Staten Island bandit dooms gang by leaving business card at crime scene

BY Thomas Zambito
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

STAFF WRITER

Wednesday, June 17th 2009, 4:00 AM

Schwartz for News

Anthony Kalika of Staten Island, alleged member of burglary ring, is taken by law officials to Brooklyn court.

A brazen gang of New York bandits was smart enough to pull off a multistate spree, but so dumb they left a real business card at one crime scene.

The card bearing the name of Anthony Kalika, 19, of Staten Island, listed his proficiency at trades like electrical wiring and plumbing, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.

"You Name It, I Can Do It," read the card, which was found in a car abandoned at the scene of one burglary.

Nine members of the ring from Brooklyn and Staten Island, were charged in the series of middle-of-the-night break-ins at chain stores such as Best Buy and Petco in New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Prosecutors say the gang also posed as cops during several gunpoint robberies.

On Nov. 15, 2008, five gang members kidnapped a Staten Island pot dealer at gunpoint from the Pleasant Plains train station for his stash of drugs and money, prosecutors say.

The victim was handcuffed and driven to a Staten Island beach, where he was forced to his knees while one gang member clicked a round off behind his head, prosecutors say.

Kalika was a key player in an attack that gave "the drug dealer the impression he was about to be executed," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Skinner.

"He [Kalika] not only participated in it, but he's the one who put the handcuffs on the victim," Skinner said.

State criminal charges were dropped by the Staten Island district attorney when the victim in the staged execution recanted his identification of the suspects, Skinner said.

Skinner said the feds bolstered the case with recent wiretap evidence and statements from co-conspirators that linked gang members to the kidnapping.

The nine arrested yesterday were charged with crimes that include burglary, extortion, credit card theft, marijuana trafficking and identity theft.

The first break-in occurred in January on Staten Island, followed by one in suburban Greenburgh a month later.

They allegedly moved on to a store in Copley, Ohio, in March and one in Scranton, Pa., in April.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/06/17/2009-06-17_life_of_crime_not_in_cards.html#ixzz0Ijk5UrJx&C

LINK TO VIDEO OF PARKIN IMPERSONATING DEAD MOTHER:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/06172009/news/regionalnews/brooklyn/mom_impersonator_busted_in_social_securi_174722.htm

Original Story

MOM IMPERSONATOR BUSTED IN SOCIAL SECURITY AND MORTGAGE SCAM

ADAM NICHOLS

New York Post

Last updated: 1:26 pm
June 17, 2009
Posted: 12:08 pm
June 17, 2009

Move over, Norman Bates.

A Brooklyn psycho played dress-up as part of an elaborate scam, accused of wearing a wig and nail polish to impersonate his dead mother in order to collect thousands in Social Security benefits and rent subsidies.

Over the course of six years, Thomas Prusik-Parkin, 49, fooled several government agencies using heavy makeup and a fake ID, the Brooklyn DA's office announced this morning at a news conference.

The hoax was even captured on surveillance camera and used as part of the DA's case against Prusik-Parkin, said Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes.

He was arrested Monday and will be arraigned today on grand larceny, forgery and conspiracy charges.

Hynes called the crime "unparralleled in its scope and brazeness."

His mother, Irene Prusik, who lived in Park Slope, Brooklyn, died in 2003 at age 73.

The DA said a second man, identified as Mhilton Rimolo, is accused of pretending to be Prusik's nephew during visits to collect government checks.

The 47-year-old man was also caught on surveillance video walking alongside Prusik-Parkin dressed in drag.

Widow pulls pink pistol on handyman she believes was trying to steal her jewelry

RYAN MILLS
8:32 p.m., Tuesday, June 16, 2009

NAPLES — With her pacemaker and frail body, few would describe Christa Taft-Mueller as an intimidating woman.

But the 69-year-old widow is no pushover when she’s packing her pink-handled Walther P22 semi-automatic handgun. Just ask a local handyman.

On Monday afternoon, Taft-Mueller pulled the gun on a handyman who was supposed to be repairing the pocket door leading to her bedroom, but who she says she found arched over her jewelry box.

