Latest news with #FernandoMateo
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
NYPD and Feds crack down on skimming at ATMs and EBT machines
BROOKLYN, N.Y. (PIX11) — A three-day citywide crackdown is underway to get rid of skimmers and cloning devices on ATMS and EBT machines. 'Operation Flagship' involves the NYPD, the USDA, and the U.S. Secret Service Criminal Investigative Division. More Crime News As of Thursday, authorities say nearly two dozen illegal devices were found on machines throughout the five boroughs. The U.S. Secret Service said a skimming device was found in the card slot of an ATM at a Walgreens on Broadway and Flushing Avenue in Williamsburg. A cloning device was also allegedly found at a Mini Mart on Broadway in Bushwick. Fernando Mateo with the United Bodegas of America tells PIX11 News he and his members welcome the federal crackdown. Mateo said thieves are, 'Taking money from people that really need their benefits. They need it for milk, they need it for eggs.' Mateo added, 'We're also advising our bodega owners to keep the machines behind the counter and out of the reach of anyone that can approach the counter.' In one year, an estimated $65 million was stolen from EBT cards in New York State. There is pending legislation in New York State that would enhance EBT card security by requiring stores to warn customers about skimming and eventually replace outdated magnetic strip cards with chip-based cards. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Yahoo
Pepper-spray spritzing teens wanted for robbing taxis, livery cabs
A crew of teenage thieves armed with pepper spray have turned robbing city taxi and livery drivers into a cottage industry — and are responsible for about 20 heists across the five boroughs, taxi advocates said Thursday. At least one of the young suspects who have been robbing cabbies since January was arrested, but then released from court without bail, angering taxi advocates, who are demanding prosecutors take a stronger stance against these teen terrors. 'They're targeting yellows, they're targeting liveries, they're targeting whatever they can get,' New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers spokesman Fernando Mateo said at a press conference in the Bronx Thursday. 'Why do they continue to do it? Because the judges are letting them go, because the district attorney sometimes doesn't demand bail, because no one has physically been injured other than being pepper sprayed.' Since Jan. 21, the cab-robbing crew, consisting of girls and one boy, all between 17 and 19 years old, have committed at least 19 robberies against taxi and livery drivers, police said. Typically, at least one member of the team hails a ride. Then, once they get inside, they say they have to pick up a friend, cops said. Once the friend is picked up, they pepper spray the cab driver and make off with the hack's cash, cellphone and wallet, cops said. The robberies have taken place in Midtown, Harlem and Queens, Federation members and police said. The most violent surge occurred between April 25 and May 4, when the teens committed seven pepper-spray robberies against cabbies in just three days, they said. Livery driver Juan Grullon, 32, was one of the crew's victims. He picked up the thieves in his Tesla in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx and was asked to drop them off on the Upper East Side at Madison Ave. and E. 77th St., he recounted. But, just before the drop-off, they suddenly changed their destination. 'They told me, like, 'Oh, take this left here,'' he recalled. 'I feel like, 'Oh, this is a little bit weird.'' Right after the suspects had feigned to decide who was going to pay Grullon, one of them stepped out of the cab, opened the driver's door and doused him with pepper spray. 'He pepper sprayed all the way in my hair and everything, my clothes and everything,' Grullon recalled. '[It was] like itchy, and everywhere. I have asthma, too. So it was very difficult to breathe. My eyes were burning.' With Grullon disoriented, the car accelerated ahead. All the while, the brazen thieves rifled through his glove box and pockets, looking for valuables. 'I moved the car, like, a little bit. I was scared to hit the cars because my eyes [were] closed. I could hit somebody or something,' he remembered worrying. 'They take my wallet and everything, and I accelerate again. And they get out [of] the car and run away with all my stuff.' The teens then used Grullon's credit cards to buy tacos and pizza and on a quick shopping trip to Duane Reade, the victim was told. 'It's so scary,' he said. 'I'm scared now even to work. You don't know if they have a knife or something. You don't know, because you are with your eyes closed, so you don't know what's happening around you. You just now feel somebody touching you and reaching [into] your pocket.' The kids who robbed Grullon were possibly LGBTQ and seemed to be 'just very nice people,' until they pounced, Mateo said. 