2010 Annual Report - Westchester County District Attorney

W ESTCHESTER C OUNTY
D ISTRICT A TTORNEY ’ S O FFICE
A NNUAL R EPORT 2010
JANET DIFIORE
DISTRICT ATTORNEY
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 TABLE OF CONTENTS 
MESSAGE FROM THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY…………………………………………………………………….………………………1
FINANCIAL OVERVIEW…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..2
PROSECUTION…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..3
WESTCHESTER REENTRY TASK FORCE………………………………………………………………………………………………..3
NEW YORK STATE JUSTICE TASK FORCE ON WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS……..……………………….……………………………..4
THE WESTCHESTER INTELLIGENCE CENTER…………………………………………………………………………………………...5
CODIS AND DNA COLLECTION……………………………………………………………………………………………………...…6
HOMICIDE………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..8
VEHICULAR CRIMES COORDINATOR ………………………………………………………………………………………………….12
VIOLENT FELONY SCREENING PROTOCOL ………………………………………………………………………..………………….14
CAREER CRIMINAL BUREAU………………………………………………………………………….………………………………..16
VIOLATION OF PROBATION…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….18
SEX CRIMES BUREAU………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….18
SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION ACT……………………………………………………………………………..…………21
FIREARMS AND GANG VIOLENCE……………………………………………………………………………………………………...22
LOCAL CRIMINAL COURTS……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..25
VICTIM’S JUSTICE CENTER…….…………………………………………………………………………………………….26
MADD VICTIM IMPACT PROGRAM………………………………………….……………………………………………….26
TEST TO ELIMINATE SEXUAL TRANSMISSION PROGRAM………………….……………………………………….……….26
BAIL JUMPING…………………………………………………………….………………………………………………….26
MENTAL HEALTH COURT…………………………………………………………………………………………………….26
NARCOTICS ENFORCEMENT…………………………………………………………………………………………………………...27
OPERATION IMPACT………………….…………………………….………………………………………………………..28
ANIMAL CRUELTY………………………...….………………………………………………………………………………………...29
ECONOMIC CRIMES………………….………………………………………………………………………………….…….……….29
CRIMES AGAINST REVENUE PROSECUTION UNIT..………………...……….………………………………………………29
WHITE COLLAR CRIMES..……….……………………………………….…………………………………………………..30
ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES………………….……………………………………….………………………………………………....31
ORGANIZED CRIME/CRIMIINAL ENTERPRISE/AUTO CRIMES………………….……………………………………….……………...31
AUTO CRIMES UNIT………………….……………………………………….……………………………………………..33
WITNESS SECURITY PROGRAM………………….……………………………………….…………………………………33
TRAINING AND EDUCATION………………….…………………………………………….…………………………………33
PUBLIC INTEGRITY BUREAU………………….……………………………………………………………………………………….33
MORTGAGE AND FRAUD UNIT………………………..……………..………………………………………………………..35
HIGH TECHNOLOGY CRIMES BUREAU..………………………………………………………………………………………………35
SPECIAL PROSECUTIONS …………….………………………………………………………………………………………………37
FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER……....…….……….….…………………………………………………………………………..37
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE BUREAU...…….……….….………………….………………………………………………………..38
CHILD ABUSE BUREAU………………...…..….…………….……...…………………………….…………………………..40
CHILD FATALITY REVIEW TEAM………………..…….….……………………………………………………………………40
INTEGRATED YOUTH COURT.………….……...………….………..…………………………………………………………41
LEANDRA’S LAW.………….……..…………………….….………..…………………………………………………………41
HUMAN TRAFFICKING……………….….…..…………………………………………………………………………………41
ELDER ABUSE………....………….……..……………………….…………………………………………………………...43
BIAS CRIME…………...…………..……….…….……………….…………………………………………………………...43
APPEALS AND SPECIAL LITIGATION…………………….……………………………………………………………….……………43
COMMUNITY OUTREACH…………………………….…………………………………….………….………………………………46
LEGAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING…………………………..………………………………………………………………47
PHOTOS ON COVER PAGE ARE FROM WIKIMEDIA COMMONS. COMMONS IS A FREELY LICENSED MEDIA FILE REPOSITORY.
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 A M ESSA G E FRO M TH E D I STRI C T A TTO R N EY 
This Annual Report for 2010 marks the completion of my fifth year as District Attorney and chief law enforcement officer
in Westchester County, and I am pleased to report on the work of the District Attorney’s Office. Along with our partners
in law enforcement and communities around the county, the District Attorney’s Office has accomplished a great deal to
enhance public safety. We have worked to maintain and sharpen the effectiveness of our prosecutions, the core mission
of the District Attorney’s Office. At the same time, we have continued to develop proactive crime prevention initiatives
and public education programs to address the factors that drive crime in our communities.
Our record of effectively prosecuting offenders remains very strong. In 2010, we again surpassed the statewide average
rate for convictions in felony and violent felony cases. Continuing the best practice of vertical prosecutions, our experienced prosecutors ensured comprehensive investigations and tough prosecutions in cases involving violent felonies and
vulnerable victims. We maintained our focus on cases involving gangs, narcotics and firearms, applying enhanced investigative resources. Specialized prosecutors handled cases involving homicide, child abuse, sex crimes, elder abuse,
financial and mortgage frauds, environmental crime, hate crimes and others. Our specialists in high technology crimes
prosecuted sexual predators and scam artists. We continued to address the issue of narcotics in Westchester’s communities by aggressively prosecuting violent drug dealers, while working with the courts to implement the new laws on diverting appropriate defendants to drug treatment.
I have continued to address the important issue of wrongful conviction. In 2009, I was appointed by Chief Judge
Lippman as Co-Chair of the Justice Task Force, a permanent body created to examine all aspects of wrongful convictions, make recommendations for needed reforms, and monitor the effectiveness of these reforms. In 2010, the Justice
Task Force met regularly and considered the work of two of its subcommittees on the issue of Identification and Forensic
Science. I am pleased to report that the Justice Task Force issued its recommendations for reform in these important
areas. (See page 4 of this Annual Report for a more detailed discussion of the work of the Justice Task Force. Also visit
the website at http://www.nyjusticetaskforce.com/)
During the five years that I have been District Attorney, the Office has established a record of sound financial management. In addition to seeking federal and
New York State grant funding to support our
work, we use money forfeited from criminal
activity to fund appropriate prosecution initiatives and equipment, thereby decreasing
the burden on Westchester taxpayers. By
using our personnel and resources strategically, we have returned an average of almost $1 million taxpayer dollars per year to
the County. This careful management of
the public’s resources during difficult economic times could not have been accomplished without the loyal service that my
dedicated staff has provided to the people of
Westchester County, and I thank them. I
look forward to continuing our work to enDISTRICT ATTORNEY DIFIORE HOSTS MONTHLY COUNTYSTAT MEETINGS AT
hance public safety in Westchester County
THE WESTCHESTER INTELLIGENCE CENTER WITH LOCAL POLICE COMMISfor all of our families. For more information
SIONERS AND CHIEFS, PROVIDING AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE PARTICIPANTS
about the programs and services of the DisTO COORDINATE STRATEGIES ACROSS JURISDICTIONS TO COMBAT CRIME
trict Attorney’s Office, visit us at
AND ADDRESS EMERGING CRIME TRENDS.
www.westchesterda.net
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 FIN A N CI AL OVER VI EW 
R ES PON SIBILITY – During my tenure as District Attorney, the District Attorney’s Office has established a record of prudent financial management and accountability in our use of County funds. This Office has also been aggressive in seeking out federal and New York State grant funds to help decrease the financial burden on Westchester
taxpayers. In addition, we continue to identify and utilize money forfeited from criminal activity to fund appropriate programs
and equipment purchases in a further effort to limit public expenditures. For each year that I have served as District Attorney,
this Office has not only fulfilled its public safety responsibilities, but has ended each fiscal year by returning taxpayer dollars to
Westchester County’s General Fund in an amount averaging almost $1 million per year. It is also important to note that 2010
was the third consecutive year in which non-represented employees, which include all assistant district attorneys, did not receive salary increases. My dedicated and loyal staff have been careful managers of the public’s money throughout the recent
difficult economic times, and we will continue on this fiscally prudent course.
The District Attorney’s Office is predominantly funded by the taxpayers of Westchester County but it should be noted that our
2010 Operating Budget comprises only 1.4% of the overall County budget. Many of the initiatives and programs outlined in
this report have been established and/or continued with less staff and without a request for increased funding from Westchester County residents. The 2010 District Attorney’s Office Budget represented significant cuts and savings in many areas
other than those over which this Office has no control, such as Westchester County negotiated contractual salary increases.
This has been accomplished by maximizing our staff and existing resources. It is the responsibility of the District Attorney to
present both a fiscally responsible and practical budget which enables this Office to carry out its legal mandates.
A
ISCAL
O PERATIONS - The mission of Administration and Operations is to enhance the performance of the DA’s Office by ensuring that administrative functions and support services are performed as effectively
and efficiently as possible. Responsibilities of Administration include:
 Preparation and management of the District Attorney’s Office’s operating and capital budgets;
 Management of all financial concerns;
 Development, preparation and management of office contracts and grants;
 Personnel and payroll functions;
 Management of facilities; and
 Procurement and management of equipment.
DMINISTRATION AND
DISTRICT ATTORNEY JANET DIFIORE JOINS SERGEANT CHARLES DEMATTEO AND DETECTIVE DOMENICA GUZMAN OF THE YONKERS POLICE
DEPARTMENT AS THEY CONGRATULATE JESSICA SILVA AND THEODORE
KIM, THE WINNERS OF THE 2010-11 YONKERS POLICE ATHLETIC
LEAGUE POSTER CONTEST
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 PROSECUTION 
- The District Attorney is a constitutional elective officer charged with the duty to conduct the fair and
impartial prosecution of all crimes committed in this County. This duty coexists with the duty to protect the innocent
and refrain from prosecuting those against whom legally sufficient evidence is absent.
ON VICTIONS
A core mission of every District Attorney’s Office is the vigorous prosecution of serious and violent crime. In 2010, my Office
pursued this mission, skillfully, ethically, and forcefully – and the results have been outstanding. According to the statistics
maintained by the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), in 2010, the Westchester County District Attorney’s
Office had a felony conviction rate of over 98%. This number includes both guilty pleas and trial convictions. By way of
comparison, in 2010 the statewide conviction rate for felony offenses was 92%.
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ur conviction rate in 2010 for violent felony offenders, individuals charged with crimes such as murder, manslaughter, robbery, burglary, aggravated assaults, sex offenses, kidnapping, gun possession, and arson was better than
97% Statewide, the conviction rate for violent felony offenses was 89%. The percentage of defendants convicted of
violent felony offenses in this County in 2010 who were sentenced to prison/jail was 87.6% as compared to the state rate of
79.2 %. The Office’s employment of a vertical prosecution model for violent offenses and the early enhancement and legal
review by the Violent Felony Coordinator and specialized Bureau Chiefs greatly contribute to our ability to effectively prosecute these cases.
F ELONY CONVICTION
RATE 2010
VIOLENT F ELONY
CONVICTION RATE 2010
JAIL/PRISON RATE
UPON VIOLENT F ELONY
CONVICTION 2010
97.0
98.0
87.6
89.0
92.0
WC
D
NYS
WC
NYS
79.2
WC
NYS
 WESTCHESTER REENTRY TASK FORCE 
istrict Attorney DiFiore chairs the Westchester County Reentry Task Force, a DCJS-funded collaboration among the
District Attorney’s Office, New York State agencies including the Division of Parole and others, Westchester County
Departments of Community Mental Health, Social Services, Probation and Corrections, and not for profit agencies.
The goal of the Reentry Task Force is to reduce recidivism among individuals who return home to Westchester County from
state prison, by facilitating their access to needed services such as drug and alcohol treatment, housing, employment and
other services. The Reentry Task Force works toward this goal by partnering with appropriate service providers and by
identifying barriers and gaps in services that impede reentry. In 2010, the Reentry Task Force made 68 referrals to substance abuse and alcohol treatment, 73 referrals for mental health treatment, 121 referrals for employment services, 40
referrals for educational services, 32 referrals for Fathers Count or Mothers Matter (family reunification and parenting programs), and 68 referrals for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. The results to date for individuals assisted by the Reentry Task
Force show promise, and the District Attorney is committed to this important effort.
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 NEW YORK STATE JUSTICE TASK FORCE ON WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS 
n May 2009, District Attorney Janet DiFiore was appointed by Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman of the Court of Appeals to
serve as co-chair, together with Court of Appeals Judge Theodore Jones Jr., of the newly established New York State
Justice Task Force. Its mission is to eradicate the systemic and individual harms caused by wrongful convictions and to
promote public safety by examining the causes of wrongful convictions and recommending reforms to safeguard against any
such convictions in the future. Because it is a permanent task force, it is charged not only with the task of implementing reforms but monitoring their effectiveness as well. The Honorable Barry Kamins, Supreme Court, Kings County serves as a
Special Advisor. Those assembled to serve as permanent members of the Task Force are Judge Judy Harris Kluger, Chief
of Policy and Planning, New York Office of Court Administration, Judge Karen Peters, Appellate Division, Third Department;
Judge Richard B. Lowe III, Appellate Division, First Department; Sean Byrne, Acting Commissioner, NYS DCJS; Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, NYPD; Denise E. O’Donnell, former Commissioner of the NYS DCJS; Seymour W. James, Attorney in Charge of Criminal Practice, Legal Aid Society; Susan Xenarios; Director, Crime Victims Treatment Center, St. Luke’s
-Roosevelt Hospital; Professor William Hellerstein, Brooklyn Law School; New York County District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance
Jr.; Robert Adamo, Director, Division of Forensic Sciences, Westchester County Department of Laboratories and Research
and Zachary Carter. Ex-officio members include NYS Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, NY State Senator Stephen
M. Saland, Chair, Committee, on Codes; NY State Assemblyman Joseph R. Lentol, Chair, Committee, on Codes; Steven
Younger, President, NYS Bar Association; Derek Champagne, President, District Attorneys’ Associations, State of New York
(DAASNY); Margaret Ryan, President, NYS Association of Chiefs of Police and Deborah Weisman-Estis, President, NYS
Women’s Bar Association. The Justice Task Force also established an Advisory Group, comprised of more than 40 leading
professionals from around the State, to provide relevant expertise to the Task Force from every facet of the NYS criminal
justice system, including every level of the state’s court system, the state legislature, prosecutors’ offices and law enforcement agencies, forensic laboratories, the defense bar, victims’ advocacy groups, academia, and the media.
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n 2010, the Forensic Science Subcommittee and the Identification Subcommittee, created by the Task Force in 2009,
met regularly throughout the year. The Innocence Project is a full participant in the two subcommittees. After seven
months of a thorough examination of the issues by the Identifications Subcommittee, the Task Force began its consideration of possible reforms proposed by the Subcommittee. The Task Force’s discussion and debate covered topics ranging from the preliminary instructions
given to witnesses before viewing a suspect in a photo array or lineup to factors
that should be addressed in jury instructions given at trial. Many of the Task
Force’s recommendations are included in the current version of the New York
State Identification Procedure Guidelines published in 2010 by the DAASNY.
The Task Force has also proposed a number of reforms that go beyond those
guidelines. The report entitled “Recommendations for Improving Eyewitness
Identifications” is available at the Justice Task Force web site at http://
www.nyjusticetaskforce.com/ The Task Force also reviewed the issues discussed in the Forensic Science Subcommittee relating to forensic evidence and
its relationship to wrongful convictions. Although the discussion continues, particularly on issues relating to the access by defendants to forensic evidence at all
stages of the proceedings, the Task Force was able to issue the report entitled
Recommendations Regarding Forensics and the Expansion of the DNA Database, which is publicly available on the JTF web site.
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nder the leadership of District Attorney DiFiore and Judge Jones, the permanently empanelled Justice Task Force,
which promises to be the most robust of its kind in the country, will monitor the effectiveness of any policy, legislative
or other changes that are implemented, and will have a continuing and influential voice in the future development of
criminal justice policy throughout New York. The District Attorney’s leadership role in this important initiative by the Chief
Judge reflects her longstanding commitment to keeping the public safe and ensuring that fair and impartial justice is practiced at every level in our criminal justice system.
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 THE WESTCHESTER INTELLIGENCE CENTER 
he Westchester Intelligence Center (WIC) has emerged as a model for efficient government, authentic collaboration,
and smart policing, with the goal of enhancing public safety in Westchester County. The WIC facilitates a seamless
flow of information and provides critical assistance with investigations to Westchester’s 42 local police departments, as well as county, state, and federal agencies.
he WIC’s partnership with local police agencies effectively allows local police to
spend valuable time in the field, as analysts do the work that would have otherwise kept them at their desks behind a computer screen. For example, the WIC’s
crime and intelligence analysts conduct in depth, time consuming analyses of phone
records, locating and connecting information from disparate data sources, and applying
these technology driven solutions to criminal investigations. The WIC receives financial
support from both New York State and NY/NJ H.I.D.T.A., its federal partner. This support enables it to augment the investigative resources of every police department in
Westchester economically and efficiently.
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n a daily basis, the WIC interacts with local police departments to advance their
criminal investigations. This past year, a local police agency was using electronic means in an effort to track and
arrest a suspect. They had narrowed down the geographical area where the suspect might be located to a few hundred feet but, because there were multiple dwellings in this immediate area, could not determine the suspect’s specific location. While its officers were on the scene, the local agency contacted the WIC for assistance. Analysts immediately began to
mine data sources and identified a specific nearby address that had an indirect relationship to the suspect. With this information, police were able to locate and arrest the suspect. Similarly, the WIC has worked with investigators in real time as they
interviewed suspects, providing information to corroborate or refute what was said by the suspect. With such information,
detectives have elicited confessions in cases, including murder. Real time access to information such as this is essential to
enhanced, effective policing.
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he WIC’s collaboration with law enforcement partners includes regular work with state and federal partners, including
the Department of Homeland Security, the Joint Terrorism Task Force and statewide agencies, using the national
H.I.D.T.A. data network along with other resources. These investigations have included human trafficking, sex crimes
and threat assessments, among others. They have also involved creative measures to locate persons of interest in Denmark, Poland and Germany, and to navigate through layers of concealment to determine the true identity of a wanted person.
The WIC has advanced mapping capabilities, overlaying investigative and other data on various maps in a manner that
serves critical law enforcement needs. These maps have been used for intelligence, as well as for prioritized deployment of
personnel in pattern burglaries that occurred in Northern Westchester. The WIC provides maps for trials in cases prosecuted
by the District Attorney’s Office. The WIC’s maps are also used to identify critical infrastructures in Westchester County.
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he WIC began an important money laundering initiative that works with local law enforcement. Analysts at the WIC
proactively seek out evidence of money laundering, and in the course of these investigations, have uncovered previously unreported crimes. The WIC’s analysts and local law enforcement intelligence sources have formed a successful investigative partnership in these cases. In one instance, the WIC analysts uncovered evidence of money laundering that
revealed a related financial fraud occurring at Westchester Community College. Four individuals were arrested in this case
for a fraud that had not been detected prior to the WIC analysis. Additional money laundering cases initiated by the WIC
have been forwarded to other intelligence agencies for investigative follow-up.
