http://www.cyvanceforda.com/rss.xml en http://www.cyvanceforda.com/node/193 NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — There was relief mixed with rage in a Manhattan courtroom Monday after a family faced an accused killer following a 13-year wait. Six of Joyce Williams’ surviving children were in court on Monday as 49-year-old John Price was charged with her murder. Prosecutors said DNA helped them crack the cold case. It also turns out that Williams was four months pregnant when she was killed in 1998. Arlene Lidge, 20, thought of her unborn sibling and the mother she could barely remember. Williams was left naked on the roof of a building at the Wagner Houses in East Harlem. “I always wanted to know what this monster – cause that’s what I call him, a monster — always wanted to know what he looked like and I want to know why he did this to her,” the victim’s daughter, Joy Williams, told CBS 2′s Tony Aiello. “Cold cases, unsolved homicides, shouldn’t be forgotten cases and both our office and the NYPD understand that,” Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, Jr. said. Vance Jr. says Manhattan’s Cold Case unit is working through hundreds of unsolved murders and submitting old evidence to the DNA lab, which uses new techniques to see if there’s a hit in the DNA database. When cold case investigators got to the Joyce Williams file, they found scrapings taken from underneath the victim’s fingernails. It was too little to test for DNA back then, but not today. The results were an immediate match to John Price, who was doing time for another murder and a string of sex assaults from 1998 — the year Joyce Williams was killed. CONTINUED Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:41:54 -0500 Lesley 193 at http://www.cyvanceforda.com http://www.cyvanceforda.com/WForCy Start: Mar 14 2012 - 12:00pm End: Mar 14 2012 - 3:00pm Tickets can be purchased in advance HERE. A downloadable contribution form can be found below. Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:00:09 -0500 Lesley 192 at http://www.cyvanceforda.com http://www.cyvanceforda.com/node/191 Taking DNA From All Criminals Should Be Standard Procedure By CYRUS R. VANCE Jr. WE have a tool that can prevent hundreds of murders, rapes and robberies each year at minimal cost to taxpayers. But we’re not using it in a majority of cases because a state law restricts its use. DNA evidence solves crimes. Since 1996, when New York State’s DNA databank opened with strong support from my predecessor, Robert M. Morgenthau, the bank’s DNA samples have been linked to more than 3,500 sexual assaults, 860 murders, 1,100 robberies and 3,400 burglaries. Thousands of criminal convictions have resulted. Today, however, we are hamstrung by a law that does not authorize the collection of DNA following convictions of certain misdemeanors. This has meant that we can’t use DNA technology in more than half of our cases. By expanding the collection of DNA to include those convicted of all crimes in New York State’s penal law, as Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has called for, we will be better able to identify the guilty, exonerate the innocent, bring justice to crime victims and prevent additional crimes from occurring. CONTINUED HERE on the NY Times Opinion Pages Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:03:42 -0500 Lesley 191 at http://www.cyvanceforda.com http://www.cyvanceforda.com/node/190 In a remote corner of a dimly lit lower Manhattan government building, analysts at high-tech workstations spend their days scouring smartphones, iPads and laptops for evidence of criminal activity. The lab is part of an effort to combat cybercrime by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, one of a growing number of local officials across the country trying to keep pace with criminals who are increasingly turning to lucrative computer fraud schemes that carry less risk of violence and arrest. "Cybercrime is just, put simply, among the most prevalent crimes that are confronting the office," Mr. Vance said. "Our interface ... (subscription required)   Wed, 04 Jan 2012 11:54:36 -0500 Lesley 190 at http://www.cyvanceforda.com http://www.cyvanceforda.com/node/188 The Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., is taking on terrorism in the city’s