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Crime

Man charged under SAFE Act

Gregory Dean

NEW LEBANON – State police have arrested  a man under the new SAFE Act after a routine traffic stop.

State police say that after they pulled over Gregory Dean a handgun was discovered in the front seat of his car that contained nine rounds of ammunition.

Dean, 31, of Hopewell Junction had legally obtained the handgun.

He was also found to be driving on a suspended license. He was issued appearance tickets on the charges of unlicensed operation and unlawful possession of ammunition feeding device. 

Police respond to domestic disturbance, discover emaciated dog

TROY - Police officers responding to a domestic disturbance say they found a starving dog.

Police say the dog was so skinny his hip bones were showing through his skin.

Police arrested 59-year-old John Ferrara Sr. and his 26-year-old son, John Ferrara Jr.

Police say a neighbor called 911 after hearing a woman screaming for help from Ferrara's house. They say Ferrara Jr. was fighting with his sister.

While officers were asking questions, they say father and son became uncooperative.

Officers used force to get into the home. That's when police say they discovered an unresponsive German shepherd.

Police say the dog had to be euthanized.

Hartigan arraigned on charges stemming from April crash

SCHODACK - A Castleton woman is arraigned this morning on charges of vehicular manslaughter.

Lisa Hartigan was also charged with DWI after a deadly car accident in Schodack in April.

Police say the 48-year-old went off the road and slammed into a tree.

A passenger in the car, 47-year-old Darlene Walter, was killed.

Police say both women had been drinking heavily hours before the accident.

Walker was Hartigan's former sister in law.

Hartigan indicted on manslaughter charges

TROY - A grand jury today indicted Lisa Hartigan of Castleton on vehicular manslaughter charges and driving while impaired by alcohol and drugs.

The indictment also states that Hartigan did not have permission to use the pickup truck she was driving on April 23.

The truck skidded off route 9J in Schodack and hit a tree.

A passenger, Darlene Walker of Scotia, was killed.

Walker was Hartigan's former sister in law.

Gov. Cuomo requires sex-offenders to re-take pictures

Law enforcement will soon have new tools to keep an eye on sex offenders: pictures.

Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill that requires all level three sex offenders to re-take their picture every three months, or if there's a significant change in their appearance.

Also, the commissioner of the department of corrections is requiring all level one, two, and three offenders under parole have their picture re-taken every 90 days, or again, if there's a big change in their appearance.

The new law takes effect in 30 days.

Smartphone Security

Computer expert Addison Osterhout with "Computer Answers" in Albany showed us how easy it is to hack a smart phone.

“The simplest is using a free program that you can download,” Says Osterhout. “Get some tutorials on line and in about 10 minutes you can do it.”

Sure enough in ten minutes Addison was monitoring everything the photographer was doing: if he had been logging onto his bank's website, he would have gotten his passwords, account number, you name it.

It’s called a "Man in the Middle" intercept.

It can happen if you use an unsecured Wi-Fi connection like those found in airports, bus stations and internet cafes.

The thief’s software pretends to be the router you're trying to connect to, he decrypts your data, copies it, re-encrypts it and then sends it on to your bank.

While you were taking care of business, but so was the crook.

Jail for Mass. scientist convicted in fraud scheme

PITTSFIELD, Mass. (AP) - A former scientist and Pittsfield business executive has sentenced to just over a year in prison for stealing more than $700,000 from the federal government.

A federal judge in Boston also ordered Christopher Wilson on Wednesday to pay $100,000 in restitution to the government and serve six months of supervised release.

Willson was convicted in June of wire fraud and other charges.

Willson was the chief scientist at EV Worldwide LLC. From 2000 to 2005, EVW received federal funding to develop an electric battery for public transit buses. The company was required to match every federal dollar it spent with its own resources.

Willson wrongly obtained $700,000 after submitting 10 fraudulent invoices claiming EVW was matching the funds, when the company was millions in debt. He used some of the money to pay himself $100,000.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)