The Business of Government Is Not Businesss: Herkimer Mayor Sherry’s Dangerous Opposition To The SRO Position

Herkimer SRO Offricer Jessica Alberts — Herkimer SRO Officer Jessica Alberts

In May, the Herkimer Village trustees voted to continue providing a Village police officer to serve as SRO at the high school. This after long opposition by Herkimer Mayor Dana Sherry, who wanted to scrub the position due to cost–a problem the county school board obviated by funding it. Sherry then argued that if the village officer were injured in the line of duty, the village could be on the hook for a liability claim. She stated numerous times that the village is cash-strapped.

There was a groundswell of support for the position: folks packed an overfflow trustees’ meeting, signed petitions, and even started a GoFundMe site. A main reason was the current SRO, Officer Jessica Alberts, widely admired by students, faculty and parents. Alberts goes the extra mile for everyone. She’s of an age that students confide in her as a friend and mentor. Kids always know who really cares about them.

As a former teacher, I know how rare it is to have an involved SRO. Those I worked with were mostly older officers nearing retirement. Solid, conscientious guys. However, had we had a younger, involved SRO kids would have confided in, I suspect we’d have avoided several drug overdose deaths among our more vulnerable teens, as Officer Alberts has done in Herkimer. There’s some very moving testimony to this by grateful students in the video of the May meeting. Jessica Alberts has saved and changed some young lives.

Unmoved by this, Mayor Sherry continues her opposition, citing the risk of financial liability and vowing to fight on. It’s a specious argument.

Liability is not an issue: Police officers injured in the line of duty are typically covered by a combination of employer-provided and government-sponsored benefits, including Workers’ Compensation for medical expenses and lost wages, the federal Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) Program for disability and death benefits, and specific departmental Line of Duty Injury (LODI) benefits that may cover medical treatment and other financial support. These programs seek to provide financial relief to officers and their families during recovery or in the event of a permanent disability or death.

If anything God forbid were to happen to Officer Alberts, she’s covered, as are all our officers. Surely the mayor knows this. She refers to NY Municipal Law 407c. Had she read the law, she’d see that Section Two states that the wages of an injured officer will be replaced by insurance.

So why is the Mayor continuing her opposition, which she reiterated in a recent FB post? As it’s none of the reasons she’s given, it must be, as the police union pointed out in a letter, “politically motivated and personally driven.” Mayor Sherry appears to be an inflexible fiscal conservative.

In another indication of her fiscal fanaticism, Sherry has moved to sell the Herkimer Public Library building, after its trustees rejected her demand for a rent increase from $400 a month to $3,500. The library serves as a community center and a quiet oasis for reading, research and gatherings in the heart of the village. Sued by the library trustees, Sherry reacted with an abrasive social media post, bristling with strident accusations of “Propaganda”, “Fake News!”, “Bullying!” and shaming.

As with the SRO dispute, Sherry seems to believe money management more important than student safety or quality of community life.

Her constant cry that the village is impoverished? No longer: the booming home sales, new cars everywhere and construction projects sprouting up attest that Herkimer is doing very well. Climate change has made us a national go-to spot.

Sherry’s misperception that the business of government is business, if allowed to triumph, would have endangered the lives of students and teachers and may yet scuttle our library. Abrasively defying the will of the community won’t help her gain reelection, should she run.

A&E’s Neighborhood Wars To Showcase Herkimer Drug Thug Curtis Cool, AKA Curtis Doolen

Herkimer Crime Goes Big Time Again

Stephen Ames Berry
Linda J. Kaidan

Our partner, Junkin Media, the producer of A&E’s popular Neighborhood Wars, has licensed our videos of our former neighbor, Curtis Cool, aka Curtis Doolen. Cool was the first of a series of abusive neighbors next door at 328 Pleasant Avenue who tried to drive us from our home. 328, allegedly controlled by Herkimer County’s largest producer of meth amphetamines, was later home to drug dealer Kimberly Vargas, aka Kim Bormann, and her son Jordan Bormann. Their harassment and the hulking Jordan’s savage assault on me (Berry) was the subject of the first A&E documentary for which we provided the clips. (Herkimer DA Jeff Carpenter ensured Jordan was fined $200 and sent home to his mother.)

Herkimer Monster Mom Kim Vargas — Kimberly Bormann Vargas. Sadly, not a caricature.) Son Jordan Bormann in backgrfound

Junkin Producer Evan Garland suggested the Curtis episode after coming across our blog post about Herkimer Police Officer Jason Crippen refusing, as duty officer, to register a complaint about Cool’s obvious menacing and criminal harassment. You’ll be seeing extracts from the same clips Crippen saw. See if you agree with him.

Evan and his team are brilliant at separating the wheat from the chaff in the original clips and sharing the resulting gripping footage with A&E’s worldwide audience.

Here’s the blog post that sparked Evan’s interest:

Officer Jason Crippen, Curtis Cool And The Nanny Nanny Boo Boo

I’ll post a link to the Cool episode when it’s available.

Stay safe, Herkimer.

