12 THE QUEENS COURIER • FEBRUARY 20, 2014 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com s police beat COMPILED BY TONIA N. CIMINO & CRISTABELLE TUMOLA Cement & Brick Work Scam warning Tightened security at psychiatric facility Old World Craftsmanship Cement & Brick Work CALL ARTIE Basement Water Proofing Specialist Serving Queens for 35 Years Serving Queens for 35 Years For more information contact Artie DiBiase Mason Contractor 718.767.0072 Licensed #808097 and Insured Licensed #808097 and Insured Old World Craftsmanship CALL ARTIE Basement Water Proofing Specialist Pavers and Exposed Aggregate Concrete For more information contact Artie DiBiase Mason Contractor 718.767.0072 We’re Waiting For YOU North Shore Animal League America Has Over 300 Dogs, Cats, Puppies And Kittens Available! 25 Davis Ave., Port Washington, NY AnimalLeague.org OPEN EVERY DAY: Sun – Thurs: 10am – 9pm Fri – Sat: 10am – 10pm Like us on Home of the Mutt-i-gree® 516.883.7575 facebook.com/TheAnimalLeague 104TH PRECINCT Glendale, Middle Village, Maspeth, Ridgewood Staff changes Captain John Travaglia, who had been assigned to the 104th Precinct since October of 2011, has been transferred to the 114th Precinct. He will be replaced by Captain Timothy Brown. 109TH PRECINCT Downtown Flushing, East Flushing, Queensboro Hill, College Point, Malba, Whitestone, Beechhurst and Bay Terrace Man found dead at College Point park A man’s body was discovered at a College Point park Tuesday afternoon, police said. The unidentifi ed male was found about 1:15 p.m. in Hermon A. Macneil Park near 119th Street and 5th Avenue, according to the NYPD. Cops said there were no signs of trauma on the body and the person appeared to be homeless. The medical examiner will determine the cause of death. 113TH PRECINCT St. Albans, Hollis, Springfi eld Gardens, South Ozone Park, South Jamaica, Addisleigh Park and Locust Manor Arrest in city’s fi rst shooting death Police have arrested a man they say executed the city’s fi rst homicide of the year. Cops arrested Sheldon Smith, 26, on Monday, February 17 in connection to the January 1 death of Julio Mora, 22, of Richmond Hill. Police found Mora, who reportedly had a history of arrests, inside a 113th Avenue residence near Sutphin Boulevard with what initially appeared to be stab wounds to the chest. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The medical examiner later determined Mora had died from a gunshot wound. Smith, who has reportedly been arrested 11 other times, was charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon. BY MELISSA CHAN mchan@queenscourier.com / @MelissaCourier Don’t be another phone scam victim, police and Congressmember Grace Meng are warning. Criminals, posing as authority fi gures, are either targeting immigrants with threats of deportation or calling victims to say they owe money to the IRS or to utility companies. Meng said scammers are posing as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services offi cials, asking for Social Security and passport numbers. The thieves then say payment is needed to fi x immigration record problems, in many cases demanding victims use a Green Dot MoneyPak, police said. “These are not government offi cials trying to correct a problem. They are con artists trying to rip people off,” Meng said. Residents should be suspicious of callers who demand immediate payment for any reason, police said. Cops also warn residents not to give out personal or fi nancial information to anyone who calls or emails. Utility and government agencies will never say to pay immediately with Green Dot MoneyPak or even ask for payments over the phone, the NYPD said. Victims should call their local precincts or report the incident to the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov. Meng said constituents concerned about their immigration records can call her offi ce at 718-445-7860 or visit www.uscis.gov. The congressmember introduced an anti-spoofi ng bill last December, calling for penalties for those who use caller IDs to misrepresent themselves in order to get personal or fi nancial information. “The public should be on guard against this outrageous scam and not fall victim to it,” Meng said. BY CRISTABELLE TUMOLA ctumola@queenscourier.com/@CristabelleT A Queens psychiatric facility has tightened security after a convicted criminal managed to fl ee the building, according to the New York State Offi ce of Mental Health (OMH). A friend was visiting Raymond Morillo, 33, a patient at the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens Village, on January 28, when the two switched clothing and Morillo escaped, police said. Two days later, Morillo was apprehended in Tennessee. Morillo served a 14-year prison sentence on a manslaughter charge for a fatal shooting and for assault, but had fi nished serving his time when he came to Creedmoor, according to published reports. “Increased identity verifi cation procedures have been put into place at Creedmoor Psychiatric Center, which add a separate and distinct layer of verifi cation apart from the identifi cation passes provided at entrances. For security purposes, OMH cannot detail these additional measures,” Ben Rosen, an OMH spokesperson said. In response to Morillo’s escape, a coalition of more than a dozen civic presidents issued a seven-point plan of action that called for measures, such as a full investigation into the incident, the adoption of a comprehensive security plan for the entire Creedmoor campus that would prevent a similar incident from happening again, and a similar review and assessment of security at nearby Zucker-Hillside Hospital. Any escaped patient is immediately reported to local law enforcement, Rosen said. It is also OMH policy to undergo a thorough investigation to determine the causes of such occurrences and require appropriate policy changes be made to prevent them from reoccurring. File photo Increased security measures have been put in place after a convicted killer escaped from Creedmoor Psychiatric Center.
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