On February 4th, two men were arrested and charged with running a fencing operation across state lines between 2020 and 2025.

The two suspects, Dimitriy Nezhinskiy and Juan Villar, allegedly conspired with each other and additional people who were not charged to receive and purchase stolen property. This property included things like watches, handbags, and jewelry.

The scheme also involved luxury items that were stolen outside of the state of New York and transported across state lines. Once the items were secured by the two suspects, they’d utilize a New York pawn shop in the diamond district to sell the stolen goods.

Investigators allege that many of these luxury items came from as far away as South America. Court records argue that Nezhinskiy and Villar would serve as fences for burglary crews who came from South America, committing burglaries all along the way. The group of thieves reportedly would target wealthier neighborhoods and jewelry vendors while making their journey up to New York.

Court records show that Nezhinskiy is a Georgian national who lives in New Jersey. Villar lives in Queens. It’s alleged that the criminal organization the two suspects participated in is comprised mainly of foreign nationals. The entire group works together to steal, transport, sell, and share profits. The criminal group, the South American Theft Groups, and other crews were financially supported by the two suspects, encouraging them to continue their illegal operations.

Nezhinskiy has been directly connected to Bryan Leandro Herrera Maldonado, a serial burglar who was convicted of committing at least 16 residential burglaries across the U.S. between 2019 and 2020.

Evidence compiled by prosecutors reveals that phone records and video surveillance also connect Nezhinskiy to a burglary crew that struck Joe Burrow’s home. Authorities have linked Joe Burrow’s burglary to a ring of “crime tourism,” also connected to Nezhinskiy according to prosecutors.

When law enforcement agencies executed the search warrant on the suspect’s pawn shop, they uncovered countless high-end stolen watches, jewelry, and other items. They also recovered large quantities of cash and marijuana. Authorities then searched the suspect’s storage units, where they uncovered even more luxury goods, clothing, sports memorabilia, artwork, and power tools.

The two suspects face up to 10 years in prison each if convicted of the receipt of stolen goods.

Have You Been Accused of Criminal Possession of Stolen Property or a Similar Crime?

In New York, it’s a serious crime to be in possession of stolen property. This crime is divided into five categories based on the severity of the offense and whether you knew the property was stolen. Criminal possession of stolen property in the 5th degree is the least severe charge you could face, which is still a Class A misdemeanor that could result in up to a year of jail time. 1st degree criminal possession of stolen property is a Class B felony, which could result in up to 25 years in prison.

The best way to navigate your situation if you’re facing criminal charges is to hire a criminal defense attorney. Schedule a consultation with our team now to learn more about how we can help you defend yourself against your charges.

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On April 13th, another violent and seemingly unprovoked attack occurred in New York City. This time, the incident happened at Grand Central Station. According to reports, a 30-year-old homeless individual randomly punched a 9-year-old child directly in the face as she stood next to her mother.

The whole ordeal started around 11:50 A.M. The youngster and her mother were standing in a station’s dining concourse when the many walked up out of nowhere. No other interactions occurred, and the punch was completely unprovoked.

The mother called the police, and the child was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. Authorities utilized video surveillance footage to promptly identify the suspect as a known offender in the area: Jean Carlos Zarzuela. Zarzuela was almost immediately recognized by police because he had just recently been released on bail as a result of a different incident. In the previous case, Zarzuela is accused of being in Grand Central Station on April 4th and randomly punching a 56-year-old woman. He broke the woman’s nose.

In that previous situation, the suspect was initially charged with felony assault. Prosecutors eventually reduced those charges down to a misdemeanor, though. At the time of this previous arrest, records showed that Zarzuela had a bench warrant out for additional assault cases in both Brooklyn and Manhattan. Just four days after getting released without bail, he has allegedly attacked again. The most recent charge will only add one more violent crime on to the suspect’s record.

After recognizing Zarzuela, authorities promptly located the suspect at a nearby homeless shelter where he was quickly arrested.

Have You Recently Been Accused of a Violent Crime in New York?

This recent wave of seemingly unprovoked attacks is unprecedented in New York City. Violent crime has always, and will always, exist, but it’s unclear what’s driving this recent spike in random acts of violence. Unfortunately, this increased level of fear can also result in a wave of unfair arrests or accusations.

