Musician Gleny Rae has been reunited with her beloved 87-year-old German-made Roth violin more than 24 hours after it was stolen from outside a restaurant in Alice Springs.
Key points:
Gleny Rae has been reunited with her 1935 Roth violin after it was stolen along with her car
The violin and vehicle were found in Hong street close to the CBD of Alice Springs
Ms Rae has called the man who found her car a hero
“I have to say that it was directly attributable to the ABC story,” she said.
Ms Rae said that the local man who found her car, a 1999 Toyota troop carrier, was working in his yard with his sons when he heard some activity in a street close to the CBD.
“(He) went out had a look and sure enough there were three young fellas mucking around,” she said.
“As soon as they were interrupted they did the runner… But of course, they got away.”
The gentlemen who only would like to be known as Stu, realized that Ms Rae’s high-top Troopy was like a second home as it was adorned with photos of family and friends.
“Then he saw the violin. And he was like, ‘Oh, somebody is going to be in deep distress’,” she said.
desperate to return
Gleny Rae, her 1935 Roth violin and Stu — the gentleman who found the car and violin.(Supplied: Gleny Rae)
Ms Rae said that Stu did everything to try and return the vehicle and the instrument to the rightful owner, including reporting it to the police.
“He was desperately trying to find some way of contacting me.
“He ended up contacting me through the ABC Alice Springs Facebook page,” she said.
Ms Rae said she could not believe the news.
“My heart just about jumped out of my chest,
“I just felt this surge of adrenaline and excitement and hope through my body,” she said.
When reunited with her “best friend”, Ms Rae said she checked the condition of the violin and serenaded Stu with an Irish jig to reflect her celebratory mood and relief at finding the instrument she had owned for 35 years.
“Stu is a very humble gentleman… and just a brilliant person.
“I am so lucky; I am the luckiest person on this planet,” she said.
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Ms Rae said that she had assumed the car had been hot-wired in record time before learning what happened.
“Stu found a bunch of old Toyota keys just on the ground,” she said.
Ms Rae said the thieves had broken a window before trying random keys.
“Try this one, try this one, try this one — bingo. It starts and off they go,” she said.
Worn-out keys
Rick Hall is an Alice Springs mechanic and has been working in car yards all his life.
Dual cab LandCruiser utes are popular both as work and recreational vehicles. (Supplied: JP Engineering)
He said that he commonly uses older keys in Toyota vehicles up until 2005, especially when presented with cars with missing keys.
“Old Toyota keys get worn out and old ignition barrels also get worn out,
“You do find keys that aren’t necessarily the key for that particular car but if it is close enough to the original key, it will work,” he said.
Mr Hall was surprised to hear what had happened.
“Where did they get access to a whole bunch of keys?” he said.
His advice is to retrofit a kill switch.
“It’s the easiest solution and will only cost a couple of hundred dollars,” he said.
A driver spotted a bloodied woman screaming for help inside the cab of a tractor-trailer on a Jersey highway Wednesday in a disturbing scene straight out of a horror movie.
Officers are now searching for the woman who the witness said was bleeding from her face inside a white semi-truck pulled over to the side of Route 130 near Dayton Toyota, South Brunswick Police said.
The passerby said the woman called out for help before the male truck driver pulled her back into the cab and drove away around 2 pm The truck turned off Route 130 at the Ridge Road exit.
The woman is believed to be white or Hispanic and in her 20s. According to the witness description, she has long brown hair and was wearing a brown flannel shirt.
The driver is a white older man who is bald and has a white beard. He was wearing a blue shirt at the time of the incident, police said.
ALERT-NEED PUBLIC HELP Police looking for white tractor cab in video. At 2pm woman seen yelling for help, bleeding from cab on Rt 130 headed towards Ridge Rd. Suspect – Older white male, bald, white beard. Victim- white/Hispanic female,20s,long brown hair. INFO CALL 732-329-4646 pic.twitter.com/7MJN775Jzd
The creep accused of slashing an Asian woman in Times Square with a box-cutter had been arrested for a violent robbery just days before the random attack — but a lax Queens judge let him walk free, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Anthony Evans, 30, was cut loose on supervised release by Judge Denise Johnson on July 27, despite facing second-degree robbery charges for allegedly slugging aa grocery store worker and, in a separate case, swiping a case of beer, according to officials and records.