'Once they're in there, they become criminals,' he said. There may well be even more cab drivers who have been targeted as part of the larger pattern. 'These kids did it to over 20 drivers that were reported,' Mateo said. 'I'm sure that they probably did it to many more that didn't report it because they don't want to waste any time off the road.' At least one of the suspects believed involved has been arrested twice for these robberies and was released without bail, probably due to being a teenager, Mateo said. 'We're asking our legislators, 'Guys, if you see that these people, whether they're kids or not, if they're committing adult crimes, you've got to punish them accordingly,'' he said. Anyone with information about this robbery crew is asked to contact NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NYC bodega workers demand panic buttons in stores following recent murders
A pair of killings in New York City bodegas has led workers to demand panic buttons be installed in their stores to alert police to any emergency, advocates said Friday. Fernando Mateo of the United Bodegas of America said state and city officials have promised to fund the panic buttons, but the money hasn't materialized. 'In the last 48 hours, we've had two people killed inside of a bodega,' Mateo said, standing outside the Ameer Deli & Grill, where a 24-year-old man was fatally knifed in the neck during a brawl with two other young men Wednesday evening. 'Let's stop the killings. We don't want to get up tomorrow and know that another person got killed in a bodega. We need to stop it.' On Thursday afternoon, Sorai King, 20, was shot in the neck and chest outside the Shak Deli at E. 217th St. and Bronxwood Ave. in Williamsbridge, Bronx during a fight with another man. King was on an errand to pick up a snack for his mom when he was shot, heartbroken relatives said. 'He was going to the store for his mother. He was very loving. He went to the store and he never came back,' the victim's 15-year-old niece Nana King told the Daily News. 'We only knew something was wrong when the detectives came.' No arrests have been made in either case. Mateo said if each bodega were equipped with a panic button, the police could have been immediately alerted and made an arrest — or even saved a life. '[It)] could be a life-saving tool for them,' said Mateo, who added that several of his members have asked for them to be installed. 'If someone walks into a bodega with a gun and is robbing the cashier, and he's in the back with a panic button, he can surprise that gunman by pressing a button and the cops will come immediately. 'We need for our governor to govern and to do what's right for these small businesses in New York City,' Mateo contined. 'We need cash to save lives, to save the lives of the people who vote you into office.' Mateo said that about 50 out of the more than 25,000 bodegas in the city have been equipped with panic buttons. 'Fifty is a drop in the bucket,' said Mateo, who said that the panic buttons currently installed only bring bodega workers to a calling center that reaches out to 911 for them. 'By the time that happens and all the questions are asked, people die and people get away with committing a crime,' said Mateo, who added that many bodega workers have quit over the violence they've witnessed. 'Employees quit when they see this type of violence occurring right in front of them. They're scared. They're nervous,' he said. 'It's hard enough to get employees to want to work in bodegas, because bodegas are not safe havens like they should be.' He's hoping the new panic buttons, once purchased, will video link directly to an NYPD command center so cops can see the crime occurring in real time and dispatch help immediately. 'It can all be avoided,' he said about the violence. 'It's technology. It's easy.' A new bill in Albany named the 'Bodega Act' has been drafted to provide grants to bodegas, convenience stores and food marts who want to install panic buttons and surveillance equipment in their stores. The legislation is currently being reviewed by the Assembly's codes committee. Last year, New York City Rep. Ritchie Torres introduced legislation that would allow bodega owners to dip into federal grant money to fund panic buttons and other security equipment. Torres introduced the bill after a spate of attacks on bodega workers left many of the small businesses on edge and spurred calls for more safety measures. 'We need for everyone in this city to understand that these bodegas are community centers,' Mateo said. 'They're not just [places] where people go in and buy something. When someone is running away from a problem, they run into a bodega because we're everywhere.' An email to the NYPD for comment on the UBA's panic button proposal was not immediately returned.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Consumers seek alternatives to eggs as prices reach all-time high
