Yonkers: Duped, Complicit, Political, or Simply Pragmatic By Hezi Aris

YONKERS , NY – February 7, 2007 – The lack of trust seemingly permeates every aspect of our lives. In Yonkers, reality unceremoniously seems to smack us in the face. Writing or speaking about our reality may be an avenue in which to vent our frustration. While it may be good to get things off our collective chests, it may not change the designed obstacles set before us.

The upcoming election process in which candidates Ken Jenkins and Cicely Greaves-Vega expend their efforts to attain a seat in the February 13, 2007 Special Election for Westchester County Board Legislature representing the 16^th District requires greater scrutiny. It may simply be a process that promotes the non-aggression pact between the local Democratic and Republican hierarchy.

Yonkers Democratic City Committee Chairman Ken Jenkins promoted the opportunity to some members of his party yet none would bite, leaving the party chairman to step up to the plate. On the other side of the “so-called” political divide, the Yonkers City Republican Committee, equally shallow in political talent, was in disarray. Who could they find that would be viewed as a credible candidate? The search was on. The parade of potential candidates came and went. Eventually, the party chose Cicely Greaves-Vega. Her name having percolated to the top of a wanting list of potential candidates, Ms. Greaves-Vega was reluctantly accepted by a party still smarting from the residue  lingering from the botched putsch attempted, and later to have failed, to dislodge Chairman Zehy Jereis from the head of the party. The Republican divide was further exacerbated by a growing, though hushed schism between the

County

 

GOP

and the Yonkers GOP.

The race for County Board Legislator will be decided by the cadre of respective party loyalists, or by those who have pressed the flesh of one or both of the candidates. Within the small window of opportunity, will endorsements win the day, or will the people have their say?

At the other end of the spectrum, Yonkers Mayor Phil Amicone recently divulged that the City of

Yonkers

was in a financial hole to the tune of $85 million. He went to

Albany

with tin cup in hand to urge

Albany

to assist his effort in closing the financial gap, espousing

Yonkers

’ “proven” effort in reducing its burdensome deficit. What Mayor Amicone did not divulge, is that allegedly “all” the grants ordained to reach

Yonkers

have been expunged by the newly elected

Albany

administration. Some have characterized Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins as complicit in maintaining silence over the funding now halted. Issues such as the $34 million promised for the SFC Yonkers’ concept of daylighting the river which would lace about the proposed $3.1 billion development project they envision, is the catalyst behind recent action in the Yonkers City Council being “demanded” to pass a resolution that would re-iterate their collective earnestness in supporting the project. This funding, among so much more is now on hold. It seems the three-man scenario in

Albany

is alive and well; showing no remorse or concern of how change from “Day One!” impacts our community. Each and every politician is complicit is maintaining their silence over this travesty. What are they protecting? Whom are they protecting? Their collective conduct exposes individual complicity in hiding pertinent facts from the public. Their behavior is an expression of their belief that serving the public good is almost superfluous to their purpose; it seems their need to sustain themselves as actors in the inner circle trumps the electorate. The equation before the Spitzer Administration, if the new “team” is too be believed, is as dysfunctional as its predecessors.  The only solace the public has now is the hope that our elected officials may find their moral, ethical, and constitutional fortitude to serve the public good. Let us pray.

Today we hear that the Charter Revision Review Board, functioning with less than the prescribed number of board members may have assembled in December 2006. Further still, the board has been filled to capacity without public notice. What’s up with that? Seems

Yonkers

has again been duped by a process of exclusion at the hand of City Hall. Shameful.

In the same fashion as some of our elected representative choose to abide by what they believe is pragmatic behavior to maintain their future office, it may behoove the electorate to expose these issues in the public arena. The “one to one” discourse so often engaged by those civically inclined must be emboldened to air issues before a wider audience so as to deter misconduct, or worse still ineptitude. It is the only viable course that can deflect a derogatory and detrimental outcome on our community. Pragmatism must be inculcated with regard to the people before anything else.

Perhaps the concept of a loyal opposition, sworn to uphold the public good, as opposed to exclusively adhering to the tenets of their respective political dogma, may be a model of pragmatism that effectively celebrates their role in government.

Comments

[ELEPHANTS NEVER FORGET]

Don't forget to mention how Murtagh and Barbato have gone over to the dark side of city government.

[lost in yonkers]

the us attorney should be investigating yonkers not jeanine
pirro;s jewelry business...

