CORRUPTION AND UNFAIRNESS PLAGUE THE NYPD LICENSE DIVISION

MULTI SERIES ON NEW YORK CITY MAYOR ERIC ADAMS AND ON PROBLEMS ATTENDANT TO NEW YORK CITY’S CONCEALED HANDGUN CARRY SCHEMA

PART FOUR

New York City’s handgun licensing rules are bloated and absurd as written and adopted, and are arbitrary, capricious, and discriminatory in their application. This engenders abuse of discretion. Even worse, the City’s handgun licensing scheme has, in recent years, invited outright criminal corruption in those NYPD officers whose job it is to administer the licensing process.

Stephen L. D’Andrilli, co-author of this article, co-founder of the Arbalest quarrel, and a decorated veteran police officer with the NYPD, pointed all this out when queried about the present licensing scheme in a 2016 CNN Money article, titled, “Only in New York: Bribing cops for a gun license.”

The reporter, Aaron Smith, wrote in pertinent part:

“Buying a gun in America can be an expensive ordeal. Or it can be cheap and easy. It depends on where you live.

Bribing cops for gun licenses could only happen in a place like New York. In most other parts of the United States, licenses are not even required for handguns.

‘New York City, as a major city in the U.S., is one of the most restrictive cities in the country concerning gun licensing laws,’ said retired police officer Stephen D’Andrilli, a former NYPD cop who is now a consultant for clients seeking handgun licenses.

The licensing system is meant to filter out dangerous applicants, like those with a history of domestic violence. But D’Andrilli, who extolls the ‘utmost importance’ of the Second Amendment through his website the Arbalest Quarrel, said the restrictive laws of New York have created an environment that allows a black market to exist.

‘What they’re doing is they’re creating a privilege for having a gun and licensing it and they’re creating this prohibition style system where people are paying someone off to get a gun,’ he said.”

The CNN report wasn’t the only piece on NYPD corruption in the License Division. The Daily News published, on April 25, 2016, an article by New York attorney and former NYPD Trial Commissioner, Arnold Kriss. The article is titled, “Massive questions behind the blue wall: We need an independent commission to probe NYPD.” Arnold Kriss said,

“For the first time in over 60 years, top NYPD officials are accused of taking money and gifts for favors. Where this will go when the ship-jumping begins and the brass and others start talking to federal prosecutors — non-stop — is anyone’s guess.

This is potentially department-shattering stuff.”

And, one year to the day after the Daily News article came out, WSJ came out with its story on License Division corruption in an article titled, “Former NYPD Officers Face Federal Bribery Charges”:

“Three ex-officers and a former Brooklyn prosecutor are accused of swapping gun licenses for cash, prostitutes, guns and more.

In the scheme, so-called expediters, or individuals who charge clients to help them get gun-license approvals, bribed officers in the NYPD’s gun licensing division, according to prosecutors. These officers then approved or expedited more than 100 gun licenses, including for people with criminal histories, prosecutors said.”

Outright criminal conduct in the NYPD License Division may have been cleaned up, yet serious problems attendant to the awarding of concealed handgun carry licenses in New York remain. These core problems can only be resolved through a massive restructuring and transformation of the entire concealed handgun NYPD licensing structure in the City.

The task ahead is immensely difficult if not well-nigh impossible because the problems that beset the NYPD License Division are inextricably entwined in New York’s historical landscape. New York City’s present Mayor Eric Adams, isn’t the man to take on the task, as he hasn’t the will to do so. In fact, his sympathies rest with leaving matters as they are.

Even as the City continues to burn, Eric Adams’ message doesn’t change when it comes to the issue of guns, for he continues to conflate criminal violence with gun violence. Back on January 24, 2022, the Mayor said, as reported by Fox News,

“‘We are in the middle of a crisis with guns,’ said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg over the weekend. 

‘You carry a gun in our city, there is no apology to you,’ Adams added.

New York state and city have some of the most strict gun laws in the country, prohibiting most people in the state to openly carry, but Democratic leaders point to guns coming in from other states as a culprit behind the skyrocketing shootings.”

