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32 caribbean new yorker october 7 2011 guyanese among 111 busted for fraud -reputedly `the biggest such ring in us history new york a queens-based identity theft ring described as the biggest in us history with ties as far afield as africa has been busted authorities said friday the 111 suspects including guyanese are members of five organised forged credit card and identity theft rings based in queens county and have ties to europe asia africa and the middle east the 16-month investigation dubbed `operation swiper began in october 2009 and the defendants perpetrated fraud that cost financial institutions and retail businesses more than us$13m in losses over a 16-month period according to the 10 indictments the indictments charge that imran khan ali khweiss anthony martin sanjay deowsarran and amar singh all guyanese were the `bosses of criminal enterprises and in receipt of the necessary raw materials lists of credit card account numbers and various blank credit cards among others charged are ravindra singh amar singh ravi ramroop and kamal sanasi all guyanese and neha punjabi singh and vishnu harilal eighty-six of the defendants are in custody while 25 are still at large and presently being sought the defendants posing as bank tellers store employees and restaurant staff ripped off more than $13m by allegedly skimming customers personal ids and forging their credit cards the loot was then spent on shopping sprees nationwide five-star hotels and private jets the fraudsters rented luxury automobiles such as lamborghinis and porsches and private jets with forged credit cards that contained the account information of unsuspecting american and european consumers these weren t hold-ups at gunpoint but the impact on victims was the same police commissioner raymond kelly said they were robbed the suspects stole credit card account numbers and forged credit cards `shoppers were then given those cards and sent on shopping sprees in new york florida massachusetts and los angeles to buy high-end electronic items community news crescent st brooklyn norwood ave brooklyn beautiful 2 family totally renovated attached brick_6 bedrooms 3 over 3_3 full bath _finished walk in basement gorgeous 2 family totally renovated-detached brick -4 bedrooms 2 over 2 -3 full bath -finished basement-private driveway -two car garage south ozone park excellent 1 family move in condition corner property detached brick frame-4 bedroom -2.5 bath -pvt driveway -2 car garage such as apple gadgetry fancy handbags by gucci louis vuitton rolexe and breitling as well as expensive jewellery among the other crimes listed in the indictments are a $95,000 cargo theft from jfk airport and an $850,000 theft of computer equipment from the citicorp building in long island city such goods were often later sold over the internet according to queens district attorney richard brown the cost of the theft is incalculable this is by far the largest and certainly among the most sophisticated identity theft/credit card fraud cases that law enforcement has come across credit card fraud and identity theft he said are two of the fastest growing crimes in the us afflicting millions of victims and costing billions of dollars in losses to consumers businesses and financial institutions even after the culprits are caught and prosecuted their victims are still faced with the difficult task of having to repair their credit ratings and financial reputations brown said adding in some cases that process can take years the investigation involved intelligence gathering and electronic eavesdropping on dozens of different telephones in which thousands of conversations in russian mandarin and arabic were intercepted brown said as part of the investigation search warrants were executed earlier in the week at 15 locations throughout new york city and long island among items allegedly recovered were approximately us 650,000 in cash seven handguns computers card readers embossers blank credit cards and fake identifications authorities say the graft operated like this at least three bank workers retail employees and restaurant workers would steal credit card numbers in a process known as skimming in which workers take information from a card when it is swiped for payment and illegally sell the credit card numbers different members of the criminal enterprise would steal card information online the numbers were then given to teams of manufacturers who would forge visa mastercard discover and american express credit cards realistic identifications were then made with the stolen data the plastic would be given to teams of criminal `shoppers for spending sprees at higher-end stores including apple bloomingdale s and macy s the groups would then resell the merchandise overseas to locations in china europe and the middle east detectives with language skills spent hours translating russian farsi and arabic during the investigation kelly said part of the problem especially for foreign tourists in the u.s said deputy inspector gregory antonsen of the nypd s organized theft and identity theft task force is that unlike their overseas counterparts credit card companies in the u.s do not install special microchips that make skimming more difficult what they do he said is work with police to help fight theft the credit card companies do a good job at keeping their customers happy he said adding so if you re a victim of a loss you will get your money back they also work very diligently in partnership with us providing us information that we need to investigate these cases as kelly observed criminals are becoming more and more sophisticated thieves have an amazing knowledge of how to use technology he said the schemes and the imagination that is developing these days are really mindboggling authorities also say the ring operated lower-rent schemes in one instance they tried to heist what they believed to be expensive electronics from a hangar at the john f kennedy airport like something out of the movie `goodfellas they were however stopped by police in the nick of time and as it turned out the loot was not what they expected but construction tools apparently they had filched the wrong package by mistake antonsen said abc news/ny daily mail[close]