Prosecutors with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office cited Evans’ being free on a violent felony as part of their argument for why he should be held on $200,000 bail over the Sunday attack, which is being investigated as a possible hate crime.
The judge ended up ordering the suspect held pending a mental evaluation at the arraignment early Wednesday in Manhattan Criminal Court.
Cops say Evans attacked a 59-year-old seamstress pulling a rolling cart on Seventh Avenue and West 42na Street on Sunday morning — leaving her with 19 stitches on her hand, according to a criminal complaint.
Anthony Evans was cut loose by Judge Denise Johnson days before the Times Square slashing.Robert Miller for NY PostEvans is accused of slashing an Asian woman in Times Square with a box cutter. NYPD
The slashing came only a week after Evans on July 22 allegedly stole a package of noodles from SkyFoods on College Point Boulevard, according to court records.
A manager, who spotted the theft on surveillance footage, followed Evans out of the store and got clocked in the face when he confronted him, the criminal complaint said.
Four days later, Evans allegedly walked into a Walgreens, picked up an 18-pack of Miller Light and strolled out of the store without paying, according to court records. A female employee grabbed the beer from him outside, the complaint said.
Evans previously was caught on camera stealing from a Walgreens and a SkyFoods. NYPD
Evans was arrested July 26 and charged in both cases. He faces charges of second-degree robbery, which is considered a violent felony, as well as Petty Larceny, over the grocery store incident, records showed.
Prosecutors had requested bail be set at $50,000 during his arraignment on July 27, according to a spokesperson for the Queens District Attorney’s Office. But Johnson released Evans without setting monetary bail, according to officials and records.
Both those cases were added until Sept. 22, the DA’s office said.
In the slashing incident, Evans faces charges of assault, attempted assault and criminal possession of a weapon.Paul Martinka for NY Post
Evans is now facing additional charges of assault, attempted assault and criminal possession of a weapon in the caught-on-video Times Square attack on July 31.
He was seen in the video rushing up to the woman, raising his hand above his head and bringing the apparent box cutter down to her hand, according to court records.
Evans also had two misdemeanor convictions of assault and a robbery for which he was granted youthful offender status.
He is due back in court Aug. 25, according to the Manhattan DA.
Johnson — who was elected in November 2021 — caught heat a few months later when she cut loose a reputed gang member charged in a bar shooting after cops tracked him down to North Carolina, despite even his defense lawyer calling $50,000 bail “appropriate,” The Post reported at the time.
The release of Tobias Friedrich Moran, accused of murdering his German backpacker girlfriend, must be determined by the NSW Supreme Court after a magistrate said the case against him was not the strongest.
Magistrate Margaret Quinn in the Downing Center Local Court on Thursday accepted submissions from Moran’s barrister there was no new evidence connecting him to the murder of Simone Strobel in 2005.
And while the Crown submitted new witness statements taken from people in Germany showed that he lied about the state of their relationship, that evidence was not currently before the court.
The magistrate said evidence showed the couple had been fighting, drinking a lot and perhaps on some drugs about the time of the alleged murder.
“(But) it doesn’t appear in this case to be any direct or indirect evidence connecting him to the offence,” Ms Quinn said.
“It’s not the strongest circumstantial case I have seen.”
Prosecutor Scott Jaeger confirmed they would be appealing to the Supreme Court to revoke bail and his release was delayed for three days.
Moran must wait in prison until that determination before he can potentially return to live with his wife and family in City Beach, Western Australia.
His wife has offered $200,000 in security if he fails to show up in Lismore court when required, while another $250,000 has been offered as an undertaking.
The 42-year-old is charged with murdering his then partner, 25, and acting with intent to pervert the course of justice between 11pm on February 11, 2005 and 3.30pm the following day.