If you’ve recently been charged with a violent crime in New York, then it’s important to hire the right legal representation as soon as possible. Without the help of a strong legal advocate, you’ll have to face your charges on your own.

You’ll have to lean on your own experience, knowledge, and judgment as you get interviewed by police, enter into a plea at court, and attempt to defend yourself in court. Here at Bukh Law Firm, our team of lawyers are prepared to help you navigate your situation from start to finish.

First, we’ll want to learn all the details about what happened during the alleged crime and your arrest. Next, we’ll go over the exact legal definition and scope of the criminal charges you’re facing. We want you to understand the potential consequences of your charges fully. From there, we’ll go over all the possible defense strategies available to you based on your unique circumstances. Together, we’ll determine what type of defense you want to use.

Are you ready to get started? Schedule a call with our office now.

The post Homeless Man Punches 9-Year-Old in Grand Central Station appeared first on New York Criminal Attorney: NY Criminal Defense - Bukh Law Firm.

As of Wednesday, according to new guidelines by the CDC, people should not have to wear masks when outside, whether they are vaccinated or not. Vaccinated individuals do not have to wear masks at outdoor gatherings, whereas non-vaccinated people should. And everyone should wear masks in crowded outdoor settings, whether vaccinated or not.

Governor Cuomo has adopted it. Mayor de Blasio says, not so fast!

What’s Good For the State May Not Be Good For the City

In the city, the mayor’s top public health advisor, Dr. Jay Varma, says that the city will need to review the new recommendations before embracing the change to citywide protocol. Overall, Dr. Varma agreed that these changes might be logical for places that don’t have the same population density as New York City, but felt that they had to be more thoroughly reviewed to understand how they could be practically implemented in the city.

Because of social density in the city, it made us more vulnerable to viral spread at the height of the outbreak. Consequently, Mayor de Blasio still wants to take precautions.

“We’re going to have to keep mask restrictions in place until we’re 100% sure we’re out of the woods, and the best way to know we’re out of the woods is to see those vaccination numbers go up and up and up,” he said earlier in the week. “Just with the number of people vaccinated so far, it is just pushing down COVID, pushing down the cases and making the city safer.”

How Will This Be Enforced? Or Will It Be?

If we’ve learned anything from this pandemic, we’ve learned that nothing is consistent, nothing will stay the same, and if you wait long enough, you will not be seen as a criminal for the very behavior that was “criminal” just a few short months ago. So what will weigh out in the mask wars of 2021, a citywide mandate or a public overthrow of the mask itself?

In the meantime, we are seeing plenty of New Yorkers themselves embracing the ditch-the-mask mentality, despite the hold-the-line approach by the mayor. Will we see arrests being made now that individuals and the governor are embracing CDC guidelines while city mandates remain active?

Even at the height of isolation, arrests were sporadic and ill-enforced. Just a year ago we were talking about the double standard in social distancing rule enforcement in the city by the New York Police Department. It is unlikely that we are going to be able to effectively enforce mask mandates now that we have opened the Pandora’s box of the new CDC guidelines. And on the streets, it seems the relief is palpable. Even Cuomo himself has called it “liberating.”

We will have to watch how the city plans to enforce these mandates, or if they will. If you feel that you are being unfairly treated under these new rules, you may want to seek legal advice. Contact the New York criminal defense firm of Arkady Bukh to discuss your situation.

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What happens when the law becomes the defendant? This is what we are witnessing right now in the case of Joseph Franco.

In 2019, Franco, a New York Police Department narcotics detective, was charged with perjury. Over the nearly two decades that he acted as a law enforcement officer in New York, he made thousands of arrests, and his testimony was instrumental in securing convictions throughout the city.

But now, those who relied on his expert testimony have cause to question it after he was accused of lying about drug sales that never happened or that he could not have witnessed. This subsequently led to perjury charges in March of 2019.

Reversing Convictions When Testimony Can’t Be Trusted

These charges have far-reaching effects, with as many as ninety convictions now being called into question and potentially thrown out in Brooklyn alone. Other boroughs may potentially follow suit. Already, Brooklyn Court Judge Keisha Espinal has vacated over 50 drug convictions that were based on Franco’s testimony.

