FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM MARCH 18, 2021 • THE QUEENS COURIER 21
Confl ict of interest bill introduced after proposed hospital cuts
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
aacevedo@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Assemblywoman Stacey Pheff er Amato
has introduced legislation that would
address confl icts of interest for public
employees in response to the proposals
that could have drastically cut capacity
and services at St. John’s Episcopal
Hospital (SJEH).
SJEH, the only full-service hospital in
Far Rockaway, was presented with three
cost-cutting proposals by the state that
would have fundamentally changed the
hospital’s existing services and resulted
in hundreds of jobs lost, including one
option to transform it into a “micro hospital.”
Th e New York State Department of
Health (NYSDOH) hired the consulting
fi rm ToneyKorf Partners, LLC, in 2019
to analyze the hospital’s operations and
come up with the proposals — which
were condemned by community leaders
and local elected offi cials. Th e plans have
since been put on hold by Gov. Andrew
Cuomo.
However, elected offi cials are concerned
about the consulting fi rm’s infl uence
over SJEH’s review on the state
level, due to Cuomo’s appointment of
ToneyKorf ’s Senior Managing Director
Richard Becker as deputy secretary
for Health and Human Services at
NYSDOH last year.
Pheff er Amato’s newly introduced
bill would prohibit any public
employee from overseeing a
project that they were previously
a consultant on, which
the southeast Queens lawmaker
said was what happened
at SJEH.
“This consultant
should never have
been in the position
of being able
to make decisions
that would drastically
change how
St. John’s functions,”
Pheff er Amato said. “With
his intimate knowledge of
St. John’s inner
workings, this
consultant created
proposals
that would
f u n d ame n -
tally change
how the hospital
works.
Consultants
can
play an important role in assisting agencies
in New York state, but a distinction
must be made when a state contracted
consultant transitions to government.
Th is bill will ensure that a confl ict of
interest of this magnitude will never happen
again.”
State Senator James Sanders Jr., who
represents parts of the Rockaways, will be
introducing the Senate version of this bill.
“Th is legislation will increase the standards
of integrity for New York state
employees and the policy process,”
Sanders said. “Taxpayers rely on
state employees to give objective
advice on behalf of the public interest
to promote sound policy decisions. Th is
bill will remove confl icts of interest in the
decision-making process.”
SJEH is a safety net hospital that serves
more than 100,000 residents in the
Rockaways, particularly residents in
underserved communities. It’s where
the fi rst case of COVID-19 in Queens
was identifi ed. It’s also a signifi -
cant source of jobs in the community,
employing about 1,000 union workers.
Astoria man cuff ed for alleged role in designer goods heists at JFK
BY JACOB KAYE
jkaye@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
An Astoria man was arrested and
arraigned this week for his alleged involvement
in two lucrative heists of designer
goods from John F. Kennedy International
Airport last year, Queens District Attorney
Melinda Katz announced on Th ursday.
Oscar Asencio, 32, is the fi ft h person to
be arrested in connection to the January
and May 2020 heists allegedly perpetrated
by several former airport employees who
forged documents to get a hold of over $6
million of designer gear, including Chanel
jewelry and handbags and Gucci sneakers,
purses, sunglasses and clothing.
Asencio was arraigned in Queens
Supreme Court on Tuesday, March 9, and
charged with criminal possession of stolen
property and conspiracy. If convicted,
Asencio faces up to 25 years in prison.
Th e fi rst heist began on Jan. 31, 2020,
when David Lacarriere, a former airport
worker, brought forged documents
to the receiving offi ce of an air cargo
importer, according to the DA. Th e documents
granted Lacarriere and Gary
McArther, another former employee from
Springfi eld Gardens, access to the runway,
where they used a tractor trailer to
load four pallets of Prada products into
the truck, Katz said.
Th e fi rst heist netted the men around
$804,000 worth of designer products,
according to the criminal complaint.
On May 17, the group struck again, as
Lacarriere, McArthur and Davon Davis, of
Long Island City, as well as several others
made off with over $5.3 million inn Chanel
and Gucci goods, according to the authorities.
Asencio alleged role in the scheme involved
the stash house, an abandoned beauty salon
located near Guy R. Brewer Boulevard and
147th Avenue in Jamaica that was used to
store the stolen goods, Katz said.
Asencio was spotted on surveillance
video carrying bags fi lled with the stolen
products in and out of the building, the
complaint alleges.
Th e group was able to sell all but $2.5
million worth of the stolen merchandise
before the operation was busted by law
enforcement, the DA said.
Lacarriere, McArthur, Davis and a
fourth man, Alan Vu, were arrested in
connection to the heists in October 2020.
Asencio was remanded by the court and
is scheduled to return on March 25.
QNS fi le photo
Assemblywoman Stacey Pheff er Amato speaks at SJEH ribbon-cutting
ceremony in 2019.
Photo via Shutterstock
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