the Axe Man a cometh to his rescue. nyti.ms/Yi1SBp #Guts

— WNYPlanner (@WNYPlanner) February 15, 2013

Rachel Barnhart, the Rochester television reporter and blogger, wrote, "Mayor Miner is standing up for cities. It's long overdue."

Go Mayor Miner! bit.ly/11Iry0A The Syracuse mayor sends governor a Valentine's Day message: Cities need help #ROC #therochesterian

— Rachel Barnhart (@rachbarnhart) February 14, 2013

Cuomo fired back by sending Howard Glaser, his director of operations, on Fred Dicker’s Albany radio show to say that if Miner cant fix Syracuse’s fiscal problems, maybe she should ask for a state fiscal control board.

Two conservative groups, Unshackle Upstate and the National Federation of Independent Businesses, suggested Miner and others should stop criticizing Cuomo if they don't have alternative proposals.

There was speculation about whether Cuomo would allow her to continue as co-chair of the NY State Democratic Committee.

Why do I get the feeling that Stephanie Miner won't be a NY democratic chair much longer?nyti.ms/12BDcVP

— David Freedlander (@freedlander) February 14, 2013

Joe Spector, Gannett’s Albany bureau chief, characterized Miner’s letter as “scathing” in a story about how much money local governments are borrowing to pay for pension costs this year.

Miner explained her motivation on YNN's Capital Tonight, with Liz Benjamin. Miner talked about one solution: squeezing money out of the big tax-free non-profits who use city services.

In an interview with Post-Standard reporter Tim Knauss, she described how she learned late Wednesday night that her letter would be published and called Cuomo's office to give a heads-up.

“No surprise, they weren’t exactly pleased,’’ she said.

And the New York State Republican Party seems to be enjoying the show.

Dueling Democrats! Don't take our word for it: ICYMI, here's @nydems takedown of @nygovcuomo's budget gimmicks:conta.cc/XKg1cp

— New York GOP (@NewYorkGOP) February 15, 2013

Contact Michelle Breidenbach at mbreidenbach@syracuse.com, 315-470-3186 or on Twitter @mbreidenbach.

It was the closest known flyby for a rock of its size, passing within 17,000 miles.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The world is safe — at least from one asteroid.

A 150-foot cosmic rock hurtled safely past Earth on Friday.

It was the closest known flyby for a rock of its size, passing within 17,000 miles. That's closer than some satellites.

The flyby occurred just hours after a much smaller meteor exploded above Russia's Ural Mountains.

Astronomers say the two events were coincidental, and the objects were traveling in opposite directions. At least one scientist called it an exciting day and "like a shooting gallery here."

The asteroid was invisible to astronomers in the United States at the time of its closest approach on the opposite of the world. But in Australia, astronomers used binoculars and telescopes to watch the point of light speed across the clear night sky.

Councilor Pat Hogan apologizes for statements of Mayor Stephanie Miner.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Syracuse Common Councilor Pat Hogan today sent a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo expressing "profound regret'' for Mayor Stephanie Miner's criticism of Cuomo's leadership on city financial issues. The New York Times on Thursday published an opinion piece from Miner saying Cuomo had offered little more than "budget gimmicks'' to help cities cope with financial stress.

Hogan, a Democrat like Miner and Cuomo, often clashes with the mayor on local issues and has said he may challenge her bid for re-election this year. Here's his letter:

February 15, 2013
Hon. Andrew M. Cuomo
Governor State of New York
Executive Chamber
State Capitol, Albany, NY 12224

Dear Governor Cuomo:

I would like express my profound regret and offer an apology on behalf of the citizens of Syracuse for the statements of our Mayor criticizing your efforts in helping us find a solution to our fiscal problems. By all objective measures, your administration has been exemplary in investing and energizing economic development in Syracuse.

It seems to me that State government is working to turn around our upstate economy. Your philosophy of government must live within its means, is exactly right. We all know the old ways of tax and spend need to change. The time has come to look at consolidation of government on the local level to deliver services and save money. We cannot continually look down the road to Albany to solve our problems. The City of Syracuse must look to balance its needs and resources and set its own priorities.

Instead of being critical of State government, perhaps, the Mayor should bring all parties together citizens, labor, management, business, as well as, all other stakeholders in the community to find solutions to the problems facing our city. You have renegotiated labor contracts, downsized the workforce and reduced spending in state government. We must do the same.

The current administration took office with a surplus that is depleted; now they look to the state for additional aid; many of us more mature leaders know the days of Mayors traveling to Albany looking for a bailout are gone.

Pension costs are a significant burden; we know it will be sometime before local governments will realize the savings from your Tier VI plan. The pension plan proposed by your administration for municipalities and (endorsed by the NYS Conference of Mayors and our own Onondaga County Executive) will allow the City of Syracuse to bridge the gap in costs until the benefits from the Tier VI plan are realized. It is a creative and responsible plan.

Rest assured there are leaders in Syracuse that applaud your resolve in solving the State’s problems and your efforts in helping us solve ours.

Respectfully,

Patrick Hogan
Councilor 2nd District

Contact Tim Knauss at tknauss@syracuse.com or 315-470-3023.

The program is the only federal training initiative that focuses on CEOs of established small businesses poised for growth

Small business leaders in 27 cities, including Syracuse, will be eligible to take part in the U.S. Small Business Administration Emerging Leaders Initiative, a program that trains established entrepreneurs how to grow their companies.

In addition to Syracuse, the cities hosting the Emerging Leaders initiative will be: Albuquerque, N.M.; Atlanta; Baltimore; Boston; Chicago; Dallas; Denver; Detroit; Farmington, N.M; Fresno, Calif.; Helena, Mont.; Honolulu, Jacksonville, Fla.; Los Angeles; Memphis, Tenn.; Milwaukee; Minneapolis; New Orleans; Oklahoma City; Philadelphia; Phoenix; Portland, Ore.; St. Louis; Seattle; Tulsa, Okla.; and Youngstown, Ohio.

Syracuse is one of 15 cities on the list that have participated in the program previously.

The program is the only federal training initiative that specifically focuses on CEOs of established small businesses poised for growth.

The free, seven-month curriculum includes approximately 100 hours of classroom time and provides the opportunity for small business owners to work with experienced mentors, attend workshops, and develop connections with their peers, city leaders and financial communities.

Since 2008 the initiative has trained more than 1,300 small-business owners in underserved communities, the SBA said..

SBA District Director Bernard Paprocki will hold a press conference in Syracuse at 2 p.m. Tuesday to announce details of this year’s program. Local recruitment for the program will begin at the event.

Small-business owners interested in participating in the training are invited to attend the press conference at The Tech Garden business incubator center at 235 Harrison St.

Classes are scheduled to begin in April.

The training is for established business owners and is not for start-ups or people who are thinking about starting a business, the SBA said.

It is open to small business owners and executives that have annual revenues of at least $300,000, have been in business for at least 3 years and have at least one employee other than themselves.

More information about the program can be found on the SBA's website.

The Marcellus Central School District has posted a 10-question survey online to gather information from taxpayers and parents.

 

Marcellus, NY – The Marcellus Central School District has three options to fill a $1 million budget gap: raise taxes, cut expenses or dip into the fund balance.

The district wants to know what the community would like to do. It has posted a 10-question online survey, asking in part, whether the district should stay at the state’s tax levy limit or exceed it.

“We want the budget to reflect the priorities of the community as much as possible,” said Superintendent Craig Tice.

The district is in the process of the calculating the tax levy limit for 2013-14 as part of its budget deliberations.

A 2011 state law limits how much school districts can increase their tax levies. Districts may exceed the limit with approval of 60 percent of the voters.

In 2012, 67 percent of the Marcellus voters approved a 2.17 percent tax levy increase, which was the maximum allowed under the tax cap law.

Kept home by extreme allergies, Devon Carrow learns lessons and engages with classmates thanks to VGo robot and school cooperation.

A 7-year-old boy whose severe allergies keep him home has been attending school by robot for more than a year in the Buffalo suburb of West Seneca, the Associated Press reports.

Thanks to the 4-foot-tall VGo Communications robot and its wireless video hookup, Devon Carrow can participate in class, stroll the hallways, take recess and even mount the auditorium stage at Winchester Elementary School, all from his home.

Principal Kathleen Brachmann told AP:

"I wondered how the little kids would take to him, thinking they'd be amazed. But I think kids are so tech-savvy now that they accept it more than we do."

Devon's lengthy list of allergies first became apparent when he was in infant, his mother, René Carrow, told The Buffalo News.

He suffers from eosinophilic esophagitis disease - an allergic inflammatory response in the esophagus - along with anaphylactic shock syndrome, respiratory distress syndrome and asthma. He's on a severely limited diet and must take a host of other precautions, including having pet-owning friends take showers and change clothes when they visit.

The machine that lets him go to school is not called VGo in the classroom, it's called "Devon," Rene Carrow told the Buffalo paper:

"The only thing that's different is Devon is not in the classroom. He's required to do everything every other kid does in the class. He doesn't get any specialized individual attention."

Devon has a a high-definition camera on his computer at home. Another camera sits on the top of the VGo machine, MailOnline reported. The VGo machine stands about as tall as primary school pupil and is on wheels.

A computer screen lets Devon send wireless signals to the robot. That lets him see his teacher, the blackboard and his classmates and navigate through the school. While other pupils raise their hands to respond to the teacher, he flashes a light.

A teacher sits with Devon at home, helping him navigate and keep on track.

Teachers at Devon's previous school resisted having the VGo camera in the classroom, but his mother persisted and Devon was welcomed at Winchester Elementary, AP said.

VGo was added to Devon's special education plan. The cost, $6,000 for the robot and $100 in monthly service fees, is paid by the school district.

Devon's classmate, Daisy Cook told AP that software hiccups made things awkward at first and that it seemed a little unfair that Devon got to stay home and go to school, but added:

"But now it's kind of cool,because we can communicate together. It's like he was never on the VGo."

