Today's News

Details: Published: 20 February 2011; Created: 20 February 2011; Last Updated: 21 February 2011; Hits: 9750

Burglary on Grand Park: a houseguest who was staying at 11 Grand Park Avenue returned to the house at 9 pm on February 15 and discovered that someone had entered the house through a rear basement door and pried open an interior door that leads to the first floor of the house. Many items were missing. As the owner is away, the guest provided a partial list of what was taken from the home, which included liquor, two laptop computers, two flat screen televisions and an iPod.

Con Artist: A woman who claimed to be Amanda M. King of California made two fraudulent withdrawals of $3,000 each from the Chase Bank on Palmer Avenue on February 15. The teller and assistant manager of the bank questioned the woman about what she was doing in Scarsdale and scrutinized her identification, but as she was able to give the correct account password and had knowledge of the last four transactions on the account, they gave her the funds.

However, later that day, the Scarsdale Chase Branch Manager got a call informing her that after leaving Scarsdale, the same woman then travelled to the Chase Bank on Mamaroneck Avenue in White Plains and attempted to make another cash withdrawal. It turned out the California driver’s license number was fraudulent and that she was not Amanda King. She was actually Dorothy Hogue of the Bronx and she was arrested for identity theft, possession of forged instruments, forgery and grand larceny.

Served: Sahit Muja of Saxon Woods Road called police on the evening of February 15 to complain that a man was trying to get into his house. Police went to the home and spoke to the alleged intruder who identified himself as Thomas Roskin. Mr. Roskin explained that he was at the home to serve divorce papers to Mr. Muja. However, when police scanned Roskin’s driver’s license number they found that he was on federal probation for securities fraud. Police attempted to contact Roskin’s parole officer but were unable to get in touch with him. Despite Roskin’s status, he was found to be a legitimate process server and police let Muja know that Roskin was there to serve legal papers. Muja is well known in town due to the giant snow sculpture he recently built in his front yard.

Inside Job: A Popham Road man came to police on February 15 to report that $350 had been taken from an envelope in his bedroom. As he suspected that his babysitter was taking the cash, he replaced the money and monitored the draw with an in-home video camera. The tape showed the sitter taking another$20 and when he confronted her she admitted to stealing the money and promised to pay it back. On February 17, the man received a text message from the sitter that said that the baby’s car seat and a gift were outside the apartment. The man found the car seat, three pocketbooks and a letter promising to pay back the funds. The man wanted to document the incident with police.

Lisa Glaser of Pomona, NY reported that her credit card was stolen while she was at work at Harwood Court sometime after February 9th. Citicard notified her that fraudulent charges had been made on the card at Best Buy, the Getty station and Buy Buy Baby.

Arrest: Francisco Rivera, age 57, who had an outstanding bench warrant in Scarsdale was arrested in Yonkers at 1 am on 2/16. Yonkers police notified the Scarsdale Police who drove to Yonkers, transported Rivera to Scarsdale and booked him. He was released on $300 bail pending an appearance.

Threats: A Madison Road woman received a death threat via a text message on her phone on February 16. She made contact with the woman at the number from which the message was sent and the woman knew nothing about it. Police called the woman whose number was the origin of the threatening text. She said that Verizon told her she was the victim of “phone spoofing.”

A Brite Avenue woman called to report that her ex-husband had entered her home without her permission on the night of February 15. The man entered the home through the garage and put his children to bed.

Animals: On February 15 a Brookby Road woman reported that a neighborhood dog keeps going on her lawn. As she does not know whom the dog belongs to, she wanted to file a report.

A coyote was reported on the lawn of a Horseguard Lane home on the morning of 2/16 and another coyote was spotted on Harvest Drive at 7:24 am on 2/17.

Smokin’:On the morning of February 18, Fred Goldberg, the Assistant Principal of SHS called the police to report that students were outside smoking marijuana on Harcourt Road. By the time police arrived, the kids were gone.

Accidents: A 17 year-old boy lost control of his car when it hit an ice patch on the afternoon of February 14. The boy was driving west on Harcourt Road when the car went into a skid and hit a wire that supports a telephone post. Since the support wire was broken, Con Edison was notified.