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he WIC has initiated a procedure to provide more comprehensive information on domestic violence incidents to local
police agencies. Analysts at the WIC track reports of domestic violence from participating jurisdictions to determine
whether individuals have been the subject of other domestic violence complaints, and then search to determine
whether any parties engaged in an offense are on parole or probation. This information is then shared with the local police
agency, enabling it to enhance its response.
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uilding upon the NY/NJ HIDTA license plate reader (LPR) project, the Westchester Security Initiative has begun deployment of permanently fixed LPR’s in the County, to identify and locate criminal offenders. Captured data from the
LPR’s can be queried at the WIC and the results made available to local, state and federal law enforcement agencies
in real time. This initiative will allow investigators to conduct predictive analysis, potentially enabling these agencies to interrupt and prevent criminal acts or acts of terrorism.
he WIC has also fostered partnerships with non-law enforcement entities, engaging in a new approach to gain a better
understanding of countywide narcotic trends. Meetings were held at the WIC with individuals affiliated with substance
abuse programs, school substance abuse counselors, and substance abusers themselves, in which WIC analysts
sought information about trends of drug abuse in Westchester. Tapping into the collective knowledge of these
groups was a departure from the traditional law enforcement approach of debriefing individual arrestees and
informants, and these meetings provided valuable new
perspectives and insight. Among the trends and variations noted were the use of household inhalants and Salvia, a psychoactive plant, and increases in the use of
benzodiazepines, either uniquely or mixed with heroin,
and of opiates. The information on the use of opiates
was particularly valuable as it came at the time of a countywide increase in opiate-related fatal drug overdoses.
For law enforcement, this information on trends in drug
abuse is critically important for intervention and education purposes.
hree years into its operation, the WIC has become an essential law enforcement partner in Westchester County. It
supports local, state and federal agencies with state of the art investigative resources, facilitates seamless crossjurisdictional collaboration, and provides information and coordination that enable local police departments to fulfill
their missions in a cost effective way.
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 CODIS and DNA COLLECTION 
The most significant advancement in law enforcement is the refinement and application of DNA analysis. DNA is one of the
most powerful and reliable evidentiary resources for the just conviction of the guilty and the exoneration of the innocent. In
2010, the application of DNA analysis on crime scene evidence as performed by the Westchester County Laboratory greatly
enhanced law enforcement’s ability to solve crimes which otherwise would have never been solved.
he federal COmbined DNA Index System (CODIS) is a national DNA database maintained by the FBI and contains
DNA profiles from convicted defendants and from profiles developed during crime scene
analyses. DCJS maintains the New York DNA database, which is comprised of data generated from DNA testing conducted pursuant to national standards by accredited state laboratories. Evidence collected from crime scenes throughout the County is brought to the Westchester County Laboratory for testing and in the event a DNA profile is developed, the Lab uploads the DNA profile to the State for input into CODIS. When a match or “hit” is made, the Lab
notifies the Office’s CODIS administrator, who is an assistant in the Trial Division, as well as the
local police agency who submitted the evidence to the Lab for testing. The case is assigned to
a trial assistant to coordinate with the local police for prosecution. With the opening of the Westchester Intelligence Center (WIC) in 2008, our Office has been able to further enhance our law
enforcement capabilities utilizing DNA analysis. To assist local police departments, WIC, upon
notice of the CODIS hit, accesses the vast array of data available at the Center and prepares an
enhanced intelligence work-up on the subject of the match.
In 2010, our Office received Laboratory notification of 93 CODIS hits, 32 attributed to burglaries
committed in Westchester. This is an increase over the 84 CODIS hits received in 2009.
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(Above DNA image is from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DNA_orbit_animated_static_thumb.png Attribution: Zephyris)
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he increase in CODIS hits since 2008 is directly attributable to legislation that now requires all defendants convicted
of Penal Law felonies and certain enumerated misdemeanors to provide a DNA sample upon conviction. In response to the absence of a statewide protocol for the collection of DNA samples from convicted defendants who
were not sentenced to jail, the DA’s Office developed a proactive strategy to ensure that every defendant who is convicted
of a designated crime here in Westchester County has his or her DNA collected for inclusion in the CODIS database. The
DA’s Office worked in collaboration with the Departments of Correction and Probation and Westchester’s local courts and
police agencies to develop an innovative system for the collection of DNA from defendants convicted of designated crimes
in local courts. While DNA samples are routinely collected by Probation and Corrections from individuals who receive sentences of probation or incarceration, a system was needed to ensure that samples are collected from individuals who receive sentences that do not involve probation or incarceration. In accordance with our model, the 42 local courts of the
County, working in conjunction with the 43 local police departments, maintain a DNA local court collection system, under
which the local court judge will mandate – and the local police agency will collect – a DNA sample from all designated defendants immediately upon their local court sentence.
As a result of these collaborative efforts, for each month of 2010, our Office proudly held the distinction of having the highest and most successful DNA collection rate among all 62 District Attorney’s Offices in the State. In 2010, our annual DNA
collection success rate was 94% as compared to the NY statewide average of 74%. DNA samples were collected from
over 2150 defendants convicted in Westchester local courts, all of which have now been added to the CODIS database.
PEOPLE V HARRY GUZMAN
On May 11, 2009 at about 9:30 p.m., the owners of a house on Orchard Ridge Road in the Town of New
Castle returned home after a day of work. As they entered the front door they heard a loud noise from the
rear of the house and observed that a window in their living room was open which had been closed (but
unlocked) when they left the house that morning. The owners, realizing they were victims of a burglary,
immediately exited the house and went to a neighbor’s house to call the police. The New Castle police
arrived and discovered another open window in a bathroom with the screen pushed out onto the roof. As
the police checked the roof they observed a blue flashing light emanating from the grass on the border of
the driveway. The blue light was an active Bluetooth headset. The location of the Bluetooth was significant as it was in an area that is closest to the roof from where the burglar most likely jumped to make his
escape. Also a wire fence was also pushed down in close vicinity to the Bluetooth.
The police secured the Bluetooth and brought the evidence to the
Westchester County Lab where it was swabbed for DNA. A single
source DNA profile was developed and uploaded into CODIS and
in June of 2009 a hit was made with the DNA of a convicted offender Harry Guzman. Guzman was recently paroled from state
prison after serving a 1996 Westchester County sentence of 12 to
life imposed upon him as a persistent violent felony offender for a
prior burglary conviction. The ADA subpoenaed Guzman’s cell
phone records and assisted the police in obtaining a search warrant for the record of cell sites being utilized by Guzman on May
11, 2009, around the time of the burglary. The records revealed
that Guzman was accessing cell towers in the vicinity of the house
at the time of the burglary. As defendant was a career criminal the
case was vertically prosecuted and the defendant was tried before
a jury and convicted of burglary in the second degree. The defendant was sentenced as a persistent violent felon offender to 17
years to life in state prison and is not eligible for parole until 2026.
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 HOMICIDE 
ll homicide cases are vertically prosecuted by veteran trial assistants who provide legal assistance to the police from
the start of the investigation. The homicide assistant district attorneys are available 24
hours a day on a rotating schedule to respond to fatality scenes throughout Westchester
County. The determination of the cause of death for a suspicious fatality requires the medical
HOMICIDES
examiner’s autopsy, a complete death scene investigation with attendant forensic analyses of the
evidence, an accident reconstruction for vehicular deaths, and a thorough police investigation
including detailed interviews of witnesses and suspects. As the investigation progresses, the
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case is regularly reviewed by the DAO’s top trial lawyers. Before any homicide case can be pre20
sented to a grand jury, the legally admissible evidence must be presented to the Homicide Re14
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2
view Committee at which the District Attorney presides.
n 2010 the Homicide Bureau opened
2008
2009
2010
99
reports
of
suspicious
fatalities
and
INSTRUMENTALITIES OF H OMICIDES IN 2010
Vehicular Homicides
homicide assistants joined the mediHomicides
cal examiner and the police in determin1
ing the cause and circumstances of
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death in each fatality. Investigations revealed that there were 22
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deaths as a result of homicide which occurred in 2010, an almost
50 % decrease from the 43 homicide deaths which occurred in 2009.
Two of the 22 homicides were vehicular homicides, a marked decrease from the 14 deaths (which included the 7 deaths from the TaGUNS
conic Parkway tragedy) in 2009. A slight majority of the 20 nonKNIVES/SHARP INSTRUMENT
vehicular homicides in 2010 were in the southern jurisdictions of the
BLUNT FORCE/STRANGULATION
County. The manners of death in the 20 non-vehicular homicides
were 12 shootings, 7 stabbings (some involving blunt force trauma as well) and one death by strangulation. Eleven of the 20
homicides occurred in the victim’s or assailant’s home, while one occurred in Sing Sing. Domestic violence accounted for 3 of
these indoor homicides; robbery was the known motive in 5 of the cases and 2 involved a fight between prior acquaintances.
The 8 homicides which occurred on the street for the most part involved prior acquaintances and some were gang related.
our of the 99 fatality reports were “cold cases”, old homicides that occurred well before 2010 in which new evidence
was developed in the continued investigations. Three of the cold cases involved the brutal homicides of three women
committed in Yonkers in 1989, 1991 and 1996. DNA evidence was secured from the three victims and crime scenes by
the Yonkers police and the Westchester County Lab resulting in the development of the same DNA profile in all three
SUSPICIOUS D EATHS IN 2010
cases. The profile was uploaded in CODIS and in 2009 a
hit was made to the DNA sample of a state prisoner about
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2 8 3
to be paroled. Yonkers detectives acted promptly on the
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notification using the new information to enhance their in23
vestigation and the matter was vertically prosecuted by the
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homicide ADA, resulting in an indictment. The case is
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scheduled for trial in 2011.
The remaining 73 fatalities, revealed the following upon
HOMICIDES
V EHICULAR HOMICIDES
investigation: 21 were accidental vehicular deaths, 13 of
V EHICULAR DEATHS NON-HOMICIDES ACCIDENTAL
which involved a single car or motorcycle accident; 23 were
S UICIDES
INFANT FATALITIES NON-HOMICIDE
NATURAL CAUSES
FIRES
suicides, 12 of which were by gunshot; 2 were nonhomicide child fatalities; 14 were accidental non-vehicular
deaths which included 5 drowning deaths and 3 drug overdoses. Three people died from accidental house fires; and there
were 8 fatalities ultimately attributed to natural causes, many of which were investigated as the cause of death was not apparent under the circumstances or involved a deceased who was under a non-familial guardianship at the time of death. There
were two fatality reports involving matters in which complaints were made in Westchester County but where the fatality actually occurred in the Bronx.
I
F
8
PEOPLE V WERNER LIPPE
Faith Lippe, a 49 year old mother, described by friends and family as meticulously organized, always prepared
and dependably punctual, proved ultimately unable to protect herself in her own home. In the early morning of
October 3, 2008, Faith Lippe drove her two children to school as she did each school morning. She returned to
her home and parked her car in the driveway. Entering the house, Faith left her pocketbook containing her
wallet and cell phone in the kitchen in the spot where she usually left these personal items. Faith then failed to
appear at her 9:00 a.m. appointment at a chiropractor’s office and was never seen or heard from again. Her
husband, Werner Lippe, who was admittedly in the home that morning and throughout the whole day, told his
children later that day that their missing mother was out of the home and running errands. Waiting until the
next day, at 4:00 p.m. Werner reported his wife missing to the police and claimed that he last saw his wife at
1:30 p.m. the day before, leave the family home and enter a dark colored jeep.
However, coordinated investigative efforts between the District Attorney’s Office and the New York State Police
disproved Werner’s false claim. During the investigation, Werner, who knew his wife was no longer alive, was
already throwing out Faith’s personal items in the garbage while the police searched for her. Friends and family of Faith were unequivocal that the woman would never voluntarily leave her home and children in this inexplicable manner. In the investigation, a picture of the Lippe’s contentious marriage emerged. During this time
period, the couple was in the midst of a bitter divorce with over $4,000,000 in assets at stake and the custody
of their two children at issue. Both
were represented by attorneys and the
B URN
final meeting to either settle the divorce
B ARREL
or proceed to trial was October 7, 2008
– a mere four days from Faith’s disappearance. With this backdrop, the NYSP
enlisted the help of a family friend who
agreed to wear a body wire and speak to
Werner Lippe about Faith’s disappearance. On October 25, 2008, Werner
Lippe requested a morning meeting at a
gas station off the New York State Thruway in Catskill, New York.
In emotional and graphic detail, Werner
Lippe explained how he hit his wife with
a piece of wood, dragged her body and
stuffed her into a burn barrel located in
the backyard of their home, lit her on
fire and burned her to ash. He reiterated
this confession to his friend four days
later, boasting that the body no longer existed and offered his friend jewelry in a bid to keep such a secret between the two men. Werner was skilled in the use of chemicals to dissolve metals and was known to use a
burn barrel in his backyard. He had used it to dispose of a deer carcass. During the investigation the State
Police had photographed the Lippe backyard and captured the burn barrel on film, which Werner later admitted
he got rid of before the police could recover it. On October 30, 2008, police arrested and charged Werner Lippe
with murder in the second degree. The case was vertically prosecuted by the homicide ADA and the Major
Case Bureau Chief.
In 2010, the murder case was tried twice. The trial evidence included expert testimony from forensic anthropologists as to the disposal of a human body by heat. Although the first jury was unable to reach a verdict, the
second jury took just eight hours to reach a guilty verdict. Werner Lippe was sentenced to 25 years to life for
the heinous murder of Faith Lippe.
9
PEO PLE V ALEJANDR O BARAJAS
On Saturday evening, September 12, 2009, Lenny Eylinkrig called his mother at her Bronx home and arranged to take her shopping on Sunday morning. The next day, after being unable to contact her son, the
elderly woman called the NYPD to report him missing. The NYPD contacted the Greenburgh Police and requested a safety check on Mr. Eylinkrig who lived in an apartment in Hartsdale. Greenburgh police responded and found the lifeless body of Mr. Eylinkrig inside the home. An autopsy revealed that the victim
had died from blunt force trauma to his head and a stab wound to his chest. The sharpened tool used by the
assailant to stab the victim was still in the victim’s body. The victim’s car and car keys, his wallet and cell
phone were all missing. The Greenburgh Police listened to the victim’s answering machine and heard a
message from a credit card company indicating recent suspicious activity on the victim’s credit card. The
credit card company thereafter informed the police
the activity occurred at 11:30 p.m. on Saturday
evening at the Target store in White Plains. When
the police checked the store’s security video, the
defendant, Alejandro Barajas, could be seen using
the victim’s credit card to purchase a large Vizio
HD-TV, red luggage and other items. A check of
the victim’s phone records revealed a call from the
victim’s telephone at 12:30 a.m. on Sunday, September 13, 2009 , to a cell phone listed to the defendant at a Hartsdale address.
The detectives immediately went to the address connected to the defendant’s cell phone records and discovered the victim’s Honda parked adjacent to the building. The police were granted access by residents of
the apartment, and once inside, the detectives spotted a large Vizio HD-TV box. At this point they secured
the scene, obtained a search warrant with the assistance of the homicide ADA, and subsequently seized
the evidence. The defendant was taken to Greenburgh Police Headquarters and interviewed. Faced
with the incriminating evidence, the defendant gave a
videotaped confession in which he admitted to beating the victim with a beer mug and stabbing him with
a sharp tool. Tools matching the murder weapon
were recovered from defendant’s apartment. The time
from the discovery of the deceased’s body until the
arrest of the defendant was less than 24 hours.
The case was vertically prosecuted by the homicide
ADA and the defendant was indicted for murder in the
first degree and related crimes for the intentional murder of the victim during the course of a robbery. In
September, 2010, the defendant pleaded guilty, and
on November 16, 2010 was sentenced to 22 years to
life imprisonment for the killing of Lenny Eylinkrig.
10
PEO PLE V VETAL BONHOMME
In the early morning hours of January 6, 2009, Paul Laing engaged in a verbal dispute with another man
on the corner of South 4th Avenue and West 4th Street in the City of Mount Vernon. The man then ran to a
nearby apartment and reported the argument to defendant Vetal Bonhomme. Bonhomme, armed with a
loaded .9mm handgun, went downstairs to confront Laing. Approaching the victim on the street, Bonhomme shot Laing three times at close range as Laing
stood unarmed on the corner. A motion activated security video captured the defendant’s actions but the
shooting occurred just beyond the field of view of the
camera. Laing was rushed to Jacobi Medical Center in
the Bronx where he was pronounced dead. The Mount
Vernon Police with the assistance of the homicide
ADA investigated the case during which the police
developed eyewitnesses who identified the defendant
as the shooter. When interviewed by detectives, the
defendant admitted he killed Laing but claimed that he
only shot the victim once and that he acted in self defense. The case was prosecuted vertically by the
homicide ADA and tried before a Westchester County
jury in January 2010. The defendant was convicted of
murder in the second degree and sentenced to 20
years to life in state prison.
P E OP LE V PAUL AVENI
In August, 2008, the Westchester Supreme Court ordered defendant Paul Aveni to stay away from his mother
and his mother’s home in New Rochelle. He subsequently violated the order of protection and on January
12, 2009 Aveni made an appearance in New Rochelle Court on the new criminal case charging him with criminal contempt. After his day in court and despite new orders of protection, defendant drove to his mother’s
New Rochelle home with a young female acquaintance,
Angela Camillo. Inside the house, defendant injected
himself and Ms. Camillo with heroin. Ms. Camillo was
overcome by the drug and became unresponsive. Instead of calling 911, defendant tried to revive Camillo by
injecting her with salt water and burning her in the back
of her leg with a lighter. He also took a microscope and
hit her in the knee to check for reflexes. Defendant’s
pathetic efforts were unsuccessful and delayed any
emergency response. Aveni eventually alerted his
mother to the dire situation and she called 911. When
the New Rochelle Police arrived at the house, the victim
was taken to the Sound Shore Medical Center where
she was pronounced dead as a result of acute mixed
drug intoxication. While the police were still at the crime scene in the Aveni home they heard noises coming
from the third floor. There they found the defendant hiding in the attic. The defendant was prosecuted vertically by the homicide ADA and in June, 2010, defendant was convicted after a jury trial of criminally negligent homicide, burglary in the second degree, criminal injection of a narcotic drug, and related charges.
Defendant was sentenced as a second violent felony offender to 15 years in state prison.
11
O
 VEHICULAR CRIMES COORDINATOR 
ver the last several years, Westchester County has witnessed the horrific results of intoxicated drivers operating their
motor vehicles on our public roadways. In case after case, innocent motorists, passengers, and pedestrians have
been maimed or killed by drunk drivers. Working with police departments throughout the county, the DA’s office has
implemented an aggressive prosecution policy toward DWI, vehicular assault, and vehicular manslaughter. District Attorney
DiFiore named a senior prosecutor in the Superior Court Trial Division as Vehicular Crimes Coordinator to closely monitor all
prosecutions and to ensure appropriate dispositions.
