Cop Car Strikes Pedestrian on Queens Blvd

Witnesses Claim Unmarked Car Ran Red Light

A 47-year-old Sunnyside man was struck by an unmarked police car while crossing Queens Boulevard with his girlfriend last week.

Witnesses told the Daily News that Evelio Villa and his girlfriend, Yanira Lopez, 55, had the green light when they started to cross the boulevard at 44th Street in Sunnyside last Thursday at about 8:30 p.m. “This guy was flying. He went like a bat out of hell,” a 23-year-old Woodside man who witnessed the collision told the newspaper. “There were no screeching brakes, no tire marks, nothing.”

However, NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly told reporters that Villa was “highly intoxicated” and “tried to run across the intersection.” He added that the driver of the vehicle, which was from the 109th Precinct and was responding to a call to assist an officer, slammed his face against the steering wheel and was taken to a local hospital to be treated for shock. He said investigators were looking at videotapes to determine whether the car ran a red light as witnesses insisted.

Villa, an unemployed construction worker, was listed in stable condition at Elmhurst Hospital Center, where he was treated for a fractured shoulder.

The Forum Newsgroup/photo by ROBERT STRIDIRON

Con Edison Launches Smart Meter Program

Also: Crowley Pushes to Ban Unsightly Meters in Front of Homes

By Conor Greene

Three years after blackouts crippled sections of western Queens, Con Edison has finally launched its smart meter program, which is intended to help head off future incidents. At the same time, a local council member is pushing legislation that would prohibit the installation of utility meters in front of residential buildings.

Con Ed is kicking off its smart meter installation in an 8.3-square-mile swath in the Long Island City area, one of the neighborhoods hit hardest during the 2006 blackout. Since the blackout, Councilman Eric Gioia (D-Sunnyside) has pushed the company to upgrade its infrastructure with technologies such as the smart grid system, which fully digitizes the power grid by expanding communication between the consumer, the regulator and the power plants.

“The 2006 blackout showed that Con Ed’s infrastructure was totally inadequate for the 21st Century, leaving residents to wonder if the lights will go off whenever the temperature creeps up,” said Gioia, who is running for public advocate after serving on the City Council since 2001. “We need an investment in new technology that can help prevent blackouts and make the system greener and more energy efficient – just like cities like Boulder and Austin have already done.”

The smart meter is part of the larger smart grid system, which utilizes digital communication to better regulate a station’s power output out based on need. The smart grid harnesses the latest in information technology while also helping to green the environment, noted Gioia. “New Yorkers were long due for an upgrade, and it’s right that Con Ed start this program in Long Island City,” he added.

According to a year-long study by the U.S Department of Energy, consumers in the smart meter program saved 10 percent on their power bills, and cut their power use by 15 percent during peak hours. Participants in the study were given electronic meters which got signals from their utility company when power prices were high, along with computer software allowing them to remotely change their power usage.

The blackout of 2006 primarily affected about 175,000 residents of the four neighborhoods included within the Long Island City network. It also caused losses of tens of millions of dollars for business owners, heavy airport delays and brutal conditions due to a heat wave sweeping over the area. Con Ed initially claimed that about 1,600 customers were affected, as the company counted multi-family buildings as one person. It later changed its estimate to reflect actual individuals after coming under heavy criticism.

According to Con Ed, the $6 million smart grid pilot program will test how various technologies support efforts to modernize the electric grid. About 1,500 customers will receive smart meters under the pilot program, and by the end of the month Con Ed will file proposals with the Department of Energy requesting $375 million in stimulus funds to expand the program. The money would help pay for more than 40,000 additional meters.

“New York City will be a model showing how smart grid technologies can work together in dense urban areas,” said Con Ed CEO Kevin Burke. “Smart grids will change the way we manage the grid, and can change the way customers manage their energy usage. Our vision is to identify grid innovations that can be reliable and cost effective, and provide increased flexibility for customers in the way they make energy choices.”

In other news involving electric meters, Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) has introduced a City Council resolution calling on the state Public Services Commission to ban the installation of utility meters in front of residential buildings throughout the city.

“The placement of utility meters by corporations such as Con Edison in front of houses has been a serious concern with many residents and community organizations of Queens, and understandably so,” said Crowley. “Given that we have the technology to check utility meters from afar or digitally, it is no longer necessary to mandate the unsightly placement of these boxes in front of residential buildings. Making these utility meters less visible would be a benefit to the aesthetics and character of our neighborhoods.”

