Jan. 26, 2024 By Bill Parry An East Elmhurst resident, Papa Diakhate, has been sentenced to a maximum of three years in prison for orchestrating a scheme that involved stealing over $1 million in federal pandemic relief funds through two fraudulent companies based in Jamaica. Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz made the announcement Friday. Diakhate,… Read more »
Dec. 22, 2023 By Bill Parry An Astoria man has been indicted by a Queens grand jury on charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide for allegedly pushing his 60-year-old neighbor down a stairwell in their apartment building causing fatal injuries early last month, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Friday. Kevin Ogara, 44,… Read more »
Dec. 15, 2023 By Bill Parry Two men were indicted in connection with the brutal murder of a motorist in Astoria who was beaten unconscious and then run over with his own car in October, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced on Friday. Zahir Williams, 24, of Beck Street in the Bronx, and Aaron… Read more »
Nov. 8, 2023 By Bill Parry Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz secured a second term as the borough’s top law enforcement official cruising past two challengers on Tuesday, Nov. 7, with nearly 67% of the vote with more than 97% of the scanners reported, according to unofficial results from the city’s Board of Elections. Howard Beach resident and criminal attorney Michael Mossa finished second with just over 27% on the Republican and Conservative party lines, while retired Judge George Grasso of Douglaston finished third with just over 5%, appearing on the “Public Safety” line. “First and foremost, I want to…
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Nov. 6, 2023 By Iryna Shkurhan A seven-month investigation into an interstate gun trafficking ring spanning from Cincinnati to an Astoria parking lot resulted in the seizure of over 100 guns and the indictment of three individuals. Over the course of five meetups with an undercover police officer at the P.C. Richard & Son parking lot on Steinway Street in Astoria this summer, the defendants sold a total of 97 firearms, including 17 assault weapons. The purchases by the plainclothes cop totaled $124,000 at approximately $1,200 per gun. “Guns and the recovery of weapons on the streets of Queens are…
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Aug. 7, 2023 By Bill Parry An Astoria doctor was indicted by a Queens grand jury and criminally charged with sexually assaulting patients in a hospital and raping acquaintances in his home, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Monday. Dr. Zhi Alan Cheng, 33, of Broadway in Astoria, was arraigned in Queens Supreme Court on… Read more »
May. 5, 2023 By Bill Parry Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz on May 5 announced the takedown of three illegal cannabis dispensaries and the arrest of five individuals from across the borough and Long Island for their roles in allegedly operating the illegal marijuana shops. The operation seized two mobile cannabis dispensaries operated out of…
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