NYPD 10-13 CLUB of Broward An organization of retired New York City Police Officers February 2020 THE BLOTTER Next General Meeting Tuesday, February 04th, 2020 Moose Lodge Family Center 6191 Rock Island Rd, Tamarac Meeting starts at 7:00 PM Sharp PRESIDENT The President’s Message Martin Finkelstein VICE PRESIDENT Your Feb. 4th meeting will feature 3 sponsors providing you with Daniel Farrell invaluable products or knowledge. We still have issues with our SECRETARY membership talking and/or detracting from the sponsors’ Christine McIntyre presentations. Your board suggests that each table should have a TREASURER table “intermediary” to remind the table to either stop chatter or Dennis Lydting go out of the room to continue. Members and sponsors deserve SERGEANT-AT-ARMS the ability to hear and be heard. Thanks, AGAIN, to Mel Shapiro for continuing the labor of coordinating so many sponsors and Thomas Puglisi providers. This is your club and it requires dues and DIRECTORS sponsorships to continue feeding meeting attendees and Alan Berkowitz perpetuating the police car and honor guard. Recently, a former member sniped at your club Ryan Dean for not providing your police car and your honor guard for a deceased retiree who hadn’t Tim Kennedy belonged to Broward, Palm Beach nor the 3100. Additionally, the funeral was in central Palm Warren Ostrofsky Beach County, we were given only 2 days’ notice and the former member, not the decedent’s Joe Scimeca family, called the wrong board rep, who provided proper info anyway. He decided to launch a Phil Valles smear campaign on the internet, including pages and blogs. He even stooped to sign the CHAPLAINS smear with the name of a former Florida sheriff (who denied even knowing about the Chaplain Ray Smith decedent or the funeral). Membership voted, at previous meetings, against the use of your clubs’ assets and financial costs to serve those refusing to support and join you, the LEGAL membership. We will revisit the vote. Sometimes there isn’t time to coordinate funeral Michelle Gomez, Esq. responses. Most board members and honor guard work full time jobs. Committees: On a sad note: brother Lou Shlifstein passed away, just before his 107th birthday. We EDITOR celebrated Lou and passed along recognition from NYPD SBA at our Feb meeting back in Warren Sam 2014. Some highlights of that are reprinted in this Blotter along with recognitions of Lou’s HONOR GUARD service in NY. Lou was fortunate to be in great senior care, but all are not always in such Joseph Scimeca care. Deteriorating health, malnutrition, lack of shelter, fear, depression, senility, isolation, PROMOTIONS boredom, non-productivity, and financial incapacity are the most common problems that Alan Berkowitz senior citizens all over the world face today. Tom Puglisi Our club and the sponsors can share info that might help the rest of us. Send us Tom Puglisi, Jr. important information and resources, so that we might share it with all. Support 10-13 by MEMBERSHIP contributions, volunteering your time and enlisting members. Attend meetings and help one Ryan Dean another. Let’s all perpetuate this great organization. We have a great meeting arrangement at Moose Lodge. We owe the Moose thanks and consideration by clearing the tables and putting chairs under tables after meetings. We’re COMMUNICATIONS getting better…keep it up. Many thanks to our board and committees, our honor guard, Phil Valles sponsors, political partners, affiliate organizations, you the members, our families. Best Website wishes and prayers for better health days ahead to brother Alan Berkowitz for continuing to Ryan Dean provide work and attend meetings, throughout his battle with health issues and several 50 / 50 Raffle surgeries. The guy is unstoppable. Also, a special thanks to Chaplain Ray Smith for all the Annette Finkelstein continuing ”10-13ing”. - MARTIN 1 of 31 Your Broward Board, Police & City Numbers Martin Finkelstein, Pres. 954-977-3880 PBA NY Office 1-212-233-5531 Dan Farrell, VP. 954-871-7000 DEA NY Office 1-212-587-9120 Christine McIntyre, Sec. 561-703-0349 PBA Toll free 1-877-844-5842 Dennis Lydting, Treas. 