Talk Bronx New York

The former director of a Bronx nonprofit pleaded guilty Monday to looking the other way while former Bronx state Sen. Efrain Gonzalez looted cash meant for troubled kids.

Neil Berger, 57, faces up to a year behind bars as part of a plea deal reached with Manhattan federal prosecutors.

Berger could have faced up to 10 years after admitting he diverted federal funds sent to Pathways for Youth.

Berger, of Teaneck, N.J., will not be required to testify against Gonzalez when the disgraced Democratic pol and gal pal Lucia Sanchez go on trial May 4 on charges of using a Bronx community affairs association as their private piggy bank.

The suspected misdeeds earned Gonzalez a spot in the Daily News’ rogues’ gallery of Albany pols, which was published Sunday Read more..

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ALBANY - An incoming Bronx state senator failed to register a campaign committee with the state as required by law, the Daily News has learned.

The News recently reported that Senator-elect Pedro Espada Jr. had missed all five required financial disclosures for his campaign this year.

Yesterday, state Board of Elections spokesman Robert Brehm said Espada hasn’t even bothered to register his campaign committee.

By not registering and making the proper filings, it’s impossible to tell who financed his campaign and how the money was spent.

Making things more confusing is that the senator-elect has a registered political action committee called “Espada for the People” that can receive and make donations, but is prohibited from making direct expenditures for a campaign, Brehm said.

There is no paperwork filed to make it clear whether the PAC is tied to Espada’s Senate race, Brehm said. Read more..

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Bronx Science’s Gregory Barber is undoubtedly the best PSAL bowler in the borough. The sophomore has averaged a respectable 183.71 pins per game while leading the Wolverines to a 7-1 record and first place in Bronx II.

Barber began bowling in a league in Queens at age 5; he has his own ball and a private coach, and he entered the week ranked 39th among boys in the PSAL.

But in the Bronx, Gregory Barber is an anomaly.

The borough’s teams have failed to reach the third round of the PSAL playoffs for the past five seasons. The second highest–ranked bowler in the Bronx is Wolverines co-captain Matt Dunay, who averages 171.60 pins per game, good for 83rd in the city. Bronx Science ranks 26th overall in the PSAL. The next-best Bronx squad is Taft, ranked No. 41 before games this week.

Such numbers raise an obvious question: Why is the Bronx stuck in a perpetual traffic jam on the lanes, so many miles behind Staten Island powers Tottenville, McKee/SI Tech and Susan Wagner?

Why are they lagging so far behind Queens contenders Bayside (second) and Thomas Edison (fourth), and Brooklyn’s Goldstein (fourth), Fort Hamilton (seventh) and New Utrecht (eighth).

Barber pauses for a minute, when asked about the paucity of quality Bronx programs.

“I just think they have more money over there,” Barber said.

It’s a provocative thesis, and one of many possible explanations for Bronx bowling’s spot in the PSAL slow lane.

Queried during their matches at Ball Park Lanes on Tuesday, coaches and players alike mentioned economic factors, early exposure to the sport and ready access to the lanes as necessary ingredients for success. Read more..

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Bronx Ex-Officer Is Sent to Prison

A former city police officer who helped his brother distribute vast quantities of cocaine and marijuana throughout the New York area from 2002 to 2005 was sentenced in Federal District Court to 10 years in prison yesterday.

The former officer, Jose Torrado, 32, of the Bronx, pleaded guilty earlier this year to drug trafficking charges. Mr. Torrado joined the Police Department in 2001 and resigned in 2006 amid an investigation into his crimes. While serving with the department, Mr. Torrado worked with a criminal group that smuggled drugs from Mexico to New York in trucks, prosecutors have said.

SOURCE: NY Times

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