RyeCity REVIEW THE
March 5, 2021 | Vol. 9, Number 9 | www.ryecityreview.com
Sports Hall of Famer busted for child pornography By MIKE SMITH Sports Editor
Milestone met!
On Feb. 27, Rye senior Amanda Latkany netted her 1,000th varsity point in a 61-27 victory over Eastchester. Latkany becomes the 16th Garnet to reach the milestone and the eighth member in the history of the girls’ basketball program to do so. For more on Latkany and the Garnets’ season, see page 16. Photo/Mike Smith
SBA prioritizes small businesses in PPP loan program Building on a month of strong results, the Biden Administration and the U.S. Small Business Administration, SBA, are taking steps with the Paycheck Protection Program to further promote equitable relief for America’s mom-and-pop businesses. The latest round of Paycheck Protection Program funding opened one month ago and already the Biden Administration has succeeded in making major improvements to the program’s implementation: • For businesses with fewer than 10 employees, the share of funding is up nearly 60% • For businesses in rural communities, the share of funding is up nearly 30% • The share of funding distributed through Community Development Financial Institutions and Minority Depository Institutions is up more than 40% “The SBA is a frontline agen-
cy working to create an inclusive economy, focused on reaching women-owned, minority-owned, low- and moderate-income, rural, and other underserved communities in meaningful ways. While reported data illustrates we have made real strides in ensuring these funds are reaching underserved communities, we believe we can still do better,” SBA Senior Advisor Michael Roth said. “The important policy changes we are announcing further ensure inclusivity and integrity by increasing access and much-needed aid to Main Street businesses that anchor our neighborhoods and help families build wealth.” These simple progressive steps by the Biden Administration further demonstrate the commitment to racial and gender equity, reaching low and moderate-income, rural, urban, and other underserved areas. The SBA will: • Establish a 14-day, exclusive
PPP loan application period for businesses and nonprofits with fewer than 20 employees • Allow sole proprietors, independent contractors, and self-employed individuals to receive more financial support by revising the PPP’s funding formula for these categories of applicants • Eliminate an exclusionary restriction on PPP access for small business owners with prior nonfraud felony convictions, consistent with a bipartisan congressional proposal • Eliminate PPP access restrictions on small business owners who have struggled to make federal student loan payments by eliminating federal student loan debt delinquency and default as disqualifiers to participating in the PPPEnsure access for non-citizen small business owners who are lawful U.S. residents by clarifying that they may use Individual Taxpayer Identification
Number to apply for the PPP.The 14-day exclusivity period started on Wednesday, Feb. 24 at 9 a.m., while the other four changes will be implemented by the first week of March. These actions will help to lay the foundation for a robust and equitable recovery for small businesses across the country. Small businesses employ nearly half of the American workforce; they create 2 out of 3 net new private-sector jobs; they reinvest 68% of revenues to build and sustain communities. Borrowers can apply for the Paycheck Protection Program by downloading the First Draw PPP loan application or Second Draw PPP loan application and working with a participating PPP lender through the SBA Lender Match tool. Updated PPP information, including forms, guidance, and resources is available at www.sba. gov/ppp and www.treasury.gov/ cares. (Submitted)
Basketball announcer Rich Leaf, a 2017 inductee to the Westchester Sports Hall of Fame, was arrested on Tuesday, Feb. 23 on child pornography charges following a months-long investigation by the FBI, federal documents show. Leaf, 72, was released on bail the same day on a $100,000 bond. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Leaf has been accused of receiving and possession videos and images containing child pornography and posing as a teenager online to solicit explicit sexual material from a 15-yearold boy. In May of 2020, FBI agents interviewed Leaf at both his Somers residence and at an FBI field office. Over the course of those interviews, Leaf admitted to being sexually attracted to teenaged boys and allowed agents to search his personal computer. Federal law enforcement officials recovered 10 files depicting child pornography on the hard drive. Leaf also admitted to using several pseudonyms, including “Alex Bronson,” to pose as a
teenaged boy online and solicit sexually explicit material from minors. Among the files found on Leaf’s computer were a nude image and pornographic video of a 15-year-old boy with whom Leaf had been communicating via Skype. The youth in question, labeled as “Victim-1” in the case against Leaf, was interviewed by FBI agents in August 2020 and the boys’ age was confirmed by his mother. “A non-explicit version of the image Victim-1 sent to “Alex” was shown to Victim-1’s mother,” read the report filed by FBI Special Agent Andrew S. Kearns. “She confirmed the identity of the awards, posters, and other decorations in the background of the image, which used to be present in Victim-1’s bedroom.” The news came as a shock to many in the area, given Leaf’s status as a former teacher in the Harrison Central School District and as a local sports fixture. Leaf had been a youth soccer official since the 1980s and was employed by Section I as the public address announcer for the high BUSTED continued on page 3