Results tagged “jail”

A state judge ruled that New York's juvenile corrections system regularly breaks the law by shackling young detainees any time they leave a detention center—even if the children don't pose a physical threat. According to the Times, the ruling should bring an end to a policy that mandated the use of shackles whenever detainees leave state facilities, despite other laws on the books permitting shackles only as a last resort for "youth who are out of control and dangerous, and then only for half an hour." A 15-year-old plaintiff said he was kept in feet and handcuffs connected to a belly chain for roughly 15 hours on a single day. Lawyer Nancy Rosenbloom said the case revealed "a culture of abusive practices that is not rehabilitative." She added: "We had evidence of kids not being able to drink their milk on the way to court because of the chains." more ›

Ushering in a more touchy-feely approach to juvenile delinquency, Mayor Bloomberg will make the city's Department of Juvenile Justice part of its child welfare agency. The announcement, which came in this afternoon's state of the city address, signals that the new administration intends to put fewer kids behind bars. more ›

Former newsman Dominic Carter will serve his full 30-day jail sentence for abusing his wife, but his lawyers will continue to fight to clear his name. His attorney told the Post that "Dominic is confident that at the end of the entire legal process he will be exonerated" and that he decided against seeking bail as he awaits his appeal "in order to put this chapter behind him and immediately move forward with his life and career." The 45-year-old was locked up on Thursday for "punching, choking, and kicking" his wife during a 2008 dispute. On top of the jail sentence, Carter was ordered to stay away from his wife for two years "unless a psychiatrist assures the trial judge that the journalist is not a threat to her." His lawyer said the unemployed anchor plans to bring the case to a higher court "to raise multiple errors made by the [trial] judge that deprived Dominic Carter of a fair trial." more ›

After being convicted of attempted assault against his wife, political reporter Dominic Carter has been sentenced to one month in jail and barred from seeing his spouse for two years. Ramapo Town Justice Arnold Etelson called the former NY1 anchor "the classic case of a domestic abuser" after citing a record of domestic violence police calls going back 13 years. more ›

Despite already being sentenced to one-to-three years in prison in December, Brooke Astor's son, Anthony Marshall, won't have to hit the clink just yet. A Manhattan Appellate Division judge ruled yesterday that Marshall and his co-defendant estates lawyer may stay out of prison during their appeals—which could take years. Marshall was due to start jail time starting next Tuesday. more ›

Inmate and disbarred lawyer Lynne Stewart has been selected by WBAI listeners to serve on the station's board of directors, even though she doesn't even have access to a radio. The 70-year-old civil-rights fighter was sentenced to 28 months in prison for helping a radical Islamic leader she represented smuggle messages to his followers in Egypt. Stewart claimed she was being a "zealous advocate" for her client, Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, nonetheless she was found guilty of conspiracy and providing material support to terrorists. more ›

New York's 28 adolescent prisons "are often sorely underresourced, and some fail to keep their young people safe and secure, let alone meet their myriad service and treatment needs," according to a new study by a state task force. In a policy that is "both extremely expensive and extraordinarily ineffective," the state spends about $210,000 annually for each of 900 young people it holds in "abysmal facilities where they receive little counseling, can be physically abused and rarely get even a basic education," the Times reports. more ›

Former NYPD Commissioner Bernard Kerik is expected to accept a plea bargain and plead guilty to at least one of the corruption charges against him. Under the agreement, Kerik would avoid three separate federal trials on charges of corruption, tax evasion and lying to federal officials, and serve 27 to 33 months. The Post is happy to note that had Kerik not "brusquely blown off" a similar plea offer in 2007, he'd have served just one year and saved $2 million in legal fees. more ›

Coming on the heels of yesterday's report on the questionable conditions and lack of legal access in a little known immigrant jail in the West Village, the federal government has agreed to pay $1.2 million to settle the cases of five Muslim immigrants were among hundreds of noncitizens jailed in Brooklyn for months after 9/11 without charges. According to the Times, the plaintiffs — whose names were cleared but were still deported — accepted the payout after seven years of court cases. A larger suit filed by other detainees is ongoing. more ›

