New York Criminal Lawyer Blog

Published on: October 29, 2011

Man Accused of Domestic Violence Killing Estranged Wife Speaks at Child Custody Hearing in Orlando

by Stephen Bilkis

He is accused of murdering his estranged wife and her boyfriend, the mother of his child, but was asked to give his opinion on where his 13-year-old daughter should live in the aftermath of the tragedy.

The father killed his estranged wife and her boyfriend a few days before the hearing, Orlando police told Manhattan Domestice Violence Law Firms. When the shooting occurred, the girl was in the shower.

The 13-year-old attended the hearing, but never went into the courtroom but Department of Children and Families representatives described her as “very strong” and “articulate”.

Published on: October 28, 2011

Woman Could Face Jail Time

by Stephen Bilkis

A Texas woman is in jail after a bizarre incident which happened in late January. The woman claimed that after her two children helped her with some housecleaning, she decided to reward them (her children are 8 and 9 years old) with a ride on the car; a dangerous ride sitting on the trunk of her car, which the woman claimed her son had been begging for repeatedly for weeks. This case could have legal ramifications far outside of the state of Texas, said a New York Criminal Lawyer.

Responding to the woman’s claims that ride was intended as a reward, one officer involved in the case said, “Those may have been her intentions, but they were bad intentions. It’s just dangerous. Having a child riding on a vehicle, it’s like playing with a loaded gun. You just don’t know what is going to happen.”

The judge seemed to agree with the officer’s sentiment, handing down charges from the bench of two counts of injury to a child- which the law says is a felony in Nassau and Suffolk counties in the third degree.

Published on: October 27, 2011

A child support scam

by Stephen Bilkis

Child support payments in Texas didn’t make it to the receiver because of a child support scam that has three suspects. The three pleaded guilty to the crime of mail fraud and aggravated identity theft last Tuesday. They worked for a company that processing child support payments for the state of Texas, reported a New York City Criminal Lawyer. The face 20 years in prison for these charges.

The 3 that plead guilty are among 13 involved in this case. The state of Texas had an 18.2 million dollar contract with Affiliated Computer Services for the child support payments. AFC issued Texas debit cards to child support recipient’s. The 13 people accused in this case took advantage of this contract to pay themselves money, claims a reporter. They actually gave these debit cards to there friends and people they knew in order to pay themselves things.

ACS had been recently bought by Xerox. The new company has paid back the victims at least $275,000, according to the attorney generals office.

Published on: October 26, 2011

Sex play results in Oklahoma woman’s death

by Stephen Bilkis

People have all kinds of strange sexual proclivities and fantasies in this world, but most of them are relatively harmless, if a little off-putting. A spanking here and there isn’t going to really hurt anything, but some people seem to take things far more serious than other. A New York Criminal Lawyer explained that a 23 year old man placed a call to 911 services on the night of December 21, saying that he had accidentally shot his wife. When police arrived on scene, however, they got the full story.

The man and his 50 year old wife routinely engaged in sex play where the man would hold a gun to her head and threaten her life, the police were told by the man. He also said that he was unaware that the gun was loaded when he pulled the trigger while they were having sex. Now, according to the reporter, he is in custody and facing murder charges.

A New York Criminal Lawyer believes the man will most likely receive jail time even if he somehow manages to have his story corroborated. The intimacy that two people share in The Bronx and Staten Island, especially if their sexual proclivities are considered dangerous or perverse, is not likely to be announced to friends and family. It remains to be seen how the jury will respond in this case. If the sex fantasy scenario checks out, how responsible was the man in not checking for bullets before the scene took place? Further details are pending.

Published on: October 25, 2011

ICE Agents Arrest Man for Aggravated Sexual Abuse

by Stephen Bilkis

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents (ICE) arrested a man for intending to engage in sexual acts with two young girls. ICE agents posed as a mother willing to sell her two young girls, ages 5 and 8 to the man, states a New York Criminal Lawyer. The man, who was from Athens, Greece, was arrested by ICE agents after landing in the Denver airport. Since his arrest, he has pleaded not guilty to charges ranging from engaging in illicit conduct to aggravated sexual abuse.

ICE agents stage these kinds of operations all the time to catch sexual predators both online and off. As part of the Department of Homeland Security, ICE not only monitors immigration and customs stations in airports, the agency also works tirelessly to stop the illegal trafficking of children and child pornography. A program called “Operation Predator” was created to catch traffickers before children are harmed. Agents pose as parents, relatives or people involved in “sex tourism” to earn the trust of those interested in purchasing children. “Operation Predator” is a world-wide effort to stop sex trafficking.

Those found guilty of sex trafficking, distributing or purchasing child pornography may face up to 10 years in prison, even if this is their first offense. ICE has partnered with other law enforcement agencies throughout the world to stop the distribution of child pornography. Countries such as New Zealand, Italy, the United Kingdom and Australia have task forces in place to catch these types of criminals.