Xerox Corp. recently awarded $35,000 to the Fayette County, Ky., school system to place three small electronic robots in each of it 34 elementary schools, according to kentucky.com.

A primary school in Birmingham, England, is using two humanoid robots to teach autistic children, BBC News says.

What do you think about using robots in school? Leave your comment below.

Police say the incident stemmed from a fight earlier in the morning.

Auburn, NY-- A 41-year-old Auburn man was charged with burglary and assault after police responded to a call Friday morning that left another man with multiple stab wounds, Auburn police said.

Anthony M. Zagoursky, of 39 Chapman Ave., was charged with first-degree burglary, second-degree assault and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

Anthony M. Zagoursky  

Officers were called to a house on Cross Street at 4:43 a.m. Wednesday for a reported burglary and stabbing. When they got to the house, they found a 33-year-old man with stab wounds, police said. He was transported to Auburn Community Hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Officers recovered the knife used in the stabbing at the house, police said. Officers found and arrested Zagoursky at his home four hours later, police said.

Police accused Zagoursky of entering the 33-year-old man's house with the intent to threaten him. The motive appears to stem from a fight at the house earlier in the morning between Zagoursky and others, police said.

This isn't the first time police have accused Zagoursky of illegal activity on Cross Street.

In 1993, Auburn police accused Zagoursky of breaking into a Cross Street apartment, stabbing two men and stealing several items, according to a Post-Standard article. Police at the time said the incident was a failed drug deal.

Zagoursky was charged with single felony counts of first-degree robbery, first-degree assault, second-degree assault and third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, according to the article.

Anyone with information about Wednesday's incident is asked to contact Auburn police at 315-258-9880.

Kareem Highsmith had 399 credit card numbers of other people on his computer, feds say.

Syracuse, NY -- A Syracuse man with credit-making equipment in his home admitted today that he used a fake card to make $5,000 in purchases in five days.

Kareem Highsmith, 37, pleaded guilty to access device fraud, aggravated identity theft, and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

Highsmith admitted using a re-encoded card number issued to another person by American Express. In five days in June 2011, Highsmith used the card to make purchases totaling $5,000.00 in the Syracuse area, federal prosecutors said.

On his computer, Highsmith had 399 credit card numbers that belonged to other people, prosecutors said. He had equipment used to make counterfeit credit cards in his home, prosecutors said.

Highsmith faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he's sentenced June 17 in U.S. District Court.

Contact John O'Brien at jobrien@syracuse.com or 315-470-2187.

Lewis Lent pleaded guilty to killing the 12-year-old girl and told authorities he buried her in the Adirondacks.

HERKIMER, N.Y. (AP) — Authorities are discussing the possibility of resuming the search for a 12-year-old Central New York girl who was abducted and killed nearly 20 years ago, according to the district attorney in Herkimer County, where the victim was kidnapped near her rural home.

District Attorney Jeffrey Carpenter told the Observer-Dispatch of Utica (http://bit.ly/XSt9dY) that his office and state police investigators have rekindled their discussions on tips that might one day lead to Sara Anne Wood's body. The possibility of new searches hasn't been ruled out, he said.

"There have been efforts to locate her body in the past and, at this point in time, I think we will once again make an attempt to locate her body," Carpenter told the newspaper.

Sara was walking her bike to her family's home in the Mohawk Valley town of Litchfield in August 1993 when she was abducted. Lewis Lent of North Adams, Mass., pleaded guilty three years later to killing the girl and later told authorities he buried her off a logging road in the Adirondacks Mountains.

More than a dozen searches over the years, including in the Raquette Lake area of the Adirondacks, have failed to find her body. Lent later recanted his story and has since refused to cooperate with authorities seeking Sara's burial site.

Lent, a 62-year-old former handyman and janitor, was sentenced to a prison term of 25 years to life in Wood's killing.

He is currently serving a life sentence for the 1990 murder of 12-year-old Jimmy Bernardo of Pittsfield, Mass. In 1993, Lent was sentenced to an additional 17 to 20 years in prison for the attempted abduction of a 12-year-old Pittsfield girl as she walked to school.

Officials believe "significant steps" have been made over the years to at least narrow down the possible location of Sara's body.

"As time goes on, the brand-new tips diminish but re-examining other avenues that we've currently examined, in light of new technology, becomes more of the focus," said state police Capt. Mark Lincoln of Troop D based at Oneida.

Cooper declined this afternoon to talk about the report or the accusations that he set up a kitchen and sleeping area near his work space in the Coliseum.

Bill Cooper, who runs Syracuse's Winterfest, is one of two New York State Fair workers who were accused by the state's Acting Inspector General of setting up living quarters at the fairgrounds in Geddes.  

Syracuse, N.Y. -- Bill Cooper, the man behind Syracuse's Winterfest for the past decade, was accused Thursday by the New York acting inspector general of using the New York State Fair's grounds for temporary housing.

Cooper declined this afternoon to talk about the accusation that he set up a kitchen and sleeping area near his work space in the Coliseum at the fairgrounds in Geddes.

