The Bronx Ink

Police arrested six Bronx tow truck drivers on Tuesday in an alleged grand larceny scam that saw 16 cars sold for scrap to Bronx junkyard New England Auto Parts. The cars were sold for up to $500.  The suspects avoided earlier detection by police because they used false paperwork that exploited a loophole in DMV reporting rules for cars that are less than $1250 and eight years or older, according to the New York Post.

The report said that police did become aware of an increase in grand larceny auto thefts in the borough, which prompted them to investigate.

By Camilo Hannibal Smith

By Camilo Hannibal Smith

A New York-based security firm has donated bullet proof vests to livery cab drivers at the request of the Federation of Taxi Drivers, said a report on NY1. Reuters reported that the dozen $400 vests were donated after federation chief Fernando Mateo contacted the firm, Security USA in the wake of serious assaults or killings of livery drivers in New York. According to Reuters, driver Cesar Santos was shot to death by a fare in the Bronx last June and Julio Lora was paralyzed last month after being shot in the Bronx.

WSJ.com offers a breakdown of the ticket-fixing investigation and mentions the Bronx Traffic Violations Bureau. Citing a report on DNAinfo.com the article says a 2008 police phone tap in Soundview picked up a conversation about killing traffic tickets that set off the inquiry. The report ties together various sources to explain the origins of the grand jury investigation into the 400 officers who allegedly expunged traffic tickets for friends and relatives.

Bronx Assemblywoman Vanessa Gibson and several other New York legislators are sponsoring a bill that would create an online database that tracks convicted domestic abusers. A report in the Village Voice says the legislation is a response to the recent  murder of 23-year-old Sarah Coit on Lower East Side. According to the report, Coit’s boyfriend confessed to the murder and had an alleged history of domestic violence cases on his rap sheet.

A report by NBC New York says that custodians at Roosevelt Education Campus on East Fordham Road can rake in up to $114,000 a year, while the highest paid senior teacher makes about $14,000 less. The report was based on information contained in contracts by Local 891 of the New York City Custodian Engineers.

The Daily News reports that a total of 1,635 parents entered the lottery last week at Bronx Charter School for Excellence  in Morris Park. The report told of how parents were turned away tearful when their child’s number wasn’t called in the public lottery. There were only 28 kindergarten spots open. The Bronx has 32 charter schools with six more set to open in the fall.