Melinda Katz Archives - Queens Ledger

Asian-American Advocacy Groups Endorse Grasso for DA

Iryna Shkurhan on June 21, 2023

Judge Grasso with Phil Wong, Board of Asian Wave Alliance and President of Chinese American Citizens Alliance of Greater NY, and Donghui Zang, President of NYC Residents Alliance. (Credit: Grasso for Queens)

By Iryna Shkurhan | [email protected]

Two significant Asian-American advocacy groups – New York City Residents Alliance and Asian Wave Alliance – endorsed former Judge George Grasso for Queens District Attorney at a press conference in Flushing on June 16.

Grasso is running to unseat current District Attorney, Melinda Katz, who is serving her first term in the position after serving as Queens Borough President for two terms. Most recently, Grasso was the Administrative Judge of Queens Supreme Court, but stepped down from the bench two years early to run for Queens DA.

“Our endorsements come after reviewing completed candidate questionnaires, publicly available news and records, participation in our candidates’ forums, and member deliberation. Judge George Grasso has a solid track record of fighting crime and we are confident that he will protect the Asian communities in Queens,” said Yiatin Chu, Asian Wave Alliance President, in a press release. “We support candidates who are committed to making our communities safer, cleaner and more prosperous for us and our children.”

New York City Residents Alliance is a coalition of Chinese-American parents working to secure equal opportunities in education, and safer communities through crime reduction. Asian Wave Alliance is a NYC based nonpartisan political advocacy group that works to organize Asian-American voters.

Judge Grasso with members of the board of New York City Residents Alliance and Asian Wave Alliance. (Credit: Grasso for Queens)

“We believe that Ms. Katz cannot break the shackles of the establishment, and cannot do a good job in the current environment where crimes are condoned, major crimes are reduced to minor crimes, and petty crimes are eliminated,” said Donghui Zang, New York City Residents Alliance President, in a press release. “We urgently need elected officials with a strong sense of justice to fight all crimes and protect the safety of everyone, especially children, the elderly, and women.”

Grasso commended the endorsements and acknowledged crime in predominantly Asian American communities in Queens, specifically a rise in hate crimes and small business burglaries.

“Running for office in a borough as diverse as Queens and receiving the endorsements of such established and respected groups means so much to me and is a reflection of my abilities as a crime fighter,” said Grasso in a press release. “Communities like Flushing, which function not only as centers of commerce, but also as cultural hubs in our borough, need an experienced criminal justice professional, not another politician.”

Early voting began on Saturday, June 17 and will run until Sunday, June 25. The election is on Tuesday, June 27.

DA Katz Receives Slew of Endorsements Ahead of Vote

Iryna Shkurhan on June 14, 2023

By Iryna Shkurhan | [email protected]

Current Queens District Attorney Melina Katz collected a wide range of endorsements weeks out from election day.

Most notably, Mayor Eric Adams said that “of course” he is endorsing Katz for reelection, citing her efforts to engage with communities, and vacate wrongful convictions while working collaboratively with police, in a statement.

Several LGBT groups — including The Stonewall Democratic Club of NYC and the Lavender Line Democratic Club of Queens — also showed their support by publicly endorsing her during Pride Month.

Katz took office in January 2020, making history as the first woman to hold the office. Right before that she served as the Queens Borough President for two terms and represented Forest Hills, parts of Maspeth, South Elmhurst and Richmond Hill as a city councilwoman from 2002 to 2009. She also served in the state assembly, and had various stints in private law since graduating from St. John’s Law School.

Running against her is Democratic candidate George Grasso, a retired judge and former NYPD deputy commissioner, who is pushing a tough on crime platform. Two of the few endorsements that Grasso received are prominent ones: the FDNY Union and former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton.

Last week, Moms Demand Action, a national coalition working to pass stronger gun laws since 2012, endorsed Katz as their gun sense candidate.

In April, Katz’s office launched the state’s first prosecution of an international ghost gun trafficking operation. A St. Albans man and his associate in Texas were charged with assembling and selling untraceable firearms in New York City and Trinidad.