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october 7 2011 caribbean new yorker 33 1 richmond hill two family brick pvt drive this one wont last under $400k priced for quick sale call broker 2 ozone park mint one family home ultra modern stainless appliances marble detached 3 brs fin bsmnt pvt drive move in condition call for private tour 3 ozone park handyman special 2 family pvt drive renovate this home to your taste desire 2 blocks from a train asking $489k 5 ozone park 2 family full bsmnt fin walk up attic oversized yard superb location one block from a train won t last ask only $539k 6 hempstead mint expanded cape spacious modern manicured corner ppty asking $499k 4 liberty avenue location location mixed use on desirable business strip delivered vacant call broker for private tour mixed use property on well traveled 101 avenue 2 blocks from a train can be delivered vacant priced to sell asking $539k 7 ozone park 8 richmond hill commercial building 8,000 sq feet 14 ft ceiling 2 large loading bays accommodate entire tractor trailers ask only $1,975,000 real estate agents attractive commission split and/or desk fee telemarketers free professional consultation call bellis girwar assoc broker/manager for confidential interview now hiring 646-261-9628[close]
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34 caribbean new yorker october 7 2011 navaratri celebration at s photos by nala singham 170 van sicle pujari basdeo mangal priest[close]
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october 7 2011 caribbean new yorker 35 shri maha kali devi mandir en brooklyn t he shri maha kali devi mandir represents the madrasi form of worship that was brought to guyana 173 years ago by tamil immigrants from madras presidency british india hence the word madrasi madras presidency changed its name to tamil nadu and the port city madras has become chennai as no tamil language was taught in guyana the invocation to the gods is still done in the tamil language from memory and subsequent migration of madrasi guyanese to the united states has brought this ancient tamil ritual to the shores of brooklyn pujari basdeo mangal the chief priest who is from albion berbice guyana south america takes credit for this herculean task of setting up such a form of worship in north america for the madrasi devotees it is truly an untold story -nala singham[close]
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36 caribbean new yorker october 7 2011 hairavi raichura bbfridaygirl photos by nala singham hairavi raichura is an indian television actress and she plays the role of raijni in an indian sitcom sasural genda phool which is a unique show falling into the category of a soap opera romantic comedy and a drams it is currently aired on star plus and premiered on march 1 2010 sasural genda phool is set in the colourful alleys of old delhi and mixes up life s different flavours she was in new york for the deepavali mela at south street seaport see pages 54 and 55.[close]
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october 7 2011 caribbean new yorker 37 caribbean news i cannot allow the challenges we face and the issues that we as a people must confront to be smothered or overpowered by this saga and the emotions that they ignite it would not be fair to my country it would not be fair to my party it was about a breach of our constitution and had it been a person other than coke it perhaps would never have become the cause célèbre that it turned out to be hon bruce golding prime minister of jamaica associated press whenever you have a lame duck you create a vacuum whenever you have a vacuum people are uncertain and when people are uncertain they don t invest irwine clare radio talk show host and managing director caribbean immigrant services jamaica gleaner the reason we didn t have phenomenal growth this year was because we lost that american airlines flight we are in discussions with a major carrier in fact that will be this week if we can get that deal done it will be a major help to the destination louis lewis director bruce golding prime minister of jamaica un photo/rick bajornas of tourism saint lucia travel agent who s to blame i don t know and i don t care now because it is after the fact but it s a disappointment when a stimulating conference in an interesting fun destination is overshadowed by botched bookings on flight itineraries accommodations in decrepit hotels and a complete lack of concern or interest from island hoteliers and local officials regarding myriad problems and complaints from conference delegates all of us at the conference work in the industry but we were also there as visitors that gave me pause what if a real visitor had bugs in the hotel room i did and they were really big ones or worse flooding