Healing continues decades after family s prom night murders Jim Axelrod
This story previously aired on August 15, 2020.
Jessi Toronjo was just 9 years old when she returned from a sleepover at a friend s house to find out her mother, stepfather and two sisters were murdered in their Lakeville, Indiana, home. Police immediately suspected Jessica s stepbrother Jeff Pelley, but it would take 13 years to arrest him. The motive? Prosecutors say the then-17-year-old Pelley wiped out his family in anger at not being able to drive to his prom. Pelley was ultimately convicted, but the case continues to wind its way through the courts.
The star of the event: then-state Sen. Eric Adams of Brooklyn.
Inside the polished mahogany confines of the elite venue, a powerful mix of elected officials, lobbyists and their clients mingled including two bidders seeking to run a casino at Queens’ Aqueduct Racetrack, a project Adams was involved in vetting.
It was a fundraiser, but it was also Adams’ birthday party: He’d turned 49 just two days before.
At one point during the celebration, Adams publicly thanked one of the Aqueduct bidders, according to a lobbyist who was there. Later, the lobbyist and his client one of the bidders wrote $11,500 in checks for Adams’ re-election campaign.
51. Dermot SmythQueens Political Action Coordinator, United Federation of Teachers Dermot Smyth-Dermot Smyth.JPG Alt Text: Dermot SmythTitle Text: Dermot
Office of Congressman Gregory Meeks
Rep. Gregory Meeks started off the year with a new role on the world stage. Just weeks before 2020 ended, he was elected to chair the House Foreign Affairs Committee – the first Black man ever to hold the position. Since then, Meeks has opposed a constitutional referendum in Haiti, passed a resolution condemning China’s actions in Hong Kong and proposed strengthening economic ties between Africa and the U.S., all while managing local politics back in the world’s borough in his continued role as chair of the Queens County Democratic Party.
4. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
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You hear the stories every day maybe even see the truth outside your window: America s inner cities are falling apart.
The hearts of many of our cities have become decaying centers of poverty and crime where residents are afraid to walk the streets of their own neighborhoods. The situation is getting worse every day despite the billions of taxpayer dollars Washington bureaucrats spend each year on solutions.
But there is hope. Finally, a small group of lawmakers in Congress has figured out what most Americans have known all along: The solutions to our inner-city problems have to come from the churches, homes, charitable organizations and neighborhoods of America.