Beware of Phone Scammers Using Social Media

New York State Police are warning upstate New York residents of telephone scams involving social media:

There have been reports of individuals receiving phone calls from a person pretending to be a relative or friend stating that they are in trouble and that they require immediate financial assistance. The perpetrator will request a sum of money be transferred via Western Union to a location which is typically out of the country.

It is believed that the person(s) involved in this scheme, obtain the victim's personal information via social networking websites such as MySpace or Facebook. The suspect(s) are able to obtain information as to where the friend or relative may be vacationing to add legitimacy to the call.

Posting information on when you will be vacationing invites the possibility of criminal activity and makes an excellent tool for criminals to plan their activities.

Former Supervisor Cleared of Ethics Charges

Finger Lakes Times:

Former Fayette Supervisor Edward Barto has been cleared of ethics charges filed against him by Concerned Citizens of Seneca County.

County Attorney Frank Fisher reached that decision in a Jan. 15 opinion, but it was not made public until this week by Barto’s attorney, Steven Getman of Ovid.....

Barto, reached Tuesday, said he was pleased that the complaint was dismissed. But he expressed frustration at the group’s tactics and the fact that Fisher’s decision was not given to him or made public by the citizens group.

“I’m glad to hear that the county confirmed that I did nothing wrong,” Barto said. “I always did my best to uphold the integrity of my office, and this opinion supports that.”

“At the same time, I think it stinks that this special interest group had no problem smearing me publicly when it suited their political whim and then, after I was cleared, they never said anything about it,” he said. ““I had to get an attorney to find out the complaint had been dismissed.”

Getman said he hopes the parties can discuss their issues more amicably in the future.

“Reasonable people can and do disagree on environmental issues,” Getman said. “But it ill-serves the public debate when one side or another tries to criminalize policy differences.’’

Speeding cushion no more?

According to Syracuse news channel YNN, "more and more drivers nationally are getting pulled over and ticketed for only being just a few miles over the limit":

A study published in the Journal of Law and Economics found the number of tickets officers write goes up when the economy is down especially as states and cities across the country use traffic enforcement to balance their budgets.

A speeding ticket, whether deserved or not, can have serious impacts on your insurance rates and even your privilege to drive within the state. If you receive a ticket, even if it is for only a few miles over the speed limit, you may wish to consult a qualified attorney to protect your legal rights.

Verdict Reached in Seneca County Prison Assault Trial

Finger Lakes Daily News:

A Seneca County jury found a former Five Points Prison inmate “not guilty” of felony assault and harassment charges and “guilty” of a misdemeanor charge following a three-day trial in County Court.

According to defense attorney Steven Getman, the defendant, Jesus Torres (age 33), was originally charged with Assault Second Degree and Aggravated Harassment of an Employee by an Inmate, both felonies.

The charges stemmed from an incident at the prison in August 2007. Torres was alleged to have intentionally injured one corrections officer and intentionally spit blood on another, during or following a fight with another inmate.

However, after the close of evidence, both charges were dismissed. Instead, the jury found Torres guilty of the lesser charge, Assault Third Degree.

The defense had asked that the jury consider the reduced charge on the theory that Torres may have acted recklessly, but did not intentionally injure the guard, Getman explained. In addition, the defense argued in court, there was insufficient evidence that Torres had intentionally spit blood on a corrections officer. In particular, Getman criticized the state corrections officials for not authorizing DNA testing that could have helped prove guilt or innocence.

Assistant District Attorney Mark Sinkiewicz had asked the jury to convict the defendant as charged, alleging that the prosecution had proven its case.

After approximately four hours of deliberations, the jury returned its unanimous verdict.
Following the verdict, County Court Judge Dennis Bender set Torres’ sentencing for April.

At sentencing, Torres faces up to one year in jail and a fine. Had he been convicted as charged he could have been sentenced to up to seven additional years in state prison.

After the current charges were filed Torres was transferred out of Five Points and sent to another facility. According to the New York State Department of Corrections website, Torres will be eligible for parole in 2013.

Carbon-monoxide detectors now mandatory in New York

Gannett News Service:

Starting Monday, a new law will go into effect requiring carbon-monoxide detectors in nearly all New York ... residences.

Previously, the devices were only required in homes built after 2002.

The law does not require detectors in houses that have only combustion-free appliances, like an electric furnace or stove. Residences built after 2008 must have a permanent detector hard-wired in.

Your Right to Remain Silent

A law school professor and former criminal defense attorney tells you why you should never agree to be interviewed by the police:

It's not a short video (it is about forty-five minutes long) but it does an excellent job explaining the fundamentals of the Constitutional Right to Remain Silent under the Fifth Amendment.

Craigslist Internet house-rental scam making the rounds in area

From the Ithaca Journal:

[T]he scammers cull real estate Web sites, replicate home sale ads and post them to Craigslist -- with their own e-mail address -- under housing rentals without Craigslist's knowledge.

The scammers sometimes ask for credit and work histories and Social Security numbers, which are used to commit identity fraud. Craigslist was notified, the FBI added, cautioning renters to deal only with local landlords, be wary if asked to only use a wire-transfer service, be suspicious of e-mails written in poor or broken English, be wary of ads with rental prices significantly lower than the average area rates, and to not reveal personal data like Social Security, bank account, or credit card numbers.

Police are investigating a recent case involving Seneca and Tompkins Counties:

The crime involved an Ithaca house advertised for rent, with pictures, on Craigslist, the victim said. He and his fiancée went to the address, saw that it matched the pictures and was vacant, and expressed interest via the e-mail address listed in the ad.

According to the victim's account, a man claiming to be the owner replied, saying that he and his wife belonged to a local church, were working as missionaries in Nigeria and needed tenants to house-sit. The man gave him his and his wife's names.

They spoke on the phone and he agreed to send a $1,166 security deposit via Western Union, and the man gave a FedEx tracking number and promised to send the keys. He sent the money Saturday, but when he went to the house again, he found a man and woman moving in.

When he called the man back, the scammer made excuses and tried to say the other couple was actually moving out. The victim reported the crime to the Seneca County Sheriff's Office, which is turning the case over to the Ithaca Police Department.

Any one who believes he or she was the victim of an internet scam should make sure to contact law enforcement and, if appropriate, an attorney of their own choosing to review their legal rights.

Tally in for southern Seneca red kettle drive

From the Ithaca Journal:

volunteers invested 162 hours in raising a record $1,539.53 at Ovid's Big M ($787.50), the Ovid McDonald's ($395.44), the Ovid post office ($230.66) and the Interlaken post office, ($125.87)...[the fundraisers included]Janie Nusser, school district superintendent, and attorney Mark Sinkiewicz, of Ovid, president of the board of education. Another attorney on duty was Steven Getman of Interlaken.

Charity Watch lists The Salvation Army among its most trustworthy charities. According to the site, "Groups included on the Top-Rated list generally spend 75% or more of their budgets on programs, spend $25 or less to raise $100 in public support, do not hold excessive assets in reserve, and receive "open-book" status for disclosure of basic financial information and documents to AIP."

I am honored to be allowed to participate in this annual fundraising event and urge others to join us in raising funds during next year's event.

Beware of phony earthquake relief appeals

The tragedy in Haiti has resulted in an outpouring of sympathy and charitable giving to the victims of the earthquake. Unfortunately, not every request for assistance is coming from a reputable relief organization. Some solicitations are from scam artists.

Here are some tips from Charity Navigator and the Better Business Bureau for people who want to make donations:

*Avoid newly formed charities and give to an established charity that has worked in Haiti. Find a charity with a proven track record of success in providing disaster relief and one that has worked in Haiti. You can find a list of highly-rated charities on Charity Navigator’s Web site. You can also research charities on the Web sites of these organizations: Better Business Bureau, American Institute of Philanthropy and Guidestar.

*Do not give to the Haitian government. Haiti is known to be a corrupt country.

*Designate your donation. With disaster related giving, you should specify that you want your donation used only to respond to this particular crisis, rather than letting the charity spend the money as it sees fit.

*Be leery of people contacting you via e-mail claiming to be a victim. Unless you personally know someone in Haiti, anyone alleging to be in this situation is most likely part of a scam.

*Avoid telemarketers. Hang up the phone, do your homework and give directly to a charity.

*Find out if the charity is providing direct aid or raising money for other groups. Some charities may be raising money to pass along to relief organizations. If so, you may want to consider “avoiding the middleman” and give directly to charities that have a presence in the region.

New Laws for the New Year

Approximately one dozen new laws took effect January 1 in New York State. These laws include the following:

# S.66026/ A.40026: Provides retirement benefits for new entrants to certain public retirement systems;
# S.5472-A/A.8402-A: Enhances consumer and provider protections by instituting a series of managed care reforms through limitations on denial of claims for pre-authorized health care services; relates to grievance procedures; relates to managed care health insurance contracts; relates to determinations involving urgent care by utilization review agents.
# S.8376-A/A.11752: Relates to identity theft, protection of sensitive personal information, employee personal identifying information and crime of unlawful possession of a skimmer device.
# S.8715/A.11759: Establishes clear rules for determining when livery drivers in New York City, Westchester and Nassau Counties are employees or independent contractors of livery bases, and creates a fund to give independent contractor livery drivers workers’ compensation benefits in certain circumstances where no-fault automobile insurance does not provide any or sufficient coverage.
# S.2810/A.1001: Authorizes the use of titles, initials or abbreviations of names as signatures on absentee ballots.
# S.56-B /A.156-B: Enacts Part QQ, Sections 1 and 2: To amend the workers’ compensation law, in relation to calculation of assessments.
# S.57-B/A.157-B: Enacts Part Z, Sections 2-a and 3-a: To amend the social service law, in relation to the pass-through, disregard and assignment of support for persons applying for or in receipt of public assistance, and collection of a twenty-five dollar annual service fee for child support enforcement services furnished to certain persons receiving such services.
# S.58-B/A.158-B: Enacts Part C, Section 27: To amend the public health law, in relation to payment by governmental agencies for general hospital inpatient services,
# S.522/A.1559: Requires a board of elections in a city of over one million to provide the same information in Russian that it provides in languages other than English.
# S.3330/A.8088: Adds providers of voice over internet protocol service (VOIP) to current standards.
# S.4135-A/A.6718-B: Removes excess barriers to dental residencies and permit dental residents to take the mandated dental ethics training course during the period of their residency.
# S.8122/A.10979: Exempts State-chartered credit unions from the special additional mortgage recording tax

The full text of each law may be found here.

If you believe that any of these laws may impact you or your business, you may wish to contact an attorney to review the legislation and advise you as to your responsibilities and rights under the statute.