16 NOVEMBER 23, 2017 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Indict Forum
publisher for
obstruction
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
RPOZARYCKI@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@ROBBPOZ
Members of a federal
grand jury handed down
an indictment last week
against Patricia Adams, publisher
of The 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.
The 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. The arrest prompted federal
prosecutors to fi le a motion
asking a judge to revoke Pisani’s
$500,000 bail.
Through 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 outfits 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
father in the federal criminal
complaint. “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.”
Following her August arrest,
Adams was released on $150,000
bail but placed under house
arrest.
Ridgewood Reservoir to be preserved on the state Wetlands Maps
BY ANTHONY GIUDICE
AGIUDICE@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@A_GIUDICEREPORT
Aft er years of advocacy by local
elected offi cials, residents, and
environmental experts, the
Ridgewood Reservoir will soon be added
to the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation’s (DEC)
Wetlands Maps as a designated wetland.
In a letter to Assemblywoman
Catherine Nolan, a staunch supporter
of making the Ridgewood Reservoir
a wetland, DEC Commissioner Basil
Seggos alerted Nolan that the wetlands
within the reservoir are of “unusual
local importance,” making them
eligible to be added to DEC’s offi cial
wetlands map.
“The Reservoir is truly a unique site
which consists of natural and largely
undisturbed habitats for many species
of animals,” Nolan said in a statement.
“I welcome the state’s strong interest
in preserving this site in its entirety
for future generations. Thank you to
Governor Andrew Cuomo, NYS Commissioner
Basil Seggos, Queens Community
Board 5 and all of the residents
and organizations that have advocated
for the reservoir over the last decade. I
look forward to working with DEC and
our community as we work through
this formal process.”
The wetlands at the Ridgewood
Reservoir can be added to the map
through the multi-step process of a
map amendment.
The map amendment process involves
the following steps:
Publishing a public notice announcing
the intent to make the map
amendments;
The availability of the draft maps
and supporting documentation;
A public comment period; and
A public meeting.
“Following the public hearing,
DEC will consider and respond, as
appropriate, to all proposed modifications
to the wetland boundaries,
make any necessary changes, and
then finalize and publish the map
amendment,” Seggos wrote in the
letter to Nolan. “DEC, in association
with the NYC Park Department, has
completed the wetland delineation
on the site, with the intention of
adding them to the official DEC
Wetland Maps.”
The three basins within the Ridgewood
Reservoir are home to more
than 100 species of birds — including
at least fi ve that have been listed as
Threatened or of Special Concern in
New York state — several diff erent
species of plant and fauna and a wide
variety of tree species.
Queens lawmaker’s bill to criminalize ‘revenge porn’ passes
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
SMONTEVERDI@QNS.COM / @SMONT76
Revenge porn will soon be outlawed
in New York City.
The City Council voted
unanimously on Nov. 16 to approve
Queens Councilman Rory Lancman’s
bill aimed at stopping the practice of
spreading X-rated content of an individual
without their consent online.
If Mayor Bill de Blasio signs the bill
into law, disclosing or threatening to
disclose intimate and explicit images
of another person without their
consent and with the intent to cause
harm would become a misdemeanor
off ense in New York City.
“Revenge porn” is a form of sexual
assault in the modern age that perpetrators
use to humiliate or embarrass
victims. A total of 38 states plus the
District of Columbia currently have
laws specifi cally to combat the off ense,
according to the Cyber Civil Rights
Initiative. Neither New York state nor
New York City currently have any laws
on the books, according to Lancman.
The off ense would be punishable
by up to one year in jail, a $1,000 fi ne
or both. In addition to creating a
criminal penalty, the bill also creates
a civil cause of action for victims,
which would granted them the opportunity
to seek compensatory and
punitive damages and injuctive relief.
A 2016 study by the Data & Society
Research Institute found that one
in 25 Americans has been a victim
of threats or posts of nearly nude or
nude images and young adults are
more likely than older adults to have
had someone post an explicit photo
without their permission.
The study also found that men and
women are “equally likely” to have
sensitive photos posted.
Lancman’s bill is modeled aft er
a state bill introduced by Bayside
based Assemblyman Edward
Braunstein. The Hillcrest-based
councilman announced the piece
of legislation alongside Manhattan
Councilman Dan Garodnick, victim
advocates and a revenge porn victim
at a press conference in April.
“Criminalizing revenge porn
will ensure New Yorkers are protected
and those who take part in
this despicable conduct will face
serious consequences,” Lancman
said. “I commend the victim advocates,
law enforcement personnel
and revenge porn survivors who
raised their voices to make this day
a reality.”
“With a click of a mouse, careers
are put in jeopardy, relationships
are damaged, and online harassment
becomes a daily battle — all because
of revenge porn,” Garodnick said.
“Today we send a message to bullies
and domestic abusers that this vile
behavior is unacceptable — and now
criminal — in New York City.”
Queens Council members who
co-sponsored the bill included Donovan
Richards, Elizabeth Crowley
and Daniel Dromm.