"I really can't comment on it," he said. "I work for the state of New York. I'm employed by them. I can't."

Cooper's mention in the 67-page report was a less serious matter compared with the findings involving mismanagement of contracts by former fair director Dan O'Hara and other top officials at the Department of Agriculture & Markets.

But Cooper's actions -- and the lax response from his immediate supervisors -- were a part of the overall criticism about management decisions at the fair from Acting Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott.

The report cited William Cooper, a fair worker since 1997, as maintaining a personal kitchenette at the fair with a refrigerator full of wine and beer. Cooper told state investigators he used the area during the 12-day fair because his job as an audio-visual technician required him to be on call 24 hours a day. He also told investigators he used the area to drink during the fair.

An acquaintance of Cooper confirmed that the William Cooper employed at the fair also runs Syracuse's Winterfest.

The IG's report said Cooper's boss, Michael Ryan, knew about the set up but failed to make Cooper tear it down. Ryan told investigators he’d been trying to get Cooper to dismantle his kitchen for five years. Ryan also discovered Cooper’s sleeping spot in 2010.

Cooper continued using the sleeping and cooking spaces until January 2012, when Ryan and fair auditor John Sauro reported the situation to O’Hara, the report says.

O’Hara made Cooper clean out the space and ordered Assistant Fair Director Troy Waffner and Ryan to discipline him. That "fell through the cracks," Waffner told investigators, and O’Hara never followed up.

Cooper has been running Winterfest since 2000 along with Ann Goehner, of North Syracuse. This year’s Winterfest opened Thursday and runs through Feb. 24.

Cooper was also once the president of the Updowntowners, a group that put on Party in the Plaza in Syracuse's downtown during summers.

"He's always been a civically engaged guy," said Syracuse Common Councilor Pat Hogan, whose known Cooper for years. "He's been really good for the community."

A second fair worker, Kathleen Yockell, admitted to investigators that in 2011 she moved many of her belongings, including chairs, couches, bedding, tools, exotic birds and several cats, into a barn at the fairgrounds. She admitted she sometimes slept overnight in her office.

Contact Teri Weaver at: tweaver@syracuse.com, 315-470-2274 or on Twitter at @TeriKWeaver.

Mayor Stephanie Miner said she called out Gov. Andrew Cuomo on behalf of all the state's cities.

Story by staff writers Tim Knauss and Michelle Breidenbach

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- When Mayor Stephanie Miner threw down the gauntlet to Gov. Andrew Cuomo this week, challenging him in the media to confront the fiscal problems of cities, she did so alone.

Only a few aides and family members knew beforehand that Miner had sent an opinion piece to The New York Times accusing Cuomo of shying away from difficult decisions and resorting to “budget gimmicks’’ instead.

Her opinion, published Thursday, was not endorsed by the New York State Conference of Mayors or the Association of Counties. Both have embraced the “pension smoothing’’ proposal that Miner called a gimmick. Even the mayors of Rochester and Yonkers, with whom Miner has collaborated for months, disagree with her criticism of pension smoothing.

“It was just me,’’ Miner said. She did it, she said, because she is concerned about the future of Syracuse.

“This was something I decided to do as mayor of the city of Syracuse,’’ she said. “I worry about being able to provide a high quality of life for people in the city, even if it's five years from now when I won’t be mayor, because I care deeply about the city. I’m passionate about it.’’

Miner also is co-chair of the state Democratic Party, hand-picked by Cuomo. Republicans across the state chortled at the spat between them.
“Dueling Democrats!’’ crowed a tweet from the state GOP. “Don't take our word for it: ICYMI, here's @NYDems takedown of @NYGovCuomo's budget gimmicks.”

Former Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, who agrees with Miner’s criticism of Cuomo, said the public sparring between them is something new to the governor’s administration.

In an opinion piece headlined "Cuomo kicks cities’ fiscal cans," which ran Sunday in the Albany Times-Union, Brodsky wrote this about Miner and Cuomo: "We haven’t seen this kind of political fight since Cuomo became governor, partially because he’s scared the bejesus out of the political class and partially because he’s managed problems with skill."

People who know Miner say she won’t let party loyalty stand in the way of a fight she believes in. She routinely plays hardball with her fellow Democrats on the Syracuse Common Council, one of whom is now considering challenging her bid for re-election this year.

Other mayors say they prefer a quieter approach, especially when negotiating with state leaders.

Mayor Tom Richards of Rochester, like Miner, has expressed deep concern during legislative hearings about his city’s financial outlook. But when asked to comment on Miner’s piece in the Times, Richards declined.

“The mayor has long had a policy of having direct discussions with the governor, the governor’s staff and with legislators as opposed to negotiating in the media,’’ wrote Richards’ communications director, Gary Walker, in an email.

Miner says she received confidential messages from local officials around the state thanking her for speaking up on behalf of cities. Brodsky said he thinks many mayors quietly agree with Miner. "Someone had to stand up for the cities, and she did," he said.

Last summer, Miner, Richards and two other mayors, Mike Spano of Yonkers and Jerry Jennings of Albany, began meeting to discuss budget issues and how they might be solved. The group was expected to come out with a package of data and policy options last fall, but did not.