“My hands were shaking so much,” Taft-Mueller said in her German accent. “And the guy said, ‘Is that pistol loaded?’ I said, ‘Of course it is. It’s ready for you. It’s ready for you, honey.’”

The handyman, whose name is not being released by the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, said he was only looking for an outlet to plug in a tool. He was not charged with a crime because the Sheriff’s Office said nothing was missing from Taft-Mueller’s jewelry box.

“There was no evidence that a crime occurred,” Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Michelle Batten said.

Rob Gardner, vice president of Orlando-based Handyman Connection, said he trusts the handyman wasn’t attempting to steal anything. Gardner’s company has employed the handyman since 2006 without incident, he said.

“I think it was just an honest mistake on her part,” Gardner said.

Taft-Mueller couldn’t disagree more.

Since her husband died of cancer last September, Taft-Mueller has relied on hired handymen to fix things around her East Naples home on Moon Lake Drive. After the sliding door to her bedroom fell off the track recently, she called Handyman Connection, a company she’s hired maybe a half-dozen times before.

When the handyman arrived around 1 p.m. on Monday, Taft-Mueller said he went right to work on the door. She grew suspicious, however, when she said he closed the door and was alone in her bedroom for about five minutes.

Taft-Mueller said that when she opened the door to check on the handyman, he was bent over the jewelry box on top of her night stand. The handyman said it was all a mistake, and that he was only looking for an outlet to plug in a light inside her dark bedroom, according to a Sheriff’s Office report.

If that was the case, Taft-Mueller questioned why he didn’t use the outlet on the side wall next to the night stand, or one of the three outlets within a few feet of the door he was repairing.

“He said, ‘I’m looking for an outlet.’ I said, ‘In my jewelry box?’” Taft-Mueller said. “I started trembling and I got real scared that he was a thief.”

When the handyman went out to his truck, Taft-Mueller called the Sheriff’s Office and found her loaded pink pistol in her bedroom.

“It’s kind of like a lady’s gun,” Taft-Mueller said. “A guy wouldn’t want to own a gun that is pink. He would want something that’s blue and black and brown. Not a pink one. That would be sissy.”

When the handyman came back inside, she held him at gunpoint.

“I said, ‘You (expletive), you’re not going anyplace,’” Taft-Mueller said.

The Sheriff’s Office dispatcher told Taft-Mueller to put the gun down, and told both her and the handyman to go outside to wait for responding deputies. She was hospitalized briefly because her chest was tight and she was having a hard time breathing after the encounter.

“We’re not anticipating charges in this incident,” Batten said.

Gardner said this is the first time that anything like this has occurred to one of his franchise employees since he went into business in 2001. He said he wishes the best for Taft-Mueller, and is sorry for any confusion.

“I’m just happy our guy got out of there safely, to be honest,” Gardner said.

When told that the Sheriff’s Office didn’t expect to charge the handyman with a crime, Taft-Mueller said, “You’re kidding.” If she would have known that, she said, she would have handled things a bit differently.

“I would have shot him,” Taft-Mueller said. “I definitely would have shot him. Definitely

LINK TO VIDEO:

 http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2009/jun/16/widow-pulls-pink-pistol-handyman-she-believes-was-/

Safety tips for hiring a handyman:

* Decide what specifically needs to be done and make a detailed list.

* Make sure your handyman is licensed and insured.

* Ask detailed questions about their skills and experience.

* Get references from previous customers.

* Get a written estimate of their work.

* Get a contract for services they will perform, payment schedule and completion date.

* Contact your Better Business Bureau to verify their history of complaints.

Princeton woman, 77, escorts armed intruder from home at gunpoint

They talked about 30 minutes during which “he told her he was not afraid to hurt someone and he had used guns and knives before,” the court documents said. At some point during the conversation, Moore discarded the knife, but kept the shotgun, according to the documents.

The woman asked him to leave and said no one would have to know he had been there, but Moore declined to leave, the affidavit said.

Eventually Doris Gatchell returned home. Moore hid the firearm from view as Doris Gatchell entered the front room, the affidavit said. The two women then went into the kitchen, and Vanessa Gatchell told her mother that Moore had a gun and she “thought he was going to shoot them both,” the affidavit said.

