A roller coaster that was plunged into the Atlantic Ocean after Super Storm Sandy ripped through the Jersey Shore last October and became a symbol of the devastation was being demolished Tuesday afternoon.

The partially submerged Jet Star coaster was once a popular destination at Casino Pier, an amusement park in Seaside Heights, N.J. But when Sandy ravaged the Jersey shoreline, destroying parts of the pier, the coaster tumbled into the ocean.

Watch live video at NBCNewYork.com

Footage recorded at the scene showed demolition crews beginning to rip apart what remains of the former thrill ride. The crews are expected to use barges in the water and on-shore equipment to dismantle and uproot the coaster, Casino Pier spokeswoman Toby Wolf told NBC New York.

The demolition will take roughly two days to complete, Wolf said.

Casino Pier has reportedly asked Weeks Marine, the construction and dredging company hired to tear down Jet Star, to salvage a piece of the fallen coaster, which park officials intend to install as part of a planned Sandy memorial, according to NBC New York.

Prince Harry, who earlier Tuesday visited the storm-battered towns of Mantoloking and Seaside Heights with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at his side, said that he saw the “American spirit” manifested in the coastal region's recovery from natural disaster.

The prince is scheduled to appear in New York City on Tuesday evening to promote British trade and a community baseball program.

New York Senate via Reuters

New York state Senator and former Minority Leader John Sampson is shown in this undated photo provided by the New York Senate.

New York State Sen. John Sampson, a Democrat representing parts of Brooklyn, New York City, was indicted Monday on federal charges of embezzlement, obstruction of justice and lying to the FBI, officials said.

Sampson was a court-appointed referee to watch over escrow accounts for sales of foreclosed properties in Brooklyn. It's alleged he embezzled $440,000 between 1998 and 2008.

He's also accused of funneling funds into his failed campaign for Brooklyn DA.

The charges against Sampson come less than a week after prosecutors revealed that former Sen. Shirley Huntley made numerous secret recordings of other elected officials in a bid for leniency in her own corruption case.

Sampson, who represents the 19th senatorial district encompassing Canarsie, East New York, Mill Basin, Marine Park and Sheepshead Bay, was elected to the Senate in 1996. 

He is a member and past chairman of the New York Senate Judiciary Committee. 

Read more on NBCNewYork.com

Senate Democratic Conference Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said Sampson has been stripped of his ranking positions and committee assignments.

FBI Assistant Director George Venizelos said in a statement Monday that "incumbent and defendant cannot be accepted as interchangeable."

"Elected officials are referred to as public servants, and that should not be confused with self-serving," he said.

Messages left with Sampson's district office and his attorney were not immediately returned.

U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch said Sampson allegedly abused public trust "for years" and stole from New Yorkers whose homes were in foreclosure.

“But the former Senate ethics leader didn’t stop there," Lynch said in a statement. "Senator Sampson allegedly stole that money to fund his own ambition to become Brooklyn’s top state prosecutor, then engaged in an elaborate obstruction scheme to hide his illegal conduct, going so far as to counsel lies and the hiding of evidence.”

The allegations against Sampson follow last month's arrests of State Sen. Malcolm Smith, New York City Councilman Daniel Halloran and two New York City GOP leaders on federal bribery charges.

According to court documents, Smith, a Democrat, allegedly schemed with Halloran, a Republican, to bribe Bronx and Queens Republican county chairs for a GOP line on this year's mayoral ballot. All four pleaded not guilty to various corruption charges in late April.

Separately, New York State Assemblyman Eric Stevenson was also arrested in April, charged with accepting bribes in exchange for official acts. He denies the allegations.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced several anti-corruption proposals in the wake of the bribery scandal. 

Two airplanes clipped while preparing to take off from the runway at Newark Airport Wednesday evening, officials said. 

Scandinavian Airlines Flight 908, headed to Oslo, clipped its left wing against the tail of ExpressJet Flight 4226, which was going to Nashville, officials said. The planes were taxiing for departure shortly before 7:30 p.m.