in the hotel room call me a masochist but i m not giving up on st martin i ve been there before and i will give it another shot in the future maybe this all was just the perfect storm of bad circumstances colliding simultaneously besides the cto caribbean tourism organization still managed to pull off a great conference credit where credit is due gay nagle myers senior editor travel weekly travel weekly ecotourism has a far greater potential for contributing to income and livelihoods in poor rural communities than what is realized edgar kaeslin forestry officer food and agriculture organization of the united nations un news centre for small island and coastal states like belize global warming poses an existential threat while we appreciate that we are primarily responsible for our own welfare and are taking full measures as are within our competence to cope with our changing circumstances climate change is a global problem which requires a global response based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibility hon wilfred p elrington minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade belize un news centre if someone wants to borrow my field and things become inappropriate then i say `enough is enough i wish no ill will against rihanna and her friends perhaps they could acquaint themselves with a greater god alan graham farmer northern ireland the telegraph quotable caribbean is compiled by marketplace excellence a full service integrated marketing agency committed to excellence in the fields of public relations marketing and media coaching saint lucia tourism batting strong reports director n ew york the island of saint lucia known as a leading caribbean destination for romance and boutique luxury is embracing a new niche health and wellness the first saint lucia health and wellness retreat is set for november 17 to 20 in soufrière with the support of the soufrière foundation the saint lucia tourist board and american airlines speaking to media and public relations professionals in new york city last month at the carlton hotel in manhattan director of tourism louis lewis asserted the move to the new niche was a strategic one in line with what was happening internationally to keep apace with global trends we are now embarking on a key strategy to target the wellness community who are naturally drawn to saint lucia s therapeutic spiritual and healthy attractions especially in the southern town of soufrière he said soufrière is home to the world famous pitons a unesco world heritage site and contains one of the world s few drive-in volcanoes where the therapeutic mineral baths await the wellness traveler lewis said many of the island s top hotels and resorts including sandals the bodyholiday ladera and the jalousie plantation had either expanded or improved their spa facilities these developments he added were natural complements to the romantic allure of the destination we are very serious about this market lewis said adding that the tourist board had partnered with american airlines in new york and miami on a three month advertising campaign promoting the destination with colorful signage on taxi cabs and buses this autumn saint lucia continues to register strong satisfaction based on the exit surveys and the vast majority of visitors continue to recommend the destination to family and relatives he reported having someone who had the actual experience and is willing to give positive feedback without being coached coerced or offered an incentive is the strongest marketing tool we have he contended the tourism official tipped his cap to a major draw to the island and stated saint lucia will continue batting to our strengths one of which is our friendly people saint lucia s arrivals experience lewis confirmed will soon be elevated markedly when a us$140 million international airport expansion project gets underway next month in spite of a global recession and a reduction of airlift over the summer lewis reported saint lucia was performing credibly this year after leading the caribbean in tourism growth in 2010 with revenues skyrocketing by more than 30 percent director of tourism louis lewis[close]
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october 7 2011 caribbean new yorker 39 florida to experience divali nagar celebrations t &t nationals and members of the west indian community living in florida will get a touch of divali celebrations when divali nagar opens on october 21 at the coral springs sportsplex coral springs florida shama harrysingh pro of divali nagar inc said her south florida nonprofit organisation instituted celebrations four years ago and was committed to exposing young people to elements of west indian culture she said the programme seeks to bridge the generation and ethnic gaps with the objective of bringing the community closer the organisation s 25-member committee stages a three-day program of song dance music displays of indian art and craft food and games to make the occasion of divali a grand affair with participants from most countries in the caribbean guyana canada as well as well as india and other eastern countries harrysingh explained the programme features a line up of wi artistes including t&t s shiv shakti dancers terry gajraj from new york mala samaroo from penal who now resides in florida the champa chameli dance company vidya babwah gosine vashisht panday petrotrin tassa group and other artistes harrysingh said similar to divali nagar celebrations in t&t there will be a host of vendor booths selling