BRONX TIMES REPORTER, N BTR OV. 5-11, 2021 53
BY JOSEPH MONDELLO
Hello Sam Young Post 620
veterans, spouses, sons and
boosters.
I hope this week’s newsletter
fi nds you all in good spirits
and in health.
What a Halloween party
we had. Plenty of food, music,
laughter and good times
(just like the old days.) The
fi rst prize went to the Bride
of Frankenstein and he wore
it very well. We also had a
chance to say farewell to our
member John Brady and his
bride at the party, as he is
moving to Arizona on Nov. 2
to be with his kids. We are going
to miss your smile. Take
care and stay in touch.
Well, there is another fi rst
Saturday of the month tomorrow.
That means a Post meeting
at 1 p.m. conducted by our
Cmdr. Bill Franklin. Please
attend, as we need you to
show support to your Post.
Talking about supporting
the Post, did you happen
to watch Bill and me on
News12 on Monday? They did
a segment at the Samuel H.
Young Post 620 for Veteran’s
Month. If you missed it, catch
it online. By the way, no autographs,
please.
Don’t forget to sign up for
the dart team, which plays
every Wednesday. Speak to
Fran or Jeanette. Also, the
NYC Veterans Day Parade
is on Nov. 11. Our American
Legion National Command,
as well as the Department of
NY Commander, will be attending.
If you would like to
ride on the Legion’s parade
fl oat, contact the NY Department.
Our Post doors will be
open on Nov. 11 to all veterans
and friends. Come in, thank
a veteran and get a hotdog
and beer. The Bronx Veteran
Day Parade is on Nov. 14, and
will be marching down East
Tremont Avenue starting at
12 p.m. Grand Marshal Joe
Goonan will be leading the
way.
We are still looking for
members in Bronx County
who would like to attend
the play “Tina.” Early signup
is no later than Nov. 30,
and there is limited seating.
Email me at Legionriders@
msn.com, if you’re interested
in attending.
OK, I’m going to save some
stuff for next week’s column.
If I missed anything, read Tony’s
Korony Post 253 column.
In closing, soon Thanksgiving
will be upon us and many
families may still be struggling.
Check in on them and
lend a hand if you can.
BY FRANK VERNUCCIO
In September, Sen. Chuck
Grassley (R-Iowa) complained
that “For months, I’ve been
calling on the Biden administration
to get serious about
combatting fentanyl knockoffs,
which led to a record number
of overdose deaths in the
United States last year…it appears
that the Biden Administration
cares more about avoiding
new penalties than holding
drug traffi ckers accountable
for fueling an opioid epidemic
that continues to destroy families
and erode communities
across the country…”
Opioid overdose deaths
have risen dramatically, fueled
largely by engineered substances
that mimic fentanyl.
The fentanyl crisis began
in earnest during the Obama-
Biden administration. The
Washington Post termed the
issue the “Obama Fentanyl
Failure,” noting:
“The fentanyl crisis represents
an extraordinary public
health challenge — and requires
an extraordinary public
health response… experts
wrote to six Obama administration
offi cials, including the
nation’s ‘drug czar’ and the
chief of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. The
administration considered the
request but did not act on it.
The decision was one in a series
of missed opportunities,
oversights and half-measures
by federal offi cials who failed
to grasp how quickly fentanyl
was creating another — and
far more fatal — wave of the
opioid epidemic. In the span of
a few short years, fentanyl, a
synthetic painkiller 50 times
more powerful than heroin,
became the drug scourge of
our time. Fentanyl has played
a key role in reducing the overall
life expectancy for Americans.”
The DEA notes that “Drug
traffi cking organizations typically
distribute fentanyl by the
kilogram. One kilogram of fentanyl
has the potential to kill
500,000 people.”
According to that agency,
Illicit fentanyl, primarily manufactured
in foreign clandestine
labs and smuggled into the
U.S. through Mexico, is being
distributed across the country
and sold on the illegal drug
market.