One should take note that Adams doesn’t draw a distinction between guns as carried by average, responsible, rational, law-abiding citizens for self-defense, and the lunatics and criminals who injure or kill innocent people, regardless of the means employed by these lunatics and criminals. Arming the citizen is not on his radar. From Mayor Adams’  perspective, the armed responsible, rational, law-abiding citizen is as much a threat to the well-being of the City as are the lunatics and psychopaths who prey upon them. The problem is that New York City is far removed from being a tranquil, idyllic paradise. It is a hell-scape. Everyone knows it. Certainly, the Mayor does. But he refuses even to consider the fact that arming tens of thousands of innocent people, who wish to take responsibility for their own life and well-being, as is their fundamental right, might succeed in securing for New Yorkers a truly safe environment that, to date, has stubbornly eluded and resisted remedying. The Mayor surely desires to reduce the plague of incessant violent crime that has gripped the City for years. Or does he? Is it just gross incompetence, or is it  a cultivated habit and predilection against guns that prevent him from trying something new, trying a new tactic that accounts for his failure to get a handle on violent crime that has a vise-grip on the City? Or is it something more alarming and disturbing that prevents him from relaxing the draconian standards that, to date, preclude the mass of average, responsible, rational, law-abiding citizens from securing, for him or herself, a concealed handgun carry license, enabling the citizen to lawfully purchase a handgun in New York, thereby providing the citizen with the means—the only truly effective means—by which that citizen can protect him or herself against violent, irrational, unprovoked, and random, predatory attack? Does Eric Adams have a latent or calculated desire to take an active role in destroying a free Constitutional Republic? And does that latent or calculated desire inform the Mayor’s actions and the actions of political leaders like Eric Adams who seem to be incapable of providing for the welfare of the people of his City? Is the placement of Eric Adams in the Office of Mayor of New York City, by the perverse machinations of Neo-Marxist Internationalist Neoliberal Globalist elites, all by design?

Is Eric Adams, not unlike the Chicago Mayor, Laurie Lightfoot, and myriad others, who, operating at the behest of creatures like George Soros, see the need for and who tolerate or who even encourage a complete breakdown of America’s institutions and societal order that a new, seemingly better global order can take root and eventually supplant all western nation-states? And, to that end, is it not the armed citizen, rather than the armed and crazed criminal or lunatic that these Neo-Marxist Internationalists and Neoliberal Globalists perceive as the true problem? If that is the case, then lunatics, and psychopaths, and garden-variety criminals, and the tens of millions of illegal aliens looking for and promised free goodies at expense of the American taxpayer, and the well-funded, international drug and sex-trafficking cartels hopping into and out of the Nation’s Southern Border, at will, all serve a purpose. It is these sordid elements that the Neo-Marxists and Neoliberal Globalists see as useful, even necessary tools—operating on their behalf, albeit unconsciously—to hasten the end of the United States as an independent sovereign Nation-State. 

And it is the armed American citizen whose presence—indeed, whose very existence—prevents the accomplishment of their goal, whom these ruthless forces that crush view as their one true, intractable and formidable foe. 