various types of indian foods adding that several workshops on the festival are planned for children are planned divali nagar inc sees this three-day divali celebration as a powerful educational tool the committee continues to engender and maintain a value system that is based on respect for the differences of each culture the group adheres to the view that a strong community builds strong cities and strong cities build a strong nation divali celebrations in the united states reached at the level of the white house and was celebrated by both presidents george bush and george w bush in november 2007 a senate resolution 299 recognising the religious and historical significance of the festival of divali was passed unanimously in the us senate in 2009 president barak obama became the first us president to make a personal appearance at the festival community news pro of divali nagar inc shama harrysingh photo shastri boodan[close]
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40 caribbean new yorker october 7 2011 d tibetans hold anti-china protests in india on tibet china s news agency xinhua confirmed that two young tibetan men set themselves on fire in aba prefecture on friday it however cited an aba county spokesman as saying that the non-practising monks were rescued and were being treated at a local hospital for nonlife-threatening injuries however the free tibet website reported that the locals there believed one of the monks has died at the scene commenting on why the monks took this extreme step thupten samphal official spokesperson of the tibetan government-in-exile in dharmsala said these monks they hope to show to the world the degree of unhappiness chinese rule imposes on tibet a rule which also undermines the tibetan way of life india news elhi/dharamsala a selfimmolation bid by two monks in sichuan province s aba prefecture in southwest china against the communist government has sparked off protests by tibetans in india in the national capital delhi tibetan exiles protested outside the chinese embassy and refused to move with the result that the police had to be called in to physically remove them the protesters were then bundled into buses there were similar protests in dharmsala the seat of the tibetan government in exile thupten samphal official spokesperson of the tibetan government in exile said the monks extreme step was a bid to show the world the degree of unhappiness chinese rule imposes and tibetan identity free tibet identified the men as 19-year-old choepel and 18-year-old khayang other sources called them thongan and tenzin respectively as tibetans often have several names fiat hopes global recast will aid india operations grande punto and linea models the regional focus may help the company become more responsive to customers said r venkatraman a chennai-based independent management consultant in my opinion what is driving this initiative is putting in place a better communication and feedback mechanism from customers which is critical for a global company he said the way a customer behaves in the us is different from the way one does in china or any other emerging market the danger is that this may delay macro-level decisions such as budgeting as these will need to be vetted by both the regional and global headquar ters said venkatraman the move will lend a sharper focus to india operations rajeev k apoor president and chief executive fiat india said in an inter view we are now one of the two most impor tant markets in the asia-pacific region said k apoor who has been making frequent trips to china since the headquar ters was set up there within the asia-pacific region there will be a lot of sharing of platfor ms and technolog y k apoor said this is primarily for metro cities where display of both the tata and fiat models is resulting in congestion the ar rangement in the rest of the countr y will remain unchanged this will hasten the pace at which new models are introduced he said the initiative also opens up new expor t geog raphies such as the association of southeast asian nations region moreover fiat s subsidiaries can benefit from the cost arbitrage that india enjoys in manufacturing design and engineering he said fiat rajeev kapoor president sushmita sen f iat india automobiles ltd str uggling with falling sales will be looking to a recent restr ucturing by parent fiat spa of italy to make its cars more popular with buyers in one of the key emerging markets as par t of the new strateg y aimed at enhancing regional focus a new headquar ters for the asia-pacific region has been set up in shanghai that covers india china south korea japan south-east asia and australia the india unit is a 50:50 joint venture with tata motors ltd and makes and sells the palio,[close]
