Free Republic

Disgraced former State Sen. Pedro Espada helped himself to one more big payday, selling off tattered remains of his Bronx health clinic and pocketing the dough, prosecutors said in court papers unsealed today. The US Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn is asking a federal judge to revoke bail and lock up Espada, who was convicted earlier this year of using his Soundview Health Center as his personal slush fund. Brooklyn federal judge Frederic Block ordered everyone to court for a hearing on Friday. Following Espada’s May 14 conviction, state and federal authorities moved in and prevented the disgraced pol and his...

Opponents of same-sex marriage took the neck-and-neck finishes of Republican primary challengers to Sens. Roy McDonald and Steve Saland as a sign of strength. McDonald, R-Saratoga and Saland, R-Poughkeepsie, were among four Republicans who sided with a slew of Democrats to assure the same-sex marriage bill’s 33-29 passage in 2011, and conservatives have had them in their sights ever since. (Sen. Mark Grisanti, R-Buffalo, easily won a primary and Sen. Jim Alesi, R-Rochester, did not seek another term.) While gay rights advocates stuffed McDonald and Saland’s coffers, grass roots groups mobilized against them, and may have succeeded in ousting one...

Very odd. I am here in Suffolk County Long Island and we just had an interruption warning us of a tornado warning. Last time that happened was in the late 90's.

<p>These innocents fell afoul of the nation’s toughest gun laws. But few New Yorkers know how those laws came to be.</p> <p>The father of New York gun control was Democratic city pol “Big Tim “Sullivan — a state senator and Tammany Hall crook, a criminal overseer of the gangs of New York.</p>

'TROY, N.Y. — Before State Senator Roy J. McDonald, a Republican, voted last year to legalize same-sex marriage, he told reporters that anyone unhappy with his position could “take the job and shove it.” Now comes the test.' 'Mr. McDonald’s challenger, Kathleen A. Marchione, the Saratoga County clerk, is running an insurgent campaign, dialing voters from a windowless office next to a Subway sandwich shop. She accuses Mr. McDonald of having deceived the voters who elected him by changing his position on same-sex marriage, which he voted to oppose in the past. “People feel betrayed,” Ms. Marchione said. “I’ve heard...

In the days immediately following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, many assumed that it would be difficult to lure people back to downtown Manhattan either to live or work. Today, there are more people living downtown than ever before. As people return, small businesses return to serve them. The twin towers were attacked twice by Islamic extremists. America’s financial center will always be a target. That’s what makes the resurgence of lower Manhattan all the more impressive. We have demonstrated the resiliency that’s one of the greatest defenses against Islamic extremist terrorism. Take a walk in Manhattan below Canal...

Kachalsky v. Cacace was the second case filed by the Second Amendment Foundation after their Supreme Court win in McDonald. It challenged the State of New York's requirement to show "good cause" before the issuance of a carry permit. Judge Cathy Seibel using intermediate scrutiny found for the defendants and against the plaintiffs saying that the State of New York had an important governmental interest in regulating carry. She also said that the Second Amendment protections as affirmed in Heller only applied to "hearth and home." Alan Gura filed a notice of appeal on September 12, 2011 to the 2nd...

<p>Chipper Jones said he was asked the other day how he would feel about himself if he were a Mets fan. “I would respect the body of work,” Jones said, “but I would hate his guts.”</p> <p>Chipper Jones received a brief standing ovation at the start of his farewell visit to Queens.</p>

The following is the text of a letter sent to US House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, on August 31, by the Conservative Party of New York State Chairman Michael R. Long: Dear Speaker Boehner: snip New York State, in 2010, delivered more new GOP Congressmen to you than any other state in our Nation. They helped you become the Majority Leader and this year will help keep the GOP Majority in the House, in fact may even be part of giving you a bigger majority. Why would you say there is "no significant US Senate race underway" when we...

Victor, N.Y. — Even though it was Jill Marks’ first time shooting a gun, she turned out to be a natural. The Victor resident was one of about 36 enthusiasts ranging in age from 16-67 who attended Women on Target, a National Rifle Association ladies-only clinic hosted by the Victor Rod and Gun Club on Saturday, Aug. 25. They came with all levels of experience and skill from all over the northeast: Syracuse, Prattsburg, Buffalo, and even Boston. “It’s pretty awesome,” said Marks. “We spent all morning learning about the guns and how they work, and learning about the different...