Climate Migration and the Gangs of the Rust Belt. A Cautionary Tale

Stephen Ames Berry

Moving north to climate safety? Lovely county up here, but it’s not all apple blossoms and 4H. Please read this book before you make any firm plans: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D7SW861Y

Wife Linda and I relocated from Sarasota to Central New York in 2013. We’d done our homework. We knew Florida was doomed and that the Rust Belt was a sweet spot climate safety zone. And so far that’s proven true.

We did our homework, checked out Realtor, identified possible relocation spots, pulled the crime stats for those places we could afford, and bought a very nice old house for very little money–very little being what we had. Herkimer, a historic New York village near Utica, became our home.

We moved in on March 13, 2013. Soon after that, the long years of warfare began with the trafficking gangs that controlled Herkimer, their presence hidden from research–the police didn’t register complaints—statistically, Herkimer’s crime rate was similar to Nantucket’s. Herkimer had gotten rid of many unwelcomed newcomers before. Two more “old, weak people” didn’t seem much of a challenge. They had no understanding of the power of social media. But we did.

We videoed it all blogged about it and fielded a YouTube channel through all those long years. And now that it’s over and we won–with a lot of help from the Feds–I put it all in the book, which relies heavily on our blog and the videos. You wouldn’t believe me otherwise. “What county is that?” we sometimes asked each other.

It’s all in the book: the in-your-face corruption, the wholesale drug and child trafficking, the protected, gang-run neighborhoods, the menacing, the poison gas attacks, the blogger beatings, the cop-proof thugs.

I’m a science fiction writer. This is my first and last work of nonfiction. I didn’t enjoy writing it. But we all have a duty to warn. Pass it on. There are a lot of Herkimers and ambush predators up here in the Rust Belt.

From Gork’s summary of the related X post:

The post promotes Stephen Ames Berry’s memoir “This Is Our Place!”, detailing a Florida family’s decade-long struggle against a Rust Belt trafficking gang, tying into climate migration—a concept supported by a 2021 study in Nature Climate Change predicting 200 million climate migrants by 2050 due to rising sea levels and economic shifts.
The Rust Belt’s transformation from industrial decline to a potential climate migration hub is underscored by Danny Schleien’s 2021 Medium article, which notes its historical population loss reversed as people flee coastal climate risks, challenging the narrative of its permanent economic stagnation.
Berry’s work aligns with emerging research, like a 2023 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences paper, linking climate-driven displacement to increased crime rates, offering a gritty, firsthand perspective on gang activity amid environmental upheaval.

Herkimer Child Trafficking Series Draws 230,000 Views

Dead Kids Waking Herkimer's child trafficked kids 341 Eureka Avenue — Photo from our video “Dead Kids Walking.” Trafficked kids at Herkimer landlord Jay Smith’s 341 Eureka Avenue property, 8/14/16 Since uploaded in 9/18, it and its companion video, “Adieu Herkimer’s Trafficked Kids,” have had 27,900 views. Smith still owns the property.

Stephen Ames Berry

It’s been over a year since we published a series of articles and videos reporting our lengthy observation of Herkimer’s multi million-dollar role in the child sex trafficking industry. To date, our Herkimer child trafficking series has brought our posts and videos approximately 230,000 worldwide views.

Most visitors arrived at herkmerpost.com via social media links to our post “Dead Kids Walking – Herkimer’s $100 Million Child Trafficking Hub.” Many went on to view our related YouTube videos and to look at our other posts of Herkimer crime, including the extrajudicial kidnapping of our grandson.

In 28 days over September through October 2018, our Herkimer crime content had over 114,000 combined view combined views on herkimerpost.com and Herkimer Post’s YouTube channel. In the past 12 months, they had another 116,000, for a total of 230,000 views. Almost all were of Herkimer crime, with child trafficking with child trafficking hugely predominating.

Herkimerpost.com 365 Days’ Views As of 2/4/2020

Herkimer Post Child Trafficking Series Takes On Life of Its Own

Our Herkimer child trafficking series has taken on a life of its own: in the last 12 months herkimerpost.com had over 81,000 views. Our YouTube channel had over 35,000 views with 72,000 impressions and 1,220 hours of watch time worldwide. (An impression is counted every time a video thumbnail is viewed on YouTube. People may not view the video, but its thumbnail leaves an impression.)

In the 12 month period just ended, 31,809 visitors read an average of two or more posts. Our most read post was “Dead Kids Walking – Herkimer’s $100 Million Trafficking Hub,” viewed 65,000 times. In the same period, that post’s two associated YouTube videos, “Trafficked Kids 341 Eureka” and “Adieu Herkimer’s Trafficked Kids” were watched a total of 20,844 times.

Herkimer Post Top Posts 1/31/19-1/31/20

Over that period, our YouTube videos of Herkimer crime, again notably child trafficking, had 35,000 views with 72,000 impressions and 1,220 hours of watch time worldwide.

