Graham Rayman

Brooklyn D.A. Charles Hynes Responds to Voice Cover Story; We (Still) Rest Our Case

Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes sent us a lengthy letter in response to our story about his reign as Brooklyn District Attorney ("Brooklyn Deserves a New D.A."). How lengthy? 2,005 words. Basically, he didn't like the article so much. And with the zeal of a Talmudic scholar, Hynes (or someo ... More >>

The Voice Lives!

This Week in the Voice: Rikers Con Job

This week in the Voice, out today, Graham Rayman chronicles a Corrections Department jail con, which has resulted in investigations for "falsifying reports, beating inmates, and violating department regulations." In food, Robert Sietsema heads to Hazar, a Turkish newcomer in Bay Ridge, and finds th ... More >>

This Week in the Voice: The Government's Hidden Informant, Gowanus' Littleneck

​This week in the Voice, out today: Graham Rayman breaks the story of Angel Perez, the shady federal informant in Miami that scammed the government into a $2.5 million investigation of a false death threat against a U.S. Attorney. Robert Sietsema reviews Littleneck, a new clam shack in Gowan ... More >>

This Week in the Voice: Ray Kelly's Secret List, Boring Married People

​This week in the Voice, out today: Graham Rayman reveals the existence of Ray Kelly's list of police officers who cannot be transferred without his personal approval. "The list, which the Voice obtained from an NYPD employee, is part of a 23-page spreadsheet that contains the names of 2,300 o ... More >>

This Week in the Voice: Footloose Remake, Begging Your Pardon, Mr. Obama

​This week in the Voice, out today: Graham Rayman details the activities of Obama's Pardons Office. Rayman discusses policy and some heartbreaking cases. Robert Sietsema checks out North Carolina-style East Village restaurant The Cardinal, which is partially owned by Dov Charney. Maura Johns ... More >>

This Week In The Voice: Mata and Moreno's Other Incident

​This week in the Voice, Graham Rayman brings light to another case involving Kenneth Moreno, Franklin Mata, and a young, intoxicated woman. Just a few months before the alleged rape for which they were acquitted, the two were accused of being verbally abusive to a woman, refusing to take her ... More >>

This Week in the Voice: Payback, Osama Bin Laden Is Dead

​In this week's issue of the Voice, Graham Rayman writes movingly of his memories of September 11, 2001...and how Osama bin Laden's recent death doesn't solve everything, but certainly helps: "I have to admit feeling satisfied, and astonished that all these memories came back so clearly as if ... More >>

This Week in the Voice: Revisiting the Newburgh 4 Case

​​ In this week's Voice, Graham Rayman tells the story of the Newburgh 4 -- four men who "face possible life prison sentences for plotting to blow up two synagogues in the Riverdale section of the Bronx and to shoot down military airplanes at Stewart Airport." Rayman spoke with David William ... More >>

Lara Logan: The Rape Question, and a Scandalous NYPD Connection

Lara Logan​After news of the vicious attack last Friday in Cairo on CBS reporter Lara Logan, the worms started crawling out of the woodwork. So far, the foremost twit on Twitter has been NYU fellow Nir Rosen, whose crassness cost him his job, as my colleague, Joe Coscarelli, notes. But all this s ... More >>

The NYPD Tapes and New York's Dailies: An Annotated History

Click to Enlarge.​​February 2, 2010: The New York Daily News reports on a suspended NYPD officer named Adrian Schoolcraft, who alleges widespread downgrading of crimes in the NYPD's 81st Precinct. No mention of the existence of audio tapes is made.

Graham Rayman Talks About the NYPD Tapes on the Brian Lehrer Show

​Voice staff writer Graham Rayman spoke on the Brian Lehrer show today about the latest in our ongoing investigative series, the NYPD Tapes. Listen to their discussion here. And if you haven't, read installment 5, from this week's issue of the Voice, in which a Bronx cop corroborates Adrian Sc ... More >>

Thanks, NYPD, for Nothing--Where's Billy Jack When You Need Him?

A real crime fighter​In the 1971 film Billy Jack, actor Tom Laughlin knocks around the bullies who prey on innocent victims. In real life, it's the cops who are supposed to protect you from harm -- even though these days, we prefer that they use handcuffs rather than beat people to a pulp. But ... More >>

Demo A.G. Candidates Heap Praise on Voice's "NYPD Tapes" Series

​By Gavin Aronsen All five Democratic attorney general hopefuls praised Voice staff writer Graham Rayman's continuing "NYPD Tapes" series about police abuses when they debated Thursday night at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn. The exposé has revealed that brass in Bedford-Stuyvesant's ... More >>

This Week, in the Voice: The Andrew Cuomo-Shelly Silver Donkey Show

​How many Democrats does it take to make a donkey show? In this week's cover story, Village Voice columnist Wayne Barrett takes account of the opposition New York gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo will actually have to face: Shelly Silver, and the rest of our state's old-school democrats.