One of the nine bystanders hit by gunfire when police shot and killed Jeffrey Johnson near the Empire State Building last week says an inch probably made the difference between life and death for him. In his first television interview Tuesday, Alberto Ramos of the Bronx told NBC 4 New York he was shot through his left foot, and that a bullet also came close to hitting his head.

Two venerable American gun manufacturers — Remington and Colt — could head for the West their weapons helped win if New York and Connecticut force them to implement microstamping technology. Microstamping, or ballistic imprinting, is a patented process that uses laser technology to engrave a tiny marking of the make, model and serial number on the tip of a gun’s firing pin to allow an imprint of that information on spent cartridge cases. Supporters of the technology say it will be a “game changer,” allowing authorities to quickly identify the registered guns used in crimes. Opponents claim the process is...

In their zeal to exploit Friday’s shooting near the Empire State Building in New York City, anti-gunners are deliberately overlooking some facts and adding their own agenda items instead. Kudos to the Seattle Times for not picking up on the rhetoric in its selection of stories about the incident to publish. Then, again, one might wonder if the Times is just playing down the event because the “mass shooting” that had initially been reported now has been revealed to have been caused by police gunfire, not dead gunman Jeffrey T. Johnson. His pistol was an old Star .45-caliber semi-auto, a...

NY Senator Says She Expects to be ArrestedState Sen. Shirley Huntley from Queens is facing New York City Councilman James Sanders Jr. in a tough Sept. 13 Democratic primary. By Michael Gormley | Saturday, Aug 25, 2012 | Updated 6:46 PM EDT A veteran New York state senator said Saturday that she expects to be arrested Monday in the state's continuing investigation into the use of pork-barrel grants by legislators. Sen. Shirley Huntley, a Queens Democrat, didn't indicate what the charge against her might be. Huntley founded a nonprofit social service and education group that Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is...

The security cam video of Jeffrey Johnson’s final moments have hit the ‘net. At the same time ABC is reporting that “[Jeffrey Johnson] was cut down in a hail of 16 bullets that left Johnson riddled with 10 bullet holes.” Sixteen (shots fired) minus 10 (bullet holes in the perp) leaves six (rounds). How did police fire wound nine bystanders? “Some of the 10 bullet holes were exit wounds, authorities said.” Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne added that it was “very likely” all nine bystanders were “hit by police gunfire or ricochets or fragments from the planters that were hit...

A man who owns gun stores in Garden City Park and Seaford was awarded $5 in a federal jury verdict last Wednesday that found his business suffered monetary damages from a wrongful arrest by the Nassau County Police for reckless endangerment in 2008. Belmore resident Martin Tretola was awarded $3 million in compensatory damages and $2 million in punitive damages last week by a federal jury in Central Islip, according to court records. He was arrested on June 1, 2008 for allegedly maintaining an illegal firing range near a natural gas line at T&T Gunnery on 3778 Merrick Road in...

Republicans and Conservatives looking for a truly pro-family candidate on Primary Day, Thursday, Sept. 13, will vote for Roy McDonald. Sen. McDonald is not only the proven friend of families in our community, he is the No. 1 leader whose dedication and vision have helped our families to a better life. snip As senator, Roy has continued his dedication to the well-being of families, especially by sponsoring and seeing approved major legislation to assist individuals with disabilities. Sen. Roy McDonald has been doing right by our community, our families, for a long time. Let’s keep him on the job.

State Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera (D-Bronx, NY) Rivera filed state papers listing her boy-toy Tommy Torres as her full-time "community-relations director" collecting a weekly $1,100 govt paycheck. BUT DOE records list Torres as a “full-time” Brooklyn public school gym teacher.....

As it currently stands, anyone caught with an illegal gun in New York is looking at a maximum of two years in prison. Two years, apparently, is chump change -- according to Democratic state Senator Malcolm Smith, anyway, who now wants to up the ante for those busted with less-than-legal firearms. "We believe the message that that sends to those who have illegal guns is 'I can go away for a year, maybe two years. I'll come back on good behavior in a year and I have a badge of honor," Smith said at a press conference this afternoon. If...

Every gun controller’s favorite Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, is awfully proud of his city’s crimefighting record. He never misses a chance to tell someone holding a mic that New York is the safest big city in the country. And he usually trots this claim out following a gang-related shooting or when a cop takes a bullet in the line of duty. Right after first decrying the prevalence of guns in America, that is . . . In fact, Hizzoner practically busted his buttons during last weekend’s National Night Out, blowing the New York safety horn yet again. nypost.com has the quote:...