Herkimer Post YouTube Channel – Most Watched Videos – 1/31/19 1/31/20

Views of related crime articles and videos chronicling other activity by the Stanley Sykes’ gang in Herkimer landlord Jay Smith’s historic child trafficking lot were also well viewed. Herkimer’s Joyce Barton gang’s Shianne Hill’s beating of Herkimer Post’s Linda Kaidan had over 1,000 combined views, with the image of Kaidan’s battered face drawing 3,885 YouTube impressions.

欢迎 A Cordial Welcome to Our Chinese Viewers and Subscribers

Visitors to the Herkimer Post came from over 60 countries, with the US and China predominating. US visitors came largely from Facebook and Chinese visitors from China’s social media, mostly from WeChat. China has its own well-publicized child trafficking issues. Perhaps our showing the faces of American child trafficking found a sympathetic Chinese audience. Human trafficking’s a worldwide horror. (Our thoughts and concerns are with the Chinese people during this very difficult time.)

herkimerpost.com -Top Countries by Viewer – 1/30/19-1/30/20

Is Herkimer Child Trafficking Ongoing?

Albany sent the New York State Police to interview us, and they asked us that too. We don’t know. Certainly wholesale child trafficking’s gone from within range of our cameras. It vanished after we published our child trafficking posts and videos. Following our first child trafficking post, kids were deleted so quickly from Herkimer’s Pleasant Avenue it was like a light going out. Even kids we didn’t think were trafficked vanished. What few kids were left were gone after poison gas attacks on us picked up again.

Herkimer Child Trafficking Long Entrenched and Tolerated

It appears to us that child trafficking was well-entrenched and long-tolerated in Herkimer, with a robust infrastructure built up over the years. Drug and child trafficking gangs became an occupying power, virtually controlling south Herkimer Village, co opting police, cowing residents and corrupting governance. Many Herkimer hands surely profited from it, given the number of trafficked children we estimate passed through Herkimer and the huge money made off of their foreshortened lives.

“But as folks here say with a shrug, ‘It’s Herkimer.’ “

Moral Indignation Sweeps Herkimer – Not

We moved to Herkimer six years ago from Sarasota, Florida. Say what you will of Florida, had a child trafficking series such as ours appeared in a Florida community, torches would have been lit, pitchforks passed out and outraged people would have descended on the traffickers and their houses and they would be gone. Poison gassing would have had the same outraged response. But as folks here say with a shrug, “It’s Herkimer.” When we came house hunting, we were told people in Herkimer prided themselves on minding their own business. Indeed they do. And we’ve chronicled the result.

Herkimer community spirit inaction — **The 3 Wise Monkeys of Herkimer. “It’s Herkimer, folks here say with a shrug.” There should be a 4th monkey, eyes wide and palm up.**

The child trafficking Sykes gang’s still keeping a presence here, barracked as always in Herkimer landlord Jay Smith’s houses on the village’s historic child trafficking hub.

“All these [child traffickers] care about is money. If they weren’t making money in Herkimer, they’d be gone.

Camera-avoidant Smith’s has apparently passed the word via village public safety personnel that he no longer owns the properties comprising Herkimer’s child trafficking hub. If so, he might want to get his name off of the property deeds. Here are the current deeds

Jay Smith’s Property Deeds: 341 Eureka Avenue, 332 and 334 Pleasant Avenue

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Herkimer Drug and Child Trafficking Gang Management Still Here

Many of the Sykes gang’s foot soldiers are gone, but their management’s still around—I saw both Stanley Sykes and Carrie Ann Bass the other day, going into the child trafficking lot’s 341 Eureka Avenue. (Stanley’s apparently traded in his old child-safe red Honda SUV for a new blue compact, NY license JKW 5265.) 341 Eureka’s the house handed over to the Sykes gang by Smith’s previous tenants, national child trafficking cartel’s Little Mama and Pretty Boy. And of course, the Joyce Barton gang continues on across the street from us, nested in their 333 Pleasant Avenue rental, subdued but hatin’.

Herkimer's showers neighbors with love — “The Joyce Barton gang continues on.” Neighboring Herkimer drug thug Joyce Barton, wearing a strikingly appropriate shirt, sending a little love our way.

All these people care about is money. If they weren’t making money in Herkimer, they’d be gone. Certainly, there are still law enforcement drones in the skies over Herkimer and New York State Police have upped their presence.. Stuff must still be happening in our pastoral village.

Happily, the Herkimer Village police under Chief Michael J. Jory have been amazingly revitalized and are proactive in community policing.

Will Prosperity Banish Herkimer Child Trafficking?

Child trafficking flourishes amid poverty and despair. Prosperity banishes it. Herkimer and the Mohawk Valley are among the US’ top climate change relocation areas. Housing prices are going up as many retirees have decided not to drown in Florida or the Carolinas and telecommuting jobs become more available. Such remote jobs will become the norm once Elon Musk’s Starlink bands the globe with internet for all. Industry is relocating here, notably Cree, which is building the world’s largest semiconductor plant an easy commute away in Marcy.

