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No one covers the city like the Daily News. For more than a century, New York’s Hometown Newspaper has been your eyes and ears — and your voice. Do you have a story you think we should tell? Call us at (212) 210-NEWS or email us at news@ nydailynews.com. This is your paper, and we are committed to covering the issues that matter to you. Here are some of our top stories from the last week:
Riot: Armed pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday after a vitriolic rally held by the president. The siege left five people — including a Capitol Police officer originally from New Jersey — dead. The unruly mob broke into the Senate chamber and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office, stealing things along the way. Their goal was to stop the counting of electoral votes that would confirm President-elect Joe Biden’s win. The feds are still rounding up the rioters and looking for dozens more.
Cellmate secrets: Fiendish financier Jeffrey Epstein’s last cellmate at the Metropolitan Correctional Center was questioned by then Attorney General William Barr after the pervert committed suicide, The News reported exclusively on Monday. Barr spoke to Efrain “Stone” Reyes, who shared a cell with Epstein until the day before his August 2019 suicide, sources said. Reyes was moved to a Queens jail, where was pulled for meetings with authorities, including Barr. “He said [Barr] was a good guy. Barr was nice about it. He just wanted to know if [inmates] were being mistreated. What [Reyes] believed happened,” the source said. Reyes died in November.
Rona request: The disgraced ex-NYPD cop who sodomized Abner Louima with a broom handle is afraid of coronavirus in prison. Justin Volpe requested an early release from Brooklyn Federal Judge Frederic Block in December. Volpe claimed he got COVID-19 behind bars in November and was concerned about the lingering effects of the illness. The former officer admitted his heinous crime against Louima in August 1997 and has served 21 years behind bars. When asked about Volpe’s request, Louima said, “It’s up to the justice system, it’s not up to me,” but stopped short of expressing support.
Candidate controversy: A state senator who wants to be the next city comptroller is on the board of a company owned by a financier who oversaw subprime loans for Morgan Stanley, The News reported on Thursday. Sen. Brian Benjamin (D-Manhattan) joined NextPoint Acquisition Corp.’s board of directors in July and pulls in 50,000 a year as a board member and acquired up to $250,000 in company stock. “Brian confirmed that NextPoint has no intentions of investing in subprime mortgage lending,” Benjamin spokesman Neil Reilly said. “Brian has dedicated a significant portion of his life to creating affordable housing and his record as a pro-tenant legislator is clear.”