Humans of New York: Stories

In the summer of 2010, photographer Brandon Stanton began an ambitious project -to single-handedly create a photographic census of New York City. The photos he took and the accompanying interviews became the blog Humans of New York. His audience steadily grew from a few hundred followers to, at present count, over twelve million. In 2013, his book Humans of New York, based on that blog, was published and immediately catapulted to the top of the NY Times Bestseller List where it has appeared for over forty-five weeks.

Now, Brandon is back with the Humans of New York book that his loyal followers have been waiting for: Humans of New York: Stories. Ever since Brandon began interviewing people on the streets of New York, the dialogue he's had with them has increasingly become as in-depth, intriguing and moving as the photos themselves. Humans of New York: Stories presents a whole new group of people in stunning photographs, with a rich design and, most importantly, longer stories that delve deeper and surprise with greater candor. Let Brandon Stanton and the Humans of New York he's photographed astonish you all over again next fall.

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Two Stars of @MobWives Told to Stay Far Away from Funeral of #BigAng

Two Mob Wives stars were told to stay far away from Big Ang's funeral this weekend, all because of a long-standing family drama.

Angela "Big Ang" Raiola died of cancer last Thursday, and her viewings and funeral were quickly planned for the weekend. But two of her co-stars were warned to stay away, and it's all over old beefs.

Brittany Fogarty and Karen Gravano were told "it's not a good idea" to attend any of Big Ang's services, a source told E! News. "It's just years of history between the fathers," the source said, adding, "It's a shame, but they understand to a point. No one wants to have conflict at a funeral."

What is that history? It's no secret that Mob Wives is about women whose families were active in the Mafia and how that has affected their families. Gravano's father, Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, turned federal witness — i.e., snitched — against Mafia kingpin John Gotti in exchange for immunity against 19 murder charges. He was placed in the Witness Protection Program and relocated under an alias to Arizona.

Fogarty's family was relocated to Pennsylvania when her father, John Fogarty, cooperated with the feds in exchange for keeping her mom out of prison when they were busted on RICO charges.

What this boils down to is that their fathers are considered rats — and there is nothing worse in the Mafia world than a rat. Fogarty and Gravano's presence at Big Ang's funeral could cause unnecessary drama within the old ranks of the families, and no one wanted to shift the focus away from the woman it should really be about. But this doesn't mean the two women aren't honoring their friend in their own ways. Gravano visited Big Ang at the hospital before she passed, telling E! she looked "beautiful."

In addition to releasing a beautiful statement about her friend, Fogarty shared another tribute to Big Ang on her Instagram page.

Big Ang was buried on Sunday.

Thanks to Caroline Goddard.

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Drug Conspirator Pleads Guilty #OperationSmokinBones

United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Ilian David Gomez Mathews (25, Orlando) pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. He faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, between November 2012 and November 2015, Mathews conspired with others to ship at least 15 kilograms of cocaine through the U.S. mail from Puerto Rico to Orange and Osceola counties for distribution. Mathews admitted to distributing the majority of the cocaine, which was typically between 500 grams and two kilograms per month. As part of the scheme, tens of thousands of dollars were transported as bulk cash back to Puerto Rico, to the cocaine supply source.

In November 2015, federal and local law enforcement arrested five individuals, including Mathews, for drug trafficking, as part of Organized Crime and Drug Trafficking Task Force Operation “Smokin’ Bones.” Those individuals were indicted in December  2015. Mathews is the first defendant to plead guilty. The remaining individuals, Jose Javier Nieves Torres (45, Kissimmee); Dennis Rodriguez De Jesus (38, Kissimmee); Ramon Alberto Castro Ortega (26, St. Cloud); and Hector Manual Sanchez Garay (55, Orlando) are awaiting trial.

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Hell’s Angels Associate Sentenced For Destroying Evidence

U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced that Timothy M. Stone, 36, of East Rochester, NY, who was convicted of being an accessory after the fact to an assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering activity, was sentenced to 12 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett A. Harvey, who is handling the case, stated that in the late night hours on May 31, 2006, a male patron at Spenders Bar in Rochester was assaulted with a baseball bat. At the time, Spenders Bar was equipped with interior surveillance cameras that recorded the area in the bar where the assault occurred. The recordings were stored on a computer hard drive. In the early morning hours on June 1, 2006, Stone – knowing that others had committed the assault with the baseball bat in aid of racketeering – went to Spenders Bar, forcibly removed the hard drive, and took the hard drive from the bar. The defendant later destroyed the hard drive and the baseball bat used to commit the assault to assist the perpetrators of the assault in order to prevent their apprehension by the police.

This case was part of a larger investigation that resulted in the indictment and arrest of members and associates of the Rochester and Monterey (California) Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, for drug trafficking and racketeering-related offenses in February 2012.  Monterey (California) Hell's Angels President Richard W. Mar, Rochester Hell's Angels members James H. McAuley, Jr., of Oakfield, NY, and Jeffrey A. Tyler, of Rochester, and Donna Boon, of Oakfield, NY, were charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Three other defendants – Paul Griffin, of Blasdell, NY, Richard E. Riedman, of Webster, NY, and Gordon L. Montgomery, of Batavia, NY – were convicted for their roles in the methamphetamine conspiracy. Griffin was sentenced to probation and Riedman to 37 months in prison. Montgomery will be sentenced on May 3, 2016.

Rochester Hell's Angels member Robert W. Moran, Jr., of Rochester, along with Gina Tata, also of Rochester, are charged in the same indictment with assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering activity, and McAuley, Moran and Tata are charged with conspiracy to commit assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering activity.  In addition, Tata is charged with being an accessory after the fact to the assault and conspiracy.

A jury trial for the remaining six defendants – Mar, McAuley, Moran, Boon, Tyler and Tata – is scheduled to begin on March 7, 2016, before U.S District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo.

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Friends of the Family - The Inside Story of the Mafia Cops Case

Several books, including one by Jimmy Breslin, have been written on the Mafia cops case: the story of two city detectives who in 2005 were charged with being in league with mob hit men and committing two murders themselves. If you’re still looking for even more detail, “Friends of the Family” (William Morrow) by Tommy Dades and Michael Vecchione with David Fisher promises “The Inside Story of the Mafia Cops Case,” as the subtitle puts it. (Mr. Vecchione heads the investigations division for the Brooklyn district attorney, Charles J. Hynes; Mr. Dades is a former detective who worked on the case).

Some questions are still being pondered, though, including one posed by the authors themselves. “Even after the whole thing was done and the Mafia cops had been put in a cell to rot forever,” they write, “there was still one question that never got answered: At the beginning, were these guys killers who became cops or were they cops who became killers?”

Thanks to Sam Roberts

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