Police allege Moran suffocated or smothered his girlfriend in a camper van in Lismore and disposed of her body nearby.
Moran reported the school teacher missing before she was found days later 100 meters from the camper van.
Her body was too decomposed for a coroner to determine the cause of death, but it is believed to be asphyxiation.
Moran reported the school teacher missing before she was found days later 100 meters from the camper van. Credit: NSW Police/SuppliedSimone Strobel and Tobias Suckfuell. Credit: Supplied
The magistrate disagreed with the Crown’s submission that Moran had not co-operated with police, acknowledging he had refused to show up for an inquest in 2007.
But he had submitted plenty of DNA samples to police, one of which was lost, and most recently put himself forward for extradition, she said.
Bail conditions – if granted – stipulated he must report to police three days a week and must not communicate via any encrypted websites.
Moran’s sister Katrin Suckfuell, pictured, and friend Jens Martin were also traveling with the pair. Credit: Facebook/Facebook
Police last week confirmed they were communicating with German authorities about two arrest warrants for suspects who had been “persons of interest from the very beginning”.
Moran’s sister Katrin Suckfuel and friend Jens Martin were also traveling with the pair.
A man is in custody after a brutal stabbing in Northbridge early Thursday morning.
Police say a 29-year-old man received serious injuries to his neck and face after he was attacked on Francis Street about 2.45am.
Police swarmed the area soon after, with several units deployed including detectives and canine officers. The street was cordoned off as officers combed the crime scene.
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Police swarmed the area after the alarm was raised. Credit: News at Night
Shortly after, police found the alleged stabber — a man in his 20s — and he was taken into custody about 3.30am.
The victim was rushed under priority conditions to Royal Perth Hospital where he remains in hospital and is expected to undergo surgery.
Several police cars and detectives remain at the scene outside two clubs — Galaxy Lounge and Butterfly 73. A cordon is still in place with motorists unable to enter the street. Several bins and plastic containers can be seen strewn around the street outside the two clubs.
A man was taken into custody soon after the attack and is helping police. Credit: News at Night
No charges have been laid and the man in custody is helping police with their inquiries.
Detectives continue to investigate the stabbing and ask anyone with information, dash-cam or mobile phone vision relating to this incident to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report the information online.
A South Australian man jailed over a child sex abuse ring in the Philippines paid $30 for each live act of abuse online, threatening the children with starvation if they didn’t obey his demands.
Ian Ralph Schapel was jailed for 16 years after pleading guilty to 50 child sexual offences, including paying for children to be abused while he watched from his lounge room in Adelaide.
The investigation into his crimes led to the rescue of 15 young victims and the arrest of five people in the Philippines following an international investigation.
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The 68-year-old former government human resources manager was first detained in February 2020 after Australian Border Force officers examined his bags when he arrived in Melbourne on an overseas flight and allegedly found child abuse material on his mobile phone.
He was charged over the content, which eventually led to the discovery of more than 50,000 images and videos of child abuse material on a range of electronic devices at his Adelaide home.
South Australian man Ian Ralph Schapel. Credit: 7NEWS
The AFP used commonwealth laws for the first time to confiscate Schapel’s home in Mitchell Park because it was used as “an instrument of crime” where the majority of the offending took place.
He was ordered to pay a total of $165,000, half of his home’s value.
Further investigations by SA police found he had communicated with people in the Philippines to procure several children, the youngest aged three.
In February last year, Schapel admitted 50 offences, including viewing, remotely instructing and recording the sexual abuse of children on 55 occasions between March 2018 and January 2020.
An Adelaide man’s crimes led to the rescue of 15 young victims and five arrests in the Philippines. Credit: AAPOne of the alleged offenders of the ongoing child sex abuse hides her face inside a premises in the Philippines before her arrest. Credit: AFP
As part of the international investigation, Philippine authorities executed search warrants at multiple locations in Bislig, a remote area in the country’s east, in August 2020.