The state Public Service Commission has exclusive regulatory authority over gas and electric utility companies. Crowley argued that these meters would not be accepted in front of residential buildings in other boroughs. “Would you see dozens of these unattended and entangled wires and these big rusty meters on the front of a brownstone in Brooklyn or in Manhattan? No. The people of Queens deserve better,” she said.

Local Dog Owners Devastated by Pet Abductions

By Patricia Adams

A trend not unfamiliar in Queens has reared its ugly head, most recently in Ozone Park, where there have been several incidents of small “designer” dogs being stolen from homes.

Last week, 40-year Ozone Park resident Ken McIntosh says his two Yorkshire terriers, six-year-old Princess and three-year-old Trixie were abducted from the family’s home on 133rd Avenue in Ozone Park.

McIntosh says the family has never had a problem with leaving the dogs out. “We have been doing it for years. Someone comes home and lets the dogs out. We always make sure the gate is closed. While they are out it’s common for us to run to the store or do another errand. We never leave them out for more than an hour or so.”

Last week when his son, 23-year-old John, came home, he let the pair out into the yard before going off to the gym, making sure that the gate was locked and the dogs were safe. But when someone arrived home a little more than one hour later, the dogs were gone.

The gate was closed and nothing was disturbed but the dogs were not in the yard. “Even when we’re out here with them, if the gate is open they never even go near it.” The family immediately started to canvass the neighborhood. “We went to every house, to find out if anyone had seen anything,” said Ken McIntosh But the attempt to get information was futile. None of the neighbors had noticed anything suspicious or seen anyone near the house and the dogs. The McIntosh’s say that since the dognapping the neighbors have been coming to the house to say how sorry they are and to see if there is anything that they can do to help.

Ken McIntosh says there’s only one person who can help us with this — “the person or people who took our dogs. We want them back so badly — you can’t imagine how this feels.” He also says that his neighbors are very concerned because many of them have small dogs and are used to letting them out in the yard by themselves.

The police were contacted but according to McIntosh were unable to make a report because no one saw the dogs being taken.

Now everyday the family returns home, hoping to find some news about their beloved pets. “It’s just not the same coming home,” said Ken McIntosh. “You walk through the door expecting them to come running up to greet you and they’re not here. My wife, my kids, me - we’re all devastated.”

Steps to find the dogs include posting pictures of Princess and Trixie throughout the area and calling anyone they can for help. When asked what he would say to whomever took the dogs, Ken McIntosh shook his head. “Wow — what would I say? I would just say to please, please bring our dogs back. No questions asked.”

And McIntosh warns other pet owners, especially those with small dogs. “You’d better think a hundred times before leaving your dogs out,” he says. “Things have changed and times are different. I’m afraid there’s no sense of integrity in these people. What kind of character do you have if you can steal away a member of someone’s family? They just don’t care. Our family is ripped up over this. It’s such a shame.”

But according to others faced with the same heartbreak, there is hope of getting the dogs back. Dog owners Lisa Connolly and her partner, Rodney Flannigan from Maspeth were faced with losing Benny and Molly, their 4-year-old Peek-a-Poo (Pekingese/Poodle) and 15-month old Shi Tzu back on September 23.

The story was featured on 1010 WINS news radio and in several local TV news reports. Fliers featuring photos of the dogs had been plastered all over neighborhoods from Woodside to Ridgewood. And in early October the couple got a call from a man who said he knew where the dogs were and would arrange for them to be returned.

Luckily, they were quickly reunited with their pups having made arrangements with the caller. They forked over an $800 reward and in their happiness over the reunion failed to call police about the man who had claimed he had “found” their dogs.

Local police authorities say that the scheme involved is very simple. “Designer” dogs are easily carted off without much noise or notice. They can be readily sold to people looking for dogs but even more common is to abduct the animals, wait for their owners to post a plea to be reunited with their pets and then return the dogs to their owners, taking the reward with them.

While combating this crime against small dogs and their owners is very difficult, dog owners, veterinarians, shelters, and organizations that are concerned for these animals have this advice for all dog owners: Take your dog to a vet or any organization that will painlessly inject your pet (cat or dog) with a chip the size of a grain of rice. This chip contains identifying information that will assist people in returning your dog to you. There are internet sites that match found dogs with their owners.