A young woman from Larchmont ran her 2008 Jeep into a fence at 2 Broadmoor Road on the afternoon of February 15. She said she swerved to avoid a truck that was travelling north on Griffen Road. She was issued a summons for “failing to operate (the car) in a safe manner to avoid collision.”

Details: Published: 11 February 2011; Created: 11 February 2011; Last Updated: 11 February 2011; Hits: 6210

shsa John Klemme, Principal of Scarsdale High School has been out of school due to health issues. Many of you have inquired about his status and how the high school is handling his absence. We asked School Superintendant Michael McGill for an update, and here is the information he shared with us.

How long has Mr. Klemme been out? John has been on sick leave since just before the December holiday.

Is Mr. Klemme on disability? The principals' association contract and district policies provide for sick leave, which is normally used up before disability kicks in.

How is the school managing without him? In terms of how we're operating with only three positions for the short term: everyone — including department heads and district office personnel — can pick up some slack for a limited period of time. There's no way to put a hard and fast limit on what that "limited period" is — probably it's several months -- certainly not years. The longer the school goes on without the four positions, (principal plus three assistant principals) however, the more the jobs of those who are doing the backfilling will slip and/or we'll see slippage in the gains made possible by the new assistant principal position over the last two plus years. Predictably, we'll then be back to slower response times, less followup to problems, more kids falling through cracks, less pro-activity, fewer efforts to improve program -- like the 9th grade transition.

What does his prolonged absence tell us about the need for three assistant principals at Scarsdale High School? The third assistant principal position was added for several reasons. Among them: faculty and school leaders expressed concern about delays in followup on student behavior issues and leadership's inability to devote adequate followup and support for a range of other matters involving kids and families. Also, the existing leadership staff were so heavily focused on daily operations, they couldn't be adequately proactive in addressing longer term concerns or school improvement efforts.

The position has enabled school leaders to attend to student behavior issues more rapidly and in more depth, as well as to anticipate problems in the making. That's both improved effectiveness of service and to some degree reduced the incidence of difficulties. It's also given leadership more time and to address a whole range of related student-parent-teacher problems that don't involve discipline, technically speaking. Additionally, it's helped assure adequate support for special education services, which one of the assistants has to coordinate. The mandated requirements in this area have increased significantly over the past decade.

The time saved, plus time originally planned to increase proactivity, has resulted in the much improved ninth grade transition process, a leadership development program for current department chairs, a coherent school-wide focus on developing critical and creative thinking, appropriate support and followup for the Advanced Topics program, and most recently, effective leadership for a review of the behavioral code following the problems last fall — among many other efforts.

The issue isn't whether the school can run without this kind of support; for years it operated without the position and got along. Rather, it's whether the traditional level of service would meet today's student/parent/teacher expectations and needs, as well as state-mandated requirements. The people in leadership positions can only do what they can do in a day that ordinarily begins around 7 and ends somewhere around or after 5, with many nights out. If we take one of the positions away, the remaining people will still put in the time; they just won't be able to cover the same amount of ground.

When is Mr. Klemme expected to reach a decision about returning to work? I'm in communication with John about his situation, and we're working together to reach the best decisions about the future. Although I can't put a deadline on this process, I think we both agree that it would be best to reach a resolution in the nearer term, rather than letting matters slide on through the spring.

Details: Published: 07 February 2011; Created: 07 February 2011; Last Updated: 08 February 2011; Hits: 4565

Arrest: On the afternoon of 2/6, police stopped the driver of a 2000 Ford on the Post Road at Huntington Avenue and found that the driver, Darwin William had a suspended license in New York for failure to pay fines. Williams was given a summons and his car was towed.

Police received a report of an erratic driver on Fenimore Road on 2/6. They located the driver, followed him for two miles and saw the man talking on his cell phone, and crossing into the opposite lane. Michael Hirson of Chase Road, Scarsdale was stopped and issued a summons for distracted driving.

