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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 past week:
Silver Anniversary: Wednesday marked the 25th anniversary of the merger between the FDNY and NYC EMS. On St. Patrick’s Day 1996, the two agencies became one, much to the chagrin of the rank and file on both sides. “At the time, [EMS] called it a hostile takeover,” recalled Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro, who was the first EMS commissioner, postmerger. A quarter of a century later, city emergency medical technicians and paramedics do the bulk of FDNY calls and get paid significantly less than firefighters. “Nobody worked harder during the pandemic... but I don’t see anybody making an effort to close the gap between firefighters and EMTs,” noted former FDNY Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen.
Digital destroyer: A Brooklyn lawyer known for defending computer hackers was arrested Wednesday for hurling his son’s laptop to the ground, The News exclusively reported. Tor Ekeland, 51, whose clients include notorious computer hacker and internet troll Andrew “Weev” Auernheimer, is charged with criminal mischief, endangering the welfare of a child and harassment for throwing his 13-year-old’s computer to the floor and stomping on it on Jan. 19. Prosecutors said the laptop belonged to Ekeland’s ex-wife, and he had no right to destroy it. Ekeland’s lawyer Phillip Hamilton said, “Mr. Ekeland is not guilty of any of the charges that [his exwife] has had him falsely arrested for,” and “fully intends to defend himself.”
DeFeo dead: “Amityville Horror” killer Ronald DeFeo Jr. died in prison, The News reported on Monday. DeFeo Jr. was 69. He was serving 25 years-to-life for murdering his family inside their five-bedroom Dutch Colonial home on Ocean Ave. in Amityville, L.I., on Nov. 13, 1974. DeFeo Jr. slaughtered his parents and four younger siblings. The 1977 book “The Amityville Horror” was the tale of a family who moved into the house after the crime and claimed it was haunted. The classic film of the same name came out two years later.
Whoops: It was a bad week for Rikers Island. Less than a week after the accidental release of an accused killer, a man charged with attempted murder was freed by a paperwork snafu. Nikim Meekins, 22, was mistakenly let out on Monday and turned himself in on Friday. Six days earlier, alleged murderer Christopher Buggs was let out of the city jail thanks to a clerical error. Two Rikers inmates have died this month, one March 5 and the other last week, The News reported on Friday.