Now the Bonanno mob turncoat may be released from jail next year, while his former boss has already been sentenced to consecutive life terms in prison, reports the New York Daily News.
]]> Cicale was affiliated with the Bonannos from 1999 to 2005, and he was a captain and crew leader for Basciano. During this time, he was accused of killing Frank Santoro, a Bronx junkie, and mob associate Randolph Pizzolo, reports the Post. He pleaded guilty to the crimes and faced consecutive life terms in jail.But as he testified against Vincent Basciano, contributing to the decimation of the Bonanno crime family leadership, prosecutors urged the judge to give him a reduced sentence. Prosecutors said they needed the help of mob turncoats, and, while it may be unfortunate to release an admitted killer from jail early, the plea deal was a necessary evil.
So Cicale was sentenced to only 10 years in prison. As he has already served seven years behind bars/ As he is expected to get an extra 18 months shaved off for good behavior, he could be back on the streets next year.
Bonanno family mob turncoat Dominick Cicale pleaded guilty to killing two people. As part of his deal with prosecutors to catch the bigger fish, the murderer may be released from jail after only serving eight years.
Related Resources:
Police had received a complaint that two men were fighting on the corner of Boynton and Westchester Avenues, close to where Gunz lived, reports the New York Post. When police rushed to the scene, the men took off. The police canvassed the area and eventually arrested Gunz as he fit the description of one of the suspects.
]]> At the time of arrest, the 24-year-old Gunz was allegedly packing the loaded semiautomatic weapon. For the offense, Gunz will likely be charged with either criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree or third degree.Generally, someone can be charged with criminal possession of a weapon if they possess any firearm or dangerous weapon. If the firearm is a machine-gun or assault weapon, that person can be charged with criminal possession in the second degree which carries a possible seven-year prison term.
And if the suspect has intent to use a loaded firearm, that person can face a third degree charge and up to 15 years in jail.
Cory Gunz was arrested after a fight when he was found to have possession of a semi-automatic unlicensed handgun. His penalty will likely depend on if he had intent to use it and how prosecutors classify the weapon.
Related Resources:
It’s unclear why the purported victim waited three months before filing a police report, but the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is now investigating the claim. Kelly’s father is the NYPD police commissioner, reports the New York Post.
]]> Greg Kelly “strenuously denies” any wrongdoing, but has been absent from the morning TV show since the story broke. If the police decide to pursue the case, Kelly may need a lot more than a New York City employment law lawyer to get his job back, as he could face up to 25 years in jail if convicted of first-degree rape.Generally, first-degree rape means forcing someone to have sex with you. On the other hand, if it is claimed that Kelly took advantage of a drunk woman incapable of giving consent, he could be charged with second-degree rape, which only carries a possible seven-year prison term.
If Kelly did have sex with the woman, he could offer consent as a possible defense. The Post reported that the woman and Kelly continued to communicate after the alleged rape, which would seem like behavior contrary to what a rape-victim would engage in.
The Greg Kelly rape claim has the Good Day New York host in a lot of trouble. He could lose his freedom, and his job, if the allegations are true.
Related Resources:
Denise Albright, 45, was sentenced to one year in jail for the assault of Christopher Robinson that led to his death. Apparently Robinson, an 18-year-old inmate, was considered a troublemaker in jail, and prison guards allowed inmates to beat him up in exchange for more favorable treatment by the guards.
]]> After Robinson’s beaten body was discovered, the fight club was unveiled and three prison guards were arrested for encouraging it. Albright was the last to be convicted and received a relatively lenient sentence. The alleged ring-leaders of the fight club — Michael McKie and Khalid Nelson — faced up to 50 years in jail. Both pleaded guilty to assault, and McKie was sentenced to two years in jail while Nelson got one year.To be convicted of assault, someone does not necessarily have to throw a punch or engage in the physical altercation. Instead, merely causing the fight or inciting a beating may be enough for a conviction. In this case, none of the prison guards were accused of dealing a blow and yet all three have been convicted of the crime.
Along with the criminal convictions, it’s unclear if the three prison guards lost their jobs over the Rikers Island fight club. But given the circumstances of Christopher Robinson’s death, not even the best efforts of a New York City employment law lawyer could have saved their jobs.
Related Resources:
After the long trek to Mele's Orange County apartment -- 60 miles away from the city -- Garza sees signs that Mele may have another girlfriend and freaks out, wanting Mele to drive her back. It's late, Mele doesn't want to, and so he chokes the young woman to death. Mele admitted the crime this week and agreed to go to jail for 23 years, reports the New York Post.