Brazen Car Theft Ring Dismantled

Luxury Vehicles Driven Off Dealer Lots

By Conor Greene

Members of a car theft ring that stole luxury vehicles off the parking lots of local dealerships – often exiting through holes cut in the chain link fences – were arrested after a nine-month joint probe between the NYPD and Queens District Attorney.

Eight individuals, including a middle school assistant principal from Brooklyn, were arrested as a result of a nine-month investigation dubbed “Operation Lockbox,” announced Queens District Attorney Richard Brown. The individuals were indicted on charges involving the theft of 16 late model, high-end cars worth more than $400,000.

The majority of the vehicles, which included 2008 model BMWs, Mercedes Benzs and Lincolns, were stolen right off the parking lots of major auto dealerships. The vehicle’s identification numbers were changed or altered before they were resold.

According to the charges, Melvin Pinckney, 54, of Brooklyn, stole the vehicles from dealership parking lots in Queens and Long Island with the help of alleged ring members David Jimenez, 40, and Alexander Gill, 34, both of Brooklyn. The majority of the vehicles were taken from Recon Motors on 14th Avenue in Whitestone, which is a storage facility where numerous local dealerships store their excess inventory.

After driving the vehicles off the lot, often through large holes
cut in the dealership’s fence, the thieves drove the cars to various locations, such as a parking garage on Eldert Lane in Brooklyn and the vicinity of 78th Street and 153rd Avenue in Queens, where they were kept until they were sold.

Members of the ring including Eddie Olivera, 38, of the Bronx and Lisele Jackson, 54, who is a teacher and assistant principal at MS 61 in Brooklyn, allegedly purchased and traded stolen vehicles with Pinckney. In addition, Trevlyn LaTore, 35, of Hempstead is accused of operating a tagging operation out of a single-car garage at 149-19 133rd Avenue in Queens, where ring members brought cars to have their vehicle identification numbers altered or forged.

“A sweeping nine-month investigation that utilized both court-authorized wiretaps and traditional surveillance has dismantled a loosely knit auto theft ring that specializes in stealing luxury automobiles,” said Brown. “For such thieves, an automotive dealership represented the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. They could leisurely window shop for the exact makes and models of the cars they wanted and then, under the cover of darkness, steal them.”

Among the victimized dealerships were several from Long Island, Brooklyn and New Jersey, as well as Hillside Honda in Jamaica, Queensboro Toyota in Woodside, Bayside Chrysler Jeep on Northern Boulevard and DiBlasi Ford in Corona.

“This successful operation is emblematic of why car thefts in New York City, including Queens, have plummeted in recent years,” said NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly.

Pinckney was ordered held on $100,000 bail on charges including third and fourth degree grand larceny. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. Co-conspirators Jimenez, who was ordered held on $50,000 bail, and Gil, ordered held on $25,000 bail, both also face up to 15 years. Jackson was reassigned from his Department of Education position, which comes with a $96,405 salary, following his release.

Ex-Cop Sentenced in Howard Beach Rape

DNA Linked Woodside Man to ‘06 Attack

A former NYPD officer has been sentenced to up to 16 years in prison for the 1996 rape of a young woman in her Howard Beach home. The defendant was caught ten years after the attack as the result of a DNA cold hit.

Ronald Murgo, Jr., 38, of 35-09 Crescent Street in Woodside, who was formerly assigned to the 67th Precinct in Brooklyn until he was fired in 1995, had pleaded guilty in January to first-degree rape. Acting Supreme Court Justice Barry Kron imposed an indeterminate sentence of between 8 and 16 years in prison.

According to the charges, Murgo entered the Howard Beach home of the 21-year-old victim through a first-floor rear window at about 3 a.m. on November 6, 1996. Murgo then jumped on the victim’s bed, tied her hands with her own bra, placed a pillow over her head and told her to be quiet before raping her. He then stole jewelry and money from the victim before fleeing out the front door.

The victim immediately called 911 and was treated at a local hospital, where detectives interviewed her and submitted a rape kit for DNA testing. Under the John Doe Indictment Project – a 2003 citywide initiative that uses DNA profiles of unidentified sex criminals to indict them before they are apprehended to prevent the statute of limitations from expiring – a grand jury indicted the defendant as John Doe in 2006.

