NEW YORK COMPUTERS STOLEN FROM COUNCILMAN's OFFICENew York City - PoliticsMay 24, 2004

Controversial City Councilman Allan Jennings' Jamaica office was burglarized over the weekend, he said.

Jennings said that $3,000 in camera video equipment, a laptop and recently ordered Gateway desk top computers were stolen from his office sometime over the weekend.

"They just cleaned us out," Jennings said. "Criminals don't have any regard for anything, they don't respect the church and they don't respect government offices. This is terrible."

Police responded to the office on 146th Street just after 9 a.m. yesterday. Apparently a staffer closing the office at 7 p.m. Saturday, pulled down the metal gate and didn't lock it, police said. When the staffers returned to work Monday, they found the gate partly up.

The office burglary marked the second time in the past week that police were called to Jennings office. On Thursday, police were called after Jennings received a death threat, a council official said.

Jennings confirmed that he had received a death threat in a letter mailed to his office that contained racial epithets.

Jennings said that detectives took DNA and fingerprint samples from the letter.

In March, Jennings received another threatening letter that appeared to contain a white-substance when it was opened.

The substance proved to be harmless and the FBI arrested an individual already under investigation for making terrorist threats against public officials, Jennings said.

Jennings has been at the center of a sexual harassment scandal at City Hall where a female staff attorney accused him of making unwanted sexual advances. The embattled councilman blamed the negative media coverage for the death threats.