criminal courts. For the first time in the borough’s history, his office got indictments under the state’s terrorism statute in 2011. And it did so twice. The first was against two Queens men with Middle Eastern roots who are accused of buying weapons from undercover officers and threatening to blow up a mosque. The second was against a Manhattan man — said to be inspired by the American-born militantAnwar al-Awlaki — suspected of plotting to build and detonate bombs in New York. Both cases were somewhat controversial, as the F.B.I. and Manhattan federal prosecutors, who typically handle terrorism cases, passed on both. Some have suggested that the federal authorities’ decision was a sign of the cases’ weakness. But Mr. Vance’s office has steadfastly maintained that it is well equipped to prosecute home-grown terrorism suspects. The cases’ outcome could well set a precedent. The other big story to watch in the Manhattan courts will be Mr. Vance himself. He will soon begin to campaign openly for re-election. His predecessor, Robert M. Morgenthau, lasted more than 30 years in office. So far no one has solidly stepped forward to challenge Mr. Vance, though some have been rumored to be contemplating a run. Tue, 03 Jan 2012 23:08:10 -0500 Lesley 188 at http://www.cyvanceforda.com http://www.cyvanceforda.com/node/187 A crime ring used corrupt employees in banks, an Audi car dealership, and the nonprofit United Jewish Appeal-Federation of New York to steal identities of well-heeled customers, clients, and donors and defraud them of more than $2 million, New York authorities said on Friday. The indictment of 55 defendants on a variety of grand larceny, identity theft and other charges marked the fourth major cybercrime prosecution announced in as many weeks, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said at a news conference, underscoring his contention that "the Internet is the crime scene of the 21st century." Victims of the alleged scheme included several well-known donors to the UJA, among them the hedge fund Paulson & Co. and the nonprofit Starr Foundation, established by American Insurance Group founder Cornelius Vander Starr. The arrests were a result of an 18-month New York Police Department investigation, which began when authorities learned a group of people were "religiously" visiting a city post office to purchase money orders using debit cards that eventually were found to have phony deposits, said Deputy Inspector Gregory Antonsen, head of the NYPD financial crimes task force. Several of the individuals arrested are members of a New York gang group known as the Outlaws, Antonsen said. "The case also demonstrates another trend: how street gangs are moving a lucrative part of their business inside and online," Vance said. RELIED ON CO-CONSPIRATORS A UJA employee named Tracy Nelson, 24, who processed donations for the charity, used her position to steal the financial information of hundreds of victims, prosecutors said. Her boyfriend did the same at a Brooklyn Audi dealership, while other employees at a residential property management company and a Chase Bank branch also stole identities, according to court documents. The information was passed on or sold to others, who used the data to forge checks, create duplicate credit cards, and commit fraudulent bank transactions, Vance said. They also relied on co-conspirators who provided valid bank accounts to facilitate the fraud, he said. "UJA-Federation has fully cooperated with law enforcement's investigation into this matter, providing all information and materials that have been requested, and will continue to do so until this matter is closed," said a spokeswoman for the group, Eileen Sullivan. The victims were made whole by their financial institutions, which include JPMorgan, Citibank, TD Bank, American Express, and Discover, authorities said. A raft of search warrants executed Friday turned up duplicate credit and debit cards, scanned images of hundreds of checks written to the UJA, and three luxury cars investigators believe were bought with stolen money, Vance said. Two suspects in the alleged conspiracy were murdered in cases that remain unsolved, police said, but authorities believe there is likely a link between their deaths and the scheme. A call to Nelson's defense attorney, Glenn Abolafia, was not immediately returned. Most of the defendants were arraigned in state Supreme Court throughout the day Friday.   