NEW YORK (PIX11) — As egg-flation continues to see egg prices skyrocketing, the egg industry is reassuring consumers that it has nothing to do with anything other than bird flu. To suggest something else, it says, is misreading the facts and reality. More than 160 million birds died since the outbreak of avian flu on farms all across the country. The shortage of eggs has sent prices soaring to a 45-year high. More Local News Consumers are changing their morning breakfast habits:One shopper outside a New Jersey supermarket said, 'I've been eating eggs my whole life and I can't afford them now.' Another customer commented, 'They're $10 now. I'll probably buy a few more, but I'm not eating them right now. I go through spurts.' While some businesses are raising prices on egg sandwiches, some Bodegas in our area are lowering prices by switching from fresh eggs to more affordable liquid eggs Fernando Mateo, a spokesman for United Bodegas of America, pointed out, 'A container of liquid eggs costs 8 or 9 dollars for 18 eggs and for 12 regular eggs it's costing you 30 to 40% more.' Members of the United Bodega of America Association are being encouraged to lower prices for their signature bacon, liquid egg, and cheese sandwiches from $6 to 4 dollars 99 cents or lower. The group said it's trying to make a statement that bodegas will not allow inflation to make breakfast a luxury. More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State With the deadly bird flu detected in 42 of New York's 62 counties, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is calling on Washington to take immediate action to stop its further spread. 'We need to work quickly to develop a vaccine for use on poultry to make sure we stop the spread of this disease before it becomes endemic to the U.S.,' she declared. Senator Gillibrand said she has sent a letter to government agencies calling for a comprehensive response to the bird flu. The Trump administration says it is already responding. But the New York Democrat isn't so sure of that. She commented, 'I am concerned that his administration's recent action to stop releasing critical data on the spread of bird flu and to fire USDA officials working to address the spread does not inspire much confidence in his ability to do so.' Just last week the Secretary of Agriculture laid out what she called a comprehensive plan to combat bird flu and bring down egg prices. With the money saved by cuts in the department, she said one billion dollars would be invested to find a long-term solution to the problem. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Yahoo
Rideshare drivers call for more security against ‘tap and snatch' robberies
MOTT HAVEN, The Bronx (PIX11) — Rideshare drivers on Monday called for more protection from so-called tap and snatch robberies, where people pose as customers for services like Uber and Lyft, and then access drivers' phones, which they drain thousands of dollars. At least 22 such robberies have happened citywide in the last eight weeks, with robbers stealing anywhere from $1,300 to $10,000 in each incident. More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State The New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers on Monday formally called for greater security measures. Fernando Mateo, the official spokesperson for the state federation, said that the way the tap and snatch robberies take place can be simple, and costly. A person posing as a passenger will get into the rideshare, and then come with a ruse. They'll say, ''Oh, I changed my mind. I want to go to, um, Smithsonian, whatever address, but let me put it in your phone,'' Mateo said. Then, once the robber has the phone, he continued, 'Then they put a gun to your head and say, 'Give me the password, give me your account number.'' It's access to the driver's rideshare account. The taxi federation contends that if rideshare companies give drivers separate phones for business use only, the drivers can keep their personal phones, including their bank accounts, private. Robbery pattern targets Uber and Lyft drivers in NYC For its part, Uber, for which most of the robberies have occurred, would not say that it would provide separate phones for drivers. It did say, however, in a statement: 'These reports are extremely alarming. Driver safety is paramount to the Uber experience, and we're constantly investing in new safety features, like our rider verification program, and Record My Ride, to help make the platform safer and build trust. We encourage all drivers to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to law enforcement, and to us, and cancel a trip if they ever feel unsafe. We're in touch with the NYPD on these terrible incidents, and will continue to support their investigation however we can to help bring those responsible to justice.' Meanwhile, the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers is offering a $2,000 reward for anyone with information leading to an arrest of the tap and snatch robbery suspects. The federation is also calling for federal law enforcement involvement since the robberies apparently involve bank fraud. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