Times Follows Voice Exclusive, Stiffs Us on Credit

​Hey, look! The New York Times has got around to chasing some Village Voice exclusives about how the NYPD is so hot for downgrading crime statistics, they've been classifying sexual assaults as misdemeanors! In particular, the Voice brought you the story of journalist Debbie Nathan, who was t ... More >>

NYPD Quote of the Day: "You're a Writer, Best Cop in the World"

Chad Griffith​Graham Rayman's "The NYPD Tapes: Inside Bed-Stuy's 81st Precinct," chronicles hundreds of recorded hours of cops talking about their jobs between June 1, 2008, and October 31, 2009. Here's today's outtake.

NYPD Quote of the Day: "No One's Here"

Chad Griffith​Graham Rayman's "The NYPD Tapes: Inside Bed-Stuy's 81st Precinct" chronicles hundreds of recorded hours of cops talking about their jobs between June 1, 2008, and October 31, 2009. Here's today's outtake:

NYPD Quote of the Day: "You Don't Need to Take That Report"

Chad Griffith​Graham Rayman's "The NYPD Tapes: Inside Bed-Stuy's 81st Precinct" chronicles hundreds of recorded hours of cops talking about their jobs between June 1, 2008, and October 31, 2009. Here's today's outtake:

NYPD Quote of the Day: "You Gotta Cover Your Ass"

​Chad Griffith​Graham Rayman's "The NYPD Tapes: Inside Bed-Stuy's 81st Precinct" chronicles hundreds of recorded hours of cops talking about their jobs between June 1, 2008, and October 31, 2009. Here's today's outtake:

NYPD Quote of the Day: "If You're a Troublemaker, They Don't Need You"

Chad Griffith​Graham Rayman's "The NYPD Tapes: Inside Bed-Stuy's 81st Precinct" chronicles hundreds of recorded hours of cops talking about their jobs between June 1, 2008, and October 31, 2009. Here's today's outtake:

NYPD Quote of the Day: "Just Keep the Hounds Off"

Chad Griffith​Graham Rayman's "The NYPD Tapes: Inside Bed-Stuy's 81st Precinct" chronicles hundreds of recorded hours of cops talking about their jobs between June 1, 2008, and October 31, 2009. Here's today's outtake:

NYPD Quote of the Day: "If They Don't Belong ... You Lock Them Up"

Chad Griffith​Graham Rayman's "The NYPD Tapes: Inside Bed-Stuy's 81st Precinct" chronicles hundreds of recorded hours of cops talking about their jobs between June 1, 2008, and October 31, 2009. Here's today's outtake:

NYPD Quote of the Day: "Look Like a Slob and They Start Digging"

Chad Griffith​Graham Rayman's "The NYPD Tapes: Inside Bed-Stuy's 81st Precinct," chronicles hundreds of recorded hours of cops talking about their jobs between June 1, 2008, and Oct. 31, 2009. Here's today's outtake:

NYPD Quote of the Day: "Harry Potter Sucks"

Chad Griffith​Graham Rayman's "The NYPD Tapes: Inside Bed-Stuy's 81st Precinct," chronicles hundreds of recorded hours of cops talking about their jobs between June 1, 2008, and October 31, 2009. Here's today's outtake. On August 2, 2009: "Questions, comments? The sky is blue. Harry Potter ... More >>

NYPD Quote of the Day: "The Guy's Shoes Are Gone"

Chad Griffith​ Graham Rayman's "The NYPD Tapes: Inside Bed-Stuy's 81st Precinct," chronicles hundreds of recorded hours of cops talking about their jobs between June 1, 2008, and October 31, 2009. Here's today's outtake.

