8 The Queens Courier • DECEMBER 12, 2013 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com HONOR WORKERS WHO STOPPED RAPE BY MELISA CHAN mchan@queenscourier.com Three Queens-bred Verizon technicians who thwarted a rape in Flushing in October were honored by the City Council this week for their gallant rescue. “No one should ever have to experience such an atrocious crime as rape,” said Councilmember Julissa Ferreras, who chairs the Council’s Women’s Issues Committee. Michael Popowich, Anthony Howley and John Gilday were on the job October 30, when they said they saw a man push a woman to the ground and pull down her underwear near 150-24 Northern Boulevard around noon. The trio chased down the attacker and sat on him until cops arrived. “I am proud that these courageous men stepped in and prevented a potential rape from occurring,” Ferreras said. “It is my hope that their example resonates with all New Yorkers everywhere to help those who are in need.” The technicians were honored with a proclamation on December 10 by Ferreras, Councilmember Peter Koo and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. “It was a big honor. It was very humbling,” said Gilday, 53, of Douglaston. Photo courtesy of Councilmember Julissa Ferreras Verizon heroes Michael Popowich, Anthony Howley and John Gilday were honored by the City Council. Renewed safety call after cop killed in bridge crash BY CRISTABELLE TUMOLA ctumola@queenscourier.com An off-duty NYPD officer was killed when her car smashed into an exit ramp of the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, before striking a storefront in an accident-prone area of Long Island City. Elisa Toro, 36, a 10-year NYPD veteran who was assigned to Manhattan’s 17th Precinct, was heading off the bridge’s exit ramp around 1:50 a.m. on Tuesday, December 10 when she struck a guardrail, then a cement barrier, said police. The car then flipped onto its passenger side, hitting a vacant storefront on Queens Plaza South at Crescent Street. Toro, a Bronx resident, was pronounced dead at the scene. No one else was injured in the accident, said police. The investigation is ongoing. Kristina Shrestha said she saw the smashed up car when she came into work Tuesday morning at Panini Tozt Cafe located at 25-02 Queens Plaza South, next door to the accident site. “It was two years ago that the same thing happened in the same spot,” said Shrestha, who works as a cashier at the cafe. “I don’t know what’s wrong with the road.” Following Tuesday’s accident, State Senator Michael Gianaris is calling for the Department of Transportation (DOT) to make greater traffic safety efforts at Queens Plaza South. Gianaris asked the DOT to improve traffic safety in the area and redesign the bridge’s exit ramp, after a series of accidents in 2011. But a redesign of the exit ramp was “ignored” and only “additional signage and minimal barriers” were added, according to Gianaris. The barrier, which was destroyed in a 2011 crash, was never replaced, he said, and could have protected the storefront in Tuesday’s accident. “How many more people have to die before the DOT understands that the Queensboro Bridge exit ramp must be redesigned?” asked Gianaris. “The city has known that this area is in dire need of traffic safety improvements for years, and the DOT has simply not done enough. I renew my call for a complete redesign of the bridge off-ramp, and implore the city to take swift action before another tragedy occurs.” According to Seth Solomonow, DOT spokesperson, as of 2011, the ramp has been equipped with a large variety of traffic management devices, including three 20 mph word messages and “sharks teeth” markings on the roadway, 14 yellow and 12 white 36”-by- 8” aluminum-backed reflectors, plus another 150 yellow and white prismatic reflectors on the bridge rail uprights, four sets of rumble strips to warn drivers that they are approaching a reduced speed zone and an electronic sign that displays the speed of passing motorists using radar technology. Additional reporting by Angy Altamirano GUILTY PLEA IN ‘BLESSINGS’ SCAM BY MELISA CHAN mchan@queenscourier.com A 50-year-old con artist has admitted to duping three Queens women out of nearly $5,000 through a phony “blessing” scam, officials said. Fengluan Qin confessed December 5 to using an ancient con game to take jewelry and large sums of cash from three unsuspecting Flushing women, between 52 and 72 years old, according to District Attorney Richard A. Brown. Qin convinced the victims to place their cash and valuables into a bag for a “blessing ritual” that would cure their families of sickness and bad luck, before swapping the bags and stealing the goods, Brown said. Victims of the hoax have lost $1.3 million within the last year to different crews moving throughout the city, according to Inspector Brian Maguire, commanding officer of the 109th Precinct. Out of about 50 cases citywide, more than $500,000 has been pilfered from victims in the 109th precinct alone, Maguire said. According to Brown, the scam that targets mostly elderly immigrant women is prevalent in Asian communities nationwide. “People should be aware that this is just one of many confidence tricks used by individuals to swindle money from vulnerable people and should not fall victim to it,” Brown said. The district attorney’s office said Qin, a Chinese national with an expired visa, was believed to be living in Flushing, though she did not provide an address to authorities. She pleaded guilty to grand larceny charges, Brown said, and is expected to be sentenced to one to three years in prison on December 18. As part of the plea deal, Qin must also forfeit $4,765 in restitution and sign a confession of judgment for another $10,000. Police are urging families to spread word of the scam to older relatives and friends. Cops said victims, if approached, should agree with the tricksters on a meeting spot and then go home and call 9-1-1. “How many more people have to die before the DOT understands that the Queensboro Bridge exit ramp must be redesigned?” State Senator Michael Gianaris
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