Good news for Union City tenants amid the COVID-19 pandemic: city officials are seeking to place a moratorium on rent increases until the end of the crisis.

Recognizing the substantial financial loss many residents will face due to unemployment or closures of businesses, Mayor Brian Stack and the Board of Commissioners introduced an ordinance on March 24 that places a moratorium on rent increases during the State of Emergency.

The ordinance includes a grace period on the moratorium for some time after the State of Emergency has been lifted.

Gov. Murphy declared a State of Emergency on March 9 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, Murphy placed a moratorium on evictions during the ongoing crisis.

A public hearing on the ordinance will be help at the next Board of Commissioners meeting on April 14 at the Islamic Education Center at 4613 Cottage Place at 7 p.m.

Insult to injury

“Following the moratorium on evictions by the governor, we were concerned that residents who are unable to work due to the Coronavirus pandemic would face additional financial hardships by increased rent,” Stack said. “Residents are facing enough hardships with this virus; we do not need to add insult to injury by increasing their rent and creating more of a hardship for them to overcome.”

If adopted, the ordinance would prevent any rent increases and will remain in effect for no longer than two months following the end of the State of Emergency.

According to Stack, the moratorium shall apply retroactively to March 1.

“Housing security and stability are critical to the public health, and this ordinance is in the interest of the public health, safety and welfare of Union City residents,” Stack stated. “We are facing unprecedented times, and residents need relief wherever possible.”

Union City is the first municipality in Hudson County to introduce an ordinance or similar measure to curb rent increases.

“I have always said that Union City is a close and resilient community,” Stack stated. “We are in this fight together, and we are not giving up.”

For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Daniel Israel can be reached at disrael@hudsonreporter.com.

After telephone negotiations with the Hudson County Regional S.W.A.T. Team, a police standoff with a Union City man came to a peaceful conclusion, according to Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez.

The Hudson County Regional S.W.A.T. Team was activated for the purpose of assisting the Union City Police Department on March 14. Their task was to help take an individual with an outstanding arrest warrant into custody at 4535 Broadway in Union City.

Responding officers identified the individual as Isaias Linares Diaz, a resident of Union City. According to the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, Diaz, 51, had an outstanding arrest warrant out of Union City on weapons charges and a charge of criminal restraint.

Members of the Union City Police Department made contact with Diaz at his home on Broadway. However, this was where the conflict began.

According to the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, DIaz allegedly refused to exit the apartment after making contact with police at his residence. With the assistance of the Union City Police Department, S.W.A.T. negotiators were able to make contact with Diaz by telephone.

Despite a tense beginning, S.W.A.T. officers were able to bring the negotiations between responding police officers and Diaz to a peaceful conclusion.

After speaking to Diaz over the phone, the S.W.A.T. negotiators were successful in persuading him to agree to surrender to the Union City Police Officers. According to the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, Diaz was arrested without further incident.

Diaz has been charged with third-degree resisting arrest and fourth-degree criminal obstruction.

Prosecutor Suarez credited the Hudson County Regional S.W.A.T. Team and the Union City Police Department with the arrest.

The above charges are accusations and Diaz is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Daniel Israel can be reached at disrael@hudsonreporter.com.

During a seminar at Hudson County Community College (HCCC), two groundbreaking women in law enforcement revealed how they overcame adversity in the male-dominated field.

Union City Chief of Police Nichelle Luster gave a speech as the keynote speaker discussing Women in Policing on March 12.

Community members, students, and law enforcement professionals were invited to attend the Urban Policing Institute (UPI) event on Thursday, March 12, in the HCCC STEM Building, 263 Academy Street in Jersey City.

The presenters shared their triumphs, and divulge the issues and roadblocks to success that women in law enforcement often face. Attendees asked questions about policing challenges and solutions.

Luster spoke on “Women Succeeding in the Policing Profession.” In 2018, Luster became the first female Chief of Police in Hudson County history.

Luster first joined the Union City Police Department in 1994, working as a patrol officer in the investigative division, and on loan to the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, Homicide Squad.

Afterward, she served as a supervisor in various capacities, including as Investigative Division Commander, Patrol Division Commander, and Professional Standards Division Commander, and the Department’s first Accreditation Manager.

In addition to her long career in Union City, Luster has earned a number of accreditations in New Jersey and outside the state.

Luster is a certified Crisis Negotiator through the Federal Bureau of Investigation. She holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration, and is an adjunct professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Bias against female officers

The other keynote speaker was Essex County Prosecutor’s Office veteran Quovella Spruill.

Spruill discussed “Impicit Bias Against Female Officers.” She became the first woman and African-American Chief of Detectives in the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office (ECPO) in 2016.

Spruill joined the ECPO in 1998, and has since served as Lieutenant, Captain, Deputy Chief, and Chief of Detectives. She has commanded several units during her career, including Internal Affairs, Bias Crimes, Corruption, and Homicide.

Spruill holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and a Master’s degree in Human Resources Training and Development from Seton Hall University. She is an adjunct professor at Rutgers University’s School of Criminal Justice, and a visiting professor at DeVry University.

The Urban Policing Institute

Spruill and Luster spoke at the seminar held annually by the Urban Policing Institute at HCCC.

The Urban Policing Institute was founded by Keith Stith, Chief of Detectives at the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office (HCPO), and Richard Walker, Criminal Justice Lecturer at the College.