The Scandinavian Airlines Airbus A330 was directly behind the ExpressJet Embraer E145 on a taxiway, and was turning right to get onto another taxiway.

The ExpressJet plane was towed back to the gate, and the SAS plane taxied back to the gate. Passengers were taken off both planes. No injuries were reported. 

The accident is being investigated. Scandinavian Airlines, which has hubs in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, didn't immediately respond to telephone messages and emails seeking comment.

ExpressJet Airlines released a statement Wednesday night saying it is "working in coordination with officials to determine a cause." 

ExpressJet, which bills itself as the world's largest regional airline, operates as a United Express partner from United's Newark hub. United, which has headquarters in Chicago, is part of United Continental Holdings Inc.

A 250-pound chunk of an airplane wing that is believed to be part of a 9/11 jetliner was hoisted out of an alley near the World Trade Center on Wednesday where it was found last week and taken into police custody.

A dozen police officers worked for two hours using ropes and a hoist to lift the 5-foot-long piece of debris from the 18-inch-wide alley. They then wheeled it onto the street and loaded it into a pickup truck to take it to the NYPD property clerk's office in Brooklyn.

Deputy Chief William Aubrey said the National September 11 Memorial & Museum could eventually take possession of the part. He described the removal as eerie and emotional.

REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

New York Police remove a piece of plane believed to be connected to the 9/11 terrorist attacks from an alley in downtown Manhattan.

"It's a piece of history," he said. "We tried to preserve it as best we could."

The part was removed after forensic authorities sifted the soil around it for human remains on Tuesday. The medical examiner's office said no potential human remains were found.

The airplane debris, identified as a piece of a 767 wing, was found wedged in the alley last week by surveyors hired by the property owner, as first reported by NBC 4 New York. The alley is between the rear of 50 Murray St. and back of 51 Park Place, the site where a mosque and community center has been proposed three blocks from Ground Zero.

Police say they have not determined whether the part came from American Airlines flight 11, which hit the north tower at 8:46 a.m., or United flight 175, which hit the south tower at 9:03 a.m. All of the other plane parts found in the immediate area were from flight 175.

NBC 4 New York

Alleged members of the ring being arrested on Tuesday, April 30.

Federal agents raided four brothels in and around New York City and arrested 13 people in an alleged sex trafficking and prostitution ring dating back to 2008, prosecutors announced Tuesday.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said the suspects exploited dozens of women, trafficking some from Mexico to New York, to force them to work as sex slaves. NBC 4 New York cameras captured the raid on one of the brothels in Yonkers. Search warrants were also executed in brothels in Queens, Poughkeepsie and Newburgh.

The criminal complaint alleges the suspects lured women to the U.S. by engaging them in romantic relationships and promising a better life in New York. Once they arrived, the victims were forced to work as prostitutes under "abhorrent conditions," often subject to abuse and threatened with harm to them and their family members.

In a typical day, a Mexican sex trafficking victim in New York had sexual intercourse with 20 to 30 customers, with each customer usually paying about $30 to $35 for 15 minutes of sex, according to authorities.

Of that money, half typically went to either the driver who took the victim to the client or to the residential brothel where the woman worked. The other half went to the victim, who was then typically forced to turn over all the money to the trafficker.

The suspects charged Tuesday had different roles in the sex trafficking ring, operating brothels, driving victims to clients or brothels, dispatching drivers and recruiting and overseeing the women forced to work as prostitutes, according to the complaint.

Two of the 13 suspects were already in federal custody on illegal reentry charges; another was arrested in Delaware. The rest were arrested in New York and appeared in the Manhattan federal court Tuesday afternoon.

Workers for the New York City medical examiner's office have begun sifting soil for possible human remains at a site near the World Trade Center where a chunk of airplane debris believed to have come from one of the 9/11 hijacked jetliners was found.

The aircraft part has been identified as a piece from a 767 wing, officials said Monday. NBC 4 New York, which first reported the finding in an alley near ground zero last week, has also learned the answer to the mystery of a rope that was found intertwined in the part — according to a law enforcement official, a detective who responded to the original call about the part last week tried to move it with a rope.

