22 THE QUEENS COURIER • NOVEMBER 23, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Howard Beach paper publisher
indicted for witness tampering
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@ridgewoodtimes.com / @
robbpoz
Members of a federal grand jury
handed down an indictment last week
against Patricia Adams, publisher of
Th e Forum Newsgroup in Howard
Beach, for allegedly attempting to
coerce a sex assault victim’s father
into having his daughter drop charges
against a reputed neighborhood mobster.
Federal agents originally arrested
Adams, 58, back in August on witness
tampering charges. Th e indictment
handed down on Nov. 15 additionally
charges Adams with obstruction
of justice.
According to federal prosecutors,
Adams allegedly attempted to interfere
in the sex assault case against
Robert Pisani, a Howard Beach business
owner and reputed member of
the Bonnano crime family who was
arrested back in March in a widespread
organized crime sweep.
Pisani was arrested on May 4 for
allegedly exposing himself to a female
employee and groping her inside
the All-American Bagel and Barista
Company weeks earlier. Th e arrest
prompted federal prosecutors to fi le a
motion asking a judge to revoke Pisani’s
$500,000 bail.
Th rough an investigation, federal
agents determined that Pisani allegedly
contacted Adams and asked her to get
involved. Law enforcement sources said
Adams had allegedly racked up a massive
amount of debt with gaming outfi ts
operated by organized crime members.
Federal prosecutors said Adams then
contacted the female employee’s father
and asked to meet with him at a neighborhood
coff ee shop. During the meeting,
which the father apparently taped,
Adams allegedly told him that she was
close with Pisani and that she was “in a
position … to have to expose the whole
situation if we get to that point.”
“I won’t hurt you if you don’t deserve
— that’s for my enemies,” she was
quoted as telling the victim’s father in
a transcript within the criminal complaint
against her. “I will not hurt you
… but in the newspaper, thoroughly,
thoroughly objective … For my good,
for everybody’s good — I’m hoping
that she’ll decide to drop it.”
She went on to allegedly tell the man
that she was “on the verge of — I’ve
been trying to get out for two years.
But because of certain obligations, I’m
forced to stay on. I’m kind of under
their thumb.” Federal agents believe she
was referencing her alleged obligations
to the Bonnano family.
Following her August arrest, Adams
was released on $150,000 bail but
placed under house arrest.
Funding available to help
families pay heating bills
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@starnetwork.com
@smont76
Families throughout the borough who are
having diffi culties making ends meet can apply
for aid this winter.
Borough President Melinda Katz is urging
Queens residents who need fi nancial help to
apply for the Home Energy Assistance Program
(HEAP), a federally funded program that helps
low-income homeowners and renters aff ord
heating fuel. Th ose deemed eligible can receive
up to several hundreds dollars a year to off set
their fuel bills.
Interested residents can visit Katz’s offi ce at
Queens Borough Hall (Room 225) on Mondays
and Wednesdays (excluding holidays) between
9 a.m. and 5 p.m. up until March 14, 2018. No
appointments are accepted; walk-in applications
will be served on a fi rst-come, fi rst-served
basis.
Applicants visiting the HEAP offi ce must
bring a copy of a recent utility bill as well as documentation
verifying their income, rent, date of
birth and social security number of each household
member. A checklist of the documents that
must be brought to the HEAP offi ce is available
here.
Individuals must apply for HEAP benefi ts
annually. Th is year, a family of four with a gross
monthly income of $4,457 or less can receive
HEAP benefi ts. Th is monthly income threshold
will increase or decrease depending on the size
of a household.
“We do not know what Mother Nature has
in store for us this winter, but we do know how
harmful and even deadly winter temperatures
can be for the elderly and to other vulnerable
people,” Katz said. “Many individuals and families
are eligible for important and potentially
life-saving fi nancial assistance that will allow
them to aff ord heating their homes. All Queens
residents who are struggling to pay their heating
bills should take advantage of this valuable
program.”
HEAP also has an equipment repair and
replacement component that can help eligible
low-income homeowners repair or replace
any broken heating equipment needed to keep
a home’s primary heating source functional.
Applications for these grants can also be made
at Borough Hall or at any local HEAP offi ce.
Queens Borough Hall is located at 120-55
Queens Blvd.
Learn more about the program by calling the
New York State HEAP hotline at 1-800-342-
3009 or visiting http://otda.ny.gov/programs/
heap/.
Volunteers needed for snow removal
program for northeast Queens seniors
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
Bayside, College Point, Douglaston,
Flushing and Whitestone residents
are being asked to step up for their
fellow neighbor this winter season.
Those living within the 11th
Senatorial District can volunteer to
be a volunteer for the fifth annual
“Snow Removal for Seniors” program.
The initiative was launched by
state Senator Tony Avella in 2012.
Volunteers of all ages can contact
Avella’s office at 718-357-3094.
Student volunteers will receive 10
hours of community service credit
for their efforts.
Volunteers are deployed during
the season’s harsh winter storms.
The program was formed to help
the large senior population in northeastern
Queens stay safe in the colder
months while keeping in compliance
with the city’s snow removal
rules.
“With winter just on the horizon,
as you can tell from stepping outside
this week, we need as many people
as possible to volunteer themselves
for this valuable service,” Avella
said. “Many seniors are forced to put
themselves at risk of injury in order
to clear snow and can even risk fines
should they not be able to. I ask that
anyone willing to assist to call my
office and help make winters easier
on our seniors.”
Photo via Flickr/TaxRebate.org.uk
Screenshot via YouTube/LibertyAvenuePolitics.com
Patricia Adams, publisher of The Forum Newsgroup, was arrested on Aug. 16 on federal
witness tampering charges.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons/Andrea Booher