Talk Bronx New York

Bronx Hospitality, Unnoticed by the Tourist Guides

The folks who published AAA’s 2008 New York tour book had a hard time recommending any hotels in the Bronx. They could only find one, in fact, a rather bland-looking building a mile north of Yankee Stadium by a service road to the Major Deegan Expressway

Hey, the hotel fared better than restaurants, since the automobile club’s guide does not list a single place to eat in the Bronx. As far as the guide goes, Arthur Avenue, Morris Park Avenue or City Island do not exist.

This 45-room Howard Johnson is the only hotel listed for the Bronx in AAA’s 2008 New York tour book.

It is an odd distinction for that lone hotel, a Howard Johnson of no particular architectural distinction. And given the borough’s long battles against hot sheet motels that rent rooms by the hour, a casual observer might assume this place was no different.

But it is a real hotel catering to real tourists. One day last week, the parking lot was filled with cars from out of state, most belonging to guests who had come to see the Yankees play Cleveland. Retirees from Oklahoma and families from upstate New York eagerly hauled suitcases upstairs as they prepared to change into baseball jerseys and take in a game.

Chadd Morris and Brandon Bebout had driven eight hours from Cleveland to score game tickets. They asked a local police officer for the nearest hotel and were directed to the HoJo.

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 The latest NYPD graduates will take part in the cities new program to break in rookie cops by putting them into the toughest neighborhoods dubb’ed Operation Impact.

Rookie Cops Get Rough Bronx Neighborhoods To Patrol

With the Bronx, like the rest of the city, seeing crime declining to its lowest numbers in decades, 140 brand-spanking-new cops will hit the borough Friday, assigned to specific stubborn trouble spots.

The plan, known as Operation Impact, has been a major factor in stamping out crime hot spots around the city and helping drive crime down to levels not seen since the 1960s.

Citywide, the number of homicides is expected to dip below 500.

The murder count in the Bronx through Sunday was 126.

For the same period in 2006, police listed 146 homicides. That’s a drop of 13.7%.

Overall major crime in the borough is down 3.47% for the year, compared with a 6.33% drop citywide.

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MP3 recording results in perjury charges against NYPD detective

NEW YORK - A teen suspect’s snap decision to secretly record his interrogation with an MP3 player has resulted in a perjury case against a veteran detective and a plea deal for himself, authorities said Thursday.

Unaware of the recording, Detective Christopher Perino insisted under oath at a trial in April that suspect Erik Crespo “wasn’t questioned” about a shooting in the Bronx, a criminal complaint said. But the defense confronted the detective with a transcript it said proved he had spent more than an hour unsuccessfully trying to persuade Crespo to confess _ at times with vulgar tactics.

“You don’t want to give a statement _ I don’t give a (expletive),” Perino said, according to the transcript. “But just remember I’m never gonna have your side of the story when I walk into a court of law

Without the statement, the detective warned, the court would rely on security video and the victim’s version of the shooting.

“He’s the victim,” said the detective, a 19-year veteran. “He’s a scumbag, but he’s the victim. You following me? He can go up there … and tell them whatever the (expletive) he wants to tell them.”

Perino, 42, was arraigned Thursday on 12 counts of first-degree perjury and faces up to seven years on each count, prosecutors said. He was released on $15,000 bail.

His attorney did not immediately respond to a telephone message seeking comment Thursday. A New York Police Department spokesman declined to comment.

The allegations “put the safety of all law-abiding citizens at risk because they undermine the integrity and foundation of the entire criminal justice system,” District Attorney Robert Johnson said in a statement.

Perino arrested Crespo, then 17, on New Year’s Eve 2005 while investigating the shooting of a man in an elevator. Defense attorney Mark DeMarco said that after his client was taken into the interrogation room of the 44th Precinct stationhouse, he stealthily pressed the record button on his the MP3 player, a Christmas gift.

After Crespo was charged with attempted murder, his family surprised DeMarco by playing him the recording.

“I couldn’t believe my ears,” said the lawyer, who decided to keep the recording under wraps until he cross-examined Perino at the trial.

Once the transcript was revealed, prosecutors asked for a recess, DeMarco said. The detective was pulled from the witness stand and was advised to get a lawyer.

Prosecutors returned to offer Crespo _ who had turned down a deal for a 15-year prison term and faced up to 25 years if convicted _ seven years if he pleaded guilty to a weapons charge.

He accepted.

SOURCE: Newsday

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