4 THE QUEENS COURIER • AUGUST 29, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Precinct boss gets
assist in Bayside bust
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
Th e top cop at Bayside’s 111th
Precinct helped his fellow offi cers cuff
two Jamaica men earlier this month on
a slew of illegal drug and gun possession
charges.
According to authorities, officers
from the command on Northern
Boulevard arrested 31-year-old Wilmer
Clotter and 63-year-old Rafael Toscano
on Aug. 15.
An NYPD spokesperson said that
day tour and plainclothes offi cers
apprehended the suspects in the rear of
Infi niti of Bayside at 217-07 Northern
Blvd. just before 1 p.m. Cops then
arrested the pair and brought them
to the precinct around 3:17 p.m. that
aft ernoon.
Law enforcement sources noted that
Captain John Hall, commander of the
111th Precinct, helped facilitate the
arrest.
Police charged Clotter and with the
following criminal charges:
Second-degree criminal possession
of a loaded fi rearm
Th ird-degree criminal possession of
a defaced weapon
Criminal possession of a fi rearm
Fourth-degree criminal possession of
a fi rearm or weapon
Seventh-degree criminal possession
of a controlled substance
Th ird-degree aggravated unlicensed
operation of a motor vehicle
Clotter’s accomplice Toscano faced
the same four criminal weapons charges
in addition to fi ft h-degree criminal
possession of a controlled substance
with 10 counts of intent to sell.
Th e NYPD praised police from the
Bayside-based precinct for getting illegal
fi rearms and drugs off the streets.
“Illegal fi rearm and drugs? Not on
this team’s watch,” the NYPD tweeted
on Aug. 23. “Th e @NYPD111Pct
day tour patrol and Anti-Crime team
got an assist from their Commanding
Offi cer to make sure these dangerous
items didn’t make it to the streets of
Queens.”
Closed Italian restaurant in Bay Terrace
listed on bankruptcy auction website
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
A now-shuttered restaurant at Bayside’s
Bay Terrace Shopping Center is up for
bankruptcy auction next month.
Just two years aft er it opened up at 210-
35 26th Ave., Allora Italian Kitchen &
Bar has been listed on the Maltz Auctions
website, which specializes in debt-related
sales.
Allora is slated to go to auction on Sept.
17 at 2:30 p.m. on location. According to
the listing, it will be sold “as is” and “free
and clear of all monetary liens.”
Th e listing goes on to say that prospective
Photo via Google Maps
Astoria Heights man cuff ed for
six-week long burglary pattern
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
edavenport@qns.com
@QNS
An Astoria Heights man who police say
is behind a series of commercial burglaries
throughout Queens was arrested in
Long Island City on Tuesday evening.
Following an ongoing investigation,
Mark Tortora, 33, was arrested on Aug.
27 in the vicinity of 41st Avenue and 12th
Street. He was charged with three counts
of burglary, grand larceny, criminal possession
of stolen property, petit larceny,
reckless endangerment, unauthorized use
of a motor vehicle and fl eeing an offi cer in
a motor vehicle.
Police say that between 1:07 a.m. on
July 16 and 2:38 a.m. on Aug. 23, Tortora
allegedly entered 23 commercial establishments
located within the 104th,
108th, 112th and 114th precincts. Tortora
allegedly targeted stores that didn’t have
a security gate and would break through
glass doors with a blunt object.
Once inside, Tortora allegedly took
merchandise, lottery tickets and cash
from the locations. Sources familiar with
the investigation say that Tortora was
identifi ed through surveillance footage
obtained from the businesses.
bidders must present a certifi ed check
for $100,000 made payable to “Allan B.
Mendelsohn, Esq., as Chapter 7 Trustee.”
Restaurant owners Steven and George
Menexas opened the Bay Terrace eatery
in 2017. In August, locals reported a sign
from management informing the public
of the restaurant’s closure.
“We appreciate all the patronage over
the years,” the sign read.
Patch reported that the restaurant owners
had fi led for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
back in March. Th e same month,
the NYS Department of Taxation and
Finance seized Allora for nearly $300,000
in unpaid taxes dating back to 2017.
Allora reopened for a short time aft er
March but was subsequently listed for
sale on businessbroker.net and bizbuysell.
com.
Th ree food distributors also sued the
owners for $166,00 in unpaid charges,
according to Patch.
Further court records showed that former
restaurant employees sued the owners
for failing to pay them overtime and
time-and-a-half wages. Th e defendants
in the case claim that they were undercharged
for their work back in 2017.
Photo courtesy of NYPD
111th Precinct police offi cers
Photo via Shutterstock, inset courtesy of the NYPD
Allora Italian Kitchen and Bar
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