New York City Police Bust 18 Corporate and Media Executives, Three Dealers In Major Cocaine Bust

The investigation is believed to have begun after successful investment banker Thomas J Hughes (above) jumped to his death from his 24th floor luxury Manhattan apartment in May 2015.

[From article]
A Fox Business Network producer, a Chipotle executive and an associate at Merrill Lynch are among a group of 18 high-flyers who have been arrested after a massive New York cocaine ring was cracked.
Katie Welnhofer, 29, who works on 'Mornings with Maria' on Fox Business, and the Mexican fast food chain's Chief Marketing and Development Officer, Mark Crumpacker, 53, have been indicted after the operation.


Katie Welnhofer, 29, who works on 'Mornings with Maria' on Fox Business, has been arrested as part of a huge crackdown on cocaine buyers in New York.

Christopher Dodson, 28, a client associate at Merrill Lynch, and his brother Austin, 24, an associate at real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield, were also arrested.
Underwriting consultant Christian Jewett, 31, Marwood Group senior associate Kyle Holmes, 27, tax accountant Roman Yoffe, 36, and Huffington Post blogger and education professional Alexander Mallory, 31, were also among those indicted.
They were all charged with the criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, according to court documents seen by Daily Mail Online.
It followed a year-long investigation into a massive drug ring that sold $75,000 worth of cocaine and operated from the Lower East Side
Three kingpins Kenny 'Jay' Hernandez, Felix Nunez and Oscar Almonte were also arrested.
They allegedly used livery services to deliver cocaine to customers throughout Manhattan.
The probe is believed to have begun after investment banker Thomas Hughes jumped to his death from his 24th floor luxury apartment in May last year.
Reports suggest police found the number of his dealer on his cell phone when they searched his home.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said: 'Drug dealers profit by sowing seeds of addiction that destroy lives, families, and communities.
'We are dedicated to stemming both the supply and demand for dangerous narcotics, and the crime that accompanies the market for illegal drugs.'
Hernandez oversaw the ring and personally conducted the vast majority of the sales, including eleven separate sales to undercover detectives.
As detailed in the indictment, members of the ring allegedly used car services to deliver the drugs to buyers, including to delis, restaurants, bars, apartments, hotels, and the buyers’ workplaces.
The defendants delivered to locations across Manhattan, including the Lower East Side, the Upper East Side, Chelsea, the Financial District, and Midtown, as well as areas of Brooklyn and Queens. Many of the sales took place in delis or Duane Reade and CVS pharmacies.
Customers generally paid between $200 and $300 per transaction.
Welnhofer and the Dodsons were arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court on Thursday morning.
According to the indictment, Welnhofer made two purchases of cocaine - one in March and one in May - to an address on West 25th Street.
The producer was led into the court in a jumpsuit with handcuffs and with her hair pulled back. She was held on $15,000 bail.
According to her Facebook profile, Welnhofer is from Wilmette, Illinois. Before joining Fox Business, where she produces for 'Money Honey' Maria Bartiromo, she worked for One World Sports.
The Northwestern University graduate has also been a producer of Good Morning America and had stints at Inside Edition and CNBC.
In November 2014, she attended Eric Trump and Lara Yunaska's lavish wedding.
At the time she and Lara were colleagues at Inside Edition. It is not believed that she and the Trumps remain friends but she does still post on his social media pages.
It is her 30th birthday on Friday.
[. . .]
Christopher Dodson made at least 17 purchases of cocaine between January and May this year. Many of the transactions occurred in Duane Reade pharmacies.
His brother Austin bought cocaine twice - one in February and once in March. According to the indictment, the March purchase was made at a restaurant in Midtown Manhattan.
Both Austin and Christopher Dodson played lacrosse at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania after graduating from the elite Landon School.
Austin met his girlfriend Rosalin Savoie, 23, a marketing co-ordinator with Rimmel London, at Dickinson, where she played soccer.
Savoie, of Bethel, Connecticut, was pictured picking him after he posted bail on Thursday evening.
Roman Yoffe, 36, a tax accountant, also appeared in court as his pregnant wife sat in the public gallery.
He made at least seven cocaine purchases that were delivered to his Water Street place of work, according to the indictment. One was made in a Gristedes supermarket.
Mark Crumpacker, 53, was named Chipotle's first Chief Marketing Officer in January 2009.
According to his LinkedIn page he oversees all of the company's marketing functions including advertising, design, events, public relations, social media, and research.
Sources told Daily Mail Online Crumpracker is set to surrender in the next couple of days.
He made six purchases between January and May, all delivered to his home on West 13th Street in the West Village. Many were made in February and March of 2016, the height of his busy tax season.
In 2013, Crumpacker was named Chipotle's Chief Development Officer and now leads the company's real estate, design, construction and facilities functions worldwide.
Prior to joining Chipotle, he was the founder, CEO and Creative Director at Sequence, a San Francisco-based branding and interactive agency.
Mallory has blogged on Huffington Post, went to Manhattan's Fieldston school before Williams and also founded the company Competitive Edge Tutoring.
He made seven purchases between March and May this year, five at a CVS pharmacy near Washington Square Park and two at his home address in the West Village.
Kyle Holmes, 27, of Astoria, Queens, a Senior Associate at healthcare focused financial services firm the Marwood Group, was also indicted.
He made at least six purchases of cocaine between January and April. One purchase, in March, was delivered to the Quality Italian restaurant on West 57th Street.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3668574/Fox-Business-producer-Chipotle-executive-arrested-huge-cocaine-bust-New-York.html

