In response to community complaints, Sixth Precinct Investigative Unit officers, in conjunction with Town of Brookhaven Investigators, Building Inspectors and Fire Marshall, investigated Lee Spa, located at 331 Route 25A, and arrested two employees. Tao Wang, 42, of Flushing, and Chao Ma, 41, of Port Jefferson were both charged with Unauthorized Practice of a Profession. The Town of Brookhaven issued summonses and issued a cease and desist to the business. Wang and Ma were both issued Desk Appearance Tickets and are scheduled to appear at First District Court in Central Islip on a later date.
https://tbrnewsmedia.com/two-people-arrested-during-mount-sinai-massage-parlor-raid/
Tag Archives: investigative
Zelenskyy Heads To Turkey Amid Burgeoning Energy Sector Corruption Scandal
Ukraine’s president said he will head to Turkey for possible talks with the chief White House envoy involved in talks to end Russia’s nearly four-year-old war on Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit, planned for November 19, comes amid a series of international travels, including to France, where he secured a verbal agreement to acquire scores of French Rafale fighter jets. He was in Spain on November 18, and prior to that, Greece, where a deal on gas supplies was signed. “We are preparing to intensify negotiations, and we have worked out solutions that we will offer to partners. Bringing the end of the war closer with all our might is Ukraine’s first priority,” Zelenskyy said in a post to Telegram. News reports said Zelenskyy would meet with Steve Witkoff, the White House’s lead envoy for negotiations to try to end the Ukraine war. The Kremlin said no Russian officials would be present. No face-to-face talks have taken place between Kyiv and Moscow since the two sides met in Istanbul in July. Far-Reaching Corruption Scandal Zelenksyy’s travels coincide with a snowballing corruption scandal, which is shaping up as the worst political crisis he’s faced since his election in 2019. The scandal concerns allegations that funds earmarked for building defenses to protect Ukraine’s vulnerable energy infrastructure from Russian air attacks were siphoned off in the form of kickbacks to political insiders. The allegations burst into public last week when Ukraine’s two leading anti-corruption agencies published evidence detailing their findings. Among those implicated were Tymur Mindich, an old friend and former business partner of Zelenskyy. Mindich fled Ukraine for Poland on November 10 hours before authorities launched raids in connection with their investigation, law enforcement officials told Schemes, the investigative unit of RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service. That prompted critics to allege he had been alerted ahead of the action. The revelations have already resulted in the resignations of the energy minister and the justice minister. Last week, the investigative agencies announced the arrest of a top official of a subsidiary of Energoatom, the state-owned nuclear company, on bribery allegations. And in June, a deputy prime minister, Oleksiy Chernyshov, was charged with corruption. Zelenskyy has not been implicated in the case. Energoatom said it was fully cooperating with the probe. Anti-Corruption Protests In Ukraine Over the summer, Zelenskyy sparked an uproar when he backed a measure that would have sharply reduced the independence of the two investigative agencies: Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine. After rare wartime street protests, Zelenskyy backed down. On November 18, a Ukrainian lawmaker alleged that the investigative records include a code-named person who is the head of Zelenskyy’s presidential office. The lawmaker, Yaroslav Zheleznyak, said the records showed Andriy Yermak allegedly directing unnamed officials to investigate officials with the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine. Yermak did not immediately respond to requests for comment from RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service.
https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-zelenskyy-energy-scandal-corruption-turkey-war-talks/33594741.html
Shocking Allegations: Wealthy Elites Paid to Shoot Civilians in Sarajevo [WATCH]
Italian prosecutors have opened an investigation into claims that wealthy foreigners paid tens of thousands of dollars to shoot civilians during the siege of Sarajevo in the 1990s—an allegation described as one of the most disturbing to emerge from the Balkan Wars.
The probe was launched after Italian investigative writer Ezio Gavazzeni alleged that affluent gun enthusiasts, referred to as “sniper tourists,” paid Bosnian Serb forces up to $90,000 to take part in so-called “human safaris,” targeting residents of the besieged city between 1992 and 1996. According to the claims, first reported by *The Guardian*, additional fees were allegedly paid to shoot children.
More than 10,000 people were killed in Sarajevo by sniper fire and shelling during the four-year siege, one of the longest and most devastating conflicts in modern European history.
Gavazzeni said his research suggests that some of those responsible were not soldiers, but civilians who traveled to Bosnia for sport. “There were Germans, French, English… people from all Western countries who paid large sums of money to be taken there to shoot civilians,” Gavazzeni told reporters. “There were no political or religious motivations. They were rich people who went there for fun and personal satisfaction. We are talking about people who love guns who perhaps go to shooting ranges or on safari in Africa.”
He first encountered reports of so-called sniper tourism in Italian media during the 1990s but began investigating the claims more thoroughly after viewing a 2022 documentary. The film featured a former Bosnian Serb soldier who alleged that foreigners joined combatants in the hills surrounding Sarajevo to shoot at civilians trapped in the city below.
Gavazzeni’s current findings reportedly rely on testimony from a former Bosnian intelligence officer who claims firsthand knowledge of foreign nationals participating in the attacks. He has identified several individuals, including Italian citizens, who may have been involved.
Prosecutors in Milan are now examining the material and plan to question some of the individuals named in the investigation in the coming weeks. While the Milan prosecutor’s office has not publicly commented on the full scope of the investigation, it confirmed that it is reviewing evidence related to possible war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law. Authorities are particularly focused on whether any Italian citizens directly participated in sniper activities during the siege.
The Bosnian Consulate in Milan issued a statement welcoming the investigation and pledging cooperation. “We are impatient to discover the truth about such a cruel matter in order to close a chapter of history,” a consulate spokesperson said. “I am in possession of certain information I will be sharing with the investigators.”
Although the allegations have not yet been independently verified, the case has drawn renewed attention to the atrocities committed during the siege of Sarajevo, where snipers routinely targeted civilians—including women and children—from elevated positions around the city.
If confirmed, Gavazzeni’s claims would represent one of the most shocking revelations linked to the conflict, suggesting that foreign civilians may have paid to take part in war crimes for sport.
Italian prosecutors have indicated that the investigation will continue in coordination with Bosnian authorities and international legal bodies as they seek to uncover the full truth behind these disturbing allegations.
https://www.lifezette.com/2025/11/shocking-allegations-wealthy-elites-paid-to-shoot-civilians-in-sarajevo-watch/