In the Manhattan D.A.’s Office, we work hard every day to advance public safety. In 2024, we continued to drive down gun violence by holding shooters accountable, cracking down on ghost guns, and investing in community-based prevention. Our Special Victims Division expanded services for survivors and took on challenging cases of sexual assault, domestic violence, and human trafficking. In a year when reports of antisemitic and other hate crimes increased nationwide, we worked with partners in Albany to strengthen New York’s Hate Crimes law and initiated a record number of hate crimes prosecutions. We protected New Yorkers’ wallets by pursuing complex fraud cases and stood up for everyday New Yorkers by prosecuting employers for stealing wages and charging landlords for alleged tenant harassment. We’re addressing disorder, quality of life issues, and retail theft with a multifaceted approach. We are focusing retail theft prosecutions on repeat offenders and dismantling largescale fencing operations. We’ve doubled our use of court-based treatment to address mental illness and substance use disorder and reduce recidivism. We’ve funded neighborhood and court-based outreach workers to connect people in need with long-term services. And we’re working closely with city agencies, business and civic leaders on an ongoing basis to address quality-of-life concerns. In addition to our forward-looking work, our Post-Conviction Justice Unit continues to investigate and vacate conviction where we no longer have confidence in the outcome. In the coming year, we will double down on our investments in youth gun violence prevention, replicate successful strategies that have gotten shooters off our streets, and launch a new early engagement model for domestic and sexual violence to connect survivors to services earlier and enhance investigations. In the next state legislative session, we will continue to advocate for additional tools and investments to address the mental health crisis. And we will also push for legislation to improve the discovery laws, counter the threat of 3D-printed ghost guns, and reduce barriers to prosecuting sexual assault and human trafficking. I am deeply honored to serve the people of Manhattan. I look forward to continued collaboration with our community and law enforcement partners in 2025 to further enhance safety and fairness in Manhattan.
Major crime is down so far this year in Manhattan compared to 2022, and Manhattan is driving the citywide declines.
D.A. Bragg joined Brian Lehrer for a wide-ranging conversation on WNYC where they looked back on the Office’s public safety work from the last year, discussed mental health interventions, and talked about what’s to come in 2025.
Read D.A. Bragg, Council Member Keith Powers, and Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine's op-ed in the New York Daily News advocating for new legislation that would make it easier to take down sidewalk sheds where crime can flourish, and safety is compromised.
Driving down gun violence is our top priority and in Manhattan, we are taking a comprehensive approach to getting guns off our streets. Our office is holding accountable those who jeopardize the safety of our communities with firearms. For instance, in April, we indicted a man for committing two shootings in Tompkins Square Park within five days, seriously injuring two people. In September, Mohamed Sawaneh was indicted for allegedly killing 37-year-old Jeremy Cummings in a drive-by shooting, after which he crashed into a car and committed a gunpoint robbery while he attempted to flee the scene. In November, Christopher Brown was sentenced to a significant prison term for arming himself with an illegal firearm as part of his plan to commit an act of terror targeting Manhattan’s Jewish community.
We’ve also continued to target drivers of gun violence, and, in November, we indicted 30 gang members for widespread gun violence over six years; those groups were responsible for approximately 50 percent of shootings in Washington Heights and Inwood in 2024.
Centering survivors means elevating the dedicated professionals who provide services and supports to victims of crime. This year, D.A. Bragg expanded the services our Office provides to crime survivors and witnesses through the creation of the Survivors Services Bureau, an evolution of our Office’s long-standing Witness Aid Services Unit that ensures crime victims, witnesses, and their families can access the services they need to rebuild their lives.
In June, D.A. Bragg and NOW-NYC president Sonia Ossorio called on the New York State Assembly to close the voluntary intoxication loophole in our laws.
By supporting victims in the criminal justice process, we increase our ability to hold people accountable for serious crimes. In January, we indicted an apartment super or raping, sexually abusing and assaulting an undocumented immigrant from Paraguay who cleaned apartments in a Flatiron building where he worked. In September, we announced an additional indictment of Harvey Weinstein for sexually assaulting a woman in a lower Manhattan hotel in Spring 2006.
