Remains of WWII pilot finally returned
ALBANY (AP) — The Pentagon says the remains of an American pilot shot down in Europe during World War II are being returned to his New York family for burial 73 years after he died.
U.S. military officials said Tuesday that Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Robert Mains, of Rochester, was the 27-year-old pilot of a B-24 Liberator taking part in a raid over Germany in April 1945.
His plane was shot down by enemy fighters near the German town of Ludwigslust. Only one member of the 10-member crew survived.
In 1997, a Pentagon team found aircraft wreckage. Other teams returned in recent years and found bone tissue that was identified as Mains’ using DNA samples provided by his family.
His remains will be buried Saturday in the Long Island hamlet of Wading River.
N.Y. lawmakers vie to save tax deduction
HAUPPAUGE (AP) — A bipartisan contingent of suburban New York congressmen says there is still hope Washington lawmakers can save the deduction for state and local taxes.
Republicans Peter King and Lee Zeldin and Democrat Tom Suozzi all voted this month against a House bill that caps the deduction at $10,000. They say a bill being debated by the Senate eliminates the deduction entirely.
Ultimately, the House and Senate bills will be consolidated. The lawmakers say that’s where hope lies in keeping the deduction alive.
The lawmakers joined local elected officials and business leaders on Tuesday outside an IRS office on Long Island. They all agreed losing the deduction for local taxpayers could have dire consequences.
A business group estimates Long Island would lose $2.7 billion if the deduction were eliminated.
Election hacking long-term challenge
ALBANY (AP) — Officials say New York managed to dodge Russian hacking attempts last year — and they’re aiming to keep it that way.
Lawmakers at a hearing on election security Tuesday said they believe the risk of election hacking is here to stay. They say the state must take steps to protect its democratic process.
Officials say New York’s practice of using paper ballots makes the state’s election system harder to hack. Experts and good-government groups say the state should audit more ballots after an election to look for discrepancies.
Earlier this year, federal homeland security officials notified 21 states whose election systems Russian hackers tried to access.
Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo has already ordered a review of election cyber security vulnerabilities.
Detention sought for Turkish witnesses
NEW YORK (AP) — Turkey’s state-run news agency says a prosecutor has issued warrants for the detention of two Turkish citizens for allegedly handing over “stolen” and “fabricated” reports to a U.S. court dealing with the case against a Turkish banker accused of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran.
Jurors in New York City heard opening statements Tuesday in the criminal trial of Turkish bank executive Mehmet Hakan Atilla.
Anadolu Agency says the Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office ordered the arrests of Osman Zeki Canitez and former opposition party legislator Aykan Erdemir on Tuesday. Both have been named as witnesses in Atilla’s trial.
Two men charged in death of beaten man
SYRACUSE (AP) — Police in upstate New York have charged two men in connection with the death of a man who was struck by a car after a fight.
The Syracuse Police Department says two city men, ages 22 and 25, were each charged this week with manslaughter in the death of 30-year-old Earnest Collins.
Police say Collins was left in a Syracuse street after a fight with three other men Aug. 26. Authorities say Collins tried to walk away when he was hit again by one of the men.
As Collins lay on the ground, he was struck by a car. He later died from his injuries.
Police haven’t charged the driver. Investigators say the two suspects were in the area before Collins was struck by the car.
Man charged in fatal beating at house party in Sepember
NEWARK (AP) — Authorities say they’ve charged an upstate New York man in connection with the fatal injuries a man suffered during a fight at house party.
The Democrat and Chronicle of Rochester reports that police in Newark in Wayne County say 27-year-old Lorimus Desius, of Lyons, has been charged with assault in the death of Frederick Thomas III, also 27 and from Lyons.
Officials say the men fought at a party at a home in Newark on the night of Sept. 22. Police say Desius struck Thomas, who fell backward and hit his head. He later died at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester from a fractured skull.
Authorities say Desius is being held in jail in neighboring Seneca County, where he’s charged with weapon possession. Prosecutors didn’t know if he has a lawyer yet.
Cops: Lawyer banned from jail after trying to smuggle pot
ROCHESTER (AP) — Authorities say a Rochester lawyer has been banned from local jails after he was caught trying to smuggle drugs to an inmate.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office says 32-year-old Michael Witmer was charged last Friday after he tried to drop off a towel at the county jail for a former client.
Deputies say marijuana wrapped in cellophane was found hidden inside the towel. Authorities say he intended the pot for a 31-year-old inmate he used to represent.
Witmer was charged with attempted promoting prison contraband. He has been banned from the county’s jail facilities.
Witmer has declined to comment on the charges.
2 men charged in death of man beaten, struck by car
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Police in upstate New York have charged two men in connection with the death of a man who was struck by a car after a fight.
The Syracuse Police Department says two city men, ages 22 and 25, were each charged this week with manslaughter in the death of 30-year-old Earnest Collins.
Police say Collins was left in a Syracuse street after a fight with three other men Aug. 26. Authorities say Collins tried to walk away when he was hit again by one of the men.
As Collins lay on the ground, he was struck by a car. He later died from his injuries.
Police haven’t charged the driver. Investigators say the two suspects were in the area before Collins was struck by the car.
Man faces charges in crash that killed 1 man, hurt 2 others
HAUPPAGE (AP) — Police on Long Island have charged a man who they say caused a three-vehicle crash that killed one person and seriously injured another.
Newsday reports the crash happened Monday morning in Hauppage. Suffolk County police say 30-year-old Fernando Ramirez Jr., of Bay Shore, was driving on a Long Island Expressway service road when he collided with a pickup truck at an intersection where a third vehicle was struck.
Daniel Granados, a 31-year-old Central Islip man traveling in the pickup, was pronounced dead at the scene. A 32-year-old Dix Hills man riding him suffered serious injuries. A 26-year-old Brentwood man in the third vehicle suffered minor injuries.
Ramirez is hospitalized with serious injuries. Police say he faces charges that include reckless endangerment. It wasn’t clear if he has a lawyer yet.