On Wednesday, Eric Gonzalez, the Brooklyn DA, admitted that he had lost faith in Franco’s testimony. In the middle of a time of needed criminal justice reform, they couldn’t rely on his testimony to stand by those convictions. And because many of them were over a decade old with witnesses and video that may have been lost or no longer able to be located, these cases cannot be reinvestigated.

What Led to These Revelations?

In 2019, Franco was charged with 26 criminal counts, including perjury and misconduct, after investigators within the Manhattan DA’s office found inconsistencies with his testimony. Later it was found that many convictions in Brooklyn also hinged on his testimony while he worked in undercover narcotics. While the majority of individuals ended up entering guilty pleas, it is widely understood that defendants often enter guilty pleas because they feel it is a losing battle going up against the judicial system.

Franco was fired from his law enforcement position and has pleaded not guilty. His attorney, Howard Tanner, has asked the public to “withhold judgment” until facts are all heard.

In the meantime, nearly all the convictions that the Brooklyn DA’s office is seeking to dismiss involve drug-related crimes, many of which were for low-level offenses. These took place between 2004 and 2011 and spanned generations of individuals from 20 years of age to over 40.

When the System Has Cracks

Police officers making misleading and false statements is nothing new here in New York. In a 2018 investigation into these matters, the New York Times found that there were over 25 instances between January of 2015 and March of 2018 where there was potentially untrue law enforcement testimony that was central to a conviction.

Unfortunately, even for those who don’t serve significant sentences, the harm has already been done. Many lost jobs and were separated from their families. A criminal conviction will follow an individual around, often for life, impacting their ability to seek employment and even housing.

Take Back Your Power

For many, it seems like the criminal justice system has all the power. In New York, we have seen what happens when over-zealous prosecutors take the wrongful testimony of law enforcement over innocent people.

If you have been accused of a crime, the rest of your life may depend on the quality of your defense. Contact the aggressive criminal defense team at the Bukh Law Firm for a free consultation.

The post NY Detective Found to be a Liar: How Many Convictions May Be Reversed? appeared first on New York Criminal Attorney: NY Criminal Defense - Bukh Law Firm.

Recently, a deranged homeless man used a folding knife to slash two UPS employees in a bloody conflict on a Midtown subway train. On a Tuesday morning, just before 5:00 am and only about 50 minutes after MTA had re-opened, the UPS employees were on the Brooklyn-bound N train. They were heading to work when according to police, Finn Barbuto began arguing with them as the train arrived at the Lexington Avenue/59th Street station.

The Attack

As the confrontation escalated, Mr. Barbuto pulled out a folding knife and ran toward the two workers. He cut one on the hand and chest. The other suffered knife slashes on the wrist and forearm.

According to one of the workers, Dan Baker, the homeless man hadn’t said anything – he just stabbed Mr. Baker’s co-worker first.

Mr. Baker’s co-worker acted fast. He threw his coat over Mr. Barbuto. Mr. Baker then rushed the attacker, jumped on him, and took the knife away from him. Mr. Baker didn’t realize he’d been cut until he wrestled the knife away. They held the attacker down until the cops arrested him. Then the victims were transported to a local hospital for treatment.

After being subdued, but before the police arrived, the attacker was asked why he did it. He responded that he was on medication.

Both UPS employees believed it was a wanton act of aggression – they hadn’t said or done anything to provoke the attack before Mr. Barbuto started screaming at them.

Police charged Mr. Barbuto with assault and deadly weapon possession. He was arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court.

Increased NYPD Deployment

The violent attack happened during a period when NYPD has deployed extra cops in the subway system. This was in response to an increase in attacks, including two deaths and mentally ill people actually pushing passengers out onto the tracks. 

The rising crime in the subway system reflects the broader increase in violent crimes experienced recently. Shootings have almost doubled, and there’s been nearly a 50% increase in murders. From June 2020 to September 2020, more people were shot than in the entire year of 2019.

Sparked by the George Floyd incident and further fueled by Covid-19 isolation, the crime wave shows no sign of receding. So, police will be out in higher numbers – not just in subways but everywhere.

Call Us Today

The NYPD’s increased deployment on our subways and everywhere else is a well-intentioned response to the recent rise in crimes in our society. The problem is that sometimes increased deployment leads to overzealousness in law enforcement, and innocent people can get entangled in the web.

