BK man gets four years in prison

Christopher Williams sentenced for stealing widow’s home

by Naeisha Rose Associate Editor

A Brooklyn man is set to spend two to four years in prison for declaring a widow dead and stealing the deed to her family home. After the victim inherited the property from her deceased father, a retired police officer, the defendant sold it for nearly $300,000 during the height of the pandemic, according to the office of District Attorney Melinda Katz.

The victim, Barbara Matthews, said in August 2021 she received a notification from the city Department of Finance, which stated that a new deed, mortgage and other documents had been filed to the agency for the Jamaica property. The victim and her sister were bequeathed the home upon their dad’s death in 2011. After buying out her sister’s share of the house in 2013, she started coming up with ideas on how to renovate it, but Covid-19 put a damper on those plans, authorities said.

An investigation into the case revealed that Christopher Williams, 43, of East Williamsburg submitted a birth certificate to claim he was her son and a death certificate to declare her dead on July 9, 2017 to represent himself as the sole owner of the property. Despite misspelling her last name, the deed was transferred to him and he was able to get a $360,000 mortgage against the property, which he sold for $270,000 on Aug. 6, 2021, according to a criminal complaint.

Williams received a check for $214,536.64 for the property and was able to receive $209,665.69 from a check-cash- ing establishment in the Bronx, said prosecutors.

The defendant was charged nearly a year later with criminal possession of stolen property, forgery, criminal possession of forged instruments, grand larceny, falsifying business records, identity theft, scheme to fraud and offering a false instrument for filing on June 10, 2022, according to court documents.

The Brownsville man was initially facing up to 15 years in prison, but pleaded guilty to identity theft and offering a false instrument for filing in August. Katz’s Office also filed a motion that applied state statute Criminal Procedure Law 420.45, which argued for the immediate restoration of the deed to Matthews. Supreme Court Justice Leigh Cheng approved the action.

“We will not allow criminals to scheme and scam their way into other people’s properties and we will use every tool available to ensure that victims are made whole,” Katz said in a statement. “In communities targeted by deed fraudsters, many people do not have the means to hire an attorney to file a civil suit and litigate against deep-pocketed mortgage companies, banks and title insurers. Our use of this new tactic allows us to provide victims with one-stop justice.” Q paralyzed victim.

The three chequeos have each pleaded guilty to federal crimes for their participation in the assault and attempted murder of the victim, including assault in aid of racketeering, attempted murder in aid of racketeering and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

Salvador pleaded guilty in August 2022 to assault in aid of racketeering. It was not disclosed what the clique leader’s brother pleaded guilty to, but the USAO spokesman said he testified against Amador-Rios at the trial.

“The defendant will deservedly serve a life sentence for the murder, attempted murder and armed robberies he committed on behalf of MS-13,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement. “Today’s sentence reflects justice for the heinous and senseless nature of the defendant’s crimes and the terror he inflicted on his victims, their families and the community.”

Amador-Rios will thankfully never have the opportunity to victimize another New Yorker, said NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban in a statement.

“We vow to remain relentless in identifying, arresting, and holding to full account everyone responsible for driving crime and disorder in our city,” Caban said. Q

Hodges, 1973 Met, dies at 74

Ron Hodges, who spent his entire 12-year big league career as a backup catcher for the New York Mets, died on Nov. 24 after what published reports state was a brief illness. The member of the 1973 “You Gotta Believe!” National League championship team was 74. Hodges, a Virginia native and resident, was drafted and signed by the Mets in 1972. No relation to the Mets Hall of Fame former Manager Gil Hodges, he would reach the majors the following season straight from DoubleA ball when two-time all-star Jerry Grote and veteran backup Duffy Dyer got hurt.

He caught a Tom Seaver win in his big league debut in a year when the Mets were unlikely pennant winners. They were in last place on July 26, and took their division with 82 wins before stunning the Cincinnati Reds in the playoffs. They lost to the Oakland Athletics, who the following year became a three-peat dynasty, in seven games in the World Series.

Hodges walked in his only plate appearance. In his career he batted .240 with 19 home runs and 147 runs batted in. Q

— Michael Gannon