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Image provided by: Long Island Library Resources Council
Fuschillo attends ASCENT Benefit More than 450 Long Islanders gathered recently at the Garden City Hotel for the third annual \Garden of Hope Gala\ to benefit ASCENT, a sehool for individuals with autism. The black tie affair is a key component of ASCENT'S fundraising efforts. Honoree New York State Senator Charles J Fuschillo, Jr. (8th Senate Dis- trict-Merrick) was recognized for his ongoing work to secure New York State grant funds for the school's educational programs and curriculum. ASCENT provides full-day, 12 month academic and behavioral treatment pro- grams for children ages three to 21 with autism and atypical pervasive develop- mental disorders. For more information about ASCENT'S educational programs, or to participate in supporting the school, con- tact Executive Director Nancy Shamow, Ph.D., at 609-2904, 321 Cedar Swamp Road, Glen Head, 11.545. Signs to warn firefighters ASCENT SCHOOL FOR AUTISM held their Third Annual Gala: From left are Chairwomen Elise Hirschhorn and Geri Fessler, Gala Hohoree Senator Charles Fuschillo, Ellen Fuschillo, and ASCENT Board of Trustees Chairman and School President Al Eskanazy. Identity theft legislation presented Since the success of the New York State's Telemarketer \Do Not Call\ Registry, Senator Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr. (8th Senate District - Merrick) announced that the Senate passed legis- lation that will help protect consumer privacy by targeting the crime of identi- ty theft. \Identity theft has been called the number one financial and consumer crime of the information age,\ said Sen- ator Fuschillo, Chairman of the Senate Consumer Protection Committee and a member of the Senate Task Force on Privacy Invasion. \It is a growing prob- lem due to the availability of informa- tion in computer databases, increased use of credit, debit and ATM cards, and the growth of commerce over the Inter- net. This bill clearly defines the crime and establishes strong penalties in the law to punish pe'rpetrators.\ The legislation would establish three felony levels of identity theft, based on the dollar amount fraudulently obtained by the criminal. The bill includes a rebuttable presumption so that a person who possesses personal identifying information of five or more people, including such things as a Social Secu- rity number, bank account and credit card numbers or other personal identify- ing information which could be used to access a person's financial resources or medical information, is presumed to possess the information with the intent to commit fraud. Just recently, in Brooklyn, a convict- ed swindler used a copy of Forbes \400 Richest People in America\ and a com- puter to breach banking, brokerage and credit card information from a list of celebrities and was caught. The scheme was so sophisticated that the thief was able to avoid detection for six months. The Federal Trade Commission began gathering data on identity theft incidents through their consumer hot- line, and report over 40,000 contacts from consumers, of which 64% were complaints. Just over a thousand of those inquiries were from consumers in New York City, 77% of which were complaints. The cost of identity theft is monu- mental to victims, to financial institu- tions and to taxpayers. Those costs have skyrocketed to more than $2 billion a year. This \victimless\ crime cost con- sumers roughly $442 million in 1995, and'escalated to $745 million in 1997. According to Senator Fuschillo, the leg- islation would also enable identity theft victims to receive restitution, including covering the costs of restoring their credit record. Making it one step closer to becoming state law, firefighter safety legislation sponsored by Senator Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr. (8th Senate District) that would proper- ly warn firefighters of the existence of truss construction, was recently passed by the New York State Senate and Assem- bly. The legislation will now go to Gover- nor George E. Pataki, who is anticipated to sign it into law. According to Senator Fuschillo, truss type construction is a prefabricated struc- ture of wood or steel used to build floors, roofs and ceilings through a series of tri- angles spanning greater distances than normally possible if any of the individual pieces were used separately. However, truss construction is known to separate in extreme heat and collapse in the early stages of a fire, endangering the lives of firefighters and rescue workers. Senator Fuschillo's legislation would' require all commercial and industrial structures that utilize truss type construc- tion to be marked with a sign or symbol in order to sufficiently advise firefighters and rescue workers. COLLEGE Advertise In PTTRT IT'ATTONS Jt U J> JL/JL V-'./TL JL Jl. V-FJL^I o Special Editions Mailed To Every Home In Bellmore, Merrick & Wantagh Expanded Circulation In Seaford, Freeport and Baldwin Total Distribution over 40,000 Reach 90,000 Readers Call Today To Reserve Your Space •**•••-:**