Miner said the group is still talking, but does not always agree. “With this kind of process, there are twists and turns,’’ she said. “It’s not a straight line. You go through different things.’’

Some policy experts, including Brodsky, say Miner is on the right track.
Former Lt. Gov. Richard Ravitch, a fiscal expert who has advised Miner over the past year, said Cuomo’s pension-smoothing idea was “absolutely ridiculous.’’ Cuomo proposed allowing municipalities to cut their pension payments now and make up the difference later, which Ravitch said puts cities deeper in debt.

Both state and local politicians face difficult financial challenges, Ravitch said. He applauded Miner’s efforts to promote a statewide discussion of how to solve them.

“Increasingly they’re getting to the point where they’re going to have to sit down and make unpleasant choices,’’ Ravitch said. “And I think her article just accelerates that process a little bit in New York state.’’

But Ravitch conceded that Miner’s public criticism might backfire and push Cuomo away from the table. “It’s conceivable he could be very pissed,’’ he said. “And it’s conceivable that he would say, ‘You know, she’s right, I have to face up to this issue.’ ”

Assemblyman Bill Magnarelli did not even read the op-ed until a reporter called late Thursday morning. He said he had already heard Miner’s argument, when she testified before the Legislature.

"I think it’s strong, let’s put it that way," Magnarelli said. "But I think it’s the same message that she has been giving."

Magnarelli is not willing to take sides. He said he was lucky to have both a very strong mayor and a very strong governor to work with. "Both of which are doing excellent jobs as far as I’m concerned," he said.

Critics said the mayor was acting in typical Miner style, combative and lacking in solutions.

Robert Romeo was chairman of the Onondaga County Democratic Committee during Mayor Matt Driscoll’s term and is now a member of the state Democratic Party's executive committee, which elected Miner to be a co-chair last year.

Romeo said it would be more appropriate for Miner to negotiate privately with Cuomo. He said it was unprecedented and unfair for a mayor from the same party to call out a popular governor.

"It’s not good," Romeo said. "I don’t think it’s right that the state chair should be engaging in this kind of discussion publicly with the governor, citing phrases like lack of leadership."

City Councilor Pat Hogan, a Democrat who said he is thinking about running for mayor against Miner, wrote a letter to Cuomo Friday apologizing for Miner’s words in the Times.

“He makes her co-chair of the party, gives her a statewide platform, and then she turns around and punches him in the teeth,’’ Hogan said. “Does that help Syracuse at all? I don’t think it does.’’

Onondaga County Republican Chairman Tom Dadey, who is trying desperately to find a candidate to oppose Miner, said Miner is “fighting with everybody.”

“She fights with the Common Council. She’s fighting with the governor. She goes out and says we’re the party of hatred, alienating Republicans,"
Dadey said.

Miner said she is trying to promote action on a statewide issue. Some 437 municipalities in New York -- including 54 of the 61 cities -- meet the state’s criteria as “distressed.’’

Pension smoothing will not solve their problems, she said. Cuomo aides have suggested that Miner ask for a state control board if she doesn’t like pension smoothing.

“So are we going to have 437 control boards?’’ Miner said. “That’s the solution? I don't think so.’’

Meanwhile, Miner and her team seemed to enjoy the attention. The mayor’s campaign staff tweeted Friday that the mayor made political journal City & State’s list of “Winners’’ for the week.

Thursday night, the mayor’s office tweeted: “Number of the day: 437.’’

Contact Tim Knauss at tknauss@syracuse.com or 315-470-3023. Contact Michelle Breidenbach at mbreidenbach@syracuse.com or 315-470-3186.

Investigators found and seized 14 bags of heroin, police said.

Oswego, NY-- Two people have been charged with heroin possession after a raid on their home in Oswego, police said.

German Sanchez  

Just after 6 a.m. on Wednesday the Oswego Police Department's Anti-Crime Team, with help from the Special Response Team, executed a search warrant at 257 Syracuse Ave., Apartment 1.

The search warrant had been issued as a result of an investigation into the illegal possession and sale of heroin at the address, police said. Investigators found and seized 14 bags of heroin.

Two residents at 257 Syracuse Ave., Apartment 1, were charged as a result of the
search.

Maria L. Cancel  

German Sanchez, 40, was charged with third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell. Maria L. Cancel, 40, was charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Cancel was processed and released on an appearance ticket. She is scheduled to appear in Oswego City Court on March 14.

Sanchez was arraigned in Oswego City Court and remanded to the Oswego County jail without bail. He is scheduled to appear in Oswego City Court on Feb. 26.

North Carolina-based ring used downtrodden to cash $141,000 in stolen corporate checks in one month.

Syracuse, NY -- Members of a massive check-stealing ring would cruise drug rehab centers, soup kitchens and homeless shelters in the Syracuse area looking for recruits.

They asked people down on their luck if they were interested in quick money, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Southwick.

When they found a volunteer, they'd take him or her to a thrift store and buy nicer clothes and a Bluetooth, Southwick said.