Authorities on Friday had said the rope might have indicated the part was lowered into the alley, but have since interviewed everyone who had contact with the part last week and have now answered that question. The official tells NBC 4 New York that the detective found the rope nearby and was trying to move the part to find a serial number or other identifying mark.

The NYPD also said Monday that a Boeing technician has confirmed that the 5-foot part is a trailing edge flap actuation support structure.

"It is believed to be from one of the two aircraft destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001, but it could not be determined which one," NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said.

On Sept. 11, American Airlines flight 11 hit the north tower at 8:46 a.m., and United flight 175 hit the south tower at 9:03 a.m. A FEMA graphic below shows that all the other plane parts in the immediate area were from flight 175.

Police and officials from the city medical examiner's office were on scene Monday preparing to sift the soil under the part for lost human remains. Officials said the part will be removed later in the week when that process is complete.

The part was found wedged between two buildings in a very narrow alley only about 18 inches wide between the rear of 50 Murray St. and back of 51 Park Place, the site where a mosque and community center has been proposed three blocks from ground zero.

The part bears a "Boeing" stamp, followed by a series of numbers.

The NYPD said the landing gear was found after surveyors hired by the property owner inspecting the rear of 51 Park Place called police on Wednesday. 

Most of the rubble from the 9/11 attack was cleared from the 16-acre site by the spring of 2002. Other debris, including human remains, has been found scattered outside the site, including on a rooftop and in a manhole, in years since.

Environmental officials are planning to survey a Central Park lake this week to search for an invasive type of toothy predator fish that threatens to disrupt the ecosystem.

The northern snakehead fish, native to China, Russia and Korea, has been spotted in Queens in recent years, and one was quietly observed in Harlem Meer several years ago.

The fish eats frogs and crayfish and has the ability to breathe air and live for days out of water in certain conditions.

It is so disruptive that the state prohibits possession, sale and transport of the live fish and its eggs.

Read more from NBCNewYork.com

Signs have recently gone up around the Harlem Meer warning anyone who catches one not to throw it back.

The signs warn anglers to "secure the fish" and "keep it in a secure container until it is picked up by officials."

If park officials cannot be found at the boathouse, the sign urges anyone with a snakehead fish to call 311 and report the catch.

The sign is "just to let people know that this fish is in there, if you find it please do not return it to the water and it also helps people become aware that there are things in the water that should not be there," said Melissa Cohen, Department of Environmental Conservation fisheries manager.

The man-made lake is located in Central Park's northeast corner between 106th and 110th streets.

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A former "teacher of the year" won't serve any prison time after admitting she had a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old student.

A state Superior Court judge in Newark, New Jersey, sentenced 33-year-old Erica DePalo to lifetime parole supervision.

She also will have to forfeit her teaching certificate and register as a sex offender.

A tearful DePalo made a brief statement in court Monday expressing regret for her actions, and saying she was trying to rebuild her life.

She pleaded guilty in February to child endangerment.

Read more from NBCNewYork.com

Prosecutors said the Montclair resident had a brief sexual relationship with a student in her honors English class at West Orange High School.

She initially was charged with aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and child endangerment and could have faced up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Her attorney, Anthony Alfano, said DePalo suffers from bipolar disorder and was on bad medication that can cause errors in judgment.

Related:

Erica DePalo, former 'Teacher of the Year,' accused of having sex with 15-year-old student

A chunk of airplane debris found near the World Trade Center site that is believed to have come from one of the jetliners hijacked in the 9/11 attacks has been identified as a piece from a 767 wing, officials said Monday.

NBC 4 New York, which first reported the finding in an alley near ground zero last week, has also learned the answer to the mystery of a rope that was found intertwined in the part -- according to a law enforcement official, a detective who responded to the original call about the part last week tried to move it with a rope.

Authorities on Friday said the rope might have indicated the part was lowered into the alley but have since interviewed everyone who had contact with the part last week and have answered that question. The official told NBC 4 New York that the detective found the rope nearby and was trying to move the part to find a serial number or other identifying mark.

