Readers sound off on long rap sheets, Thanksgiving plans and a murder in Cabo

Stamford, Conn.: I was hit with outrage and disbelief when I read your Nov. 17 article, “Pickpocket with 60 arrests nabbed in fare-beating try at downtown station.” Sometimes the smaller headlines speak the loudest and this one is a doozie. I hope that Gov. Hochul and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (photo) read the Daily News because if they do, I can’t see how they can possibly continue to support bail reform or a continued limp approach to law enforcement.

This case turns the revolving door of justice into a gyroscope at the expense of law-abiding New Yorkers who deserve better from their government. The career criminal you described has been hard at work as a thief for nearly 40 years and, most disturbing, after eight brief stints behind bars, when he was finally charged with an offense that had teeth, his three-year jail sentence — still far too short — turned into one year behind bars and a year of parole that ended in 2021.

Since then, he’s been arrested 13 more times for larceny and due to bail reform, was consistently immediately released back onto the streets without having to post even a dollar of bail. The story should disgust any thinking adult who values public safety. The article illustrates the idiocy of bail reform and the corrosive impact on our society that a weak law enforcement culture engenders.

I’d love to hear a rebuttal from Bragg and/or Hochul to this letter. Let’s give them a chance to squarely address this case and justify their policies that put the crook’s interests above those of our innocent and hard-working citizens. Peter Janoff

Brooklyn: Newly elected Gov. Hochul should take a tip from the GOP-led Pennsylvania state House of Representatives. They are impeaching Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner for pushing his progressive philosophies and going easy on crime. We have Alvin Bragg, who’s just as guilty, using the bail reform laws to protect rather than prosecute criminals and rebranding serious crimes as misdemeanors. If Hochul was sincere during her campaigning about bringing crime in New York under control, her first step should be to impeach Bragg and replace him with a tough-as-nails prosecutor. Bert Wedemeyer

Ridge, L.I.: Your reporting in “Gangbanger busted for killing N.J. man who rented him BMW” (Nov. 12) was very loose with its terminology regarding the killer’s release from prison. You state that the killer had been “conditionally released by parole in September 2021 after serving time for robbery.” The Division of Parole does not “conditionally release” anybody. That release is part of the sentence given in court and how the Department of Corrections enforces that sentence. His conditional release means the parole board declined to release him early, and upon serving two-thirds of his maximum sentence, he was eligible to be considered for early release on a “conditional release” basis at the discretion of Corrections. The significance is this article basically accused parole of giving an early release to a killer. Parole has always been looked at with suspicion and hostility by the public. Reporting like this only adds to that, making their job more difficult. Robert Cuttler

Bergenfield, N.J.: Since EVs, i.e. battery-operated vehicles, have to be registered and insured, and all these battery-operated scooters, bicycles and the like should do the same — be registered and insured since they are EVs and should follow the rules of the road. Jack De Lucia

Hollis: Members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in America have great reason to be grateful this Thanksgiving. Ahmadi Muslims are grateful to God for living in America, a country that offers us the right to exercise religious freedom and to vote. In stark contrast, many supposedly Muslim countries snatch such religious and political freedoms away from their religious minorities. To celebrate such freedom, members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association (AMYA) across all 62 of our chapters in America are expressing their gratitude to God by giving thanks to our fellow brothers and sisters. From hosting Thanksgiving dinners in our mosques to donating toys for underprivileged families this holiday season, Ahmadi Muslims are giving thanks in the most American way possible — through selfless service. And we call on all Americans — of every faith or no faith — to embrace one another in such goodness (Qur’an 2:149). Frasat Ahmad

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Ithaca, N.Y.: As it’s been since Ronald Reagan was in the White House, this month, President Biden will pardon two turkeys who will live out their natural lifespans while more than 45 million others will meet an untimely holiday death. These two touted turkeys, celebrities in their own right, are free from the crowded sheds filled with toxic fumes where their ill-fated feathered friends suffer, a life where beaks and toes are clipped to prevent stress-induced aggression and at 16 weeks, slaughterhouse workers cut their throats and lower them into boiling water to remove their feathers. In 2021, U.S. consumption of turkey was 5.1 billion pounds and 15.3 pounds per capita. But this turkey tyranny trend can end. Supermarkets carry a wide variety of delicious, healthful, oven-ready, plant-based roasts and most Thanksgiving sides are already vegan. This Thanksgiving, let’s give thanks for our good fortune, health and happiness with a life-affirming, cruelty-free feast finished with a decadent dairy-free dessert. Eric C. Lindstrom

Roosevelt, L.I.: It is amazing how the United States can send millions and millions of dollars to Ukraine but us seniors can’t get a decent cost-of-living increase. Five hundred a month would be decent. Dozier Shellman

Kearny, N.J.: ‘Member when candidate Sleepy Joe vowed to treat the Saudis as the pariahs that they deserve to be? ‘Member when he then bumped MBS’s blood-soaked fist when he went to beg for more Saudi oil, only to then threaten “consequences” when the Saudis did a deal with Vladimir Putin to cut oil production before the midterm elections? Why, then, has Sleepy Joe’s State Department just ruled that MBS is immune from prosecution for killing U.S. resident Jamal Khashoggi because his daddy named him to an official Saudi government post a few days ago? I knew that he was senile, but is Sleepy Joe schizophrenic as well? God help us all. John Woodmaska

Kearny, N.J.: Given his criminal behavior, how can Trump be allowed to run again? J.F. Catrambone

Oceanside, L.I.: Re Voicer Deonia Neveus’ challenge to debate Donald Trump: I disagree. President Trump has yet to be convicted of a crime. You say you are looking for a new candidate who can offer America a better and fresher start. Again, do you really know of anyone who can compare to the president’s past performance? You and those like you are only interested in hurting him because of the hate for his tweeting. I don’t care how much he spouts off. America needs someone like Trump who has proven himself during his presidency. We can’t hope an untried politician can bring us back fast enough or at all. My wish would be for the president to tone down his rhetoric and make nice with Gov. Ron DeSantis so he can ask him to be vice president. John F. Rossano

Chappaqua, N.Y.: Abortion is so horrible for whatever reason but killing children with guns? Those who won’t address this situation have no hearts. Judgment Day! Renée Pollard

Cambria Heights: Please tell me I have been misinformed! A young woman was murdered in Cabo, Mexico, by “a group of friends” on Oct. 29. Why, oh why, was nothing in the Daily News about this? Social media is sharing a video of her being beaten to death by another female member of the group! Why have there been no arrests? Even if there is no provable evidence of murder, there is certainly more than provable evidence of major assault via the posted video (the culprits have also been identified!). The Gabby Petito story was relentlessly chronicled in your paper prior to, and after the discovery of her remains, and the murderer found to be her companion. Why has this story been downplayed and/or completely ignored? Terri Gilbert