This may happen to you. If you get caught up in this increased law enforcement effort, you need representation from our experienced criminal defense attorneys. Don’t wait any longer to get the help you need. Contact Arkady Bukh, a New York criminal defense attorney recognized across the nation.

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In October 2018, gunfire shattered the morning quiet in the Tree of Life synagogue. When the firing stopped, eleven people were dead

A few days later, a 62-year-old man, Lipa Schwartz, was viciously attacked on a Brooklyn street.

“I Feared For My Life”

Lipa Schwartz, 62, was on his way to his synagogue in mid-October when he was attacked on a Brooklyn street.

Schwartz was seen on surveillance video being beaten by Farrukh Afzal.

Don Hiking, the State Assemblyman who represented the district where the attack happened, called it “an absolute horror.”

“If a person watches the video, there are no words to describe it,” he said. “The scene reminded me of the worst moments in Nazi German.”

A witness to the attack said the Afzal, 37, “was screaming that he hates the Jews and wants to kill all the Jews.”

“I feared for my life,” said Schwartz. “I knew it’s either fight my way out or I might be dead.”

WABC Television  called the attack a case of road rage.

Azfal was upset that Schwartz was moving too slowly as he crossed the intersection. The two men began yelling at each other and Schwartz hit the car. That’s when Azfal got out of his vehicle.

“He came out of the car and I can’t explain how angry he was,” said Schwartz. “He was screaming the entire time.”

A passerby who attempted to intervene, was chased off by Azfal who was later arrested and charged with assault and harassment.

Hostility Intensifies

Until recently, many Jews in America hoped the worst of anti-Semitism was over.

American Jews were welcome in colleges, clubs and corporate boardrooms which were once closed to their grandparents. They wed non-Jews, moved to mixed neighborhoods  and in 2000, Joseph Lieberman, became the first Jew to run for Vice President on a major party ticket.

The massacre of 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue was a wake-up call.

“This type of evil reminds me of the Holocaust and how there is much evil in the world,” said Moshe Taube, 91, a cantor from Congregation Beth Shalom and a Holocaust survivor.

According to experts in anti-Semitism, the recently attack didn’t come out of nowhere. While Jews were finding unprecedented acceptance in America, a part of society was growing hostile.

The hostility intensified in the two years since Trump’s election and comes when attacks on Jews are on the rise.

Anti-Defamation League

The Anti-Defamation League cataloged a 57% increase in anti-Semitic occurrences in America over the previous year.

An ADL spokesman said before the Pennsylvania synagogue attack, the deadliest anti-Semitic incident, in recent American history, was in 1985.  

David Morse Rice was found guilty in June 1986, for the Christmas Eve, 2085 murder of Charles Goldmark and his family. In a taped confession, Rice said he killed the family because he thought they were Jewish.

Chicken Little

Deborah E. Lipstadt, an Emory University  professor in Atlanta, said, “I’m not a Chicken Little who is yelling, ‘It’s worse than it’s ever been!’  

“Now I think it’s worse than it’s ever been,” she added.

The Takeaway

Arkady Bukh, a New York defense attorney compares anti-Semitism to an infection which hibernates and re-emerges during stress. It does not go away, no matter how “acculturated” Jews have become in America,

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Three artifacts were been handed over to Italy by American officials in early November 2018. The items had been tracked to an auction house in New York City.

The clampdown on ‘cultural crimes’ happened after several repatriations of Italian art and antiquities stolen abroad and recovered when each was put up for auction.

The ancient items included:

• A wine carafe,
• A decanter for valuable oils, and
• A soup tureen

The trio had been illegally removed from an archaeological site in Italy, smuggled into America and had been listed with a New York auction house.

“Italy is introducing new laws so there are stiffer penalties applied to crimes regarding cultural heritage,” said Arkady Bukh, a prominent criminal defense attorney in New York.

While the items were handed over to Italy during a ceremony inside the Italian Embassy, other items have come to light.

The idea of Christianity and capitalism has been around since at least before Jesus tossed the money changers out of the Temple.

Museum of the Bible

Washington’s museum, The Museum of the Bible, is another agency which has run afoul of antiquities laws.

The company behind the museum, Hobby Lobby, was forced to return over 3,800 ancient Iraqi artifacts — the newest items in the museum’s collection.