No matter how booming a prosperity Herkimer eventually enjoys, our blog stats show it will never escape the stigma of turning a blind eye to the misery of all those trafficked kids. We have no monopoly on situation awareness. Herkimer is a small village. If we could see it, many of you could. You just chose not to. Minding your own business was the easiest and safest thing to do.

Kyle Stone Herkimer Gang Performer

by Stephen Ames Berry

Kyle Stone, Herkimer gang performer best known for his fire and water gigs, on 7/22 took his art into the street. In an arresting two-hour performance on Herkimer’s Pleasant Avenue, Stone debuted a brilliantly choreographed show of gritty urban realism. His repertoire of antisocial behaviors interwove crack smoking, public intoxication and urination, drunken and and reckless driving, bullying, alleged property damage and assault. It was a microcosm of the Herkimer gang behaviors that have long blighted the community.

Kyle Stone pisses on Herkimer — Kyle Stone (left) of Jay Smith’s 332 Pleasant Ave and fellow gang member piss on Herkimer. The gang’s two-hour performance included Kyle’s apparent DUI, property destruction, alleged assault and crack smoking.

Stone was ably backed up by his band of fellow druggies, seen most nights on the porch of Jay Smith’s 332 Pleasant Avenue. One of them provided the gray Dodge Dart used by Kyle for his high-speed drunken runs. (Vehicle identification courtesy of Herkimer police.)

The show concluded with Kyle and the gang allegedly driving a reluctant participant off camera and beating him, according to Herkimer police. He’s the tall kid with glasses and cap who looks like he should be in the high school science club.

Below is a shorter version of the gang’s two-hour performance video provided Herkimer police at their request. Watch closely and you’ll see Kyle throughout, tying to bully the alleged beating victim into smoking something other than cigarettes. He fails. A tip of the big hat to Mr. Science for courage and personal integrity. It’s rare in Herkimer. May he find some friends worthy of him.

Video Timeline
0:01-0:37 Gang’s party car and driver arrive. (Gray Dodge Dart.) Driver goes into driveway of Jay Smith’s 332-334 Pleasant Ave. gang rentals.
0:38-1:21 Kyle Stone warms up for his performance.
1:22-1:31 Kyle staggers about. Watch as he tries to physically intimidate tall, non-drug using kid, later allegedly beaten up by Kyle.
1:32-1:58 Kyle dancing with seemingly lit crackpipe.
1:59-2:33 Kyle in driver’s seat, smokin’.
2:34-3:18 Kyle preps for his signature Dance-of-the-Piss. Car’s driver accompanies.
3:19-3:34 Kyle’s The-Dance-of-the-Piss.
3:35-3:52 Kyle returns to drivers’ seat of car. All now in car.
3:53-5:53 Kyle and gang merrily speed off to King Street. Return going to Protection Avenue. (Who is that woman and what was she doing off-camera?)
5:54-6:29 Speeds back down Pleasant Avenue to King Street. Allegedly caused property damage around PK’s Pub, according to Herkimer PD. Pub is on the corner of King and Pleasant.
6:30-7:02 Car again blasts down Pleasant Avenue toward Protection Avenue. This time does not return. Here Kyle’s alleged to have beaten the reluctant party-going kid.
7:03-8:19 Alleged beating victim returns on foot to 332 Pleasant. Appears to be in pain and agitated. Woman is 332’s sole wage-earner and apparently Kyle’s long-suffering relative.
8:20-End Herkimer police arrive.

Kyle Stone – Herkimer Boy-Next-Door in Action

Did Kyle beat anyone up? Don ‘t know. But if he thought he was being “disrespected”? Probably. Here’s a recent short video of Kyle’s antics with a shovel and neighbor Carrie Ann Bass, aka Carrie Ann Collins Bass., after he thought she’s disrespected him. She’s the keeper of the Stanley Sykes Gang’s 347 Eureka Avenue, to the right of the video. Guessing Kyle grew up while Carrie Ann was around. (Sykes and Stones are closely allied.)

Officer Jason Crippen, Curtis Cool And The Nanny Nanny Boo Boo

12/17/16 Curtis Cool aka Curtis Doolen, has put Herkimer on the map: 6,100+ views of his videos and growing, as referring sites offer them for free download. One comment on a British site: “The Herkimer Police–the strong arm of the law.”

by Stephen Ames Berry and Linda Kaidan

“I’ve got a strong law enforcement community which is actively conducting … investigations.” Herkimer County District Attorney Jeffrey S. Carpenter (9/8/16) Herkimer Police wouldn’t take criminal harassment complaint.

Linda Kaidan unwittingly making the Nanny Nanny Boo Boo, ignorant that it was exculpatory for harassment in Herkimer New York

Despite a change of command and increased patrols, Herkimer Police wouldn’t take criminal harassment complaint, even for this outrageous and well-documented incident. (We have more.) This one is fresh, others occurred under Herkimer’s previous police chief, Joseph Malone, who abruptly retired in the teeth of an ethics investigation. It demonstrates an alarming ongoing pattern of failure to protect by the Herkimer Police.

Typically the Herkimer Police say they’ll only take a complaint following a second incident of harassment because Herkimer District Attorney Jeffrey Carpenter won’t prosecute. Harassment must be repeated to qualify as a criminal offense, they assert.