Ever wonder what occupies that prime piece of real estate on the corner of West Houston and Varick streets in the West Village? Apparently a chronically overcrowded jail for "illegal immigrants, asylum-seekers and legal immigrants who face deportation because they have past criminal convictions," the Times reports. more ›

Yesterday, a federal judge expressed concern over former police commissioner Bernard Kerik's condition while being held at the Westchester County Jail, after troubling reports from the jailhouse shrink. The Post reports that its sources "weren't surprised that the fallen hero of 9/11 was apparently losing it in the slammer. Kerik can't stand humiliation, the sources said, and was totally despondent after the 2004 debacle when corruption allegations derailed his nomination to head the federal Department of Homeland Security." ABC News' sources say Kerik is "depressed" and in a "funk" but is not suicidal. more ›

Former Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, who faces federal corruption charges, is headed to the slammer, after a judge revoked his bail! From WCBS 880: "Judge Steven Robinson finds Kerik arrogant and self-minded and needs to get a clue. Robinson says Kerik's been violating court...hiring sham lawyers to pollute the jury pool and tamper with witnesses. The judge says he has no confidence that Kerik will stop this conduct, that he's lied to him in the past." more ›

It seems Burning Angel (which is NSFW, so don't bother Googling) is inviting the Hipster Grifter, Kari Ferrell, over to shoot some scandalous photos once she's out from behind bars. Of course, seeing as how everyone has seen Ms. Ferrell naked by now, porn entrepreneur Joanna Angel has upped the ante, declaring: "I would love to fuck her on camera... I think we'd have a lot of fun." It's sure to be pure comedy porn gold. Meanwhile, Ferrell's cellmate is now looking for some attention as well. [via FreeWilliamsburg] more ›

Kari Ferrell, better known as the Hipster Grifter, will be out of jail in 9 months, according to Animal, who contacted the Salt Lake City Correctional Facility. more ›

The six Brooklyn friends whose cruise vacation to Antigua turned into a nightmare sat down with the Daily News to recount the worst vacation ever. One said of their time in a jail cell, "The things we take for granted were the things we were missing; the music, the fresh air, the McDonald's." more ›

Graffiti gal and Queens resident Danielle Bremner, recently busted for putting up her UTAH tag around most of the world, is heading back to jail after finishing her time at Riker's Island. She was sentenced this morning in Boston, and will also have to "complete five years of probation, undergo a mental health evaluation and make restitution payments." During her probation period she will be supervised by New York authorities. Oh, and she's been banished from Boston! more ›

Norman Hsu, who helped raise millions for Democrats like Hillary Clinton, was sentenced to 24 years "for bilking hundreds of investors of millions of dollars in a nationwide Ponzi scheme and committing campaign finance fraud." The scam: "[Using] his squeaky-clean reputation to bilk investors in his Ponzi scheme out of $50 million to $100 million, claiming they could see returns of 14% to 20% on clothing and high-technology ventures." The judge who sentenced him said that Hsu's actions "strike at the very core of our democracy." The 58-year-old, who plans to appeal, said, "I made a huge mistake, a terrible mistake." more ›

A man who was wrongly jailed on Rikers Island for 17 months has accepted a $145,000 settlement with the city because a detective misidentified his fingerprints. Dwight Gomas was residing in Atlanta in 2004 when he was suddenly arrested by U.S. marshals for an armed robbery at a Howard Beach jewelry store. Detective Eileen Barrett had matched a partial finger print from the crime scene to Gomas, whose prints were on file after his only prior arrest as an adult: driving with a suspended license in Brooklyn. Gomas maintained his innocence before a grand jury, but was indicted and couldn't make bail. Languishing on Rikers, his Legal Aid lawyer urged him to accept a plea offer of five years in prison, but he refused. Luckily, veteran detective Daniel Perruzzaa finally conducted a routine review of the fingerprints. He tells the Daily News, "When I looked at it, I said, 'You know what? This is a screwup; this is not his fingerprints." Oopsy! Gomas was released after 523 days in jail, but by then his girlfriend and their child moved in with another man. On the plus side, he pulled in $145K in less than two years on Rikers, so we're sure there's no hard feelings. more ›

