by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack
SDNY COURTHOUSE, Oct 10 – For days Inner City Press had heard from its sources there would be a "takedown" on February 6, each SDNY Magistrate Judge would handle seven to 10 defendants.
Arrests happen at 6 am. So at 5:55 am Inner City Press tweeted it, first to X subscribers with the spoiler alert: the expectation was that each of the current or former NYCHA employees would be released on bond the same day.
And then hours later at 9:39 am the prosecutors announced it. Media rushed around reporting it. Inner City Press had it first, and after discretely waiting, published it first. Then this thread of presentments, here
On September 16, NYCHA defendant Charles Starks moved to dismiss, noting that the indictment provided "almost no detail on... the timing" - and citing the Supreme Court's Snyder v. US decision.
On October 9, NYCHA defendant Joy Harris was on trial, the first trial. On the stand was an immunized witness, Mr. Singh, who said he twice paid bribed to Joy Harris. He described her saying, I need something; Judge Lewis A. Kaplan said for the record, rubbing his index finger and thumb together.
Payments were made in the trash compactor room of the Taft Houses on East 114 Street in East Harlem.
On cross-examination it emerged that the second payment was after Joy Harris signed the certificate of service allowing the witness' company DK Bangla to be paid. Might that be a gratuity, under current precedent? Judge Kaplan admonished the defense lawyer to hold for closing arguments.
On October 10 another contractor was on the witness stand, who said he paid Joy Harris in increments of $500 for jobs such as installation of rolling metal gates, including at the [Lillian] Wald Houses on the Lower East Side. Another CJA defense lawyer was in the gallery; another NYCHA defendant, Starks, has filed a motion to dismiss citing the Supreme Court's Snyder decision.
Watch this site.
A case is US v. Starks, 24-cr-126 (Rochon)
The trial is USA v. Harris, 1:24-cr-00207 (Kaplan)
Watch this site - and these feeds: X and X for subscribers.
And Substack here
***
Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron.
Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
