FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com june 19, 2014 • The Queens Courier 3 If You’re Ready to Buy a Home,We are Ready to Help. The State of New York M ortgage Agency offers: Up to $15,000 Down Payment Assistance 1-800-382-HOME(4663) for Housing www.sonyma.org State Sen. Malcolm Smith’s corruption trial ends in mistrial BY ERI C JANKIE WICZ [email protected] @ericjankiewicz The federal corruption trial of state Sen. Malcolm Smith ended in a mistrial on June 17. Judge Kenneth M. Karas made the decision after it was revealed that the United States Attorney’s office failed to turn over 9,000 recorded conversations to defense lawyers until well into the trial, prompting several jurors to say that they could not wait for the defense to process the new recordings, according to The New York Times. The recordings, almost 300 hundred of which are in Yiddish, were made or received by Moses Stern, a Rockland County developer who became a government informer in order to avoid a prison sentence. The case against another defendant, the former vice chairman of the Queens County Republican Committee, Vincent Tabone, was also declared a mistrial. But the case against Daniel Halloran, a former councilman, will continue next week, according to the Times. A new trial date of Jan. 5, 2015, is set for Smith and Tabone. Smith, who currently holds office and is seeking reelection, is accused of trying to bribe his way into a GOP nomination for mayor. On June 12, federal prosecutors argued that the conversations were irrelevant to bribery crime and wire fraud that the defendants, including Smith, are charged with. But the defense — including Smith’s lawyer Gerald L. Shargel — convinced the judge that somewhere in the recordings there might be evidence that Stern and an undercover agent entrapped the defendants. The judge decided to postpone his decision until Friday to give prosecutors a chance to show him how the recordings might be translated quickly enough for the current case to continue. But it could take weeks to translate the Yiddish material since none of the lawyers speak Yiddish, according to the Times. And that’s something the jurors can’t wait for. “The lawyers are working around the clock as it is, and now you’re adding a pretty substantial review of the recordings,” the judge said. Jurors were then ushered into the courtroom where more secretly recorded conversations were played and they heard Smith say that bribes are “business of government,” according to the New York Post. Smith, a Democrat, is charged with being the linchpin in a conspiracy to bribe Tabone and Joseph J. Savino, the Bronx Republican chairman, to get their authorization to run for mayor as a Republican in 2013. Savino pleaded guilty to bribery. Tabone has argued that the payment he received was a legal retainer and he was entrapped into taking it. Halloran allegedly served as a go-between in discussions with the Republicans. Images Courtesy of Local Project Nonprofit Local Project turns to Kickstarter to survive BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO [email protected] @aaltamirano28 After having to move out of the building that housed 5Pointz, one nonprofit is turning to Kickstarter to help stay at the site it has called home for the past few months. Local Project, a nonprofit arts organization, has offered exhibitions, mentoring programs, classes, co-working space, residencies for artists and much more since starting in 2003. It previously had its headquarters and gallery located at 45-10 Davis St. in Long Island City inside the warehouse of the graffiti mecca. After the property’s owners decided to sell the location to construct two highrise apartment buildings, members of Local Project were left wondering where to go and were excited when they found a new location at 11-27 44th Rd. However, after having to deal with a 50 percent rent increase, the nonprofit has hit a bump and now needs help raising money to pay two months of rent in order to continue being part of the community. “It’s a New York problem, paying rent,” said Carolina Peñafiel, founder and director of Local Project. “We’re hoping to be able to breathe. We didn’t expect it to be so hard to get back on track. ” The organization started a Kickstarter campaign with a goal to raise $6,100 by July 12. A total of $1,772 had been raised as of press time. Supporters will be able to get gifts after donating on Kickstarter including a personalized brick on Local Project’s supporters’ wall with a $25 pledge or more. “It’s a new location, it’s a different crowd, there’s no 5Pointz in here that can back us up,” Peñafiel said. “Now we’re building this up again. Everyone that comes in lives in the area and they appreciate what we are doing.” Once Local Project meets its goal, the organization would then be able to have time to go create a strategic plan and put it into place to ensure it thrives for more years to come, Peñafiel said. Future plans for Local Project includes year-long exhibitions, events, a co-working space, mentorship for new curators and artists, a continuing partnership and student internships with the Information Technology High School in Long Island City and MoMA, and creative affordable workshops. “We’re looking at this as very positive,” Peñafiel said. “The horizon looks awesome and there are all of these opportunities and all of these great things we want to get back to work on.”
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