Then the leaders of the ring would type the name of the recruit onto the payee line of a check that they'd stolen out of a mailbox in a corporate office park, Southwick said.

They'd coach the recruit on being friendly and professional when they went into a bank to cash the check -- and to leave with the check the instant a banker seemed suspicious, Southwick said. Once the recruit was in the bank, he'd get instructions through the Bluetooth from his recruiters, Southwick said.

The ring recruited at least five people who were either drug addicts or homeless, and got them to cash checks totaling $141,000 in a month ending Nov. 29, 2010, when the recruiters led police on a high-speed chase through DeWitt.

During that chase, the check thieves threw a bag of cash out the car window, Southwick said. A citizen later turned it in to police. It contained $18,000, he said.

The case wrapped up Friday in federal court in Syracuse, with the last of the gang pleading guilty.

"They preyed on these people," Southwick said of the recruiting of homeless people and drug addicts. "They found desperate people and waved money at them, and it's hard to say no."

The five leaders of the ring were Warren G. Johnson, address unknown; Donald Ryder, 33, of Charlotte, NC; Peter Napolitano, 27, of North Syracuse; Jamaine Ryder, 37, of Charlotte, NC; and Wallik Ryer, 37, of Oswego, Southwick said. All of them were recruiters except Napolitano, who acted as a lookout, Southwick said.

The check-cashers were Diana Sacco, 29, of Fulton; Timothy Matthew Johnson, 37, of Syracuse; Charles Koflan, 55, of Pennellville; Arcenio Sepulveda, 46, of Syracuse; and Marsha O'Berry, whose age and address were not listed by federal prosecutors.

Usually, the checks were for around $2,000, of which the recruit would get $200.

The ring, based out of Charlotte, N.C., stole corporate checks out of mailboxes in office parks, usually on a Sunday when no one was around, Southwick said. They would steal mail, find checks from one business to another, and use a razor blade to scrape off the ink for the name of the payee and the amount, he said.

The thieves would then use a typewriter to put in a new amount, usually $2,000, and the name of the recruit they'd found, he said. The recruit always had to have an ID card so he could cash the check, Southwick said.

After the counterfeit check was cashed, it took weeks or months for the bank to realize it had been defrauded, Southwick said. The bank would then call the police, who would track down the check-casher but not the people who'd recruited him, Southwick said.

But because the investigation developed the way it did, with U.S. postal inspectors in North Carolina notifying postal inspectors in Syracuse about the ring leaders coming north, they were able to see the whole picture, Southwick said.

The postal inspectors broke the case when they approached one of the recruits, O'Berry, at Shoppingtown Mall in November 2010, Southwick said. She had $700 in cash with her that she said the recruiters had given her for cashing fake checks at five banks, he said.

O'Berry was at the Salvation Army downtown to get food when the recruiters approached her and asked her to cash the checks, she told the inspectors. Then they took her to a Salvation Army thrift store and bought her nicer clothes, Southwick said. They bought her lunch at McDonald's and sent her into the banks, he said.

Contact John O'Brien at jobrien@syracuse.com or 315-470-2187.
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Syracuse, NY-- Wegmans has recalled several Wegmans Brand bread products because they may contain pieces of wire. The bread products recalled by the grocery chain Friday contain flour produced by Dakota Specialty Milling, which could contain thin pieces of wire mesh, Wegmans said. The recalled bread products were sold between Feb. 1 and Feb. 15. All products may be returned...

Syracuse, NY-- Wegmans has recalled several Wegmans Brand bread products because they may contain pieces of wire.

The bread products recalled by the grocery chain Friday contain flour produced by Dakota Specialty Milling, which could contain thin pieces of wire mesh, Wegmans said. The recalled bread products were sold between Feb. 1 and Feb. 15.

 

All products may be returned for a full refund. Wegmans has also released all the codes of the recalled products.

For more information, contact Wegmans Consumer Affairs at 1-855-934-3663, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and ask for Consumer Affairs.

Syracuse, NY-- A 10-year-old Syracuse charter school student suffered two broken bones and a fractured elbow after being attacked outside of school by a classmate. The mother of the girl said the attack is only the most recent instance of bullying her daughter has endured while at Southside Academy Charter School, despite repeated pleas to school officials for help....

Students from Southside Academy Charter School walk through the neighborhood in an anti-bullying march in December. School principal Devlin Vick walks with a kindergarten student. Joining the march was State Senator David J. Valesky (seen in background). A Southside Academy student was attacked Feb. 5 and suffered several broken bones.
David Lassman / The Post-Standard




 

Syracuse, NY-- A 10-year-old Syracuse charter school student suffered two broken bones and a fractured elbow after being attacked outside of school by a classmate.

The mother of the girl said the attack is only the most recent instance of bullying her daughter has endured while at Southside Academy Charter School, despite repeated pleas to school officials for help.

The girl's mother said that on Feb. 5, her daughter was attacked around 4 p.m. after she crossed the street from her school. A boy and another girl pushed her down and fell on her, breaking several bones, her mother said.

