From Greenburgh An Arrest and a Fatality
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Two Greenburgh school crossing guards were arrested for falsifying records when they submitted fraudulent receipts for reimbursement to the Town of Greenburgh. The defendants, John DeGrazio of White Plains, and Rahman Krasniqi of Yonkers each received approximately $750 to which they were not entitled. The expenses submitted were allegedly for uniforms. Both men were arraigned, released on $250 bail and suspended without pay from their positions.
The arrest was a result of a joint investigation by the Office of the Westchester County District Attorney’s Public Integrity Unit and the Greenburgh Police Department.
In other news, Greenburgh Police report that a fatal auto accident occurred at 10:15 on the night of March 3rd . Karl W. Wagner, 63, of Yonkers, was driving a Chevrolet pick-up truck on Jackson Avenue when he veered into a snow bank, crossed a double yellow line into the opposite lane, and ran into a tree in a wooded area. When police arrived, Mr. Wagner was unresponsive and he was pronounced dead by the Greeburgh Police Paramedics.
Missing Scarsdale Doctor Found in the Bronx
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The body of Dr. Mona Shimshi, a Carthage Road resident was found in the water near Rodmans Neck in the Bronx by a New York Police Department Scuba Team on Wednesday March 3rd. The cause of death has not yet been determined. She had been missing since Sunday February 28 at 6 pm. Her husband, Dr. Mark Greenberg reported that Shimshi, age 55, left the house in her 2008 Gray Honda CRV on Sunday afternoon around 1 pm to do some errands. When she failed to return by six o’clock, and he was unable to reach her, he summoned the police.
Lt. Bryant Clark of the Scarsdale Police, reports that detectives initiated an investigation and completed a missing person report. On Tuesday morning, 3/2, Dr. Shimshi’s car was found in the Bronx in the Pelham Bay section on an access road to the firing range at Rodman’s Neck. A witness told police that the car had been parked there since Monday and her body was found in the shallow bay in close proximity to her car. The car was locked and there were no signs of foul play.
An article in the Daily News reported that she was bipolar and was taking medication. Her Carthage Road home was surrounded by the media on Wednesday.
Drunk Driver, Smashed Window and a Threat
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Intoxicated Driver: Antonio Palanca of Yonkers, who is a student at Westchester Community College was found passed out, and locked in his car at the intersection of Popham Road and East Parkway at 4:15 am on February 19th. He was stopped at a green light, slumped over and breathing, but unresponsive. Police reported that the engine was on and the red 2007 Mazda was in drive.
The car was locked with Palanca was passed out inside and police were unable to wake him. Police called a tow truck to unlock the car and move it. When they opened the door they shook Palanca and shouted at him and he finally woke up, but he was unable to speak coherently or stand on his own. His eyes were bloodshot and he appeared to be intoxicated. When asked if he was drunk, he replied, “I had a few drinks, I thing Vodka.”
He was taken to White Plains hospital by the Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps where he was evaluated, released and returned to the Scarsdale Police trailer. His Breathalyzer test showed a blood alcohol level of .16% and he was charged with two counts of driving while intoxicated, which is a misdemeanor. He was released on $250 bail and a court date was set.
Smashed: A Harvest Drive resident was home watching television at 10 pm on February 18th when he heard a loud crash in front of his house. He got up to investigate and found that someone had thrown a baseball through the front window of the house and shattered the glass. Neither the man nor his wife are engaged in any disputes and they had no idea who would have done this or why it happened.
Struck: An employee of Scarsdale Hardware was directing a delivery truck on Scarsdale Avenue on 2/18 when he was hit by the mirror of car going north on Scarsdale Avenue. His right arm was struck by the driver’s side mirror of the car and the Ambulance Corps was called. The man refused medical treatment.
Threatened: A sixteen year-old girl from Quaker Ridge came to police with her parents to report a threatening text message she received on her cell phone on February 16th. The message read, “Listen crack baby, don’t ever ever in ur life tell me im a bitch over again. Before I was gonna punch u in the face. Now im gonna kick ur ass.” The message was sent from someone under the age of 18 and the family asked the police to follow-up.
The previous day, the girl’s parents had called police to report that their daughter had violated their PINS (Person In Need of Supervision) agreement and left the house by the second floor balcony door without telling them she was going out. The father contacted the girl on her cell phone and she refused to let her parents know where she was or whom she was with.
Lost and Found:
-Headless Rabbit: a headless rabbit was found underneath a large tree at the Weinberg Nature Center. Police surmised that another animal had attached the rabbit and that the head had not been removed as a part of a satanic ritual or incident of cruelty.