Thirteen children and two young adults were removed from harm and five women were arrested and accused of facilitating the abuse for profit. Among the abusers, were mothers, aunts and cousins of the victims.
On Wednesday, Judge Paul Cuthbertson described Schapel’s behavior as “callous” and “disgraceful” with “no thought given to the plight of the poor unfortunate children who were required to perform at request”.
The court had heard Schapel paid $30 for each live recording of the sexual abuse, and that he would threaten to let the children starve if they did not do what he asked.
Australian Federal Police Commander Erica Merrin said the case highlighted the force’s commitment to work with partners to protect children around the world.
“Children are being forced into the most appalling violence and torment on camera by the people who are meant to love and to protect them,” she said.
“This Adelaide man did not just watch children being hurt, he ordered specific abuse to happen and preyed on the economic vulnerability of the people involved.”
The case served as the first example where an AFP taskforce had sought to confiscate the home of a person charged with sex offences. Credit: AFP
Philippine Police Brigadier General Edgar De Mayo Cacayan said close collaboration with the AFP and other international partners should send a strong message to would-be child sex offenders.
“You will not buy and sell the sexual abuse of children in the Philippines,” he said.
“We will not allow it, and we will be their guardians. We will find you, and you will have to answer for your actions in a court of law.”
Merrin echoed a similar warning.
“It doesn’t matter when you offended, when you abused children, if you prey on children, it doesn’t matter where in the world you are, we will come for you.”
An Adelaide man, 68, who remotely instructed and recorded the sexual abuse of children on 55 occasions over webcam has been sentenced to 15 years in jail.
The investigation led to the rescue of 15 victims in the Philippines and the arrests of five women accused of facilitating the “horrific” abuse, some of whom are the mothers and relatives of the victims.
The predator had pleaded guilty in February 2021 to 50 offenses between March 2018 and January 2020, but was charged with further offenses as investigations uncovered more information.
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Police believe the youngest child was aged just three when they were first abused.
Thirteen children and two young adults were removed from harm in the Philippines following a major investigation by Australian Federal Police (AFP), Australian Border Force, SA Police, Anti-Child Exploitation teams, and multiple agency partners in the Philippines.
AFP Commander Erica Merrin said: “Children are being forced into the most appalling violence and torment on camera by the people who are meant to love and to protect them.
“The abuse is then live-streamed to customers in Western nations, shamefully that includes Australia.
“This Adelaide man did not just watch children being hurt – he ordered specific abuse to happen and preyed on the economic vulnerability of the people involved.”
The five alleged facilitators were aged between 18 and 29 at the time.
One of the 15 young victims being rescued by Philippine authorities. Credit: AFPOne of the alleged offenders of the ongoing child sex abuse hides her face inside a premises in the Philippines before her arrest. Credit: AFP
“One of the women charged was then an 18-year-old who was allegedly offering three girls online to offenders – her nine-year-old niece, 12-year-old cousin and 18-year-old best friend,” the AFP said.
The Adelaide man was first caught at Melbourne Airport with child abuse material on his mobile phone by Australian Border Force officials as he returned to Australia on an international flight in February 2020.
A forensic examination of the man’s digital storage devices “uncovered horrific footage of sexual acts involving children”, and police found more than 55,000 images and videos of child abuse material.
The man was charged over the illegal content.
Five alleged female facilitators of exploitation and child sex abuse were arrested by Philippines authorities. Credit: AFP
Further investigation found that the man “communicated with adult ‘facilitators’ in the Philippines to procure several children for his depraved requests,” AFP said.
“The children were forced to perform sexually explicit acts on camera which he watched live from his suburban Adelaide home. “
He was charged with the additional offenses in April 2020.
In November 2020 and May 2021, the AFP obtained a restraining order in relation to the property where many of his internet-based offenses allegedly took place.
The case served as the first example where an AFP taskforce had sought to confiscate the home of a person charged with sex offences. Credit: AFP
He was ordered to pay a total of $165,000, half of what his home was worth. This was the first time the AFP-led Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce (CACT) had sought to confiscate the home of a person charged with sex offences.