Murgo, who now works in construction, was fired from the NYPD in 1995 after assaulting a woman in Astoria. Police in that case suspected that Murgo intended to rape the victim after he dragged her to an unlit area. He was connected to the Howard Beach rape after the victim’s DNA was matched to a DNA sample Murgo submitted following a 1998 sexualabuse and child-endangerment conviction.

“The defendant who had escaped justice for nearly a decade has now been punished for his crime,” said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown. “The use of DNA is an important law enforcement tool that proves the old adage, ‘You can run but you can’t hide.’”

Mapeth School Vote Expected Thursday

UPDATE: The City Council has approved the DOE's plans to build an 1,100-seat high school in Maspeth. Voting against the plan were Councilmembers Elizabeth Crowley, Tony Avella, Eric Ulrich, James Vacca, Vincent Ignizio, James Oddo, Lewis Fidler, Peter Vallone, Jr., Michael Nelson and Darlene Mealy, according to Crowley's office, which released the following statement after Thursday's vote:

"Let me be clear, I want a school in Maspeth, but I cannot agree with this plan. In an effort to alleviate the traffic and transit concerns raised by the community I asked the Department of Education to compromise on a plan to allow this school to better address the needs and concerns of my community. They did not and as I result I do not support this plan.

As the plan stands now it does not have the approval of the community education council, it does not have the approval of the community board, it does not have the approval of the local civic association. It does not have the full support of local parents. It does not have the support of the local elected officials."


By Conor Greene

City Council is expected to vote today, Thursday, on the Department of Education’s proposal to build an 1,100-seat high school in Maspeth. The plan has been met with stiff opposition from residents who say the area is already too congested and can’t handle another school.

A City Council subcommittee held a hearing Tuesday on the proposal for 1,000 high school seats and 100 special education seats on the site of the former Restaurant Depot at 74th Street and 57th Avenue. Several dozen area residents testified against the proposal, while one Woodside resident spoke in favor of it.

Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley has said she won’t support the plan unless the city zones the school to ensure neighborhood children can attend it. But, while the councilwoman and the DOE have negotiated for weeks over how the school would be zoned, residents testified that a school shouldn’t be built in the area no matter how it is zoned.

Micah Lasher, a DOE executive director, said that the department has made a “number of substantive changes” to the original plan, including reducing it from 1,650 seats. After much back and forth with Crowley (D-Middle Village), the DOE also agreed to give first priority to students in District 24, followed by districts 27 and 28. That zoning would be “narrower than for any other high school in this administration,” said Lasher.

Crowley wants priority to be first given to students attending five neighborhood schools, to ensure that local children can attend if they wish. Under the DOE’s current plan, a child living across the street from the school has just a one-in-twenty chance of getting a spot in the proposed school, according to Crowley’s office.

In a letter to Crowley, Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott stressed that the DOT no longer creates “such narrowly” zoned high schools. “Most practically, it is simply not possible to find sites in every individual neighborhood whose students need more school seats, nor is it fiscally responsible to target school construction dollars so narrowly,” he wrote. “In this case, using the Maspeth site for a locally zoned school would not broadly address an overcrowding issue that exists throughout the borough and would not be fair or responsive to all the parents who deserve more high school seats.”

Under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the DOE has followed a policy of making high schools available to students throughout the city. Zoned high schools “have, historically, contributed to the persistence of a stratified school system and, in turn, an unequal distribution of resources,” wrote Walcott.

However, while the zoning issue has been atresidents who testified Tuesday made it clear they don’t want any school on that site. Many cited two existing schools that are within just three blocks of the Restaurant Depot site and expressed concern over congestion, transportation, parking and crime.

Robert Holden, president of the Juniper Park Civic Association, said “the SCA was asleep at the wheel when they sited the school.” He said that the two existing schools have already contributed to congestion in the area, including along Grand Avenue and on city buses.

“There are locations where a school won’t work,” and the Restaurant Depot site is one, he argued. “We don’t think this site works as a school. If it’s congested now and has no subway, you can’t site a school there.”

Gary Giordano, district manager of Community Board 5 – which first rejected the plan and then agreed to support it provided a number of stipulations are met – said “there are severe problems in this area with the two existing schools.”

Tony Nunziato, a Maspeth resident and businessman, said this proposal flies in the face of years of work to bring proper planning to the area. “It’s called over-saturation,” he said, adding that the school would be “shoe-horned in the neighborhood, and it doesn’t make any sense.” He feared the impact a third school would have on small businesses along Grand Avenue, where groups of students hangout after dismissal.