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42 caribbean new yorker october 7 2011 n a kabul front is in india s interest that its vital interests are indeed linked with the fate of kabul this is apparently not the case with the us after the killing of bin laden which suggests that short of troop induction india is prepared to assist afghanistan in every way to resist pakistan s proxy moves through the taliban and others it is in new delhi s interest to further aspire to rope in as many of afghanistan s neighbours as it can in an anti-extremist front which would aim to underwrite afghanistan s stability and independence otherwise pakistan might find it tempting to seek to return to kabul with inordinate influence using the taliban as the cat s paw for india such a development would exert tremendous negative pressure on kashmir as was evident some years ago especially when the chinese are now militarily active along the karakoram highway all the way to pok kissinger once wisely wrote that afghanistan becomes an international question when any of its neighbours seeks dominance there india news ew delhi the tenth anniversary of the us invasion of afghanistan which fell on october 7 approximately coincided with new delhi and kabul signing a strategic partnership agreement and prime minister manmohan singh declaring that india would stand by afghanistan when the international forces leave in 2014 the significance of the pact should be seen in the light of the signal failure of the us and nato troops in afghanistan after 10 years and $400 billion spent for the us their aim was to put al qaeda to flight and to eject the taliban the jury is out on whether al qaeda has been defanged even after the killing of osama bin laden in may and the taliban seem to be doing well in pakistan on account of their cosy terms with islamabad this is hardly good news for the afghans for when the foreign forces leave the taliban can return with pakistan s unstinting backing this is where the significance of president hamid karzai s pact with new delhi lies it is premature to conclude that india s decision to stand by afghanistan amounts to a security guarantee to kabul against pakistan and the taliban and similar groups it should after all be borne in mind that the karzai government is in the process of reaching strategic partnership deals with the us and the key europeans also the difference between india and the western powers however is this the latter showed no stomach for extending their stay in afghanistan to battle the taliban which in effect meant reading the riot act to their long-term ally pakistan india is declaring in contrast o india to unveil telecoms policy as high-growth sector struggles listedcarriers bhartiairtel and idea cellular were initiallyloweronmonday underperfor ming the broader market beforeturninghigher reliance communications shareswereup regulator y head-winds are alwaystherefortelecoms saidk.k mital head of portfolio management at globe capital market ltd in new delhi mital said operators costs will rise if spectrum prices are market-linked and he noted talk that roaming would be made free india decided to overhaul its decade-old rules for the industry after alleged rig ging in the grant of licences in 2007/08 came to light late last year forcing the thentelecoms minister to resign a probe into the case is on and police have charg ed 14 people so far including the for mer minister price war with more than 850 million mobilesubscribers india s mobile market trails only china s butthe 1 5 player market is in the throes of a vicious price war that broke out in the second half of 2 0 0 9 squeezingprofitability te lecomsministerkapilsibal who took over last november has said the g over nment will separate the 2g radio spectr um that now comes free withlicences andinsteadask companies to pay for the air waves they are assigned based onmarketprices the minister has also said that companies will be asked to pay market-linked prices for existing 2g radiospectr um holdings beyond 6.2 megahertz while mergers and acquisitions r ules are expected to be relaxed to help consolidation in the crowded market sibal has said the g over nment will not let the number of players in any telecoms zone fall below six india allocates mobile phone licences by zone of which there are 22 new rules are also expected on the renewal of telecoms licences and companies may be allowed to share and trade radio spectrum sibal has said telecoms licences should berenewedfor 1 0 years compared with 20 years under the existing r ule the new policy is expected to include measures to facilitate the funding of network roll outbyoperators whichhave been squeezed by a dr ying up of bank loans in recent months among other measures the g over nment may allow nationwide free domestic roaming for mobile subscribers and allow users to retain their existing mobile number even iftheyswitchtelecomszones ct 10 reuters india is set to unveil a new telecoms policy that could lead to consolidation in the fiercely competitive industr y and make it more transparent after it was r ocked by a scandal that may have cost the gover nment up to $39 billion in lost revenue thenewpolicy duetobeannouncedat 3 p m 0 9 3 0 g m t onmonday isexpected to include revised rules on the grant and pricing of secondgeneration radio spectrum while mergers and acquisition rules for the sector could also be relaxed fo rcarriers whoseshare values and margins have been battered by intense price competition that makes calls in india among the cheapest in the world the policy is expected to be a mixed blessing shares in two of the big g est[close]