So it is that the message about guns and the tone, coming out of the Mayor and coming out of the tools like him, such as the current President of the United States, Joe Biden, are always the same. The explicit message is that it is guns that are bad; guns that are evil; guns that are the root cause of society’s problems—that are the root cause of the Nation’s problems. The tacit message is that it is guns in the hands of the citizenry that is the root cause of the Nation’s woes; it is the armed citizen who is a danger to Nation and Country, and to “democracy.” And who are these armed citizens? It is those people—those Americans who seek to exercise the right codified in the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It is those people who pose a genuine threat, an insistent threat, to “democracy.” It is those political “conservatives,” those “white supremacists and racists,” those members of organized “militias”—in fact, any American who happens to hold to a vision of America as reflected in the Nation’s Bill of Rights, who view our Nation as the founders of the Republic viewed it; who hold true to that vision, and who fervently desire to preserve the history, heritage, culture, values and core Christian ethos upon which a new Nation rose and rapidly became the most prosperous, powerful, and vigorous Nation on Earth. It is these people whom the hordes of Marxist internationalists and the Neoliberal Globalist “elites” abhor and fear. And it is guns wielded by tens of millions of average Americans that the Marxist internationalists and the Neoliberal Globalist “elites” must contend with, must constrain, must defeat so that the United States can be brought low, and the Nation’s remains can be inserted into a new western international order, the “Open Society” that the Globalist kingpin, George Soros, has been entrusted to bring to fruition. But none of this is spoken about by the leaders, the flunkies, the placeholders of high Government Office. Instead, they deflect attention away from the campaign to systematically dismantle a free Republic and entrap and enslave tens of millions of Americans. The matter of Ukraine is a convenient vehicle to direct the American public’s attention. Discussion of Ukraine serves that purpose, as it has nothing to do with us, Americans, but serves as a useful mechanism for the forces that crush, providing them with a made-to-order safety valve through which to vent and divert the public’s justified attention and concerns over the fate of their Country. The forces that crush have successfully diverted public attention away from the Nation’s economy, away from the systematic destruction of the Nation’s institutions, away from the industrial scale corruption in Government and its failure to uphold the laws and Constitution of the Nation, and away from the usurpation of the sovereignty of the people over Government, that becomes more and more obvious with each passing day.

But, the problem of guns in the hands of tens of millions of citizens remains an intolerable, insufferable problem for these Marxists/Globalists. And a different tack is employed to deal with that: continually attack guns and attack criminal violence through the use of guns. But, as for the criminal or lunatic or psychopath who is responsible for violent crime—that person gets a pass.

And as for the issue of guns, the focus is on New York City—as a microcosm, a stand-in for the rest of urban America. 

It is guns, in the City, then, rather than the individual who misuses them that are responsible for criminal violence; not the sentient mind—not the criminals and lunatics and all the rest of the flotsam and jetsam that are agents of violence occurring throughout the City, who reasonably bear sole responsibility, sole responsibility for that violence. And, even there, the tale of woe in the City isn’t about guns—not really. For if the creatures causing the mayhem in New York City and in other major urban areas around the Country are simply—albeit unconsciously—working at the behest of the Neo-Marxists and Neoliberal Globalist elites who seek to hasten the demise of a free Constitutional Republic, then talk about guns as THE problem is really nothing more than a makeweight; or perhaps, not even that. The issue of guns and so-called gun violence is itself simply a deflection. It is a distraction—a distraction away from a discussion of crime and away even from guns, and toward a discussion, tacit as it is, of the armed citizenry, and of the tens of millions of firearms in the hands of the armed citizenry. And, is it mere coincidence, that the Stooge in Chief, the corrupt, demented Joe Biden keeps coming back to the issue of guns, and to the need to curtail them, now especially, with the midterm elections steadily approaching, and with the Democrats/Marxists/Globalists concerned that they are about to lose their tenuous control of Congress?

And Eric Adams, himself, may not really fathom the extent to which he, too, is but a useful tool of secretive, powerful, ruthless elements and interests, whose singular goal is the destruction of the most powerful symbol of true freedom and liberty still existent in the world: the United States, as a free Constitutional Republic. So, it is no accident that Eric Adams doesn’t even suggest arming the innocent person to combat rampant, violent crime in the City. The whole object is to disarm that person. Better, it is, then—even as it is unstated—to accept the intractable violence. As this state of affairs benefits the Neo-Marxists and the Neoliberal Globalists and their agenda; better it is to accept intractable violence, even use it to advantage, so that citizens remain unarmed and those that are armed—disarm them by any means, legal or not, to effectuate that result. Thus, Eric Adams will not deign to allow innocent New York City residents and workers and visitors to the City, to defend themselves against increasing random violent crime, even as that alone would offer immediate respite for a tired, anxious City, from the mayhem—the “orchestrated” mayhem. 