Not true. Your tormentor must either “engage in conduct or repeatedly commit acts which alarm or seriously annoy the victim and serve no legitimate purpose,” according to New York state law. We endured 7 threats of grave bodily harm in 10 minutes, following a previous incident of public harassment. Our assailant called the police to protect him.

Herkimer Aggravated Harassment Incident of 8/23/16

Curtis Cool Herkimer drug and child trafficker — Curtis Cool. Cop-coddled Herkimer drug thug and child trafficker

On Tuesday August 23, 2016, we were again verbally harassed and then threatened with multiple acts of physical violence by 328 Pleasant Avenue tenant, Curtis Cool, aka Curtis Dolan, first in our driveway and then on the public sidewalk. The previous night we’d again reported Cool for yet another of his multiple illegal late-night fires.)

The Herkimer Police and the New York State Police responded promptly and again defused Curtis Cool. The responding officers were very supportive and encouraged us to file a harassment complaint at the Herkimer Police station. Cool’s actions seemed to us to be obviously either 2nd or 1st Degree Aggravated Harassment. With Cool charged, we could obtain a Temporary Order of Protection, which would force him to move from his rented base at Harriett Tangorra’s 328 Pleasant Avenue house.

On Wednesday 8/24 we gathered our evidence–two cellphone videos, a surveillance cam video and a detailed narrative. At approximately 2:30 p.m, we went to the Herkimer Police station after first calling to see if it would be convenient to do so. The officer on duty, Officer Jason Crippen, said to come down.

Herkimer Police Say Nanny-Nanny-Nanny-Boo Excuses Aggravated Harassment

Officer Crippen asked us to wait while he looked at abundant evidence. He briefly reviewed a short portion of our first cellphone video, seen below, then stopped and refused to write up a complaint. “It would just be a waste of time,” he said.

Criminal-coddling Herkimer cop Jason Cripenn, Herkimer Police. — Boy-next-door: Criminal-coddling Herkimer cop Jason Crippen, Herkimer Police.

His reason? Officer Crippen said one of us (Kaidan) had triggered Cool’s menacing and threats of grave bodily harm by making a nanny nanny nanny boo gesture from our driveway at Cool as he peppered us with taunts and obscenities. Officer Crippien’s implication? That Herkimer County District Attorney Jeffrey Carpenter would not prosecute Cool, as Kaidan’s nanny-nanny-boo-boo would exonerate Cool, holding him harmless for his threats and menacing.

Here’s the portion of the cellphone clip reviewed by Officer Crippen before dismissing us. It has been closed-captioned for the selectively hearing impaired. (Full Screen/click on the CC icon.): [Yo! It’s Curtis Cool: Parents strongly cautioned.]

The incident continued a moment later as Kaidan, refusing to be driven inside her home by Cool, asserted her right to walk along the public sidewalk in front of Cool’s house. Here’s an extract from that clip. (Officer Crippen didn’t review it, so we didn’t close caption it):

Both full-length videos from 8/23 (7 threats of grave bodily harm), and our surveillance camera footage confirming the events, place, date and time are on our flash drive, gathering dust at the Herkimer Police station. Included with them is our narrative of the incident and our video of Cool’s previous public harassment of us on 8/11/16. (During this last he cited his landlord, Harriett Tangorra in demanding our arrest. For having surveillance cameras. ) Officer Crippen used our narrative to review the first clip. Seeing the nanny-nanny-boo-boo, he gave Cool a pass and sent us packing.

“It’s obvious that over time Herkimer has ceded its streets to drugs and thugs. Gonna be hard taking them back.

Officer Crippen’s Advice: Hide In Your Home

Herkimer village trustees — The 3 Wise Monkeys of Herkimer

Officer Crippen’s advice was the same as that of Herkimer’s drug thugs when we first unwittingly moved to Pleasant Avenue: Hide: “Keep away from him and just stay in your apartment, ” Crippen advised.

It’s our house. We own it. It’s next door to the thug. A sidewalk is a public place. We asserted our right to use it. We’ll continue to do so. It’s obvious that over time Herkimer has ceded its streets to drugs and thugs. Gonna be hard taking them back.

Officer Crippen then belatedly added this was just this opinion. And that we might try our luck with one of the responding officers–maybe they’d take the complaint. Crippen seemed miffed that we’d distracted him from his law enforcement duties.

If the Police won’t take A criminal harassment complaint, WHo wins?

This is the 4th time in two years we’ve had the Herkimer Police ooze out of taking some flavor of a harassment complaint against cash-heavy criminals. We’ve heard the same from others. This isn’t policing, it’s depraved indifference. It throws Herkimer’s people to the wolves for the sake of politicians cynically running for office as crime fighters. And it emboldens criminals like Cool, who recently moved away unscathed despite many police and fire department visits. (To our knowledge, Cool was never cited for his illegal bonfires nor charged with harassment.) When Herkimer Police refused again to take a criminal harassment complaint, they made it clear that law and order is not their priority.