Hit and Run: Scarsdale police were contacted by Greenburgh police in regards to a hit and run accident involving a Scarsdale resident on the night of 1/31. However, when police went to the man’s Secor Road home his wife told them that they were getting divorced and that she did not know his whereabouts.

Disputes: Bob Harrison had a dispute with Emerald Tree Company about trees they were removing from the Shaarei Tikvah parking lot on Fox Meadow Road. Omar from Emerald Tree called police on the morning of 1/31 to report that Harrison was taking photos of the tree crew and Harrison also called police to complain that the trees were being taken down though there were green leaves on the treetops. It turns out the tree company had been retained by the Village of Scarsdale to do the work and had a valid work permit. Police told Harrison to contact the Building Department if he had further complaints. Later that day, police also got a complaint from Shaarei Tikvah about Harrison’s interference.

A Crawford Lane woman called police on the evening of 2/1 when she got into a verbal dispute with her sister and things got out of control. By the time police arrived, the sister was leaving in a cab.

Misunderstanding: Police received a call from Child Protection Services about a possible case of child abuse involving a Greenacres boy. The boy had an eye injury but when his mother took him to the hospital it was determined that the boy was accidentally hit by a sneaker.

Vandalism: A Wakefield Road man found that the driver’s side door of his car had been scratched while it was parked on Oak Way on the afternoon of /131. On 2/3 a Richbell Road woman reported that her 2004 Cadillac was keyed sometime in January. There were scratches on the passenger side door, engine hood, roof and trunk.

Identity Theft: On 2/1 a Bradford Road man reported that someone charged about $600 in scientific equipment from Broadmin Scientific using the Scarsdale man’s credit card. The purchases were made between 1/25 and 2/1 and shipped to an address in Plano, Texas.

Storm trouble: Ice, snow and trees caused many to get stuck this week: A concerned neighbor called police to assist a Hampton Road woman who was stuck in her driveway due to the ice on the morning of 2/2. Police assisted the woman into her house.

Another driver called police to stop traffic on Walworth Avenue while he drove his vehicle down Greenacres Avenue at 8 am on 2/2. Due to the ice, he was afraid he would skid and hit oncoming traffic.

At 8:47 am on 2/2, police were called to the intersection of Sycamore and Boulder Brook Roads to help a woman who was stuck in her car with children. At 10:21 am a Tory Lane woman called police to help her carry her two young children into the house.

On the morning of February 3rd a Harcourt Road resident got her car stuck in her driveway as the Village had plowed three feet and ice to the end of her driveway. Police were able to get her car out and advised her to park at the high school until the snow could be moved.

Sycamore residents were unable to get into their house due to snow and ice on the evening of February 3rd. Police offered to help the elderly couple into the house but they declined and said they would stay in a hotel.

On the night of February 5th, two cars skidded into a snow bank on Garden Road and had to be pulled out by R& D towing. Neither car was damaged.

Several large trees and branches fell during the storm on the morning of February 2nd:

At 9 am, a large tree branch fell and pulled utility wires down with it at 1187 Post Road. The windshield, hood, roof and passenger door of a car that was parked in the driveway was damaged as a result. Con Edison was called to help.
At 9:18 a large branch fell on Graham Road and pulled down cable and phone wires.
At 9:20 a tree fell at 54 Fayette Road.
At 9:54 am a large tree branch was reported down on Ridgedale Road.
At 10:36 am a tree branch and wires came down on Tunstall Road

Locked in: A driver on Christie Place got locked into his car when the car’s battery died on the evening of 2/3 and the door locks would not open. Police advised the man to unlock the car manually.

Raccoons: Police removed a dead raccoon from Weaver Street on the night of 1/31. On the afternoon of 2/5 a Brookby Road woman called to report a raccoon on her deck. Police were able to shoo it to a wooded area.

From Greenburgh:

Combative Con Ed Man at Caffe Azzurri: Just after midnight on 2/7, a customer at Caffe Azzurri on North Central Avenue refused to leave the restaurant. Richard Saglimbeni, a 39 year-old Con Edison meter reader from Hartsdale became combative and challenged the owner of the restaurant to a fight. The angry customer punched his hand through a window at the rear entrance to the restaurant and when police arrived they took him into custody. He was treated for cuts on his right hand and booked, held and charged with criminal mischief.