Young, rich - and busted: Fox producer, Chipotle executive, Merrill banker, Wall Street accountant, Cushman & Wakefield broker and HuffPo blogger cuffed after year-long Manhattan cocaine sting
Katie Welnhofer, 29, who works on Mornings with Maria, was arrested
Mark Crumpacker, 53, Chipotle's CMO, has also been indicted
Sources told Daily Mail Online he will surrender in the next few days
They were two of 18 alleged drug dealers collared as part of the operation
Christopher Dodson, a client associate at Merrill Lynch, and his real estate professional brother were also indicted
It followed a year-long undercover investigation by New York City cops
Three kingpins allegedly used livery services to delivery the cocaine around Manhattan and to Brooklyn
The deals are said to have gone down in multiple locations, including CVS and Duane Reade pharmacies and a Gristedes supermarket
Some of them also had the cocaine delivered to their homes and offices
By WILLS ROBINSON and KHALEDA RAHMAN FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 13:03 EST, 30 June 2016 | UPDATED: 10:39 EST, 1 July 2016

Wounded Warrior Project Executives Replaced Due to Wasting Funds

[From article]
The two top executives of the Wounded Warrior Project — among the largest veterans charities in the country — were fired Thursday after an investigation into accusations of lavish spending on parties, hotel and travel, according to a statement released on behalf of the embattled organization.
Wounded Warrior Project's CEO, Steven Nardizzi, and COO, Al Giordano, were fired by the charity's board amid criticisms about how it spent more than $800 million in donations over the last four years. The development was confirmed by Abernathy MacGregor, a public relations firm hired to represent the veterans charity.

[. . .]
The charity came under fire after an earlier CBS News investigation in January revealed large amounts of spending on administration, meetings, and travel.
Nonprofit watchdog “Charity Navigator” says Wounded Warrior Project spends just 60 percent of its budget on veterans. The Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation provides more than 98 percent to veterans. Charity Navigator also assessed that Wounded Warrior’s total revenue for 2014 was well over $340 million.
[. . .]
Going to a nice fancy restaurant is not team building. Staying at a lavish hotel at the beach here in Jacksonville, and requiring staff that lives in the area to stay at the hotel is not team building," Army Staff Sergeant Erick Millette, who returned from Iraq in 2006 with a bronze star and a purple heart, told CBS News.
According to the charity's tax forms obtained by CBS News, spending on conferences and meetings went from $1.7 million in 2010, to $26 million in 2014, which is the same amount the group spends on combat stress recovery.
Two former employees, who were so fearful of retaliation they asked that CBS News not show their faces on camera, said spending has skyrocketed since Steven Nardizzi took over as CEO in 2009, pointing to the 2014 annual meeting at a luxury resort in Colorado Springs.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/03/10/wounded-warrior-project-reportedly-fires-top-executives-amid-spending-controversy.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foxnews%2Fmost-popular+%28Internal+-+Most+Popular+Content%29

Wounded Warrior Project's top execs reportedly fired amid lavish spending scandal
Published March 10, 2016

FoxNews.com

Pennsylvania Waitress and Casino Executive Arrested Charged With Theft

[From article]
Court documents show Robert Pellegrini, a former executive at Mohegan Sun Pocono in Wilkes-Barre, was charged Tuesday along with server Rochelle Poszeluznyj and patron Mark Heltzel. They each face over 170 counts including theft, identity theft and criminal conspiracy.
The state police Bureau of Gaming says Poszeluznyj would collect players’ casino cards and PIN numbers when they paid for drinks. They say she passed them to Pellegrini to make duplicates, which he gave to Heltzel to use at slot machines. Police say Heltzel would split his winnings with the duo.