MUCH BETTER THAT HE INVESTIGATE THE MYSTERIOUS 1979 SLAYING OF POLITICO SHARON ENEA AND THE MAJOR COVERUP INCLUDING THE GANNETT CHAIN EDITORS.
WESTCHESTER'S BIGGEST SCANDAL EVER. PHIL REISMAN WON'T DARE TOUCH THIS ONE.

By all means keep beating the drum about Enea. That is a big one, with many connections certain people don't want to ever see revealed.

Yonkers links too. Count on it.

explain the coverup...for those of us newer to Yonkers since 1979

There seems to be a typo in the editorial. Yonkers has a $45 million budget hole, according to the Journal News, not $85 million.

Re: Sharon Enea. I'm not the original poster.

But Sharon Enea, who unless she'd moved actually lived in the Silver Lake section of east White Plains, or Harrison-Purchase, as some would say, was a fiery Democratic party activist.

She had every chance to have serious dirt on some political types, and may have threatened to expose it. She was horribly murdered -- beaten beyond recognition near a riding stable off the Hutch Pkwy. in Eastchester in the late Fall of '79. She was in her mid-30s.

She may have had dirt on someone like the late Republican State Sen. Joe Pisani from the New Rochelle-Larchmont-Harrison area, who was later disgraced anyway.

Or maybe on others.

It is a fact that former Yonkers Mayor Al Del Bello, a Democrat who still deals extensively in Yonkers, was County Exec then, and one of his County police detail members was viewed as a possible suspect. That's POSSIBLE suspect.

Or as they say today, a "person of interest." But no one has ever been arrested. Technically, it is an open case, but it's doubtful anyone has looked at it for years. Very curious.

Apparently, about a year or so after Sharon Enea was murdered, Al DelBello, the County Executive, forced the County Sheriff/Public Safety Commisioner Thomas Delaney from office.

The charge against Delaney was official misconduct. Delaney was accused of telling the Gannett-Westchester papers that he knew who killed Sharon Enea. Delaney's defense was that he was only trying to smoke out whoever the killer was.

The matter was settled by Delaney's resignation. Make of all that what you will. There are a couple of possible interpretations of these events.

The first poster, who has often raised the Enea subject and wants a new investigation, should tell us a few things, including where in Bronxville Enea's boyfriend lived. In a house or apartment building? And on what street was it?

That's where Enea left from on her last day or night, isn't it? No, the boyfriend didn't do it, and neither did her former (or estranged) husband.

Where was Sharon Enea's car found? Clearly, she knew her killer, because she got into a car with him. She either knew him or she knew who sent him---unless she was taken at gun-point from that shopping mall. Was it Cross County in Yonkers, or one in White Plains?

Was there anything suspicious about the call to police saying her car was found abandoned at that shopping area? Or was it just a concerned citizen? Why would someone make such a call? Was the car parked strangely, were its lights left on, doors wide open, or something like that?

Did you ever wonder WHY she was beaten beyond recognition? Some reason other than incredible rage, perhaps? That's just a somewhat random thought---maybe.

It's possible that secrets lie with the DelBello. I always wondered why Mario Cuomo turned against Delebello..

To the above poster:

DelBello, who was County Executive, became Lt. governor when Cuomo was elected governor in '82. But DelBello didn't last long. Cuomo soured on him for some reason.

As for Sharon Enea herself, it might be worthwhile to look back to find some very big news event relating to Westchester/Yonkers in the Fall of '79 (before very early December, when Enea was killed.)

Under this theory, it would be something big that caught Sharon Enea's attention, something she could have then pieced together and come to believe some powerful "person" or "persons" (that she knew) were involved.

If that happened, and she threatened to expose it, that could possibly turn out to be the motive. It's almost impossible to think some influential person would risk killing her, or having her killed, over a small matter.

It probably would have been something very big.

It was a Friday night in early Dec 1979 that Enea left her boyfriend's Bronxville residence. I don't know the address of it. She drove to nearby John Wanamaker's ( now Sears) for a shopping trip. Her Aspen station wagon is found after a woman calls police. Don't know if that was County or Yonkers PD.
Enea was obviously abducted and found the next day at the Eastcheser riding stables beaten beyond recognition and the NY Times reported 2 males as being sought. She likely did not know her attackers and it's not difficult to abduct somebody in the darkness of this upper level parking lot. Maybe another woman approached her asking for directions, etc to distract her or she was abducted at gunpoint.

