IRS Warns of New Email Scam

Email recipients are then asked to send various VA and IRS documents containing their personal and financial information, such as copies of VA award letters and their income tax returns, to an address in Florida.

The information on these documents is then used by the scammers to commit identity theft. The IRS does not send unsolicited email to taxpayers and never asks for personal and financial information such as PIN numbers, passwords or similar secret information for financial accounts. More information on tax related phishing scams is available on irs.gov, keyword “phishing.”

New Yorkers should be on the lookout for a new email phishing scam now circulating that targets Department of Defense military members, retirees and civilian employees.

According to IRS spokeswoman, Dianne Besunder, the email appears to come from Defense Finance and Accounting Services. The message states that that those receiving disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) may be able to obtain additional funds from the IRS.

Voters Want Higher Minimum Wage

A new Siena poll carries some positive news for Governor Andrew Cuomo as well as supporters of raising the minimum wage.

The poll shows that 70 percent of New Yorkers have a favorable view of the governor and more than 75 percent support raising the minimum wage to $8.50 per hour.

Lobbyist Spending Increasing in New York Politics

A report issued by the New York Public Interest Research Group finds that lobbyists are pumping a great deal of money into the state political scene. For the year leading up to January 12th 2012, lobbying firms donated over $1.8 million to campaigns.

The top recipients of lobbyist money are Governor Andrew Cuomo and attorney general Eric Schneiderman, both democrats. Third place are political committees controlled by senate republicans and fourth place are committees pushing assembly democrats.

Witness Struggles to Remember Details During Wlasiuk Murder Trial

The third day of the murder trial of Peter Wlasiuk resumed yesterday morning with three people taking the stand in Chenango County court. Wlasiuk is accused of killing his wife Patricia in 2002.

The witnesses had a hard time remembering the details of the night Patricia died over 10 years ago. The Wlasiuk’s truck went into Guilford Lake where her body was recovered.

i-Stop Act Passes in Both Houses

Both houses of the state legislature passed legislation yesterday that will control the over-prescribing of abused medications.

The “Internet System for Tracking Over-prescribing Act” or i-Stop was passed by the senate by a vote of 58-0 and by the assembly 116-0.

The bill calls for a real-time database that will give physicians information on a patient’s prescription history before prescribing powerful and addictive drugs like hydrocodone.

Winkler in Jail on Endangering Welfare of a Child Charges

Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies last Friday arrested Jarett Winkler of Stamford on two counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child, a Class A Misdemeanor.

The arrest stems from an alleged incident that occurred on June 7 in the Town of Stamford involving a person less than 3 years of age.

Winkler was sent to the Delaware County Correctional Facility in lieu of $1,500 bail and is scheduled to appear at a later date to answer the charges.

Timmerman Arrested for Threatening to Bomb Schoharie Sheriff’s Office

A Washington New Jersey man is being held on $15,000 bail after being arrested Friday on charges of terrorism and aggravated harassment.

The Schoharie County Sheriff’s office says 27-year-old Daniel Timmerman, a former Cobleskill resident allegedly threatened to blow up the Schoharie County office building in Cobleskill while arguing with a senior caseworker over the phone in April. This alleged threat prompted law enforcement to arrange for heightened security both inside and around the perimeter of this building.

Domestic Violence Penalties to be Increased

Governor Andrew Cuomo along with the Senate Majority Leader and the Assembly Speaker announced an agreement on a bill that would include increasing the penalty for a repeat domestic violence offense to a felony, allowing judges to consider risk factors such as firearm possession and violations of restraining orders in determining bail and establishing a statewide Fatality Review Team to find new ways to prevent intimate partner homicides.

The law would increase penalties for domestic violence offenders who repeatedly commit misdemeanor offenses and would establish the crime of "Aggravated Family Offense" as a Class E felony to ensure that defendants with a history of domestic violence who repeatedly commit misdemeanor offenses are prosecuted as felons.

The legislation would also establish a new Class A misdemeanor of "Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree," committed when a defendant, with intent to harass, annoy, threaten or alarm, causes physical injury to an individual or their family or household member.

The maximum penalty for a Class A misdemeanor is one year in local jail, but for a class E felony, the maximum sentence is one-to-four years in state prison. The aggravated harassment misdemeanor takes effect in 60 days, and the aggravated family offense felony takes effect in 90 days, after the bill becomes law.