Her daughter had a fractured elbow and two broken bones in her right wrist, her mother said, which required surgery, three pins and a cast. Her daughter will most likely have to continue wearing the cast for another month, which is especially difficult because she is right-handed, her mother said.

The mother said she called Syracuse police after her daughter came home sobbing.

Sgt. Tom Connellan said that an incident between two girls did occur. One girl walked up to the other, cursed at her and fell on her, he said. The girl was later issued an appearance ticket for third-degree assault for family court, he said.

Connellan declined to provide more information due to the ages of both girls involved.

"We cannot comment on this situation," Mark Meyer, a spokesman for National Heritage Academies, said.

The Michigan-based organization manages 74 public charter schools with more than 45,000 students in nine states.

The mother took her daughter out of Dr. Edwin E. Weeks Elementary School, she said, because her daughter was being bullied there.

She said she had hoped enrolling her daughter in Southside Academy, which routinely scores high on standardized testing despite high poverty rates, would be better for her.

But in the two years since her daughter began attending Southside Academy the bullying only got worse, she said. Her daughter was subjected to a seemingly endless series of bullies, she said.

The bullying went beyond taunting and name-calling, the mother said. It was also physical, such as in December when the same girl involved in the February attack shoved pizza in her daughter's face and forced her to eat it, her mother said.

That same month, Southside Academy students participated in an anti-bullying march through the neighborhood.

The mother said she made several trips to the school to speak with the principal, even suggesting meeting with the parents of her daughter's bullies to talk the problem out.

But reporting the problem to school officials didn't seem to help either, she said.

"The school has done nothing right along," she said. "It's ridiculous."

More than 150 firefighters, 28 departments, 48 vehicles and more than1.5 million gallons of water are among the statistics generated by the daylong fire,

Camillus, NY -- Camillus Chief Doug Groesbeck knew he had to pull firefighters out of the burning Camillus Cutlery factory even though he was 20 minutes away when he got the call Monday.

A week before, he saw the vacant building's many hazards when he toured it in the hopes of holding training there. Highly flammable plastic pipes ran from the roof through the lower three floors to compensate for the metal drains that vandals had stolen from the empty building. Firefighters in a smoke-filled building could easily fall into the open manholes located in the basement. A non-working elevator shaft provided a path for fire to move quickly without being easily fought. And the floors were soaked with flammable oils and sawdust after a century of manufacturing.

» See a photo essay by Photographer Mike Greenlar

From his office at Apria Health Care in East Syracuse where he is a patient technician, Groesbeck made the call to evacuate the three firefighters inside the building.

"When you get there, I want them out," Groesbeck told a deputy chief during a phone call. He then called county officials who dispatched more departments to fight the blaze that would become one of the worst in Onondaga County history.

More than 150 firefighters fought the blaze that began at 1:20 p.m. and went into the next day. More than 30 hours later, the fire rekindled in some spots.

Arriving at the fire, Groesbeck learned his fears were more than realized. Fire raced through the 119-year-old former factory due to outdated construction that allowed for pockets of air between the floors. A lack of insulation also allowed fire to speed through the walls.

After walking around the building, Groesbeck knew it had to be demolished.

"Once this building was on fire, I knew almost immediately that it was going to have to be taken down," he said.

By the numbers

• More than 150 firefighters
• 28 departments
• 48 vehicles
• More than 1.5 million gallons of water

Groesbeck took command of the operation that included firefighters from 28 departments and 48 vehicles, eight of which poured water from ladders above the three-story building.

Hydrants, tanker trucks and Nine Mile Creek were tapped to provide 1.5 million to 2 million gallons of water. Engine trucks were pumping water at 2,000 gallons per minute. By 9 p.m., only a foot and a-half of water remained in the town of Camillus water tower, Groesbeck said. That amounted to five percent of the tank.

The operation was divided into three sectors in which firefighters were assigned duties. One group was charged with preventing fire from spreading to the administrative building adjacent to the factory. The administrative building, which was connected to the factory by a bridge, was untouched by fire.

The second sector set up trucks on Newport Road and transported water from Nine Mile Creek. The third sector set up a three-foot portable pond in front of Solvay Bank. The pond was a place for tankers to dump water taken from a hydrant at Camillus Middle School.

Fire destroyed the former Camillus Cutlery factory. Dick Blume | dblume@syracuse.com  

Groesbeck said the blaze was the worst he has seen in his 10-year career. Other veteran firefighters also ranked it among the county's biggest fires.

Groesbeck said the fire was caused by a welder preparing the building for demolition. Prior to the fire, the building was slated for demolition to make way for upscale apartments and medical offices.

The department plans to critique the fire in coming weeks to identify ways it can improve firefighting. Kevin Wisely, Onondaga County emergency management commissioner, and other Onondaga County officials will walk through the fire site in a few weeks, Groesbeck said.

They plan to examine how it started, how firefighters fought the blaze and what officials can improve.

Groesbeck said he will examine how firefighters communicated during the blaze. Although he did not see any problems, he said communications should always be evaluated because it is such an important part of firefighting.

