Kitty Genovese
On March 15, 1964, 38 residents watched from their homes as Winton Mosley repeatedly stabbed Kitty Genovese to death, walking away at least once while she lay moaning for aid, only to return to finish the job. Mosley attacked Genovese as she walked home from her parked car to her apartment in a building at 82-70 Austin St. at about 3:20 a.m. The perceived indifference of the neighbors caused a national uproar and served to reinforce the feeling that many outside of the city had of New York and its residents – as being a cold-hearted place where people can be left to die without anybody stepping in to help.
Matthew Troy
In 1977, a federal investigation into alleged misappropriation of clients’ funds from the estates of clients he represented resulted in an indictment of City Councilman Matthew Troy. He was convicted of tax fraud and then disbarred for not reporting as income $37,000 that he had stolen from his law clients. While disbarred from law practice, he was not forced to surrender his Council seat because the state regarded the federal felony conviction as a misdemeanor.
Eugene Mastropieri
In 1980, Queens Councilman-at-Large Eugene Mastropieri was indicted by a federal grand jury on tax fraud charges. His fellow council members had censured Mastropieri in June of 1979 for misconduct in a disciplinary action, unprecedented in that body. The council was still investigating reports that Mastropieri did not reside in Queens (as required by law), but in Sands Point, L.I. Mastropieri resigned in July,
William C. Brennan
In 1985 Justice William C. Brennan became the first Queens County judge to be convicted of bribery. He served 26 months of a five-year prison term. He resigned, but appealed his conviction. Brennan had accepted bribes to fix at least four cases, and was convicted on 26 counts, though nine were later overturned on appeal.
Donald Manes
Donald Manes was Borough President from 1971 until 1986, when he resigned when news of his kickback schemes were becoming public. He also headed the Queens Democratic Committee during much of that time, part of a triumvirate of bosses from the outer boroughs – Brooklyn and the Bronx being the others – that controlled much of the city’s inner workings. As the stink of scandal grew stronger, and the possibility of indictment grew nearer, Manes sunk into seclusion. Ultimately, he ended his life by plunging a kitchen knife through his chest and into his heart.
Andrew Jenkins
In 1990, Queens State Senator Andrew Jenkins was convicted of federal charges of participating in a money laundering scheme. He was arrested by the FBI after accepting a briefcase in an agreement with an undercover agent to launder $150,000 through a Zaire bank. Jenkins called the prosecution part of government “harassment of black elected officials.”
Julia Harrison
In 1996, City Councilwoman Julia Harrison set off a furor with remarks she made about Asian immigrants in a front-page New York Times article vilifying the Asians who were gaining in numbers in Flushing, and calling them “colonizers.” Local politicians joined forces to decry the comments. Harrison fought back, describing her colleagues’ actions as “Gang Rape.” She apologized from the floor of the City Council for her remarks.
Sheldon Leffler
In November 2003, a jury found former Queens Councilman Sheldon Leffler guilty on an array of counts stemming from a failed scheme to defraud the city’s Campaign Finance Board out of $40,000 in public matching funds for Leffler’s unsuccessful campaign to become borough president of Queens.
A panel of judges on the State Supreme Court’s Appellate Division upheld the sentence handed down in January 2004, which included five years probation, 540 hours of community service and a $5,000 fine.
Allan Jennings
This one-term Councilman from Jamaica became the second Queens Councilman censured by his fellow members after an investigation found that he had harassed members of his staff. Jennings was barred from direct contact with his staff, ordered into therapy and hit with a fine for his actions.
The decision came after a string of bizarre incidents where Jennings took out an ad in an Asian newspaper professing his love for Asian women, compared him dilemma to Christ’s crucifixion when he lost his Council parking spot and threw the head of a hammer at a television news reporter.
