Cop Charged in Graham Shooting

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BRONX, NEW YORK, June 13- District Attorney Robert T. Johnson announced the indictment and arrest of a New York City Police Officer for the shooting death last Winter of Ramarley Graham, an 18-year-old unarmed civilian.

The grand jury charged Police Officer Richard Haste, 31, with one count of manslaughter in the first degree, a Class B felony offense, and one count of manslaughter in the second degree, a Class C felony offense. Conviction of the most serious Class B felony charge is punishable by a maximum sentence of up to 25 years imprisonment. If Haste is found guilty of the less serious Class C felony offense, the maximum sentence allowed by law would be no more than 15 years imprisonment.

Haste, a Bronx resident assigned to the 47^th Precinct, was arraigned before Acting State Supreme Court Justice Martin Marcus. The judge set bail at $50,000 cash or bond and adjourned the case to Thursday, September 13, 2012 in State Supreme Court Part 60.

Ramarley Graham was shot to death in a bathroom in his home on East 229^th Street on February 2, 2012.

The indictment alleges that Haste “caused the death… while acting with intent to cause serious physical injury (to Ramarley Graham) by shooting him.” The grand jury also alleges that the defendant had acted “recklessly” in causing Graham’s death.

The charges in the indictment are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

District Attorney Johnson thanked the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau, the 47^th Precinct Detective Squad, Bronx District Attorney Detective Investigators, Assistant District Attorney Peter Kennedy and Senior Trial Assistant District Attorneys Donald Levin and Nancy Borko for their work on the exhaustive four-month-long investigation that resulted in this indictment.

The case is being prosecuted by Senior Trial Assistant District Attorney Donald Levin and Assistant District Attorney Peter Kennedy of the Investigations Division.

BP Blasts Paper for Comparing Bronx to Baghdad

BP Blasts Paper for Comparing Bronx to Baghdad

Calls Bx Albanians Mobsters

Letter to the Editor:

(In an open letter to the Litchfield County Times, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. blasted the paper for what he calls “libelous” attacks on the Bronx and its residents)

To The Editor:

I am writing in response to the libelous and entirely unforgivable opinion piece published in your newspaper last week, “Monet on the Hudson, a Bronx Tale From Deyan Ranko Brashich.” While this piece was written ostensibly to promote an exhibit at the New York Botanical Garden, the author instead spends his time badmouthing the Bronx in outdated ways.

The errors in Mr. Brashich’s piece are numerous, and a simple phone call to my office or any number of other Bronx institutions would have made that clear. Mr. Brashich writes that the Bronx lacks vegetation and that the Bronx River is polluted; ignoring the fact that 25 percent of our borough is parkland, and that the Bronx River is so clean today that beavers have returned to make their homes there.

The author complains that our borough is covered in graffiti, calls the Bronx a “ghetto” and compares our borough to Baghdad. These are disgusting, false descriptions, and serve no purpose other than to denigrate the amazing community myself and 1.4 million others call home.

The list goes on. In perhaps the most disgusting portion of this piece, Mr. Brashich manages to slander the hardworking Albanian community of the Bronx, referring to them as “America’s newest version of the Mafia.” To refer to the proud Albanian community in such a derogatory manner is absolutely disgusting, and it is a characterization that the entire Bronx resents.

To be fair, your newspaper is allowed to publish whatever it likes, no matter how shameful, repulsive or lacking in truth it may be. With that said, one would hope that the articles that run under your banner would meet basic standards of decency, rather than rely on the stereotypes of the 1970s to make a point about a Monet exhibit.

Had Mr. Brashich actually bothered to pay attention to the Bronx during his visit, he would have seen a beautiful place that has made great strides in the areas of housing, economic development, education and public safety, just to name a few. On behalf of the people of the Bronx I demand a retraction of this garbage, and I would hope that your newspaper would not resort to publishing such nonsense in the future.

I would also invite you and your readers to visit ilovethebronx.com, the official website of the Bronx Tourism Council, to learn more about all of the wonderful things that are happening in the Bronx.

Sincerely, Ruben Diaz Jr.

Subway Series Turns into Batting Practice for Yanks

Bombers Derail Met Fans Dreams of No Hitter

(Photos by Gary Quintal)

By Howard Goldin

BRONX, NEW YORK, June 9- Yankee Stadium was sold out for the opening game of the 2012 Subway Series. Many of the 48,566 in the stands came with the expectation of seeing Mets starter Johan Santana tie the 74-year-old mark of Johnny Vandermeer by pitching his second consecutive no-hitter. This did not happen, but the fans did get to see Yanks starter Hiroki Kuroda limit the Mets to one-hit in his seven innings on the mound.

Santana retired the first three batters he faced, but ran into trouble in the second. After walking Alex Rodriguez, who led off, Robinson Cano followed by hitting a two-run homer into the rightfield seats to put the Yankees on the scoreboard.

Santana retired the first two batters in the next inning, before the onslaught began. A-Rod singled to begin the rally. Cano again followed with a two-run homer. 

