Jamaica event looks back on slavery in America
Educational program marks 400 years since African enslavement began in colonial period
BY BILL PARRY
Residents of Southeast
Queens commemorated 400
years since the beginning
of African enslavement in
America at Roy Wilkins Park
in Jamaica.
State Senator James
Sanders Jr. hosted the special
event outdoors at the
Black Spectrum Theatre on
Aug. 30 entitled ‘A Tribute
to the Ancestors’ which also
highlighted the perseverance
of Africans from 1619 to
the present.
“We are here to honor
these creative, industrious
people, who despite being
kidnapped and brought to
our shores against their will,
were resolute in their fight
for human dignity and equality,”
Sanders said. “I trust
that our ancestors will find
some solace in us marking
the occasion as we continue
the resistance.”
The event began with
Sanders re-enacting a slave
auction and summoning the
spirit of Angela, the first African
slave who was brought
to Virginia 400 years ago.
Southeast Queens resident
State Senator James Sanders re-enacts a slave auction at an event commemorating the 400 years
since the beginning of African enslavement in America. Courtesy of Sanders’ offi ce
Doneath Powell portrayed
Angela, and stood chained as
the song “Bid ‘Em In” played
in the background. The tune
comes from the 2004 film of
the same name, which depicts
how a young woman’s humanity
is cruelly rejected, as she
is placed on the auction block
of a small southern town in
pre-civil war America.
The program included
an opening prayer from Pastor
Beverly Sharod of Bethel
Gospel Tabernacle Church, a
tribute to the ancestors with
the pouring out of libations;
a traditional African dance
performance and drumming.
The keynote speaker was
Dr. Ron Daniels, founder and
president of the Institute of
the Black World 21st Century,
who discussed the hundreds
of years of African oppression
from the first slave arriving
to the Jim Crow Era of
segregation and finally to the
present day accomplishments
of black people.
“We have made progress,
but the fact of the matter is
if you look at America’s dark
ghettos today, we still have
millions of black people, who
are still struggling in poverty,”
Daniels said. “Millions
of communities are plagued
with de-investment and deindustrialization,
all across
this country, and so we have
an obligation to continue the
struggle for the liberation of
our people.”
Also speaking at the event
was Anne C. Bailey, professor
of History & Africana Studies
at SUNY Binghamton;
and Reverend Dennis Dillon
of Rise Church, New York.
“Have we come far
enough?” Bailey asked.
“That’s a big question. Do we
feel collectively that we have
come far enough from the
legacy of this past? Do we feel
like we have made enough
progress? If we haven’t made
enough progress, where do we
want this to move forward?”
The event concluded with
Powell reprising her role as
Angela, reciting the poem
“Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou,
which says in part,
“You may shoot me with your
words, You may cut me with
your eyes, You may kill me
with your hatefulness, But
still, like air, I’ll rise.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry
by email at bparry@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at
(718) 260–4538.
Rego Park & Qns. Village men busted for mortgage fraud
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
Five men — including two
from Queens — were arrested
for their alleged roles in a
mortgage fraud scheme that
swindled loan holders out of
millions of dollars, prosecutors
announced on Sept. 10.
The U.S. Attorney’s office
for the Eastern District of
New York identified the five
as Michael Konstantinovskiy,
33, of Rego Park; Avraham
Tarshish, 40, of Queens Village;
Michael Herskowitz, 40,
of Brooklyn; Tomer Dafna,
48, of Great Neck; and Iskyo
Aronov, 32, of Miami, Florida.
They were charged with
conspiracy to commit wire
fraud and bank fraud, and
related wire fraud counts, in
connection with a scheme to
defraud mortgage lenders, according
to U.S. Attorney Richard
Donoghue.
“As alleged, the defendants
defrauded mortgage loan holders
out of millions of dollars,
with taxpayers saddled with
much of the loss,” Donoghue
said. “This office will continue
working with our law enforcement
partners to vigorously
prosecute those who commit
mortgage fraud and enrich
themselves at the expense of
the financial institutions and
government programs that insure
or guarantee the loans.”
According to charges, between
December 2012 and
January 2019, the defendants
allegedly conspired to defraud
mortgage lenders by misleading
them into approving short
sale transactions at fraudulently
depressed prices.
During a short sale, a mortgage
loan borrower sells his
or her property for less than
the outstanding balance of the
mortgage loan with approval
from the lender. Proceeds
from the short sale would go
to cover the outstanding mortgage
loan balance owed to the
lender, who typically agrees to
forgive the borrower’s remaining
mortgage loan balance.
In this case, the defendants
Photo via Getty Images
allegedly manipulated
the process for the short sales
by transferring properties for
prices well above the short
sale prices, and failing to
disclose this to the mortgage
lenders and servicers.
The defendants also allegedly
took steps to preclude
other prospective purchasers
from making higher offers
for properties by failing
to market properties as
required by the lenders, as
well as filing fraudulent liens
on properties.
The defendants allegedly
provided the mortgage lenders
with fake information in
transaction documents and
also failed to disclose either
payments made to the borrower
and others, whether it was
related to short sale or existing
agreements to transfer the
properties at inflated prices.
Many of the affected mortgage
loans were insured by
the Federal Housing Administration,
or owned or guaranteed
by Fannie Mae or
Freddie Mac.
Konstantinovskiy, Dafna,
Tarshish and Herskowitz were
arrested on Sept. 10 in New
York, and will be arraigned
this afternoon before United
States Magistrate Judge Lois
Bloom. Aronov was arrested
in Florida, and will appear
this afternoon for a removal
hearing at the federal courthouse
in Miami. If convicted,
each defendant faces up
to 30 years in prison and a
$1 million fine.
“Together with our partners
in law enforcement, we
have disrupted a scheme to defraud
Fannie Mae and Freddie
Mac. As demonstrated by this
indictment, FHFA-OIG will
investigate and hold accountable
those who seek to victimize
the government-sponsored
entities supervised and regulated
by FHFA,” stated FHFAOIG
Special Agent-in-Charge
Robert Manchak.
TIMESLEDGER,TIMESLEDGER.COM BT SEPT. 13-19, 2019 3
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