Andy plans April elex for Collins’ seat
Lacrosse captain busted in brutal stab at frat
ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo is eyeing an April special election to replace disgraced Rep. Chris Collins, pairing the contest with the New York’s presidential primary and angering Republicans.
Collins, one of President Trump’s earliest supporters in Congress, stepped down from his seat last month as he pleaded guilty in a criminal insider trading case. The upstate district, outside of Buffalo, is one of the most conservative in the state.
Cuomo said combining the elections would help save money and ensure people turn out to vote.
“I don’t like to leave a seat open because we lose a voice, we lose a proponent, whether it’s a Republican or Democrat,” the governor said during an event in upstate Youngstown. “If you leave a seat open, you have one less person on the team, you have one less person fighting for you.”
A St. John’s University lacrosse team captain stabbed and nearly disemboweled a roommate during an argument at an unsanctioned frat house, police said Wednesday.
Matthew Stockfeder, 21, is facing assault charges for the Tuesday morning stabbing inside a home on 172nd St. near 73rd Ave. in Fresh Meadows, Queens, a few blocks from campus.
The 23-year-old victim, a St. John’s alum, lives with Stockfeder (photo) in an apartment a few blocks from the illicit frat house. When the victim got home from work Monday, he complained that the lacrosse captain’s music was too loud, sources said.
Stockfeder and another roommate angrily left to go to the frat house, where several teammates were watching Monday Night Football. While there, Stockfeder repeatedly texted the victim, poking fun at him, sources said.
Around midnight, the victim showed up at the frat house and confronted Stockfeder about the teasing texts.
As the two wrestled on the ground, Stockfeder allegedly grabbed a knife and jammed it into the victim’s gut. The knife left a 5-inch deep hole in the victim’s stomach and punctured his small intestine, according to court papers. Friends rushed the victim to New YorkPresbyterian Hospital Queens, where he underwent surgery but was expected to survive.
The victim told investigators he was grappling with
Stockfeder, holding the lacrosse player’s head down when he suddenly felt a sharp pain to his stomach.
He didn’t know he had been stabbed until he realized that “[my] intestines were coming out,” a source said.
Stockfeder surrendered to police Wednesday morning.
A Queens Criminal Court judge ordered him held on $5,000 bail. A call to Stockfeder’s attorney for comment was not immediately returned.
“The university is aware of an incident involving a student and an alum that occurred at an off-campus location, not owned by the university, and is fully cooperating with the investigation by law enforcement officials,” St. John’s University spokesman Brian Browne said.