A Monsey man will spend the next 2½ years in prison after pleading guilty of attempting to obtain a fake $1.4 million loan from Park Avenue Bank. U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, says 65 year-old Mendel Zilberberg worked with a third party whom he knew was lying on a loan application. Williams said Zilberberg was a member of the bank’s board of directors and exploited his position in the bank that led to a “staggering” loss for the institution. In addition to the prison term, Zilberberg was also sentenced yesterday to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay more than $1.5 million in restitution and forfeiture.
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News Briefs: Details Emerge After Two Bodies Found Shot in North Rockland, Man Arrested After Nyack Shots-Fired Incident, Bronx Man Pleads Guilty to Sex Abuse At Rockland Lake State Park
More details are coming to light following Tuesday afternoon’s apparent murder-suicide in North Rockland. Stony Point Police Lieutenant Greg Becker says 35 year-old Colleen Williston was apparently shot and killed by 38 year-old Sean Kelly in their Rosetown Road home in Tomkins Cove. Their bodies were found in an upstairs bedroom. Becker says the investigation thus far suggests that after shooting Williston, Kelly then turned the gun on himself. Becker says detectives are looking into what the motive for the shooting might have been, and whether it was related to an earlier complaint when Kelly called the police regarding Williston and their two young children. That led to an investigation by Rockland’s Child Protective Services, which was ongoing at the time of the shooting. Becker says the children were not home at the time. This investigation is ongoing.
Man Arrested After Nyack Shots-Fired Incident
Orangetown Police arrested a man Tuesday in connection to a shots-fired incident in downtown Nyack. That’s according to The Journal News. Gunshots were reportedly heard around 4:30 Tuesday near the Nyack Plaza apartments. An officer saw a 60 year-old man discard a bag in a nearby recycling bin. The bag apparently had the gun used in the incident, in which shots were fired in the air following an argument. Three bullet casings were reportedly found at the scene. The man was charged with possession of a firearm but it’s not clear who fired the shots.
Bronx Man Pleads Guilty to Sex Abuse At Rockland Lake State Park
A 45 year-old Bronx man pleaded guilty Tuesday to sexually abusing a seven year-old girl while at a birthday party at Rockland Lake State Park almost seven years ago. Rockland County District Attorney Tom Walsh says 45 year-old Francisco Lopez-Gomez attacked the girl while she was changing out of her bathing suit in a family member’s vehicle. He’ll be sentenced on the sole count of First-Degree Sexual Abuse in June.
Man, Woman Found Dead of Gunshot Wounds in Tomkins Cove Home
Few details so far after two people were found dead of gunshot wounds in Tomkins Cove earlier this afternoon. Stony Point Police Lieutenant Greg Becker says just before two yesterday afternoon they got a call asking for police and EMS to come to a home located at 54 Rosetown Road. They were told a victim was shot and bleeding. When police arrived, Becker says they found a 35 year-old woman and an 38 year-old man, both dead of a single gunshot wound. They were not identified. The Rockland County Sheriff’s Department and the Medical Examiner were called to the scene. Becker says the weapon was located and secured by detectives. He adds this appears to be an isolated incident, and there is no threat to the general public. The investigation is ongoing.
Trial Over Assessment Between Palisades Center and Clarkstown to Begin Today
A trial that could be worth millions of dollars to Palisades Center, the town of Clarkstown and the Clarkstown School District is scheduled to begin today in Rockland County Supreme Court. Tina Traster is the editor of the Rockland County Business Journal online, and says the trial will focus on whether the mall was over-assessed and how much money they might, or might not, see in refunds…
The mall’s lawyer told RCBizJournal the issue is not whether Palisades Center was over-assessed, it’s by how much. Earlier this month, Rockland County Executive Ed Day told “The Morning Show” that the struggling mall is critical to the county’s bottom line…
Palisades Center is the town’s largest taxpayer, reportedly paying more than $22 million a year in property taxes.
Rockland Lawmakers Back Legislation to Boost Safety of Firefighters and Residents
A bi-partisan effort is backing a package of bills that proposes statewide fire safety measures aimed at making things safer for residents and first responders. The legislation includes money for fire and building code enforcement; making some code violations that result in injuries felonies; and setting staffing levels for local government inspectors. At a press conference at the Rockland County Fire Training Center in Pomona on Friday, Rockland County Executive Ed Day said the bills will help save lives. Rockland Fire and Emergency Services Director Chris Kear was encouraged by the bi-partisan effort behind the proposed legislation.