Clarkstown police report they arrested Alejandro Cruz, 43, of Staten Island on Wednesday afternoon in Nanuet and charged him with four home burglaries in Nanuet and New City that involved cash and jewelry. Orangetown and Ramapo police investigators interviewed Cruz and were planning to charge him in connection with one Orangetown break-in and three in Ramapo. Police report Cruz will be charged with eight burglaries. He is currently being held for arraignment in Clarkstown Justice Court.
Sgt. Jo Anne Fratianni said Cruz walking on Grandview Avenue in Nanuet on Wednesday afternoon at 4:20 p.m. when a detective on the department’s burglary task force spoke with him. The officer noticed he was wearing shoes “consistent with footprints that were left at some of the burglary scenes” and took Cruz to police headquarters for questioning. After further interviewing, police arrested and charged Cruz with four burglaries in Clarkstown: Wilton Circle in New City, and Fenner Lane, South Middletown Road and Grandview Ave in Nanuet.
A home on Grandview Ave was broken into Wednesday. The other burglaries in Clarkstown had occurred over the course of a week. Break-ins on Lafayette Drive and Ellen Street in New City and Rinne Road in Nanuet are still under investigation. A safe was taken from the Lafayette Street residence and police said that appeared to have been done more professionally.
“Ellen Street was not attributed to him,” said Fratianni. “Lafayette Street was not attributed to him.”
The break-in on Rinne Road in Nanuet has not been connected to Cruz.
Fratianni said Cruz, who had been released from jail in November after serving 10 years for burglary, had previously lived in Rockland and had ties to the area. She said he did not have a car, was traveling by bus and moving the area on foot. Fratianni said police think Cruz was committing the break-ins on his own.
Investigators from Orangetown and Ramapo Police investigators also interviewed Cruz and will be charging him with three burglaries in Ramapo and one burglary in Orangetown. The Orangetown break-in took place near Silver Birch Lane and Townline Road in Pearl River, police said.
In response to the break-ins, Clarkstown police initiated a burglary task force, which supplemented the daily patrols with additional patrol officers.
God Bless the Men and Woman and great K-9's at station 201.
Your logic sounds good but what would really happen is that most of the cops would be deployed to the area's with more crime. Less good guys for your town and mine. I worked in White Plains for many years for Nynex with many people from all over Westchester they told me many of the horror stories when the town and villiage Police were replaced by a county Police force. I have lived in Clarkstown for 53 years and other than the Coke scandel that rocked Clarkstown during the 70's I have been very proud of the Clarkstown Police.
Sadly, in this thread I find no words of compassion for this wretched man. I suspect he is possibly a victim of our Draconian legal system. In the NY Times I read .... http://www.fedcrimlaw.com/visitors/PrisonLore/NYT-CollateralConsequences.htm QUOTE: Under a federal law, anyone convicted of a crime is barred from public housing. There is also a lifetime ban on receiving welfare or food stamps for those convicted of drug felonies and prohibitions against getting certain jobs in plumbing, education and other fields. Felons with drug convictions are barred from receiving federal student loans. Judges, prosecutors and advocates are criticizing the laws as counterproductive and urging that they be re-examined. "They make it even harder for newly released inmates to find jobs and housing and therefore to lead productive lives," said Jeremy Travis who coined the phrase "invisible punishment" to describe such penalties. A convicted felon put it this way: "Basically, this stuff is telling me I've served my time, I'm out, but I'm never going to be allowed to be part of society again. So what do you want me to do? I'm going to end up doing something wrong again."
James Kalven, a writer said the public housing eviction law had created a "whole group of guys who are essentially nomadic because of their felony convictions, getting out of jail and having nowhere to go." In New York, there are more than 100 prohibited job categories, including plumbing, real estate, barbering, education, health care and private security. "The law makes no allowance for rehabilitation. It just seems designed to go on punishing people forever." END QUOTE Let writers on this thread remember that, while we should congratulate the police for meeting their job descriptions, an officer of the CPD who earned over $200,000 in 2012 cheated on his overtime. He was permitted to resign keeping his Clarkstown pension and has nothing on his record to prevent him from finding future employment. I ask which of the two is the greater criminal? The one who had everything and cheated to get more or the one who had nothing and stole to make ends meet?
