Vandals desecrate Staten Island graves

New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani has issued a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

Molinari has arranged for inmates at a nearby prison to help restore the tombstones.

Baron Hirsch Cemetery, founded in the late 1800s by Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe and Germany, is one of nine not-for-profit cemeteries on Staten Island. Currently owned by a conglomerate of 435 congregations and Jewish groups, the 80-acre cemetery is supervised by a board of directors.

According to Molinari, bias crime incidents on Staten Island jumped from 25 in 1995 to 38 in 1996. Thirteen of these 1996 incidents were considered to be anti-Semitic.

A black church's cemetery was vandalized last August.

As a result of the increased number of bias attacks, Molinari convened earlier this year an anti-bias task force comprised of representatives from all ethnic, religious and racial backgrounds.

"I am deeply concerned by the recent acts of vandalism, and I look forward to working with my task force on developing initiatives to combat bias in our borough," Molinari said.