Stith was the first African-American to be promoted to the position he currently holds as Chief of Detectives in the HCPO. Stith has worked with Walker to promote better policing policies throughout the county through the Urban Policing Institute.

Walker takes an active role in teaching students beyond the classroom. His students have toured North Bergen Police and Hudson County Sheriff’s offices and met with police.

The Urban Policing Institute, which is not affiliated with the Criminal Justice Program at Hudson County Community College, plans to hold additional seminars this spring, roundtables this summer, and community forums in the fall.

Founders Stith and Walker plan to continue these events on an annual basis. HCCC offers an Associate in Science degree in Criminal Justice onsite or online.

According to HCCC, the field of Criminal Justice includes law enforcement, investigations, court and administrative services, corrections, private security, and juvenile justice.

For more information about the HCCC Criminal Justice program, visit hccc.edu.

For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Daniel Israel can be reached at disrael@hudsonreporter.com.

The former co-owner of a Union City pharmacy admitted his role in a scheme to pay bribes to health care professionals and evading taxes on $33.9 million in income, according to U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito.

Igor Fleyshmakher, 58, of Holmdel, pleaded guilty in federal court in Trenton to the charges of conspiring to violate the federal anti-kickback statute, and tax evasion.

“Fleyshmakher, with his previously indicted co-conspirators, bribed doctors to illegally increase profits and enrich themselves,” said Scott J. Lampert, Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The Holmdel man conspired to violate the anti-kickback statute, allegedly with other individuals, including a man from New York. The individuals were identified as Samuel Khaimov of Glen Head, NY; Ruben Sevumyants of Marlboro;,Alex Fleyshmakher of Morganville; and Eduard Shtindler of Paramus. According to the U.S. Attorney, Shtindler had previously pleaded guilty for his role in a related kickback conspiracy and is pending sentencing.

The charges against and allegations in the information pertaining to Khaimov, Sevumyants, and Alex Fleyshmakher are merely accusations, and those three defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The Prime Aid Pharmacies, now closed, operated as “specialty pharmacies” out of locations in Union City and the Bronx. The U.S. Attorney said that the pharmacy processed expensive medications used to treat various conditions, including Hepatitis C, Crohn’s disease, and rheumatoid arthritis.

Igor Fleyshmakher and Khaimov were co-owners of Prime Aid Union City. Sevumyants was Prime Aid Union City’s operations manager, and Alex Fleyshmakher and Shtindler were Prime Aid Union City employees.

Khaimov was also the lead pharmacist of Prime Aid Bronx, and Alex Fleyshmakher was an owner of Prime Aid Bronx.

To obtain a higher volume of prescriptions, Igor Fleyshmakher, Khaimov, Sevumyants, Alex Fleyshmakher, Shtindler, and other Prime Aid employees allegedly paid bribes to doctors and doctors’ employees starting in 2010.

“Kickback schemes like this not only illegally enrich defendants like Fleyshmakher, they take needed resources from our health care system,” Carpenito said. “And after stealing millions of dollars in this way, the defendant stole again, by failing to report this income or pay taxes on it. His guilty plea today will make sure he is held to account for his crimes.”

The goal of the bribes was to induce doctors’ offices to steer prescriptions to the Prime Aid Pharmacies, according to the U.S. Attorney. The bribes included expensive meals, designer bags, and payments by cash, check, and wire transfers paid to doctors and doctors’ employees in New Jersey and New York.

As part of his plea agreement, Igor Fleyshmakher agreed that he had benefited from the violation of the federal anti-kickback statute, netting between  $3.5 million and $9.5.

According to FBI-Newark Special Agent in Charge Gregory Ehrie, the FBI is searching for schemes like this, and participants will be caught.

“This fraudster was part of a kickback scheme that not only tilted the scales toward Prime Aid Pharmacies, but diverted precious federal dollars so he could enrich himself while ripping off the government,” Ehrie said. “If you are an investor or medical professional participating in a fraud scheme for an ill-gotten gain, you should ask yourself if it’s worth the price you will pay.”

Tax evasion

Igor Fleyshmakher also diverted a substantial amount of Prime Aid Union City income into a secret bank account that he opened and controlled.

Between 2012 and 2014, he concealed the account from the pharmacy’s tax preparers and did not report any of the funds he deposited into it on his personal income tax returns, according to the U.S. Attorney.

In total, he diverted $33.9 million of income into the secret account, all of which he failed to report to the IRS. The U.S. Attorney said that Igor Fleyshmakher’s conduct as a co-owner of the pharmacy resulted in a $5.8 million tax loss to the IRS on his share of that income for tax years 2012 through 2014.

John Tafur, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation, said that law enforcement partners will find those who decide to roll the dice like Igor Fleyshmakher.

“Bribing doctors to line your own pockets and using secret accounts to evade taxes are both very serious offenses motivated by one thing: greed,” Tafur said. “Today’s guilty plea should send a strong deterrent message to anyone else thinking about participating in this type of illegal activity.”

The conspiracy and tax evasion charges to which Igor Fleyshmakher pleaded guilty each carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The U.S. Attorney said that sentencing for Igor Fleyshmakher is scheduled for June 22.

Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, special agents of the Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General, and the N.J. Office of the State Comptroller with the ongoing investigation leading to the guilty plea.

For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Dan Israel can be reached at disrael@hudsonreporter.com.