Thank you for the compliment about your enjoyment of my articles (and I mean that sincerely). My initial information on the problems felons have after leaving prison came from meeting several felons at a day long meeting of the Hudson River Presbytery which is a part of the Presbyterian church. I am an elder in the Presbyterian church. I did not quote from my own articles but from the NY Times whose article explained the same problems I had become aware of from personally meeting with such victims. That is why I opined that there were "no words of compassion for the wretched man" in this thread. What does anyone know about why he has become a recidivist? I would like to know some more about him as a fellow human being and why a 10 year prison sentence left him wandering the streets as ill-prepared as he apparently is to rejoin society. As to 'apples and oranges' and "get over yourself" the question I posed is very simple and the facts are clear: An officer of the CPD who earned over $200,000 in 2012 cheated on his overtime. He was permitted to resign keeping his Clarkstown pension and he has nothing on his record to prevent him from finding future employment. Which of the two is the greater criminal? The one who had everything and cheated to get more or the one who had nothing and stole to make ends meet? The question stands!
Wowwww, you have so much insight into the felon life after meeting with a few in church and reading an article.....you should blog about it again and again and again. Meet with the VICTIMS at your next civic meeting and see what they say.
I'm busy at the moment reading your comment "again and again and again". Would it be OK if I ignored you some other time?
Orangetown has under 50,000 residents, Clarkstown nearly double that. Pearl River and Nyack combined have nearly as many businesses as New City. The rest of Orangetown is mostly residential, while Clarkstown has the hub of Rockland, Nanuet, and its huge commercial properties, as well as the largest mall in the state of NY, which sees upwards of 50,000 people on a busy weekend. CPD answers double the number of calls in a year. You really don't think your posts out do you?
<<Cruz, who had been released from jail after serving 10 years for burglary did not have a car, was traveling by bus and moving the area on foot >>> Sadly, in this thread I find no words of compassion for this wretched man. I suspect he is possibly a victim of our Draconian legal system. -- Then he writes of how the poor fellow can't get public housing and will have trouble finding a job. However, a few posts later, his cop hatred comes out and he writes .... --- An officer of the CPD who earned over $200,000 in 2012 cheated on his overtime. He was permitted to resign keeping his Clarkstown pension and he has nothing on his record to prevent him from finding future employment. Sounds a little bi-polar.... In one instance, we should move on and forgive the sinner, allow him to move on and better himself, even allowing him public housing.. .anything else is "invisible punishment" However, in the case of the police officer, who lost his job, and could lose his home, there is no compassion for the man and his young children... No, for him, he must never work again. By the way Mike, you have to do 20 years to get a pension... and I don't know where you think this many will get another police job.. any potential employer will simply google him, or ask why he left his last job... Is that not also "invisible punishment?
You also can't discount the mall, Nanuet's bustling shopping district (soon to have another mall) and a hundred other variables. You are trying to make your point by comparing apples to orangetown... It's a silly argument. Why don't you argue that Orangetown has more cops than Stony Point.. it's the same silly premise?
<<His cop hatred comes out>> Thankfully I have no "hatred" in my soul for anyone. As to the police their compensation is unsustainable and their services will have to be outsourced or reductions will occur. That will be painful. <<<cop hatred >>> 1) I served as a reference for an officer presently serving in the CPD. 2) I was a friend of ex-Chief Schnackenberg. We attended the same church. 3) I knew both ex-chief Sherwood (had dinner at his home several times) and knew his son very well. I have no ill will towards Officer Sherwood but I am saddened by his behavior. <<<We should forgive the sinner .... in the case of the officer there is no compassion >> Both are "sinners" as YOU put it. We ought to forgive BOTH and be compassionate to both but we ought not condone or forgive either of the acts. There must be justice, not retributive but restorative. Cruz received retributive justice which clearly was not restorative. An officer in Westchester is going on trial. He earned 1/3 what Sherwood received & was accused of falsifying only 2 hours of OT. He faces retributive jail time. http://www.lohud.com/article/20130213/NEWS02/302130077/D-Mount-Vernon-cop-lied-about-2-hours-overtime-reports <<< 20 years to get a pension.>>> Sherwood has a pension. http://newcity.patch.com/blog_posts/stoneturn-could-turn-stones <<<By the way 'Mike'>>> By the way my name is 'Michael'