An unconfirmed story is that she was beaten so a traceable bullet could be removed from her broken skull and a County cop last name of R--e assigned to DelBello's security team was a person of interest. Incidentally, it was reported in the local press that the County PD had planned to burglarize Enea's West Harrison apartment seeking something. This was reported in the Gannett papers. Maybe she was about to expose the political pedofile ring based out of Yonkers involving many in Westchester. Why won't the Gannett chain ever do a retro story on this bizaare slaying???

thank you all for the info

[anti corruption]

because the journal news is just as crooked,they report alot of non news issues and bogus stuff,but the enea murder they wont touch who are they protecting?????the same goes for news 12!!!

News 12 did not exist when Enea was slain. But if they were true journalists they would in fact pick up the story now. The Gannett chain is part of the cover up, period. Shame on them. The NYC media is encouraged to get on this pronto. RIP Ms. Enea.

I don't know where the poster heard the theory that Enea might have been beaten so badly to cover up or remove a gunshot to the head. That theory was raised years ago, and probably not by the police. It is possibly very valid.

If it is, it suggests a traceable gun would have been used. (Think). If someone used a stolen gun or similar, there would have been no reason to try to cover up a gunshot, if that is what happened.

She may have known her abductor or abductors--or she may have known who sent them. Or maybe not. But it is obvious she was followed.

R..e? Yup. He was on Del Bello's County Police detail.

Is exposing that long-standing Westchester-Yonkers pedophile ring a motive? Very, very possibly. Look back to the autumn of '79 to see if significant things were happening that might have been indirectly related to that. Indirectly.

Per the above, maybe the event in the fall of 1979 just before the Enea slaying was the November elections of the County Executive and local elected officials, including those in Yonkers. Only the US Attorney can be trusted to re-open this case. What say you Gannett editors ??? Your silence is most deafening.

This Enea case should be brought to the
attention of Dominick Dunn or Mark
Furham. I believe Dunn has a show on
Court TV where he goes after cold cases
involving the RICH & FAMOUS and well
connected.

"One of the hardest things in life is
knowing which bridges to burn and which
ones to cross."

Was Joe Pisani, from the LI Sound side of Westchester, reelected to the State senate in Nov. '79?

And bearing in mind that DelBello had been mayor of Yonkers some years earlier, who was elected Yonkers mayor in '79? Was that Angelo Martinelli again?

Who was the vice mayor (deputy)? Was it that creep who looked and acted like a mobster? Cadillac, and a cigar smoker? Peter Mancusi or Mancuso, or something like that? Didn't he go to prison years later?

Does anyone recall who the city manager was then?

What you suggest is possible, but it could be something else very big from that Fall. Or even a combination of what you are suggesting and something else that was very big.

Mark Furhman couldn't find a rabbi at the Wailing Wall.

He did nothing right in the Skakel case. It was all handed to him, and even then he blew by hours what time the Moxley girl was killed in his "re-creation." Furhman is a felon. Period. A disgraced cop who helped sink the OJ Simpson case.

And Dominick Dunne is not an investigator.

Gerald Loehr won the mayoral election in 1979 beating Martinelli. Pat Ravo was the City Manager. Peter Mancusi I think lost his council seat to Bernice Spreckman during that same election. Pisani was still a senator back then with mob friends who owned the former Marty and Lenny's disco club on LeCount Place, New Rochelle.

Thinking maybe the DelBello mega $$$ contract to build and operate the county waste site in Peekskill could have been rather smelly. Signal Resco built it, but who knows who is really controlling behind the scenes? The mob barely lost it's grip on carting here despite what you read to the contrary.

KEEP THIS IMPORTANT THREAD UP MR. ARIS PLEASE.

Hezi..take this to the Westchester District Attorney..

Thank you for that information. Gerry Loehr, eh? Very interesting indeed. Mancusi, very interesting.

Pisani, very interesting. Del Bello, very interesting. Why even Angelo is very interesting. And so is a certain late judge from Yonkers very interesting. Oh, yes he is.

Organized crime links...very interesting. A pedo ring that goes back many years (and is still around) also very interesting.

Look for big events in the Autumn of '79. Connect some dots and therein might...just might...be the motive behind Sharon Enea's murder.

To a previous poster, no offense to Janet DiFiore, but there are reasons her office is the last place this case could be done from. She herself is not an issue, however.

The late judge from Yonkers per the above posting might be named D'----e who had fathered a child with a very, very, young mother, possibly teen aged if memory serves me. Maybe she was somehow connected to the pedophile ring? But maybe not.

THIS CASE BELONGS ONLY TO MR. GARCIA NOT THE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY. NO WAY, TOO MANY LOCALS INVOLVED. ONLY THE FEDS CAN HELP.

No, not the late Judge D....But your information about him is right on. But it is another deceased judge.