The Green family, evangelical Christians, own Hobby Lobby. The craft and hobby company has more than 15,000 full-time workers in over 40 states.

In July 2017, the U.S. Attorney’s office for New York’s Eastern District filed a civil complaint against the company. The collection was intended to become the core of the “Museum of the Bible” which opened in Washington in November 2017.

Through a long string of thieves and profiteers, Hobby Lobby was able to get its hands on 4,000-year-old Iraqi artifacts. Steve Green traveled to the UAE to inspect the goodies and approve the purchase of more than $1.6 million. A dealer’s warning about the looting of the items was ignored. The company falsely labeled the shipping crates as “tile samples”.

The haul included ancient cuneiform tablets and cylinder seals. Many of the items came from the prehistoric city of Irisagrig in the time period known as the Ur III and Old Babylonian periods.

“State Attorneys throughout America have played a very significant part in having U.S. courts recognize the unique value of cultural objects,” said Bukh.

The Takeaway

Green, the lead funder of Washington DC’s Museum of the Bible, said his corporation had made ‘regrettable mistakes” and added, “we should have exercised more oversight.”

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Kenzie Smith was firing up a grill at a park in Oakland. He was enjoying the art of barbecuing, something his family at done, in the same park, for generations. Drama unfolded when Jennifer Schulte, a white woman, call the cops on Smith who is black.

Schulte’s complaint? Using charcoal in an undesignated area in the park.

While the drama didn’t end in violence, many other altercations between racist whites and innocent blacks do.

The Oakland incident didn’t trigger any arrests and Smith wasn’t fined. The matter underscore the truth that many whites are incapable of understanding racism — and their complicity in it.

From white persons calling 911 on blacks for everything from enjoying a family BBQ in a public park, to a little girl selling lemonade outside of her store and a woman calling the cops on a Mexican construction crew, it seems the country has gone off-kilter.

Under a proposed law in New York, the Oakland woman who called 911 to report the barbecue, the Starbucks manager who called the police on two customers and the Yale student who reported a fellow student for napping would be charged and prosecuted had they called in New York State.

The Pattern Must Stop

These stories and more have gone viral and have become the catalyst for one New York legislator’s proposal.

New York State Senator Jesse Hamilton is working to make it a hate crime on call 911 on innocent black individuals. It’s an issue Hamilton has had personal experience with. Hamilton, who is black, once watched as  a Trump supporter called the cops on him when when he was campaigning.

Hamilton represents the Brownsville, Crown Heights and Flatbush neighborhoods of Brooklyn.

“That should be a hate crime,” said Arkady Bukh, a noted New York criminal defense lawyer. “This pattern of calling law enforcement on people going about their own business has to stop.”

Hamilton’s bill will strengthen the existing legislation which outlaws false reports by categorizing racially-motivated 911 calls as a hate crime.

If Hamilton’s bill passes, law enforcement will make the determination if a 911 call was made with a racial basis or not. Bukh is concerned about leaving the decision up to New York cops.

“We’re putting the responsibility in the hands of a predatory institution,” Bukh said. “I don’t feel comfortable with that.”

The law would not punish people who mistakenly call 911 about someone who seems legitimately threatening.

The Takeaway

People like Schulte need to be held accountable. Hamilton’s bill for white accountability through penalties is not misguided and racist behavior can be mitigated by forcing the guilty to pay for their ignorance.

Financial penalties are not perfect, but can be a solid pre-emptive measure.

The Smith/Schulte incident in Oakland shows racism continues to run rampant while whites are clueless about how it operates.

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Silver was convicted in May 2018 — for the second time — of selling his office for $4 million in kickbacks and another $1 million in profits for himself.

At sentencing, Silver tried to put on a brave front about spending  time in prison and didn’t seem to care where they sent him. His personal reputation was a bigger concern.

“I fear I will continue to be ridiculed and disdained,” was all Silver claimed frightened him.

Determining The Institution

The American criminal justice system looks at several factors when deciding which facility a white-collar criminal will be sent to. The governing factors include:

• Nature of the crime, as in how much money was involved, how many people were affected.
• Previous felony conviction(s)
• United States Sentencing Commission
• Typically a sentence of less than 10yrs with no priors, a person would be sent to a FPC (Federal Prison Camp). Here are a few notable white collar felons currently locked up at various facilities.

