YEAR IN REVIEW
Top web stories of the year
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
Rosa’s Pizza in Maspeth
shuts down after multiple
Health Dept. violations
A Maspeth pizza shop was
ordered closed by the Health
Department over the weekend
due to a litany of serious
health code infractions.
Rosa’s Pizza, located
at 55-36 69th St., was shut
down after failing a recent
health inspection on June
28, wracking up 58 points according
to records from the
city Department of Health
and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH).
Rosa’s offenses include
evidence of mice, hot items
being held at inadequate
temperatures and personal
cleanliness inadequateness.
In their November 2018 inspection,
the restaurant
scored 25 points, giving it a
B rating. Restaurants with a
score between 0 and 13 points
earn an A, those with 14 to 27
points receive a B and those
with 28 or more a C.
“Rosa’s Pizza (5526 69th
St., Queens) was closed due
to a public health hazard
that could not be corrected
at the time of the inspection.
In this case, they had evidence
of mice in the kitchen.
Once these issues have been
corrected, the restaurant
can request a re-opening
inspection.” a spokesperson
from the Health Department
said.
Little Neck home
invaders rape woman
twice while stealing
thousands in cash
Two men robbed and
raped a 34-year-old woman
and terrorized her family
during a home invasion in
Little Neck, police reported.
The violent encounter took
place at about 9:31 p.m. on
May 4 in the vicinity of 251st
Street and 57th Avenue.
According to law enforcement
sources, the 34-yearold
woman was leaving the
residence when the two men
— one of whom brandished
a firearm — approached
and forced her back into the
home.
Security camera footage
that the NYPD released
on May 6 shows one armed
suspect chasing the victim
inside the house and two
other perpetrators walking
in.
Brooklyn resident Brandon
Daniels, 24, was arrested
on May 14 in connection
to this incident. He
was charged with attempted
rape, robbery, assault, burglary,
sexual abuse and acting
in a manner injurious to
a child.
Sources say that Daniels
turned himself in to police
custody and was arraigned
in Queens Criminal Court.
Authorities indicated that
he was linked to the crime
through genetic evidence.
Queens priests on list of
clergy credibly accused of
sexually abusing minors
The Diocese of Brooklyn
released on Feb. 15 its list
of living and deceased clergy
who were determined to
have been credibly accused
of sexual abuse of a minor.
The list spans over 166
years of the diocese. Diocesan
officials believe that the
accusations made against
those on the list may be
true.
Among the living priests
that stand accused and have
served in Queens include
Brian Keller (St. Margaret,
Middle Village), Andrezj
Lukianiuk (Sacred
Heart, Glendale) and Adam
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.18 COM | DEC. 27-JAN. 2, 2020
Prochaski (St. Stanislaus
Bishop & Martyr, Ozone
Park; Holy Cross, Maspeth).
The full list contains names
of clergy who have been convicted,
who have admitted
to sexual misconduct with a
minor or who have had allegations
determined credible
by the Independent Diocesan
Review Board.
According to the diocese,
the number of incidents of
clergy sexual abuse peaked
in the 1960s and 1970s, however
reports weren’t made
until after 2002 following the
Charter for the Protection of
Children and Young People
was enacted.
Reports also saw another
surge in 2017 when the diocese
started the Independent
Reconciliation and Compensation
Program (IRCP).
Fake credit card ring
operators in Flushing had
$600,000 in cash and 480
pounds of pot in home
A federal raid of a Flushing
home uncovered much
more than the makings of
a counterfeit credit card
mill. Authorities seized 480
pounds of marijuana and
$600,000 in cash from the
residence on 22nd Avenue
during the Jan. 24 raid, according
to Queens District
Attorney Richard A. Brown
said. Three people at the
home were taken into custody:
Jian Zhi Chen, 29, Yue
Mei Sun, 55, and Qiao Xiao,
26.
While searching the entire
residence, prosecutors
said, law enforcement agents
found a total of $600,000 cash
and nearly $3,000 in counterfeit
money. They also found a
stash of 480 pounds of marijuana,
packed into vacuumsealed,
one-pound bags, and
various credit card-making
tools including a credit card
reader/writer, a credit card
stamper, an embosser and
foil cartridges used to add
color to the bogus credit
cards.
With street sale estimates
for marijuana in New
York ranging between $275
and $338 an ounce, the total
amount of marijuana seized
from the Flushing home figures
to exceed $2 million.
Law enforcement agents
have not yet disclosed an approximate
street value of the
pot.
Finally, Brown noted, officers
located and seized 445
THC cartridges, containing
the high-producing ingredient
found in marijuana, and
a vacuum sealer.
Flushing man wins big
in NY Lottery
A Flushing man won millions
from the New York Lottery.
Jason Pae, 27, won the
guaranteed $5,000,000 jackpot
prize on the popular “Set
for Life” scratch-off ticket.
Pae purchased his winning
“Set for Life” ticket at the
Maruti 149 Corporation on
41st Street in Flushing while
on his way home from work.
“I was on my way home
from work and stopped at
the deli for some Gatorade,”
explained Pae. “I scratched
the ticket in the store and my
first thought was ‘Wow!’”
According to the New
York Lottery, Pae is the 50th
person to claim a prize totaling
$1,000,000 or more this
year.
Pae chose to receive his
prize money in annual installments
of $260,000 before
withholdings and will
receive a net check totaling
$164,590 annually for the
rest of his life.
As for what he’s going
to do with his newfound
wealth? For Pae, the decision
was easy.
“First I plan to visit my
family in Korea. Then I hope
to start my own business,”
said Pae.
A Flushing man won millions from the New York Lottery in June. Photo via Shutterstock
Several Queens priests were named on the Diocese of Brooklyn’s
list of living and deceased clergy who were determined to have
been credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor.
Photo via Getty Images