At T.J. Maxx on Central Avenue, a young woman from White Plains was caught stealing bras, panties and other clothing valued at $191 on the afternoon of February 5th. Store security stopped her and found the items in her purse. As she is underage, she was referred to the Youth Court Detective.

Details: Published: 09 February 2011; Created: 09 February 2011; Last Updated: 09 February 2011; Hits: 5772

boinejohnson Boine T. Johnson of Fairview Road in Scarsdale passed away at White Plains Hospital on Friday February 4th after a brief illness. Johnson, who was born in 1931 celebrated his 79th birthday in December. He served as Village Trustee and as Scarsdale’s Mayor from 1975-1977 and lived in town for over 50 years. He has remained very active in Village affairs as a Director of the Scarsdale Forum (TVCC).

According to the Theta Delta Chi Fraternity, Johnson graduated from Williams College in 1953, where he was a member of Theta Delta Chi fraternity and competed at national levels in lacrosse. After service in the Navy he graduated from Harvard Business School and later joined the faculty at HBS.

Boine joined the Town Club, which was the forerunner of the Scarsdale Forum in June 1963 and was the President of the Town Club in 1984. For many years he served as the TVCC representative on the Citizens Nominating Committee. He was the Treasurer of the Non-Partisan Party Campaign Committee and served on the CNC Procedure Committee. More recently, Boine served on the Scarsdale Forum’s Assessment Revaluation Committee and the Education Finance Committee where he helped to draft a recent report on Teacher’s Compensation. Forum member Robert Berg remarked; “Boine was a real committed Scarsdalian and a great resource to younger civic volunteers. I really enjoyed working with him. This is a major loss for Scarsdale.”

His wife has asked that donations in his memory be sent to either of the following organizations as each had a very special place in Boine’s heart:

Amateur Comedy Club Century Fund
150 East 36 Street
New York, NY 10016

Or:

Williams College
Alumni Fund Class of ‘53
75 Park Street
Williamstown, MA 01267

Please post your tributes to Boine Johnson below:

Details: Published: 31 January 2011; Created: 31 January 2011; Last Updated: 31 January 2011; Hits: 8462

check The younger ex-girlfriend of a 65 year-old Scarsdale man was arrested for Grand Larceny when he discovered that she had stolen his checks and made wire transfers from his account. Natashia Balletty, age 41 of Queens Village forged 12 checks with a total value of $3,000 and made five wire transfers from the man’s account to pay her television and cable bills – for another $980. Balletty was arrested on January 28 while at work and taken to Westchester County Jail where bail was set at $2,000.

The early morning hours of January 29 proved to be a busy time for the Scarsdale Police: At 12:40 am on January 29th, police arrested Mossimo Rizzo, a 49 year-old Eastchester man. Police stopped him at Post and Popham Roads where he was driving a 1999 Volkswagen, without a license, without insurance in an unregistered car without valid license plates. He was arrested and released pending a court date.

At 4 am police arrested Lloyd Whea, age 26 from Yonkers when Whea went through a red light at Post and Mamaroneck Roads. Police stopped him as he was travelling south on Post Road and found that his eyes were bloodshot, he smelled like liquor and failed the sobriety test. His blood alcohol level was .19, more than double the legal limit. He was booked, issued a summons for driving while intoxicated and released to his wife, pending his appearance in court on Wednesday February 2nd.

At 4:15 am, while officers were busy with Mr. Whea, another driver sped by them on the Post Road. Police pursued the car and were able to stop it at the corner of Post Road and Wayside Lane. The driver identified himself as Michael Green, age 32. Though he held a driver’s license from Georgia, Green currently lives in Mt. Vernon. Green had glassy eyes, and slurred speech and Police smelled alcohol on his breath. When they smelled marijuana in the car, they ordered Green to get out, and placed him under arrest.