Doris Gatchell retrieved her own gun and, according to the court documents, went into the front room and stood behind Moore’s chair.

Eileen Newman told the BDN on Monday that her mother, Doris, had a concealed weapons permit and had a gun “stashed” somewhere in the house. She said her parents at one time owned a sporting goods store that sold firearms. Her father, Ken, is deceased.

Doris Gatchell told Moore she had a gun and ordered him to leave, the affidavit said. “Mrs. Gatchell escorted the defendant out the door. Once on the porch [Moore] dropped his gun and then picked it up again. It was only at that point that Mrs. Gatchell saw the gun,” the court documents said.

The Gatchells then called the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

Chief Deputy Michael St. Louis said Monday that when police arrived they at first were not sure whether Moore had run into the woods near the house or had gone back to his home about a quarter of a mile from the Gatchell residence.

Police surrounded Moore’s house and tried to contact him, according to St. Louis, but there was no response. After about 90 minutes, however, Moore stepped out onto his front porch to smoke a cigarette and that was when police arrested him and took him to jail, St. Louis said. Officers found the firearm in Moore’s garage and later recovered the knife from the Gatchell residence, the chief deputy said.

The Maine State Police, the Baileyville and Calais police departments, the Maine Warden Service and the U.S. Border Patrol assisted on Friday night, he said. In court on Monday, Attorney Jeffrey Davidson of East Machias was appointed to represent Moore.

Deputy District Attorney Carletta Bassano said Monday that Moore is expected to appear for a hearing to reassess his bail on June 22 in Washington County Superior Court.

According to the affidavit, Moore has a long criminal history including a prior conviction for robbery and criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon. In 1998, Moore fled across the U.S.-Canadian border after he robbed a Calais convenience store clerk at knifepoint and stole more than $800. He quickly was apprehended by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, returned to the U.S. and later sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Roswell clerk shoots attacker after cellphone deflects knife

By Mary Lou Pickel

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Monday, June 15, 2009

June 16, 2009 Diners dash, crash into IHOP in Detroit BY TAMMY STABLES BATTAGLIA DETROIT FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER A dine-and-dash gone wrong ended up with a car in the IHOP Restaurant on East Jefferson in Detroit this morning. And despite a couple of patrons in the dining room when the car crashed through, no one was injured, IHOP manager Raymond Jefferson said. "I’ve have weird things happen but not of this magnitude," said Jefferson, who's managed the restaurant at 2701 E. Jefferson near Chene for three years. "I’ve been around for 10 years of fast food, but not somebody driving through a building." Four diners in their early 20s and late teens ran from the restaurant just after 6 a.m. after not paying for their meals, Jefferson said. But their server chased them out the door, trying to stop them or at least get a license plate number. But the car swerved around the corner of the restaurant, nearly hitting the server, and the driver lost control, Jefferson said. "They tried to swerve around her -- they must have been going 60, 70 miles per hour," he said. "You wouldn’t believe how she (the driver) jumped this curb." None of the people in the car or the server was injured. Detroit Police officers are still reviewing the incident and charges are pending, according to investigators.

Related Story:

Yahoo News

June 16, 2009

9:00 PM EST

Women dine, dash and then crash into Detroit IHOP

DETROIT – Four women trying to skip out on their bill at an International House of Pancakes ended up plowing into the Detroit restaurant as they sped away. No one was injured in the accident Tuesday morning. Restaurant manager Raymond Jefferson told the Detroit Free Press the women ran from the IHOP just after 6 a.m. without paying their bill. Their server chased them out the door.

But one of the women lost control of the Mercury Cougar as they drove away, crashing through the restaurant's wall and smashing at least one large window.

The driver was ticketed at the scene.

The driver's father told The Detroit News his daughter had more than $200 in cash on her at the time and was talked into dining and dashing by friends.