This is because he was allegedly using his property as “an instrument of crime”.
The AFP worked with its partner agencies in the Philippines, including the Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Center (PICACC), to continue the investigation there.
Philippines authorities executed search warrants at multiple locations in Bislig City, a remote area in the country’s east, in August 2020.
“The rescues and arrests are a powerful reminder of why the AFP works closely with partners around the globe, sharing intelligence and the resources necessary to target anyone who preys on children, no matter where in the world they are hiding,” AFP International Command Detective Superintendent Andrew Perkins said.
The Adelaide man has been sentenced to a total of 15 years, three months and 19 days’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 10 years, for the commonwealth offences, as well as nine months for a state offence. They will be served cumulatively.
A young girl chewed through restraints to escape to a rural Alabama home where investigators later found two decomposing bodies, authorities said.
José Paulino Pascual-Reyes, 37, is facing kidnapping charges and multiple counts of capital murder in connection to the bodies found at the home after a 12-year-old girl was discovered walking along a roadside early Monday in Dadeville.
Tallapoosa County Sheriff Jimmy Abbett told reporters at a press conference that a driver picked up the girl and called 911 — setting off an investigation that led to Pascual-Reyes’ arrest and the gross discovery, AL.com reported.
Pascual-Reyes, who remains jailed pending a bond hearing, was arrested in Auburn. The bodies were found in his Dadeville home, not far from where the girl was discovered wandering alone.
The decomposing remains have been sent to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences to be identified, Abbett said, adding it’s unclear how long they had been there.
“It’s a fluid investigation,” the sheriff told reporters. “Things are changing, and I don’t want to jeopardize the identification of our juvenile.”
Pascual-Reyes had lived at the home since February.WSFAThe bodies were found in Pascual-Reyes’ Dadeville home, not far from where the girl was discovered wandering alone.WSFA
Court filings obtained by WSFA show the girl had been tied to bedposts for nearly a week. She was assaulted and plied with alcohol, but managed to escape by chewing through her restraints from her, the documents show.
Authorities did not indicate whether the girl knew Pascual-Reyes, AL.com reported.
“I would say she’s a hero,” Abbett said. “It’s one of those things we won’t get into until later. We gave her medical attention. She is safe now. We want to keep her that way.”
Pascual-Reyes had lived at the home since February, Abbett said. Other people were there when cops arrived, but he did not elaborate, AL.com reported.
“It’s horrendous to have a crime scene of this nature,” the sheriff told reporters Tuesday.
A suicide pact is believed to be behind the death of two Saudi sisters inside a Sydney apartment, as their tragic end continues to be clouded by unknowns.
Police now believe Asra Abdallah Alsehli, 24, and her sister Amaal planned their deaths after bottles of chemicals and other substances were discovered beside their siblings’ bodies.
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Interim toxicology results showed traces of those substances in their bodies, The Daily Telegraph reports.
The sisters were found dead in separate beds at their Canterbury Road unit on June 7 in “unusual circumstances”, with no signs or injury or forced entry.
However, police believe the pair could have been dead for up to a month before their bodies were found.
Little remains known about Asra Abdullah Alsehli, 24, and her sister Amaal, 23. Credit: NSW Police
Their exact cause of death is yet to be determined as police wait for toxicology reports, but at this stage, suicide is believed to be a likely cause of death.
“There’s no indication of anyone else being in the unit … no forced entry. It really does appear to be a tragic suicide,” a senior police source told The Telegraph.
A bottle of bleach, non-perishable food items and clothing were reportedly among the items found in the bedrooms.
Despite several tragic twists coming to light, little remains known about the sisters.
Police have not revealed what the pair did for work, however, both women had registered ABNs, which could mean they were operating as sole traders.
Bank records showed funds were drying up, police told The Telegraph.
It has since been revealed the pair were behind in their rent payments for more than $5100, which equates to more than 10 weeks of missed rent for their $480 unit.