Woodside resident Marge Kolb, president of the District 24 PTA Presidents’ Council, was the only person to testify in support of the project. She said it is located centrally within District 24, and to existing high schools. “We need this high school,” she implored. “We need seats in Queens [and] this is a good site… We deserve a shot at a local high school too.”

Roe Dario, president of Communities of Maspeth and Elmhurst Together, stressed that the zoning is not the issue. “The issue is the siting – it’s not who goes to it. It’s where it’s located,” she said, noting that 5,000 trucks go down Grand Avenue daily. “Seniors can’t go shopping on Grand Avenue for half the day because we have this staggered dismissal. I just feel it’s going to be too congested.”

Other residents raised issues including flooding in the area, the 104th Precinct’s response time and lack of on-site parking for teachers. Resident John Kilcommons said that seniors are worried about congestion along Grand Avenue, which is the route to Elmhurst Hospital Center.

Jim O’Kane, president of the Maspeth Chamber of Commerce, said he supports keeping this site for commercial use to prevent losing tax revenue and jobs. “Maspeth has done more than its share of providing sites for schools,” he said.

Manny Caruana of Maspeth wondered why the DOE has “dumped thousands of dollars” into the project before gaining City Council approval. He is worried that the school will actually serve more than 1,100 students once it’s open.

Councilman John Liu (D-Flushing) said that the need for high school seats in Queens is the Restaurant Depot site, which may require the use of eminent domain to acquire. Liu said he has been asking the DOE for years to look into a Flushing site owned by Home Depot that has access to many bus and subway lines.

Liu called the DOE’s site selection process a “half-baked action that will only serve families in a limited capacity.” He said the “credibility of the SCA and DOE is severely undermined.” Liu also attempted to brace against potential backlash if the City Council rejects the proposal, which would mark the first time that happened during Bloomberg’s administration. “It is our job to do so to represent our constituents… If the DOE comes up with a halfbaked plan, don’t lay it on us,” he said.

Councilwoman Helen Sears (D-Jackson Heights) noted the lack of public transportation at the Restaurant Depot site and asked the DOE to look into sites in Jackson Heights “that are far more accessible borough-wide.”

Lasher conceded that “this is certainly not going to be the most accessible school in the city.” Still, “we do believe it is a very good site,” he said. Lasher claimed that rejecting the site and forcing the DOE to start over “will set us back a number of years.”

The DOE dismissed the former St. Saviour’s site near Rust Street in West Maspeth as not being suitable because of its location in an industrial area. On Wednesday, a DOE spokesman said that after two years of dialogue between the city and community about this project, the question is no longer about if the site is appropriate.

Right now, the decision that has to be made is not about the site – that conversation has come and gone,” said William Havemann. “Because the financial outlook is less and less positive, it is unclear if this site is rejected what would happen in the next capital plan. It is very possible another school just wouldn’t be built at all, and kids in Maspeth and District 24 would have to continue to go to high schools in other parts of Queens that already are overcrowded.”

By the end of the hearing, it was clear that the DOE is not willing to budge from its current stance regarding zoning. “We’re not willing to make the concessions it sounds like will be necessary,” said Lasher. “At a certain point you have to say you can spend the $80 million elsewhere. But I guess that decision is in your hands… I implore you not to make history by letting council vote this down.”

However, based on testimony provided on Tuesday, it appears a large portion of Maspeth and other area residents are hoping that Crowley does just that. “It’s going to cost $80 million to build this,” said Angelo Raneri. “Let’s build it where it is accessible.”

City Council was expected to vote on the proposal on Thursday afternoon; check theforumnewsgroup.com for updates.

City Begins Digging Out from Storm

Mayor Criticized for Comments About School Closure

By Conor Greene

With temperatures expected to reach the 50’s by the weekend, much of the snow and ice dumped on the city during Monday will soon melt away, but not before crippling much of the city and forcing officials to close public schools for the first time in five years.

Much of the city saw at least eight inches of snow overnight Sunday into Monday in what will surely be the winter season’s biggest storm. For the first time since January 2004, city officials decided to close public schools due to the inclement weather, and many side streets around Queens remained unplowed for several days.