“Ghost gun trafficking is a burgeoning cottage industry. We are seeing individuals with no criminal history assembling and selling ghost guns to supplement their legal income,” said Katz in a press release. “It is a deeply troubling trend that threatens to make an already pervasive gun violence problem much worse.”

In 2022, the Queens DA office seized 40 percent of ghost guns in the city, more than the DA offices in other boroughs.

“The fact remains that the more we limit access to firearms, the more lives are saved. That is why I have led the effort in taking illegal weapons, including ghost guns, off the streets of Queens, and will continue to dedicate all resources at my disposal to ensure a safe borough,” said Katz in a press release. “I am honored by this recognition from Moms Demand Action.”

In a justice oriented step, she launched Queens’ first-ever Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU) to identify and prove wrongful convictions of innocent defendants. Cases can be outlined in an intake form and submitted through email, or in person to the DA’s office in Kew Gardens for consideration.

Katz’s most recent endorsement came from Captain Endowment Association of the NYPD, a law enforcement union, joining the Lieutenants Benevolent Association. And despite the FDNY Union endorsement that Grasso received, Katz secured the support of Local 2507 Uniformed EMTs, Paramedics & Fire Inspectors in Whitestone.

“She has challenged the entire institution of the DA’s office to address issues specific to the LGBTQ+ community, and gotten results for us,” said Rod Townsend, President of the Lavender Line Democratic Club of Queens, in a statement. “Without hesitation, we endorse her for re-election.”

Early voting runs from June 17 to June 25. The primary election is on June 27.

Melinda Katz: The Outside-Insider

Matthew Fischetti on May 3, 2023

By Matthew Fischetti | [email protected]

It was precisely what she was criticized for in her first run for Queens District Attorney, that Melinda Katz believes has been one of her strongest assets: not being a career prosecutor or in law enforcement.

The former City councilwoman, assemblywoman and Queens borough president believes her work in politics and being a manager made her suited for the role of being the top prosecutor in Queens.

“I was never a career prosecutor. So when I came in, the whole world changed, I knew the law. I knew I was a good lawyer. And I knew I was a good manager. And so we had to figure out how to think outside the box,” District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a recent sit-down interview with the Queens Ledger.

Katz said that while the world shut down in her third month in office, she prepared her staff by getting hundreds of computers and prepared her staff to go all virtual.

She said that one of the biggest challenges facing the borough are guns on the street. On her first day in office, she created the Violent Crime Enterprise Bureau by combining the Narcotics Investigations and Gang Violence Bureaus in order to tackle the issue.

“We couldn’t stop. We just had no opportunity to stop. People still had their rights,” said Katz.

The issue of guns has gotten more difficult with the recent proliferation of “ghost guns” — which are untraceable firearms.

“They’re happening in every neighborhood, in every community, all across the borough of Queens County —happening in people’s basements and in their apartments,” she said.

In early April of this year, her office indicted a St. Albans man on over 600 felonies in the state’s first prosecution of an international ghost gun trafficking operation.

Katz said that the proliferation of illegal smoke shops takes time, as investigations by undercover agents have to secure over a pound in order to produce a felony charge, while the Sheriff’s office has more direct authority on the issue.

“We take it, we spend the resources and we do it,” said Katz.

Katz believes one of her strongest assets is knowing the communities she is prosecuting. She has made her Assistant District Attorneys participate in community activities so that they can know the community.

“I believe in my heart of hearts that to be a good prosecutor, you need to know the community. And that has been priceless, to be honest about it,” Katz said.

“It was a priceless knowledge to know the neighborhoods and know the community, and be able to work in the community, and by the way, have the faith of the community,” she continued.

Katz is currently facing primary challenges from Judge George Grasso, a former NYPD cop turned lawyer who is running on a tough-on-crime approach. Katz is also facing a challenge for Debian Daniels, a public defender.

The primary for the Queens District Attorney Race will occur on June 27 and the general election will occur on November 7.

Elmhurst father indicted in death of 3-year-old son

Alicia Venter on December 28, 2022

Allegedly killed his son at Pan American Hotel

By Alicia Venter

[email protected]

The Pan American Hotel in Elmhurst. Photo: Google Maps.

An Elmhurst man has been indicted for murder, endangering the welfare of a child and other crimes in connection with the death of his three-year-old son, according to the Queens District Attorney’s Office.