The sisters lived in this apartment building in Canterbury. Credit: domain.com.au
The outstanding amount owed to the landlord was revealed in NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal records.
Their landlord took the matter to NCAT, where it was ordered the tenancy agreement be terminated and possession given to the landlord, The Daily Mail reports.
However, the sisters never appeared at the May 13 hearing, which was held less than a month before their bodies were found.
A sheriff called at the behest of their landlord made the grisly discovery.
But it was not the first time authorities visited the unit, with police paying the sisters a visit in mid-March after the building manager raised concerns for their welfare as food had been left out in common areas.
This visit would have taken place not long after the pair stopped paying rent.
The sisters “appeared fine” when speaking to police, Detective Inspector Claudia Allcroft said earlier.
“At that stage, there were no issues raised,” she said.
“There was no further action required from police at that stage.”
The Canterbury unit is available to move in as of Wednesday, with the new listing including an eerie notice.
“This property has found two deceased person on 06/07/2022, crime scene has been established and it is still under police investigation,” the listing said.
“According to the police, this is not a random crime and will not be a potential risk for the community.”
Forensic finger print dust is seen on an external door frame at the alleged apartment where two women were found dead in Canterbury, Sydney, Wednesday, June 8, 2022. (AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi) NO ARCHIVING Credit: BIANCA DE MARCHI/AAPIMAGE
Those who knew the sisters say they seemed to live in fear and were “very afraid of something”.
The women had claimed a suspicious man had been lurking outside their unit in the months before their deaths and had voiced concerns someone was tampering with their food deliveries.
NSW Police said the investigation is ongoing.
“Police continue to appeal for information in relation to the death of the two women,” a spokesperson said.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Awkward moment sheriffs serve eviction notice to wrong house.
Awkward moment sheriffs serve eviction notice to wrong house.
For months, Republicans have been telling anybody who would listen that this is the year they will end their power outage in Albany. They cite violent crime and inflation, an apparent lack of enthusiasm for Gov. Hochul and a national fury over the failures of the Biden administration.
Despite those advantages, there’s been little evidence so far that the GOP could free New York from the Dem stranglehold. A Tuesday poll begins to change that.
Hochul leads Republican Lee Zeldin by just 14 points, 53-39, in the Siena College survey. While 14 points is hardly a cliffhanger, it compares very favorably to 2014. At this stage of that race, incumbent Andrew Cuomo led GOP nominee Rob Astorino by 32 points in a race Cuomo won by 14.
Moreover, Zeldin, who has represented a Long Island district in Congress since 2015, effectively begins with the 40% high-water mark of any GOP gubernatorial candidate in the last four elections. (George Pataki was the last Republican governor, winning his third term in 2002).
Republican candidate for Governor Lee Zeldin smiles with his family at home in Shirley, New York. Tamara Beckwith
So closing a 14-point gap with more than three months until Election Day is certainly doable, especially given the political environment and Hochul’s uneven performance.
Zeldin, in a phone interview, sees many greenshoots in the new survey and says his internal poll has him even closer.
“This is important for our team,” he says. “The next poll should show us gaining even more momentum.”
A new poll shows Zeldin’s race is much closer with Gov. Kathy Hochul than other recent GOP gubernatorial candidates have been.Lev Radin/Pacific Press/Shutterstock
The Siena survey is the most important since the primaries ended and is based on likely voters, as opposed to registered. It shows both candidates having a firm grasp on their party, with Zeldin holding a narrow lead among independents.
A missing piece is that, other than gun control and abortion, the poll does not ask about specific issues. Nor does it ask voters to rank the issues most important to them.
Zeldin has no doubts about what the answers would be to a ranking question.
“When we ask, a large majority answer either crime or the economy as the top issue,” he says. “And we believe that the election will be dominated by voters most concerned about those two things.”
His campaign has zeroed in on those targets and his pledge to fire Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Day One has become a signature promise. He accuses Hochul of “giving cover” to Bragg and other soft-on-crime prosecutors.