http://nypost.com/2016/01/20/casino-exec-and-waitress-charged-in-slots-scheme/

Casino exec and waitress charged in slots scheme
By Associated Press
New York Post
January 20, 2016 | 11:21am

Updated: Woman Executive Found Dead In Exotic South African Resort, Boyfriend Suspected

Posted August 2, 2015 9:34 PM ET; Last updated August 4, 2015 4:30 AM ET


Gabriela Kabrins Alban, 39, of Los Angeles

[From article]
The man accused of brutally killing American marketing executive Gabriela Kabrins at a luxury resort in South Africa is the troubled 'black sheep' of a billionaire family, Daily Mail Online can reveal.
Guatemalan playboy Diego Dougherty, 41, was charged with murder after his girlfriend Gaby's body was found along with a large quantity of cocaine in their hotel room in the affluent Cape Town beachside suburb of Camps Bay last Wednesday.
He is now being treated in a prison hospital for 'emotional reasons' following at least two fainting spells since his arrest.
Police say 39-year-old LA-based Kabrins was severely beaten and suffered an horrific sexual assault before being strangled to death at the five-star Camps Bay Retreat Boutique Hotel.[. . .]
Daily Mail Online can now reveal that prime suspect Dougherty is a member of the Dougherty Novella clan - one of the most powerful families in Central America, whose cement business is estimated to be worth billions of dollars.
[. . .]
Family sources tell Daily Mail Online that murder suspect Dougherty is the 'black sheep' of the super-rich clan - a drug-addicted playboy who has never worked and who is regularly bailed out of trouble by his family.
Investigators in South Africa believe Kabrins's death resulted from a drug-fueled sex session gone wrong.
Dougherty was arrested after he was spotted wandering on a nearby beach following the discovery of Gaby's body.
It is believed Kabrins, who was of Mexican descent and spoke fluent Spanish, originally met him in the US when they were younger and they recently reconnected through social media.
A friend said she was in love with Dougherty and regularly visited him for long periods in Guatemala.
The pair first met at Pepperdine University in Malibu and Dougherty spent a number of years in the US - where the Dougherty Novella family owns homes in New York, Miami and Los Angeles.

[. . .]
But the family source revealed: 'Diego had a very privileged upbringing and became a spoiled brat. He has never had a job and lived the life of a playboy, full of vices and eccentricities.
'In Guatemala he has got himself into a lot of minor trouble but he always got out of it thanks to the family influence.
'His school friends say that when he drinks he turns into a savage. In recent years he has become a heavy user of crack and cocaine.'
Although police say they believe he was taking part in a drug deal, as 1lb. of cocaine was found in his room, sources in Guatemala insist that cannot be the case.
'He is a user, not a dealer. He doesn't need the money,' said one.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3184328/Alleged-drug-fueled-murderer-American-woman-South-African-hotel-room-black-sheep-member-billionaire-Central-American-dynasty.html

EXCLUSIVE: 'Drug-fueled murderer' of US woman found dead in luxury South African hotel with pound of cocaine is drug-addicted black-sheep member of billionaire Central American dynasty
Gabriele Kabrins, 39, was found dead in hotel room in Camps Bay, South Africa, near Cape Town, where she had been brutally sexually assaulted
Police arrested Diego Dougherty, 41, from Guatemala, who was wandering nearby beach and charged him with murder
He was also charged with possession of more than 1lb of cocaine found in room and is now in prison hospital for 'emotional reasons'
Daily Mail Online has learned he is playboy member of ultra-wealthy Dougherty Novella family in Central American country
Thomas Dougherty, brother of accused man and chairman of Progreso Cementos, tells Daily Mail Online: 'This is a tragedy any way you look at it.'
Family sources say he is heavy cocaine and crack user and has been regularly bailed out of trouble by influential family
By RYAN PARRY WEST COAST CORRESPONDENT FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and MARTIN GOULD IN CAMPS BAY, SOUTH AFRICA, FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and MATHEUS SANCHEZ FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 16:19 EST, 3 August 2015 | UPDATED: 17:31 EST, 3 August 2015