The fire also demonstrated the value of not relying solely on hydrants.

"You always have to have a back-up plan," he said.

Muslims of America says its members have been put at risk by book authored by head of Christian Action Network.

Syracuse, NY -- A national Muslim organization headquartered in the Southern Tier has filed a libel lawsuit against the author of a book that describes the group as the host of terrorist training camps.

Muslims of America, based in Hancock, Delaware County, sued Martin Mawyer and his Christian Action Network for $3 million in federal court in Syracuse, seeking to halt the continued publication of his book, “Twilight in America: the Untold Story of Islamic Training Camps in America.”

The book takes aim at Muslims of America with false claims that have put the group's members in fear of violent attacks from Mawyer’s followers, the lawsuit said. The co-author of the book, Patti Pierucci, is also named as a defendant.

The Christian Action Network isn't the only organization that has been critical of Muslims of America. The Anti-Defamation League has called the group "a virulently anti-Semitic, Islamic extremist group with ties to Al-Fuqra, a terrorist organization that has carried out firebombings and murders in the United States."

Muslims of America owns 60 acres in Hancock that the group bought "for the purpose of providing safe houses for American Muslims to raise families while establishing a peaceful community free from harmful elements such as those occurring in the inner cities in the 1980s," the lawsuit said.

In addition to the book, the lawsuit cites these harassing actions by Mawyer and his organization based in Lynchburg, Va.:

-- In 2006, he had 2,500 leaflets dropped from a low-flying plane over a property owned by Muslims of America, protesting the naming of the private road leading onto the property.

-- Last November, Mawyer posted the address of Muslims of America in Hancock and encouraged people to go there and commit acts of violence and vigilantism, the lawsuit said.

A lawyer for Muslims of America, Tahirah Clark, could not be reached for comment. Mawyer also did not return a phone call seeking his response to the lawsuit.

Mawyer has appeared on NBC's Today Show, Fox TV's O'Reilly Factor and Larry King Live, where "he continues to spread various sensational, erroneous theories and presents them as fact," the suit said.

In addition to trying to stop the continued publication of Mawyer's book, Muslims of America wants a judge to issue a gag him on him and his organization, and to order him to retract his previous statements.

Contact John O'Brien at jobrien@syracuse.com or 315-470-2187

Syracuse euthanized 63 percent of the stray dogs it caught in 2012.

Syracuse, N.Y. -- Stray dogs nabbed on the streets of Syracuse are more likely to be put to death than their counterparts in other big Upstate cities.

Of the handful of cities queried by The Post-Standard, Syracuse killed the highest percentage of dogs picked up by animal control officers last year -- 63 percent.

In Albany, by contrast, 18 percent of the dogs picked up by animal control were put to death. The majority were adopted or returned to their owners.

Animal experts say it’s difficult to draw precise conclusions by comparing raw data from different cities, because municipalities don’t all follow the same guidelines for compiling statistics. And cities pursue a wide variety of strategies to deal with stray, vicious or abandoned dogs.

“It’s not apples to apples when you compare community to community, because everybody has different resources to work with,’’ said Chris Fitzgerald, director of animal services in Rochester.

Keeping that caution in mind, the differences between cities are interesting to animal lovers in Syracuse, if only because they suggest a wide variation in the ultimate fate of stray dogs.

Activists have been pushing Syracuse officials to improve the odds of survival for local strays. Common Councilor Bob Dougherty said last week he would create an ad hoc committee to look for ways to improve the system.

Here’s a snapshot of the stray dog survival odds in five Upstate cities, according to statistics from 2012 or 2011:

- Ithaca, including Tompkins County (population 101,564): Tompkins County Animal Control, a division of the local SPCA, picked up 534 dogs from Ithaca and six nearby towns. Of those, 75 - 14 percent - were euthanized. (2011 numbers.)

- Albany (pop. 97,856): Animal control picked up 323 dogs and delivered them to the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society. Of those, 57 of the dogs - 18 percent - were later killed. (2012)

- Buffalo (pop. 261,310): Animal control delivered 1,850 dogs
to the city animal shelter, of which 676 - 37 percent - were later destroyed. (2011)

- Rochester (pop. 210,565): Animal control delivered 3,093 dogs to the city animal shelter, of which 1,544 - 50 percent - were euthanized. (2012)

- Syracuse (pop. 145,710): Animal control delivered 910 dogs to private contractor DeWitt Animal Hospital, of which 573 - 63 percent - were euthanized. (2012)

Activist Stefanie Heath Higgins, a co-founder of the Cuse Pit Crew organization to promote the welfare of pit bulls, said improving the survival rate for impounded dogs is a complex issue. It requires coordination between the shelter, volunteers and rescue groups, something Syracuse activists are working to accomplish.

In addition, much of the problem should be addressed before dogs end up in the hands of animal control officers, Higgins said. She and others have urged the city to crack down on irresponsible breeders and dog fighting groups, whose activities contribute to the number of cast-off dogs.

Contact Tim Knauss at tknauss@syracuse.com or 315-470-3023.