And so it goes on, with Herkimer’s reputation as a lawless jurisdiction attracting more criminals and endangering even more people.

“A matter of public safety”

Herkimer’s good cops seem to leave if they can, the few bad ones content to stay, cozied up to criminals and even sometimes running interference for them. Crime goes unreported and soars, with entire streets abandoned to drug traffickers. Herkimer’s reputation as a lawless jurisdiction attracts more drug and child traffickers. It becomes an even more dangerous place to live. There’s a strong smell of rotten fish in the air.

What does it matter that Herkimer Police wouldn’t take criminal harassment complaint?

Who stands to win if we all lose? Criminals, greedy landlords, criminal defense attorneys. And some politicians: Incumbent Herkimer County District Attorney Jeffrey Carpenter is trumpeting a lowered violent crime rate in support of his reelection. It’s easy to lower the crime rate if your police don’t take criminal complaints. To take them and act on them, though, is “A matter of public safety.”

[Narrative of incident of 8/23/16 submitted to Herkimer Police is below. Times stated refer to the full videos submitted to the Herkimer Police. Here’s the concrete block Cool was hefting off-camera.] And here’s the unedited clip given the Herkimer Police.

Another Bad Day for Herkimer’s Douglas Barton

by Stephen Ames Berry

I’ve been sitting on Another Bad Day for Herkimer’s Douglas Barton for a while. I was abruptly reminded of it this morning as alert sirens wailed over the Herkimers and Herkimer and East Herkimer fire units roared past. Fearing that Herkimer Fire Chief Spanfelner and former East Herkimer Deputy Chief Douglas Barton were among the responders, I hurried home, hoping it was just an air raid and armed myself with a cognac. Here’s the posting:

April 30th was another bad day for Douglas Barton of the East Herkimer Fire Department. Earlier this year Barton lost his garage in a sudden blaze at 333 Pleasant Avenue, a rental he shares with the lovely Joyce Barton . Then came the Herkimer Post’s publication of a forensic video analysis of key moments of Deputy Fire Chief Barton’s fire. In it we asked what Chief Barton knew and when he knew it. (No answer yet.) We forwarded that link to New York State authorities. Barton was returned to the ranks of his volunteer fire company. (Perhaps for a hoot they sometimes let him blow the air horn.)

Herkimer Police investigation at 333 Pleasant Avenue

A Herkimer Police officer appeared at Barton’s home at 333 Pleasant Avenue on 4/30/16 shortly after Barton arrived. Barton’s truck and house were photographed. His truck was carefully inspected, with special attention to the left front area, especially the wheel well. (We’ve noticed that Supreme Court Clerk Harriet Tangorra’s tenant Curtis Cool, aka Curtis Dolan of 328 Pleasant Avenue, enjoys fiddling with his own wheel well. Must be a drug street thing.)

Hard to tell without video enhancement, given the distance from the camera and the drizzle, but Douglas Barton may have been issued a court appearance ticket.

It’s heartening to see authentic local law enforcement on Herkimer’s Pleasant Avenue. It’s coincident with the abrupt retirement of our Pleasant Avenue neighbor, Herkimer Police Chief Joseph Malone, outed by an ethics investigation. Only a year ago the Herkimer Police contented themselves with at best gently chiding the Bartons when they did something foul, sometimes even supporting their reign of terror of the street by attempting intimidation under the color of authority.

Pleasant Avenue’s drug trafficking has fallen off, thanks to the feds and the state. Decent folks are moving into newly sold homes and many of our drug scum have left. Perhaps the Bartons will soon join them. (Chief Malone still commands in Mohawk. )

Author Stephen Ames Berry is a former officer of Harvard University and a veteran of the National Security Agency’s US Army Security Agency. He lives in Pleasant Avenue’s historic Camera House.

328 Pleasant Ave Herkimer — Abuse, Abusers and Drug Trafficking Likely to Be Squashed by Video Surveillance

by Stephen Ames Berry

Abused dog, 328 Pleasant Ave, looking for food in our yard

Abusers and drug trafficking can be effectively restrained by comprehensive video surveillance. For those who read our post about the abused dog at 328 Pleasant Avenue, used in an obvious malicious harassment attempt by our neighbor, 328’s Curtis Cool, aka Curtis Doolen, the dog is gone. I copied the property’s owner, Harriet Tangorra, on our post and she said she’d promptly served Curtis Cool and his caretaker Cheyenne with an eviction notice via Attorney George Aney; their lease has a “No Pets” clause. They “cured” their deficiency by disposing of the dog. He was a huge, good-natured, utterly untrained short-haired hunting dog whose unfortunate behavior was the result of abuse and neglect.

Starving, freezing, howling piteously

The poor animal was left outside, ignored and unsheltered, without food or water, even in the depths of winter, often howling piteously as the temperatures plummeted, and day turned to night amid wind and snow. We and other neighbors often called the police. Officer Josh, the dog officer, always promptly responded whatever the time or the weather. Once Josh had to get police assistance to gain access. Another time he took the dog away, but it was soon back, still terribly malnourished and often without water. May the dog have found a better home where people feed and shelter him, and perhaps kids play with him rather than ignore him. (If he had a name, we never heard anyone use it.)