* * *

[From article]
Gabriela Kabrins Alban, 39, of Los Angeles, was found dead at about 3 p.m. in her room at the Camps Bay Retreat, a luxury boutique hotel where rooms cost up to $10,000 per night. Police spokesperson Noloyiso Rwexana declined to say Alban died or confirm reports she was sexually assaulted, but said her death is being treated as a case of murder. A 41-year-old suspect identified in local reports as Diego Guarte, a Guatemalan national, was under arrest in connection with the case.
[. . .]
South Africa is extremely sensitive to the potential damage to its tourist industry that such an incident can cause, and likely to have put a top team of detectives on the case. Local observers have been quick to point out in a country with a high crime rate that the case appears to involve two foreigners, and that no South Africans are involved.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/07/31/man-arrested-in-murder-la-exec-in-luxury-cape-town-hotel/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foxnews%2Fmost-popular+%28Internal+-+Most+Popular+Content%29

Man arrested in murder of LA exec in luxury Cape Town hotel
By Paul Tilsley

Published July 31, 2015

FoxNews.com

Massachusetts Housing Chief Charged With Stealing Elder Woman's Medications

Gregory Bartlett, 57, executive director of the Stoughton (MA) Housing Authority


[From article]
The executive director of the Stoughton Housing Authority was released on $2,500 bail after pleading not guilty stealing prescription pain medications of a woman in her 90s who lived in one of the authority's units.
Gregory Bartlett appeared Monday in Stoughton District Court on a charges including breaking and entering, theft of a controlled substance and larceny of property valued at more than $250 from a person over 65 years old.
Authorities say as executive director, the 57-year-old Bartlett had access to apartments and a list of residents' medications.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2015/01/housing_authority_chief_charged_with_stealing_meds

Housing authority chief charged with stealing meds
Monday, January 5, 2015
By: Associated Press
Boston Herald

Real Estate Executive Returns Bonus

Rick Holley

Courtesy of Plum Creek Timber Co.
[From article]
Rick Holley is CEO of Plum Creek Timber Co. PCL 0.50% , a Seattle-based real estate investment trust that owns and manages around 6.8 million acres of timberland in 19 states. Today Holley disclosed, via a regulatory filing, that he has returned 44,445 restricted stock units back to the company because “he does not believe that he should receive such an award unless Plum Creek’s stockholders see an increase in their investment return.”

http://fortune.com/2014/12/18/ceo-gives-back-bonus-says-he-doesnt-deserve-it/

CEO gives back bonus, says he doesn't deserve it
by Dan Primack @danprimack

DECEMBER 18, 2014, 2:21 PM EST

SONY Executive Amy Pascal Seeks Redemption

Jesse Jackson, Amy Pascal and Al Sharpton 
Photo: Getty / WireImage / Pacific Coast News


Wonder how much the racial purification process costs?

[From article]
As a result, the Sony co-chairman has reached out to both Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton to begin the “healing process.”
“I’m being proactive,” Pascal told The Hollywood Reporter about her conversations with both leaders. “And I want to accept responsibility for these stupid, callous remarks.”
Pascal and Rudin talked about what to ask Obama at a fundraising breakfast in the fall of 2013. The exchange suggested she bring up black-themed movies including “Django Unchained,” “12 Years a Slave” and “The Butler,” as well as comedian Kevin Hart.

http://pagesix.com/2014/12/12/amy-pascal-calls-jesse-jackson-al-sharpton-im-ready-to-heal/?_ga=1.89475928.212440808.1402078759

Exec in racist slams on Obama calls Sharpton, Jackson to ‘heal’
By Derrick Bryson Taylor
New York Post: Page Six
December 12, 2014 | 10:47am

Presidential Cycles

[From article]
Americans often elect presidents who conspicuously lack the perceived defect of the preceding president (e.g., Jack Kennedy's youth contrasting with Dwight Eisenhower's age, Ronald Reagan's strength correcting for Jimmy Carter's weakness). Christie, who exudes executive authority, is the antithesis of today's bewildered incumbent floundering from the disappearing red line regarding Syria, to the HealthCare.gov debacle, to the Veterans Affairs scandals, to the no-one-tells-me-anything surprise about the Islamic State, to the Secret Service that cannot lock the White House's front door.