        Often-probed judge in another incident

Melissa Harris

Baltimore Sun                     

June 16, 2009

Woman cried out 'love you' to handcuffed brother in court

A Baltimore circuit judge, who has three times been the subject of judicial disciplinary investigations, ordered a spectator to jail for 10 days for crying out "love you" to her handcuffed brother in the courtroom - and then reversed himself after a public defender spoke up on her behalf.

As Tamika Clevenger left a Baltimore courtroom Friday, she shouted, "Love you, Nick," which set off Judge Alfred Nance. He ordered a sheriff to pull Clevenger from the hallway and found the 24-year-old in contempt.

Nance undid the sentence about a half-hour later at the request of Jill Trivas, a public defender who was in court for a different case but told Nance she felt that he had been too harsh.

"I respect Judge Nance a lot; he's one of the judges here who will give you a fair trial," Trivas said. "But it still upset me to see this girl get locked up. She had started to cry. She had children who were dependent upon her."

Nance, Judge Marcella Holland, who is in charge of Baltimore Circuit Court, and Judge John P. Miller, who presides over the criminal docket, did not return messages seeking comment Monday.

According to a video recording of the proceeding, the confrontation began after Clevenger stood in the back of Nance's courtroom, blew a kiss to Nicholas Jones, waved goodbye and then began talking and motioning to a woman in the same row.

"Ma'am, your talking is over," Nance said. Turning his ire to the other woman, who had stood up from the bench in a strapless top, Nance said, "Young lady, step in the hall. The beach is three blocks down and to the right. It's not in this courtroom."

As Clevenger walked out with the woman, she yelled "love you" to Jones, prompting Nance to order a sheriff to bring her back.

Nance asked Clevenger her name and age, and then swiftly pronounced the punishment: "Ten days, Baltimore City Detention Center."

"I didn't do nothing," a shocked Clevenger said.

"You yelled out in my courtroom," Nance replied. "I love you, too. Ten days, Baltimore City Detention Center. Take her. Don't bring that stuff in my house. Period."

Worried about her child at home, Clevenger began to cry.

"Your baby will be there" when you get out, Nance said. "You want me to send him to social services? I'll send him [to jail] too."

Nance, 61, is known for demanding proper attire and etiquette from anyone in his courtroom.

"Attorneys are hard-pressed to complain because they fear retaliation," said Page Croyder, a former deputy state's attorney who ran for judge in 1998, in part, because of allegations of improper conduct against Nance. "Attorneys know perfectly well that nothing is going to happen to these judges."

In 2000, a commission that monitors judges' conduct interviewed four women, then current or former prosecutors, who complained of Nance's explosive temper and said he had made comments about their appearance and touched their faces, according to a December 2000 Sun article. At that time, State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy complained about his behavior.

The Commission on Judicial Disabilities issued a reprimand, finding that he had demeaned women in court and in chambers and had been "rude" and "hostile" to attorneys in a medical malpractice case.

A brief review by The Baltimore Sun of video from Friday morning's docket revealed other questionable comments before Nance's confrontation with Clevenger.

At one point, Nance suggested to a female public defender that "he must be in for a good spanking" because the woman had "never yelled" at him "that softly before." The attorney, Anne-Marie Gering, had merely announced her presence at the trial table.

"A reprimand doesn't mean anything to people like this," Croyder said. "The commission does nothing to people."

Others have accused him of improper comments during jury selection, saying that he forced women to announce their marital status and once told a prospective juror, who was single, to "stand up and let us see [you]. ... There may be a single guy out there," according to a 2000 Sun article.

By that time, Nance, three years into his tenure on the bench, had been forced to take "corrective action" - the details of which were never released - after jailing an attorney for leaving his courtroom for six minutes.

Allegations surfaced again in 2004 when Nance was accused of massaging a young prosecutor's shoulder and criticizing the way a prospective juror wore his yarmulke, a Jewish head covering, in court. After publicly defending himself against allegations of misconduct, the commission dismissed the charges.

On Friday, Nance accused Clevenger of bringing "the streets" into his courtroom and that Trivas cared about her more than Clevenger cared about herself.

"Judge Nance had warned the audience not to speak out or act out, and I had warned Ms. Clevenger myself after she had spoken up in another courtroom and been admonished by the judge there for her behavior," said Creston P. Smith, the attorney for Jones, who is facing felony drug charges.

