Sponsored by
THE BLOTTER
ISSUE № 00148 — 06-12-26
BY: M.L. Nestel
Graphic by Melissa Eiler
The Blotter.* A roundup of happenings in Gotham’s mean streets (and from time to time the tri-state region). Each item provides a staticky glimpse into the sleepless city’s peripheral misdemeanors, felonies, and misadventures.
-BACK TB FOR $1/MONTH…
-CHIP IN:
-CLICK ADS: Each issue features an ad. If readers could simply click the ad(s) — it would be a small little token that the company pays out. Please consider this. Yes it will open a window. But think of it as clicking it for goodness sake.
⬛ MANHATTAN
▀ Washington Heights: Croupier Caught Rolling Undercover
RICK BLAINE HE is not.
A 57-year-old hustler allegedly running a gambling den out of a bodega folded after he tried to get the upper hand on an undercover cop.
Shortly before 9 p.m. on May 13, an undercover entered the Archie Grocery located on St. Nicholas Avenue off West 163rd Street.
The suspect was holding court inside Archie’s when the cop in plainclothes slipped a 20 spot into the “Joker Poker” machine.
When he was done — the undercover was down and cashed out $5.
The accused was pinched for promoting gambling and possession of gambling devices (slot machine).
⬛ THE BRONX
▀ Riverdale: Off-Duty Cop Charged After Gunning Down Car Thief
A NEW YORK City cop was arrested Thursday and indicted for attempted murder, assault and kidnap for an off-duty, near fatal shooting in the Bronx in March.
Police Officer Jonathan Baez, 44, a 12 year veteran of the force, assigned to the Mayor's Gracie Mansion Security Detail, surrendered to the Bronx District Attorney on Thursday and he was arraigned on two counts of attempted murder for shooting into a vehicle that was stolen from outside his Riverdale home on March 14.
The indictment alleges that on that date his 2024 Honda CRV was stolen from outside the officers home.
Baez tracked down the crooks to a white Hyundai Genesis and he conducted over 200 unauthorized computer searches, including searches of live NYPD license plate readers for that vehicle between March 15 and 16th, to ping their whereabouts in real time.
On March 16 at 9 p.m. Baez was off duty when he suddenly appeared outside 167 West 231st Street in Kingsbridge.
He grabbed one of the men when he got out, putting the gun at the alleged thief’s back, then fired shots into the vehicle containing a driver and two passengers, one of the bullets striking a 30-year-old passenger in the head and another shot shattered a bar window across the street.
Baez was taken in for questioning at the scene and immediately modified by the NYPD, being stripped of both his gun and shield.
He appeared in Bronx Criminal Court on Thursday where he pleaded not guilty and the judge set bail at $100,000 cash.
He is due back in court on October 2.
Baez's stolen Honda has not been recovered. The shooting victims remains hospitalized on a ventilator.
If convicted of the most serious charge, attempted murder, Baez faces up to 25 years in prison for each of the two counts.
Bad news is good business. Not everyone buys it.
Every morning, financial news follows the same script. Headlines panic, coverage catastrophises, and somewhere inside the noise is the story that actually matters — the one that tells you where the opportunity sits, not just where the fear is pointing.
Most sources have stopped looking. The alarm is easier to sell.
The Daily Upside was created by Wall Street insiders for readers who crave real insight over recycled anxiety. Five minutes of global business and finance, before the noise sets the agenda — just the facts, context, and analysis your decisions need.
Join 1M readers — including managing directors and principals at some of Wall Street’s largest institutions — who trust The Daily Upside to filter through the chaos.
The upsides are always there. We’ll find them before breakfast.
⬛ BROOKLYN
▀ Coney Island: Diner Ditches Out On IHOP Bill
HE’S A ROOTY looty, fresh and fleecy.
The 57-year-old sat down at the breakfast chain on Surf Avenue back on May 11.
She ordered up some delectable items off the menu and chowed down on late lunch.
Then, when her server delivered her the check totaling $30.67, the suspect mewed.
The customer was actually as viable as the first pancake.
And she refused to pay.
The authorities were dialed and when they arrived they took the woman into custody.
She was charged with failure to pay based on stealth (dine and dash).
⬛ QUEENS
▀ Jamaica: Litterbug Has Consequential Tantrum
THE TOSSING OF refuse to the ground blew up into something more.
A 31-year-old was standing on Archer Avenue and Parsons Boulevrd had become none too pleased at being served a violation notice.
So he crinkled it hastily, and then threw it to the ground
A police officer saw this disregard for tidiness and moved to approach the man.
He then allegedly lost his cool and out came the handcuffs.
But the suspect allegedly attempted to “walk away” from the officer.
And he also crossed his arms and tensed his body — all to avoid getting arrested.
All of this ended with him finally getting cuffed and then charged with littering, disorderly conduct (fighting), and resisting arrest.
⬛ GOTHAM, INK.
▀ Hooped (Bronx, NY)
«SOURCE»
⬛ LOCKED UP
Graphic by Melissa Eiler
THE JAILER TOOK was gambling while on the clock.
A NYC Department of Corrections Captain found Latanya Brown on the wrong side of the bars Thursday, when she was nabbed by the feds for inflating her overtime pay to the tune of of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The 51-year-old, a 25 year veteran of the NYC Department of Corrections (and a Captain since 2017) allegedly bilked the city out of federal funds after collecting more than $400,000 in overtime; on top of her $250,000 in base pay, for hours not worked between 2024 and 2025.
Instead of being at Rikers Island jail, where she was a supervisor for the neighboring Bronx criminal courthouse, prosecutors allege.
On more than 100 occasions, they found she was at the Yonkers Empire City Casino, restaurants bars of elsewhere, other than work where she was supposed to be.
And what’s more she was sometimes chauffeured by DOC underlings.
As a supervisor, she was also accused of pressuring her subordinates for cash, leaning on them to run personal errands and even demanded gifts — including a pricey Louis Vuitton bag. And she allegedly made threats that if she didn't get this accessory then staffers wouldn't get the preferential overtime shifts, vacation time and cushy assignments.
She was arraigned Thursday in Brooklyn Federal court on two counts of extortion and fraudulently obtaining funds from a government funded agency.
She pleaded not guilty and she was released without bail.
If convicted, Brown faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
⬛ NYCTALGIA
▀ Catch Of The Day (Brooklyn, NY)
Credit: Robert Hoffman
«SOURCE»
⬛ ET. AL
▀ Street Dog Brawl (New York, NY)
«SOURCE»
▀ ‘No One Gonna Tell Me Nothing Because The Knicks Won Tonight! (New York, NY)
«SOURCE»
-30-
*When perusing The Blotter, know that arrests do not constitute guilt, and all suspects are innocent until proven guilty. Moreover, the reported items are merely a snapshot of a criminal matter – what is known at the time of publishing. In most cases, the persons arrested for breaking the law haven’t been convicted (yet). It’s also possible that the charges brought against them may be reduced or even withdrawn.
-----------------------------------------------------------------X
Say hey…
:missives:
«facebook»
:socials: