Police are searching for two men who allegedly assaulted and robbed a man in a Bronx subway station.

The NYPD released surveillance video showing the suspects walk by the victim, who was asleep in the Buhre Avenue station on the 6 line in Pelham Bay at around 2 a.m. on Saturday.

Police said the men awoke the victim, led him out of view of the surveillance camera, then assaulted and robbed him of his iPhone and wallet. 

Both suspects are believed to be 18 years old, 5 foot 9, and between 160 and 170 pounds. One was wearing a purple t-shirt and black jeans and the other was wearing a black baseball cap, a black t-shirt and black jeans.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS or at nypdcrimestoppers.com. 

A 25-year-old woman has been arrested in the death of 12-year-old Gywan Levine Jr., who was shot as he dribbled a basketball while walking with his father on a New Jersey street last week, prosecutors said.

Janice Everett, of Rahway, was arrested Wednesday in connection with the fatal shooting of the boy on Rutgers Avenue in Jersey City Friday night.

Detectives believe Everett and two men were involved in a robbery attempt when the boy was shot; authorities are looking for the two other suspects. Witnesses had previously said two men approached the victims and three shots were fired, but it wasn't clear if those two men are the ones police are seeking.

The boy, Gywan Levine Jr., was shot in the shoulder area and his father was hit in the leg. Both victims were taken to the hospital, but the boy was pronounced dead a short time later. His father was expected to be OK.

Investigators believe Everett and the two male suspects were involved in at least one other robbery in Jersey City on the day of the shooting. Everett faces charges in that robbery as well.

Everett was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday on charges including felony murder, armed robbery and fraudulent use of a credit card. Information on an attorney for her wasn't immediately available.

Police are questioning a 16-year-old boy in the shooting of a14-year-old girl on a Queens bus last weekend, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said Thursday.

The shooting on Saturday was believed to be over a dispute with another gang, and he was allegedly firing at other gang members on the street when the gunshot went through the window of the bus and hit Daja Robinson in the head.

Kelly said police had been looking for the suspect since "shortly after the shooting, and we're speaking to him now."

The boy was picked up at his home in the Rockaways, police said.

Robinson was on her way home from a sweet 16 party, police said. She was sitting about three rows from the back of the bus when she was struck.

The mother of the girl who was killed said earlier this week that she "can't accept that she's been shot."

"She didn't deserve it, at all," Shadia Sands said.

Detectives believe the intended target in the shooting that killed a 14-year-old girl on a Queens bus Saturday was another teen on the bus, sources tell NBC 4 New York.

Daja Robinson was hit in the head by a bullet that was fired from the street as she sat on the Q6 bus while on her way home from a sweet 16 party, police said. She was sitting about three rows from the back of the bus when she was struck.

Sources tell NBC 4 New York that another 14-year-old girl on the bus with Robinson has received death threats since the shooting. She is believed to be initially targeted because she was bad-mouthing a gang crew in the neighborhood.

Detectives are looking for one particular person of interest they want to question.

The mother of the girl who was killed pleaded on Tuesday for the gunmen to turn themselves in.

"They're not gonna make it that far 'cause they're doing the wrong thing at a young age," said Shadia Sands. "They need to give themselves up or something bad could happen to them."

Witnesses reported seeing several men run from the scene moments after the gunshots.

Robinson was with two friends returning from the party at Onyx Lounge on Rockaway Boulevard, according to Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. It was not immediately clear if the intended target was one of those friends.

Sands said she "can't accept that she's been shot."

"She didn't deserve it, at all," Sands said.

Police have arrested a suspect in connection with the February attack on a 22-year-old woman who was forced into a Brooklyn alley and raped.

Eric Dancy, 25, was charged Thursday with rape, a criminal sex act and robbery, among other crimes.  

Dancy allegedly approached the victim near East 27th Street and Glenwood Road in Flatbush on the morning of Feb. 2., forced her into an alley blocks from the Brooklyn College campus and raped her.

He allegedly robbed her before running off.

Information on an attorney wasn't immediately available.

Police are looking for a man who posed as a utility worker and burglarized at least 18 homes in four boroughs over the last year and a half. 

Authorities say the burglary pattern dates to February 2012 on Staten Island's North Shore. The suspect is believed to have struck at least 17 times since, most recently on April 29 in Queens. He's also hit homes in Brooklyn and the Bronx.

In each case, police say the suspect knocks on the homeowner's door and claims to be a utility worker. While the residents are distracted, two or three other suspects steal personal property from the homes.

All but one of the robberies were committed between noon and 3 p.m., and four were committed in one day alone.

Authorities released a photo of the man wanted for questioning in the crimes (above).

Anyone with information about his whereabouts or the burglaries is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS (8477). 

Sixteen people, including known associates to overseas terrorists, face charges in connection with a cigarette smuggling ring that flooded New York with more than a million carts of untaxed cigarettes and netted more than $55 million in illegal cigarette sales, prosecutors and federal officials said.

The 244-count indictment charges the suspects with enterprise corruption, money laundering and related tax crimes. Prosecutors say investigators seized more than 65,000 forged cigarette tax stamps and nearly 20,000 cartons of untaxed cigarettes during the year-long investigation.

The cigarettes were allegedly bought in bulk in Virginia and illegally resold in New York.  

Authorities recovered three handguns and more than $1 million in cash while executing search warrants in the suspects' homes and at storage facilities in four states.

Officials are investigating whether some of the profits may have been funneled to Hamas supporters in the Middle East. Some of the suspects arrested in the scheme are known associates to terrorists, officials said. They were known to the NYPD and it appears they were being monitored by the intelligence division when the fraud was unraveled, authorities said.

“By cheating New Yorkers out of tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue, this dangerous criminal ring was able to generate astounding profits that we are still continuing to trace,” Attorney General Schneiderman said. “Not only did this organized crime ring hurt law abiding mom-and-pop shops and other businesses in New York by putting those who do pay taxes at a competitive disadvantage, there is a very real concern about the possibility of violence related to this type of enterprise." 

Prosecutors said profits from similar schemes have been used to help fund terrorist organizations in the past.

-Shimon Prokupecz contributed to this report

A 20-year-old Maine man arrested in the death of a 14-year-old girl whose naked, charred body was found on a Brooklyn beach in January allegedly told police he smothered her with a pillow in his cousin's apartment because he thought she was pregnant, law enforcement sources said.

Christian Ferdinand, of Limestone, Maine, was charged Thursday with second-degree murder in the death of Shaniesha Forbes. The student at the Academy for Young Writers in Williamsburg disappeared two days before her body was found face up on the beach, with burns to her legs, arms and hands.

Ferdinand allegedly told detectives he exchanged phone numbers with Forbes in December after meeting her through Facebook. Over the next month, the two developed a relationship and had unprotected sex multiple times, sources say Ferdinand told police.

Ferdinand said he met Forbes on Jan. 4 at his cousin's apartment on Nostrand Avenue and she told him she was pregnant. They argued, and Ferdinand told detectives he killed Forbes, brought her body to the roof and hid it for a day before transporting it to Gerritsen Beach in a suitcase and setting her on fire, using Axe body spray as an accelerent.

The medical examiner has found no indication Forbes was pregnant, sources familiar with the investigation said.

Law enforcement sources say police recovered the suitcase Ferdinand said he used to transport her body. 

A law enforcement official previously told NBC 4 New York investigators had found a kerosene can and signs of a bonfire near where Forbes' body was found.

A review of Forbes' cell phone and Facebook information helped lead authorities to Ferdinand, law enforcement sources said. Police said Ferdinand had no prior record in New York.

Information on an attorney for Ferdinand wasn't immediately available. He's in NYPD custody. 

Forbes' family gathered on Gerritsen Beach last month to celebrate what would have been the teenager's 15th birthday. 

After Ferdinand's arrest, they surrounded themselves with pictures of Forbes and prayed for justice. They also urged other teenagers and their families to be cautious about who they communicate with online. 

A judge has thrown out the indictment against an NYPD officer charged in the fatal shooting of an unarmed 18-year-old in his Bronx home last year, but said prosecutors can present the case again, NBC 4 New York has learned.     

Officer Richard Haste, 31, had been indicted on manslaughter charges in the February 2012 shooting death of Ramarley Graham and faced up to 25 years in prison. 

On Wednesday, a judge dismissed the indictment on a technicality, siding with defense lawyers who had argued prosecutors gave flawed instructions to the grand jury that indicted Haste.

The Bronx district attorney's office said in a statement that prosecutors "forcefully disagree with the court" and are weighing whether to appeal the decision or present the case again. 

Graham's family left the courtroom after the judge's decision, cursing and calling the officer a "murderer." In a statement, the teen's father said "we are going to keep fighting no matter what."

"We will never stop until justice is served in this case, until Richard Haste goes to prison for murdering our son, " said Frank Graham.

The Patrolmen's Benevolent Association said in a statement on Haste's behalf that the judge made the right decision.

Graham was shot to death in the bathroom of his home on East 229th Street after police chased him inside.

Security video showed Graham entering his home, and police running after him. Police at the time said officers witnessed a drug deal and pursued Graham, believing he had a gun.

They went in and found him in the second-floor bathroom, and shot him in the chest. He died shortly afterward.

Police said later that Graham was not found with a gun.

A road rage spat between two drivers turned violent when the occupants of one of the vehicles assaulted the other driver and drove off with his car in New Jersey, police said. 

The victim and the other driver had a verbal exchange at a traffic light at the intersection of Cedar Lane and Queen Anne Road in Teaneck at about 5:15 a.m. Sunday, according to police. The other driver was inside a light gray car with three other men.

Three of the men got out of the vehicle, pulled the 44-year-old Hackensack victim from his Chrysler minivan, punched and kicked him, and hit him with a piece of a cinderblock, police said. 

A fourth man drove off with the victim's minivan. The other assailants returned to their vehicle and sped off, police said. 

The victim's vehicle was found in a nearby parking lot about an hour later, police said. Items from inside the car were found dumped on the ground. 

The victim was treated at the scene for injuries to his hand, knee, face and head. 

Anyone with information is asked to contact Teaneck Police. 

A 78-year-old man who had just bought flowers to place by a memorial for his deceased mother just before Mother's Day was attacked and robbed by two men in the Bronx.

Alvero Rodriguez told NBC 4 New York he was walking with the flowers Friday afternoon on East Tremont Avenue when the two men approached him from behind and attacked him for his gold chain.

Rodriguez said he tried put up a fight, but after a brief scuffle he was pulled to the ground and the men removed his chain.

A police officer who happened to be in the area saw the robbery and chased the suspects. While the officer was able to chase down one of the men, authorities say the other man got away in a silver car.

The 23-year-old suspect is charged him with robbery, resisting arrest and criminal possession of marijuana.

Authorities have released surveillance images showing the two men committing the robbery, as well as a picture of Rodriguez's chain (see above).

Anyone with information on the second suspect is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS.

A missing teenage girl has been found safe after she was allegedly held against her will in a Manhattan apartment by a man accused of sex trafficking, police said. 

There were two other women living inside the apartment at 1695 Madison Ave., though it's not clear if they were also being forced to stay there.

Those women, ages 21 and 24, left the apartment Thursday by pretending to make an appointment in Connecticut, according to police. Instead, they went to the girl's mother to alert her that she was being held by a man in the East Harlem apartment.

The girl's mother called 911 and police found the teen inside the apartment. 

The girl and the two other women were taken to the local police station. Police said at least one of them had been forced into acts of prostitution.

It's not clear how long the teen had been made to stay in the apartment.

Neighbors were stunned.

"No one would know. How would you know?" said one woman. "You could never know what your neighbors are doing. You think you live in a safe place and everyone's friendly, and 'good morning' and 'good night,' but anything could happen." 

The suspect accused of holding the teen, 35-year-old Taye Ellerby, was arrested on charges of sex trafficking, promoting prostitution, criminal trespassing and endangering the welfare of a child. 

Attorney information for Ellerby was not immediately available.

Authorities are looking for a man who they say preyed on an 86-year-old widow, scamming her out of $30,000 by pretending to be her grandson.

A Tunisian man has been charged in New York for lying about his work visa because he wanted to facilitate "an act of terrorism" and authorities say he had connections to the thwarted terror plot that involved derailing a passenger train near the Canadian border.

Federal prosecutors said Thursday that the man has ties to the two suspects arrested recently in what the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said was an "al-Qaida-supported" plot. 

Law enforcement sources tell NBC 4 New York that Ahmed Abassi met with the Canadian terror suspects and may have helped to radicalize them. The charges Thursday said he lied about his visa documents in an effort to "facilitate an act of international terrorism."

In a May 9 letter to the judge, prosecutors said Abassi acknowledged in an interview after his arrest that he and one of the Canadian plot suspects discussed plans "to poison a water system and to derail a passenger train."

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said Abassi "had an evil purpose for seeking to remain in the United States – to commit acts of terror and develop a network of terrorists here, and to use this country as a base to support the efforts of terrorists internationally."

Prosecutors said Abassi helped radicalize one of the Canada suspects.

In the court proceedings after his arrest, Abassi told the judge, "Your respectable Honor, I am not guilty," according to a transcript unsealed Thursday.

Authorities said the Canada plot involved targeting the railway that is operated by Via in Canada and Amtrak in the U.S., and multiple sources familiar with the investigation have said the suspects may have scouted Amtrak trains out of New York City.

The alleged plot entailed blowing up a bridge near Niagara Falls as the train tried to cross.

Officials stressed that those suspects were under surveillance for more than a year and that there was never any threat to public safety. They say the attack was "in the planning stage" and was not imminent.

An 83-year-old man chased after a robber who grabbed his wife's purse as the couple was walking from their car to a restaurant on Long Island Wednesday evening.

Nassau County police say they are still looking for the suspect in the Rockville Centre robbery.

Detectives say the robber popped out from between two cars, approached the couple and grabbed the 81-year-old wife's purse, pushing her to the ground. The husband began to chase after the robber but tripped and fell.

The suspect fled with the purse, which had credit cards, cash and keys. 

Both the victims were treated for cuts and scrapes.

Susan Pronko, an employee at a stationery store nearby, said she heard the woman's screams and saw the couple with bloodied faces.

"I don't know how anyone who did this can sleep at night," she said.

Detectives are asking anyone with information about the crime to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS.

--Greg Cergol contributed to this story

A registered sex offender has been arrested for allegedly trying to rape a 13-year-old girl in the basement of her Brooklyn building after he threatened her with scissors in the elevator, authorities said.

Bennett Castello, 40, was charged Wednesday with rape, burglary and criminal possession of a weapon in connection with the April 30 incident.

Authorities say the 13-year-old victim encountered a man believed to be Castello as she walked into the elevator that afternoon and the two rode down together.

When it stopped at the basement level, police say Castello allegedly pulled out a pair of scissors and tried to rape her. Then he ran off.

Castello was convicted in 1998 of sex crimes against a victim older than 21. He was designated a sexually violent sex offender.

Information on an attorney for Castello wasn't immediately available. 

Police are looking for a man seen on surveillance cameras snatching $500 from a 3-year-old boy's hand at a liquor store in the Bronx. 

The child had taken the cash from his mother's jacket pocket without her knowledge while they were inside Discount Liquors on East 163rd Street in Hunts Point last Friday, according to authorities.

The suspect spotted the toddler with the money, then took it from his hand and ran out of the store. 

The store owner said the boy actually tried to play with the thief before he swiped the cash. 

"The baby tries to give him a toy to play with," said Rashad Alghazali. "He sees in the other hand of that baby, he has something."

Surveillance video shows the man grab the money from the child's hand. Moments later, the boy's mother realizes her money's gone. 

"She said, 'I lost my money, I have no money to buy,'" said Alghazali. "Other customer told her, 'One guy, he took the money from the baby's hand.'" 

The suspect is described as being in his early 30s, about 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing 240 pounds.

Anyone with information about the crime or the suspect is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800)-577-TIPS.

A Columbia University football player is charged with a hate crime after allegedly threatening another student and calling him Asian slurs.

The 19-year-old victim, who is Asian, told police he was leaving a dorm with two female friends on West 113th Street early Sunday when the suspect and his friends began heckling the women, according to law enforcement sources. 

When the victim tried to defend his friends, the suspect, identified as Chad Washington, allegedly called him slurs and started following him. 

Washington then pushed him against a wall and grabbed him by his collar, the victim told police.

Washington may have been with at least four other people. Police are investigating whether they participated in the harassment. 

A school security patrol officer witnessed the incident and told police he thought it was a group horsing around.

Washington was taken into custody Tuesday when the victim saw him near the school's campus and pointed him out to detectives.

Washington faces a misdemeanor charge of aggravated harassment as a hate crime. He did not enter a plea at his arraignment Wednesday, and was released without bail. He's due back in court July 8.

In a statement Wednesday, defense attorney Daniel Fetterman said his client was a "highly regarded student and athlete."

"The allegations do not accurately portray the events that occurred," Fetterman said. "When all the facts come out, it will be clear that Mr. Washington did not commit a hate crime, and he will be vindicated." 

Columbia University said in a statement it could not comment on the police investigation.

The statement continued, "We can only say that Columbia is widely recognized for the core values long defining us as an urban university community: the multi-cultural diversity of our students, faculty and staff; our openness to people and ideas; and tolerance for our differences. And we will continue to be guided by these essential values."

Students on campus agreed. 

"That is not something you'd expect at Columbia," said David Harris. 

Steven Bennett, who is acquainted with Washington, said he was shocked. 

"He seems fairly nice," said Bennett. "I wouldn't expect something like this to happen."

According to the Columbia athletics website, Washington is a 6-foot-4 defensive lineman from Oakland, Calif. 

His alleged victim is 5 feet 7 inches tall. 

A 20-year-old woman was sexually assaulted in Ozone Park on Sunday morning by a man who gave her a ride in his car, police said.

The man allegedly chased the victim to the corner of the street after she exited his car at the intersection of 98th Street and 97th Avenue. He then sexually assaulted the woman at around 5:10 a.m., according to police. 

Police released a surveillance video of the suspect getting out of his car and starting to run. He is described as stocky, in his 20s, and was wearing jeans and a blue-and-white shirt.

Police also released a sketch of the suspect (below). 

Anyone with information about the suspect or attack is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800)-577-TIPS.

A homeless man has been arrested and charged with having sexual contact with two 7-year-old girls on separate occasions in South Ozone Park last week, authorities announced Tuesday. 

The Queens District Attorney's office identified the suspect as 25-year-old Lee Samuel. 

Samuel made several statements to investigators admitting he attacked the girls, law enforcement sources told NBC 4 New York.

Samuel was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court Wednesday on two criminal complaints. He pleaded not guilty and was ordered held without bail. 

Samuel approached the first victim from behind last Wednesday afternoon as she was tying her shoe on the sidewalk and tapped her on the buttocks, the criminal complaint alleges.

Several hours later that same day, approximately two miles away, Samuel allegedly approached his second victim and asked if she wanted to play a game. Samuel told her to cover her eyes with her hands and stick out her tongue, then abused her, authorities said. 

Samuel was apprehended in Manhattan after a 911 call reported him at that address, law enforcement officials told NBC 4 New York earlier Tuesday. Officials said he has at least 15 prior arrests, including at least two sex offenses.

Samuel claimed he had been staying with his friend in Manhattan because he was having a hard time finding a job and was in Queens the day of the attack because he was looking for work.

The complaints charge him with a first-degree criminal sexual act and endangering the welfare of a child, as well as forcible touching and endangering the welfare of a child. If convicted, Samuel faces up to 25 years in prison.

He's due back in court May 20. 

Police in New Jersey are searching for a man who allegedly attempted to lure a boy into his van Friday. 

The 13-year-old boy was walking home from his bus stop on Vista Drive in Mount Olive on Friday when a man in a van pulled up alongside him, according to police.

The man told the boy his parents were involved in an accident and said he would drive him to the hospital.

The boy refused, and the man drove off.

Neighbors in the area applauded the boy for "doing the right thing."

"He's an example for all the kids," said Joanna Joaquin, a parent. "You just run away. You run home. You get to the closest house you can, and you call the police." 

Larry Thomas said he was "angry someone would have the gall to do it in my neighborhood." 

The suspect is described as being in his 40s, with a buzz cut. Police said the van was white, with no side windows or markings, and resembled the size of a Honda Odyssey.

Police are searching for a man who robbed and hurt an elderly woman in her Staten Island home Thursday. 

The 86-year-old victim was inside her home in New Dorp when she heard a noise at her window at about 5:40 a.m., according to police. She opened her back door to check the noise, and a man forced his way into the house.

Once inside, he fought with the victim, then took her purse and ran away, police said. 

The victim was taken to Staten Island University Hospital North, where she was treated for a cut to her hand and bruising on her arms.

The robber was later captured on a surveillance camera at a CVS drugstore using the victim's credit card, according to police.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS or at nypdcrimestoppers.com.

A woman was found stabbed to death in Brooklyn Friday afternoon, police said.

Officers responded to 911 calls for a woman being assaulted at 330 MacDougal Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant at about 1:45 p.m., according to police. They found an unconscious 48-year-old woman with stab wounds to her torso. 

She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The woman's identity has not been released. Police have not made an arrest.

Police are looking for the man who threatened a 13-year-old girl with scissors, forced her out of an elevator in her Coney Island building and tried to rape her in the basement, authorities said.

The girl encountered the suspect, who is described as being in his 30s, as she was walking into the elevator the afternoon of April 30 and the two rode down together. 

When it stopped at the basement level, police say the suspect pulled out a pair of scissors and tried to rape the girl. Then he ran off.

The suspect was last seen wearing all black clothing. Police released a sketch of him (above). 

Anyone with information about the attack is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800)-577-TIPS (5477).

Several people were shot inside an apartment in Newark Thursday night, police said.

As many as four people were shot in an apartment at Avon Avenue and South 16th Street at about 10:15 p.m., according to police. 

Their conditions were not immediately clear. Police have not said if there was a motive or any possible suspects.

An upstate New York man who was arrested after allegedly phoning death threats against Rep. Carolyn Maloney to her Manhattan office last month says he never threatened to kill the congresswoman. 

Ronald Buchanan of Elmira admits calling Maloney's office multiple times at around noontime on April 2. But he told WETM-TV, "Never at any time did I threaten the congresswoman or anyone on her staff." 

According to the criminal complaint, Buchanan called Maloney's office to complain about her new gun bill, which would require weapon owners to hold liability insurance or else face a $10,000 fine. Buchanan allegedly told the intern who answered his call that Maloney "needs to stay away from my Second Amendment right." 

In a profanity-laced tirade, he went on to say he "hated" Maloney and that he hoped she would "die from cancer," according to the complaint. He added, "I want that b---- dead." 

Minutes later, in another call to the office, Buchanan allegedly said he would kill the congresswoman if he saw her.

"I don't care if I have to go to every single speech she makes and heckle her," he allegedly said. "I shouldn't have to pay insurance. As a conservative, I will make sure she stays out of our Second Amendment rights." 

Staffers at the office contacted police, who traced the calls to Buchanan and arrested him. According to the complaint, he admitted: "I made calls to her. I did not mean them as threats... I made some phone calls from my cell phone and other calls from my home phone." 

Buchanan spent a week in jail in New York City before he was freed. He said he had to put up his home to make bail.

"I find myself in a fight for my freedom, from just allegations," he told WETM-TV. "No voice recordings, nothing." 

He said he never raised his voice and that he was "pretty polite about it."

"I merely articulated my views in that first call about her encroaching on our rights," he said. "My second phone call was stating to them that I was putting her phone number on social media. After I did that, they were inundated with phone calls." 

Buchanan believes Maloney's office called police out of "retaliation for doing that." 

"They were making an example of me," he said. "If you stand up to a congresswoman, this is what will happen to you." 

Buchanan maintains his innocence of the harassment and menacing charges and said he plans on suing the city, claiming he  "lost income, was handcuffed, put into the national media, embarrassed." 

His next court date is scheduled for May 23 in New York City. He said he will ask for a change of venue. 

Maloney declined to comment on Buchanan's statements Wednesday. She has said she's moving forward with the firearm insurance legislation, despite the alleged threats. 

Police are looking for two teenagers who have allegedly snatched chains off the necks of at least five women in the Bronx over the last three weeks.

In each case, authorities say the suspects, described as being between 16 and 19, walk up to the woman, rip the chain from around her neck and run off. Sometimes they engage the woman in conversation before they steal the jewelry; sometimes they say nothing, police say.

All of the female victims were robbed in the early afternoon to early evening; they range in age from 55 to 93. The suspects have stolen five chains, four of them gold, since the spree began April 10. 

Authorities released surveillance video of the suspects robbing the 93-year-old woman in her driveway.

Anyone with information about the robberies is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS (8477).

Federal agents raided four brothels in New York and arrested 13 people in an alleged sex trafficking and prostitution ring dating back to 2008, prosecutors announced Tuesday. 

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said the suspects exploited dozens of women, trafficking some from Mexico to New York, to force them to work as sex slaves.

NBC 4 New York cameras captured the raid on one of the brothels in Yonkers Tuesday. Search warrants were also executed at brothels in Queens, Poughkeepsie and Newburgh. 

The criminal complaint alleges the suspects lured women to the U.S. by engaging them in romantic relationships and promising a better life in New York. Once they arrived, the victims were forced to work as prostitutes under "abhorrent conditions," often subjected to abuse and threatened with harm to them and their family members.

In a typical day, a Mexican sex trafficking victim in New York had sexual intercourse with 20 to 30 customers, with each customer usually paying about $30 to $35 for 15 minutes of sex, according to authorities. 

Of that money, half typically went to either the driver who took the victim to the client or to the residential brothel where the woman worked. The other half went to the victim, who was then typically forced to turn over all the money to the trafficker.

The suspects charged Tuesday had different roles in the sex trafficking ring, from operating brothels, driving victims to clients or brothels, and dispatching drivers, to recruiting and overseeing the women forced to work as prostitutes, according to the complaint. 

Two of the 13 suspects were already in federal custody on illegal reentry charges; another was arrested in Delaware. The rest were arrested in New York and appeared in the Manhattan federal court Tuesday afternoon. 

A U.S. Army major and his wife are accused of torturing their three foster children for years, breaking their bones, force-feeding them hot sauce, denying them water and using one of their biological kids to guard the toilet bowls so the foster children couldn't try to quench their thirst, authorities said.

Carolyn Jackson, 35, was arrested Tuesday morning at the New Jersey home she shares with her husband; John Jackson, 37, who was based at the Picatinny Arsenal Installation in Morris County, surrendered to federal agents shortly after his wife's arrest, U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said.

Both are charged in a 17-count indictment that includes conspiracy to endanger the welfare of a child, assault and more than a dozen counts of endangering the welfare of a child. The case is being prosecuted federally because the offenses were allegedly committed on a military base.

According to the indictment, the Jacksons engaged in a constant course of neglect and cruelty toward the three children they fostered and then adopted from August 2005 through April 2010 while they lived at Picatinny Arsenal. One of those children died in May 2008; the Jacksons are not charged in that child's death.

During the five years of abuse, the Jacksons allegedly told their three biological children not to report the physical assaults, saying the punishments and disciplinary techniques were meant to "train" the adopted children to behave. 

Prosecutors say the Jacksons allegedly physically assaulted their children with various objects, giving two of them broken bones. The couple then allegedly denied the injured children medical attention. 

On other occasions, the couple allegedly withheld food and water from their foster children, at times denying them water altogether, and beat the children when they were caught trying to sneak something to eat or drink.

In one case, the couple allegedly tasked one of their biological children with guarding the sinks and toilet bowls in their home on the military base to prevent one child from drinking water.

The Jacksons are also accused of using food as punishment, allegedly forcing their foster children to consume large amounts of red pepper flakes, hot sauce or raw onion. They also allegedly forced one child to ingest substances with excessive amounts of salt while being deprived of water, which caused a life-threatening condition.

At one point, prosecutors say a family friend told John Jackson that one of the children had reported the abuse in the household. Jackson then told his wife, who allegedly beat the child with a belt. 

Authorities say the Jacksons gave officials false medical histories or blamed the injuries on the adoptive children's biological mother when questioned.

The Jacksons appeared in federal court in Newark Tuesday and were temporarily denied bail. Attorney information wasn't immediately available for the husband and a lawyer for the wife did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

All of the children are in the custody of the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency.

“Carolyn and John Jackson are charged with unimaginable cruelty to children they were trusted to protect," Fishman said in a statement. “The crimes alleged should not happen to any child, anywhere, and it is deeply disturbing that they would happen on a military installation. Along with the FBI, we will continue to seek justice for our communities' most vulnerable victims.”

A Nassau County judge has sentenced a school bus driver to a year in prison for driving drunk and crashing a mini-bus with five students on board into a Syosset home.

Frederick Flowers, 66 of Massapequa Park, pleaded guilty to drunk driving and other charges earlier this year.

Dressed in an orange jail jumpsuit, Flowers said he was "beyond sorry" for the October 2012 crash.

None of the children on the bus, all under age 10, were injured. No one was inside the home when the bus slammed into the garage.

The students were headed home from St. Edward the Confessor school, just across the street from the crash scene.

Despite Flowers' apology, some thought he should have been ordered to serve more time behind bars.

"It's almost like a slap on the hand. I don't think it's enough," said Christina Percell, the owner of the home damaged in the crash.

Flowers was also sentenced to five years probation and had his driver's license revoked for 18 months.

"He has spent the last months since the incident asking, 'How are the children, how are the children?'" said Flowers' lawyer, Thomas Spreer. Spreer called his client a good man who loved kids and even sang songs to them as he drove to and from school.

Prior to the sentencing, prosecutor Katie Zizza read a letter from the mother of one of the children on the bus the day of the crash.

The unidentified mother called Flowers' actions "selfish and irresponsible," and added that for a time, her child had nightmares about the crash. She asked that in the future, all bus drivers be subjected to a Breathalyzer test before getting behind the wheel.

New York lawmakers will hold a hearing at SUNY Farmingdale Thursday on how to better protect children from drunk bus drivers.

Among the proposals under consideration: outfitting all school buses with ignition interlock systems, which block vehicles from being started if the driver's breath registers alcohol.