Nance asked Clevenger where she lived. When she said the Flag House Courts projects in East Baltimore, Nance said he had "family that lives in Flag House" and began to list his local roots, saying he had attended elementary school on Federal Street, junior high on Harford Road and high school on North Avenue.

"You don't see any part of those streets in my courtroom," Nance told her. "I sent all kinds of signals that you don't do and handle yourself in my courtroom the way you handle yourself on the street."

He concluded by telling her that Trivas' goodness was the only reason he was granting her freedom.

LINK TO PHOTO OF JUDGE NANCE:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bal-md.ci.nance16jun16,0,5444403.story

Jose L. Castilao was driving back to New Jersey on Friday night after working an event at the West Shore Country Club when he couldn't find the folder with his $3,000 payment.

He spent a fitful night in the club's parking lot, hoping he left the money inside. But in the morning, employees couldn't find it, either.

Meanwhile, early Saturday, Camp Hill police Officer Lane P. Prior was getting ready to track speeders on the borough's bypass when he spotted $100 bills blowing around plus a black leather folder with contact information for the Main Event in Manalapan, N.J.

Castilao was on his way home when he got a call from the company's owner, Artie D. Mandato, that the money was found.

"[Prior] went out of his way to do research and figure out whose it was," Mandato said. "He even stayed off duty after his shift to meet Jose when he returned to pick it up."

All part of the job, Camp Hill police Chief Gregory "Jan" Ammons said.

"We reunite owners with property all the time, but not like this -- $3,100 of cash money blowing down the roadway," Ammons said. "It speaks well of the officer. He did a good job."

Diploma Denied To Student Who Bowed, Blew Kiss To Family

Superintendent Suzanne Lukas Keeps Diploma From Bonny Eagle H.S. Student

POSTED: 10:58 pm EDT June 15, 2009
UPDATED: 12:05 am EDT June 16, 2009

The Bonny Eagle High School senior's mother wants an apology, and her son wants his diploma, News 8's Will Lewis exclusively reported Monday night.

Mary Denney said she can't believe how her son's taking a bow and blowing a kiss on stage led was grounds for the superintendent to withhold his diploma.

"I'm like, 'Did she not hand him his diploma?' I'm like, 'What's going on?'" Mary Denney said.

She said she and Justin both signed a code of conduct regarding the graduation when she picked up graduation tickets on Friday, but she doesn't think he violated it.

"There was no misbehavior. Showboating is not misbehavior," Mary Denney said. "A bow, a kiss to your mom is not misbehavior. There was no need of my son not getting his diploma."

Before the school began handing out diplomas, some students pulled out beach balls. One student was forced to sit away from his classmates with staff while police escorted another student behind the stage.

"No arrests were made. The individual that was escorted off the stage was asked to leave the civic center. He was to the point where the deputy was starting to get to the point where he wanted to arrest the individual, but gave him several opportunities to settle down. Eventually, he took off his cap and gown and threw it at the deputy and walked out the civic center," Cumberland County Sheriff's Department Deputy Chief Kevin Joyce said.

The deputy returned to the crowd and took another beach ball away from the students, but Mary Denney said School Area District 6 Superintendent Suzanne Lukas was still upset.

"When she got up there and started speaking, they threw out a couple more balls and she turned around and said, 'More people may not be graduating today if this continues,'" Mary Denney said.

While in his seat or waiting in line for his diploma, Justin Denney never touched a beach ball. After his name was called, he took a bow, blew a kiss to his family and pointed to friends, but he didn't get his diploma, leaving a whole family in disbelief.

"I said, 'What did she ask you?' And, he goes, 'She said, 'There's no fooling around up here,'' and he just kind of looked at her because he wasn't fooling around. He didn't consider that fooling around or misbehaving in any sense of the word, and she goes, 'Why do you feel you deserve your diploma?' He goes, 'Because I worked hard and I earned it,' and she goes, 'No go take your seat,'" Mary Denney said.

The crowd booed, but Justin Denney still doesn't have his diploma. Now, his mother wants her son to get what he's worked so hard for.