But, at least New Yorkers can rest easy knowing that their illustrious Mayor is well protected even if they, themselves, are not. Protecting the Mayor from the orchestrated violence is the first and last order of business. New York residents and workers, and visitors to the City, don’t factor into that equation.  As reported by Politico,

“[t]he NYPD increased security for Eric Adams Tuesday [April 12, 2022], after complaints about the mayor surfaced on social media in the wake of the subway shooting that wounded 23 commuters. . . .

Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said from NYPD headquarters in Lower Manhattan, where she was joined by police brass and a representative from the FBI. ‘In an abundance of caution, we are tightening the mayor’s security detail.’

Sewell said the references to Adams, while not direct threats, were concerning enough to lead her to beef up the mayor’s security detail, which is currently overseen by his brother.”

So, then, what does this report tell you: one, that, Mayor Adams’ plan to tackle violent crime hasn’t done a damn thing to curb violent crime one bit; two, that the Mayor’s well-hyped plan for dealing with violent crime hasn’t made a dent in it and, in fact, the City’s violent crime only worsens; and, three, that the beefing up of the mayor’s own security detail only serves to emphasize the horrific criminal violence, running rampant in the City—which, apparently, is a thing expected; tolerated; even welcomed—as it hastens the destruction of American society and the birth of a globalized slave community of billions of souls.

So, the public shouldn’t expect to see a paradigm shift in the City’s tackling of violent crime; certainly not any time soon—and for the reason set forth above. The salient reason why violent crime in New York City will continue unabated is because that disruption of society is all calculated; it is all by design. It is in strict accordance with the Neo-Marxist/Neoliberal Globalist game plan: one that started with Bill Clinton; continued under the regimes of George Bush and Barack Obama; and would certainly have continued under a Hillary Clinton Presidency but for the unexpected loss to Donald Trump in 2016, who, despite incessant attempts to sabotage his Presidency and railroad him personally, actually and remarkably brought a measure of stability to the Country, at least for a time; but, then, Trump was cast aside by ruthless and powerful forces both inside and outside the Country. The Neo-Marxist/Neoliberal Globalist returned to its agenda, and made up for four years of lost time; continuing apace under the corrupt, effete, emotionally, and intellectually weak and demented Joe Biden—just the unbelievably ridiculous stooge the forces that crush needed and wanted to unravel Trump’s accomplishments that served to strengthen and stabilize the Country on all major indicators of health: social, economic, and geopolitical.

And, where is this Country now? Economically, socially, and geopolitically, the Country is weak; stagnant. It is in a state of precipitous decline, as intended.

Now, more than ever, the Nation’s citizenry must be attuned to the wreck of their Country. They must retain control of their weaponry. There may come a time in the not too distant future that the armed citizen will be all that’s left to keep the Republic intact.

But, as for Cities like New York, the armed citizen, a force otherwise to be reckoned with, will not be tolerated. Fortunately, New York City and several other jurisdictions are beyond the pale. It must be left to the U.S. Supreme Court—the last bastion of hope among the three Branches of the U.S. Government—to preserve the Republic. And the Court’s handling of the Bruen case gives the Court ample opportunity. But, will the Justices be up to the task?

The belief system of many people in major urban areas that are beset by uncommon violent crime is to reject out-of-hand, recourse to firearms in the hands of the commonalty.

And, so, denizens of New York aren’t going to see a transformation in attitudes or policies toward civilian citizen ownership. And Mayor Adams, for his part, will continue to reinforce, rather than change, the public’s attitudes toward armed self-defense, even in the face of intractable violent crime. That must now be left to the U.S. Supreme Court. And that Branch of Government has also been under attack. The recent Senate confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson is a move in the wrong direction. Her methodology for reviewing cases, and her philosophical predilections are wholly distinct from that of Associate Justices Thomas, Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, and the late eminent Justice Antonin Scalia, and that jurisprudential philosophy is altogether inconsistent with the preservation of the U.S. Constitution as written, and, so, as conceived by the framers of it.  