At a briefing on the city’s efforts to clean up the city, Mayor Michael Bloomberg noted that there are about 6,000 miles of roads within the five boroughs. “So to plow all our streets, just think about this, it’s like plowing from here to Los Angeles and back,” he told reporters at a press conference in Woodside. “It is really quite an amazing job the sanitation workers have to do.”

More than 3,000 sanitation workers worked Sunday night into Monday to clear streets, according to Sanitation Department Commissioner John Doherty, who recalled the storm of February 1969 when 15 inches of snow fell on the city. The mayor at the time, John Lindsay, came under heavy criticism after the storm left the city paralyzed for three days.

“I spent some time in Queens north, which some may remember in ’69 was a very sensitive area for the mayor at the time, and the areas looked pretty good,” said Doherty.

Post-storm cleanup generally costs about one million dollars per inch of snow, and while Mayor Bloomberg declined to say how much this storm will cost the cash strapped city, he said the city is still well within budget for this winter season. “For seven years, we have been clearing the streets every time there has been a snowstorm, whether it was an election year or not,” he said.

While the mayor isn’t taking much heat for the city’s response to the storm, he has come under fire for the Department of Education’s relatively late decision to cancel schools, which came at 5:39 a.m. As a result, some parents and students began their daily routine – with some even arriving at closed schools – before realizing that classes were canceled.

At his news briefing, Mayor Bloomberg had this to say about the decision: “I think if you got up this morning and looked outside and the question didn’t come right away, hmm, I wonder if school is going to be open today and you didn’t know enough to call 311, I would suggest another day in school is probably a good idea.”

The comment was immediately seized upon by City Councilman Tony Avella (D-Bayside), who said that many parents were forced to scramble as a result of the “eleventh-hour” closing decision.

“Mike Bloomberg’s comments are extremely insulting to parents and demonstrate that he is completely out of touch with the average person,” said Avella in a statement. “Regardless of school closings, many parents still need to go to work and were forced to scramble to find child care. If DOE knew they were going to close the schools due to the inclement weather they needed to make the decision sooner and properly notify the parents.”

Avella, who is mounting a grassroots challenge to Mayor Bloomberg in November, said that New Yorkers “are sick and tired of Mike Bloomberg’s ‘just-deal-with-it’ attitude” and “deserves a mayor who realizes what the average person goes through on a daily basis.”

At the press conference, Bloomberg noted that a message notifying residents of the school closing was posted on the city’s 311 phone line, which received 140,000 calls by 10 a.m. Monday. He said that the late decision to close school was because officials waited to see if the storm would weaken or veer off course and miss the city.

The storm also caused some problems at The Shops at Atlas Park in Glendale on Tuesday afternoon, when melting ice chunks began falling from overhead awnings and roofs, according to a shopper. Security guards were forced to tape off several sidewalks in front of a number of businesses so that the ice could be safely removed.

In Forest Hills, Frank Gulluscio, district manager of Community Board 6, said his office didn’t receive any major complaints about lack of plowing or other issues. “They [Sanitation Department] were out doing a second phase [of cleanup] today and are salting the secondary streets today, along with the areas near fire hydrants, crosswalks and bus stops,” he said. “That’s the big thing for the everyday guy, to be able to cross the street or get to the bus stop.”

The storm caused the cancellation of about 450 flights out of LaGuardia, 119 at JFK International Airport and 335 at Newark Liberty International Airport, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The storm nearly matched the record for a one-day March snowfall in Manhattan, set when ten inches fell in 1898.

Ridgewood Man Sentenced for '06 Murder

VICTIM SHOT OUTSIDE WOODSIDE STRIP CLUB

By Conor Greene

A Ridgewood man has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for the murder and attempted murder of two men outside a Woodside strip-club more than two years ago.

Victor Gavalo, 26, of 1816 Stephens Street was sentenced last Friday by Queens Supreme Court Justice Arthur Cooperman. He was convicted last month of second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon following a week-long jury trial.

Gavalo was convicted of exiting a minivan he was sitting in on October 1, 2006 outside Club Phenomenon at 62-43 30th Avenue, which is located adjacent to the Brooklyn Queens Expressway in an industrial section of Woodside. Gavalo walked in front of a Honda and began shooting into the front windshield and passenger side window.

Ernesto Salgado, 22, of Sunnyside was killed after being struck at least once in the chest, while driver Tony Morales, 24, of Woodhaven was critically wounded. Gavalo then fled from the scene in the minivan. The incident occurred after the victims had left the Fantasia nightclub, which is located in the same building as Club Phenomenon.