He has also been charged with physical abuse to a second child in an Elmhurst shelter last month.

Shaquan Butler, 26, is from Elmhurst.

According to the charges, Butler was in his apartment at the Pan American Hotel in Elmhurst at approximately 7:40 p.m. on Nov. 13 when he struck his three-year-old son numerous times.

The son suffered lacerations to his liver and internal bleeding.

According to the charges, the child’s mother and his two younger siblings were in the apartment at the time of the alleged assault.

Responding to a 911 call, the New York Fire Department found the victim unconscious on the floor with visible bruises to the head, body and extremities.

The child was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival, and the medical examiner determined that the child died from blunt force trauma to the torso.

A medical examination of a second child, age 2, revealed physical injuries consistent with child abuse.

Butler was arraigned Dec. 20 on a eleven-count indictment, charging him with murder in the second degree, two counts of manslaughter in the first degree, manslaughter in the second degree, assault in the second degree and six counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

Butler has been ordered to return to court on Jan. 31. He faces up to 40 years to life in prison if convicted.

“As alleged, this parent failed his primary duty as a protector, killing one of his own children by callous force and allegedly injured another,” said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz in a statement. “We will not forget this child. The defendant will be held fully accountable for his actions.”

Rego Park man indicted for brutal subway attack

Jessica Meditz on December 9, 2022

A Rego Park man was indicted and arraigned today for the alleged subway attack of a woman back in November, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced.

Abel Pita Aviles, 36, of 67th Avenue, is accused of robbing and groping a woman at knifepoint inside an M train subway car in Dutch Kills.

According to the charges, on Nov. 11, at around 8:45 a.m., Aviles approached the 24-year-old female victim inside an M train subway car approaching the 36th Street station.

The attack occurred on an M train car approaching the 36th St. Station. (Photo: Google Maps)

He’s accused of pointing a knife at the victim while demanding money and her cell phone, as well as pinning her down to the subway seat and forcibly groping her before fleeing on foot. The woman did hand over her phone and cash.

Aviles was apprehended shortly thereafter on Nov. 15.

“This shameful attack inside our subway system will not go unanswered. My office will use all tools at our disposal to protect commuters from violence inside our trains,” Katz said in a statement. “Every New Yorker should expect to be able to travel safely using public transportation. The defendant has been indicted on serious charges and is in custody.”

Aviles was arraigned before a Queens Supreme Court Judge on a four-count indictment charging him with robbery in the first degree, sexual abuse in the first degree, forcible touching and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree.

He was ordered to return to court on Jan. 17, 2023.

If convicted, Aviles faces up to 25 years in prison.

The investigation was conducted by members of the NYPD Transit Bureau’s Special Victims Division.

Jackson Heights man indicted on narcotics, weapons charges

Alicia Venter on November 10, 2022

Search of defendant’s home found cocaine, handgun and ammunition

By Alicia Venter

[email protected]

A Jackson Heights man has been indicted on charges of criminal sale of a controlled substance, criminal possession of a weapon and other charges, according to the Queens District Attorney’s Office.

Alejandro Rodriguez, 43, was arraigned yesterday on an 18-count indictment, including 14 counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the first and third degrees. He faces 20 years in prison if convicted.

According to the charges, Rodriguez is accused of supplying a large quantity of narcotics to an undercover officer over the course of five months.

The indictment states that there were a total of seven transactions Rodriguez and an undercover officer where more than 14 ounces of cocaine were sold.

Rodriguez is of 91st Street in Jackson Heights. On Oct. 19, a search of the defendant’s home resulted in the recovery of 60 grams of cocaine, an unlicensed .45 caliber handgun and 20 rounds of ammunition.

Following this search, the defendant was arrested, and an additional 100 grams of cocaine were recovered from his person.

The defendant has been ordered to return to court on Dec. 6.

“Illicit drug sales fuel addictions that destroy lives and violence that endangers our communities,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement. “We will not relent in our efforts to remove this poison from our streets and hold accused dealers accountable. I thank my Major Economic Crimes Bureau as well as our law enforcement partners for their commitment to those we serve.”