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On May 18, 2024, at 10:28 A.M., Troopers out of SP Machias responded to Elm Street in the village of Franklinville for an incident involving a boom lift that tipped over with injuries. Investigation determined that Justin W. Howard, 43 of Franklinville, NY was in a boom lift that tipped over. Howard was conscious and alert while Troopers were on the scene. Howard was transported to Erie County Medical Center where he succumbed to his injuries. No signs of foul play are suspected. Our team is sad to hear this loss and our prayers go out to his family. This is dangerous work, we have much respect for anyone who chooses this difficult profession. Sources: https://troopers.ny.gov/news/fatal-tree-trimming-incident

On May 12th, 2024 we released information regarding a double stabbing investigation that occurred on the 1300 block of Whitesboro St. During that incident, two parties were stabbed, both requiring hospitalization, with one of the parties suffering significant injuries. Since that date, an investigator with the Major Crimes Unit has been working on the case, and on May 16th, 2024 an arrest was made in connection with the incident: Mozell Jordan age 23 of Utica was charged with: Assault in the second degree x2 Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the fourth degree

Yesterday, the Sheriff’s Office joined forces with the Camden Police, Fire, and Ambulance departments, along with Town Justice Dana Liberatore and LaRobardierre Funeral Home, to deliver a powerful mock distracted driving presentation at Camden High School. This collaborative effort involved realistic scenarios and impactful demonstrations to educate and engage students in making informed decisions. We extend our sincere appreciation to the dedicated students and staff who worked tirelessly to organize and execute this important event. These true-to-life experiences are meticulously designed to empower students to understand the potential consequences of distracted driving and to make positive choices on the road. Sources: https://www.facebook.com/Oneidacountysheriff.us/posts/pfbid0Xy6sNeHziBTX5mzpeQgjiE4dBCakjGTfqQFeVwLFi5Az1SFsLXe9AJQcrumVd6YTl

Media Release May 16th 2024 On October 11th 2023, New Hartford Police Officers responded to a residence on Hingham Road for a reported grand larceny complaint. The victim reported that she had been visiting a friend’s house on Hingham Road and while inside, someone had stolen her purse containing credit cards and money from her vehicle. Two days later, on October 13th, 2023, The New Hartford Police were called to respond to the same residence for a second reported theft at this same location. In this second incident, the homeowner reported to police that while he was at work, someone had smashed the sliding glass door to the rear of his residence and made entry into his house. Approximately $10,000 worth of jewelry and electronics were stolen from within by the suspects. Over the past 6 months, New Hartford Police Investigators followed up on numerous leads and executed multiple search warrants relative to this investigation. This work has led to the arrest of a 17-year-old juvenile for Burglary in The Second Degree, a class C Felony, for unlawful entry to the residence and theft of valuables from within. The juvenile has been arraigned in The Oneida County Youth Part Court, where he was placed at this time on an ankle monitoring device in conjunction with other unrelated serious crimes that occurred in other jurisdictions. The investigation into this Burglary is ongoing and additional arrests are expected as a result. Sources: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=914756237346525&set=a.265416258947196

A preliminary investigation determined Joshua R. Vandyke, age 34, of Croghan, NY was in the boiler room with a 3-year-old male.  Vandyke was attempting to repair a copper fitting on a water line.  Vandyke attempted to ignite his torch triggering an explosion.  During the explosion, the 3-year-old male was near the exit door. A contractor nearby heard the explosion went over to the area, and was able to locate a fire extinguisher to put out the fire. Vandyke and the 3-year-old male suffered severe burns from the explosion.  They were transported to SUNY Upstate Medical University by Life Net.   Vandyke sustained first-second-and third-degree burns and the 3-year-old male sustained second-degree burns.  Both are in stable condition. Raquette Lake Fire and EMS assisted with the scene.  Hamilton County Fire investigator arrived on the scene and deemed the fire to be accidental. =================================================================== On May 16, 2024, at approximately 10:50 a.m., State Police members responded to Killkare Road, Raquette Lake, NY for a house explosion.  An investigation determined an accidental house explosion occurred at a residence.  Two victims were transported SUNY Upstate Medical University for further medical evaluation. This is an ongoing investigation. Sources: https://troopers.ny.gov/news/update-state-police-investigate-explosion-raquette-lake

On May 15, 2024, the Bureau of Criminal Investigation out of SP Lockport arrested Juliet McCarthy, 38, and Steven McCarthy, 39 both of Depew, NY for Enterprise Corruption (B Felony), Grand Larceny 2nd (C Felony), Grand Larceny 3rd (D Felony) and Conspiracy 5th (A Misdemeanor). On April 24, 2024, Troopers out of SP Lockport had a walk-in complaint from Pony’s Irish Pub located at 23 Main Street in the village of Middleport in regards to two former employees were believed to have stolen cash and unprepared food from the business between 2020 and 2024. The investigation determined that both McCarthy worked together to routinely steal money and unprepared food from Pony’s Irish Pub in excess of $50,000. Both suspects were processed without incident at SP Lockport and turned over to the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office to await CAP Court arraignment.

Troopers from SP Endwell are looking to reunite a 12-year-old with his stolen 4-wheeler before his race this weekend.  The 4-wheeler was taken from a residence on State Route 38B in the town of Maine sometime overnight between 10 pm on May 15 and 7:45 am May 16. It’s a Red/Black DDR 50 cc racing 4-wheeler with a the letters BBR and a gorilla on the front hood, Chance Polcaro and 48 on the rear fender and hand guards.  Anyone with info is asked to call SP Endwell at (607)754-2701.

If you are a renter in New York State, there are significant changes in the laws affecting tenants. The “Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019” provides important protections for renters across the State, like how much a landlord can charge for a security deposit on new leases. For families living in rent-controlled or rent-stabilized apartments, the laws affect how much a landlord can increase your rent. Especially important are the changes for those with preferential rents, and for those living in a manufactured home park. However, for small landlords, these laws can cause some issues like allowing tenants to not pay rent and putting even more burden on landlords. Protecting tenants is a good thing but it's starting to make many landlords scared to even rent and many places are closing down or refusing to rent. This causes more damage, more hardship, and even more struggle for New Yorkers. New Laws Protecting All Residential Renters No More “Tenant Blacklists” A landlord cannot deny you an apartment, rental home, or any other type of rental based on a past legal conflict with a landlord. For example, a landlord cannot deny you an apartment because you sued your previous landlord to make repairs. • If a landlord rejects your application after using a tenant screening service (a company that landlords use to see if you have ever been taken to court), and you have a past history of tenant-landlord disputes, the law assumes that you were rejected because of this history and the landlord may have to pay a fine if they cannot give a good reason for denying you. Making It Easier to Break a Lease • If you leave your apartment or other rental homes before your lease ends, your landlord has to make a good-faith effort to fill the vacancy. If the landlord finds a new tenant, and the new tenant’s rent is equal or higher to your rent, your lease is considered terminated, and you are no longer liable for the rent. You Have a Right to a Receipt • If you pay rent in cash or money order, your landlord must provide you with a receipt. If you pay rent by check, you may also request a receipt. You only have to ask once. After that, your landlord has to give you a receipt every month. Your landlord must keep proof of cash rent receipts for 3 years. New Protections in Case of Eviction • If you lose a housing case and the judge orders your eviction, you can ask the court for up to one year to move if you can show that you cannot find a similar apartment in the same neighborhood. The judge will take into account your health conditions, whether you have children enrolled in school, the hardship on the landlord if you remain, and any other life circumstances that could affect your ability to move. • The new law strengthens protections for tenants against retaliatory evictions and increases penalties for landlords who illegally lock tenants out of their homes. Your Rights in Non-Payment Evictions • Your landlord cannot bring you to court for non-payment of rent unless they have given you a 14-day written “rent demand.” • Until you are evicted (i.e. the Sheriff or Marshal executes a warrant of eviction), you can have your non-payment case dismissed if you pay all rent that is owed. • In a non-payment case, you can only be evicted for not paying your rent. You cannot be evicted for non-payment of other fees (such as late fees, legal fees, or any other “added” fee). Capping Security Deposits • Landlords can only charge up to one month of rent for a security deposit or “advance payment.” This applies to all residential rentals, with a few exceptions, whether you have a lease or not. › This means that if you are moving into an apartment where the rent is $1500 a month, the most your landlord can charge for a security deposit is $1500. › This also means that your landlord may not charge you in advance for the last month’s rent if you are also paying a security deposit. Limiting Late Payment Fees and Fees for Credit and Background Checks • A rent payment can only be considered late if it is received more than five days after it is due. • The most your landlord can charge as a late fee is $50 or 5% of your monthly rent, whichever is less. • Before signing a lease, the most a landlord can charge is $20 for a credit and background check. • The landlord has to give you a copy of the background/credit check, as well as an invoice from the company that performed it. Otherwise, they can’t charge you for it. • You can provide your own background and credit check to avoid any fees, as long as the background/credit check was done in the past 30 days New Protections for Residential Renters Who Do Not Live in Rent-Stabilized or Rent-Controlled Housing Making It Easier to Get Your Security Deposit Back • Your landlord must return your security deposit within 14 days of you moving out. • If your landlord takes any money out of the security deposit for damages, they must provide an itemized “receipt” describing the damage and its cost. If your landlord doesn’t give you this receipt within 14 days of moving out, then they must return your entire security deposit, whether there is damage or not. • If you are planning to move out, you can ask your landlord to inspect the apartment (or rental home or other type of home rental) before you move. They must allow you to be present during the inspection. At that inspection, the landlord must tell you what needs to be fixed or cleaned. You can then take care of the problems yourself to prevent the landlord from keeping part or all of your security deposit. • If your landlord deliberately breaks this law, you may be entitled to up to twice the amount of the security deposit. Better Notice of Rent Increases and Lease Non-Renewals • If you live in an apartment that is not rent-stabilized or controlled, there is still no limit on how much your landlord can increase your rent. However, your landlord must give you advanced written notice before they can raise your rent 5% or more. • If your landlord decides not to renew your lease, they must also give you advance written notice. This applies to month-to-month tenants without a lease as well. › If you have lived in your apartment two years or more, or if you have a two-year lease, your landlord must provide you with 90 days advance written notice before raising your rent or not renewing your lease. › If you have lived in your apartment for more than one year, but less than two years, your landlord must provide you with 60 days advance notice before raising your rent or not renewing your lease. › If you have lived in your apartment for less than one year, or have a lease for less than one year, your landlord must provide you with 30 days advance notice before raising your rent or not renewing your lease. If you would like to learn more please visit the full public document where you can find this info and much more: https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/changes-in-nys-rent-law.pdf

Press Release On May 3, 2024, New York State Police at Oneonta arrested India Evans, age 43 of Schenectady, NY for the class “D” felony of Grand Larceny in the third degree. An investigation revealed that Evans stole in excess of ten thousand dollars from a victim. The investigation began at the end of April after a victim reported to Troopers that she received a phone call from someone who identified themselves as a public defender and told her that her family member had been in an accident and they needed a large sum of money.  The victim was instructed to withdraw cash, wrap it in a magazine, seal it in an envelope, and give it to a carrier. After handing over the money, the victim was called and instructed to send more money, but this time using Western Union. The victim did attempt to call her family members to confirm that they had been in an accident but wasn’t able to make contact until much later.  The victim found out that their family member had never been in an accident and had been scammed. Investigators were able to identify Evans as the “carrier” that picked up the first amount of cash. Evans was picked up by police in Schenectady and then turned over to Troopers.  Evans was then transported to Central Arraignment and Processing at the Otsego County Jail. The New York Troopers remind citizens that often, times these scammers use scare tactics or give a sense of urgency so that they don’t have time to think clearly and demand money.  Make sure to make contact with the family member before ever handing off or sending any money.

Trevor Bickford Traveled to the Times Square New Year’s Eve Celebration in 2022 for the Purpose of Killing U.S. Officials in the Name of Radical Islamic Jihad and Used a Machete-Style Knife to Attack Three NYPD Officers Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Merrick B. Garland, the Attorney General of the United States; Christopher A. Wray, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”); and James Smith, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the FBI, announced that TREVOR BICKFORD was sentenced today to 27 years in prison for attempting to kill officers and employees of the U.S. Government and persons assisting them during his brazen attack using a machete-style knife against three New York City Police Department (“NYPD”) officers in Times Square on December 31, 2022.  BICKFORD pled guilty on January 11, 2024, before U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel, who imposed today’s sentence. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Inspired by radical Islamic extremism, Trevor Bickford brutally attacked three NYPD officers who were just doing their jobs by protecting the public during the Times Square New Year’s Eve festivities.  Thankfully, one officer’s quick-thinking actions stopped the defendant’s attack while minimizing risk to the innocent bystanders who easily might have become additional victims of the defendant’s heinous violence.  Less than a year and a half after his attack, Bickford has been convicted and now sentenced to 27 years in prison.  Bickford’s conviction and sentence demonstrate that cowardly acts of terrorism will be met with law enforcement’s unwavering resolve to protect New York City, our country, and our core values of freedom and democracy.” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said: “Today’s sentence holds Trevor Bickford accountable for his premeditated 2022 terrorist attack in Times Square during which he attempted to kill three NYPD officers in a violent rampage.  The Justice Department is deeply grateful to the NYPD for its quick actions and bravery in disrupting this New Year’s Eve attack, and for the work it does every day to keep New Yorkers safe.  The Justice Department will always stand by its state and local law enforcement partners as we work together to counter the threat of terrorism, and that includes being relentless in prosecuting those who seek to harm officers.” FBI Director Christopher A. Wray said: “The defendant’s brutal ambush of three New York City police officers keeping watch over New Year’s Eve celebrations was a premeditated act of terrorism.  Police officers work tirelessly to protect the communities they serve and assaults on them are reprehensible.  He planned, prepared, and traveled to conduct a savage attack in support of his violent ideology, and now he is being held accountable for his actions.” FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Smith said: “Today, Trevor Bickford was handed a deserved punishment for intentionally committing an act of terrorism against New York City and police officers sworn to protect it.  Thankfully, these brave police officers fulfilled their duty and stopped Bickford's brutal attack before he could cause more harm.  The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in New York remains determined to bring to justice anyone attempting to commit violence in the name of terrorism to ensure the safety of New York.” According to court documents and statements made during court proceedings: In December 2022, BICKFORD, a U.S. citizen and resident of Maine, traveled from Maine to New York City to, in his own words, wage jihad and kill as many of his targets as possible.  He targeted one of the most densely populated areas in the U.S. at one of the most densely populated times possible: Times Square on New Year’s Eve.  It was there that BICKFORD ambushed three NYPD officers, declared “Allahu Akbar,” an Arabic phrase meaning “God is great” that other radical Islamic extremists have similarly proclaimed while carrying out terrorist attacks, and swung his blade at their heads, seriously injuring all three officers.  BICKFORD also tried to grab one of the NYPD officers’ guns during his attack.  One of the victims that BICKFORD struck managed to shoot BICKFORD in the shoulder, halting his brutal rampage before he could attack and possibly kill others.  BICKFORD later proudly declared that he carried out his attack to wage jihad and proclaimed that his goal was to kill as many military-aged men who worked for the U.S. Government as he could, before himself becoming a martyr in the attack.  The machete-style knife, which has a blade more than a foot long, that BICKFORD used to carry out his attack is shown below: BICKFORD’s violent rampage on December 31, 2022, was premeditated.  He consumed materials espousing radical Islamic ideology — including materials promoting the Taliban and reflecting the teachings of Sheikh Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi, a prominent radical Islamic cleric who was a spiritual mentor of al Qaeda — and contemplated ways to wage jihad.  As he immersed himself deeper into this propaganda, BICKFORD devoted himself to violent Islamic extremism and pursuit of the jihad that he would eventually unleash in the heart of New York City.  In the months leading up to his attack, BICKFORD focused on traveling overseas to support the Taliban in Afghanistan or elsewhere.  He planned to ally himself with the Taliban to fight against governments that, in his view, oppress Muslims and to wage jihad against officials of governments that he believes are anti-Muslim, including the U.S. Government.  Ultimately, BICKFORD decided that he would not travel overseas and instead turned his attention to an attack here in the United States.  This decision resulted in BICKFORD perpetrating his attack in Times Square on New Year’s Eve in 2022. Near the scene of the attack, law enforcement officers recovered a book from BICKFORD’s backpack with the following passage highlighted: “Fight in the Name of Allah and in the Cause of Allah.  Fight against those who do not believe in Allah.  Wage a holy war.”  In addition, BICKFORD had used an encrypted application and secure browser on his cellphone to conduct extensive research in advance of his attack, including research about al Qaeda (including internet searches for “Al Qaeda recruitment”); about waging jihad; about his eventual time (New Year’s Eve) and place (Times Square) of attack (including “how often do the police patrol in NYC” and “New Years Eve 2023 itinerary in New York City Times Square”); about potential weapons he could use to carry out his attack (including “[g]un buying laws for New York City” and “Do you need to pass a background check for a used gun”); and various ways to incapacitate, injure, and kill his potential targets (including “[w]hat are the terms for taking slaves in Islam” and whether Islam “permit[s] rape of female prisoners of war”).  Finally, less than an hour before his attack, BICKFORD watched an Al Qaeda propaganda video imploring viewers to “fight” as he finalized his targets. * In addition to the prison term, BICKFORD, 20, of Wells, Maine, was sentenced to a lifetime of supervised release. Mr. Williams praised the outstanding efforts of the New York Joint Terrorism Task Force of the FBI, which consists of investigators and analysts from the FBI, the NYPD, and over 50 other federal, state, and local agencies, and thanked the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division for their assistance. This case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew J.C. Hellman, Sarah L. Kushner, and Kaylan E. Lasky are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Trial Attorney D. Andrew Sigler of the Counterterrorism Section. Contact Nicholas Biase, Lauren Scarff, Shelby Wratchford(212) 637-2600 Updated May 9, 2024

ALBANY, NEW YORK –Jamaine Myers, age 46, of Troy, New York, pled guilty yesterday to conspiring to defraud the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) by obtaining unemployment insurance benefits under the name of another person, including benefits funded by the federal government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman; Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); and Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge, North East Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General (USDOL-OIG). Myers admitted that he provided Carl J. DiVeglia III with the personal identifying information of a third party, which DiVeglia used to file a false claim via the NYSDOL website.  DiVeglia previously pled guilty to fraudulently obtaining $1.6 million in unemployment insurance benefits as part of the scheme.  Charges against one of Myers’s co-defendants, Todd Ward, are still pending. The other two co-defendants, Christopher Ward and Rocco Resciniti, previously pled guilty. Myers faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years when he is sentenced on September 12, 2024, by United States District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby. The FBI and USDOL-OIG are investigating this case, with assistance from the NYSDOL Office of Special Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph S. Hartunian and Joshua R. Rosenthal are prosecuting the case. On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form. Updated May 9, 2024

New York's Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) system is expected to be unavailable on Sunday, May 19, 2024, between the hours of 12:01 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. The actual outage may be shorter or last longer than expected. Check otda.ny.gov on May 19 to find out when the EBT system is back up and running. New York's EBT system will be changing over to a new EBT vendor during this timeframe. Cardholder access to EBT benefits will not be available during the changeover. This includes access to food and cash purchases or cash withdrawals, as well as access to the EBT toll-free customer service helpline, mobile app, and online client portal. Please plan your food and cash purchases or cash withdrawals accordingly. What is NOT changing? Your EBT card and PIN and the EBT customer service helpline phone number will remain the same. After this transition is complete, cardholders will be able to use their EBT card as usual. Your EBT card will stay the same and does not need to be replaced. Your PIN will not be changed or reset, and you should use the same PIN after this transition. As a reminder, cardholders are encouraged to change their PIN often as a way to reduce the risk of fraudulent transactions and benefit theft. The EBT customer service helpline will remain the same after the transition. Cardholders can call 1-888-328-6399 for help with an EBT card. This phone line will be unavailable on May 19 from 12:01 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. What is changing? Following this transition, the ConnectEBT app and ConnectEBT online client portal will no longer be in use for EBT cardholders. Cardholders will need to download or access the new ebtEDGE app and client portal, which will allow cardholders to check transactions and deposits, freeze and unfreeze their card and change their PIN. Information on the new ebtEDGE app and website will be posted here when they are available. Who is affected? This temporary system outage on May 19 only affects New York EBT cardholders. EBT cardholders from other states will not be affected by this planned transition and will be able to use their EBT card in New York without interruption. Outreach Materials EBT Temporarily Unavailable Flyer EBT Temporarily Unavailable Flyer — Spanish Sources: https://otda.ny.gov/ebt-conversion.asp?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=17bea70a-0e07-4086-b6cf-778537cdf909