Is Aqueduct Failing to Protect its Patrons?

Robberies are up 7% so far this year as compared to 2011 and grand larcenies have spiked 39%, the most current NYPD crime figures show.

State Senator’s husband tells cops he was mugged at Aqueduct racino

Racino officials say surveillance footage contradicts his account

By Joe Kemp And Irving Dejohn / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Friday, June 1, 2012,

John Taggart/New York Daily News

The Aqueduct racino in South Ozone Park, Queens.

A casino may be the perfect place for bluffing, but not when guns and the law are involved.

The husband of a Queens lawmaker claims that he was recently mugged at gunpoint in the parking lot of the Aqueduct racino.

But racino officials said that an initial look at their surveillance footage shows no such incident taking place, throwing the allegations into question.

Herbert Huntley, husband of state Sen. Shirley Huntley (D-Jamaica), told cops on May 17 that he was robbed in the parking lot of the South Ozone Park facility.

Three assailants — two with handguns — stuck up Huntley, he told cops. They took about $380 in cash, but returned his wallet and his cell phone, claiming the device was “too old,” he told cops.

Is this a Gambling Addict looking for an excuse for his losses? Or is this another Slot Barn ignoring the safety of its patrons?

The two accounts are contradictory, raising the question of whether Huntley’s police report is accurate or if the surveillance coverage has blind spots. 




So, that means that Patrons aren't safe because of BLIND SPOTS?


Repeated calls to Shirley Huntley’s office were not returned and her husband could not be reached for comment.

The incident is under investigation, police said.

Stefan Friedman, spokesman for racino operator Resorts World Casino New York City, said a sweep of their security footage showed no evidence that Huntley was robbed.

“A preliminary look at our surveillance system does not support the allegation,” Friedman said in a statement.

The racino has launched a “thorough investigation” and will work with the police on Huntley’s claims, he said.

“We have provided all relevant information to the NYPD and will continue to cooperate with them as they conduct their investigation,” he said.

The contradictory accounts of what happened that day underscore a growing concern about security at and near the racino.

Racino patron Thomas Schoppmann of Bethpage, L.I., said he encountered some unsavory characters during his last visit.

Schoppmann, 53, said a drunk panhandler approached him during his visit to the racino last month and was unincumbered by security. Schoppmann had a nervous walk back to his car at 4 a.m., and did not see a guard or security vehicle in the lot, he said.

“I didn’t really feel like the safety was a primary concern,” he said, noting that a mugging in the parking lot was plausible.

Dr. Michael Bernstein of the New Horizon Counseling Center, an Ozone Park group, said the enticement of a quick buck can lower an individual’s morals or attract a not-so-desirable element.

“People are trying to get wealth by not working for it,” said Bernstein, a psychiatrist who is familiar with gambling addition. “The impediment to lying falls as well.”

The 106th Precinct, which encompasses the glitzy gaming hub, recently beefed up their ranks, adding 10 more officers to their patrols.

At the time, state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. told the Daily News that crimes were spiking in the areas on the periphery of the precinct due to manpower being shifted toward the racino.

Robberies are up 7% so far this year as compared to 2011 and grand larcenies have spiked 39%, the most current NYPD crime figures show.


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/state-senator-husband-tells-cops-mugged-aqueduct-racino-article-1.1087776#ixzz1wZFqeJxU