]]> For three years, Mele denied killing Garza. In admitting the crime, Mele described Garza getting "loud" about wanting to go home, and him covering her mouth and nose in an effort to quiet her. He says he realized that Garza was not breathing and then freaked out when he realized that she was dead, reports the Post.Garza described driving Garza's body to a remote part of Pennsylvania, where he disposed of her.
As part of his plea deal, Mele agreed to 23 years in jail, though he could get out in less than 20 years. If he had been found guilty after a trial, he could have spent the rest of his life in jail.
Prosecutors may enter a plea deal with a New York City criminal lawyer for a variety of reasons, including saving the costs of going to trial, saving the time of litigating a case, and avoiding the uncertainty of possibly losing.
In Michael Mele's case, he was sentenced to murder for killing Laura Garza. That's a win for prosecutors, but as Mele could be released before his fiftieth birthday, he may also count the plea deal as a win as well.
Related Resources:
What makes this story even worse? The alleged Harlem flasher works at the city's Department of Youth and Community Development and was previously an executive at the Boys and Girls Club, reports the New York Post.
]]> The young girl was not hurt in the December incident and was able to flee and alert her mother, reports the Post. After police searched surveillance tape of the area they were eventually led to McFall for wearing the same overcoat and shoes as the suspect.Andrew McFall has been charged with public lewdness and endangering the welfare of a child. Both charges are considered misdemeanors in New York carrying at most one year in jail for each offense.
Along with losing his freedom, McFall might also need a New York City employment law lawyer to keep from losing his job. McFall works at the city's Youth and Community Development center and helps young people find jobs and after-school programs. While he did not work directly with children, given the nature of his crime and the nature of his work, the suspect could be terminated if found guilty. He has already been suspended without pay, reports the Post.
Previous to his work at the Youth and Community Center, McFall reportedly worked at Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club in The Bronx, where he was fired for reasons related to a sex abuse charge involving an adult, reports the New York Daily News.
The alleged Harlem flasher was arrested. If convicted, he stands to lose his freedom and another job working with children.
Related Resources:
Dr. Mohsen Hosseinkhani is accused of felony burglary charges for sabotaging cardiology experiments out of spite after losing a hospital cardiology fellowship at the Cardiovascular Research Center in Manhattan, reports the New York Post. But instead of facing his charges in court, the disgraced doctor has reportedly fled back to his native Iran.
]]> Hosseinkhani was scheduled to appear at an arraignment hearing in Manhattan Supreme Court yesterday. He was facing a 3 1/2-year prison sentence for his alleged crimes, reports the Post. But the doctor never appeared as he somehow managed to slip out of the country and return to Iran without his passport, which prosecutors were holding to prevent just this type of situation.Back in June, Hosseinkhani was fired from his position at the Cardiovascular Research Center for faking research. After he was fired, video surveillance at the center captured Hosseinkhani returning to the laboratories and swiping research equipment and sabotaging groundbreaking heart-cell regeneration experiments that took years to develop, reports the Post.
Had Hosseinkhani been convicted of these crimes, he probably would have faced deportation to Iran. Generally, aliens in the United States may be subject to deportation or removal if he or she violates any condition of entry into the country including being convicted of certain felonies.
Dr. Mohsen Hosseinkhani faced felony charges for sabotaging valuable research at a cardiology research center. Instead, of facing possible deportation, the so-called Mount Sinai Lab Rat deported himself.
Related Resources:
In October, 12-year-old Raymond Hernandez and 13-year-old Jiovanni Rosario were goofing off in a multi-story parking lot and caused a catastrophic shopping cart accident. The two boys took goofing off too far, and decided to throw a shopping cart down four stories onto an unsuspecting woman, reports the New York Post.
]]> Marion Hedges was walking with her child at the time and unfortunately stepped right in the shopping cart's path. She suffered serious injuries and now has brain damage, reports the Post.Both of the boys confessed to tossing the cart of the four-story ledge. Surprisingly, probation officials only recommended highly-supervised probation for the younger Hernandez, reports the Post. They have made no recommendations for Rosario.
Probation generally means that the defendant avoids jail or juvenile detention, and is released back to the community with certain restrictions, like curfews and mandatory school attendance. If someone under probation otherwise behaves, he will avoid further penalty.
If the recommendation is adopted by the family court, one of the boys in the shopping cart accident could avoid immediate, serious penalties for the role he played in Hedges' injuries. And, as personal injury liability laws cap the amount of damages that Hedges can go after in a civil lawsuit to $5,000, the brain-damaged woman probably has little help by way of New York City personal injury lawyer.
Marion Hedges was seriously injured in a shopping cart accident. Unfortunately for her, her attackers may receive minimal criminal or civil penalties.
Related Resources:
]]>A recently-released, 94-page FBI document outlining the alleged crimes of Wu-Tang Clan co-founder Ol' Dirty Bastard may have a positive effect on the group's street cred, but negative consequences for the group's legal problems.