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44 caribbean new yorker october 7 2011 political thought as in my 2010 race against congressman gregory meeks or as the new york post claims soon to be ex-congressman meeks the indian community didn t care that they received no respect from mr meeks that the indian community makes up more than one third of the voters of nycd6 and received nothing from mr meeks during his tenure was of no import the indian community pulled the democratic lever by asher e taub esq senior policy advisor for mike duvalle for city council eptember 13 2011 was supposed to have been the most important election ever for the indian community in richmond hill and jamaica instead it was nothing more than another sign on why no one takes the indian community seriously s the indian dilemma for gregory meeks indeed if mr meeks resigns and a special election is called i have been told that despite everything i have done for the indian community and would do for the indian community as their congressman they will either not come out and vote for me or vote for the democratic candidate in the september 13 2011 democratic primary election we had an indian candidate for city council mike misir duvalle all we needed to win was 3000 votes we got 500 ruben wills the current city councilman received 2,800 votes and won the democratic primary ruben wills who has never done anything for the indian community won the primary because no one cared we indians are more interested in drinking beer yakking on our cellphones and listening to the radio and television then confronting the real problems of our community as a result we will have the worst schools in the city serving our youth guaranteeing that they can not compete in this horrendous job market 2 dangerous schools full of guns knifes and drugs 3 school administrators who don t care or want to 1 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 understand our children and don t care if they succeed no jobs at racino or any other government sponsored project less police to protect us from the criminals that prowl our streets no respect from the police because we look diffrent no share of government resources no elevator for our elderly and disabled to get to the a train no infrastructure improvments for liberty avenue the lifeblood of our community no youth and senior centers no need medical clinics in our community which are affilated with major hospitals we can still salvage the situation on november 8 2011 you can go to the polls and write in mike misir duvalle as a write-in candidate it s a slim chance but one we can win a by henry jordan wal-mart responds to `urban myths about worker pay management positions nearly three-quarters of our store management team nationally began as hourly employees and last year alone we promoted more than 146,000 hourly associates to give you an example that s close to home i started with wal-mart 25 years ago as an hourly associate at a store in florida today i am a senior vice president responsible for operations at more than 300 stores throughout the eastern seaboard i am not alone time and again we see examples of store managers who started as hourly associates and senior executives who started in the stores the bottom line is this regardless of your background education level or experience if you get a job at walmart and you work hard the opportunities are endless we re finding that the more people learn facts about wal-mart the more they see the value of bringing a wal-mart store to their community we re proud of the contributions we make in communities across the country from creating jobs and generating tax revenue to helping customers save and contributing to local nonprofits and look forward to further engaging with district residents to listen answer questions and share information about our company henry jordan is a senior vice president for wal-mart u.s.rt u.s commentary t wal-mart we think our stores can be part of the solution for customers in wards 4 5 6 and 7 who want new job opportunities and more affordable grocery options in their own neighborhood the overwhelming majority of residents agree according to a recent poll conducted for the company by lester associates 73 percent of district residents support walmart coming to the city this fact is made clear every time we open a new location and thousands of local residents shop there still some special interests continue to repeat urban myths and spread misinformation in an effort to characterize our compensation as sub-par wal-mart s philanthropy doesn t make up for lack of fair wages october 2 it s particularly difficult to take seriously accusations about our wages and benefits when there are glaring factual inaccuracies in the commentary for the record our laurel store employs close to 500 people nearly double what the commentary writer stated and is less than 200,000 square feet about 50,000 square feet smaller than her claim but let s get to the central theme of the piece and examine a few facts our four proposed stores would create about 1,200 retail jobs that provide competitive wages access to affordable benefits and the real chance to build a career most of our associates across the country work full time and our average wage for regular full-time hourly associates in maryland is $11.65 an hour and in virginia it s $11.84 an hour put simply our wages meet or exceed those offered by a majority of our competitors currently doing business in the city union and nonunion alike from a health care perspective last year more than 1 million associates and their dependents were enrolled in our health plans which were as inexpensive as $11 per pay period for an individual and $33 for family what s more wal-mart will do a dollar-for-dollar match up to 6 percent of pay on the company 401k plan very competitive by any business or industry standard finally there is no annual or lifetime maximums on our health plan use we re not content with only creating quality jobs though we also want to create quality careers so we re providing the tools that will help our hourly associates grow into[close]
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