-Key: On 2/19, a gold-plated key attached to a blue carrying case with flowers was found on East Parkway at Christie Place. The key and carrier are now at the police station.
-Wallet: A Coach wallet was found in front of Chase Bank on East Parkway at 7 am on 2/20 and brought to police by a Good Samaritan. Police were able to identify the owner by the content of the wallet and contacted her. She came by and picked it up.
-Walker: A damaged walker was found on the corner of Roosevelt Place and Edgewood Road at 4 pm on 2/19. Police contacted the woman whose name appeared on the walker who denied it was hers.
Safekeeping: A Montrose Road man turned in four semi-automatic guns and two revolvers to police for safekeeping. The guns were the property of his recently deceased father. The man wanted police to hold the guns until he could get permits to own them.
Harassed: An elderly Eastwoods Road woman received a phone call from someone who claimed to be her grandson at 10:30 pm on 2/19. He claimed he had been arrested for drunk driving and was being held in a Mexico City jail. He asked her to send him $4,000 to pay for a rental car he had wrecked. The woman told the caller that she would need to ask her husband and the man called back at 11:50 pm to ask about the status of the funds. He became belligerent and the woman hung up. In the interim, she had determined that the caller was not her grandson.
Damaged: A Griffen Road woman called to report damage to her electronic entrance gate doors on February 22nd. Her housekeeper had seen a post office truck hit the gate on the afternoon of 2/16. Police got in touch with the postal worker who admitted that he did hit the gate due to ice on the road. The post office accepted responsibility for the damage and the resident was instructed to file a claim.
Identity Theft: Unauthorized charges were made on a Lincoln Road family’s debit cards in the amounts of $285 and $170. The charges were made on 2/10 to the Department of Motor Vehicles to pay for fines and violations. In addition, $670.98 was paid to Norton.com on the man’s Amex card on 1/29 – also without his authorization.
Snow Brings Down Trees and Power Lines
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Record setting levels of heavy wet snow have closed schools and roads and even sections of Metro North today. A downed tree on the rails between White Plains and Hartsdale has delayed commuter service to the city – however there are trains in service on a special storm schedule that you can access here:
Scarsdale Police report many downed trees and power lines and many residents have no power. Lieutenant Bryant Clark of the Scarsdale Police asks that residents refrain from driving until roads can be cleared of wires and trees.
The good news is that the White Plains Post Road and all major thoroughfares are open and passable. The Hutchinson River Parkway and Route 287 are both clear and traffic is moving.
According to reports from the Scarsdale Police and residents there are downed wires, branches and trees with some power outages at the following locations:
- Boulevard
- Brewster Road, tree down at Sage and wire down between Huntington and Kingston
- Cambridge Road at Rugby Road - no power
- Brite Avenue, power out near Huntington due to downed tree
- Donellan Road
- Fairway Drive, Mamaroneck no power
- Ferncliff Road no power
- Lawrence Road fallen cable and telephone wires
- Montrose Road
- Park Road
- Putnam Road no power
- Sage Terrace tree down and power out
- Stratton Road near Weaver – utility pole down
- Taunton Road
- Westview Lane no power
- Walworth Avenue fallen wires Winslow Road at Soundview Avenue – White Plains
In Edgemont, a fallen tree has blocked the commuter bus trying to enter the Greenville area at Ardsley and Highland Roads.
Paul Feiner reports the following road closings in Edgemont:
- Benedict
- Fort Hill Road at Ardsley Road
- Taylor Road
- Huntley
- Overhill Road
- Roxbury
- Underhill Road at Sundale Place
If you spot trouble, please let everyone know by posting a comment below or by emailing information and snow photos to: Scarsdalecomments@gmail.com
Fight at the Spotlight Café:
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Greenburgh Police were called to the Spotlight Café on South Central Avenue at 2 am on Sunday morning (2/21) in response to a report of a fight. Upon arrival, officers found a crowd of about forty people yelling and pushing in the parking lot and when they went inside things got even worse. Another crowd of about thirty people was leaving the bar where there had evidently been a big fight. Tables and chairs were overturned, and there was fresh blood and broken glass splattered on the floor.
The remaining witnesses refused to cooperate with the police who were on the lookout for anyone who was injured. Greenburgh Police called the Yonkers Police to help to disburse the crowd who left without further incident.
About an hour later, the New Rochelle police performed a traffic stop and found a bleeding passenger who said he had just come from the Spotlight Café. All three occupants of the car refused to cooperate with the New Rochelle police and said they were going to Sound Shore Medical Center for treatment.