• Bernard Madoff received 150 yrs for his billion dollar ponzi scheme. He is at the in FCI Butner Medium II in N.C.
• Allen Stanford – 110 years for Fraud (one of the few that have been sent to a USP (United States Penitentiary). He is at USP Coleman II – in FL
• Bernard Ebbers – 25 years, Securities Fraud, he is at FCI Oakdale I – LA.
• Jeffrey Skilling – 14 years (originally 24 yrs) for his part in the Enron scandal. He is at FPC Montgomery AL.

There Aren’t Any “White Collar.” Prisons

“White Collar prisons” is  a term folks sometime use to describe a facility someone who has been convicted of a “white collar crime”.

Most all white collar crimes are federal. Some examples are:

• Antitrust Violations,
• Bankruptcy Fraud,
• Bribery,
• Computer And Internet Fraud,
• Counterfeiting,
• Credit Card Fraud,
• Economic Espionage And Trade Secret Theft,
• Embezzlement,
• Environmental Law Violations,
• Financial Institution Fraud,
• Government Fraud, Healthcare Fraud,
• Insider Trading,
• Insurance Fraud,
• Intellectual Property Theft/Piracy,
• Kickbacks,
• Mail Fraud,
• Money Laundering,
• Securities Fraud,
• Tax Evasion,
• Phone And Telemarketing Fraud, And
• Public Corruption.

Cumberland Is An Example

The Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland houses both medium and minimum security inmates. The visiting room is spotless and looks more like a corporate cafeteria with unbarred windows and inmate-made quilts decorating the walls.

Prisoners wear the uniform of the day which consists of forest-green cargo pants, long-sleeve, button down shirts and work boots. One inmate, former NYPD Commissioner Bernard Kerik, used to run the worst jail in America and was appointed by George W. To head the Department of Homeland Security until it hit the fan.

Kerik As A Sample Prisoner At A Sample Prison

Kerik’s sins are legendary and includes a 16-count indictment for lying to the IRS and The White House. The former top-cop also was indicted for accepting renovations to his home from contractors who sought work in New York. Kerik was sentenced to four years when he pleaded guilty to eight charges.

Kerik used his time to working out. Halfway through his stay in Cumberland, he looked like a bull and was 50-pounds lighter than his pre-incarcerated weight of 260 pounds. At Cumberland there wasn’t a golf course or tennis courts, but Kerik did enjoy the basketball and baseball games and made use of the workout area.

Every time another bigwig goes ‘up the river,’ people want to know what is life really like on the inside for white-collar criminals.

When details of life in the camps began to trickle out, they never seemed terrifying.

Mickey Sherman, convicted for tax evasion, claimed the most dramatic part of being in the Federal Correctional Institution, Otisville, New York , were the arguments which took place when inmates argued over who got kicked off American Idol.

Martha Stewart spent five months in the women’s prison in   Federal Prison Camp, Alderson [West Virginia] where she taught yoga and crafted a ceramic nativity scene. The minimum-security facility came with cottages and tree-lined streets. It wasn’t nicknamed “Camp Cupcake” for nothing.

But times change.

No Club Fed

Despite high-profile cases like Bernie Kerik, Bernie Madoff, Dennis Kozlowski, Martha Stewart — or any of the Wall Street suits busted during the recession. The questions persis. What are  the country club prisons like?

Decades ago tennis courts could be found in Federal Prison Camps. Most people became familiar with the term Club Fed — inspired by Federal Prison Camp Eglin. The stories, then, were true, but sentencing guidelines and conditions for white-collar crimes have gotten worse.

When Kozlowski  went to the Downstate Correctional Facility, just outside of New York City, the former Tyco executive didn’t go outside for over eight months. After being transferred to Mid-State, Kozlowski passed the time doing laundry, reading books and taught himself to paint. “Koz” looked forward to getting out and “doing what free people do.” Close a bathroom door, go to the store, drive a car and even open a door were simple pleasures he missed.

White-collar prisons are not filled with, wait for it, white-collar prisoners. In many white-collar facilities the majority of inmates are drug dealers who are serving less than 10-years.

Better Treatment?