After the game, Cano spoke about hitting against Santana, “He’s a guy who throws a lot of strikes. That’s the kind to be aggressive against. You have to be lucky to be successful against a pitcher like that, one of the best in the game.” Cano has been more than lucky against Santana as he has hit successfully 10 times in 26 at bats.

The home run barrage did not end with Cano. The next two batters, Nick Swisher and Andruw Jones, hit homers to left. The three back-to-back- home runs were last accomplished by Yankees batters on August 28, 2011 in Baltimore. Interestingly, the feat was done by the same three batters in the same order.

Yankee manager Joe Girardi said of his team’s output, “He [Santana] got the ball up a little bit and our guys took advantage of it. They put some pretty good at bats on him.”

Santana had never given up four home runs in a single game. Mets manager Terry Collins again proved to be a stand-up leader by his remarks taking responsibility for Santana’s performance, “Because of that decision [giving Santana two extra days of rest since his last start], I’m responsible for how he pitched tonight. That’s what caused him to be rusty tonight. He doesn’t make those kinds of mistakes [keeping the ball up]. He just wasn’t sharp. We erred on the side of caution. It cost us the game tonight.”

The fans were close to seeing a no-hitter by Kuroda. The 37 -year-old veteran hurler from Japan did not yield a hit until two were out in the sixth when shortstop Omar Quintanilla doubled to right center. Girardi opined, “He had great command of his slider and curveball, His fastball was effective.

Kurida left the game after seven innings, having retired 20 of 23 batters, Jeter made an error in the fourth and Lucas Duda walked in the seventh. Of Kuroda’s stint on the mound, Collins remarked, “That’s the best I’ve ever seen him pitch.”

The Subway Series continues on Saturday night at 7:15 pm, weather permitting, with Phil Hughes (5-5) facing Dillon Gee (4-3).

Supersized Soda Smack?

Candidate Says Soda is Like Heroin

By Michael Horowitz

BRONX, NEW YORK, June 8- City Council candidate Andy King said, this week, that sugared sodas and beverages have become like heroin in black and Latino communities.

For this reason, King, a long-time organizer of hospital and health-care workers, said he strongly supports restrictions on the sale of soda in restaurants, delis, and movie theaters throughout the city.

“Sugared soda is making people in our communities very sick,” King stressed, in a telephone interview. “Those who say Mayor Bloomberg is a nanny for supporting restrictions on the sale of soda should come with me when I talk to teenagers and young adults who are suffering from diabetes and other ailments that are caused by the soda we drink and the junk food we eat because it is readily available in our delis.”

King added, “No one needs to drink a 32-ounce sugared beverage. If people don't know how bad it is for them, they need to be educated. In the meantime, we need to take strong and aggressive steps to prevent the onset of early diabetes and high blood pressure in our communities.”

The Council candidate noted, “We need to insist that stores in our neighborhoods carry more fresh fruits and vegetables, and we need to insist that our delis carry them. With our eating and drinking habits the way they are now, many people, including many of those living in communities of color, are killing themselves.”

Under the circumstances, King insisted, it is just as reasonable to ban sales of large soda beverages as it is to ban the sale of heroin in many communities.

King emphasized, “We shouldn't be eating so much stuff that is eating away at our esophagus's. Under the circumstances, people in our city need help from city officials in terms of making healthy choices in what they eat and drink. Those who say Mayor Bloomberg is a nanny for suggesting that we need restrictions on the sale of soda really don't fully comprehend what's happening in our communities.”

Yanks Don't Get the Job Done

A-Rod Drops the Ball, CC Comes up Short as Yanks Fail to Sweep Rays

By Howard Goldin

BRONX, NEW YORK, June 8- The Yanks failed to sweep a three-game series with Tampa and go into first place in the American League East as they lost to the Rays, 7-3 on Thursday night at Yankee Stadium in a lengthy and rain delayed contest.

Baseball purists happily anticipated the seventh meeting of mound aces, CC Sabathia and David Price. Although neither pitched at his best, each did not pitch badly.

Price tied James Shields on the Tampa starting staff by earning his eighth win of the 2012 season. His lack of control in the second, two walks and a wild pitch led to the only run he surrendered. He limited the Yankees to three isolated singles in the five innings he pitched.

The key opportunity the Yankees had to score several runs came in the final inning Price hurled. Chris Stewart singled to lead-off the inning. Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira each walked. With one out, Alex Rodriguez came to the plate. Many in the stands were hoping A-Rod would tie the game at 5 by blasting his 23^rd grand slam homer. The blow, if hit, would have tied the major league mark of Lou Gehrig. The 11 pitch at bat ended with A-Rod striking out. Robinson Cano ended the contest by grounding out to second.

After throwing 109 pitches, Price was removed from the game at the conclusion of the fifth inning. Yankees skipper Joe Girardi credited Price with a game well pitched, “He threw well. I thought Price pitched pretty good. (sic) We had some opportunities, but we couldn’t get much off him. That’s the bottom line.”