PEO PLE V LOUIS NARDELLA
At 1:00 in the morning of May 23, 2009, defendant Louis Nardella left the Sea Breeze Restaurant in New Rochelle and
got behind the wheel of his Subaru, heading north on Pelham Road. Defendant sped along Pelham Road until he
reached the intersection with Park Avenue where he crossed over
the double yellow line and crashed into the driver’s side of the
Honda driven by 29 year old Amy Taylor. Ms. Taylor had just left
her home and was driving to meet her friends. A passerby called
911 to report the accident and New Rochelle police and the homicide ADA responded to the scene. Ms. Taylor, who had to be extricated from her car, died at the scene from blunt force trauma.
Blood was taken from Nardella at the hospital for laboratory testing.
The tests revealed that the defendant was intoxicated by both alcohol (BAC .13%) and cocaine. A search of defendant’s car produced
71 vicodin pills (a controlled substance) packaged for sale. The
case was vertically prosecuted by the homicide ADA. On March 16,
2010, defendant pleaded guilty to the entire indictment, including
the top count vehicular manslaughter in the second degree, and was sentenced to 2 to 6 years in state prison.
PEOPLE V PETER DUA H
On December 28, 2009, at 11:40 p.m., defendant Peter Duah drove his red Ford van into two cars stopped at a red light
at the intersection of East Gun Hill and White Plains Roads in the Bronx. One of those cars was an unmarked NYPD
vehicle. Defendant fled the scene at a high rate of speed, heading toward Yonkers. As the police pursuit was hindered
by the damage to their car, the NYPD officers notified their dispatch to alert Yonkers police of the defendant’s vehicle.
In the meantime, defendant continued to drive at a high rate of speed northbound on Central Park Avenue in Yonkers.
He crossed McLean Avenue and plowed into the rear of a Hyundai pulling out of the A&P parking lot. Inside the Hyundai were 65 year old Herbert Goldstein and his wife Marlene Goldstein. The impact of defendant’s car crushed the
Goldstein vehicle and turned it on its side. Both victims had to be extricated from the vehicle and Mr. Goldstein died
as a result of the blunt force trauma. Mrs. Goldstein suffered serious physical injuries requiring surgery and was hospitalized for several weeks.
Defendant still kept going until he hit a guardrail and finally crashed his van into a tree. Defendant ran from the van
and the NYPD, who arrived first on the scene, arrested Duah
on a side street . Yonkers police also arrived. Duah admitted
that he was drinking beer and vodka and was driving the van.
Blood was taken from the defendant at the hospital and laboratory tests revealed Defendant’s blood alcohol content
was .28%, more than three times the legal limit. The case
was vertically prosecuted by the homicide ADA. In September 2010, the defendant pled guilty to the entire indictment,
including a top count of aggravated vehicular homicide, a
class B felony. Defendant was sentenced on November 12,
2010 to 6 to 18 years in state prison.
12
PEOPLE V BRIAN SABI A
On April 21, 2010 at 9:00 p.m., on Route 119 in Elmsford, New York, an Elmsford police officer observed 16 year
old Brian Sabia driving a Mustang with no license plates and with the headlights off. As that officer attempted to
pull him over, Sabia sped off at speeds nearing 70 to 100 mph through the Village of Elmsford. He continued to
drive at high rates of speed onto southbound Route 9, passing several cars and running steady red lights
through Tarrytown and ultimately into Irvington.
Once in Irvington, Sabia attempted to evade apprehension by swerving around stopped traffic, and driving
straight into oncoming traffic lanes. In so doing, he struck an Irvington police car, driven by Police Officer Luigi
Osso. The impact sent Officer Osso’s car airborne and the vehicle became wedged in between two poles on the
sidewalk. The defendant’s car spun airborne and landed in intersection of Route 9 and Main Street. As a result
of the impact, Officer Osso sustained life threatening injuries which required numerous surgeries, hospitalization and intensive physical and
occupational therapy. The defendant, who was
also injured, was arrested and later revealed to
have the stolen the car he was driving, which
still had the price sticker on a window.
Sabia was prosecuted vertically by the Vehicular
Crimes Bureau Chief. In September 2010, Brian
Sabia pled guilty to an eight count indictment,
charging him with assault in the first degree,
unlawfully fleeing a police officer, reckless endangerment in the first degree and other related
charges. In December 2010, Sabia was sentenced to seven years in state prison.
PEO PLE V GEORGE KIAH A
On September 4, 2009 at about 7:34 p.m., defendant George Kiaha drove his GMC Envoy southbound on Route 9
in the Town of Cortlandt. Ignoring the double yellow line, defendant drove into the northbound lane two times in
an attempt to pass other cars in the southbound lane. On the second crossover, defendant drove head on into a
northbound Chrysler Minivan occupied by six family members. All three adults and all three children in the minivan suffered injuries. Rear passenger Ralph Wood, 55 years old, suffered a lacerated spleen and subsequently died as a result of the injuries sustained in the
crash. First responders on the scene in treating the defendant observed that he smelled like alcohol. Kiaha
was taken to the hospital where he refused to submit to
a chemical test. The New York State Police assisted by
the homicide ADA obtained a search warrant for the defendant’s blood. Laboratory tests revealed defendant
was driving with a blood alcohol content of .11%, well
above the legal limit. The homicide ADA vertically
prosecuted the case. After a jury trial in November,
2010, defendant was convicted of vehicular manslaughter in the second degree and five vehicular assault
counts for each of the other passengers. Defendant was
sentenced to the legal maximum of 2 1/3 to 7 years in
state prison.
13
PEO PLE V RICARDO MARTINEZ AREN AS
On April 24, 2010, at approximately 2:36 am, while driving home on the northbound I-684, in the Town of Lewisboro,
the 19 year old victim, driving in the car with her sister and her friend, saw headlights coming toward her vehicle.
Her worst fears were soon confirmed as the defendant, Ricardo Martinez-Arenas, was driving the wrong way on the
highway and directly collided with the victim’s car. Both cars were forced off of the road due to the severity of the
collision and the defendant’s car ultimately caught on
fire. New York State Police responded to the scene
and a court order for defendant’s blood was secured
with the assistance of the duty ADA. The blood tests
proved the defendant was drunk, with a BAC of .19%,
and high, as he had cocaine in his blood.
The young victim driver who had to be extricated
from the car by first responders was rushed to Westchester Medical Center where she underwent multiple surgeries including leg and spleen surgery. Her
passengers were more fortunate as both were treated
at the hospital and released.
The defendant Ricardo Martinez-Arenas was vertically prosecuted and charged by indictment with a
top count of aggravated vehicular assault, a class C
felony. He pled guilty to the top count and the
crime of driving while intoxicated and was sentenced to 3 to 9 years in state prison.
E
 VIOLENT FELONY SCREENING PROTOCOL 
stablished in 2007 by DA DiFiore, the Violent Felony Screening Protocol continues to enhance the prosecution of
violent crimes as directed by the Deputy Division Chief of the Superior Court Trial Division. Designated the Violent
Felony Coordinator (VFC), the Chief reviews all violent felony cases immediately upon arraignment in the local
criminal court. This review by a veteran trial prosecutor provides for an immediate assessment of legal and factual issues
in the case and affords the local police and an assistant district attorney the opportunity to take immediate action to enhance cases for prosecution. The VFC coordinates the cases with the various Bureaus Chiefs throughout the DAO and, in
particular, works in tandem with the Major Case Bureau on multiple jurisdiction violent burglaries and robberies, and the
Gang Violence and Firearms Bureau on gang and gun cases. Cases involving persistent felony offenders who face life
imprisonment because of three discrete felony convictions are immediately reviewed by the Chief of the Career Criminal
Bureau who directs the prosecution of the case and assigns it to trial assistants for vertical prosecution. Other violent felony cases that require special attention, for example, the robbery of an elderly victim, are also assigned to trial assistants
for vertical prosecution. Vertical prosecution, where one assistant prosecutes a case from beginning to end, ensures that
the most experienced prosecutors handle the most serious cases from police arrest to final disposition. Vertical prosecution is the best way to ensure that victims of serious crimes have a sense of continuity specifically designed to guide them
through our formidable criminal justice system.
In 2010, the VFC reviewed more than 750 violent cases, always mindful of the needs of public safety and the legal parameters guiding the prosecution of the accused.
The Major Case Bureau coordinates multi-jurisdictional investigations involving federal agencies, the NYPD and the local
police agencies within Westchester County that are investigating violent crimes that occurred in Westchester County and in
some instances that have a carry over effect into New York City. The Chief of the Major Case Bureau has been designated the liaison with the United States Attorney's Office to better coordinate the multi-jurisdictional criminal activity which
may result in a joint state-federal prosecution. The focus of many of these investigations was on gang activity, violent
home invasions, burglaries and other violent crimes associated with certain identifiable groups.
14
PEO PLE V ANTHONY FRANCIS
On February 18, 2010, the defendant Anthony Francis and an unidentified accomplice set out to rob an
auto body shop located on South 4th Avenue in the City of Mount Vernon. The defendant was armed
with a loaded .40 caliber Taurus handgun. By pretending to be interested in buying a car, the men
gained entry into the shop. Once inside, the defendant pulled out his gun and held an employee at gunpoint while the other robber stole $500, a camera and a car key from him. Still at gunpoint, defendant
directed the victim to go outside the shop. When they reached the driveway, the victim grabbed for the
gun. In the struggle, the gun’s magazine dropped to ground, preventing the gun from firing. The other
robber ran to a waiting car on the street. Multiple shots were then fired from the car toward the shop.
Meanwhile, other employees had rushed to the victim’s aid and forcibly overcame the defendant, who
later required medical treatment from injuries sustained as he was being subdued by the victims. The
defendant was convicted of robbery in the first degree and related crimes after a jury trial in December
2010 and was sentenced to 15 years in state prison.
PEOPLE V TONY BRYANT
On August 30, 2009, the defendant shot and killed Pericles Salas, a 32 year old cab driver, during the
course of an armed robbery. Yonkers Police responded at 3:40 a.m. to the vicinity of Ramsey and Jessamine Avenues upon a report of shots fired and found the victim slumped over in the driver’s seat of his
taxi cab with a single gunshot wound to his neck. The victim’s property was missing including a black
bag where he kept the receipts from his fares. Yonkers detectives, working with the homicide ADAs and
DAO investigators, interviewed witnesses and obtained cell phone records, cell site information and
search warrants to obtain evidence of defendant’s participation in the murder. Information was obtained
linking the defendant to another homicide which occurred in the Bronx, within 500 yards of the Westchester County border, one week before the Yonkers murder, on August 24, 2009. The defendant with an
accomplice, robbed and killed 69 year old
Cleveland Dinnall in the lobby of his Bronx
apartment building at Carpenter Avenue.
The victim was killed by a single gunshot
wound to the face. The Westchester County
Police Ballistics unit determined that
the .38/357 caliber projectiles recovered
from the bodies of the two victims were fired
from the same gun. NYPD assisted in the
homicide investigation as the two murders
were joined for prosecution in Westchester
County.
During the investigation, the team uncovered defendant’s plot to kill a witness – a
plan he put into motion while he was incarcerated at Westchester County Jail on an unrelated criminal matter. An undercover officer posing as a hit
man arranged to speak to defendant and audio taped defendant’s detailed instructions as to the identity of
the person he wanted killed and how he wanted that person killed. The case was vertically prosecuted by
the homicide ADA and the Major Case Bureau Chief and the defendant was indicted for both the Yonkers
and Bronx murder and the conspiracy to murder the witness. On July 2, 2010 defendant Tony Bryant pled
guilty to two separate murder charges and to conspiracy to murder a third person as charged. On March
1, 2011 defendant was sentenced to 28 years to life in state prison.
15
PEO PLE V JAMEL UPSON A/K/A FLYNT
On June 6, 2010 at approximately 2:30 a.m., the 22 year old victim picked up his 20 year old sister, at a friend’s
home and headed for the home they shared with their mother on Bell Avenue in Mount Vernon. The male victim
who was driving his mother’s SUV, pulled onto Bell Avenue, a quiet dead end street, and looked for a parking spot.
As he drove towards the parking spot, he and his sister saw a man dressed in black hiding behind a tree. The man
in black had his face covered except for his eyes and was wearing something white on his hands. As the male
victim pulled the SUV toward the parking spot, the masked man came out from behind the tree holding a gun. The
brother screamed for his sister to run as he jumped out of the moving car. The man in black chased the male victim as the SUV crashed into a parked car, preventing the female victim from opening her passenger door.
While being chased by the man in black, the male victim tripped and fell to the pavement. As he lay on the ground,
the man in black stood over him, pointed the gun at his head and repeatedly pulled the trigger. The victim lay there
hearing the clicking of the gun, waiting to die, and covering his head. However, the defendant’s gun was jammed
and did not fire. At this time, neighbors were screaming out of their homes – “leave him alone.”
As her brother lay on the ground, the sister moved into the driver’s seat of the SUV and tried to move the car, but
the car would not move. The man in black moved toward the SUV. The shooter stood outside the vehicle, cleared
the jammed round out of the gun and pointed the gun
at the young woman. She covered her face and
waited to be shot. The shooter pulled the trigger and
the gun fired a bullet shattering the car window where
the female victim was sitting, narrowly missing her.
The brother heard the shot and screamed for his sister and when he screamed, the man in black turned
away from the SUV and again chased the brother.
However, the neighbors were screaming, telling the
shooter to leave the kids alone. The man in black
headed back toward the area of the female victim who
was able to finally get out of the SUV. As the shooter
ran by her, he pulled the mask down off his face and
looked at his female victim and smiled. Seeing his face clearly, the female victim recognized the person who tried
to kill her and her brother as Jamel Upson, known by the alias “Flynt”. Mount Vernon police responded to the
scene and learned the identity of the assailant. After a lengthy search, the police apprehended the defendant
Jamel Upson.
The defendant was vertically prosecuted by the Major Case Bureau and on December 10, 2010, a jury convicted
Upson of attempted murder for the attempted executions of the two victims. He was sentenced to 15 years.
N
 CAREER CRIMINAL BUREAU 
umerous studies of crime incidents and perpetrators have clearly established that a relatively small number of individuals commit a disproportionately large percentage of crimes. The Career Criminal Bureau (CCB) targets these
career criminals as soon after arrest as possible, expedites the handling of career criminal cases wherever possible
by vertical prosecution, and obtains high or maximum state prison sentences for convicted career criminals.
The criteria for case intake by the CCB are the violent nature of the crimes and the prior record of the criminal defendant.
Targeted crimes include the two major violent crime categories, robbery and burglary. Targeted as career criminals are all
defendants who have a felony criminal history, particularly defendants with violent felony convictions.
CCB staff shepherd difficult cases through the system to ensure the highest priority is accorded to the cases based upon a
defendant’s recidivist status. As the cases progress, Bureau staff maintain close contact with police and civilian witnesses
to guarantee follow-through to final disposition. When the law allows, career criminals are sentenced to life terms as a result
of persistent felony violent offender proceedings prosecuted by the CCB.
16
PEOPLE V JOSEPH SAIN
On the evening of September 9, 2009, two Bronxville residents returned home to find an intruder inside their White
Plains Road house, coming down the stairs. When confronted, defendant Joseph Sain fled from the house and
was chased by the younger resident across White Plains Road. Bronxville Police immediately responded to the
scene and apprehended the defendant. The residents confirmed that
their property was stolen from the house but the defendant had no stolen
property on his person
when caught by police.
However the police carefully retraced the route
taken by the defendant
and located the victim’s
coins and stolen jewelry
in a storm drain near the
Village Lutheran church.
The coins were in an Avon
bag which did not belong
to the victims.
When
questioned by the police, Sain claimed he worked for Avon and tendered the incredible excuse that he only entered
the private house to use the bathroom. The case was vertically prosecuted by the Career Criminal Bureau based
on the defendant’s violent criminal history which included a 1997 Westchester County conviction for burglary for
which Sain was sentenced to 10 years. On May 17, 2010, the defendant was tried before a jury and convicted of
burglary in the second degree and sentenced as a persistent violent felony offender to 16 years to life.
PEO PLE V TIMOTHY FIE LDS
On March 18, 2009, at 1:46 a.m., multiple gunshots were fired outside the Bungalow bar, located at 523 South Fulton
Ave., in Mt. Vernon. The Mt. Vernon police responded but found no injured parties or witnesses who were willing to
identify a shooter. Later, at 2:55 a.m., Mt. Vernon Police observed defendant Timothy Fields get into a car on West
3rd Street while holding an open beer bottle. A police officer stopped Fields to issue him a ticket for an open container violation. Fields did not have the registration papers for the vehicle. Contemporaneous to the stop of Fields,
the owner of the car was at MVPD headquarters reporting that he was just a victim of a carjacking.
Police investigation revealed that defendant earlier in the
evening had been at the Bungalow bar on South Fulton Avenue when shots were fired. The owner of the car gave Fields
a ride to West 3rd Street when an unidentified man with a gun
approached the vehicle to rob the occupants. The owner fled
the scene and ran to police headquarters. Fields returned to
the car before the police saw him with the open container. A
search of the vehicle found a defaced loaded .357 caliber
handgun inside the glove box. Subsequent testing of the
gun revealed that the revolver had been used in several violent incidents in Mt. Vernon and New York City. DNA was
found on the gun which excluded the owner of the car and
matched Fields’ DNA. Fields told police he allegedly picked
up the gun at the Bungalow bar that night. The case was
vertically prosecuted by the Career Criminal Bureau and the Guns and Gangs Violence Bureau. On February 4,
2010, defendant was convicted after a jury trial of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree. On November 30, 2010, based on his two prior violent felony convictions, defendant was sentenced as a persistent violent
felony offender to 20 years to life in state prison.
17
 VIOLATION OF PROBATION 
I
n 2006, the District Attorney returned the prosecution of probation violators to the DA’s Office. Defendants who are
convicted of lower grade felonies and who are not second felony offenders may be sentenced by the court to as much
as ten years probation, monitored by the Westchester County Department of Probation (WCDOP). When a probationer
violates the conditions of probation, the WCDOP files a violation petition and the DA’s Office prosecutes the offender,
seeking a resentence of incarceration where appropriate. In 2010, 294 new violation cases were prosecuted by our office.
The court resentenced 174 probation violators to incarceration.
PEOPLE V ISAIAH SCOTT
On September 20, 2007, defendant, Isaiah Scott, was sentenced to five years probation upon his
conviction for attempted criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree in Westchester County Court. While on probation, the defendant was arrested in the City of Peekskill and
convicted of attempted criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree for attempting to possess a loaded handgun. He was sentenced to 3 years determinate state prison followed by 5 years
of post-release supervision for the new crime. As a result, a Violation of Probation was filed. The
People advocated for a consecutive state prison sentence and on July 13, 2010, the defendant was
resentenced to a consecutive determinate state prison sentence of 1 year followed by 1 year of postrelease supervision for violating his probation conditions and committing the new crime.
T
 SEX CRIMES BUREAU 
he Sex Crimes Bureau (SCB) of the DA’s Office vertically prosecutes sex crimes cases committed against victims
over the age of 15. The specially trained assistant district attorneys in the SCB ensure that these cases are handled
aggressively and also with the necessary and appropriate sensitivity toward the victims of sexual assault. In 2010,
the SCB obtained 42 felony convictions. Notable convictions were three cases joined together and prosecuted by the
Chief of the SCB against a Yonkers man who raped three women and killed one of them in a brutal series of strangulationstyle attacks in 2008, a case against a member of a gang of burglars who posed as police officers and who committed a
brutal home invasion and sexual assault of a Yonkers woman, and a case wherein a young woman was walking home
from work in Northern Westchester when she was pulled off a sidewalk by a stranger and sexually abused.
