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BROOKLYN WEEKLY, OCTOBER 20, 2019
OVERRULED Suspect runs down
BY JESSICA PARKS
A Brooklyn motorist allegedly
struck and injured
a police offi cer in an attempt
to fl ee from a routine
traffi c stop in Prospect Lefferts
Garden on Saturday,
cops said.
Two offi cers approached
the 26-year-old
motorist’s double-parked
car near Rutland Road and
Flatbush Avenue shortly
before midnight, when the
suspect allegedly rammed
his 2010 gray Audi into
one of the patrolmen —
pinning him between the
vehicle and another car,
according to a Police Department
spokeswoman.
The suspect then
hopped out of the car and
fl ed the scene on foot — but
his getaway was foiled 20
minutes later when cops
cuffed him on Winthrop
Street between Flatbush
and Bedford avenues, and
slapped him with felony
assault charges, according
to police.
Offi cers also arrested
a potential accomplice on
charges of obstructing
governmental administration.
The injured offi cer was
rushed to Kings County
Hospital in stable condition,
according to police.
Judge Claudia Daniels-
DePeyster of Kings Criminal
Court set the suspect’s
bail at $5,000 if paid by
cash, or $7,500 by bond at
his arraignment on Sunday.
Deborah Silberman —
a Legal Aid Society lawyer
assigned to serve as the defendant’s
defense attorney
— could not be reached for
comment.
BY AIDAN GRAHAM
Federal authorities arrested
a Brooklyn judge at
Laguardia Airport on Friday
for allegedly obstructing
an investigation into a
multibillion-dollar fi nancial
institution — where she
once served as chairwoman
of the board.
Supreme Court Justice
Sylvia Ash allegedly destroyed
evidence and lied
to investigators about millions
of dollars of embezzled
funds from Municipal
Credit Union — the largest
credit union in New York
State — according to prosecutors
at the Southern District
of New York.
Ash — who was fi rst
elected as a Civil court judge
in 2006 — had worked a sidegig
on the credit union’s
board of directors between
2008 and 2016, which paid
her “tens of thousands of
dollars” annually, prosecutors
said.
Even after her resignation
from the board, Credit
Union leadership continued
to provide Ash with various
benefi ts, “such as Apple devices,”
according to authorities.
In 2018, prosecutors approached
the judge about an
investigation into Municipal
Credit Union’s President
and CEO Kam Wong — who
allegedly perpetrated an
elaborate fraud scheme to
steal millions of dollars in
funds from the fi nancial institution,
authorities said.
But instead of cooperating,
Ash allegedly provided
false testimony to cover for
Wong, and destroyed her
credit union-issued cell
phone to hide evidence from
investigators, according to
prosecutors.
“As alleged, Sylvia Ash,
a sitting state court judge,
took repeated steps to obstruct
a federal investigation
into signifi cant fi nancial
misconduct at Municipal
Credit Union during Ash’s
tenure as chair of the board
of directors,” said U.S. Attorney
Geoffrey Berman.
Wong ended up pleading
guilty to one count of embezzlement
in 2018, according to
prosecutors.
The judge was out of town
when investigators notifi ed
Ash about a warrant for her
arrest on Thursday, and she
boarded an inbound fl ight
to Laguardia airport, where
she was arrested on Friday
morning, authorities said.
Ash — who was slapped
with obstruction and conspiracy
charges — faces up
to 45 years in prison if she is
found guilty of all charges.
Prior to her arrest,
Brooklyn Paper’s Standing
O column saluted the Supreme
Court justice on several
occasions, including for
her work educating attorneys
regarding the state’s
jury-selection process , distinctions
she received from
the Brooklyn Bar Association
in 2018, and her brief
stint as a fashion model earlier
this year.
Judge cuffed in cover up scheme
Flight risk
PERP WALK: Jusge Sylvia Ash
poses as a fashion model. prior
to her arrest.
Photo by Stefano Giovannini
cop in failed escape
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