However, the story doesn’t end there. While Green was sitting in the holding cell at the police trailer, the officer saw the defendant reach into the back of his pants and pull something out. It turned out that he had nine bags of crack cocaine in his pants as well as another bag of grass in his underwear. He also had $1293 cash. Green was charged with DWI, speeding, unlawful possession of marijuana and criminal possession of a controlled substance. He was found to have a blood alcohol level of .14. He was arraigned before Judge Arlene Katz and sent to Westchester County Jail. No bail was set.

Burglary: A home at 21 Old Lyme Road, owned by the Republic of Trinidad was entered sometime between January 21 and January 24. No one was home when vandals forced open a rear door and tossed the first and second floor bedrooms. As of now, it is not know what, if anything was stolen.

A Fenimore Road woman was the victim of a Western Union scam. She was solicited via email to become a member of a Secret Shopper Club and was told she would be paid $300 to check the prices of items in supermarkets and other stores. She received two money orders for advance payment totaling $920 and deposited the funds. She was told to send two wire transfers – one for $1,540 and the other for $50 to two people she didn’t know. After she sent the wire transfers, the bank determined that the Western Union payments were a scam and asked her to repay the funds. In total, the woman is out $1,840.

A Fox Meadow man also was a fraud victim. On January 26 he reported that unauthorized withdrawals were made from his Chase account -- $5,000 from his checking account and $4,600 from his savings account.

Water: a neighbor reported running water coming from 156 Brite Avenue on the afternoon of January 25th. Police saw that it was coming from a sprinkler head. The fire department entered the home through an unlocked front window and turned off the sprinkler.

Slipped: On the night of 1/28, a Lenox Place man came to police to report that he slipped outside the Chase Bank on Palmer Avenue at 8:50 am and had pain in his head and neck. As he was embarrassed he did not call police or SVAC and drove his car home. But after the pain became worse, he drove to Westchester Medical Center to be checked by his physician. His physician recommended that he go to White Plains Emergency room for further evaluation.

At one am on 1/29, a New Rochelle woman called police to say that four kids had thrown ice at her car as she was driving north on Post Road. Though there was no damage to the car, police stopped four boys as they were walking on Rugby Road. While police spoke with them it became evident that they had been drinking. Police took all of the boys into headquarters and contacted their parents to pick them up.

A Cooper Road man reported that his tire hit a large pothole on East Parkway at Crane Road on the afternoon of 1/29. The front passenger side tire blew out and AAA came to help him.

On the afternoon o January 30th a Sheldrake Road woman called police to help her get photographers from the New York Daily News to leave her front lawn. When police arrived, the owner asked the photographers to leave and they complied.

Broken glass was found on Garth Road in front of the former Sakura Restaurant at 2 am on 1/31. Police notified the building owner.

Coyote Watch: At 1 pm on 1/24, two coyotes were reported on the golf course at Fenway Golf Club and a coyote was spotted on Stratton Road around 7 am on January 30th.

In Greenburgh, underage drinkers were found at a Fort Hill Road Home on Friday, January 28, around 9:40 P.M. After getting a report of a loud party at 189 Fort Hill Road, police and members of the Drug and Alcohol Task Force went to the house. Police found a number of teenagers standing outside in the backyard of the property and others entering and exiting the house through the rear sliding glass door.

Officers approached the house and saw several cases of Coors Light beer on a table inside. They went in and found a number of young people drinking beer. Eleven kids, all aged 16, received citations for under age drinking. The teens were identified and released to the custody of a parent or guardian. They are due in Town of Greenburgh Court on Wednesday, February 16, 2011.

The owner of the home was not home, but was notified and responded at the request of police. There were no injuries at the scene nor alcohol related illness reported.

At 1:30 am on 1/25 police found the front bumper with attached license plate of a car on Lynwood Road: They traced the plate number to Thomas Kaplan of 1641 Third Avenue in NYC but were unable to reach him. The bumper came from his 2004 Gray Land Rover.

Frank Ditraglia , age 20of Emerson Road Hartsdale age was arrested on an outstanding warrant for possession of marijuana on January 25, 2011

Joseph Denatale of Longview Road Scarsdale claimed that a mechanic at Curry Chevy on Central Avenue vandalized his car when he left it there for service. The vehicle ignition was damaged when he picked up the car on January 26th.