The NYPD also said Monday that a Boeing technician has confirmed that the 5-foot part is a trailing edge flap actuation support structure.

"It is believed to be from one of the two aircraft destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001, but it could not be determined which one," NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said.

On Sept. 11, American Airlines Flight 11 hit the north tower at 8:46 a.m., and United Flight 175 hit the south tower at 9:03 a.m.

Police and officials from the city medical examiner's office were on scene Monday preparing to sift the soil under the part for lost human remains. Officials said the part will be removed later in the week when that process is complete.

The part was found wedged between two buildings in an alley only about 18 inches wide between the rear of 50 Murray St. and the back of 51 Park Place, the site where a mosque and community center have been proposed three blocks from ground zero.

The part bears a "Boeing" stamp, followed by a series of numbers.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly visited the alley Friday evening and viewed the debris from about 30 feet away. 

"It's a manifestation of a horrific terrorist act a block and a half away from where we stand," he said. "It brings back terrible memories to anyone who was here or who was involved in that event, and obviously I think the families could very well be impacted by this finding."

The NYPD said the part was found after surveyors hired by the property owner inspecting the rear of 51 Park Place called police on Wednesday.

The rubble from the 9/11 attack was cleared from the 16-acre site by the spring of 2002. Other debris, including human remains, has been found scattered outside the site, including on a rooftop and in a manhole, in years since.

A 5-foot-long chunk of airplane debris found near the World Trade Center site is believed to be a piece of landing gear from one of the planes that hit the towers more than 11 years ago, NBC 4 New York first reported.

Police confirmed Friday that the part was found wedged between two buildings in a very narrow alley only about 18 inches wide between the rear of 50 Murray St. and back of 51 Park Place, the site where a mosque and community center has been proposed three blocks from ground zero.

See original report at NBCNewYork.com

The part bears a "Boeing" stamp, followed by a series of numbers, as seen in an exclusive photo obtained by NBC 4 New York. 

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly visited the alley Friday evening and viewed the debris from about 30 feet away. 

"It brings back terrible memories to anyone who's here, and obviously I think the families could very well be impacted by this finding," he said. 

Kelly described the piece as being about 5 feet by 4 feet and around 17 inches high, lying in a "very, very narrow, confined area." 

"It's difficult to get in there and see," he said. 

NYPD

The narrow alley in lower Manhattan where debris that might be pieces of landing gear from one of the commercial airliners destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001 was found.

He said there was rope intertwined in part of the gear, and there were no marks on the buildings indicating the piece hit the walls on the way down.

"It would have had to fall down at a certain angle," said Kelly.

Asked whether he was surprised to see such a large plane part anchored in such a tight area, Kelly said: "If you see how confined this space is, and you realize the chaos that existed down here on this street, it's not surprising. It's very, very confined. No cleanup went on in this 18-inch space between these two buildings." 

The NYPD said the landing gear was found after surveyors hired by the property owner inspecting the rear of 51 Park Place called police on Wednesday.

Police spokesman Paul Browne said the NYPD has secured the location "as it would a crime scene," and investigators are photographing the scene and restricting access until the medical examiner completes a health and safety evaluation.

Officials said the soil below the piece of debris could also be searched for remains. 

Police officials say the part could be difficult to remove, and may require demolition work that would destroy the two surrounding buildings. Officials are expected to be back at the scene on Monday to see if it can be removed.

"It really is a historical artifact," Kelly said.

On Sept. 11, American Airlines flight 11 hit the north tower at 8:46 a.m., and United flight 175 hit the south tower at 9:03 a.m.

The rubble from the 9/11 attack was cleared from the 16-acre site by the spring of 2002. Other debris, including human remains, has been found scattered outside the site, including on a rooftop and in a manhole, in years since.

A Boeing representative declined comment.

NBC New York

The name Boeing and a serial number is visible on a piece of the debris.

This story was originally published on Fri Apr 26, 2013 4:43 PM EDT