]]> According to the document, the Wu-Tang Clan took gangster rap to a whole new level; some people associated with the group are being accused of gunrunning, drug dealing, gang-banging, money laundering, and even murder, reports the New York Post.The FBI file is focused on the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard, whose real name was Russell Jones, though it may affect other members of the group as well. In the file, the Clan is linked to an assortment of crimes affiliated with the Bloods street gang, ranging from car jackings to shootings, reports the Post. The group also allegedly used their record label to launder money they made illegally.
Perhaps in the most shocking revelation, the FBI has linked an unidentified Clan member in ordering the murder of Robert “Pooh” Johnson, a former Wu-Tang associate who had a falling out with the group.
For most of the crimes, the FBI file will likely have no legal consequences as Ol’ Dirty Bastard died in 2004 of a drug overdose, and the statute of limitations for most crimes in New York is five years. This means that five years after a crime is committed, prosecutors usually can no longer go after the suspect. However, there is an exception, that could still lead to serious trouble for a member of the Wu-Tang Clan.
Unlike other crimes, there is no statute of limitations for murder in New York. This means that prosecutors can pursue a murder charge no matter how much time has passed since the murder.
In an FBI file, the Wu-Tang Clan and Ol’ Dirty Bastard have been linked to several crimes. Despite the number of years that have passed, and Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s death, you shouldn’t be surprised if you see Wu-Tang Clan murder charges making the headlines.
Related Resources:
The Dapper Bandit, also known as Dana Connor, is a life-long bank robber notoriously known for robbing banks while dressed as if attending a business meeting. Usually handing over a demand note and flashing a gun, the bank robber made off with thousands of dollars in a recent crime spree, reports the New York Post.
]]> Connor has been robbing banks since the 1970s and has a lengthy criminal history, reports the Post. He previously did a ten-year stretch in federal prison for a string of about 30 robberies committed in the 1980s.In his latest robbery spree, Connor was wanted for ten gunpoint bank robberies in Manhattan since last September, reports the Post. He allegedly utilized his trademark delivery in the robberies, dressed to the nines and slipping a demand note to the teller while flashing a handgun.
Surprisingly, bank robbery was not that lucrative for Connor as he made off with only about $25,000 for the heists. He probably could have made as much working at McDonald's.
But whether it was for the money or the thrill, Connor was caught and he now faces another jail stint -- this time with ten years as the possible minimum penalty.
Bank robbery where the robber displays a gun and threatens to use it is considered robbery of the first degree. This is a class B felony and someone convicted of the crime normally faces somewhere between five and 25 years in jail.
Connor's previous sentence of ten years was just about right for a first time offense. But with his second arrest, Connor could now face another 25 years in jail. Only this time, ten years will be mandatory minimum sentence as he has a violent predicate on his record.
The Dapper Bandit Dana Connor was caught holed up in a Brooklyn apartment. Given his previous history, Manhattan banks can likely breathe a sigh of relief at least for the next decade.
Related Resources:
Perhaps that decision has been made easier with the recent news that cab driver Gurmeet Singh was arrested in connection with a string of taxi cab rapes.
]]> With the help of DNA evidence, Singh is accused of raping a 26-year-old East Village woman last May at knifepoint, reports the New York Post. The woman was apparently drunk in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and needed a ride home to Manhattan. The unidentified woman passed out in the cab and allegedly woke to find herself bound with a scarf while Singh raped her. After the rape, Singh allegedly stole the woman's phone and $20.Singh is also a suspect in the assault of a 31-year-old woman in Harlem last September, reports the Post. Similarly, the victim was intoxicated and hailed the suspect's cab to get home. After the assault, she was robbed of her things.
Singh has been driving a cab since 1999 and has no criminal record. However, for the alleged rapes, the driver could face a class B felony charge and up to 25 years in jail for each offense. Using force to rape someone (like using a knife or binding someone's hands) is considered the most serious rape offense.
Gurmeet Singh is accused of raping two women who got into his cab after a night out drinking. For the taxi cab rape, Singh could face a long time behind bars.
Related Resources:
The assistant DA, Rafael Urena, was pulled over at a routine DUI checkpoint set up between First and Second Avenues in Manhattan. The 26-year-old Urena was barely above the legal limit, blowing a 0.081 on a Breathalyzer. When asked if he knew how the Breathalyzer device worked, the young attorney allegedly responded, “Yeah, I know what it is; I’m a Bronx assistant district attorney,” reports the New York Post.