Published on: October 23, 2011

A health care scam that involved an Oakland woman

by Stephen Bilkis

A health care fraud conviction involving an Oakland woman was announced Wednesday by federal authorities, according to a NY Criminal Lawyer. This is a medicare scheme. She billed medicare for electric wheelchairs that are considered medically unnecessary.

A one week trial that took place in a California court led to a conviction of health care fraud for this 52 year old woman according to the Human Services department. She will soon be sentenced and could get up to ten years in prison. She will only be sentenced for 1 count as jurors through out the other two counts.

This lady took advantage of the low income elderly in order to bill Medicare for this equipment that was not wanted or needed. She approached people on the street, in nursing homes, and in their homes offering a free power wheelchair if they would hand over all the necessary identification cards including Medicare information. The trial included witnesses from that worked at the San Pablo Hotel, where this lady would sit for long periods of time just waiting for people to come through the lobby that she could approach about these power wheelchairs.

Published on: October 22, 2011

Attorney and Wife Indicted

by Stephen Bilkis

Facing foreclosure on a family home or bankruptcy due to ever rising basic costs is a scary option, but help is available. However, one must consider from where the help is coming. A New York Criminal Lawyer accounts what happened when one attorney decided to help himself instead of his clients.

In Chicago one attorney with the help of his wife decided to defraud clients by promising to help with foreclosure and bankruptcy issues. Clients turned to this Chicago attorney for help in their hour of need and were taken for granted, money stolen, and homes foreclosed on even though payments had been made to the attorney. The attorney was using his client’s money to fund his own goals.

A Lawyer would be one option for representation and given the circumstances this may be the way that the Chicago attorney should precede. The attorney is charged with one count of mail fraud, six counts of bankruptcy fraud and one count of obstruction. His wife is charged with one count of obstruction, two counts of perjury, and one count of bankruptcy fraud. His wife is charged as an accomplice, even though she supposedly did not deal with the clients directly. However, the attorney’s wife lied by completing documents stating that one client had completed a credit counseling course that the client had not completed. The couple told clients that funds paid would be used to make mortgage payments or to complete Chapter 13 bankruptcy plans, but the funds were instead used for the couple’s own benefit, alleges a Criminal Lawyer in New York. It is said that a doctor makes the worst patient and this also holds true for attorneys. This Chicago based attorney should get help from a local Lawyer immediately.

Published on: October 21, 2011

Suspect Seen at Scene of the Crime in Nassau, LI

by Stephen Bilkis

A witness with a sharp eye saw something that may help in the case of an armored car robbery and murder, sources revealed to investigators. The witness saw the crimes take place – and he also saw an acquaintance of his, the suspect, at the scene two weeks earlier, he testified in court.

Just hours after the 1994 robbery occurred, in which an armored car guard was killed, the witness said he was shown a number of photographs by Nassau police. One of these photographs was the suspect, who is now on trial, facing murder charges in federal court.

In the process of the trial, the witness said he told police he knew the suspect, but didn’t see him at the robbery. He didn’t mention he’d seen the suspect at the crime scene before, but that was easy to rationalize – the suspect was wearing a pig mask during the robbery, prosecutors informed New York Criminal Lawyers.

Published on: October 20, 2011

In Cape Cod, Retired Chief Probation Officer Arrested for Cocaine Trafficking

by Stephen Bilkis

Investigators have seized the alleged client list of a retired chief probation officer after his arrest late last week, when he was charged with cocaine trafficking. The suspect was arraigned on Monday at the Dukes County Courthouse and pled not guilty to trafficking more than 28 grams of cocaine, a class-b-substance, according to court documents found by a New York City Criminal Lawyer.

The suspect’s ledger allegedly contained the names of 20 persons, along with corresponding coke order amounts and drug debts. The Sargent further revealed that police have been getting tips about the suspect “for years.”

The 65-year-old former probation officer was arrested by members of the Martha’s Vineyard Drug Task Force and Oak Bluffs Police Department on Friday, March 18 at approximately 4:30 p.m., after they arrived, armed with a search warrant, to search the suspect’s property. Officers at the scene found 39 packages of cocaine on the suspect and on his property, and also found cutting agents used to package the cocaine, according to court records obtained by investigators from The Bronx and Westchester County.

Published on: October 19, 2011

Immigrant Fingerprinting as indicated

by Stephen Bilkis

A New York Criminal Lawyer was told by immigrant officials that in Wisconsin the state had every county being a part of the immigration enforcement strategy. Federal officials announced to a New York Criminal Lawyer that they have developed an information system that would share details with each country so that people who are accused of criminal charges will be easily identifiable.

The immigration officials told the press that about thirty seven states were on board with this program. It is anticipated that by the year 2013, more states will become a part of this immigrant fingerprinting system so that even if the illegal immigrant moves to another state, their information will still be available.

Wisconsin is one of the states that joined the immigration program on a state and federal level. This means that when fingerprints are taken from an individual who is being charged with a crime, they will be put in custody and their criminal records checked.