It is not expected that Brown will render an opinion on the Bruen case, as a decision on the case is expected in early summer. But, Justice Breyer intends to step down until the current term ends in late June or early July, as reported by Forbes. And that is cutting it close. The danger is that Breyer will leave prior to a decision being handed down in Bruen.

Although neither Breyer’s bizarre notion of the import of the Second Amendment nor the methodology employed in case analysis is expected to comprise part of the majority opinion if the Conservative wing holds firm, still his jurisprudential philosophy is a known quantity and will be reflected in his dissenting opinions which will comport with his dissenting opinions in Heller and McDonald. But dissenting opinions do have weight, and the analysis therein can be adopted in future case decisions if the liberal wing of the Court secures a majority. As an internationalist, a dissenting opinion in the Bruen case, composed by Ketanji Brown Jackson, is likely to be much more radical than one composed by Breyer. She is likely to imbue her views of guns and the Second Amendment from the standpoint of international law and international norms—that law and those norms fashioned by the United Nations and the EU, and thereby ignore or even refute the principle that High Court decisions involving natural law rights codified in the Bill of Rights—must adhere to the intent of the framers of the Bill of Rights which, means, then, the application of American norms, to case law analysis, and must not impose international norms on BOR analysis and decisions. More people like Ketanji Brown Jackson on the High Court will result in a radical contravention of U.S. Supreme Court case review.

The Constitution, thus interpreted by international law and international norms standards, which are completely alien to us—that do not, for example, even recognize the right of the people to keep and bear arms as a fundamental, unalienable, eternal, immutable right—would invariably, irreparably damage and upend the Nation’s Bill of Rights, upon which individual autonomy, individual liberty, and American sovereignty over the Government rests and upon which a free Constitutional Republic can only hope to survive.

How, then, would Ketanji Brown Jackson rule in the Bruen case? One need only look at the presence of New York City’s absurd and unconstitutional concealed handgun carry regime to get an inkling of Ketanji Brown Jackson’s view of the Second Amendment Right, which she would defend, and which she, no less than the Mayor of New York City, himself, would refrain from ever tampering with.

That bizarre mindset—alien to the philosophical underpinnings of our Nation as reflected in its Constitution, and particularly, in the Nation’s Bill of Rights—won’t change for the following reasons:

First, the idea of arming civilian citizens so that they may take an active role in tackling the intractable violence plaguing the City remains more repugnant to the Mayor, and to tens of thousands of frightened New York City residents who voted for him, than is the presence of legions of lunatics and psychopaths who have taken over the City and who continually, and with impunity, prey on, and who pose a constant threat to the millions of innocent people who reside in and/or work in the City. The fear of guns and gun ownership and possession is deep-seated, unconscious, difficult to dislodge from many a New York resident’s psyche.

Second, reformation of the concealed handgun carry license schema in New York City is difficult—indeed well-nigh impossible—because the regulatory regime is itself a product of, grounded in, and inextricably bound to and entwined in the actions of the New York State Legislature, in Albany.

Third, the actions of Albany are tied to New York’s historical landscape that bespeaks a long-standing aversion to, and even pathological abhorrence toward the right of the people to keep and bear arms.

Fourth, over a hundred years of New York case law is directed to and devoted to the destruction of the natural law right of armed self-defense.

The United States Supreme Court rulings in Heller and McDonald, do nothing to dispel the New York Courts antagonism toward the natural law right of armed self-defense. Rather, the State and Federal Courts engage in bizarre jurisprudential contortions, distortions, and confabulations that serve at once to dismiss Heller and McDonald rulings and reaffirm old Second Amendment New York rulings that perpetuate historical prejudices about the Second Amendment and are wholly inconsistent with Heller and McDonald.

In our next article, we explain in detail the nature of the difficulties attendant to reforming New York City’s concealed handgun carry licensing regime.

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Copyright © 2022 Roger J Katz (Towne Criour), Stephen L. D’Andrilli (Publius) All Rights Reserved