“The defendant, having been convicted of the cold blooded shooting of two young men as they sat defenseless inside a parked car, has forfeited his right to live in society,” said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown following the sentencing. “The lengthy prison term imposed today is right and just.”

Gavalo, who is unemployed, had faced as much as 50 years to life in prison. He was arrested and charged in the shootings about three months after the incident.

Salgado marked the third person to be fatally shot outside the club in a three-year period, and the eighth shooting victim there overall. In December 2006, the Club Phenomenon and Fantasia were shut down in accordance with the city’s nuisance abatement law following five-month investigation by the District Attorney’s office.

Over the course of a year, undercover officers made nearly three dozen arrests there for offenses including gun possession, drug sales and prostitution. That year, the club’s owners paid $15,000 in fines stemming from nearly two dozen citations for infractions such as noise complaints and disorderly conduct. “Far from being the ‘gentlemen’s club’ it presumes to be, the club has long been a hotbed for drugs, prostitution and gunplay and the subject of numerous complaints,” said Brown after the building was padlocked.

However, the club reopened for business last month, during the same week in which Gavalo was convicted for the shooting. A billboard on top of the building visible from the adjacent expressway advertises the reopening of Perfection Upscale Gentlemen’s Club.

Assistant District Attorney Karen Ross of the DA’s Homicide Trials Bureau prosecuted the state’s case against Gavalo. “I hope the victims’ families find some closure in knowing the person responsible for shooting their loved ones has now been held accountable for his actions and will probably spend the rest of his natural life in prison,” said Brown following last month’s guilty verdict.

Ridgewood Man Convicted of '06 Murder

VICTIM SHOT OUTSIDE WOODSIDE NIGHTCLUB

By Conor Greene

A Ridgewood man has been convicted of murder and attempted murder in the 2006 shooting of two men outside a Woodside nightclub, announced Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.

Victor Gavalo, 26, of 1816 Stephens Street was convicted last Thursday of murder, attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon by a jury of six men and six women. The panel deliberated for less than five hours over two days following a weeklong trial before Queens Supreme Court Justice Arthur Cooperman.

Gavalo, who is unemployed, faces up to 50 years to life in prison when he is sentenced in Queens Criminal Court on February 6.

“The defendant stands convicted of callously standing in front of a parked car and shooting at its two passengers, who had no place to run or hide,” said Brown. “I hope that the victims’ families find some closure in knowing that the person responsible for shooting their loved ones has now been held accountable for his actions and will probably spend the rest of his natural life in prison.”

According to trial testimony, Gavalo exited a minivan at about 4 a.m. on October 1, 2006 and walked in front of a Honda parked outside of Club Phenomenon at 62-43 30th Avenue in Woodside. He began shooting into the front windshield and passenger side window, striking the front passenger, 22-year-old Ernesto Salgado of Sunnyside at least once in the chest, killing him. Gavalo also shot and critically wounded driver Tony Morales, 24, of Woodhaven, before fleeing in the minivan. He was arrested and charged in the shootings about three months later.

The incident occurred after the victims had left the Fantasia nightclub, which is located in the same 30th Avenue building as Club Phenomenon. Salgado was the third person to be fatally shot outside the club in a three-year period, and the eighth shooting victim overall.

In December 2006, Club Phenomenon and Fantasia were shut in accordance with the city’s nuisance abatement law following a five-month investigation by the District Attorney’s office. Over the course of a year, undercover officers made nearly three dozen arrests there for offenses including gun possession, drug sales and prostitution. That year, the club’s owner paid $15,000 in fines stemming from nearly two dozen citations for infractions such as noise complaints and disorderly conduct.

“Far from being the ‘gentlemen’s club’ it presumes to be, the club has long been a hotbed for drugs, prostitution and gunplay and the subject of numerous complaints – both to my office and the NYPD – from area residents and local officials,” said Brown after the building was padlocked. “Businesses that allow prostitution or other illegal activity to occur on their premises are at risk of being shut down.”

However, the club is preparing to re-open for business this week, according to the district attorney’s office. A billboard on top of the building visible from the nearby expressway advertises the January 16 grand opening of Perfection Upscale Gentlemen’s Club.

Assistant District Attorney Karen Ross of the DA’s Homicide Trials Bureau prosecuted the state’s case against Gavalo.