Press release - Driveway repair scams

Press Release

September 28, 2017

DRIVEWAY REPAIR SCAMS

 

Fall is here and the Ulster County District Attorney’s Division of Consumer Affairs advises consumers to be alert for driveway repair scammers. The office cautions homeowners to be wary of businesses who solicit door-to-door; be wary of pressure to have the work done immediately; get a written estimate/contract beforehand and make certain the paperwork has the name, address and telephone number of the business; compare estimates; and always note license plate numbers and vehicle descriptions. Consumer Affairs can be reached at 340-3260.

 

press release - Grumberg

 

The Appellate Division, Third Department has today unanimously affirmed the April, 2014 conviction of Ronald S. Grumberg upon his plea of guilty of the crimes of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree and grand larceny in the third degree. 

Defendant’s conviction stems from an investigation conducted by the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office in early 2013.  At that time, Sheriffs deputies discovered that defendant was engaged in fraudulent motor vehicle transactions, and was also selling firearms and ammunition.  During the execution of a search warrant at defendant’s residence in March, 2013, police recovered, among other things, various types of guns and semi-automatic weapons, as well as almost $2,000 in cash.   

Defendant was subsequently charged in multiple indictments with criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree and multiple counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the third and fourth degrees, grand larceny in the third degree and fourth degree and scheme to defraud in the first degree.  The defendant pled guilty to criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree and grand larceny in the third degree and waived his right to appeal.  The defendant was subsequently sentenced by County Court Judge Donald A. Williams to two years in State prison followed by three years of postrelease supervision on his conviction for criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree and a consecutive two to six year sentence on his grand larceny in the third degree conviction, and was ordered to pay $200,000 in restitution.   

On appeal, defendant asserted that his guilty plea was not knowingly, voluntarily and intelligently entered because he was misinformed about the sentence he would receive and that the 11 month delay between the initial indictment and his guilty plea violated his constitutional right to a speedy trial.  Defendant also challenged the $200,000 restitution award on his grand larceny conviction and the Court’s imposition of a 10% surcharge.  

While the Appellate Division concluded that defendant’s first two claims were not preserved for appellate review and lacking in merit, it modified the 10% collection surcharge to 5%, but otherwise upheld the restitution award.  

On appeal, the defendant is represented by Theodore J. Stein, Esq. of Woodstock, New York.  Assistant District Attorney Joan Gudesblatt Lamb, Esq. handled the appeal for the District Attorney’s Office.

Press Release Darren Olympia Sentence

From: HOLLEY CARNRIGHT

Date: SEPTEMBER 21, 2017

Re:  PRESS RELEASE - PEOPLE v. DARREN OLYMPIA

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In June, 22 year old Darren Olympia of Newburgh was indicted by an Ulster County grand jury for recklessly shooting a female friend in the face on February 26 at 32 Bingham Road in the Town of Marlboro.

 Following a night of drinking in a Newburgh bar Olympia, who had recently been certified and licensed for a handgun as an Armed Guard, for no justifiable reason, produced his loaded pistol. A short time later he unintentionally caused the gun to discharge; the bullet struck the victim’s forehead.

The victim suffered extensive injuries to her forehead and face and has undergone several surgeries and reconstructive procedures to save her life.

Today in Ulster County Court, consistent with the victim’s plea to the court for leniency and the DA’s recommendation, Olympia was sentenced to five years probation with six months in jail on his plea to the felony Assault in the second degree.

Darren Olympia was represented by attorney William Garvin of Newburgh.  The case was prosecuted by Sr. District Attorney Emmanuel Nneji.

Press Release - How to Protect yourself from the Equifax Hack

FROM: HOLLEY CARNRIGHT

DATE: SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

RE: PRESS RELEASE

    HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM THE EQUIFAX HACK

The Ulster County District Attorney’s Division of Consumer Affairs and New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman encourage consumers to take steps to see if your data was compromised and to strongly consider additional measures to protect yourself:

·       To check whether your information was compromised, go to www.equifaxsecurity2017.com.

·       Check your credit reports by visiting annualcreditreport.com. This is a free service. Accounts or activity that you do not recognize could indicate identity theft.

·       Consider placing a credit freeze on your files. It will not prevent a thief from using any of your existing accounts, but a credit freeze makes it harder for someone to open a new account in your name.

·       Monitor your existing credit card and bank accounts closely for unauthorized charges. Call the credit card company or bank immediately about any charges you do not recognize.

·       Since Social Security numbers were affected, there is a risk of tax fraud. Tax identity theft happens when someone uses your Social Security number to get a tax refund or a job. Consider filing your taxes early and pay close attention to correspondence from the IRS.

Consumer Affairs can be reached at 340-3260.

Press Release - Bradley Cook Indictment

FROM:  HOLLEY CARNRIGHT
DATE:  SEPTEMBER 11, 2017
RE:  PRESS RELEASE – PEOPLE V. BRADLEY COOK

An Ulster County Grand Jury filed an indictment today in Ulster County Court charging Bradley Cook with Robbery in the Third Degree for robbing the Key Bank on Wall Street in the City of Kingston on July 24th, 2017. 

Cook is accused of entering the bank and passing a note to a teller that instructed her to give him money and nobody would get hurt.

Cook is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment in Ulster County Court later this week.

Press Release - Amanda Weiss

FROM: HOLLEY CARNRIGHT

DATE: SEPTEMBER 1, 2017

RE: PRESS RELEASE - AMANDA WEISS

On 06/21/2017 members of the Archdiocese of New York met with members of the Ulster County District Attorney's Office to report the possible misappropriation of funds by an employee at St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, located at 242 Wall Street Kingston NY.

An investigation was then commenced by members of the District Attorney's Office, and as a result of their investigation, former Assistant Administrator of St. Joseph's Church, Amanda Weiss was arrested.

Ms. Weiss, age 28 of Kingston NY, is accused of stealing a total of  $68,675.80 from the accounts of St. Joseph's Church, and from the personal account of a priest stationed at St. Joseph's Church . This theft of monies occurred over a period of 20 months. To accomplish this larceny, Ms. Weiss is accused of falsifying business records, those records being bank records, invoices, and the church check register. Ms. Weiss is also accused of possessing forged checks and stolen checks.

Amanda Weiss was arrested on 8/31/2017 and charged with the following:

1.) Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree

2.) Grand Larceny in the Second Degree

3.) Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree (4 counts)

4.) Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree (26 counts)

5.) Grand Larceny in the Third Degree

6.) Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree (6 counts)

7.) Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Third Degree.

Members of the District Attorney's Office were assisted in their investigation by members of the Archdiocese of New York and a detective from the Kingston Police Department.