Tue, 03 Jan 2012 23:02:30 -0500 Lesley 187 at http://www.cyvanceforda.com http://www.cyvanceforda.com/node/186 Start: Nov 14 2011 - 6:00pm End: Nov 14 2011 - 7:30pm Please Join Co-Hosts Leon Ellis & Rev. Reggie Williams Leah Abraham•James Allen•Ellen Barnaby•Cullen Barrie•Joshua Bauchner•Brian Benjamin•Anthony Borelli•Renee Cafaro•Rev. Gary Carswell•Joey Cole•Tom Collins•Paul Crumb•Laurent Delly•Carlos Diaz•Timothy Edwards•Soraya Elcock•Mignon Espy-Edwards•Joseph Fleming•Hans Futterman•James Garcia•Kirk Goodrich•LaShawn Henry•Karim Hutson•Nakia James-Jenkins•Lewis Jenkins•Hunter Johansson•Dimitris Katsarelias•Dr. Ernest Knight•Hope Knight•Benjamin Lazarus•George Lazarus•Rochelle Lazarus•Ted Lazarus•Selene Martinez•Paul Moore•Rodrigue Noel•Rosemonde Pierre-Louis•Blondel Pinnock•Anna Ponder•Jennifer Prince•Valerie Ross•Jackie Rowe-Adams•Lia Sanfilippo•Nino Settepanni•Luther Smith•Candy Vasquez•Dean Webb•Sandra WilliamsList in formationFor Cocktails & Conversation WithCYRUS R. VANCE, JR.Manhattan District Attorney   To RSVP call Dara Freed at 917-546-0814 or email Dfreed@CyVanceforDA.com   Contribution form can be accessed below. Mon, 14 Nov 2011 12:35:03 -0500 Lesley 186 at http://www.cyvanceforda.com http://www.cyvanceforda.com/node/185 Start: Dec 12 2011 - 6:00pm End: Dec 12 2011 - 8:30pm   Please join Co-Chairs Michael G. Cherkasky, Richard & Greta Weil Conway, Greg Floyd, Bruce Mosler, Kirk A. Radke, Jeff Schlanger and Toby Thacher for a Winter Cocktail Reception in support of Cy Vance for Manhattan DA. You can easily RSVP here. A PDF version of the invitation is available below. We look forward to seeing you in December. Fri, 11 Nov 2011 15:01:33 -0500 Lesley 185 at http://www.cyvanceforda.com http://www.cyvanceforda.com/JulyYoungProf Start: Jul 6 2011 - 7:00pm End: Jul 6 2011 - 8:30pm We are very excited to announce the first Young Professional event of DA Vance's re-election campaign! On July 6th, the campaign will host a cocktail hour on Patroon's rooftop bar on East 46th Street in Manhattan. This will be our first opportunity to showcase the breadth and depth of Cy's support. But we need your help!  Please join the July 6 Host Committee. By doing so, you'll commit to recruiting 10 of your friends, colleagues and peers to join the event. You can sign-up to be part of the Host Committee online right now by clicking here. Alternatively, you can download a PDF of the form here to send in by mail or fax. Please take a moment and complete the form so we know how, and at what level, you'd like to be listed. if you can not commit to joining the Host Committee, you can RSVP and CONTRIBUTE to the event by clicking here. With your help and support, this event will be a fantastic kick-off to what we're all sure will be a successful re-election campaign. For any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Dara Freed at dfreed@cyvanceforda.com or 917-546-0814.   Thu, 16 Jun 2011 14:20:19 -0400 Lesley 183 at http://www.cyvanceforda.com http://www.cyvanceforda.com/node/180 Start: May 17 2011 - 12:30am We are very excited to announce the first big event of DA Vance's re-election campaign! On Tuesday, May 17th the campaign will host a Spring Breakfast at a Manhattan location to be announced. This will be our first opportunity to showcase the breadth and depth of Cy's support. But we need your help!  Please join the May 17 Spring Breakfast Host Committee. By doing so, you'll commit to filling a table or more with friends, family, colleagues and peers. You can sign-up to be part of the host committee online right now by clicking here. Alternatively, you can download a PDF of the form here to send in by mail or fax. Please take a moment and complete the form so we know how, and at what level, you'd like to be listed. if you can not commit to hosting a table, you can RSVP and CONTRIBUTE to the event by clicking here. With your help and support, this event will be a fantastic kick-off to what we're all sure will be a successful re-election campaign. For any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Dara Freed at dfreed@cyvanceforda.com or 917-546-0814.   Wed, 16 Mar 2011 12:59:58 -0400 Lesley 180 at http://www.cyvanceforda.com