Abusers’ rented home at 328 Pleasant Ave Herkimer

328 Pleasant Ave –Abuse and abusers

Those who abuse animals are quick to abuse others, notably children and the elderly. If you follow The Herkimer Post, you’ll know that my 61-year-old wife Linda was 328 Pleasant Ave’s most recent known victim of abuse, set upon in the dead of night by a gang of anti-Semitic thugs lead by Herkimer’s Curtis Cool, aka Curtis Doolen, from 328. It’s well known hereabouts that Linda’s Jewish. It was ugly, despicable, and conjured images of a horrific past:

Lvov pogrom victim June 1941 — Anti-Semitic mob tormenting Jewish woman just before her death. Lvov, USSR, June 1941 US Holocaust Museum http://goo.gl/Nvo3vT

Abuse is a classic drug gang tactic used to control turf and stifle opposition. Drug traffickers abuse animals and children to pervert them to their own ends. We’ve often seen such terrorism on Herkimer’s Pleasant Avenue, and have been the brunt of it.

Herkimer’s Pleasant Avenue Child Abusers and Drug Trafficking

Old folks and pets aren’t the major victims of abusers on Pleasant Avenue–children abused by their parents are. Exploiting or corrupting is emotional abuse “in which a child is taught, encouraged or forced to develop inappropriate or illegal behaviors,” says the American Humane Society. “It may involve self-destructive or antisocial acts of the parent or caregiver, such as teaching a child how to steal or forcing a child into prostitution.”

On Herkimer’s Pleasant Avenue, when criminal parents weaponize their children through abuse, it’s primarily to harass and dissuade neighbors from cooperating with authorities in suppressing the parents’ drug trafficking. Homeowners with surveillance cameras are a prime target–cameras don’t sleep and they never lie. We have 8 honest cameras.

Harassment–A sign of drug trafficking

The first sign that a house is involved in drug trafficking isn’t always its street traffic, but its residents’ reaction to a surveillance camera–even if it’s not pointed at them. It’s the pattern that’s emerging at 328 Pleasant Ave.

The child abusing parents cry “Pedophiles!” and “Our children! Our Children!” even as they send their weaponized kids to vandalize and criminally trespass on properties with cameras. When their children are outed by cameras, their abusive parents resume the cry of “Pedophile!” and assail you at your door or on the street screaming, “I don’t want my kid on the Internet!” (This behavior has made Herkimer’s Melodie Schulze the Internet’s icon of elder abuse. Just Google her name and up she pops. ) Recently we’ve had a parade of angry mothers of criminally trespassing children trespass to demand that we take down video evidence of their kids’ misdeeds. Not gonna happen. Get some help, people.

328 Pleasant Ave. Drug Trafficking – What’s Next

When we suspect a neighbor is drug trafficking, as indicated by abuse, harassment and vandalism, we increase surveillance and analyze traffic patterns. The results are sent to the New York State Police, and information may be shared with Federal authorities. This strategy has been remarkably successful in shutting down 333 Pleasant Avenue.

Video surveillance is very effective at fighting crime, especially when abusers and drug trafficking are involved. To avoid further unwanted attention, the folks at 328 Pleasant Ave. could move. Mrs. Tangorra is eager to sell that property. And more nice neighbors would be cool.

Stephen Ames Berry is a former officer of Harvard University and a veteran of the National Security Agency’s US Army Security Agency.

1 AM Fire at 328 Pleasant Ave Herkimer — Police Say Safe!

remains of open late night fire at 228 pleasant ave Herkimer — **Remains of open blaze at 328 Pleasant Ave Herkimer**

Linda Kaidan

One AM and all is not well 🙁

Last night at about 1:00 AM I was woken by the sound of rustling next to my back fence, which has been vandalized many times. I also heard the chinking sound of glass bottles. I thought to myself, at last, I’ll catch red-handed the vandals who’ve been making holes in my fence. I discovered a fire in the backyard of Harriett Tangorra’s rental property at 328 Pleasant Avenue..

328 Pleasant Ave Herkimer NY — **328 Pleasant Ave Herkimer**

When I looked out the window, I saw a bonfire with sparks flying everywhere, notably into the tree limbs. Such fires, even when supervised, are very dangerous. When it is dry as it is now, it can easily spread to fences and homes. Antique homes can be burnt to the ground in 3 minutes because the wood is so dry!

I called the Herkimer police, who came and quickly went stating that the fire was safely under control, neglecting the fact that an open fire within 100 yards of a structure is illegal within the Village of Herkimer, a tinder box of close-set wooden homes amid conifer and oak.

With great consternation, I ventured outside to assess the situation personally. Three tall, thirty-ish, burly gentlemen wearing army camos surrounded the backyard fire at 328 Pleasant Ave. One, later identified as Harriett Tangorra’s tenant Curtis Cool, aka Curtis Doolen, challenged me when I objected to their fire. Calling me names, Curtis Cool told me to “go back to some Arab country.” (I’m Jewish, a 4th generation American, educated in Israel.)