“She tries way too hard to avoid talking about the key issues,” he insists. He cites Mayor Adams’ request for a special legislative session to deal with crime and the bail-law mess that has seen repeat offenders let go before cops finish the paperwork.
Zeldin pledged to come for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg if he were elected. Steve Hirsch
Hochul, while voicing support for fellow-Dem Adams, has done almost nothing to help him stem the bloodshed and mayhem in Gotham.
Zeldin was attacked during a recent speech by a troubled former veteran, an incident that probably helped him gain some name recognition and even sympathy.
He knows his pro-life stance puts him at a disadvantage with many voters after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. But he notes that a law offering even more abortion protections than Roe already exists in New York and believes that social issues as a whole will take a back seat to the crime wave engulfing much of the state, along with the soaring cost of living. He is also pushing for tax cuts and more school choice.
In addition to his own efforts, the redistricting process that ended up in the courts and led to nonpartisan maps gives GOP candidates a chance to improve upon the seven congressional seats they now hold, which should help increase turnout for the ticket.
Meanwhile, Hochul’s tenure has been mystifying in a fundamental way. Even though she was Cuomo’s running mate and lieutenant governor Lieut. Gov. for eight years, she was able to escape any blame in the sexual-harassment scandal that led to Cuomo’s resignation by claiming she wasn’t close to him.
She was right about that, and her distance led to hopes she would bring ethics and new openness to Albany, where everything important happens in back rooms.
Those hopes were quickly dashed as Hochul inexplicably copied some of Cuomo’s worst habits. No sooner had she taken the oath than she began speed-dialing her donors for big-bucks contributions.
An attacker grabs Zeldin as he delivered a speech in Perinton, New York on July 21. WHEC-TV/AP
And her penchant for secrecy in negotiating big government deals with donors is so Cuomo-like that it seems as if he’s still calling the shots.
Perhaps most shocking, her first pick to replace her, state Sen. Brian Benjamin, was already taught in a federal corruption probe. Much of Albany apparently knew something was up—but not Hochul. Benjamin has since been indicted and resigned.
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In some ways, statewide elections in New York are a jigsaw puzzle of competing dominance. Republicans win most of the 62 counties and do especially well upstate, but Dems run up the score by capturing the cities and the most populated suburbs.
Zeldin has a plan for that. He sees getting 29% as the bare necessity in the five boroughs and believes he will top that margin easily, in part by attracting large numbers of Asian and Latino voters concerned about crime.
“If a Republican gets less than 29% in the city, it’s hard to win,” he tells me. “But if you get to 35% or 36%, it’s hard to lose.”
He also says he needs 60% of Suffolk County, his base, 55% of Nassau County and just 43% of Westchester. In fact, he has a target for each county and, in his mind, is assembling a campaign that will put him over the top across the board.
Zeldin speaks to delegates and assembled party officials at the 2022 NYGOP on March 1. John Minchillo/AP
As usual, there is another hurdle for the underdog—money. Zeldin raised $13 million for the contested primary and spent nearly all of it. He has a full schedule of fundraisers, but he does not pretend to believe he’ll have Hochul’s big bucks.
Incumbency has its advantages.
Party’s For’word’ folly
Reader Joe Alloy asks “What’s in a name” and answers his own question. He writes: “Andrew Yang and Christine Todd Whitman have started a 3rd party called The Forward Party.
“Has anyone told them that ‘Forward’ was a Marxist slogan which reflected the march of history beyond capitalism and into socialism and communism? Or are they just showing us who they really are?”
AP Headline: Biden Covid sequel: back on balcony, dog for company
Alternative headline: Biden finally has a friend!
It’s ‘bench’ press time
Reader Christian Browne has a question and an idea, writing: “Mayor Adams has a Criminal Justice Coordinator. Where is this person? This office should have the stats on the judges, on the bail/no-bail releases and on these ridiculous diversion programs.
“Adams could use the facts to highlight the rate of recidivist offenders. I bet he would find these programs — the ‘alternatives to incarceration’ — are largely to blame for the revolving door.”
