STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A local entrepreneur who federal authorities say was put through “hell” in an alleged, weeks-long extortion plot by a crew of young men on the borough’s North Shore is speaking out publicly about the ordeal, while his once-buzzing shop sits vacant.
The man’s shop, which specializes in framing artwork, has been shuttered for months, according to multiple sources.
“It’s a weird story; I can’t even believe it,” exclaimed one man familiar with the business, who requested anonymity due to the nature of the case.
Framed artwork remained showcased in the front window of the location Tuesday. The front door had been smashed for unknown reasons.
“He seemed to have customers,” said a woman who works nearby.
SHOP-OWNER SPEAKS OUT
For weeks, authorities say, the married business owner and father became a “personal ATM” for the defendants, footing the bill for high-end shopping sprees and luxury-car rentals, while chauffeuring the crew to strip clubs and hotels in New Jersey where they’d stay on his dime. When he tried to cancel one of his credit cards, he was threatened with a knife and told his daughter would be harmed, authorities allege.
The ordeal first unfolded in 2020 when the 66-year-old victim agreed to a transaction with a group of young men who showed up at his business along with his nephew’s friend, according to court papers. He accepted $500 in exchange for renting two cars under his name.
Two years later, they allegedly returned with a machine gun and more nefarious intentions.
Those charged in the case include two brothers, 21-year-old Jahseem (Jah) Jackson and 22-year-old Gerome (Runway) Jackson, in addition to the nephew’s friend — 20-year-old Kiernan (Car keys) Todzia.
The victim, in a recent interview with the New York Daily News, explained that he sometimes would let Todzia stay in the basement of the shop to escape a rough home life.
In the same interview he stated he regrets “not going to police the first day.”
“If I said that the first day, they would’ve stopped,” he said. “As soon as I said ‘Police,’ it stopped.”
He said he ultimately freed himself from the extortion plot by convincing members of the crew to drive to Florida with his money, after overhearing a discussion about purchasing firearms there.
While they were gone, he reached out to authorities.
Gerome Jackson was subsequently pulled over by police in Daytona in a car rented under the victim’s name. He was arrested for suspicion of grand theft auto, court records in Florida show.
“I always gave in,” the man said. “I always thought if I saw a terrorist I’d say, ‘Oh, I’m not gonna let other people die. I’ll jump that guy. I’ll do something.’ And then this happened, and I didn’t do nothing.”
The business owner’s name is not listed in court filings.
The Jackson brothers were at one point were living in Port Richmond, with past arrests in connection with a crew carrying out alleged criminal activity in the Mariners Harbor area, Advance/SILive.com records show. Following Gerome Jackson’s arrest, one of his associates allegedly texted the victim telling him to bail out the defendant.
Todzia’s home address is listed on a typically quiet, middle-class block in Grant City.
Todzia and Jahseem Jackson were arrested by federal authorities earlier this month. Both reportedly were ordered held without bail by a Brooklyn Federal Court judge.
Gerome Jackson was brought to New York to face a gun charge in Manhattan where he was sentenced to two years in state prison.
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