NYPD Quote of the Day: "At a Crime Scene ... Don't Pee in the Toilet"

Chad Griffith​Graham Rayman's "The NYPD Tapes: Inside Bed-Stuy's 81st Precinct," chronicles hundreds of recorded hours of cops talking about their jobs between June 1, 2008 and Oct. 31, 2009. As there was far more of note than could fit in the pages of last week's issue of the Voice, we'll be ... More >>

This Week in the Voice

​Like to gamble online? Political odd couples like Barney Frank and Al D'Amato are fighting for your right to do so. Meanwhile James Giordano made millions via internet gambling, and wound up in prison. So... do you feel lucky? Graham Rayman has the story. Tom Robbins has previously covered t ... More >>

This Week in the Voice

​The late Jack Newfield, bless him, used to do a Voice "Honor Roll" every year at this time of New Yorkers who actually do good things for other people. Tom Robbins happily takes up the task in this issue. What happens to those NBA first-round draft picks who don't become superstars, or even ... More >>

Fashion Week in Review: Carlos Miele, Jill Stuart, Tracy Reese, Erin Fetherston

​ From the Jill Stuart show. Photo by Graham Rayman. What makes the fashion industry such an elitist, exclusory world? Vogue's Anna Wintour attempted to explain it in the moderately sympathetic new documentary The September Issue; she insisted, with clipped British finality, that the unstyli ... More >>

Why We Still Can't Buy Wine at the Supermarket

paulgoyette/flickr​This week in the Voice, Graham Rayman takes a look at the city's liquor laws -- in particular, those surrounding the sale of wine in supermarkets. You may be able to drink just about whatever you like in this town, but it's illegal to buy a bottle of wine with your groceries ... More >>

This Week in the Voice

​New Yorkers can do a lot of things other people can't: ride the Staten Island Ferry at midnight, have lunch in Central Park, etc. But we can't buy a damn bottle of wine at the grocery store. This year we had a chance to change it -- but the state's liquor stores and their lobbyists blocked it ... More >>

Letters: July 21, 2009

Letters: July 15, 2009

Letters

Rikers Inmate Dies of Trauma; Investigation Pending

If you followed Graham Rayman's series on suspicious (and sometimes fatal) beatdowns at Rikers Island, this story may interest you: a 60-year-old detained there for a Queens burglary has died after an altercation with guards. Clarence (or Clarnice) Mobley, "behaving erratically," assaulted a guard w ... More >>

More on Mortgage, Deed Fraud

Just a follow-up: if you like the Times story Tom Robbins mentions in the last post, you might also like the one Graham Rayman did last year on the sleazy Lehman Brothers operation Aurora, which basically claimed non-payment without cause on its customers and then seized their properties. That's how ... More >>

This Week in the Voice

50 Cent and Rick Ross have a beef. Will it be settled with guns? Actually, it will more likely be settled with internet videos and rapid response units. What what? Erik Parker explains the new state of the art. Burial societies are supposed to assure their members of a grave when their time comes. ... More >>

Letters

This Week in the Voice

When you think about out-of-control parents and coaches in little-league sports, you probably think of the suburbs. But right here in the city, there are sixth-graders playing 12 months a year, with sponsors like Nike, signing bonuses -- and out-of-control parents and coaches. This is Elite Youth ... More >>

Monday's Headlines: Times plays catch-up on our Rikers Fight Club story

[HARKAVY is now blogging at The Smart Asset]Your Monday New York headlines...Times catching up on the Rikers Fight Club story that the Voice's Graham Rayman has been reporting for nearly two years.More AIG drama: Bailout money went to foreign firms and other big banks that AIG owed in derivative gam ... More >>

This Week in the Voice

You may have heard of the former Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, Judith Kaye. But do you know the man who replaced her, Jonathan Lippman? Do you know he never practiced as an attorney, and barely served as a judge? So how'd he get appointed to this exalted position? Connections, baby -- chief ... More >>

This Week in the Voice

Graham Rayman has been following the "Fight Club" cooked up by Rikers Island guards for a couple of years, and the Bronx D.A. has started dishing out charges. Inmates used and rewarded as enforcers, beatings arranged so as not to leave marks, victims intimidated into silence (and a few killed) -- t ... More >>

More Coverage of Rikers Island "Fight Club" First Covered Here

In July 2007 Graham Rayman revealed in the Voice that guards at Rikers were deputizing inmates "to beat up other inmates," sometimes paying them with cigarettes, and that internal reports were played off and at least one whistleblower fired. "Young people tell me when they go in there, the culture i ... More >>

3 Arrests in Inmate Killing Probed by Voice

You've seen the stories Voice reporter Graham Rayman has been writing about the October killing of Christopher Robinson on Rikers Island -- how the 18-year-old inmate was beaten to death under peculiar circumstances and how, after Rayman's continued probing, first one and then several Corrections ... More >>

Oh Boy, the New Voice is Here!

Letters 7.09.08

Letters

Letters