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/will100914.php3

Why Christie matters
By George Will
Published Oct. 9, 2014

White House Claims Executive Privilege For Attorney General's Wife

[From article]
Judicial Watch announced today that it received from the Obama Department of Justice (DOJ) a “Vaughn index” detailing records about the Operation Fast and Furious scandal. The index was forced out of the Obama administration thanks to JW’s June 2012 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and subsequent September 2012 FOIA lawsuit (Judicial Watch v. Department of Justice (No. 1:12-cv-01510)). A federal court had ordered the production over the objections of the Obama Justice Department.
The document details the Attorney General Holder’s personal involvement in managing the Justice Department’s strategy on media and Congressional investigations into the Fast and Furious scandal. Notably, the document discloses that emails between Attorney General Holder and his wife Sharon Malone – as well as his mother – are being withheld under an extraordinary claim of executive privilege as well as a dubious claim of deliberative process privilege under the Freedom of Information Act. The “First Lady of the Justice Department” is a physician and not a government employee.
[. . .]
Based on a preliminary review of the massive document, Judicial Watch can disclose that the Vaughn index reveals:
 Numerous emails that detail Attorney General Holder’s direct involvement in crafting talking points, the timing of public disclosures, and handling Congressional inquiries in the Fast and Furious matter.
President Obama has asserted executive privilege over nearly 20 email communications between Holder and his spouse Sharon Malone. The administration also claims that the records are also subject to withholding under the “deliberative process” exemption. This exemption ordinarily exempts from public disclosure records that could chill internal government deliberations.
Numerous entries detail DOJ’s communications (including those of Eric Holder) concerning the White House about Fast and Furious.
The scandal required the attention of virtually every top official of the DOJ and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF). Communications to and from the United States Ambassador to Mexico about the Fast and Furious matter are also described.
Many of the records are already publicly available such as letters from Congress, press clips, and typical agency communications. Ordinarily, these records would, in whole or part, be subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. Few of the records seem to even implicate presidential decision-making and advice that might be subject to President Obama’s broad and unprecedented executive privilege claim.
[ . . .]
On June 28, 2012, Attorney General Eric Holder was held in contempt by the House of Representatives over his refusal to turn over records explaining why the Obama administration may have lied to Congress and refused for months to disclose the truth about the gun running operation. It marked the first time in U.S. history that a sitting Attorney General was held in contempt of Congress.

http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2014/10/obama-asserts-fast-furious-executive-privilege-claim-holders-wife-2/

Obama Asserts Fast and Furious Executive Privilege Claim for Holder’s Wife
OCTOBER 23, 2014
Judicial Watch

CBS Sports Refuses Ad of School Children Pledging Allegiance To Flag

This shows how depraved journalists and network executives are these days. No pledge of allegiance but they make celebrities of child abusers and women beaters. Are they the best role models or what?

[From article]
The national cable sports network rejected a 30-second television advertisement from Windermere Real Estate that shows company owner Dave Retter's adorable granddaughter delivering the pledge with her hand over her heart.
CBS Sports said the ad was "too political" to air during the network's upcoming broadcast of the Wrangler Champions Challenge rodeo.

http://foxnewsinsider.com/2014/09/13/cbs-sports-rejects-ad-featuring-child-reciting-pledge-allegiance-‘too-political’

CBS Sports Rejects Ad Featuring Child Reciting Pledge Of Allegiance As ‘Too Political’
BY FOX NEWS INSIDER
SEP 13 2014 // 1:26PM
AS SEEN ON FOX AND FRIENDS WEEKEND

Wash Post Exec Dead Outside Midtown NYC Club

[From article]
A former Vice President for The Washington Post was found dead on the ground at a Hell’s Kitchen hot-spot surrounded on the ground with a needle, a pipe and pills, sources said.


http://nypost.com/2014/03/26/ex-washington-post-exec-found-dead-at-hot-spot/

Ex-Washington Post exec found dead at hot-spot
By Gabrielle Fonrouge and Kirstan Conley
March 26, 2014 | 5:30pm

Non Profit Execs Have For Profit Salaries

[From article]
"Douglas Blonsky, the head of the Central Park Conservancy, got a 20 percent raise, bringing his salary to $433,940, according to the nonprofit's just-released tax filings for 2009-10.
Several other directors also raked in the green.
* Debbie Landau, the head of the Madison Square Park Conservancy, got a $15,000 raise in 2009, plus a bonus of $20,000, bringing her salary to $200,000 during a year in which the conservancy's revenue declined by $246,715."

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/parks_turn_greener_for_exec_RexxYHySiuleXW3M3hEYYK

Parks turn 'greener' for exec$
By ISABEL VINCENT and MELISSA KLEIN
New York Post
Last Updated: 7:59 AM, February 20, 2011
Posted: 12:00 AM, February 20, 2011