Norwood: Search for Missing 14-Year-Old Girl

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The NYPD is seeking the public’s assistance in locating a missing teenager within the confines of the 52nd Precinct. A photograph of the missing girl is attached. It was reported to police that Yessica Nivarrez Castro, 14, was last seen on Monday, August 17, 2020 inside her home at 323 East Mosholu Parkway North in the Norwood section of the Bronx at approximately 11 p.m. She is described as a female, Hispanic, 5 feet, 2 inches tall, weighs 95 pounds, and was last seen wearing all dark clothing. Anyone with information with regard to this incident is

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Audrey Strauss, the acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Peter C. Fitzhugh, special agent-in-charge of the New York Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), announced the indictment and arrest on Aug. 19 of Yoel Abraham, Heshl Abraham, Zishe Abraham, and Shmuel Abraham, who are brothers, on charges of engaging in a scheme to systematically defraud Amazon.com, LLC, (“Amazon”), an online retailer and e-commerce platform. Through the course of the scheme, the defendants manipulated Amazon’s vendor system in attempts to fraudulently induce Amazon to pay for goods that Amazon had not ordered. In executing

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The New York State legislature will hold a virtual hearing on the impact of Tropical Storm Isaias on New York State on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020. On Aug. 4, the storm hit New York with heavy rain, tornadoes and winds gusting up to 70 miles per hour. Isaias left hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers without power across New York City, Long Island, Westchester, Rockland, the Hudson Valley and other areas of the state within the service territories of PSEG-Long Island, Con Edison, Orange and Rockland, National Grid, Central Hudson, New York State Electric and Gas (NYSEG) and other

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Life isn’t easy. Just ask Jose Ramon, a 54-year-old Parkchester resident who was diagnosed with ALS in January of this year. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, is a progressive nervous system disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, causing loss of muscle control. The condition is often called Lou Gehrig’s disease, after the baseball player who was diagnosed with it. On Saturday, July 25, as part of a wider fundraising initiative spearheaded by the ALS Association, Greater New York Chapter, Ramon, supported by a group of friends and supporters completed a “Walk from Home”

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Following Storm Isaias on Aug. 4, widespread power outages left thousands of Bronxites in the dark. Several days later, many residents still didn’t have their power restored. Blackouts and delayed service from Con Edison, which operates as a near-monopoly in the five boroughs, are not new according to Public Advocate Jumanne Williams. Williams recently released a report calling for a public power system for New York City to control its own electrical grid moving forward. Williams says public power would bring greater transparency and lower electricity rates to residents, and it has also shown to be more reliable

By DAVID GREENE

On August 18, the NYPD released body-worn camera footage of an incident involving the death of a person while in police custody that occurred on June 4, 2020 in the confines of the 9th precinct in Manhattan. According to the NYPD, the video includes available evidence leading up to, as well as during the incident. The NYPD released the video for clear viewing of the totality of the incident. All NYPD patrol officers are equipped with body-worn cameras. According to the agency, the benefits of cameras are clear: transparency into police activity, de-escalation of police encounters and accountability

By DAVID GREENE

A guilty plea and a 20-year sentence in a 21-year-old, cold case murder has brought closure to the close-knit family of Elsa Grullon who was killed in the Highbridge section of the Bronx on May, 27, 1999. On Aug. 11, 2020 at Bronx Criminal Court, during the age of social-distancing amid a global pandemic, family members of Grullon finally witnessed justice being served for a crime committed at the end of the last century. Grullon, 56, was discovered over two decades ago by a family member inside her home at 825 Gerard Avenue in the South Bronx. An autopsy

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The New York Lottery announced on Aug. 18 that there were multiple top-prize winning tickets sold for the Aug. 17 Take-5 drawing. The tickets were sold in both the Bronx and in Elmira, at the following locations: Jher Inc located at 3287a Westchester Ave. in The Bronx, which sold 1 prize winning ticket worth $29,651.00 E-Z Food Mart located at 502 Broadway St. in Elmira, which sold 1 prize winning ticket worth $29,651.00 Take 5 numbers are drawn from a field of one through 39. Drawings take place every evening at 11:21 p.m. Winning tickets at all prize

By PROFESSOR ANTHONY RIVIECCIO, MBA PFA

As we get ready for an electoral, presidential race where we have heard very little so far on proposed policy issues, we heard a whopper of one the other day from our president. Trump said, if re-elected, he’ll get rid of the payroll tax. So, what’s the payroll tax? The payroll tax is a tax withheld from an employee’s salary by an employer who remits it to the government on behalf of the employee. The tax is based on wages, salaries, and tips earned by employees, and is deducted for social security and medicare benefits. The current tax