He's confessed to participating in a string of armed robberies in Queens, but the young model who made headlines because of his adolescent affair with a 37-year-old teacher insists there's no reason he can't go from perp-walking to cat-walking. Joshua Walter, now 20, seemed to be in denial when a Post reporter visited him at the Vernon C. Bain jail barge moored off The Bronx, where he's being held in lieu of $550,000 bail. After first telling the reporter, "I got nothing to say to you," he took the tabloid's bait when pressed about his modeling career, asking, "What do you mean? What happened? I still am modeling." Walter, along with three others, faces robbery and weapon-possession charges in connection with the June 14th through July 12th crime spree. And in May, Walter pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct for punching and choking his older lover, former teacher Gina Salamino. As for his career, one modeling industry publicist tells the Post, "I wouldn't count him out, but a lot will depend on how he reacts and what he does now that he's in trouble. America loves a great comeback story." True, but America loves a great thieving thug goes to prison story, too. more ›

In a courtroom packed with several hundred spectators—some of them his ruined victims—Ponzi-schemer Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Denny Chin. In the courtroom, Madoff told Chin, federal prosecutors and his victims that he thought he could "work his way out" of fraud and that he lives in a "tormented state." He added that he lied to his brother and sons and that his wife Ruth Madoff cries herself to sleep each night. He did turn to face his victims briefly and said:

"I'm sorry; I know that doesn't help you. I cannot offer you an excuse for my behavior. "How do you excuse betraying thousands of investors who entrusted me with their life savings? How do you excuse deceiving 200 employees who spent most of their working life with me? How do you excuse lying to a brother and two sons who spent their entire lives helping to build a successful business? How do you excuse lying to a wife who stood by you for 50 years?"

Nigerian heroin smuggler Rex Eguridu was just trying to be nice by complimenting correction officer Krystal Mack one fateful day back in April 2007, while he was being held at the Queens Private Correctional facility. But instead of a smile, all he got was a humiliating beating from Mack's supervisor for his remark, "Hello, baby. You look beautiful today." Eguridu appeared in Brooklyn Federal Court yesterday to testify against Lt. Marvin Wells, who he says overheard the compliment and proceeded to march him into the bathroom shower, ordered him to strip naked, and punched him three times in the chest and neck. Wells then allegedly forced Eguridu to kneel in front of Mack and apologize; he told a jury yesterday that "[Wells] said if I ever call an officer 'baby' again ... he's going to kill me." Eguridu sustained permanent injuries to his throat after the incident, and, according to the Daily News, received an $80,000 settlement from the GEO Group, which operates the jail under a contract with the U.S. Marshal's Service. Wells is now charged with violating Eguridu's civil rights, while Mack and two other guards are accused of conspiring to cover up the attack. more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] The daring streaker who charmed America by dashing out onto Citi Field during Tuesday night's Mets game could get up to a year in jail! After his arrest, 38-year-old Craig Coakley of Whitestone, Queens reportedly told police, "I didn't think I was gonna get in so much trouble. It was a bet. My boss said he would pay me a week's worth of salary if I did it and my lawyer told me it's only a misdemeanor." But back in 2003 the City Council passed the so-called Calvin Klein law to impose harsher punishments on fans who disrupt sporting events; the bill was prompted by the designer's bizarre, drug-fueled attempt to chat with Latrell Sprewell on the court during a Knicks game. (In 2005, the city implemented even tougher penalties.) more ›