The workhorse of the Yankees rotation, CC Sabathia, hurled 121 pitches in seven innings. All the seven hits and five runs he surrendered came in three frames, the second, third and fourth. Teo of the runs in the third were unearned, coming off a throwing error by third baseman Alex Rodriguez.

Sabathia, the ultimate team player, said of the error, “It’s just part of the game.” He took responsibility for the runs by blaming “just not hitting the location.”

The Yankee ace improved as the game continued. He said, “The last three innings, I felt pretty good.” His feelings were reflected in his work as he retired 11 of the final 12 batters he faced, six by strikeout.

Sabathia fanned 12 batters. The game was only his third career loss in a game in which he struck out 10 or more batters.

The first installment of the annual Subway Series will begin on Friday night. The Mets will be traveling across town to visit Yankee Stadium. Johan Santana (3-2) will attempt to tie the mark of Johnny Vandemeer by pitching his second consecutive no-hitter. Hiroki Kuroda (4-6) will take the mound for the Yankees.

Now This is How You Pitch

New York Yankees Dynasty Banner Flag

Pettitte Shows Youngsters How Things Get Done

(Photos by Gary Quintal)

The Yankees Old Man of the Mound Andy Pettitte schooled his younger teammates on how to be a dominating pitcher last night. The nearly 40-year-old struck out 10 Tampa Bay batters and allowed only two hits through 7 innings.

Andy’s dominance shut down the Rays as Yankee bats became hot. Russel Martin’s grand slam topped Yankee hitting leading to a 7-0 win over the Rays.

New Bronx Family Feud?

100 PERCENT

By Robert Press

Martinez for The 78^th Assembly Seat

The Chairman of the Committee of 100 Democrats, State Committeeman from the 78^th A.D., and our good friend Mr. Ricardo “Ricky” Martinez has announced that he will be running for the 78^th Assembly Seat. This was found out by us at the Bronx Puerto Rican Day parade when current 78^th Assemblyman Jose Rivera snubbed his State Committeeman to photograph his daughter's opponent Mr. Mark Gjonaj in the 80^th Assembly race while Mr. Gjonaj was speaking to the crowd. 

We spoke to candidate Ricardo “Ricky” Martinez to find out exactly why he decided to run this year against a man who he called at one time his mentor. Mr. Martinez said that his friendship with Assemblyman Rivera goes back to when he used to go out with the assemblyman's daughter now Assemblywoman Rivera. Mr. Martinez said that while he and many others have been very loyal to the assemblyman that the assemblyman has not as proven by his actions, the latest being redistricting his son Councilman Joel Rivera into the 78^th Assembly District so Jose can pass the assembly seat down to his son when his son is out of a job in 2013. Candidate Martinez continued that the the 78^th A.D. is not a kingdom that gets passed down to the next generation.

Many people and political insiders have said that they thought Ricardo “Ricky” Martinez would run for the assembly seat in 2010, and have encouraged him to run this year. Now that word is getting out that he is running, Martinez said that his support is growing every day. Candidate Ricardo “Ricky” Martinez said that Assemblyman Rivera knew that he wanted to run in 2010, but that he was diagnosed with an early stage of cancer that he has survived and is now ready to run for the assembly seat. By the way Rivera, who we were told is 75, allegedly has health problems so it would be easy for him to say that he has to retire in midterm so his son could run in a special election. However if that were to happen we have been told that there is another person close to the current Democratic County Leader (that took control of the county leadership away from Rivera) who was redistricted out of the 78^th A.D., but has moved back into the new 78^th A.D. and could be waiting for such an opportunity.

Ricardo “Ricky” Martinez is running on a platform of “The Community and the People First.” Mr. Martinez, unlike the current assemblyman, is in favor of term limits for all elected positions. “If there are term limits for the President and the City Council, why are there no term limits for statewide offices.” Better education, more and better jobs, better housing, better transportation, are only a few of candidate Martinez's goals, and he said that some of those in office often think of themselves or their family first and Assemblyman Rivera is a perfect example of that.

Staying on the subject of Assembly races we have been told that incumbent 80^th State Committeewoman Diane Cerino will not be on the petition of the current assemblywoman but will be on the petition of Mark Gjonaj for the 80^th Assembly District. We now have three assembly races in the 78^th, 80^th, and the open 87th assembly districts that we will be watching. In two weeks we will get out our crystal ball to predict the winner in the 13^th Congressional race that is on Tuesday June 26th, which has now turned into a real battle. 

If he is reelected Congressman Rangel may need to take several weeks or even months to recuperate.

Lastly go to my blog at www.100percentbronx.blogspot.com to see photos that I took of the Bronx Puerto Rican Day parade along with the details of how the parade went. It looked like a washout for a few minutes as the rain started to pour, but the sun quickly came back out after the brief shower. Thousands marched, and thousands more enjoyed those who marched with the cars and floats.

If you have any comments about this column or would like to have an event listed or covered in this column or on my blog you can e-mail us at 100percentbronxnews@gmail.com or call 718-644-4199 Mr. Robert Press.