Stemming the Flood of Ghost Guns, As the technology behind 3D weapons continues to improve, the guns being produced are only becoming more sophisticated and pose an even greater threat to our communities. That’s why earlier this year we called on YouTube to take additional steps to stop the proliferation of videos on its platform, many of which are pushed towards young children and adults through its algorithm, that show how to make and manufacture ghost guns and 3D-printed guns. So far this year we’ve seized 65 ghost guns or ghost gun receivers over the course of our investigations.
We also filed an amicus brief with Mayor Eric Adams to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of federal regulations issued by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that require ghost gun parts to have serial numbers and compel background checks for prospective buyers of ghost gun home-assembly kits. In March, we announced the indictments of several people in a sprawling investigation into a wide range of conduct, including two ghost gun conspiracies and in June, we announced the indictment of Hayden Espinosa for selling firearms and gun parts through Telegram to an undercover officer.
In Manhattan, we’re standing up for hard-working New Yorkers as we hold accountable companies that line their pockets at the expense of their employees. In February, we indicted Valor Security and Investigations, including six of their executives and employees, for operating a sham safety training school that issued safety certificates and cards to approximately 20,000 students. In May, we announced the guilty pleas of a Grimaldi’s Pizzeria owner and Manhattan manager for stealing $32,080 in wages from 18 employees.
It is essential for government officials to abide by the law and uphold their duty to the People of New York. In December, we indicted Ingrid Lewis-Martin, her son and two real estate investors for an alleged $100,000+ bribery conspiracy committed while Lewis-Martin served as Chief Advisor to the Mayor of the City of New York. Lewis- Martin allegedly abused her position to illegally influence Department of Buildings and other city decisions in exchange for cash and benefits for herself and her son. We’re committed to fighting corruption in city government that should strive to serve everyone equally instead of allowing bribes to circumvent independent expertise.
New Yorkers deserve to live in their apartments without fearing for their safety. In April 2024, Daniel Ohebshalom and his companies were indicted for allegedly harassing rent-regulated tenants with horrific living conditions to induce them to vacate their apartments.
Standing Against Hate, We will continue using all the tools at our disposal to hold accountable those who commit acts driven by hate and discrimination. In April, we announced the hate crime trial conviction of Gino Sozio for slashing a 22-year-old Muslim-American, while he was out with friends, in an anti-Muslim attack in Midtown on New Years Eve. In May, we indicted Skiboky Stora for assaulting, stalking and harassing strangers in a series of anti-female, anti-white, and antisemitic incidents.
In February, our neighborhood navigators hit the streets in six neighborhoods across Manhattan where they conducted proactive outreach to build relationships with individuals who are unhoused, living on the street and experiencing challenges with mental health or substance use. Since the launch of the program, navigators have connected with hundreds of individuals throughout the borough, connecting them to housing, treatment, employment resources, and more.
Prosecuting Transit Crime, New Yorkers rely on public transportation and our transit system should be a safe environment for all Manhattanites. This year we’ve continued to prosecute those who jeopardize the safety of its commuters, riders and workers. In April, we indicted a man for pushing 54-year-old Jason Volz onto the tracks of an oncoming train at the 125th Street subway station in East Harlem, killing him. In June, we indicted a man for attempting to shoot a 35-year-old Good Samaritan and shooting a 32-year-old man on a crowded train at an Upper East Side station.
MTA workers should not have to fear for their safety when on our buses and subways, and those who jeopardize their safety are being held accountable. In February we indicted two men for two separate attacks on MTA employees who were just doing their jobs.
Investing in our Youth, Engaging young New Yorkers in prevention initiatives is one the ways we’re driving down gun violence. This past year, we provided funding for 8 community-based organizations that served 95 young New Yorkers, including 28 brand new to the organizations. In December, we also announced extended funding for the fourth consecutive summer of this initiative investing up to $300,000 – up from $200,000 in previous years.
