News stories tagged with "punishment"

(04/20/12) When black bear hunters head back into the woods this fall, they'll face new regulations that require them to document any parts of the animal that they plan to sell.

The new law went into effect this year. It's designed to help state and Federal officials crack down on black bear poaching.

It's still legal for hunters in New York to sell bear parts for use in Asian medicine and cooking, but the trade will be much more closely monitored.

Brian Mann has our story. more

(04/05/11) Governor Andrew Cuomo is preparing a final list of state correctional facilities that will close this year as part of his austerity spending plan.

That means prison towns here in the North Country are waiting on pins and needles, hoping their facilities aren't on the list.

Once the governor announces his decision, prisons could close within thirty days.

Brian Mann visited Ogdensburg. He found that people there are worried, but hopeful. more

(02/17/11) A former priest convicted of raping two altar boys from the Glens Falls area has been sentenced to 20 to 25 years in state prison in Massachusetts.

Gary Mercure was traveling in that state with two boys from his North Country parish when he raped and assaulted them.

The attacks happened in the 1980s. Other children who were once under Mercure's care have since come forward to say that they were also molested. more

(01/31/11) Tomorrow, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo will unveil a plan to cut New York's budget deficit, which now stands at more than $11 billion. Cuomo's spending plan could hit nearly every part of the North Country's economy, from schools to hospitals. He's also considering massive layoffs, with as many as 10,000 jobs on the line statewide.

One state agency that could face the deepest cuts is the Department of Correctional Services. According to the New York Times, between six and ten prisons could be slated for closure. This morning, Brian Mann looks back at the changing debate over prisons and their role as an economic engine here in the North Country. more

(08/09/10) After months of delay, former Plattsburgh Assemblyman Chris Ortloff is scheduled to be sentenced tomorrow on charges that he attempted to have sex with two underage girls.

Ortloff was arrested in 2008 and has been behind bars since April of last year.

Federal prosecutors say he has been cooperating with police, who are pursuing other sexual predators.

Ortloff's efforts are expected to win him a reduced sentence.

But as Brian Mann reports the disgraced lawmaker still faces at least a decade behind bars.

(08/03/10) State police have begun excavating a site in the Adirondack town of Minerva that they think may be a thirty-year-old murder scene.

A local woman named June Collard vanished in November of 1980. Last month, her former husband, Thomas Collard, allegedly confessed to killing her and hiding her body. As Brian Mann reports, local officials are working with police in an effort to find the victim's remains.

(08/02/10) Essex County's veteran sherrif, Henry Hommes passed away Friday night after a battle with cancer. Hommes was re-elected last year and was serving his thirteenth year in the post. Brian Mann has details. more

(07/06/10) An effort by North Country lawmakers to limit the enforcement power of the Adirondack Park Agency failed to pass the state Assembly last week. The bill which passed in the Senate would have placed a ten-year statute of limitations on environmental and zoning violations.

As Brian Mann reports, supporters of the change say they'll bring it back next session. more

(01/29/10) A North Country officer chosen by the White House to head the Army National Guard has withdrawn his name from consideration. Major General Joseph Taluto, who lives in Fort Ann, in Washington County, was chosen by President Obama to lead the Guard nationwide back in May of 2009. But his nomination was held up by the controversy surrounding the murder of two of his officers during a deployment to Iraq in 2005. In a statement issued yesterday, Taluto said that the confirmation process had become a "distraction." He also announced that he will retire as head of New York state's national guard, ending a 44-year career. Brian Mann's report on Taluto's nomination first aired last May.

(01/20/10) For the North Country, the biggest blow contained in the Governor's budget proposal is the planned closure of three of the region's prisons. Governor Paterson wants to mothball correctional facilities in Ogdensburg, Lyon Mountain, and Moriah putting nearly 500 high paying jobs on the line. State Senators Darrel Aubertine and Betty Little said they would join the effort to save the prisons. As Brian Mann reports, today's proposal came as a terrible shock in communities already facing hard times.