]]> Given Urena's job and legal training, he probably has no need of a NYC DUI attorney to tell him about the charges and penalties he faces. But as most of you are probably not district attorneys, a quick review may be in order.Generally, the penalty someone faces for a routine drunk driving charge depends upon his or her blood alcohol level at the time of arrest. For example, someone can be charged with driving under the influence regardless of how much they've drunk, so long as they're impaired.
So a real lightweight, who's only had one beer, can still be arrested for a DUI even if his blood alcohol level is only 0.03 if his driving ability is impaired. In this case, the driver faces fines and a maximum prison stay of 15 days.
On the other hand, if someone has a blood alcohol level above 0.08, that person is deemed legally impaired even if that person can still drive perfectly. In this case, the driver faces increased fines and a maximum prison stay of one year (if there are no extenuating circumstances like a history of DUIs).
And if someone is caught driving with a blood alcohol level above 0.18, that person can be charged with an aggravated DUI with an even higher fine along with a one-year prison stay.
Bronx assistant DA Rafael Urena was arrested for a DUI in Manhattan. He probably already knows this, but he faces fines and a one-year prison stay for his offense.
Related Resources:
Last week at the Shelburne hotel in Manhattan, the California-based skateboarder is said to have gone berserk, in the buff, reports the New York Post. The heavily tattooed 26-year-old Rogers was caught in the nude, smashing paintings in the hotel's hallway. At the time of his rampage, Rogers was allegedly yelling about how he was the son of God, leading some to believe he was under the influence of drugs.
]]> Nevertheless, Rogers will now need God's helping hand (in addition to a good attorney) to avoid jail time. According to the Post, the skateboarder was charged with misdemeanor criminal mischief (the lowest criminal mischief charge) and faces a one-year prison term.Still, Rogers should probably consider himself lucky that the Shelburne hotel didn't have more valuable paintings for him to smash as he could have faced felony mischief charges (and much more jail time) had he caused damage exceeding $1,500.
Sadly, for the self-professed "son of God," this is not the first time that he has gone on a violent naked rant about God. In 2009, Rogers was arrested for nearly the same offense, preaching from the rooftops while wearing no pants in Redondo Beach, California.
Jerome Rogers arrested. Perhaps some time on Rikers Island will convince the skateboarder that he is not Jesus reborn, or perhaps it may just further help convince the troubled young man that he is some type of martyr. On the bright side, at least Rogers wasn't riding a skateboard at the time of the incident as he may have been in need of a NYC DUI attorney along with a criminal defense attorney.
Related Resources:
Details are still scarce, but The Associated Press reports that the 47-year-old man was charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance and criminal use of drug paraphernalia. It was reported that he does not yet have an attorney.
]]> To start off, Gibbs will want to contact a New York City criminal lawyer to save his freedom. A person charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance faces varying penalties depending upon the type of drug sold, the amount of the drug sold, and other circumstances like where the drug is sold.For example, someone who sells an illegal depressant faces fifth degree charges and a class D felony charge (up to seven years in jail). On the other hand, someone who sells a large quantity of narcotics like heroin could face first degree charges and a class A-1 felony charge (possible life imprisonment).
After taking care of his criminal troubles, Donald Gibbs will then want to contact a New York City employment law attorney to possibly save his job. For certain professions, especially those jobs that work closely with students, someone cannot perform the job if he has a criminal record.
So even if the NYPD school safety worker avoids the most severe felony charges for dealing drugs, he could still find that he has no job to come back to.
Related Resources:
What criminal penalty would you expect for Naisha Sutton, the 26-year-old woman who drove without a license, made an illegal turn, struck and killed a motorcyclist, and then fled the scene? If you guessed years and years, guess again.
]]> For the 2010 accident that took the life of young hedge-fund executive Ronen Katz, a judge sentenced Sutton to only 60 days in jail. The judge spared Sutton a harsher sentence because the Brooklyn mom apparently had not been speeding or drinking, and had at least stopped momentarily at the crash scene she created, reports the New York Post.Ultimately, Sutton only pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident, a misdemeanor, as opposed to the more serious negligent-homicide or reckless-manslaughter charges she could have faced, reports the Post.
Sutton's defense lawyer was able to successfully argue that Sutton was not completely heartless as she had got out of her car and asked that people nearby call 911. It was also argued that with a crying baby in the backseat of her car, the young Sutton panicked and sped away, before turning herself in shortly thereafter.
Prosecutors frequently make plea deals with defendants when they have a case that can be difficult to prove or if they do not have the resources to fully go after someone. In Naisha Sutton's case, her lawyer successfully argued that she was a panicked young mother, and prosecutors may have felt they would have a difficult time making a manslaughter charge stick.
Instead, Sutton was hit with a misdemeanor and will be out of jail in a couple months despite killing Ronen Katz.
Related Resources: