SLOATSBURG, NY - Two people sustained serious injuries when an all-terrain vehicle and a Subaru collided in front of Sunnyside's Bar and Grill on Saturday night.
The driver of the ATV, a 51-year-old Sloatsburg man, suffered serious head injuries and was taken to Sloatsburg ball field where a medevac helicopter flew him to Westchester Medical Center, police said.
The driver of the Subaru, a 30-year-old Monroe man, and his 29-year-old passenger were rushed to Good Samaritan Hospital in a Sloatsburg ambulance for observation, according to police.
Both vehicles were traveling north on Route 17 when they collided in the left lane around 7:30 p.m.
Route 17 was closed in both directions for most of the night while state and Ramapo police investigated.
As of late Saturday night, police said no tickets have been issued, but the crash remains under investigation.
It is illegal to drive an ATV on the highway - this ATV driver was playing Russian roulette with his and other people's lives. Hopefully he will not do this again.
Chiropractor found guilty in $10 million insurance scam
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A Chicago-area chiropractor was found guilty on 18 counts of health care fraud in connection with about $10 million in false insurance claims made over nearly a decade, according to an indictment released by the FBI.
Enrique “Henry” Posada, 55, owner of Associated Back Care and Rehabilitation at 4354 W. 63rd St. in West Lawn, and who was a licensed chiropractor from 1996 until July of this year, was found guilty at the conclusion of a jury trial Friday. The charges, initially announced in March by Joel R. Levin, acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, were that Posada presented false inventories to insurance companies — including, but not limited to Medicare — for services that never were provided, the indictment states.
The 18 charges stem from 18 occurrences when the FBI said Posada tried to use the same scheme to defraud a number of health care benefit programs, including Medicare, Cigna, Independence Blue Cross, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, National Association of Letter Carriers and Humana on dates in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Calls to Posada requesting comment were not immediately returned Saturday.
According to the indictment, Posada is accused of submitting the claims as far back as 2008, and on at least one occasion he is accused of submitting claims to an insurance company for services provided to patients in Illinois on dates when Posada wasn’t even in the state.
Further, the indictment states: “Posada, at times, used the names and identifying information of certain individuals, including patients without their knowledge or authorization, and caused the creation of fraudulent claims submitted by ABC to health care benefit programs.”
When the indictment was returned March 16, Posada, of Clarendon Hills, pleaded not guilty, officials said.
Posada is accused of depositing the money he received from the health care benefit program to a bank account for the parent company of ABC, Spine Clinics of America S.C., the indictment states. Of the money fraudulently obtained, officials allege he then used at least $5 million on personal purchases.
In its indictment, the grand jury further alleged Posada is to forfeit to the United States any property derived from the money that can be traced to this illegal scheme. As such, the government states it is owed more than $5 million, plus $850,000 in cashier checks; a 2013 Lexus; and a house in Watseka, Ill., according to the indictment.
Records show that Posada’s most recent chiropractor’s license was set to expire at the end of July of this year. According to FBI spokesman Garrett Croon, it’s not clear whether Posada was prevented from extending his license as a result of the indictment.
Croon said Posada is expected to be sentenced at a court appearance in February of next year.
Health care fraud is punishable by as many as 10 years in prison, according to the March news release from Levin.
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A Chicago chiropractor was indicted on federal fraud charges Tuesday for allegedly submitting at least $10 million in bogus claims to Medicare and several private insurers.
Henry Posada, who maintains a clinic in the West Lawn neighborhood, submitted fraudulent claims for physical therapy and chiropractic services that were not provided, according to the The United States Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of Illinois.
Posada, 54, was actually out of the state on a few of the dates he claimed to have provided chiropractic services, according to the indictment. In other instances, he used his patients’ names without their knowledge to create fictitious claim forms for submission to the programs.
All in all, Posada submitted at least $10 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare and private insurers from the years 2008 to 2016, according to the government. The programs paid out at least $5.1 million to Posada and his clinic — Spine Clinics of America S.C., which does business as Associated Back Care and Rehabilitation, the allegations say. The clinic is located in the 4300 block of West 63rd Street in Chicago.
Posada was charged with 18 counts of health care fraud. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Tuesday. The indictment seeks forfeiture of the $5.1 million, $850,000 in cashier’s checks, a 2013 Lexus LX 570 automobile, and a property in Watseka, Illinois.
Health care fraud is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
Saturday, October 28, 2017
HOLLIS, Queens (WABC) -- Authorities say two people were injured, one seriously, when a wall collapsed at a building in Queens Saturday morning.
It happened at about 7:15 a.m. at a commercial waste facility on Hollis Avenue in Hollis.
The FDNY says the collapse happened when a vehicle crashed into a wall inside the property
One man was reported to be in serious condition and the second in stable condition. Both were taken to Jamaica Hospital.
Firefighters and emergency crews responded to the scene.
The facility houses heavy equipment such as bulldozers but it's not clear what kind of vehicle was involved in this crash.
The Department of Buildings issued a vacate order for the rear of the facility.
The building owner and an engineer is conducting an inspection.
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| Vera-Strickler, dead |
The Cowlitz County Coroner’s Office has identified the two people who died in a train accident north of Kelso Friday.
The driver was Gildardo Cruz Vera Strickler of Kelso, who would have turned 30 years old on Nov. 30. The passenger was Sonya Sussanna Wallace, 32, of Longview.
Both victims were pronounced dead at the scene after an Amtrak train crashed into their vehicle as Vera Strickler attempted to cross the tracks early Friday afternoon.
Vera Strickler’s cause of death was blunt force head injuries while Wallace’s cause of death was multiple blunt force bodily injuries, the coroner’s office said in a press release. The manner of death for both victims was listed as undetermined because the investigation remains open, the coroner’s office said.
Cowlitz County Coroner Tim Davidson said his office waited to release the names until Wallace’s family could be reached late Saturday morning.
The accident — which occurred at a private intersection the 5000 block of Pleasant Hill Road in Castle Rock — shut down all freight and passenger traffic through the area until the early Friday afternoon while the wreckage was cleared and tracks and the trains were inspected.
There are no crossing arms at that intersection, but there are warning signs on both sides of the tracks. A local woman died at the same crossing in a vehicle/locomotive collision involving an Amtrak train in January 2015.
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Woodland arson investigation leads to Kelso man's arrest
By Leslie Slape
September 23, 2009
Woodland police Monday morning made an arrest in an arson case that has been under investigation since April.
Gildardo Cruz Vera Strickler, 21, of Kelso was booked into the Cowlitz County Jail on suspicion of second-degree arson and malicious mischief, with initial bail set at $30,000.
Woodland Fire Chief Joe Tone said Vera Strickler is suspected of intentionally burning a city maintenance shed, three portable toilets and two trash cans at Horseshoe Lake Park. The April 26 fire caused $12,000 to $15,000 damage, Tone said.
He said investigators have not connected Vera Strickler to other deliberately set fires April 2 and 22, both near Woodland Intermediate School, but the investigation remains open.
Anyone with information about these fires is asked to contact Woodland Police at (360) 225-6965.
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Identities released in Friday Amtrak train accident
By Katy Sword, Columbian staff writer
Published: October 28, 2017, 12:13 PM
Gildardo Cruz Vera Strickler, 29, and Sonya Sussanna Wallace, 32, were killed Friday when a northbound Amtrak passenger train struck their vehicle. The collision occurred on a private road in the Horseshoe Bend area north of Kelso, as reported by The Daily News on Friday.
There are no crossing arms at the intersection where the crash occurred, but warning devices are set up on both sides of the tracks.
Vera-Strickler, the driver, stopped momentarily as the train approached but decided to try and cross the tracks ahead of the train. The car was struck before completely crossing the tracks.
Vera Strickler was a Kelso resident and died as a result of blunt force head injuries. Wallace was a Longview resident and died as a result of multiple blunt force bodily injuries. The investigation is still open.
A standard toxicology analysis is being conducted, with results expected in the next six to eight weeks.
Vera Strickler and Wallace are the fifth and sixth deaths statewide on BNSF tracks this year as the result of a train/vehicle collision.
GILA RIVER INDIAN COMMUNITY, AZ - A Chandler woman is accused of causing a deadly five-car crash on Interstate 10 while allegedly driving drunk.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety responded to the multi-vehicle collision around 9 p.m. on Saturday.
A DPS spokesperson said 26-year-old Lauren Tamburrelli was identified by witnesses as the driver of the car that caused the accident.
Tamburrelli was reportedly holding her 3-year-old daughter after removing her from her car seat. Witnesses say she was trying to walk away from the scene and was yelling at witnesses.
According to officials, Tamburrelli was staggering and witnesses were attempting to hold her up. She had a strong odor of alcohol on her breath and was experiencing "mood swings after being placed under arrest."
The suspect also slurred her speech and "almost vomited while she spoke to herself with incoherent sentences," DPS said.
Witnesses told authorities that Tamburrelli's car rear-ended an SUV causing it to roll through the cable barrier, landing in the opposite lanes of I-10. The two people in the SUV were killed in the crash; one was ejected.
Another vehicle was also hit by Tamburrelli's car, causing another injury. DPS says two more vehicles were hit by debris from the collisions.
Tamburrelli is being held on a $500,000 bond on charges of DUI, second-degree murder and nine counts of endangerment.
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Tempe Delinquent Is All Grown Up and Charged With Manslaughter
A fender-bender turned deadly Saturday night when an SUV rolled over an Interstate 10 barrier and into oncoming traffic near Wild Horse Pass Hotel and Casino. The result was a five-car pileup, two deaths, and the arrest of a woman who made headlines eight years ago for calling in a school bomb threat.
The accident was set in motion when 26-year-old Lauren Tamburrelli rear-ended the Toyota SUV while driving intoxicated, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety report.
Tamburrelli staggered away from her wrecked Hyundai after unbuckling her 3-year-old daughter from the car seat, witnesses said. They tried to help Tamburrelli stay upright as she attempted to leave the scene, but she became hostile toward them and began yelling.
When one trooper asked Tamburrelli what happened, she responded in slurred speech that one minute she was driving and the next, she was there at the scene. She refused to answer any more questions and walked away from troopers, saying she wanted a lawyer.
Tamburrelli fought officers when they arrested her. After struggling to get Tamburrelli in the patrol car, a trooper reported that the odor of alcohol grew even worse and Tamburrelli "almost vomited while she spoke to herself with incoherent sentences."
She was later charged with second-degree murder, DUI, and nine counts of endangerment. She is currently being held in jail on a $500,000 bond.
DPS spokesman Quentin Mehr said he could not comment on the investigation.
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SHOW ME HOW
Tempe locals might recognize Tamburrelli's name and mugshot: She was arrested, then convicted, for calling in a fake bomb threat to Corona Del Sol High School in March 2009.
Tamburrelli and her accomplice, Laurin Godson, sent the high school a handwritten letter promising that "large parts of the school will be destroyed" before later phoning in the fake threat. The school was shut down the following day. These are the so-called "trash" people. They will grow up to become killers, murders, felons, etc. As the old saying goes, "you can tell a good day from its morning". Hopefully she will stay in prison until she dies.
Police took less than a week to find evidence linking the two 18-year-olds to the hoax. Godson admitted that she wanted the day off school because she had a court hearing for a previous shoplifting stint and didn't want to use up her absences. Godson said she was saving her excused absences for the end of the year "senior ditch day," according to a Maricopa County Attorney press release at the time.Both girls received 250 community service hours and were required to pay $19,000 in restitution to pay back the money lost by closing the school and wasting police resources.
SANFORD, MAINE — Local and state fire officials say the cause of the fire that gutted two Island Avenue apartment buildings and damaged three other properties last week is classified as undetermined — and will likely remain that way.
That is because of the extensive damage, according to Maine Fire Marshal Joe Thomas and Sanford Fire Marshal Patrick Cotter.
“Given the amount of damage, we’re unable to specifically pinpoint the cause,” Thomas said. He said there is no indication the fire was anything but accidental.
“Nothing to indicate a suspicious nature,” Thomas said.
The fire roared through Island Avenue — a narrow street on Sanford’s east side where the houses and apartment building are in close proximity to each other — on Thursday. Many of the dwellings were built in the early 1900s.
Firefighters from 25 departments fought the blaze for several hours. The two multi-family properties gutted — 33 and 35 Island Ave. — were demolished because of their condition Thursday night.
“The indication from the sergeant [Ken Grimes] is that it started on first or second floor porch of the exterior area” at 33 Island Ave., Thomas said.
The fire displaced several families, and there have been a number of neighborhood efforts to assist them, including a donation table that was set up at the Sanford Farmer’s Market on Saturday, a gofundme page and other efforts organized by individuals or groups of friends. The American Red Cross also provided assistance to two families, according to spokeswoman Ann Kim.
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Fire destroyed two Island Avenue apartment buildings Thursday afternoon and damaged three others as firefighters from several communities fought to put out the flames and prevent the fire from spreading even further.
Fire Chief Steve Benotti said firefighters believe all of the occupants of the buildings got out safely.
Tina Allen said she was driving on Island Avenue when the fire first erupted, before firefighters arrived.
“I heard a woman screaming for help and people screaming for her to get out,” said Allen. She said she got out of her car but by that time, the woman had jumped from the third floor of the three-unit 33 Island Ave. property. She said the woman was okay.
In a 4:30 p.m. news conference, Benotti said authorities have no reason to believe the five-alarm fire was anything but an accident.
The department is working with investigators from the Office of the State Fire Marshal.
Benotti said four bystanders experienced medical issues, from a possible heart attack to anxiety.
The fire was reported by multiple callers around 1:16 p.m. Benotti was the first firefighter on the scene three minutes later.
Benotti said 33 and 35 Island Ave. were heavily damaged. Three other properties — one of them recently renovated and about to be occupied, sustained damage.
“We were met with rapidly advancing fire in multiple buildings,” said Benotti, and there were burning power lines in the street.
In all, firefighters from 25 surrounding departments fought the blaze.
Folks who lived in buildings in close proximity to the scene were told to evacuate.
The fire was brought under control by 4 p.m., but firefighters were expected to be at the scene long into the night.
Benotti said as yet firefighters don’t know where the fire started.
Painter Mike McGrath said he had been working at the house directly across the street from 33 Island Ave. and had gone outside for lunch.
“Everything was fine,” he said. McGrath went inside to continue painting but then he heard a noise outside.
“When I came out the whole porch (at 33 Island Ave.) was gone,” McGrath said. “It went up the fastest I’ve ever seen.”
Robin Emmons was taking photos for her photography class at the scene while her husband, Capt. Dwight Emmons, a Sanford firefighter, was fighting the blaze.
“You could see the smoke in North Berwick,” she said.
Deb Marchand was preparing to move onto the first floor of 34 Island Ave. on Nov. 1. She said the woman who was preparing to move into the second floor in November has two children and is expecting another. The mother lived across the street at 35 Island Ave., and lost everything, Marchand said.
Donna Swanson, who manages 34 Island Ave., said she expects it will take a couple of weeks to put the property back in shape so the new tenants can move in.
Swanson said she had been working inside 34 Island Ave., went outside and saw the left side of the second floor of 33 Island Ave. ablaze.
“I’m thankful everyone got out,” she said.
The property at 33 Island Ave. has recently been in the news. Kari Zielke, a city council candidate who lives on nearby Thompson Avenue, had organized a sit-in there a couple of months ago to draw attention to the tenement, where she said there had been frequent drug dealing.
Police and drug agents have made recent arrests in the area.
Deputy Mayor Maura Herlihy said the city’s new rental housing ordinance was designed to protect dense, older neighborhoods like Island Avenue, where there are many multi-unit dwellings in various stages of repair. The ordinance requires landlords to make sure their buildings meet codes.
“People deserve safer housing situations,” she said. “This is why (we passed) the rental ordinance.”
The 33 Island Ave. property is owned by Harry and Geraldine Farris of Epping, New Hampshire, according to city records. The three-story 35 Island Ave. property, built in 1927, is owned by York County Community Action Corporation.
TOWNSHEND, VT — The remains of two people were found on the scene of a house fire in Townshend on Friday.
According to a press release from Captain JP Sinclair, the Commander of the Vermont State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation members of Vermont State Police to include the Fire Investigation unit and Division of Fire Safety responded to the scene. The press release stated the residence was heavily damaged and was supposed to be unoccupied.
The remains of the bodies were sent to to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for identification.
Currently, the house is taped off and Vermont State Police are guarding it. A single vase of yellow flowers was placed at the end of the driveway. The Vermont State Police said it was left by a neighbor.
At about 9:50 a.m., two neighbors called the Townshend Fire Department Friday morning after they heard an explosion and saw flames coming from a house on Shirley Circle. Brian Schmidt, Assistant Fire Chief for Townshend, along with firefighters from at least nine other fire departments, rushed to the scene after receiving the call.
Firefighters battled flames at Shirley Circle for hours. By noon firefighters were still at work stomping out flare-ups. Vermont State Police, Fish and Wildlife, the Dead River Company and Rescue Inc. were also on the scene.
Schmidt said that the state police had identified who the owner of the property was. He didn't believe that the remains belonged to the owner. He said it was unclear whether the people inside the house were renters or just squatters.
The only indication he had that people were inside the home when he arrived to the initial call was the presence of two vehicles in the driveway. The two cars in the driveway had a Vermont and a New York license plate.
It wasn't until the fire was out and the Vermont State Police's fire team began it's investigation that remains were found.
The fire, he said, was more difficult to put out than other fires the Townshend Fire Department has responded to in the past.
"The location, it's very rural and getting water is kind of tough," he said.
A man who lives nearby — who asked that his name be withheld — said he wasn't surprised when he heard about the fire.
"We've been here since April," he said. Cars with license plates from New York and Massachusetts are constantly stopping at the house, "at all hours of the night," he said.
The other night, he said, he got fed up. There were two cars sitting outside his house with their headlights on. He confronted them. "What are you doing," he said. "You could tell that they were under the influence of something."
He said that one of the men claimed to be the owner of Shirley Circle. The man also said that he saw Scott Brooks Towing recovering two bronze lions that were stolen from The Vermont Building in September from Shirley Circle. It was then that he knew for sure, he said, that the house was trouble. The Brattleboro Police Department confirmed that the lions had been recovered from Shirley Circle in Townshend.
"I just hope those people are never going to be up there again," said the man. "I have two kids that I care about."
Other neighbors confirmed the man's impression of the people staying at the house.
"I had heard about the traffic going," Paul Canova said. Last weekend Kaire Canova said she'd seen a car parked outside her driveway at 10 p.m.
The couple didn't think the residents were squatters.
"I was under the impression that they were renters," Paul Canova said.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation. However, Schmidt said when staff from the Dead River Company came to the house they didn't find anything wrong with the house's propane tanks.
HORICON -- Firefighters have named the cause of the fire at the Ridin-Hy Ranch on Friday.
According to the Horicon Fire Department, the fire was caused by a guest who put out a lit cigar in a paper cup on a balcony. The main house is a total loss.
Twelve fire departments responded to the fire just after 3 p.m. Friday. All guests and staff were able to escape.
Fire officials say one of the owners of the ranch went into the burning building and rescued a guest who was on oxygen. Both were able to get out.
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HORICON, NY — The Horicon Fire Department said the fire that raged through the Ridin’ Hy Ranch on Sherman Lake Road in Horicon Friday afternoon was caused by a guest who put out a lit cigar in a paper cup on a balcony, according to WNYT.
On Friday night, Horicon Fire Chief Scott Hayes said that about 200 people were inside the restaurant when the blaze was called in at 3:15 p.m., but everyone made it out safely and no one was injured.
The fire re-kindled early Saturday, causing fire crews to return to the scene.
The main lodge was destroyed.
Hayes was not available on Saturday for comment.
Late Saturday afternoon, the Beadnell Family and Ridin’ Hy Staff posted a comment on their Facebook page, writing that the ranch will temporarily be closed while they rebuild the structure.
“As most of you may already know, we lost the main lodge to a fire on Friday, October 27th. Thankfully, everyone made it out safely. Unfortunately, we will have to close temporarily while we begin to regroup and rebuild,” the post said. “We will be contacting anyone with November reservations soon. We appreciate the love and support we have been receiving from all our ranch family. Thank you for your patience and understanding.”
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"I've never stood and watched a while building burn before," said Margaret Carnevale.
Margaret and her husband Robert had just arrived at Ridin-Hy Ranch, and were ready to celebrate.
"We were here on our first anniversary and so we decided to come back again for our 11th anniversary," she explained.
But their plans for the evening quickly changed.
"We were over at the horse barn and a couple of the workers go 'do you see that?' and we saw that there was just a ton of smoke pouring out of there," Carnevale said.
The main lodge erupted in flames and was soon devoured. The building houses a dining area, indoor pool, and guest rooms.
"When I made my reservation I asked for the lodge, but they were full," said Robert Carnevale.
Horicon Acting Fire Chief Scott Hayes said, "when we got the call, they said that there was 200 occupants."
Hayes said everyone made it out safely, but the building is a total loss.
Still, thanks to manpower from several departments, he said they were able to contain the fire to one building. Even ranch employees joined the effort.
"There was staff pulling hose lines and helping with everything they could," Hayes said.
Now the Carnevales say they hope Ridin-Hy Ranch can rebuild so they can return for another anniversary.
"Get the lodge built back up again and back open because obviously it's a fantastic place and I hope they can recover from this."
Hayes says the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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HORICON, NY — A food and bar restaurant at a four-seasons dude ranch was destroyed by fire Friday afternoon.
The Ridin’ Hy Ranch located on the shore of Sherman Lake on North Sherman Lake Road was fully involved when firefighters arrived on scene.
Horicon Fire Chief Scott Hayes said the fire in the restaurant was reported around 3:15 p.m.
Hayes said approximately 200 people were inside at the time of the fire, and when firefighters arrived, everyone had made it outside safely.
The cause of the fire is unknown at this time.
Coast Guard closes waterway on south branch of Chicago River
October 26th, 2017
Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan established a safety zone near the south branch of the Chicago River following an oil discharge from an unknown source, Oct. 26, 2017.
CHICAGO — The U.S. Coast Guard has closed off access to a waterway extending from the south branch of the Chicago River known as Bubbly Creek after a reported oil discharge, Thursday.
Representatives from Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Chicago and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency met at the site, Thursday, in response to a report of an oil discharge from an unknown source. The area, known as Bubbly Creek, runs south from the south branch of the Chicago River to Pershing Road, east of Ashland Avenue. A concentration of oil has also been identified on the south branch of the Chicago River between Ashland Avenue and Pulaski Road.
The EPA is the on-scene coordinator for the recovery and cleanup of the discharge and has deployed containment boom at the entrance to Bubbly Creek.
The Coast Guard has established a safety zone, closing this section of the waterway to all people and vessels. Entry into, transiting, mooring or anchoring within the safety zone is prohibited unless authorized by the Captain of the Port Lake Michigan or a designated representative.
The safety zone will not affect the south branch of the Chicago River, Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, or the associated turning basin.
Anyone observing additional oil should contact the National Response Center at 800-424-8802.
