8 THE QUEENS COURIER • DECEMBER 20, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Cops cuff suspect in brutal hate crime on Forest Hills train
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com
@robbpoz
Detectives booked a Manhattan man on
Dec. 13 for hurling a hateful slur and violently
assaulting a woman on board an E
train in Forest Hills last month.
Allasheed Allah, 54, was taken into custody
at the 112th Precinct stationhouse
last Th ursday morning; he faces counts of
assault and aggravated harassment, both
of which were classifi ed as hate crimes.
Sources familiar with the investigation
said that an anonymous tipster, who
knows the suspect, recognized Allah’s
image from media coverage and informed
police of his location. Members of the
NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force located
Allah on Th ursday morning and brought
him to the 112th Precinct for further questioning
and ultimately his arrest.
Police said Allah confronted the 20-yearold
woman on board a Manhattan-bound
E train approaching the 71-Continental
Avenues station at 5:10 p.m. on Nov. 30.
Law enforcement sources said the two
got into an argument, during which Allah
uttered an anti-gay slur at the woman,
who was riding the subway with a female
friend. Police said his language was “based
upon his interpretation of the victim’s sexual
orientation.”
Queens District Attorney Richard A.
Brown stated that Allah later admitted to
telling her “not to kiss her again in front of
me because she was disrespecting me with
all that gay (expletive) she been doing.”
Th e suspect went on to tell detectives, “I
stood up and told her kiss her again you
d–e (expletive) and watch what happens.”
Seconds later, the victim got up and
walked away. Authorities said Allah followed
her from behind, the punched her
in the back of the head and shoved her to
the fl oor of the car; her head struck the
fl oor hard, contributing to her injuries.
Allah then departed the train aft er it
stopped at 71-Continental Avenues; he
exited from the station on foot and fl ed in
an unknown direction.
Offi cers from the 112th Precinct, the
NYPD Transit Bureau District 20 and EMS
units responded to the scene. Paramedics
brought the victim to Elmhurst Hospital,
where she was treated for a fractured
spine.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea
took to Twitter to congratulate cops on
cracking the case.
“Th e Hate Crimes Task Force @
NYPDHateCrimes has just arrested Allah
Allahseed, wanted for an anti-sexual-orientation
motivated assault on a female
couple on 11-30-18 on a Queens subway.
Once again, NYC has made it clear: we
have #NoPlaceForHate,” Shea tweeted.
Allah was ordered held on $150,000
bail following his Dec. 13 arraignment; he
must return to court on Dec. 27, according
to court records.
Th e suspect faces up to 15 years behind
bars if convicted.
“Queens County is the most diverse
county in the nation. It is home to many
races, nationalities and sexual orientations.
Crimes motivated by bias — particularly
those involving violence — will
never be tolerated in this county,” Brown
said. “When they do regrettably occur,
they will be vigorously prosecuted and
those involved will be severely punished.”
Jamaica company must pay $12.3M in settlement over kickbacks: AG
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@cnglocal.com
@QNS
A Jamaica-based ground handling company
is in hot water with state Attorney
General Barbara Underwood.
Th e attorney general announced on Dec.
13 a new $12.3 million settlement in her
ongoing investigation into the contracting
and procurement processes at JFK
International Airport known as “Operation
Greased Runway,” this time with Ground
Services International, for making fraudulent
kickback payments intended to infl uence
various contracts the company had at
JFK and other airports nationwide.
Underwood’s ongoing investigation
revealed that GSI expanded its business
and won new contracts with two major
companies, British Airways and Terminal
One Group Association L.P., while at the
same time making undisclosed payments
to the companies’ key executives.
GSI has agreed to pay $12.3 million to
settle claims pursuant to New York State
Executive Law Section 63(12), which bars
deceptive and fraudulent business practices,
and has also agreed to injunctive relief
that will improve the company’s compliance
and contracting processes in the
future.
As a term of the settlement, GSI acknowledged
its conduct was deceptive, improper,
and compromised the integrity of business
operations at JFK Airport.
“New Yorkers deserve safe airports
where businesses play by the rules,”
Underwood said.”Yet these brazen, longstanding
pay-to-play tactics undermined
the contracting at JFK — allowing greed to
trump fairness. Our investigation continues,
and we’re committed to rooting out
corruption wherever it exists.”
Th e AG’s investigation uncovered that
GSI’s longtime president, Jeff Kinsella,
secretly agreed to provide an ownership
interest in GSI to a senior British Airways
executive who had infl uence over procurement
decisions at the airline, while that
executive was promoting GSI’s services
within British Airways.
Further, from 2009 to 2016, Kinsella
made regular payments to the British
Airways executive that totaled more than
$1.2 million. During this same period,
British Airways expanded its business
with GSI substantially, including to service
Terminal Seven at JFK.
When Kinsella sold the company in
2016. Th e British Airways executive
received an additional payment of $3.6
million from Kinsella for his secret ownership
interest. GSI never disclosed either
its payments to the executive, or the executive’s
fi nancial stake in GSI, to British
Airways, the Port Authority, or any other
entity in the airline industry.
GSI also made improper payment
to TOGA executive director Edward
Paquette, the key decision maker with
respect to the contract for ground services
at JFK’s Terminal One. While secretly
making these improper payments, GSI
made millions of dollars in profi ts from its
contracts at Terminal One and terminal
Seven at JFK Airport with British Airways
and TOGA respectively.
Photo: Mark Hallum/THE COURIER
Allasheed Allah is escorted out of the 112th Precinct stationhouse in Forest Hills on Dec. 13.
Photo via Pixabay
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