954-973-3083 SBA 1-212-226-2180 Thomas Puglisi, Sgt. AA 954-548-9872 LBA/CEA 1-212-964-7500 Alan Berkowitz, Dir. 954-816-8163 LBA/SOC 1-212-964-7500 Ryan Dean, Dir. 954-913-3977 ID card Section 1-646-610-5150 Frank Orefice, Dir. 954-977-3880 NYPD 10-13 Broward 954-977-3880 Phil Valles, Dir. 954-822-2824 Social Security 1-800-772-1213 Tim Kennedy, Dir. 954-263-0798 Blue Cross of NY 1-800-433-9592 Warren Ostrofsky, Dir. 954-341-5575 NYC Health Line 1-800-521-9574 Operations (Death) 1-646-610-5580 Chaplain Ray Smith 954-254-9492 Dr. John Halpern, Surgeon 954-553-1065 Medicare 1-800-633-4227 Michelle Gomez, Esq. 954-370-9970 VA benefits Assist 1-800-827-1000 Joe Scimeca, Honor Guard 954-720-2111 Employee Health 1-212-306-7600 1-212-513-0470 PAST PRESIDENTS 1-212-206-7300 Article 2 Pension 1-866-692-7733 Paul Mannino 1981 Sy Silver** 1982 Health & Welfare 1-212-608-9671 Bill Schilling** 1983 1-212-693-5100 Ray McDonnell** 1984/5 Mike Borrelli 1986/95/96 Health Insurance & Ron Kavanagh** 1987/88/92 Eyeglasses Paul Barasch 1989/2013 GHI 1-800-358-5500 Bill Bett** 1990 Empire Blue Cross 1-800-433-9592 Paul Levy** 1990/91 Davis Vision 1-800-999-5431 Frank Tooley ** 1993/94 Richard Lapp 1997/98 TRANSIT CONTACTS: Robert Izzo 1999/00 Alan Berkowitz 2001/08/11/12 Transit Police ID Cards: 718-610-4629 Louis Weiser** 2009/10 NYCERS (Within NY) 347-643-3000 Martin Finkelstein 2013 to present (Outside NY) 877-669-2377 Metro Pass: 347-643-8312/8310 **DENOTES DECEASED NYCTP Retirees Assoc.: [email protected] Websites: Taps for departed members Broward 10-13 Medicare: www.medicare.gov Veterans Admin: www.va.gov Social Security: www.ssa.gov 2 of 31 At our February 2014 10-13 General meeting we were able to devote most of the evening to honor our longest living member. Ret. Sgt. Louis Schlifstein had just turned 101 year young making him the oldest member attending monthly membership meetings. May he rest in peace. We had a full house and Lou’s nephew, Phil Patlis was also present. Here’s Lou’s awards from that evening: 3 of 31 4 of 31 NEW LOW RATES FOR OUR ADVERTISERS Business card $ 50.00 ¼ Page $100.00 ½ Page $125.00 Full Page $175.00 Prices are for a full year and for 10 issues. 5 of 31 NYPD commissioner Dermot Shea blames bail reform for 2020 crime spike A sharp rise in citywide crime since 2020 began was sparked by New York’s new bail reform laws, which took away a judge’s discretion to hold repeat and possibly violent offenders behind bars, NYPD Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said at a press conference Friday. “In the first three weeks of this year, we’re seeing significant spikes in crime. So either we forgot how to police New York City, or there’s a correlation,” Shea told reporters in reference to the new laws. “If you let out individuals that commit a lot of crime, that’s precision policing in reverse and we’re seeing the effects in a very quick time, and that is why we’re so concerned.” The new law has stopped a slew of non-violent offenses from being bail eligible, allowing criminals to walk free after committing robberies, burglaries and other offenses. Since 2020 began, as of Friday at midnight, robberies are up 32.5 percent, car theft is up 61 percent and burglaries are up 18 percent compared to the same time period last year. And the numbers aren’t fractions either — a total of 233 more robberies have happened this year compared to last, 159 more car thefts and 125 more burglaries, just in the last three weeks. Ridiculous reform forces NYPD to ask feds to catch serial NYC bank robber “People say it just took effect you can’t have consequences already. Take a look at the comp stat,” Shea railed. “We’re seeing it immediately at the same time that you have [state and local jail] populations dropping significantly,” the new commissioner went on. “Now don’t tell me there’s not a correlation to that.” Shea went to Albany this week to talk to lawmakers about his concerns, which he said were two pronged. The first issue is repeat offenders being let out over and over again but the second issue is the state’s new discovery laws, which require prosecutors to turn over all of their evidence, plus the contact information of witnesses and victims, within 15 days of an arrest. “The second piece is going to take longer and then it’s going to be a one two punch as discovery takes hold,” Shea said. “Discovery is going to change how crimes are prosecuted in New York.” 6 of 31 While the new discovery law was created to ensure the accused aren’t seeing the evidence against them “until the eve of trial,” “swinging it back 180 degrees the other way and giving everything over immediately is equally wrong,” Shea said. “When you have instances where witnesses and victims will be afraid to call the police, that is a real problem and that needs to be fixed… this is something that affects all New Yorkers.” Cuomo again supports change to new bail law, but gives no specifics Prosecutors are already grappling with how to protect the privacy of victims and witnesses and are trying to figure out how they can do that under the new laws, The Post learned at a recent conference for New York State prosecutors.