4 THE QUEENS COURIER • OCTOBER 11, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Flushing mom charged with assault for brutal beatings of twin babies
BY JENNA BAGCAL AND ROBERT
POZARYCKI
editorial@queenscourier.com
A Flushing mother will be arraigned
Friday on charges that she brutally beat
her 1-year-old son and his twin sister, who
died of her injuries.
Law enforcement sources said that
30-year-old Tina Torabi was arrested
on Oct. 4 and charged with assault. Her
1-year-old son, Kian Torabi, remains in
critical condition at Cohen Children’s
Hospital with multiple life-threatening
injuries.
So far, according to Queens District
Attorney Richard A. Brown, Tina Torabi
faces fi rst-degree charges of assault, reckless
endangerment and endangering the
welfare of a child. Additional charges
involving the death of Elaina Torabi —
Kian’s 1-year-old sister who was also
found at the home with severe body trauma
— are pending the results of the ongoing
investigation.
“Th e defendant’s alleged actions are
incomprehensible,” Brown said in an
Oct. 5 statement. “Unfortunately, her
13-month-old son suff ered greatly in his
short life. An investigation is ongoing with
respect to the death of her daughter.”
Officers from the 111th Precinct
responded to a 911 call at 9:51 p.m. on
Oct. 3 and reported to the Torabis’ home
on Ashby Avenue near Auburndale Lane.
When they arrived, they found 1-yearold
girl Elaina unconscious and unresponsive,
and 1-year-old Kian also injured. Law
enforcement sources said that both infants
suff ered severe trauma to their bodies. It
was not immediately known how their
injuries were infl icted.
Paramedics rushed to the scene and
transported Elaina to Flushing Hospital,
where she was pronounced dead. Her
body was transported to the Medical
Examiner’s offi ce for an autopsy to determine
the offi cial cause of death.
Brown said that Kian remains in the
Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Cohen’s
Children’s Medical Center for injuries
including multiple acute rib fractures, contusions
on his lungs, an acute fractured
pelvis, a visible healing bite mark, an acute
left spiral tibia fracture and adrenal hemorrhage.
NYPD said that Torabi’s other children,
ages 2, 4 and 5, have been taken into custody
by the Administration for Children’s
Services (ACS).
Published reports indicated that in 2017,
Torabi’s fi ve children were removed from
their home and sent to live with their
grandmother. In March, a judge returned
the children to Torabi’s care aft er no evidence
of drug use was found.
Th e New York Post reported that
Torabi’s estranged husband Mohammad
had disappeared aft er their daughter died.
His body was found two days later on an air
conditioning unit outside the Renaissance
New York Hotel in Manhattan, where it is
believed he jumped to his death.
Tina claimed that it was Mohammad
who had violently beaten the children on
that fateful day, and an ACS offi cial told
the Post that “it just makes a lot more
sense,” that Mohammad had abused the
Photo by Jenna Bagcal/THE COURIER
children based on his past domestic violence
history. When the Torabis lived in
Texas, Mohammad was accused of choking
his wife and biting his children. It
was noted that the surviving toddler Kian
had bite marks on his body when he was
brought to the hospital.
If convicted of the assault charge, Tina
Torabi faces up to 25 years behind bars,
Brown said.
Postal workers rail against Trump’s plan to privatize USPS
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com/ @jenna_bagcal
Dozens of Queens postal workers banded
together in Flushing to make clear that
“U.S. mail is not for sale.”
Congresswoman Grace Meng joined
Queens postal workers on Monday, Oct.
8, to oppose President Trump’s plan to
privatize the United States Postal Service
(USPS). Representatives from several
postal unions attended the rally, including
the National Association of Letter
Carriers, American Postal Workers Union
and National Postal Mail Handlers.
Th e press conference took place at
40-13 159th St. and was part of the countrywide
movement called “U.S. Mail Not
For Sale.” Rallies were held in New York,
Washington, D.C., California, Florida
and other states, and protesters gathered
wearing shirts, holding banners and
marching through the streets.
Th e participants in the Queens rally
held banners baring the words “Don’t
privatize our public post offi ce” and
“Remember in November, Vote.”
“Th e American people and small businesses
rely heavily on the Postal Service
and if the agency is privatized, we all
stand to be socked with higher delivery
costs and a reduction of service, particularity
in areas where it’s not profi table
for private companies to make deliveries,”
said Meng. “Privatization may also
put the jobs of our hard working postal
employees on the chopping block. It’s
clear what we must do. We must take this
privatization plan, stamp return to sender
on it, and make sure it goes straight back
to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue!”
Since its inception by the Post Offi ce
Department in 1971, the U.S. Postal
Service has been a government-run agency
that “relies on the sale of postage,
products and services to fund its operations”
rather than on taxpayers’ money.
A report from the USPS showed that the
agency’s revenue was $69.6 billion for the
2017 fi scal year — a $1.8 billion decline in
revenue from 2016. Th e report said that
mail volume declined by 5 billion pieces,
or 3.6 percent last year.
According to the agency, the actual
source of the USPS’ debt is not a decline in
mail volume but a 2006 law that requires
them to “pre-fund” retiree health benefi ts
instead of a “pay-as-you-go” method that
other federal agencies employ.
“Th e pre-funding requirement, as it
currently stands, contributes signifi cantly
to postal losses. Under current law,
the Postal Service must follow a mandated
pre-funding schedule of $5.5 billion
to $5.8 billion per year through 2016.
In 2009, Congress granted a much needed
deferral, allowing us to pay $4.0 billion
less than the originally required $5.4 billion
payment. Th is year, Congress opted
not to provide this deferral,” said the
USPS in 2010.
Back in June of this year, the president
introduced Delivering Government
Solutions in the 21st Century, in which
he outlined plans to restructure the USPS
from a government entity to a private corporation.
Th e plan stated that privatizing
the postal service would have a “substantially
lower cost structure” that would not
burden taxpayers.
An excerpt from the proposal noted:
“Like many European nations, the United
States could privatize its postal operator
while maintaining strong regulatory oversight
to ensure fair competition and reasonable
prices for customers.”
Trump issued an executive order called
the Task Force on the United States Postal
System, which was responsible for evaluating
the operations and fi nances of
the USPS and making recommendations.
Although task force recommendations
were set to be reported in August, written
reports said that the president planned to
keep the results secret until aft er the midterm
elections in November.
171-15 Ashby Ave.
Photo courtesy of Congresswoman Grace Meng’s offi ce
link
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