The dramatic increase in illegal
entry into the U.S. during
the Biden administration does
not bode well for the coming
year’s statistics.
Testifying before the U.S.
Senate Caucus on International
Narcotics Control Caucus
in 2019, U.S. Customs
and Immigration Enforcement
(ICE) Assistant Director
Mathew C. Allen stated:
“Illicit Fentanyl, Fentanyl
analogies, and their chemical
precursors are most often produced
in China. From China,
these substances are shipped
primarily through mail carriers
directly to the U.S., or
through TCOs in Mexico, Canada,
and the Caribbean. Once
in the Western Hemisphere,
fentanyl or its analogues are
prepared and then mixed into
heroin supply, pressed into
pill form, then moved to the
illicit U.S. market where dependency
on prescription opioids
and heroin remains at
epidemic proportions. In some
cases, traffi ckers have shipped
industrial pills pressed from
China to the United States
to operate fentanyl pill press
mills domestically. Mexican
TCOs also receive shipments
of fentanyl, fentanyl analogues
and their precursors directly
from China. There is strong
evidence that large shipments
of fentanyl move from China
to Mexico and the shipments
are not opened until they are
within the United States. Mexican
cartels have seized upon
this business opportunity because
the profi t potential of
synthetic opiods and have invested
in growing their share
of the market. Because of its
low dosage range and potency,
one kilogram of fentanyl purchased
in China for $3,000-
$5,000 can generate upwards of
$1.5 million in revenue on the
illicit market…”
According to the U.S.-
China Economic and Security
Review Commission, China
remains the primary country
of origin for illicit fentanyl and
fentanyl-related substances
traffi cked into the United
States.
The organization notes that
“…Chinese traffi ckers are using
various strategies to circumvent
new regulations…
China’s weak supervision and
regulation of its chemical and
pharmaceutical industry also
enable evasion and circumvention.”
Mexico has become a major
entryway for fentanyl to the
U.S. That nation’s infamous
cartels work with Chinese
suppliers. Cartel drug money
is laundered through China’s
fi nancial system.
Beijing has been uncooperative.
CIVIC CENTER
Community Action
Civic Association
CIVIC CENTER
Samuel Young
Post 620
From Councilman Mark Gjonaj
BY COUNCILMAN
MARK GJONAJ
My district offi ce and
constituent services team
has been fi ring on all cylinders
for the last few weeks.
My team joined our trick-ortreaters
this Halloween in
Morris Park and Westchester
Square, admiring their
costumes and passing out
tasty (and healthy!) treats. It
is pleasure to see the return
of our traditions after this
last year, gathering families
and friends in our community
centers.
Traveling out-of-state to
Washington DC in the middle
of last week, I joined
our New York State congress
members in solidarity
against unpunished Serbian
war crimes, and on behalf
of the numerous Albanian,
Croatian and Bosnian communities
in our city. We repudiate
the weaponization
of rape during wartime and
call for justice to be fi nally
served to victims, who even
after several decades, still
await justice. Justice delayed
is justice denied.
On the legislative end, as
chair of the Committee on
Small Business, I held last
Friday an oversight hearing
on the impact that the Key to
NYC vaccine mandate program
has been having on
our local economies. While
certainly implemented with
good intentions and recognizing
that increasing citywide
vaccination rates is absolutely
necessary, I also recognize
the challenges it poses
to small businesses. Particularly
in neighborhoods with
relatively low rates of vaccination—
restaurants, entertainment
venues, and gyms
have reported depressed revenue,
employee-patron confl
icts, and issues with inspections.
The plight of our small
business throughout the pandemic
has been considerable,
and the administration’s vaccination
policies must be attuned
to their needs.
For questions about upcoming
events and services,
please contact my district offi
ce at either (718) 931-1721 or
at MGjonaj@council.nyc.gov.
It is a pleasure to continue to
serve my Bronx community.
Please be well and stay safe
as approach the Winter season.
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