The great myth is the famous get better treatment. The truth is different. The higher the profile a person  the fewer perks they receive. When Kerik was sentenced there were multiple minimum-security prison within a hour’s drive of his New Jersey home. Instead, he was shipped to western Maryland and his wife and children traveled 10-hours, round trip, to see him.

Jack Abramoff’s mother died while he was locked up and authorities refused to let him out to go to her funeral. “I didn’t see anyone else denied the opportunity to go to a parent’s funeral,” Abramoff said. “I was there long enough that I saw many people go to funerals — including some vicious guys.”

The Takeaway

For white-collar criminals, isolation from family takes a toll. You can’t show your children love and support or provide guidance in absentia.

“No one can fathom the pain, the heartache which the system causes parents and kids. Nobody gets it. Nobody understands,” said one former inmate.

Kerik said, “I realize being sentenced in America’s criminal justice system is a life sentence. It’s not about the time you are sentenced for. You receive a punishment of imprisonment and then a lifelong sentence of collateral punishment.”

None of that sounds like Club Fed.

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Okumou huddled at the monument’s base and had a four-hour standoff with law enforcement before two New York cops climbed up and took her into custody.

“She’s been taken into custody, peacefully,” said Sgt. David Somma, a National Park Service spokesman. “Thank God. It’s all over now.”

Okumou is an activist with the group ‘Rise and Resist’ which hung the banner protesting Trump’s ‘zero-tolerance’ immigration policy, but authorities still do not know if Okumou was acting under the group’s umbrella or was a renegade. She was wearing a Rise and Resist t-shirt.

The Statue of Liberty is a national monument and is administered by the National Park Service.

Who is Rise and Resist?

Rise and Resist is an American movement, primarily found in New York City, created in answer to the 2016 election of Donald Trump. The group has put together several marches and protests against Trump and his policies, as well as lent support for similar organizations’ protests, such as the 2017 Women’s March. In December 2017, Rise and Resist also joined in demonstrations against Trump’s Tax Reform Plan.

How To Legally Protest In New York City?

Okumou’s action fell under the National Park’s jurisdiction since it is federal property. There are several, although often overlapping, rules for protesting in the city.

New Yorkers, like everyone else, have the right to peacefully protest on public sidewalks, parks, plaza and streets. The right includes leaflet distribution, hold demonstrations or rallies. Each local government may dictate some restrictions on the time and location of protests while requiring a permit.

If the group, or someone who is protesting as an individual, does not plan to use amplified sounds, no permits are required. The police don’t have to be notified, but if a large group, or marching in the street, is planned a parade permit must be acquired.

Typically there are no fees to apply for a permit and the police don’t need to be notified. But if the group is big enough, the police can be counted on to have a presence. Law enforcement often provides an escort for a group marching in the streets and if contacted ahead of time, may even block off the street for the group.

Law Enforcement Seeks Information

If the group decides to contact law enforcement before the event, the police are allowed to ask questions about the event — but the caller doesn’t have to answer. Most local authorities in New York have standard guidelines for events at specific locations. A copy of the rules and guidelines is available when seeking a permit.

Banners & Signs

Groups are allowed to use banners or signs, but restrictions may be placed on the size of the banners and signs as well as the material used in the construction. Signs may not be fastened to wooden sticks, for example, so demonstrators often afix signs to cardboard tubing or simply hold them.

Neither signs nor banners are permitted to be attached to public property such as light posts or telephone poles.

The Don’ts

Keep in mind there is a list of ‘don’ts’ when protesting or demonstrating in the city. Be sure to:

• Not block a sidewalk
• Not block a businesses entrance or exit
• Not block traffic when crossing the street
• Not touch a police officer or get in their way
• Keep the permit handy during the protest
• Make sure the group spokesperson(s) introduce themselves to law enforcement

Arrested?

Try to obey law enforcement’s instructions, even if it seems their action violates your First Amendment rights. Comply with their guidance first and talk to the NYCLU and an experienced attorney later.

Never interfere with an officer who is approaching or arresting someone during the event. Doing so may lead to immediate arrest. You can always watch from a distance while writing down times, names, locations and witnesses.

The Takeaway

For any questions about protests, marches and rallies in New York City, contact an attorney experienced in civil disturbances.

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