FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com NOVEMBER 3, 2016 • The Queens Courier 3 Pressure cooker shuts down parkway A suspicious pressure cooker found on a sidewalk in Queens Village on the afternoon of Oct. 30 was eventually deemed safe by officials, but not before tying up local traffic. Authorities were notified about the suspicious package through a 911 call on Oct. 30. The NYPD Bomb Squad was called to investigate the device — which was discovered on a sidewalk at Bell Boulevard and the Grand Central Parkway — at about 3:45 p.m., according to reports. Out of an abundance of caution, the Grand Central Parkway and Bell Boulevard were closed in both directions near the scene as police investigated. An all-clear by authorities was given about a half-hour later after police deemed the pressure cooker to be safe. Pressure cookers were used by terrorists in constructing explosive devices that were detonated at the Boston Marathon in 2003 and in Manhattan back in September. Suzanne Monteverdi Pence’s plane has trouble at LGA Republican vice presidential nominee wasn’t hurt when his plane had a rough landing at La Guardia Airport last week. The Indiana governor and running mate of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump came to New York for a fundraiser Thursday night, Oct. 27, and the charter Eastern Airlines jet he was on skidded off the runway on arrival at La Guardia at about 7:41 p.m. No injuries were reported, and the candidate along with others on board the flight safely departed the plane. Citing Port Authority officials, ABC News reported that the plane hit a concrete barrier at the end of the runway, preventing the jet from skidding onto the nearby Grand Central Parkway. Robert Pozarycki Shooting prompts calls to shut hookah bar Days after an off-duty paramedic was shot outside a hookah lounge in Jamaica Estates, a local lawmaker is calling for the bar to be closed, citing a past history of violence. The 38-year-old male FDNY lieutenant was shot four times in the arm, back, torso and foot outside the Cloud 9 lounge located at 179-22 Union Tpke. at about 4 a.m. on the morning of Oct. 29, according to police. He was brought to Queens Hospital, where he is listed in stable condition. Councilman Rory Lancman said this was the second shooting at Cloud 9 in two years. Back in June 2014, according to a published report, a 30-year-old man was shot in the right shoulder amid a dispute broke out at the hookah bar. “The Police Department and the State Liquor Authority need to use the tools at their disposal to ensure that adequate security is in place before Cloud 9 is able to continue operating, and I will be convening a meeting of stakeholders to demand answers from the bar’s ownership,” Lancman said in a statement. Robert Pozarycki Photo by Suzanne Monteverdi/THE COURIER Bayside, Douglaston and Little Neck residents continue to be victims of a financial crime trend that’s spiked recently in their communities. CRAFTY CRIMINALS ATM skimmers, mail fishing scams continue to plague northeast Queens residents: cops By Suzanne Monteverdi smonteverdi@qns.com/@smont76 Bayside, Douglaston and Little Neck residents continue to be victims of a financial crime trend that’s spiked recently in their communities. “One category we continue to struggle with is grand larceny,” said Deputy Inspector William McBride, commanding officer of the 111th Precinct, “and it’s not people stealing purses off people in the street.” During the 111th Precinct Community Council’s November meeting, McBride attributed the year-to-date rise in grand larceny to certain financial crime trends that the precinct has taken note of in the area. Sergeant Lambros Gavalas, who works in the grand larceny division of the 111th Precinct Detective Squad, gave an indepth presentation about the local trends. The first was mailbox fishing. Gavalas explained that thieves looking to steal mail will attach objects dipped in a sticky substance to fishing line and drop them into U.S. Postal Service mailboxes. Then, envelopes inserted into the mailbox by local residents will stick to the object and easily be pulled out with the line by crooks. “It’s not very high tech, but it works,” Gavalas said. Gavalas told residents not to drop their envelopes into mailboxes that look tampered with or have missing or worn time stamps posted on them. He also encouraged attendees to invest in gel impact pens, which can be found at most office supply stores. The gel is resistant to the acetone wash that some crooks use to remove the ink from stolen checks in order to alter payee and monetary value. “Thieves kind of focus on smaller amounts,” Gavalas said. “They don’t always wash the checks, but this seems to be a common way to do it.” Another scam officials have observed in the area are installed skimming devices, which enable thieves to pull an individual’s financial information remotely. “You have your card: it has a magnetic strip on it,” Gavalas explained. “That device on the door, or that device on the ATM itself, or some other location where you put your card in — that’s where they skim your information from.” To combat information skimming, Gavalas encouraged attendees to fully cover the ATM pad with one hand when entering their PIN with the other and examine the ATM for any physical irregularities. “Be paranoid; it’s okay,” Gavalas said. “If you do this, you’ll be minimizing the chance they’ll see your PIN number.” If one does fall victim to a financial scam, Gavalas advised individuals to immediately notify the authorities, alert all banks to flag their accounts and contact all creditors about the situation. Gavalas also encouraged residents to report suspicious individuals who they may see using the ATM. “This is exactly what they look like,” Galavas said, who directed attendees’ attention to two photos of individuals withdrawing money in face masks obscuring their identity. “See these guys still trick-ortreating? If you see this at the ATM, please call 911.” For more information visit the NYPD’s Crime Prevention website.
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