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Thursday, February 1, 2024

Police believe 4 migrants arrested in cop beatdown near Times Square fled on bus to California

 Four of the migrants cut loose without bail after allegedly ganging up on two NYPD cops near Times Square may be on the run, The Post has learned.

Cops believe the group could have hopped on a bus bound for California on Wednesday after giving phony names to a church-affiliated nonprofit group that helps migrants get rides out of the city, according to law enforcement sources.

The four accused cop-attackers believed to have skipped town were charged with assault on a police officer and obstruction immediately after the shocking, caught-on-video attack Saturday in Midtown.

Darwin Andres Gomez, 19, Kelvin Servita Arocha, 19, Wilson Juarez, 21, and Yorman Reveron, 24, were released without monetary bail by a Manhattan judge.

But Reveron, who had prior arrests on his rap sheet, was put on supervised release. Sources said hightailing it out of the city would likely be a violation of his court-ordered release.

The supervision was ordered for Reveron because he has two open criminal cases in Manhattan, including charges that he slugged a Nordstrom Rack employee while trying to steal $130 in November.

Wilson Juarez, Kelvin Servita Arocha and Darwin Andres Gomez are three of the five migrants charged in the assault on NYPD officers.

He is also accused of punching a worker at Macy’s Herald Square last month while allegedly trying to rob the retailer with two others.

A fifth asylum-seeking suspect, Jhoan Boada, 22, was hit with the same charges and also released without bail Wednesday.

Two more migrants, Jandry Barros, 21, and Yohenry Brito, 24, were arrested by cops later that night, the NYPD said.

Dozens of New York’s Finest and reps for the Police Benevolent Association packed the courtroom for Brito’s arraignment Thursday — as he became the first of those charged in the attack to be ordered held on bail.

Police said eight migrants ganged up on two NYPD cops in Times Square on Saturday.DCPI

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said the $15,000 cash bail or a $50,000 bond was warranted because Brito had been positively identified on the video footage of the attack through a “distinct tattoo.”

He has four prior arrests for petty larceny, with two open cases and a guilty plea on a disorderly conduct charge in September, according to sources and a criminal complaint.

Assistant District Attorney Zachary Kotin also argued that Brito didn’t have a permanent address or ties to the community, warranting the bail to ensure his return to court, and Judge Marisol Martinez Alonzo agreed to the amount.

Yorman Reveron was also charged with gang assault in the attack on NYPD cops in Times Square on Saturday.

“We packed the court room today to support our brother police officer, and our Lieutenant who were repeatedly attacked by a gang on the street, punched repeatedly, kicked our police officer and fled the scene,” PBA President Patrick Hendry said in a statement after the arraignment.

“Today the justice system worked. The individual is being held on bail but we had to ask the question why did these 4 individuals be released on their own recognizances. Why are they not in jail right now? “ he said.

“Our criminal system is upside down,” he added. “What message does it send to every New York City police officer, who is on the streets of the city of New York every single day risking their lives to protect New Yorkers? If we’re not protected, how are we going to protect the people in the neighborhoods?”

Barros was not charged by prosecutors, pending further investigation, the DA’s office said.

Boada giving the camera the middle finger after leaving court.Steven Hirsch

He has two prior arrests for robbery and petty larceny, with charges stemming from a third arrest since dismissed, sources said.

“The question here is whether the person arrested was even involved. At this time there is not sufficient evidence that he is one of the people who committed this terrible act,” a rep for the DA’s office said, adding that, “We vigorously condemn assaults on police officers and prosecute those responsible.”

“This is an ongoing investigation and we ask anyone with information to call 212-335-9040.”

The DA’s office previously said investigators were still reviewing the footage to determine the extent to which the earlier five suspects were involved.

The spokesperson on Thursday also said the office was investigating the allegations that the four released migrants had skipped town.

“The Court is not aware of the defendants’ whereabouts but they are obligated to return to Court on their scheduled dates,” which is Feb. 6, said Al Baker, spokesman for the state Office of Court Administration.

Defense lawyers for the four migrants who are believed by cops to be on the run did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

NYPD brass and the department’s police union all railed against the decision to cut the migrant thugs loose without bail, with Chief of Patrol John Chell saying Wednesday that the “cowards” should be behind bars at Rikers Island.

The case has also prompted calls for deportation, including from Gov. Kathy Hochul, who told reporters Thursday, “Get them all and send them back.”

“You don’t touch our police officers. You don’t touch anyone,” she said.

https://nypost.com/2024/02/01/metro/police-believe-4-of-the-migrants-arrested-in-nyc-cop-beatdown-fled-to-california/

Disbarred attorney jailed for bribery testifies he gave James Biden $800K in loans, only got half back

 A disbarred Mississippi attorney who served prison time for bribery told investigators on the House impeachment inquiry Thursday that he gave first brother James Biden $800,000 in loans, but only got $400,000 back — presenting a new twist in the wide-ranging inquiry.

Joey Langston said in a closed-door deposition that “he does not have any documentation or records of such loans,” according to a source familiar with his testimony.

Langston said he made four loans to James in 2016, one in 2017 and possibly others at additional points in time.

Langston was unsuccessfully trying to overturn his bribery conviction in court in 2016. It’s unclear if he was seeking a federal pardon from then-President Barack Obama during Obama’s final year in office.

The massive financial aid from Langston to the then-second brother introduces a new element of intrigue into the impeachment inquiry into alleged Biden family corruption.

Langston pleaded guilty in 2008 and was sentenced to three years in federal prison for being part of a plot to bribe a judge in an asbestos legal fees dispute by promising to arrange favorable consideration for the state jurist for a federal judgeship.

A disbarred attorney said Thursday he gave first brother James Biden $800,000 in loans, but only got $400,000 back.AP

Langston’s alleged co-conspirator in that case, fellow Mississippi attorney Dickie Scruggs, was involved in a second prosecution for attempting to bribe a different judge with $40,000, also in a legal fees dispute.

James Biden was wiretapped by the FBI in 2007 — when his brother was still a senator — as part of its investigation of the second bribery case, the Washington Post reported in December.

Amid the bribery conspiracy James Biden, who was not charged in the case, was in talks with Scruggs and conspirator Tim Balducci about setting up a law firm that would have employed himself, his nephew Hunter Biden and James’s wife Sara.

James Biden was in talks to set up a law firm that would have employed himself and Hunter Biden.AP

James Biden’s relationship with the crooked Mississippi attorneys has raised eyebrows in the past.

Then-Sen. Biden went from an opponent of federal legislation to sanction tobacco companies for lying about the addictiveness of their product to a supporter of the idea after Scruggs — the architect of a multibillion-dollar litigation plan — paid James Biden’s lobbying firm $100,000 in 1998, the Washington Post reported.

“I probably wouldn’t have hired him if he wasn’t the senator’s brother,” Scruggs told the newspaper.

Langston, who testified Thursday to Congress, hosted fundraisers for Joe Biden, ProPublica reported.

Scruggs flew Joe Biden to a fundraiser on his private plane, the Washington Post reported.

Fellow Mississippi attorney Dickie Scruggs flew Joe Biden to a fundraiser on his private plane.Annabelle Gordon / CNP / SplashNews.com

The Biden family’s blurring of political and personal business in Mississippi resembles better-known facets of the impeachment probe, which has mostly focused on the foreign ventures during Joe Biden’s vice presidency, as well as what two IRS whistleblowers say was a Justice Department coverup to shield Joe and first son Hunter from an investigation of tax fraud, money laundering and unregistered foreign lobbying.

Joe Biden has consistently claimed he “never” discussed business with his son or brother and said in December he “did not” interact with their partners. Evidence including photos, emails and witness statements indicate that Biden actually interacted with his son and brother’s associates from two Chinese government-linked business ventures and their patrons from KazakhstanMexicoRussia and Ukraine.

James Biden, who transferred $240,000 to Joe Biden in 2017 and 2018 in murky alleged loan repayments, allegedly has been unsubtle about what business services he offered.

James Comer is the Oversight Committee Chairman.CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
“We’ve got people all around the world who want to invest in Joe Biden,” James allegedly said in the early 2000s as he and nephew Hunter took over failed investment bank Paradigm, according to a 2021 book by Politico reporter Ben Schreckinger.

An attorney for James Biden did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.

https://nypost.com/2024/02/01/news/disbarred-attorney-jailed-for-bribery-testifies-he-gave-james-biden-800k-in-loans-only-got-half-back-in-new-twist/

75% Of House Dems Voted Against Deporting Criminal Migrants Who Commit Social Security Fraud

 Democrats talk a big game about 'Republican attacks on Social Security,' but 75% of House Dems just voted against deporting migrants who commit Social Security fraud.

Introduced by Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) in December, H.R. 6678 passed with 172 "yea" votes, and 155 "nay" votes - all Democrats, with 55 of them voting with the Republicans.

As former Trump adviser and head of the America First Legal Foundation Stephen Miller posted on X, "155 HOUSE DEMOCRATS — 75% OF THEIR CONFERENCE — JUST VOTED AGAINST DEPORTING CRIMINAL MIGRANTS WHO COMMIT SOCIAL SECURITY FRAUD AND ROB OUR SENIORS."

"They’d rather protect illegal aliens than our seniors," said the House Judiciary Committee in a Thursday post on X.

Meanwhile, 150 Democrats also voted against legislation that would quickly deport illegal aliens who drive drunk.

"I am appalled to see a majority of Democrats in the House of Representatives voting to prevent illegal aliens who endanger the lives of American citizens by drunk driving from being deported. Americans deserve leaders who put their safety and prosperity first," said Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX).

According to OA Online, "H.R. 6976, the Protect Our Communities from DUIs Act, introduced by Rep. Barry Moore (R-AL), closes a gaping loophole in U.S. immigration law related to drunk driving. Because there is neither a ground of inadmissibility nor a ground of removability explicitly related to driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol or drugs, criminal aliens currently can escape accountability for their reckless actions and be free to re-offend and endanger communities. By creating a ground of inadmissibility and a ground of removability for aliens who have committed DUI offenses, this legislation provides long-awaited and much-needed reforms to safeguard American communities."

According to Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), the bill would create a "separate but unequal" system of justice for immigrants.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/75-house-democrats-voted-against-deporting-criminal-migrants-who-commit-social-security