PEO PLE V RAFAEL VA RGAS
In July 2007, in an apartment at 300 Palisade Avenue, Yonkers, a gang of men, dressed in clothing to
make it appear that they were police officers, committed a brutal home invasion, forcing their way into a
couple’s apartment, binding and terrorizing the husband and sexually assaulting the wife. The Yonkers
police obtained evidence that the leader of the attack was Tyrone Simmons, a leader of a Bronx sect of
the “Bloods” gang. Simmons was vertically prosecuted by the SCB and the Major Case Bureau. He was
tried and convicted of sexual abuse in the first degree and other charges relating to the burglary and
sentenced on October 16, 2009 to 21 years in state prison. In 2010, Simmons was prosecuted in federal
court for the robbery of the victims in the Yonkers home invasion and sentenced to a consecutive sentence of 7 years to his Westchester sentence. In 2010, one of Simmon’s accomplices, Rafael Vargas was
prosecuted in both state court and federal court for his role in this brutal home invasion. In Westchester
County Court, Vargas pleaded guilty on April 7, 2010 to rape in the first degree and received a sentence
of 15 years in state prison.
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PEO PLE V WALTER MADDOX
On June 30, 2008, at approximately 10 am on a sunny summer day, a young woman was sitting in O’Boyle Park on
Hawthorne Avenue in Yonkers when she was approached by a man. After a brief conversation, the man walked off,
but within minutes, he returned and snuck up behind the 22 year old woman, placed her in a choke hold that rendered her unconscious and dragged her to a secluded wooded area on the outskirts of the park that led down an embankment to the railroad tracks. When she regained consciousness, the woman was covered in her own blood and
being raped by the stranger. In addition to breaking her nose, the man told the woman he would kill her if she called
the police. After the attack, he ran off. Two Good Samaritans found the battered and bloodied young woman in the
park and called the Yonkers Police who immediately responded to the scene. Though the assailant was not located,
the victim was able to describe that her attacker including the fact that he spoke with a southern accent and wore a
unique baseball hat with the insignia of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
While the police were investigating the O’Boyle Park rape, on
August 31, another young woman, age 26, reported that her exboyfriend had just raped her in an apartment on Buena Vista
Avenue, just a few hundred feet from the site of the June attack in O’Boyle Park, and that she too had been choked prior
to being sexually assaulted. The victim identified her exboyfriend as Walter Maddox, who spoke with a southern accident. Yonkers Detectives searched for Maddox but were told
by his family that he had left New York and gone down south.
Maddox even called his ex-girlfriend and after asking her why
she reported him to the police, advised her that he left New
York. When police asked the August 31 victim for a picture of
her ex-boyfriend, she produced a picture of Maddox from her cell phone which depicted Maddox wearing a Pittsburgh Pirates baseball cap. The search for Maddox was frustrated by his flight from Westchester County.
On December 8, 2008, an employee inside the Laundromat at 260 Hawthorne Avenue in Yonkers, unlocked the door
to the bathroom to retrieve a mop and made the gruesome discovery of her co-worker’s lifeless body on the bathroom floor. The victim, a 25 year old woman who worked at the Laundromat from 6 to 9 am, was lying on the floor,
naked from the waist down. Her keys lay on the ground next to her body but all of her other belongings, including
her phone and her jewelry, were missing. As found by the Medical Examiner, the bruising around her neck was consistent with the strangulation that caused her death. The victim had been raped. The killer, whoever he was, had left
his DNA inside the victim’s body and also on her keys.
Yonkers Police began an immediate investigation into the homicide, assisted by the Chief of the SCB who also
served as the homicide ADA. Dozens of people were interviewed including family and friends of the deceased, and
warrants were procured to track the victim’s missing phone. The police used all types of investigative tools to locate
the killer, including bloodhounds to attempt to locate the killer’s scent. After 10 days, no suspect had emerged.
The police refocused their attention on the two summer 2010 rape cases that involved women who had been choked,
and on the suspect Walter Maddox who had been identified by his girlfriend in one of the rape cases. In December,
Yonkers Detectives located Maddox at his sister’s home at 216 Buena Vista Avenue. This location was less than 3
blocks from the Yonkers Laundromat homicide crime scene. Maddox provided police with statements identifying
himself as the person involved in the June 30 and August 31 rapes, but denied any involvement in the Laundromat
homicide. Instead, Maddox claimed a neighbor had confessed to him of his role in the Laundromat killing in a casual
conversation the two men had a week after the murder. As a result of that information, Maddox was charged with the
commission of the two rapes and the police set out to locate the man identified by Maddox as the possible killer in
the Laundromat murder. The police located that man who steadfastly maintained his innocence and consented to
give a DNA sample for comparison purposes. The DNA from the victim in the homicide excluded this man but
matched the DNA obtained from the victims in the two summer rapes. Upon comparison with the DNA sample obtained from Maddox, the DNA taken from the three victims in the sexual assault kits matched Maddox. Maddox had
obviously falsely accused his neighbor to conceal his own involvement in the rape/murder, but unwittingly had implicated himself with details of the killing he had tried to pin on an innocent man.
19
The defendant was indicted and following a jury trial, in April 2010, was convicted for his role in all three sexual
assaults and for the murder of the young Laundromat employee. At his sentencing, a letter written by the murder victim’s heartbroken sister in Mexico on behalf of their entire family, talked about the loss of the victim and
expressed appreciation to all those involved who obtained justice for her.
In connection with the December 8, 2008 rape and murder of “R.G.” the defendant was convicted of murder in
the first degree, murder in the second degree, predatory sexual assault and rape in the first degree. The defendant was sentenced on June 7, 2010 to life without parole and 25 years to life in prison on the murder and the
predatory sexual assault conviction and 25 years in prison for rape in the first degree.
In connection with the June 30, 2008 sexual assault of “T.W.”, the defendant was convicted of rape in the first
degree and assault in the second degree and sentenced to 25 years and 7 years in prison on those charges.
The Court ordered the sentences to run consecutive to the sentences he received on the murder and sexual
assault charges against “R.G.”
In connection with the August 31, 2008 sexual assault of “K.T.”, Maddox’s former girlfriend, the defendant was
convicted of rape in the first degree and criminal sexual act in the first degree and was sentenced to consecutive terms of 25 years in prison. The Court ordered the sentences to run consecutive to the other convictions
involving R.G. and T.W.
PEO PLE V CARLO S ANDRADE
On New Year’s Day in 2010, a Pelham woman
asleep in her bedroom next to her husband,
awoke to find a stranger, Carlos Andrade, in her
bedroom attempting to touch her as she slept.
Her screams awakened her husband who chased
the intruder down the fire escape of their building
on Lincoln Avenue. Andrade was caught by the
Pelham police a short while later and was found
to be intoxicated. After consultation with the victim, Andrade was convicted upon a plea of guilty
in June 2010 of attempted burglary in the second
degree and sentenced to 2 years in state prison.
The defendant was recently deported as a result
of the conviction.
PEOPLE V SHAQWAN RAMSEY
In early 2010, a young woman who recognized
Shaqwan Ramsey from her grandmother’s
neighborhood in Mount Vernon agreed to accompany Ramsey to his apartment to hang out. Once
inside, the defendant held the woman captive,
sexually assaulted her multiple times and beat
her when she tried to flee. After the woman
promised not to contact the police, the defendant
ultimately released her. The victim reported the
crimes to the Mount Vernon police. After the SCB
assistant consulted with the victim, in September,
2010, Ramsey was convicted upon a plea of guilty
of attempted rape in the first degree and was sentenced to 3 ½ years in state prison.
PEOPLE V CESAR URB INA
On June 9, 2009, Cesar Urbina approached his neighbor’s apartment in Peekskill, claiming that he had been
locked out of his mother’s home. The neighbor offered the defendant a place to stay. In return, the defendant
grabbed the woman from behind, held a knife to her throat and sexually assaulted her. The defendant was
arrested and charged but thereafter released on bail, only to be re-arrested in Manhattan for the attempted
rape of a home health aide in his grandmother’s home in NYC. (He was convicted of this NYC crime in 2010).
The defendant was vertically prosecuted for his sexual assault in Peekskill by the SCB and was found guilty
of sexual abuse in the first degree by a Westchester jury. Based upon his two predicate violent convictions
out of New York County in 1986 and 1997, the defendant was sentenced as a persistent violent felony offender
to 20 years to life in prison for his Westchester conviction.
20
PEO PLE V MARCUS GREEN
On February 8, 2009, a 36 year old mother of two was returning to her New Rochelle home on Locust Avenue when she was accosted by a stranger, Marcus Green, in the parking lot of her apartment complex.
Green, brandishing a firearm, forced the woman up to her apartment where he raped her on the bathroom
floor. Green immediately fled New York State but returned a month later when he was arrested by the New
Rochelle police for the February 8 attack. The case was vertically prosecuted by the SCB assistant and the
defendant was indicted and tried. Green was convicted by the jury of rape in the first degree, burglary in
the first degree and menacing and was sentenced on June 17, 2010 to 20 years in state prison.
PEOPLE V BRENDAN B ERNDT
On October 28, 2009, a young woman was walking
home from her job in Cortlandt when she was attacked by Brendan Berndt, who came up behind the
young woman as she walked on East Main Street,
pulled her off the sidewalk and sexually assaulted her.
The crime was interrupted by a Good Samaritan who
was walking in the area and heard the victim’s
screams and came to her aide. Berndt was convicted
in November 2010 of sexual abuse in the first degree
and was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in state prison.
PEOPLE V SERGIO CABRERA
On July 9, 2010, Sergio Cabrera, an employee in a
Rye deli was arrested after he hid his cell phone in
the bathroom at the deli so he could illegally record
a female employee using the toilet in the bathroom.
Cabrera was convicted on October 12, 2010 of
unlawful video surveillance in the second degree, a
violation of Stephanie’s Law. After the conclusion
of his sentence in the Westchester County Jail, he
was deported to his native Guatemala.
PEO PLE V LAWRENCE STELZER
Lawrence Stelzer, a level 3 sex offender, who was convicted of rape in the first degree in 1984, committed his fourth and second felony violation of Megan’s Law. Stelzer was indicted and convicted of
failure to register or verify, a class D felony offense, in September 2010. Stelzer upon a plea of guilty
was sentenced to 1 to 3 years in state prison based on his latest failure to comply with SORA.
UPDATE O N SEX O FFENDER REGISTRATION ACT (SORA)
CENTRAL TO THE WORK OF THE SCB IS ITS CONTINUING RESPONSIBILITY TO ENFORCE THE SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION ACT (SORA), ALSO KNOWN AS MEGAN’S LAW. IN 2010, IN DOZENS OF CASES, SEX OFFENDERS RETURNING TO THE
COMMUNITY, OR RELEASED INTO THE COMMUNITY FROM ANOTHER JURISDICTION, WERE REGISTERED AS SEX OFFENDERS
AND GIVEN SORA HEARINGS PROSECUTED BY MEMBERS OF THE SCB IN WESTCHESTER COUNTY’S SEX OFFENSE
COURT. IN EACH SORA APPLICATION, INCLUDING THOSE INVOLVING SEVERAL OFFENDERS CONVICTED BY THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT, SCB PROSECUTORS ADVOCATE FOR OFFENDERS TO BE CLASSIFIED AT THE HIGHEST RISK LEVEL POSSIBLE
TO ENSURE THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF COMMUNITY NOTIFICATION ALLOWABLE BY LAW. IN 2010, THERE WERE 40 SORA
CASES. SCB PROSECUTORS WERE SUCCESSFUL IN CONVINCING THE COURT TO ASSESS THE HIGHEST LEVEL THE PROSECUTION SOUGHT IN 93% OF THE CASES. MOREOVER, THERE WERE 9 CHARGES FILED AGAINST SEX OFFENDERS WHO
WERE NOT IN COMPLIANCE WITH SORA IN 2010. IN ADDITION THERE WERE 7 FELONY CONVICTIONS FOR VIOLATIONS OF
SORA IN 2010, ALL WHICH INCLUDED SENTENCES OF INCARCERATION.
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 FIREARMS AND GANG VIOLENCE 
5th
In its year of operation under District Attorney DiFiore, the Gang Violence and Firearms Bureau remains devoted to combating gun trafficking and violence and the concomitant increase of gang related crime in Westchester County.
IREARMS O FFEN SES - To combat gun related crime, the Bureau maintains daily contact with local, state and federal
law enforcement agencies, continuously gathering and disseminating information relating to gun possession and violence in Westchester County. The Bureau monitors all gun charges in the County and works closely with law enforcement partners to enhance the prosecution of these cases, including the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
(ATF) to identify and track the origin and sources of illegal handguns, and the WCPD’s Ballistics Unit, the Westchester Intelligence Center (WIC) and local police departments to solve seemingly unrelated gun crimes by linking shell casings recovered
from different crime scenes.
By centralizing gang and gun intelligence, WIC greatly enhances the investigation and prosecution of gun violence crimes. At
weekly meetings, members of the Bureau, local field intelligence officers (FIOs), parole officers, probation officers, corrections
officers, crime analysts, and FBI personnel share vital intelligence relating to unsolved cross-jurisdictional crimes, overnight
debriefings, and the results of the Integrated Ballistic Identification System (IBIS) analyses pertaining to violent crime, illegal
weapon possession and illegal gang activity. WIC also disseminates information provided by the NYPD relating to Westchester County residents who have been arrested in NYC for possession of firearms, and insures that the NYPD’s Firearms
Analysis Section submits all gun casings recovered in NYC into the IBIS so that they may be run against Westchester County
submissions. Our close working relationship with local police departments, together with ongoing public education initiatives,
has yielded extraordinary results in the fight against gun related crime. Since the creation of the Bureau in 2006, nearly 1100
individuals have been prosecuted for gun related charges and more than 1300 guns have been removed from our streets.
n 2010, 221 guns were submitted for testing to the WCPD BallisG UNS RECOVERED
tics Unit - 30 less than the number submitted in 2009, and 121
GUN R ELATED
SUBMITTED TO WC
less than the number submitted in 2006. This represents a reA RRESTS
BALLISTICS
duction of more than 35% since the creation of the Bureau by District Attorney DiFiore in 2006. Concomitantly, the number of gun
251
206
related arrests went down from 206 arrests in 2009 to 142 arrests
in 2010, a 31% decrease. Overall, since 2006, the number of gun
related arrested has dropped nearly 38%. In total, 46 defendants
142
were indicted on gun related crimes in 2010.
As these statistics demonstrate, the District Attorney’s vigilance in
221
dealing harshly with gun offenders, combined with her tough stance
on sentencing and her intensive efforts to heighten public awareness about the increased severity of the penalties associated with
illegal gun possession, has had a significant deterrent effect on gun
2010
2009
2010
2009
related crimes in Westchester County.
Among the District Attorney’s ongoing efforts to reach at-risk segments of the population in 2010, was the delivery of an interactive power point presentation entitled “C.A.R.G.O.” (Community Awareness Regarding Guns Offenses) to all 8 th grade middle school students in the Yonkers and Mt. Vernon public school systems. The C.A.R.G.O. program, which is presented by
assistant district attorneys, is designed to remove the glamour associated with gun possession and show the stark reality of
gun violence to students who are about to enter high school. In 2010, C.A.R.G.O. presentations were made to 86 classes in
15 middle schools.
ANG R ELAT ED C RIM ES - Full utilization of WIC’s intelligence gathering and dissemination capabilities has greatly
enhanced our ability to identify individuals affiliated with violent street gangs in Westchester County. Weekly meetings conducted through the “Operation Impact” crime initiative enable local, state and federal law enforcement to
accurately discern the criminal activity of gang members in the County, resulting in a dramatic increase in the number of gang
related prosecutions in the County. The number of prosecutions of individuals identified as gang members or as being involved in gang related activity rose from 413 in 2009 to 469 in 2010. Owing largely to the enhanced capabilities offered by
WIC, current numbers represent a dramatic increase in gang related prosecutions since 2007, when only 150 defendants
were identified as gang related.
F
I
G
22
PEO PLE V HASANI POMP EY
On October 11, 2009, the Yonkers police responded to
a report of shots fired in the area of Ridge Avenue in
Yonkers. While en route, police observed Hasani
Pompey walking quickly down the street in that vicinity. When the officers asked him whether he had
heard any gunshots, Pompey adjusted his waistband
and fled. He was then observed throwing a loaded .45
caliber pistol over a fence into a public park. After a
struggle with police, Pompey was placed under arrest.
On July 14, 2010, the defendant pled guilty to the top
count of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree. On September 13, 2010 he was sentenced to 7 years in state prison.
PEO PLE V G USTAVO RIVERA & ANTHONY RIV ERA
In 2010, a joint investigation was conducted
by our Office, the Yonkers PD Street Crime
Unit, the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force and
the U.S. Attorney’s Office into gun trafficking operation run by the Rivera brothers in
Yonkers. Between January and March of
2010, Gustavo and Anthony Rivera sold
a .357 caliber revolver, a .32 caliber pistol
and a sawed-off shotgun to an undercover
Yonkers police officer. Anthony Rivera also
sold a .410 gauge Mossberg pump action
shotgun and an assault type automatic loading rifle to the same undercover police officer. On April 21, 2010, Anthony Rivera was
arrested following a vehicle stop by the
Yonkers PD and found to be in possession
of a loaded .40 caliber pistol. Gustavo
Rivera was also arrested and both men indicted. In August, 2010, Anthony Rivera
pled guilty to the top four counts of the indictment, including criminal possession of a
weapon in the second degree. Gustavo
Rivera pled guilty to the top three counts,
including criminal possession of a weapon
in the second degree. On September 21,
2010, the defendants were each sentenced,
as second violent felony offenders, on their
weapons possession convictions to 10
years in state prison.
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PEO PLE V JAMES EDMON SON A/K/A DEWEY
On April 6, 2010, members of the Yonkers police Street
Crime Unit observed James Edmonson, a member of
the violent street gang known as the “Elm Street
Wolves,” arguing with two individuals. The officers
heard Edmonson state “I’ll go up to the 2nd floor, get my
Mac 11, and spray all you.” Thereafter, police secured
a search warrant for the defendant’s apartment, whereupon they recovered a loaded Mac 11 firearm and numerous twists of cocaine, and took the defendant into
custody. The defendant admitted to the police that the
gun and drugs belonged to him. In September 2010,
the defendant pled guilty as charged to criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree. On November 9, 2010, he was sentenced to 4 years in state prison.
PEO PLE V DANTE THA TC HER
On October 2, 2008, plainclothes officers assigned to the Yonkers police Street Crimes Unit observed Dante
Thatcher, a known gang member, fidgeting nervously with his waistband. When police asked to speak to
him, the defendant ran, throwing a loaded .38 caliber Smith & Wesson revolver to the ground. The defendant
was apprehended and subsequently indicted on weapon possession charges. In January 2010, after a jury
trial, the defendant was convicted of the top count of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree.
On April 16, 2010, he was sentenced to 8 years in state prison.
PEO PLE V JASO N G IORD ANO
On February 9, 2010, a Yonkers police officer while traveling in his personal vehicle en route to commence his tour of duty, observed Jason
Giordano pull a .25 caliber pistol from his waistband, place it behind his
back and rack the slide, readying the gun to be fired. As the officer exited
his vehicle to approach the defendant, he observed the defendant point the
gun at another individual. However, the defendant observed the officer
and fled the scene. As he gave chase, the officer observed the defendant
jam the gun into his pocket and then heard a gun go off The officer
chased the defendant into a wooded area which was then cordoned off and
the K-9 Unit was dispatched. The defendant was captured when he tried to
escape the pursuit of Max, a member of the K-9 Unit, by jumping off a 20
foot ledge. Unfortunately, Max was also injured in the fall, but has since
recovered from his injury. The gun was not recovered but a .25 caliber
bullet was removed from the defendant’s hip during surgery. Forensic
testing confirmed that the defendant had shot himself accidentally while
trying to elude police. In September 2010, the defendant pled guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree. On December 2, 2010, he was sentenced to 5 years in state prison.
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T
 L OCAL CRIMINAL COURTS 
he Local Criminal Court Division of the District Attorney’s Office is comprised of a network of eight branch offices, with
assistant district attorneys prosecuting criminal cases in the city, town and village courts of the County. This community presence throughout the County enables prosecutors to provide on location legal training for local police departments, become familiar with any trends and trouble areas in each locality, and be readily available for consultation with community residents.
Almost all criminal cases prosecuted by the DA’s Office are handled at some point in the 42 local courts in our County. These
prosecutions included felony cases over which local courts have preliminary jurisdiction. In 2010 the branch offices prosecuted 35,179 cases in city, town and village courts. Of this number, 30,137 were misdemeanors or violations, for which the
branch offices have primary prosecutorial responsibility; the remaining 5,042 cases were initiated as felony prosecutions.
ADAs in the branch offices have the responsibility to prosecute the felonies at the preliminary stages, e.g., arraignment, bail
applications and felony hearings. Felony cases that are vertically prosecuted by the other Divisions of the WCDAO are handled in the local court by the ADAs in those Divisions.
The current location, staffing and jurisdictional responsibilities of each of the branch offices are as follows:
 The Yonkers Branch Office is located at the Cacace Justice Center at South Broadway in Yonkers, prosecutes criminal
actions occurring within the City of Yonkers and has a staff of seven assistant district attorneys, including one ADA from
the Special Prosecutions Division to handle domestic violence cases.
 The Mount Vernon Branch Office is located in the City of Mount Vernon Court Building at Roosevelt Square, Mount
Vernon, prosecutes crimes committed in Mount Vernon, Pelham, Pelham Manor and Bronxville, and has a staff of three
assistant district attorneys, with an additional prosecutor from the Special Prosecutions Division to handle domestic violence cases.
 The New Rochelle Branch Office is
located at the New Rochelle City
Court Building on North Avenue,
New Rochelle. This office is staffed
by three assistant district attorneys
and handles criminal cases for New
Rochelle, Town of Mamaroneck,
Eastchester and Tuckahoe.
 The White Plains Branch Office is
located at the White Plains City
Court Building at South Lexington
Avenue, White Plains. This office
has three assistant district attorneys
who prosecute criminal matters for
White Plains and North Castle.
 The Rye Branch Office is located on
NEW ROCHELLE CITY COURT
Westchester Avenue in Rye Brook.
The three assistant district attorneys assigned to this office prosecute criminal matters for Port Chester, Rye Town, Rye
City, Harrison, Village of Mamaroneck, Larchmont and Scarsdale.
 The Greenburgh Branch Office is located in the Greenburgh Court Complex on Tarrytown Road in Greenburgh. There
are three assistant district attorneys on staff to handle criminal cases in Greenburgh, Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Elmsford,
Hastings, Irvington, Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown.
 The Yorktown Branch Office is on Commerce Street in Yorktown Heights. The three assistant district attorneys in this
branch handle criminal cases for Yorktown, Peekskill, Croton, Buchanan and Cortlandt.
 The Northern Westchester Branch is on Moore Avenue in Mount Kisco. This branch has four assistant district attorneys
who prosecute criminal matters in Bedford, New Castle, Pleasantville, Briarcliff, Lewisboro, Somers, Pound Ridge, Ossining Village, Ossining Town, Mount Kisco, Mount Pleasant and South Salem.
25
T H E V ICTIMS J USTICE C ENT ER - RECOGNIZING THAT CRIME AFFECTS VICTIMS IN MANY WAYS, INCLUDING PHYSICALLY,
PSYCHOLOGICALLY AND FINANCIALLY, THE VICTIMS’ JUSTICE CENTER UNIT SEEKS TO HELP VICTIMS COPE WITH THE IMPACT OF
THE CRIME PERPETRATED AGAINST THEM AND NAVIGATE THROUGH THE OFTEN CONFUSING CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM. OUR
MULTILINGUAL CENTER PROVIDES A WIDE RANGE OF VICTIM SERVICES INCLUDING: INFORMATION AND GUIDANCE REGARDING
VICTIM RIGHTS AND SAFETY; ASSISTANCE WITH REIMBURSEMENT FOR LOST INCOME, FUNERAL EXPENSES, LOSS OF ESSENTIAL
PERSONAL PROPERTY, AND MEDICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES; COURT ACCOMPANIMENT; PLACEMENT IN SHELTERS; ADVOCACY AND REFERRALS TO OTHER AGENCIES; MULTILINGUAL INTERPRETERS; FREE COUNSELING AND THERAPY; CRISIS INTERVENTION; AND ASSISTANCE WITH THE PREPARATION AND FILING OF VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENTS. THE UNIT ALSO INFORMS VICTIMS OF NEW YORK’S VICTIM INFORMATION AND NOTIFICATION EVERYDAY (VINE) PROGRAM, A SYSTEM THAT PROVIDES VICTIMS WITH PRISONER STATUS AND RELEASE DATES FOR CONVICTED FELONY OFFENDERS IN THE NYS PRISON SYSTEM. IN OBSERVANCE OF CRIME VICTIMS’ RIGHTS WEEK IN APRIL 2010, THE UNIT STAFFED A PUBLIC INFORMATION TABLE IN THE LOBBY
OF THE COUNTY COURTHOUSE, PROVIDING INFORMATION AND OFFERING SERVICES TO VICTIMS AND THE PUBLIC. IN 2010, THE
VICTIM JUSTICE CENTER PROVIDED ASSISTANCE, INFORMATION AND GUIDANCE TO OVER 7,300 COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO,
THROUGH NO FAULT OF THEIR OWN, WERE BROUGHT INTO CONTACT WITH THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
M
ADD Vict im Impac t Pro gram - The DA’s Office works closely with Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the
Westchester County Departments of Probation and Community Mental Health to educate and demonstrate the
dangers of drunk driving to those who have been charged with driving while intoxicated in Westchester County’s
local courts. The MADD Victim Impact Program combines lectures, video presentations, and personal testimony to increase
awareness of the potential consequences of drunk driving. During 2010, the DA’s Office required over 2,700 defendants
charged with driving while intoxicated, and related offenses to participate in this program as part of their plea agreement.
es t to E limi nate Sexual Tra nsmiss ion Program ( TEST) - High risk sexual behavior poses dangers
to individuals and to the community at large. Recognizing that individuals who engage in high risk sexual activity
may become involved in the criminal justice system, the DA’s Office worked with local courts and the Westchester
County Department of Health (DOH) to develop and implement the TEST Program. Defendants charged with misdemeanors
or violations in connection with high risk, consensual sexual behavior are offered, through their defense counsel, the opportunity to receive a reduced sentence in exchange for obtaining a voluntary, confidential rapid HIV test. These tests, provided
at a DOH clinic, provide confidential results within minutes and allow DOH to provide appropriate counseling to the individual. In 2010, the fifth year of this model program, over 70 individuals were referred by the local courts for HIV testing pursuant to this program.
ail Jumping - When a defendant who has been released on bail or on his own recognizance fails to appear in
court as directed, the DA’s Office files a bail jumping charge, sending a strong message to defendants that there will
be criminal consequences for failing to appear as required. These charges can be misdemeanors or felonies, depending upon the seriousness of the underlying offense, and can result in a state prison sentence in addition to the sentence
in the underlying case. The DA’s Office is vigilant in filing bail jumping charges because the longer a defendant remains a
fugitive, the more likely the evidence in the criminal case may be compromised, and the more difficult it may become to
prove the underlying charges. Witnesses may be unavailable or become uncooperative, or memories may simply fade. In
the event monetary bail had been posted by the bail jumper, the DA’s Office seeks a forfeiture of the bail monies to the municipality where the case was pending. In 2010, there were 15 successful bail forfeiture actions, resulting in forfeiture of
$131,950.
e ntal Heal th C our t - As a consequence of our commitment to long term solutions to public safety issues, the
DA’s Office supports the Westchester County Mental Health Court, which handles cases of mentally ill defendants
charged with non-violent felonies. The DA’s Office works closely with the Westchester County Departments of
Probation, Social Services, and Community Mental Health to identify appropriate candidates for the Court, facilitate the creation and implementation of individualized treatment plans for each defendant, and monitor compliance with the plan. The
Court seeks to provide a response that is both compassionate and effective for the specific problems posed by defendants
with mental illness who are in the criminal justice system. As a long-term goal, the partners in this Court seek to serve the
community and the mentally ill defendants by meeting treatment needs and reducing the rate at which they reoffend.
T
B
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T
 NARCOTICS ENFORCEMENT 
he illegal drug trade in Westchester County continues to pose a substantial threat to public safety. The District Attorney’s Narcotics Bureau provides the expertise and technological resources necessary to combat illegal drug activity,
protect residents, and deliver rehabilitative services to drug dependent offenders.
In 2010, there were approximately 1000 felony drug arrests made in Westchester County, all of which were reviewed by the Bureau to determine the appropriate course of prosecution; specifically, whether the defendant, based on such factors as violence,
firearm possession and gang involvement, should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, or, in cases of non-violent offenders,
whether a treatment alternative is appropriate.
In 2010, the Bureau continued the proven practice of inter-agency cooperation among state, federal and local law enforcement agencies, securing more than 250 drug related felony convictions and approximately $531,670 in forfeited drug money.
ew initiatives in 2010 included increased coordination with local police departments to combat drug trafficking in residential areas, in particular the illicit sale of prescription drugs such as Percocet, Oxycodone, Vicodin and Roxicet.
Working with various local agencies, the Bureau conducted coordinated “drug
sweeps” in Peekskill and Yonkers, yielding more than a dozen indictments and 20 felony convictions.
The Bureau also supervises the work of District Attorney Investigators assigned to WDANI, a specialized narcotics unit within the District Attorney’s Office. In 2010, WDANI, in corroboration with local police, made 45 narcotics arrests in 10 Westchester
County jurisdictions and seized 6 handguns, more than 7 seven pounds of cocaine, 23
pounds of heroin, nearly 1 pound of oxycodone and Percocet pills, 850 tablets of
“Ecstasy,” and confiscated over $124,000 in drug proceeds.
Photo from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Oxycodone.svg
On the local criminal court level the District Attorney’s Office participates in
specialized Drug Court parts in the City Courts of Yonkers, New Rochelle, Mt. Vernon, White Plains and Peekskill and in the
Town Court of Greenburgh. These courts are voluntary and rehabilitative in nature and open to non-violent addicted offenders who are charged with misdemeanors. In 2010, over 150 defendants participated in these treatment oriented courts.
N
PEOPLE V DO RO TEO FERNANDEZ
On August 19, 2010, following a year long investigation by WCDAO, the DEA and Yonkers police,
Doroteo Fernandez, a New Jersey cocaine trafficker, was apprehended. Fernandez, who was under police surveillance, was seen and videotaped
meeting with two individuals at a Yonkers diner.
Defendant, still under observation, then left the
diner, entered his vehicle and drove to a stash
house at another location in Yonkers, where he
was observed loading 5 kilograms of cocaine into
his vehicle. Defendant then returned to the diner,
where he handed the cocaine over to the two previously observed individuals. The investigation culminated in the arrest of the defendant and the seizure of 5 kilograms of cocaine with a street value in
excess of $250,000. On March 31, 2011, Fernandez
pled guilty to criminal possession of a controlled
substance in the third degree and is currently
awaiting sentencing.
PEOPLE V GARBETH SANDOVAL RO MERO
The U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement Agency
(ICE) received information that a package containing
more than 400 grams of cocaine had been mailed from
Guatemala to “Carlos Jose Contreras” at an address in
Mount Kisco, New York. This information was relayed
to local police, who contacted the District Attorney’s
Office. On October 17, 2010, an undercover investigator from the DA’s Office, posing as a delivery man, delivered the package to a man who presented identification in the name of “Carlos Contreras,” and later identified as Gerberth Sandoval Romero. The defendant
accepted possession of the package. Shortly thereafter, District Attorney Investigators and members of the
Mount Kisco police executed a search warrant at the
location and recovered approximately 433 grams of
cocaine, and thereby successfully thwarted a local
narcotics trafficking operation. On January 26, 2011,
the defendant pled guilty to criminal possession of a
controlled substance in the third degree and is awaiting sentencing.
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PEO PLE V JUAN AGRAMONTE
In 2005, an extensive investigation into narcotics trafficking and loan sharking activities in Yonkers resulted in the arrest and indictment of Juan Agramonte, a drug dealer who serviced approximately 100 drug
users in Yonkers. In early 2007, shortly before his trial was scheduled to commence, Agramonte absconded. More than two years later, in November 2009, the County Police warrant squad located the defendant working in New York City under a fictitious name. The defendant was taken into custody and additional felony bail jumping charges were lodged against him. Agramonte pled guilty to criminal sale of a
controlled substance in the third degree and on March 11, 2010 the court sentenced him to 2½ years in
state prison.
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 OPERATION IMPACT 
n 2010 we marked our 7th year of participation in Operation IMPACT. Implemented in 2004 to assist the 17 upstate
(including Westchester) and Long Island counties that, at the time, accounted for 80% of the statewide crime outside of
NYC, Operation IMPACT aims to reduce violent crime using a highly focused and deliberate data-driven approach to
policing, with a strong emphasis on law enforcement partnerships, crime analysis, and intelligence development and information sharing. Since its inception, Operation IMPACT has expanded within Westchester County from its original member
jurisdiction of Yonkers to now include Mount Vernon, White Plains, Greenburgh and New Rochelle.
Co-chaired by the District Attorney’s Office and the Yonkers Police Department, IMPACT holds monthly meetings at WIC,
during which Field Intelligence Officers (FIOs), crime analysts, and representatives from member agencies and other state
and local law enforcement agencies review notable incident reports and informant debriefings generated during the preceding week. Such inter-agency collaboration is instrumental in developing effective local strategies to reduce violent crime
and, in particular, develop intelligence on individuals with extensive gang involvement.
The 2010 IMPACT initiatives included the Mount Vernon Drug Market Initiative (DMI), in which 18 at-risk youths were provided with job training, continued educational assistance, and, if necessary, drug treatment. Of note, two of the participants
were the subject of deferred prosecution and were given the opportunity to avoid prosecution upon successful completion of
the DMI program.
R OAD TO R ECO VERY AND O THER D RUG T REATMENT P RO GRAMS - In 2010 we also marked the 7th year of the District Attorney’s Road to Recovery (RtR) program, one of the most successful drug treatment alternatives to prison programs in
New York State. Since its inception, 75% of the candidates accepted to the Westchester RtR program have successfully graduated, far above the statewide average of approximately 50%. Our success is a function of our developed expertise and careful
screening of candidates. Drug dependent offenders who are admitted to RtR must first plead guilty to a felony, whereupon they
are placed in a long term in-patient drug treatment program for up to 15 months, followed by placement in a halfway house for up
to 6 months and, finally, an out-patient drug treatment program for up to 6 months. Successful completion of the program results
in dismissal of the felony charge and sentence of probation on a misdemeanor charge; failure results in state prison sentence on
the felony charge. The successful administration of the RtR program is responsible for the dramatic decrease in recidivism by
felony drug offenders in Westchester County; indeed, many of its participants have become productive members of our community.
Up through 2010, 110 individuals were accepted to the RtR program. In 2010 we commenced phasing out the RtR program
in favor of the newly created Judicial Diversion Program.
J UDICIAL D IV ERSION - In October 2009, pursuant to state law, Judicial Diversion Courts were established throughout the
State to provide drug offenders with treatment in lieu of incarceration. Unlike the structured stages of programs such as
RtR, Judicial Diversion Courts favor outpatient treatment for a much larger array of defendants. With the exception of a few
crimes, such as A-II drug felonies and violent crimes, most drug offenders are eligible for Judicial Diversion. While the District Attorney’s Office is given the opportunity to be heard on potential applicants, the decision to admit a candidate into the
diversion program is made by the Court. A full time assistant district attorney has been assigned to evaluate and investigate
cases, conduct hearings and monitor proceedings in the Judicial Diversion Court.
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s of December 31, 2010, 136 defendants had requested admission to the program, 55 hearings were held, and 75
individuals had been admitted (some without a hearing); this number is more than triple the annual number of enrollees in the RtR program. We anticipate that these numbers will increase as more defendants and attorneys become
aware of its existence.
At the local level, the Office continued full participation in the specialized Drug Court parts in the City Courts of Yonkers, New
Rochelle, Mt. Vernon, White Plains and Peekskill, and the Town of Greenburgh. These courts require the voluntary participation
of the non-violent drug addicted offenders charged with misdemeanors. In 2010, over 100 defendants participated in these local
drug courts.
A NI M AL C RU EL T Y - THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE HAS DESIGNATED A SPECIALLY TRAINED ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY TO INVESTIGATE AND PROSECUTE CASES OF ANIMAL CRUELTY AND ANIMAL FIGHTING. IN ADDITION, THE ADA CONDUCTS POLICE TRAINING ON THE PROPER METHODS OF IDENTIFYING, INVESTIGATING AND COLLECTING EVIDENCE IN SUCH CASES AND PARTICIPATES IN SCHOOL WORKSHOPS ON THE PREVENTION OF ANIMAL CRUELTY. IN 2010, TWO COMPREHENSIVE POLICE TRAINING SESSIONS WERE CONDUCTED AT MERCY COLLEGE AND ANOTHER AT THE WESTCHESTER POLICE ACADEMY.
PEO PLE V JONATHAN KING
On April 6, 2009, Jonathan King, who had a troubled relationship with his girlfriend’s family, unlawfully entered
their home and killed Libra, the family dog, a 2 ½ year old Yorkie-mix. King snapped the dog’s neck and
stuffed the dog behind the clothes dryer. When his girlfriend’s mother returned home, she saw blood in a sink
and then found the body of the dog hidden behind the dryer. Forensic testing of blood samples obtained from
the crime scene and skin tissue collected from under the dog’s nails, conclusively linked defendant to the
crime. In addition, cell phone records established defendant’s presence in the vicinity of the home during the
time frame of the killing. In March 2010, defendant pled guilty as charged to aggravated animal cruelty and
criminal trespass in the second degree. On June 9, 2010, he was sentenced to 13 months in the Westchester
County Jail.
PEO PLE V ANDREW OWENS
On April 5, 2010, the owner of a home heating oil company shop in Yonkers tethered his German Shepherd
“Jenna” on his property. The dog was barking at Andrew Owens, who was a safe distance away on the opposite
side of the street. Owens who did not like the dog from a prior incident crossed the street and stabbed the dog
in the right eye with a box cutter, irreparably damaging the dog’s eye. Defendant’s actions were captured on surveillance video and he confessed to the crime. In July 2010, the defendant pled guilty as charged to aggravated
animal cruelty and was sentenced on September 2, 2010 to 15 months in the Westchester County Jail.
 ECONOMIC CRIMES 
The Economic Crimes Bureau of the District Attorney’s Office investigates and vertically prosecutes cases involving violations
of the New York Tax Law and “white collar crimes.”
RIME S A GAINST R EV ENUE P R OSECUTI ON U NIT (CARP ) - The CARP Unit of the Economic Crimes Bureau
works in conjunction with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance to investigate and prosecute
criminal violations of the New York State Tax Law. Investigations generally focus on individuals and businesses that
underreport or fail to report income, evade payment of taxes, fail to file tax returns, or file fraudulent tax returns. Our goal is to
bring tax offenders to justice and reclaim lost tax revenue for the County and State.
In 2010, the Unit opened 26 new tax investigations, a 30% increase from 2009. The CARP Unit pursued charges against
professionals who failed to file personal income tax returns, businesses who failed to remit thousands of dollars of collected
tax revenue and several individuals who unlawfully received unemployment benefits. In 2010, the CARP Unit, working in collaboration with the State Tax and Labor Departments and the State Police, reclaimed $485,082 in lost tax revenue for the
state and local municipalities.
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C OLLAR C RIME - The Economic Crimes Bureau, whose members include a certified public accountant/certified fraud examiner, provides critical assistance to local police departments in the investigation and
prosecution of often financially complicated and sophisticated “white collar” criminal activity, including embezzlement, investment scams, home repair fraud, consumer fraud, fraud against the elderly, unemployment insurance
fraud, and tax crimes. In 2010, the Bureau apprehended and prosecuted 35 white collar criminals and recouped an astounding $7,168,041.00 for crime victims.
HITE
PEOPLE V JOANNE BAKER
Between March 2006 and February 2009, Joanne Baker, a White Plains dentist, stole approximately $9,000 from a
major insurance company by submitting fraudulent insurance claims for dental services that were never provided to
insured patients. To support her fraudulent billing, the defendant fabricated patient medical records, which she then
submitted to the insurer. In May 2010, the defendant pled guilty to the top count of grand larceny in the third degree
and insurance fraud in the third degree. On November 16, 2010, she was sentenced to 6 months in County Jail and 5
years probation. She was ordered to pay the full amount of the restitution to the insurance company, forfeited
$50,000 from her own assets on the basis that her dental practice was the instrumentality of the crime, and voluntarily surrendered her license to practice dentistry.
PEO PLE V TO DD NEWMAN
Todd Newman, a certified public accountant, who served
as the secretary/treasurer for a business in Yorktown; as
such, he was a signatory on the company’s payroll account. Newman stole nearly $2 million from the company
by fraudulently writing checks to himself from the company’s payroll account and illegally diverting other funds
earmarked for New York State withholding taxes. Newman also failed to file New York State Personal Income
Tax returns in 2005, 2006 and 2007, and failed to pay more
than $100,000 of personal income tax owed. On June 21,
2001, defendant was convicted following a jury trial of
grand larceny in the first degree and repeated failure to
file income tax returns. On November 22, 2010, he was
sentenced to 3 to 9 years in state prison and restitution
judgments were issued for the victim and the New York
State Tax Department.
PEOPLE V ROBERT WIRCHANS KY
Between November 2000 and January 2006,
Robert Wirchansky, a former claims manager
for a major insurance company, stole over
$296,000 from his employer by submitting
fraudulent requests for claim settlement payments.
The defendant inserted fictitious
names closely resembling his own into the
case histories of legitimate insurance claims.
He then deposited the insurance claim settlement checks into his personal bank account.
In August 2010, defendant pled guilty to the
top count of grand larceny in the second degree and was sentenced, on January 6, 2011,
to 1 to 3 years in state prison. The victim received a restitution judgment order for the full
amount of the loss.
PEOPLE V SUSAN MCK EE
Susan McKee was a bookkeeper for a cell tower holding company in Chappaqua with sole access to the
company’s on-line billing and payroll accounts. She stole approximately $150,000 from the company
through double salary entries and unauthorized use of company credit cards for her personal benefit.
Ultimately, an audit of the company’s books uncovered the missing money. McKee also failed to report
her income properly on her New York State Tax Returns. In October 2010, the defendant pled guilty to
grand larceny in the third degree and filing false tax returns. McKee was sentenced on May 4, 2011 to 2 to
4 years in state prison.
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E NVIRONM ENTAL C RIMES - In 2010, the Office’s Environmental Crimes Unit (ECU), working in close collaboration with the
United States Coast Guard, the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), the NYS Department of Health,
and the Environmental Security Unit of the Westchester County Department of Public Safety, prosecuted over 100 environmental cases, including illegal spills, unlawful dumping, and a wide array of unlicensed environmental activities. Our close
working relationship with these outside agencies ensures a constant flow of information relating to emerging trends in criminal
activity effecting the environment and the efficient deployment of resources to effectively identify, preempt, address and remediate environmental problems in the County. In 2010, the ECU conducted 18 investigations, resulting in 12 arrests and 12
convictions, and handled 128 additional cases in local courts throughout the County.
PEO PLE V MARC MOLLICONE
By law, the purchase and application of restricted use pesticides must be performed by or under the supervision of a
certified applicator. In 2010, the Environmental Crimes Unit assisted the NYSDEC with its investigation into allegations that Marc Mollicone, owner of Gedney Tree Care, was purchasing and applying restricted use pesticides in
homes and businesses throughout Westchester County in violation of this requirement. Mollicone had employed a
certified applicator up until April 20, 2010, when that individual left Mollicone’s employ. In May 2010, Mollicone sent a
forged letter to the NYSDEC - purportedly signed by the former applicator – in support of his own application to become a certified applicator. The letter falsely stated that the former applicator was still in Mollicone’s employ and that
Mollicone was apprenticing under his supervision. The defendant also fraudulently used his former employee’s name
and applicator certification number to purchase restricted use pesticides on multiple occasions. In December 2010,
Mollicone pled guilty to unlawfully purchasing restricted use pesticides in violation of Environmental Conservation
Law § 71-2907. Defendant paid for the proper disposal of all restricted use pesticides still in his possession and was
ordered to pay a $1,500 fine. He was also administratively stripped of his ability to become a certified applicator.
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 ORGANIZED CRIME / CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE / AUTO CRIMES 
h e Or gani ze d Cri me a nd Cr imin al En terprise Burea u (OCB ) proactively investigates organized
criminal activity throughout Westchester County and provides critical assistance to local police departments in investigating violent crimes, such as home invasion burglaries and robberies perpetrated by groups of individuals. The
Unit also lends valuable assistance to Federal investigators and prosecutors in the investigation of terror related activity affecting Westchester County. To this end, a criminal investigator from our Office has been assigned full time to the Joint Terrorist Task Force. In 2010, the Bureau obtained 61 felony convictions in cases involving organized criminal activity. In furtherance of these prosecutions, the Bureau utilized its expertise to draft and execute dozens of cell-site orders, pen registers, eavesdropping warrants and search warrants.
PEO PLE V CHRISTOPHER CALISE & MAURICE MANN
On the night of June 7, 2009, Calise and Mann went to the Sound Shore Fishing Club on Union Avenue in New Rochelle and asked the victim to come outside to speak with them. Once outside, Calise demanded $50,000 from the
victim in connection with a dispute over a restaurant remodeling job that the victim had done for Calise; the victim
denied owing Calise any money. A month earlier Calise had stabbed the victim over the disputed money Mann
grabbed the victim by the waist, threw him to the ground, and choked him, while, Calise demanded that the victim
give Calise his arm because he wanted to cut it off. Calise then removed a meat cleaver from his waist and started
hitting the victim with it on the head and then several times on both ankles. Mann held out the victim’s right arm
while Calise hit the victim on the right wrist several times with the meat cleaver, nearly severing the victim’s hand.
The defendants then fled in a black SUV. Arriving officers from the New Rochelle PD were directed by a large
crowd to follow the SUV leaving the scene. Police gave chase and within minutes of the attack stopped the defendants who, when removed from their vehicle, were covered with large amounts of blood on their hands, arms and
clothing. The police recovered the bloody meat cleaver from the SUV. Calise and Mann were arrested and charged
with assault in the first degree. A forensic investigation confirmed the presence of the victim’s blood on the defendants’ clothes and the meat clever. In February 2010, Mann pled guilty to assault in the first degree and was sentenced on March 12, 2010 to 7 ½ years in state prison. In February, 2010, following jury selection, Calise pled guilty
as charged to assault in the first degree and on March 26, 2010 was sentenced to 15 years in state prison.
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HIG H END PROSTITUTION RING TAKEN DOWN
Following a two year undercover investigation, the Organized Crime Bureau, working in conjunction with the
police departments in Rye Brook, Greenburgh, Elmsford and New Rochelle, took down a high-end call girl
enterprise that operated in Westchester County over a 29 month period. From May 2007 to October 2009,
Kenneth Fuina and Shawana Smith ran out-call and in-call prostitution services from their private residence
in White Plains. They recruited, managed and scheduled more than three dozen women to perform prostitution services at rates ranging from $600 to $2,000. The defendants advertised the prostitution services on
Craigslist, Backpage, and their own website, and arranged for the women to meet customers at several hotels
throughout Westchester County. The illegal proceeds were divided among the defendants and the women. In
November 2010, Fuina and Smith pled guilty as charged to promoting prostitution in the third degree On February 15, 2011, they were each sentenced to “shock probation” requiring them to serve a period of weekend
incarceration in the County Jail and 5 years probation.
EMPIRE CITY PROMOTION RIGGING SCHEME
OVER AN 18 MONTH PERIOD BETWEEN DECEMBER 2006 AND AUGUST 2008, DONNA CRONIN, A PROMOTIONS MANAGER AT
EMPIRE CITY GAMING, AND HER ACCOMPLICES ALICIA MURRAY, ALSO A PROMOTIONS MANAGER, AND TERRANCE OSBOURNE, A PROMOTIONS COORDINATOR, PROVIDED FRIENDS, FAMILY, AND ACQUAINTANCES WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO WIN
PROMOTIONAL CONTESTS AT EMPIRE CITY, WITH PRIZES CONSISTING OF CASH, FLAT-SCREEN TELEVISIONS, APPLE LAPTOP
COMPUTERS, HOTEL STAYS AND BROADWAY TICKETS. ON MANY OF THESE OCCASIONS, THE DEFENDANTS REQUESTED KICKBACKS, MOSTLY IN THE FORM OF CASH. THE RIGGED PROMOTIONS CONSISTED OF BOTH VIRTUAL DRAWINGS, DRAWINGS
WHERE THE WINNER WAS ALLEGEDLY SELECTED BY THE MGAM COMPUTER, AND PAPER DRAWINGS IN WHICH ENTRANTS
PLACED ENTRIES IN A DRUM FROM WHICH THE DEFENDANTS THEN SELECTED THE WINNERS. THE FRAUDULENT SCHEME OPERATED IN THE FOLLOWING FASHION: THE DEFENDANTS WOULD TELL “WINNERS” OF RIGGED CONTESTS TO COME TO EMPIRE
CITY TO OBTAIN A "PLAYER'S CARD" FROM THE PROMOTIONS BOOTH. THE “WINNERS” WOULD BE ADVISED OF THE EXACT
TIME TO BE SEATED AT A SLOT MACHINE WITH THEIR PLAYER’S CARD INSERTED INTO THE MACHINE, WHEREUPON THEIR NAME
WOULD BE ANNOUNCED AS THE WINNER OF THE CONTEST. WHILE THE INTEGRITY OF PLAYING THE MACHINES AT EMPIRE
CITY WAS NEVER COMPROMISED, REGULAR PLAYERS HAD LIMITED ABILITY TO WIN THE WEEKLY PROMOTIONS. IRONICALLY,
MANY OF THE “WINNERS” OF THE PROMOTIONS ACTUALLY LOST MONEY AFTER THEY, AS REQUIRED BY LAW, PAID TAXES ON
THE FULL AMOUNT OF THEIR WINNINGS.
THIS PROMOTION RIGGING SCHEME FIRST CAME TO THE ATTENTION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT WHEN ONE INDIVIDUAL WON TWO
OF THE LARGEST PRIZES IN A SINGLE PROMOTION, A VERY UNUSUAL OCCURRENCE. THEREAFTER, A 10 MONTH GRAND JURY
INVESTIGATION ENSUED, SPEARHEADED BY THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S ORGANIZED CRIME BUREAU, THE NEW YORK STATE
POLICE AND THE INVESTIGATORS FROM THE NEW YORK LOTTERY, WITH THE COOPERATION OF YONKERS RACEWAY.
ALL THREE DEFENDANTS PLED GUILTY AS CHARGED. IN MARCH 2010, CRONIN, WHO WAS CHARGED IN CONNECTION WITH
75 SEPARATE INCIDENTS OF LARCENY TOTALING APPROXIMATELY $100,000, PLED GUILTY TO GRAND LARCENY IN THE SECOND DEGREE AND SCHEME TO DEFRAUD IN THE FIRST DEGREE. SHE WAS SENTENCED ON AUGUST 6, 2010 TO THE JAIL TIME
SERVED AND 5 YEARS PROBATION AND ORDERED TO COMPLETE 250 HOURS OF COMMUNITY SERVICE AND PAY $75,000 IN
RESTITUTION. MURRAY PLED GUILTY IN MARCH 2010 TO GRAND LARCENY IN THE THIRD DEGREE, GRAND LARCENY IN THE
FOURTH DEGREE, AND SCHEME TO DEFRAUD IN THE FIRST DEGREE. ON SEPTEMBER 26, 2010, MURRAY WAS SENTENCED
TO SERVE 12 WEEKENDS OF INCARCERATION IN THE COUNTY JAIL AND 5 YEARS PROBATION, AND ORDERED TO PAY
$25,788 IN RESTITUTION. OSBOURNE PLED GUILTY IN JANUARY 2010 TO GRAND LARCENY IN THE THIRD DEGREE AND
SCHEME TO DEFRAUD IN THE FIRST DEGREE. HE HAS PAID FULL RESTITUTION IN THE AMOUNT OF $16,649 AND, ON APRIL
13, 2010, WAS SENTENCED TO 5 YEARS PROBATION.
AS A RESULT OF THIS INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION, THE RACINO HAS PUT SAFEGUARDS IN PLACE TO INSURE THAT
THIS FORM OF CORRUPTION CANNOT OCCUR AGAIN.
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PEO PLE V GARY BURS TELL
In 2009, the Organized Crime Bureau, in conjunction with the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance and the
Yonkers PD, conducted a major investigation into cigarette smuggling. During the course of this investigation,
Gary Burstell walked into an undercover warehouse in Yonkers and told an undercover officer that he was interested in obtaining gun silencers. In a subsequent conversation, Burstell told another undercover officer that he
could obtain guns and bombs in exchange for the silencers. On September 10, 2009, Burstell gave the undercover officer a sample “bomb” that he claimed to have made, and told the officer he could provide more bombs if
requested. Defendant bragged that his friend had used a similar bomb to blow up several cars. He then showed
the officer a .22 caliber handgun and placed an order for the type of gun silencers he needed. A future meeting
was then arranged. A week later, while executing a search warrant at the defendant’s residence in Cortlandt
Manor, New York, police officers recovered 4 improvised explosive devices (i.e. “home-made bombs”), dozens of
rifles, large quantities of ammunition, and fireworks. In October 2010, the defendant pled guilty to criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree and unlawfully dealing with fireworks. On January 6, 2011, he was sentenced to time served in jail and 5 years probation.
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A UT O C RIMES U NIT - The ACU investigates and prosecutes all crimes involving the theft of automobiles
and vehicle related insurance fraud in Westchester County. Since the creation of the ACU in 1998, incidents of
auto theft in the County have declined from 4,130 in 1997 to 657 in 2010, representing an 84% decrease. This
dramatic decline can be attributed to the collaborative and proactive efforts of ACU, local police departments and the State
Police. Notably, in 2010, the ACU assisted the Yonkers police in an investigation of an individual who was part of an organized ring that made multiple insurance claims for the same damage to a high-end Mercedes. The ring was found to be
responsible for numerous such claims on multiple high-end vehicles throughout the United States. Due to the geographic
scope of the fraudulent claims, the case was referred to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for prosecution. The ACU also continues to assist the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles with investigations relating to the filing of false instruments and forged
documents.
i tnes s Secur ity Program - The Westchester County District Attorney’s Witness Security Program was
created to protect witnesses whose lives have been threatened by defendants or persons acting on their behalf.
Depending on the circumstances and severity of the threat, protection offered through this program can range
from limited time placement of a witness in a hotel to permanent relocation outside the county or state. In 2010, two witnesses whose testimony and cooperation was vital to securing a conviction and four family members were relocated with
the help of this program.
rai nin g a nd Edu cati on - The Bureau is a recognized leader throughout the State in training police officers
and attorneys in investigative techniques for solving auto theft related crimes. In 2010, the Bureau trained police
officers throughout the State in the use of the latest crime fighting tool - the license plate reader; gave lectures to
prosecutors from throughout the State at Syracuse University on the technology and law; and held its annual auto crimes
investigation training session at the Westchester County Police Academy.
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 PUBLIC INTEGRITY BUREAU 
he Public Integrity Bureau (PIB) investigates and prosecutes offenses committed by public servants in the performance of their official duties, as well as crimes committed by persons affiliated with the criminal justice system, such
as attorneys, police officers, correction officers, special agents, court personnel, prosecutors, judges, and grand and
petit jurors. The PIB also maintains a confidential complaint system where the public can lodge complaints relating to public corruption directly with the District Attorney’s Office.
The District Attorney’s demonstrated commitment to aggressively fight public corruption has created an atmosphere of
public trust and confidence in the PIB’s endeavors. This trust has fostered a marked willingness on the part of residents to
come forward with complaints of corruption in the public arena and, in 2010, the PIB opened 84 new investigations. The
consistently high number of investigations appears to indicate a readiness on the part of the public, police and other governmental agencies to approach the District Attorney’s Office for assistance and cooperation in the area of public corruption and misconduct.
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n 2010, the PIB also continued to investigate complaints of excessive force by law enforcement officers. Under a protocol
implemented in 2008, members of the public, attorneys, assistant district attorneys in the local branch offices, and local
police departments can elect to report instances of alleged inappropriate conduct and excessive force by police directly to
the PIB. Such complaints are investigated by the PIB through interviews and documentation review to determine whether the
officer(s) in question acted appropriately or beyond what is reasonable under the law. Utilizing this self-directed process, our
Office seeks to insure the public and the police that we will thoroughly and fairly investigate complaints of misconduct.