More Neighborly Harassment

Curtis Cool’s pack of cowardly loafers enjoyed harassing their elderly neighbor, Cool calling me a crazy, lying, swearing, child molester who should be sent to a loony bin. All accused me of instigating the altercation, though I told them that their illegal fire had woken me up and that I had to go to work at 5:00 AM.

My husband then again called the Herkimer Police. Again. It says much about Herkimer’s rich tradition of lawlessness that the responding officer again didn’t enforce the law, allowing the thugs to continue with their illegal open fire, embers flying within 3 feet of bone-dry fencing. It was sad to know that this officer seemed entirely unaware of the massive harassment and vandalism of us caused by Cool and others along Pleasant Avenue.. As the officer left, Curtis loudly remarked “What bullshit! Why do we pay the police?”

Neighboring children have been sent to molest us in our own yard, breaking holes in our fence in order to trespass and despoil our yard with trash. We have captured these actions on video, and posted them on this blog. It seems to be nearly impossible to repel these weaponized, vandalizing children from our privacy-fenced yard, even with a locked gate and multiple security cameras.

Advice to Herkimer Village administrators concerned with community safety

Please make sure your officers can distinguish between a safe fire and an unsafe one. Please don’t call an open fire a covered one.
BTW, it’s quite evident from the above photo that this fire you described as safe is not and such fires should not be legal in this area at any time of day!
I have heard there are 3 criminal hot spots in Herkimer, of which Pleasant Ave is one and 328 Pleasant Ave all too typical. Would it be too much trouble to acquaint your officers with the ongoing criminal activity in this area?

Herkimer Malicious Trespassing – More Ball Games [VIDEOS]

Herkimer, Where Criminal Trespass is a Team Sport

Just when you thought it was safe to go out in your driveway again, the team sport of Herkimer malicious trespassing takes the field again.
If you read my previous post about The Ball, you’ll know that earlier this summer my neighbors called the police on me when I refused to return a ball deliberately kicked at me with great precision from across the street. It was kicked by a beefy teen, striking me on the back of my legs.
The responding Herkimer Village Police Officer, the pseudonymous Officer Heist, threatened to arrest me for Petit Larceny, duped by this very old scam. He accused me of intending to steal the worthless ball used to assault me, the one I’d already tossed into the neighborhood’s adjacent playing area. It was outrageous!

Ball Harassment Continues
Malicious trespassing in Herkimer is a popular team sport. The innocent children whose ball the Herkimer Police leaped to defend have taken to vandalizing our car under the pretext of retrieving their (new) ball. The ball rolls into our driveway frequently, although the street is perpendicular to the driveway. A baller retrieves the ball, off camera. During his or her stay, our car is scratched or sprayed with acid. Repeat. Repeat. Obviously it’s at their parents’ instigation. These kids are probably paid in cash or drugs. The State Police appear to have clamped down on their parents following their abusive mob interaction with us in the street. (Herkimer’s Pleasant Avenue is a quietly sanctioned haven of drug trafficking, its workers flush with drug money. There are signs that things far more heinous go on here, also involving children. )
I ordered one girl from my driveway the other day, telling her she was trespassing and not to return. She screamed “Don’t you ever talk to me that way!” As you’ll note from the video clip of her departure, she was quite indignant and circled her hand about her head, indicating that any defiance to her outrageous behavior was insane. Politeness and respect are obviously strangers in her family. Sadly there is an arrogant expectation that my home is a public way to be used however and whenever my neighbors see fit.
Additional cameras have been brought on line. More are coming. We live as I did in Cote D’Ivoire West Africa, where each home’s a fortress, and anarchy prevails.

What I’ve Learned from Herkimer’s Officer Heist and the Pleasant Avenue Ball Harassment
Shrugging our shoulders in helplessness because, Hey! It’s just Pleasant Avenue, ill-serves us all. There are two underlying problems here. The most important is attitude. As a community, we must provide basic services, or we’re not a community. If we can’t do this alone, we have to ask for help. To be a successful community rather than one in name only, we have to change to an “I think I can and I will try” attitude. Too often when problems are discussed here, even the best of Herkimer’s people sigh, shrug their shoulders and say, “It’s Herkimer.” (At some point, perhaps the citizens of Gomorrah probably did the same.)

Herkimer is crime-ridden and plagued by poverty. Many of the children on our street are very intelligent, but they are not engaging intellectually – their education is pathetically inadequate. Some are reading grade levels below what they should. It’s obvious the school system treats them as pariahs and tracks them as such. At least one middle school student didn’t know what the Atlantic Ocean is. One doesn’t know what an ocean is. A very bright and likable neighboring 9th grader is periodically made campfires from his homework assignments. He correctly determined that Herkimer considers him social junk that his school’s job is keep him off the streets during the day. Like many kids in Herkimer, he’s filled with rage and hopelessness.

We can do better than this, Herkimer. If not now, when?

Linda Kaidan