Cracking Down on Fraud, Manhattan is a global financial capital, and our Office is uniquely positioned to fight white-collar crime and continues to root out people who steal from investors and corrupt the market. In the past year, we’ve indicted a real estate company, and other industry executives for stealing more than $86 million from investors, subcontractors, and New York City through a series of frauds and schemes that began in 2015. In June, we sentenced Nelson Counne to 4-to-8 years in state prison for stealing more than $1.8 million from five women through a series of romance and investment scams. In November, we indicted a woman for distributing personal identifying information of TD Bank customers on Telegram while working in the anti-money laundering department at the bank.
In January, we called on the companies that own Venmo, Zelle, and Cash App to demand better consumer protections for customers in the wake of financial app thefts sweeping Manhattan and across the U.S. This year we also announced the creation of the Cyber Crime Bureau, an evolution of the Office’s longstanding cyber-crime practice, tasked with the prosecution of computer crimes and cyber-enabled crimes.
With evolving technology, scammers are increasingly targeting older New Yorkers through scams that prey on their perceived unfamiliarity with new technology. We are also zeroing in on frauds committed against older New Yorkers, including the indictment of Rosalind Hernandez, a building superintendent, for allegedly stealing over $350,000 from a 100-year-old man who lived in her building and granted her Power of Attorney. We also announced the guilty plea of Juan Velez, a former personal banker at Citibank, for stealing approximately $166,000 from a 79-year-old client who was suffering from dementia.
We will continue to hold scammers accountable who prey on hopeful New Yorkers seeking residency or citizenship. In January, we announced the indictment of Pablo Israel Ortega Cuenca for posing as an immigration attorney to numerous people and collecting thousands of dollars in legal fees from them. In May, we announced the indictment of Analie Vargas for diverting her clients’ checks intended for immigration application fees into her personal bank account.
Reviewing and Vacating Old Convictions, It is never too late to reconsider the integrity of old convictions, because everyone in New York deserves equal justice under the law. Since the creation of the Post-Conviction Justice Unit in 2022 we have vacated 10 convictions through reinvestigations and 500 more related to law enforcement members convicted of misconduct. In January, we moved to vacate the unjust murder convictions of Eric Smokes and David Warren for a fatal robbery and assault that occurred on New Year’s Day 1987 near Times Square. In September, we joined in an application to vacate the conviction of JJ Velazquez for the murder of Albert Ward in 1998.
Engaging With Our Communities, Our Community Partnerships Unit conducts essential work increasing trust between the community and our office and facilitating partnerships that prevent crime and increase the quality of life for the communities we serve. Over the course of the year they’ve volunteered across the borough at schools and community centers, and hosted numerous trainings as we worked to increase trust within our community. This year we’ve joined marches to raise awareness for Domestic Violence, engaged young New Yorkers through our High School Internship program and anti-gun violence prevention initiatives and attended community events throughout Manhattan.
Zeroing in on Retail Theft, Manhattan is the retail capital of the country, and we need our business community to thrive. This year, we’ve continued to target the small number of recidivists who are driving a significant amount of retail theft and ensure appropriate accountability. As of October, our office has prosecuted more than 6,000 alleged instances of retail theft. Misdemeanor retail theft prosecutions have more than doubled this year compared to 2021. Our office has rolled out trainings to Manhattan Business Improvement Districts to enhance the use of Trespass Notices, an important tool in our close collaboration with retailers and law enforcement to protect businesses and drive down retail theft in the borough.
We are using tool in our toolbox to address the root causes of retail theft, and a critical piece of that is upstream, proactive investigations into those who stand to profit. In May, we announced the indictment of two individuals and their store for possessing more than $1 million in stolen goods as part of a retail theft fencing operation.
Repatriating Cultural Artifacts, Under D.A. Bragg, our Antiquities Trafficking Unit has recovered almost 2,100 antiquities stolen from 39 countries and valued at $250 million. These repatriation ceremonies show our continued commitment to protecting cultural heritage and returning stolen antiquities back home. This year we announced the return of three more drawings to the family of Fritz Grünbaum, an Austrian-Jewish cabaret performer whose art collection was stolen by the Nazi regime.
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