As part of its mandate, in 2010, the Bureau investigated all shootings by police officers that occurred in Westchester County;
if fatal, the shooting is jointly investigated by the PIB and the Homicide Bureau. These investigations, particularly those involving a fatality, are extremely complex and require considerable time and resources, and, in most cases, are presented to
the Grand Jury to determine the legality of the police conduct.
PEO PLE V GLENFORD NICKEY
In February 2008, the Westchester County Police received information from the Westchester County Department of
Finance that Glenford Nickey, a corrections officer, was falsifying his employee benefits. Nickey submitted insurance bills totaling close to $50,000 for the costs of his ex-wife’s in vitro fertilization treatments, falsely claiming that
they were still husband and wife. Since they were divorced, Nickey’s ex-wife was not entitled to insurance benefits
under his County health plan.
On June 11, 2010, defendant was convicted after a jury trial of insurance fraud in the third degree, offering a false
instrument for filing in the first degree, and falsifying business records in the first degree. The defendant was sentenced by the Court on March 30, 2011 to 5 years probation and ordered to pay $20,326.80 in restitution
PEOPLE V PAUL REST O
From October 1, 2008 to September 1, 2009, Paul Resto, who was retained by a man seeking an uncontested divorce from his wife, submitted false and forged documents to the Westchester County Clerk’s Office in furtherance of obtaining an uncontested divorce order. The documents contained the forged signature of his client’s
wife, who was not even aware that her husband, Resto’s client, had sought a divorce. In May 2010, the defendant
was arrested by the Westchester County Department of Public Safety and charged with numerous counts of
criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree and offering a false instrument for filing in the
first degree. On October 20, 2010, the defendant pled guilty to the top count of criminal possession of a forged
instrument in the second degree. On March 23, 2011, the defendant, who made full restitutions to his victims, was
sentenced 9 months in the County Jail.
PEO PLE V TENSY MAY SMITH
Sometime in 2009, Tensy May Smith, a United States Postal Carrier, began stealing items of mail intended for
delivery to postal customers in Pound Ridge. On January 25, 2010, inspectors from the United States Postal Service, working jointly with the District Attorney’s Office, placed a transmitter in an outgoing birthday card addressed by a resident who reported that her outgoing mail was not reaching its intended destination. The next
day, Smith picked up the mail from the victim’s home. Postal inspectors then observed Smith take the birthday
card from the mail. As Smith continued on her route, the transmitter activated and alerted the inspectors that the
birthday card had been opened. The inspectors stopped the vehicle and alerted local police who took the defendant into custody. Further investigation, including a search of the defendant’s home and vehicle, revealed that
the defendant had been stealing items of mail for more than a year. More than $40,000 worth of items, stolen
from 32 postal customers, was recovered, including a Saks Premier Card with a face value of $70,000, 32 gift/
credit cards (which were used to purchase other items), cash, and over 600 Netflix DVDs. In May 2010, the defendant pled guilty to the top count of grand larceny in the second degree and scheme to defraud in the first degree. On October 7, 2010, she was sentenced to 115 days in jail, five (5) years probation, and ordered to make
full restitution.
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PEOPLE V NAT AZZNA RA
In late 2008, Nat Azznara, while serving as attorney for a couple in the sale of their home received a $70,000 downpayment check from the attorney for the purchasers of the home. Azznara was legally obligated to deposit the check in
his escrow account for his clients until the closing. Instead, Azznara converted the funds for his own personal use.
On the day of the closing, Azznara informed his clients that he had taken the money. He was arrested by the State Police and charged with grand larceny in the second degree. Subsequent investigation revealed that Azznara had stolen
money from other clients, failed to perform services for which he had been compensated and misappropriated other
client funds. In July 2009, the defendant pled guilty as charged to grand larceny in the second degree and grand larceny in the third degree. On January 14, 2010, the Court sentenced the defendant to 6 months incarceration in the
County Jail and 5 years probation and ordered him to pay full restitution to his victims.
M
F RAUD U NIT - Responding to the skyrocketing rate of mortgage related fraud occurring
throughout Westchester and the rest of the Country since 2008, the District Attorney established a Mortgage
Fraud Unit within the PIB to investigate and prosecute real estate related fraud, including mortgage fraud by
owners, refinancing fraud using straw buyers, deed theft and foreclosure rescue scams.
ORT GAGE AND
MAJO R MO RTG AGE FRAUD SCHEME UN COVERED
From March 2004 to January 2007, defendants Doreen Swenson, Hubert “Phil” Hall, David Reback, Amerigo
DiPietro, Wilma Shkreli and attorney Eileen Potash operated a mortgage fraud scheme and, in the process, stole
in excess of $1.4 million from two mortgage lenders. The defendants induced four families, who where in fear of
foreclosure, to deed their homes to “investors” with the promise that they could buy their homes back in 12 to 24
months. The defendants then colluded to strip the properties of whatever equity they had by obtaining inflated
mortgages based upon fictitious purchase prices, using “show” checks to deceive the banks as to the actual purchase price. Through these sham real estate transactions, the defendants yielded over $1.4 million in loan money.
The case was prosecuted by the Mortgage Fraud Unit. In May 2010, Swenson and Hall pled guilty to the top count
of grand larceny in the second degree and were each sentenced on August 5, 2010 to a term of 2 to 6 years in
state prison. In August 2010, DiPietro pled guilty as charged to grand larceny in the second degree, scheme to
defraud in the first degree, and conspiracy in the fourth degree. On February 9, 2011, she was sentenced to 1 year
in prison. In July 2010, Reback pled guilty as charged to the entire six count indictment against him, which included charges of grand larceny in the second degree, scheme to defraud in the first degree, and conspiracy in
the fourth degree. On February 14, 2011, he was sentenced to one year in state prison. In April 2010, Shkreli pled
guilty to grand larceny in the second degree and is still awaiting sentencing. The sentenced defendants were ordered to forfeit monies used in the commission of their crimes. The sixth defendant, attorney Eileen Potash,
sought a jury trial. On November 29, 2010, after a 10 week trial, Potash was convicted by a jury of conspiracy in
the fourth degree. She is too is currently awaiting sentencing.
T
P
 HIGH TECHNOLOGY CRIMES BUREAU 
hroughout 2010, the High Technology Crimes Bureau (HTCB) worked in close corroboration with the NYS Internet
Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) and local police to aggressively pursue on-line predators. In 2010, our
increased undercover presence on the Internet has resulted in the arrest of 21 on-line predators. In 2010, the HTCB
achieved a 100% conviction rate.
E ER - T O -P EER I N VE STIGATION S - Assistants in the HTCB, through their work with ICAC, have been thoroughly
trained by the FBI on methods for combating the escalating use of “Peer-to-Peer” or “P2P” software by on-line child
pornographers. The P2P software allows the users located anywhere in the world to share and exchange data
through a shared computer folder, including pornographic images of children. In 2010, using proprietary software that enables us to lawfully view the contents of a target’s shared folder, the HTCB initiated a new operation in which undercover
investigators from our office maintain an on-line presence utilizing P2P networks. Our undercover work since the inception
of the P2P operation in April 2009 has lead to 26 investigations in Westchester County. To ensure that the offender receives
the appropriate sentence in these cases, our office continues to confer with our federal partners to determine which jurisdiction is best suited to handle the prosecution.
35
C
F ORENSIC S L AB - The Westchester County District Attorney’s Office is the first prosecutor’s office in
the State to establish an on-site computer forensics lab. In an ever increasing number of cases, computers and
other electronic devices capable of accessing the Internet have become critical pieces of evidence in solving crimes
and require prompt and thorough analysis. Recognizing the extrinsic value of an on-site, fully accredited computer forensics
lab to accomplish this critical work in a timely fashion, in March 2010, the District Attorney’s Office secured a $125,000 grant
though State Senator Jeffrey D. Klein (D –Bronx/Westchester). That funding, which has been earmarked for Internet
Crimes Against Children, has been used to upgrade computer equipment, purchase state of the art servers, computer forensic towers, imaging devices and screen displays, and to further the accreditation process for the lab.
DENTIT Y T H EFT - Identity theft most often occurs when the thief assumes the identity of another person and secures
some benefit for himself, such as the illegal procurement of goods, money, property, services or credit, resulting in a
financial loss to the victim. According to the Federal Trade Commission, identity theft complaints account for more than
one-third of all fraud complaints nationwide. In 2010, the Office prosecuted approximately 50 individuals for identity theft
related crimes.
In February 2010, the HTCB was invited to present a lecture on computer crimes to prosecutors from across the nation at
the National District Attorney’s Association’s National Advocacy Center in South Carolina, and in December 2010, the
HTCB presented a lecture on identity theft at the United States Secret Service Headquarters in Washington, DC.
IGITAL E VID ENCE - Traditionally, prosecutors generate and turn over stacks of paper documents as part of their
discovery obligations in a criminal prosecution. Today, the buzzwords in the world of legal discovery are
“paperless,” “eDiscovery” and the digitalization of evidence. Throughout 2010, the HTCB provided research and
training for the State in the use of computer data to satisfy discovery obligations. Where possible, the Office has attempted
to go “paperless” by increasing the use of imaging hard drives for discovery by the defense and copying seized digital evidence onto DVDs and CDs. Technological advances in this area have enabled the Office to effectively lower the costs of
prosecution and save taxpayer money. Not only are we saving money by significantly reducing the amount of paper we
use, but the reduced amount of copying necessary to comply with discovery obligations allows for the more efficient use of
personnel.
NDERCO VER I NTERNET S TING O PERATION S - The HTCB regularly conducts undercover Internet sting operations in which investigators assume the identity of a minors and are contacted on-line by an adult for seemingly
illicit purposes. The HTCB also works with the ICAC and uses undercover officers, posing as male and female minors, to view file sharing sites frequented by pedophiles. Through cutting-edge software aimed at analyzing Peer-to-Peer
programs, our undercover officers also target individuals residing in Westchester County who share child pornography. We
have rapidly adjusted to the emerging criminal patterns of using other on-line locations such as Craigslist and Backpage to
locate pedophiles. Through dedication and experience, the HTCB has created a nationally recognized template for the
tracking and pursuit of pedophiles on-line. In 2010, the HTCB received numerous invitations to deliver lectures in this field
to law enforcement throughout the country.
HTCB operations have resulted in the arrest of approximately 200 men (notably, no women have been arrested), who come
from all socio-economic backgrounds, demonstrating that there is no stereotypical sexual predator or pedophile. In 2010,
Internet sting operations conducted by the HTCB yielded 17 arrests, which are currently in various stages of prosecution.
OM PUTER
I
D
U
PEO PLE V WARREN D RUY AN
In January, 2010, Warren Druyan, a 52 year-old Level 3 Sex Offender, was released from state prison after serving time for the rape of a 16 year-old girl and the attempted sexual abuse an 8 year-old girl. In response to a tip
that Druyan was prowling the Internet for teenage girls, a WCDAO undercover investigator, posing as a 14 year
-old girl, entered a social networking site and came into computer contact with Druyan. Over a three week period, the two engaged in a series of conversations which included Druyan’s stated desire to have sex with the
“14 year-old girl.” Eventually the two planned to meet and when the defendant showed up at the designated
place to meet the “14 year-old girl,” he was arrested. In May 2010, defendant pled guilty as charged to attempted disseminating indecent material to a minor in the first degree and on August 10, 2010, was sentenced
as a second felony offender to 1½ to 3 years in state prison.
36
PEOPLE V DAVID BAGLE Y
Based upon information that David Bagley, a 26 year-old male, was downloading child pornography, criminal investigators from the District Attorney’s obtained and executed a search warrant at Bagley’s Dobbs Ferry residence. At the same time, Bagley was engaging in sexually
explicit on-line conversations with an undercover investigator posing as a 15 year-old female.
A forensic analysis of Bagley’s seized computer at the District Attorney’s Computer Forensics
Lab confirmed that the defendant was downloading child pornography. The defendant was
charged with possessing a sexual performance by a child.
On March 31, 2010, while the above charges were pending, the Dobbs Ferry Police Department
arrested the defendant on charges of purchasing of alcohol for minors. Incident to this arrest,
the police searched Bagley and recovered photographs of partially clothed underage girls, one
of whom appeared to be the same girl who appeared in one of the child pornography videos
recovered from Bagley’s computer. The police immediately notified the HTCB of their findings.
Despite his two arrests, Bagley continued to prowl the Internet for teenage girls. Indeed, the
same undercover investigator, posing as a “15 year-old female,” communicated with Bagley
online and was eventually asked by Bagley to meet and engage in sex. On April 6, 2010, Bagley traveled to meet the “15 year old female” as prearranged, where he was placed under arrest
for disseminating indecent material to a minor in the first degree. A second search warrant
was promptly executed at Bagley’s Dobbs Ferry house, where more child pornography was
discovered on a DVD that was not previously found at the location during the execution of the
first search warrant. On July 6, 2010, Bagley pled guilty to the top charges of attempted disseminating indecent material to a minor in the first degree, possessing a sexual performance
by a child, and promoting a sexual performance by a child. On September 7, 2010, he was sentenced to consecutive one year terms of incarceration in the County Jail.
F
 SPECI A L PRO SEC U TIO N S 
J USTICE C ENTER - In May of 2010 the Family Justice Center opened its doors. Located adjacent to the
Special Prosecutions Division, the Family Justice Center houses domestic violence services in one secure location.
At the Family Justice Center domestic violence victims from throughout the County are now able to make one stop
to find assistance with navigating the criminal justice system, safety planning, legal services, counseling and other free
services from the Center’s professionals and volunteers. The Center is a collaboration between the Westchester County Office for Women and the District Attorney’s Office. In-kind
donation of office space from the District Attorney and a 1 million dollar federal grant supported the launching of the Family Justice Center this past year.
AMILY
O
n-site partners from every domestic violence agency in Westchester have participated in establishing the Center and providing services, including the Pace Women’s
Justice Center, Legal Services of the Hudson Valley, Empire Justice Center, My Sisters’ Place, Hope’s Door, Victims Assistance Services (VAS), the Department of Social Services (DSS), and Interfaith Caring Community of Greenburgh. The increased collaboration
between these partners is designed to improve the quality and efficiency of services and
ultimately the safety of domestic violence victims in Westchester County. Since the Center’s opening in May 2010 through
the end of the year, 600 victims were served at the Center. Victims were referred from many sources, including the District
Attorney’s Office.
37
 D OM ESTI C VIO LEN C E B U R EA U 
I
n 2010 the Bureau prosecuted over 2,700 cases. We recognize that many domestic violence victims are unwilling to testify
at trial for a multitude of reasons, including fear of reprisal. For this reason, we continually strive to ensure that prosecutors
have the training and expertise necessary to evaluate, investigate and develop evidence-based cases that can be successfully prosecuted based on 911 calls, eyewitness testimony, photographs and medical records. Given the legal and emotional obstacles that often arise in domestic violence cases, we are proud of the fact that less than 28% of these cases resulted in dismissal. This represents approximately 5% fewer dismissals than in 2009. The decline in the dismissal rate is
attributable to the District Attorney’s commitment to enhancing cases with reliable and corroborative evidence so a defendant’s guilt can be established beyond a reasonable doubt in the event the victim is uncooperative.
In 2010 the DA’s Office continued to place specialized staff from the Domestic Violence Bureau of the Special Prosecutions
Division in the Yonkers and Mount Vernon City Courts. The location of dedicated staff in these high volume city courts allows
our Office to immediately access victims and enhance cases as soon as possible following an arrest. We also work in partnership in Yonkers with My Sister’s Place and in Mount Vernon with Victim Assistance Services to offer safety planning and
referrals on-site. Our coordinated community response to incidents of domestic violence increases victim safety.
Training law enforcement and the community at large on the dynamics of domestic violence and the law continues to be a
priority of the Domestic Violence Bureau. Throughout 2010, the DA’s Office, in collaboration with the Family Justice Center
and Pace Women’s Justice Center, conducted training sessions for the new recruits at the Westchester County Police Academy. These training sessions play a key role in educating law enforcement about recent legal developments and changes in
the law, as well as providing insight into how to deal with particular victims of domestic violence, such as victims of human
trafficking or immigrant women who might be reluctant to come forward and cooperate with criminal investigations. A wider
group of law enforcement professionals received training on October 2010 at a Police Interactive Training Conference at Manhattanville College in Purchase. The conference highlighted the new Family Justice Center, as well as Amy’s Story, A Domestic Violence Murder.
uring Domestic Violence Awareness month in October of 2010, the District Attorney’s Office assisted in planning a
conference sponsored by The African American Men of Westchester in partnership with Beta Alpha Alpha Chapter of
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. and My Sister’s Place. Entitled “Men Speaking to Men to Stop Violence Against
Women,” the conference targeted young men and the ways in which they can play a role in redefining how the community
responds to violence against women.
D
PEO PLE V MICHAEL MOBLEY
In the afternoon of June 7, 2010, Michael Mobley smoked Phencyclidine (PCP) with his girlfriend in their shared
apartment. Mobley then left the residence and returned in the evening at which time he and his girlfriend, the victim, prepared to go to Mobley’s grandmother’s nearby home for dinner. As the victim prepared to leave, she felt a
sharp pain in the back of her head and then fell to the floor. Mobley had struck the victim in the back of the head
and continued to repeatedly beat the victim, using a baseball bat and a weighted metal barbell to strike her. Mobley
also broke a forty ounce bottle of beer on the windowsill and stabbed his girlfriend with the broken glass bottle.
Mobley again struck the victim with a bat and prayed over her as she lay completely still on the floor. The defendant then walked out of the apartment. Covered in blood and unable to see, the victim felt her way down the hallway to a nearby apartment, where the occupant called the Port Chester police who immediately arrived at the scene.
Port Chester police located and arrested Mobley. Other officers secured and photographed the scene. During their
investigation, the police seized a carrying case filled with cocaine and drug paraphernalia, which included a scale
and small plastic baggies commonly used for packaging illegal drugs. As a result of the attack, the victim was
transported to the hospital where she received emergency care for lacerations on her head and underwent several
surgeries to her left eye; however she was ultimately blinded in that eye. The victim also underwent surgery on her
right elbow and continues to take part in rigorous physical rehabilitation.
The defendant was vertically prosecuted and charged with assault in the first degree, criminal possession of a
weapon in the third degree, and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fourth degree. In December
2010, Mobley pled guilty to assault in the first degree and on February 14, 2011 was sentenced to 10 years in state
prison.
38
PEOPLE V ADAM BRAD LEY
On February 28, 2010, Fumiko Bradley called 911 from a neighbor’s home. She nursed her bruised hand and
reported that her husband, White Plains Mayor Adam Bradley, had just assaulted her by holding her hand in
their bedroom door and slamming it. Immediately, White Plains police responded and began the investigation of the defendant for domestic abuse charges. As White Plains Detectives interviewed Fumiko Bradley,
she related a long history of emotional and verbal abuse that at times had become physical, including an incident on January 11, 2010 when the defendant threw a mug of hot Jasmine tea on her chest. On this prior incident, the victim had also run to her neighbor’s home, where her friend saw the victim’s chest soaking wet.