"It was appalling, and I want justice for my son. I want her to apologize to my son and I want her to hand him his diploma while he is in his cap and gown," Mary Denney said.

Both of Justin Denney's grandparents are ill and one of their wishes was to see their grandson graduate from high school, something they didn't get to see happen Friday.

Mary Denney said she is planning a graduation party for her son in two weeks, which, by then, she said she hopes she will have a photograph of her son with his diploma.

News 8 tried to contact the district's superintendent and the school's principal, but neither returned the calls by Monday evening.

LINK TO PHOTO AND VIDEO OF STUDENT  BOWING AND BLOWING KISS:

http://www.wmtw.com/education/19763059/detail.html

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/lists/funny-and-stupid-video-clips-061509?src=digg

June 15th, 2009 @9:32am

SALT LAKE COUNTY -- Deputies are looking for a man who robbed what he may have thought was a diamond company. Black Diamond Equipment actually manufactures climbing and skiing equipment.

Salt Lake County sheriff's deputies say the robber entered the company on 3900 South near 2000 East early Saturday morning.

The robber brandished an ice pick, threatened the shift manager and demanded precious metals and money. The Salt Lake Tribune reports the manager told the robber that the company does not deal in diamonds or precious metals.

Lt. Don Hutson said, "Not sure if he was unfamiliar with what this business was, that it's mountaineering gear and that type of thing."

The night crew let the robber take computers and climbing equipment.

The suspect is described as a Polynesian man in his 20s or 30s with a full-sleeve tattoo on his right arm. He was wearing a large, distinctive square-faced watch on his left wrist.

Sheriff's deputies say he's about 6 feet 3 inches tall with a medium build and a shaved head. He was driving a white 1990s Ford Escape-type SUV.

Published June 14, 2009 02:36 pm - Before calling the police over to your house, it might be a good idea to dispose of the smoking meth lab in the back room first.

Robbery complaint leads to meth bust at home of man making complaint

By Patrick McCreless
The Cullman Times

Before calling the police over to your house, it might be a good idea to dispose of the smoking meth lab in the back room first.

Hanceville Police arrested Billy Floyd Norris, 33, Sunday at his residence on County Road 616 for unlawful manufacturing of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of a controlled substance.

Capt. Jimmy Rodgers said officers allegedly discovered a working meth lab at Norris’ residence while responding to a robbery call.

“He reported he had been robbed by his roommates,” Rodgers said. “We were never able to verify that.”

Rodgers said during the course of the investigation of the alleged robbery, Norris told officers there was a meth lab at the location.

“Supposedly he and his friends had been making meth all night,” Rodgers said.

When officers located the lab, they discovered it was still active, Rodgers said.

“It was actually still producing meth,” he said.

Also recovered at the scene were several ounces of crystal meth, all the ingredients used to manufacture the drug, drug paraphernalia, a 50-caliber rifle and two shotguns.

Cullman Narcotics Enforcement Team (CNET) agents were called to the scene to take samples and positively identify the seized chemicals and drugs. Officers then contacted a private cleaning company to dispose of the hazardous waste at the residence.

“They removed two to three barrels of contaminated products,” Rodgers said.

Norris is incarcerated at the Cullman County Detention Center on a $1 million bond.

Unlawful manufacturing of a controlled substance is a Class A felony, punishable by up to life in prison. Unlawful possession of a controlled substance in a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Stamp recovered after 40 years is sold

Published: June 14, 2009 at 11:12 PM

The envelope was discovered in India by a U.S. collector. In 1967, it was stolen from J. David Baker, an Indianapolis collector, by a team of thieves targeting members of the American Philatelic Society.

The FBI recovered most of Baker's collection in 1974, but the "Ice House Cover" remained missing. In January 2006, an elderly couple -- who said they found it while clearing out a dead relative's house -- brought it to a dealer in Chicago, wanting to know if it was worth anything. The dealer turned it over to the FBI and Baker's widow was eventually determined to be the rightful owner.

King Features Syndicate

The "Ice House" cover is the only known envelope that has one of the 90-cent stamps attached to it.