Everyone can breath a sigh of relief and stop checking their wallets now: the Hipster Grifter has left New York. Bucky Turco says that he received a text message from Kari Ferrell early this morning (followed by a phone call), saying she had turned herself in to police in Philadelphia because “things were getting ridiculous.” Why Philly? The grifting mind is a mysterious thing, though she claims she simply “didn’t want to do it in New York.” Gawker further investigates, reporting that she was booked into custody last night at 10:35 p.m. as a fugitive from another jurisdiction. Meanwhile, she promises to give her new internet friends her jail address in Salt Lake and asks that they please write while she's behind bars. But maybe Kari will be putting some pen to paper on her own, because if you can't grift: get a book deal. UPDATE: The Observer follows up on the story they started, saying it's now up to the Salt Lake police to come and get her. more ›

Graffiti haters rejoice: justice has been served. The Daily News reports that the tag happy globetrotter Danielle Bremner (aka Utah) will be doing some time behind bars for charges she faced in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. The damages in those boroughs caused by her tags is estimated to be around $35,000 (of a $100,000 bill of damages she's racked up worldwide), and she will be paying back just $10,000 of that as part of a plea deal. Her boyfriend and partner in crime, Jim Clay Harper, still has charges pending against him. And perhaps one day, upon their release, they'll have a nice, civilized chat in a book store with the vandal squad. more ›

Former Congressman Vito Fossella checked into Virginia's Alexandria Detention Center to serve the first half of his four-day sentence for a May 2008 DUI. The Daily News has a photo of him being dropped off and opined that he "seemed dressed more appropriately for a weekend barbecue than a stay in the slammer," given his jeans and pink polo shirt. The Staten Island Advance reveals that he "likely will be kept alone in the small cell painted white with long slits for windows, a steel sink and toilet and a cement bunk for a bed," though "he may be given a roommate if the jail becomes crowded." Other former inmates who have been at the ADC: al Qaeda suspect Zacarias Moussaoui, "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh and spies Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen. Fossella will get out tomorrow at 6 p.m. and will need to spend another weekend there to complete the sentence. Some believe he may try to re-enter politics again, in spite of the DUI conviction and admission that he has a mistress and love child. more ›

Former Representative Vito Fossella has pleaded guilty to drunk driving charges. Fossella, who was arrested for the DUI in Alexandria, VA last year, was originally going to appeal his conviction, but instead will face the mandatory sentence of five days in jail. more ›

Bernard Madoff's victims won't have to riot in the streets: An appeals court ruled that the financier-turned-Ponzi scheme operator must stay behind in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center. In spite of pleas from Madoff's lawyer, the judges ruled, “In light of the defendant’s age (70) and the length of a potential sentence (150 years), he has an incentive to flee, and that because he has the means to do so, he presents a risk of flight , and therefore should not be released." Plus, Madoff totally admitted to what he did! Uptown, Madoff's wife Ruth—who is being investigated by the feds for her involvement—attempted to shop at Food Emporium, only to be discouraged by the paparazzi. A building super who had been accompanying Madoff told the gaggle of media, "I'm just a bystander who says tonight you guys did good." As for using Freshdirect, it's unclear if Internet access was restored to Madoff's apartment; it was taken away while he was under house arrest. more ›

Yesterday, it was revealed that inmate No. 61727-054 Metropolitan Correctional Center—a.k.a. Bernard Madoff—was worth around $823-826 million. His lawyers filed an appeal to get Madoff out of jail and listed his assets. more ›

Not even in the clink for 24 hours and Bernard Madoff is looking to get out of jail. The disgraced financier's lawyers filed an appeal to get the 70-year-old out of his Metropolitan Correctional Center jail cell today. The filing reads, "Since his arrest, Mr. Madoff has complied at all times with the extraordinarily restrictive bail conditions imposed upon him. He has not attempted to flee nor has he attempted to harm any individual or the community." more ›

After fraudulent investor Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 criminal charges, the federal judge opted to send him to jail which prompted Madoff's victims to clap. U.S. District Court Judge Denny Chin said, "He has incentive to flee, he has the means to flee, and thus he presents the risk of flight. Bail is revoked.” (Also, seeing Madoff in handcuffs was considered a highlight.) more ›