Following the defendant’s arrest, the court issued a temporary order of protection that permitted contact so
long as the defendant refrained from assaulting, intimidating, menacing or harassing his wife. Yet, on March
5, 2010, the very day the Court issued this order, the defendant went to a residence in Scarsdale, where the
victim was with their two children. There, the defendant began harassing the victim to dissuade her from
continuing her cooperation with the prosecution. He approached the victim and accused her of lying in the
pending criminal action against him. The defendant claimed that she was the one who had attacked him, that
he was defending himself and that the criminal case was going to result in his losing his career. He spoke in
a loud voice that increasingly became louder. He then told the victim that she should check herself into a
mental hospital for five days. The victim asked him why and the defendant told her that, in order to save him
and his career, she had to either go to a mental hospital and say she was crazy or say that she lied in her
statement to the police and go to jail.
As the victim later testified at trial, the defendant’s violation of the order of protection continued. On the evening of March 10, 2010, at the White Plains Road marital residence, the victim was sleeping in her bedroom.
Upon entering the home, the defendant awakened his wife and said “you did it, you lied; it’s your fault.” The
following morning, on March 11, 2010, the defendant again tried to speak with the victim about the criminal
charges and the victim asked the defendant to stop. He refused to do so. Later that evening at approximately
5:30 p.m., the defendant again started yelling at her and blaming her for the criminal charges pending against
him.
At approximately 9:00 a.m. on March 25, 2010, while the victim was taking a shower, the defendant entered
the bathroom shouting that he had received a telephone call that a string of emails between the victim and a
friend describing several incidents of marital abuse had been leaked to the press. The defendant then
screamed, “It’s over, it’s over, you should hang yourself!” and left the home, slamming the door.
Finally, on April 2, 2010, the defendant entered the home holding the Journal News. He walked over with the
newspaper and hit the victim’s hand several times and said loudly, “you have to read it, you have to read it.”
Fearful, the victim asked the defendant to speak to her lawyer and ran to the upstairs bedroom. Following
this final incident, the defendant was charged with criminal contempt.
On December 9, 2010, following a non-jury trial, the defendant was convicted of criminal contempt in the second degree, a class “A” misdemeanor, attempted assault in the third degree, a class “B” misdemeanor, and
three counts of harassment in the second degree, violations.
At sentencing, the District Attorney’s Office spoke on behalf of the victim Fumiko Bradley, who in a written
statement stated: “I was married to a powerful politician and afraid of what would happen to my children and
me if I broke the silence. I want this case to show that there is justice and hope for anybody to be free from
violence.” On March 17, 2011, the defendant was sentenced to 3 years of probation, with domestic violence
conditions and a 5-year order of protection issued on behalf of his wife, Fumiko Bradley. The case was investigated by the White Plains Police Department and Westchester County District Attorney’s Office.
39
 CHILD ABUSE BUREAU 
C
hild abuse cases in Westchester County are vertically prosecuted by a highly trained member of the Child Abuse Bureau. In 2010, 419 child abuse cases were prosecuted by the bureau. The bureau also works collaboratively with
DSS and local law enforcement to investigate and identify crimes committed against children by family members or
other caregivers. Every year, DSS receives thousands of complaints concerning the alleged abuse or neglect of a child. In
2010 8,450 reports were made to the SCR which are then given
to DSS for investigation. Most of the allegations do not involve
criminal conduct. However, the District Attorney’s Office
screens all of these reports for any indication of possible criminal conduct in order to conduct further investigation of potential
child abuse by law enforcement.
The Child Abuse Bureau also coordinates the County’s MultiDisciplinary Team (MDT) for the investigation of child abuse
cases. With the assistance of a full time Investigations Information Coordinator (IIC) funded by the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS), the Child Abuse Bureau arranges for all of
the intake, record sharing and scheduling of interviews and
medical examinations for the MDT. The overriding goal of the
MDT is to reduce the trauma to child victims by limiting interviews and providing
medical examinations by forensically trained medical professionals. The heart of the
MDT is the Westchester Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) where interviews and
medical exams take place in a child-friendly, supportive environment on the grounds
of the Westchester Medical Center. The CAC is one of only eight “Centers of Excellence” recognized by New York State. The MDT members include: DSS, the CAC,
local law enforcement, the District Attorney’s Office, the County Attorney’s Office,
Westchester Jewish Community Services, VAS, as well as a host of other mental
health and advocacy service providers. In 2009, Westchester’s MDT/CAC was recognized by New York State as a “Tier 1 Center,” an acknowledgment that the Westchester MDT/CAC had achieved the highest standards for the investigation and
prosecution of child abuse cases, thereby entitling our MDT/CAC to increased state
grand funding in 2010. This increased funding allowed our MDT/CAC to expand
mental health and therapeutic services to abused children and their non-offending
family members.
C
F ATALITY R EVI EW T EAM - The District Attorney upon her election to office set as an immediate priority the
establishment of a Child Fatality Review Team. For the past 5 years, the Child Fatality Review Team (CFRT) has
reviewed every suspicious death of a child in Westchester County. The CFRT brings together the resources of a
multidisciplinary team of professionals, the District Attorney, the Medical Examiner, the NYS Office of Children and Family
Services, DSS, police, a forensic pediatrician and protective specialists to carefully review the circumstances and events that
have led up to the death of any child who, at the time of death, was receiving services from the DSS or its contract agency;
whose death was reported to the New York State Central Register for Child Abuse and Maltreatment (SCR); or whose death
is unexplained, unexpected or suspicious.
Since the Team’s inception in 2006, the District Attorney’s Office has acted as a co-coordinator of the CFRT and, in this leadership role, has conducted reviews, written reports and educated the public on the CFRT’s independent findings. As a result
of this collaborative team approach, law enforcement and other team members have greatly improved their general ability to
carefully review the incident scenes and objectively focus on details which in the past were not necessarily documented. During 2010 the CFRT reviewed three separate child fatalities and following the extensive review process, created written reports
regarding the fatalities.
40
HILD
As a result of the CFRT’s exhaustive reviews, there have been significant strides in addressing the underlying causes of preventable deaths and enhancing the safety of children in our community. Indeed, the CFRT’s work has garnered national
attention working with the United States Consumer Products Safety Commission and Consumer’s Union. In February 2010,
the District Attorney and Consumer’s Union held a press conference at Consumer Reports headquarters to highlight the dangers posed to children by tipping television sets. The press conference followed the death of a four-year old child that was
reviewed by the CFRT, and was held just before last year’s Super Bowl when many people buy and install new televisions
(see back cover page).
I
Y OUTH C OURT - The Integrated Youth Court continued with much success throughout the 2010 calendar year. The court, the first of its kind in New York State, creates a forum in which eligible youths charged with crimes
can simultaneously answer both criminal and family court matters. To be eligible, the offender must be between the
ages of 16 and 19 and be both charged with a crime and the subject of a pending Juvenile Delinquency or Person in Need of
Supervision petition in Family Court. A Family Court judge presides over the Integrated Youth Court, and the District Attorney’s Office works in conjunction with the WCDOP, and the Westchester County Attorney’s Office in reaching appropriate
dispositions. In 2010, the Integrated Youth Court heard both felony and misdemeanor cases. While cases are pending, and
often following through to sentence and beyond, the defendants are able to receive counseling, educational assessments,
placements, and other services which would normally not be available in a local criminal court. The criminal and family court
matters are disposed of jointly and in a manner that allows defendants the greatest opportunity for avoiding recidivism while
still being held accountable for the crimes they committed.
NTE GRATED
L
L AW - In July 2009 a mother who was drunk and under the influence of marijuana drove in the wrong
direction on the Taconic State Parkway and slammed straight into an oncoming car in a devastating car accident.
She killed herself and four children passengers in her van and the three occupants in the car she hit. In October
2009 eleven year old Leandra Rosada lost her life in a NYC crash in which the driver was drunk. Following these tragic and
preventable accidents, New York State passed the Child Passenger Act, also known as Leandra’s Law. The District Attorney’s Office worked in conjunction with the New York State District Attorney’s Association to secure passage of this law,
which makes it a felony when a first time offender operates a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs with
a child passenger 15 years of age or less. Leandra’s Law took effect on December 18, 2009. According to DCJS, in 2010,
the first full year of prosecutions under this new statute, there were 55 arrests for violations of Leandra’s Law in Westchester
County. Even before passage of Leandra’s Law, the District Attorney’s Office routinely conducted an investigation into the
circumstances and safety of children in the home when a parent or guardian was arrested for driving while intoxicated with a
child in the vehicle.
Leandra’s Law also strengthened the penalties facing drunk drivers in New York. All drivers convicted of a misdemeanor or
felony DWI must install and maintain an ignition interlock device on any vehicle they drive, at their own expense. These devices measure alcohol on the breath and prevent a car from being started if alcohol is detected. The device remains in place
for the length of time determined by the court as part of the defendant’s sentence. This new measure makes New York one
of only 13 states with across-the-board mandatory interlock laws.
H
EANDRA ’ S
T RAFFICKING - The District Attorney’s Office is a leader in New York State in spearheading the effort to
enforce New York’s Human Trafficking law. Our criminal investigators have already been involved in the investigation and prosecution of two trafficking cases involving the internet solicitation of customers for overseas sex tours.
Since the law’s passage in 2007, the District Attorney’s Office has conducted numerous training sessions for local law enforcement on identifying and investigating human trafficking case. This past year every new recruit at the Westchester
County Police Academy was trained on human trafficking by the Special Prosecutions Division and My Sister’s Place.
To establish a county-wide response that includes local and federal authorities as well as service providers, the District Attorney’s Office agreed to co-chair the Westchester County Anti-Trafficking Task Force. The Task Force was organized by My
Sister’s Place, the International Organization for Adolescents (an international anti-trafficking organization) as well as the
Pound Ridge Police Department. The Task Force held its first meeting in November 2010. Members of the Task Force currently include local police, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the FBI, the Attorney General’s Office, DSS, as well as
other service providers from throughout the region. The Task Force’s goal will be to develop strategies for collaborative investigations and effective enforcement of anti-trafficking laws as well as improved services for victims.
UMAN
41
PEO PLE V WILMER BATISTA
Wilmer Batista was babysitting a friend’s four-year old daughter and her younger sister on December 16, 2007. While
the defendant was babysitting, the child spoke to her father on the phone and told him that Batista had just sexually
abused her. Hearing this report, the father confronted Batista, and a fight ensued between the father and the defendant. The Port Chester police arrived on the scene and conducted an investigation that resulted in the child disclosing
that the defendant licked her vagina and breasts. The defendant admitted that he touched the child’s vagina.
On July 13, 2010, the defendant was convicted after a jury trial of criminal sexual act in the first degree, sexual abuse
in the first degree and endangering the welfare of a child. On January 29, 2011, the defendant was sentenced to 10
years in prison and 15 years of post-release supervision; he will be required to register under SORA upon his release
from prison.
PEO PLE V BERNABE H UERTA RODRIGUEZ
On November 25, 2009, a twelve-year old child disclosed to her mother that a relative, Bernabe Huerta Rodriguez, had
been sexually abusing her for the previous three years. In response, her mother called 911 and reported the abuse to
the White Plains police. While police officers were responding to their home in order to speak to the child, another
911 telephone call came in to the White Plains police. This one was from the defendant, who stated in Spanish, “I did
something bad to a minor.” He was arrested moments later while standing on a street corner in White Plains that he
had described to the police. Once arrested, the defendant fully confessed to his crimes and the years of abuse to
which he had subjected his child victim. On at least one occasion, the abuse occurred in the presence of the defendant’s three minor sons.
The defendant was vertically prosecuted and indicted for the crimes of course of sexual conduct against a child in the
first degree, rape in the first degree, and criminal sexual act in the first degree. In August 2010, the defendant pled
guilty to the top count of the indictment, course of sexual conduct against a child in the first degree and on September 30, 2010 was sentenced to 10 years in state prison and 15 years of post-release supervision. Upon his release
from prison, he will have to register under SORA.
PEO PLE V CESAR JOEL SAGASTUME MORALES
Over a ten-month period during 2005 and 2006, the defendant Sagustame-Morales engaged in a course of sexual conduct against a girl who was nine years old at the time. The child’s mother contacted Bedford police after she discovered photos showing sexual activity between the defendant and her daughter. The defendant fled in his truck and the
search for his whereabouts began. The case was vertically prosecuted and the defendant indicted.
With the help of America’s Most Wanted, the Bedford Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the
US State Department, the defendant was finally discovered in Guatemala and the District Attorney’s Office secured
the extradition of Sagastume-Morales from Guatemala. In April 2010 the defendant entered a guilty plea to course of
sexual conduct against a child in the first degree, and was sentenced on July 6, 2010 to 8 years in state prison and 10
years of post-release supervision.
PEOPLE V JOSE REYES
During the summer of 2005, the babysitter of a then five year-old boy left the child alone with the defendant in an
apartment on Grove St. in Port Chester. The defendant took the boy into a bedroom, undressed him and placed his
penis in the boy’s anus. The boy’s mother returned from work but never learned of the act committed against her
son until approximately three years later, when the young boy noticed pornographic material in a convenience store
and told his mother that he had seen it before. The boy’s mother took him outside the store to talk, at which time he
disclosed what had transpired three years earlier.
The boy’s mother reported what had occurred. Port Chester police investigated and interviewed the defendant, who
confessed. Following a jury trial, the defendant was convicted of criminal sex act in the first degree and endangering
the welfare of a child. He was sentenced to 15 years in state prison on June 1, 2010.
42
I
 ELDER ABUSE 
n 2010, the Elder Abuse Bureau handled over 150 new cases and investigations. These cases included physical, financial, and sexual abuse, with financial abuse being the most prevalent. The cases handled by the Elder Abuse Bureau are
prosecuted vertically and include cases where citizens over the age of 60 are victimized by a family member or caretaker,
or are targeted due to their age. A dedicated elder abuse prosecutor and criminal investigator worked closely in 2010 to enhance cases already charged by local police departments and to fully investigate cases which were referred directly to the
District Attorney’s Office.
With our commitment to increasing awareness and understanding of the complexity of elder abuse prosecutions, the District
Attorney’s Office routinely participates in trainings with other professionals. This past year, we were asked to take part in the
National Summit on Interpersonal Violence in Dallas, Texas; the New York State Prosecutors Training Institute’s program on
the prosecution and investigation of elder abuse in Albany, NY; a seminar on the Fraud and Exploitation of the Elderly sponsored by Pace University Law School; and the Fifth Annual New York City Elder Abuse Conference. We also continued to
train every new police recruit at the Westchester County Police Academy on identifying and responding to elder abuse and
proactively educate the local community through our Senior Crime Busters seminars, which are taught in conjunction with
other Westchester County professionals.
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 BIAS CRIME 
he Bias Crimes Unit of the District Attorney’s Office handles the investigation and prosecution of bias or hate crimes,
and engages in community outreach on issues that arise in these incidents. This approach recognizes that bias crimes
cause harm to the specific victim as well as to the community. The Bias Unit conducts an initial two-level review of all
incidents in Westchester County that are reported as possible bias crimes. The first level is a determination whether the incident was in fact a crime, and the second is the determination whether the evidence established the primary motivation was
bias. Case investigations vary, but involve whatever is necessary to understand the nature of the incident, including witness
interviews, forensic analysis, visits to a crime scene, and attendance at community meetings. If the decision is made to
charge a particular defendant or defendants with a bias crime, the case is prosecuted vertically by the specially trained attorney who worked on the investigation.
The Bias Crimes Unit works in conjunction with outside agencies in educating the community on the nature and dynamics of
various forms of bias. In 2010, the Unit gave presentations at The Loft, veterans’ groups, synagogues, police departments
and school groups. In addition, the Unit continues to contribute to programs presented by The New York Prosecutor’s Training Institute to train prosecutors from other areas of New York State in effective methods of investigating and prosecuting bias
crimes. The Unit investigated 20 individual incidents in 2010.
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 APPEALS & SPECIAL LITIGATION 
he Appeals and Special Litigation Division consists of the Appeals Bureau and the Motions and Special Litigation Bureau which, collectively, litigate all pretrial motions in felony cases and in certain matters in the local courts, all appeals
of criminal convictions, all post-conviction litigation, including extraditions, collateral attacks on convictions in the state
courts and federal habeas corpus applications and any other special litigation including legal issues of first impression.
In 2010, the Motions and Special Litigation Bureau received 136 post-conviction writs and motions from defendants collaterally attacking some aspect of their convictions; 119 of those writs and motions were litigated in the State and Federal courts.
The Bureau also received 475 pretrial motions (largely challenging the admissibility of statements, identification and physical
evidence), 27 extraditions applications and 63 miscellaneous motions (ranging from motions to renew/reargue to matters relating to bail forfeitures, out-of-state material witness orders, waivers/deferrals of surcharges and production of presentence
reports); and a total of 636 motions were disposed of (including motions received in 2009, but litigated in 2010). The Bureau’s overall success rate in, inter alia, upholding the admissibility of evidence and protecting convictions was approximately
97%.
The Appeals Bureau disposed of 161 felony appeals, winning 156 of those cases for a success rate of 97%. In three of the
five reversals, the People, upon a review of the appellate record and the particular claim of error, consented to the reversal.
The Appeals Division filed a total of 128 appellate briefs in 2010, 63 of which involved convictions for violent crimes and/or
repeat offenders.
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otable appeals in 2010 included the Office’s successful reinstatement in the Appellate Division of a murder conviction
in People v DiGuglielmo. In December 1997, Richard D. DiGuglielmo, then an off-duty NYPD officer, was convicted
after a jury trial of murder in the second degree and sentenced to 20 years to life in connection with the unjustified
shooting death of Charles Campbell during a parking dispute. Ten years later, in September 2008, the County Court
(Bellantoni, J., who was not the trial judge), vacated the conviction on the testimony of a witness, one of the thirteen eyewitnesses who testified at the trial, who belatedly claimed that initial police interviews somehow caused him a year later to give
trial testimony that he was no longer sure was accurate. The rather equivocal witness however refused to actually recant his
trial testimony. On the People’s appeal to the Appellate Division, Second Department, the Office successfully obtained a
reversal of the erroneous order of the County Court; by decision and order dated May 25, 2010, the Appellate Division reinstated the judgment of conviction. In November 2010, the Court of Appeals granted an application for leave to appeal that
determination; arguments in the case will be heard in May, 2011.
he Office reached New York’s highest court in two other cases in 2010, including a case of first impression before the
Court. In People v Rivera, defendant was driving while intoxicated with a conditional driver’s license, which had been
issued following the revocation of his license as a result of a prior DWI conviction. Defendant was charged with not
only the DWI, but – in a departure from the more typical charge of driving outside the conditions of a conditional license (a
traffic infraction under VTL 1196 [7] [f] )- with the additional felony charge of aggravated unlicensed operation of motor vehicle in the first degree under VTL 511 [3] [a] [1] (driving under the influence of alcohol when the license was revoked for driving while intoxicated) on the theory that driving drunk outside the conditions of a conditional license was the legal equivalent
of driving drunk with a revoked license. The Appellate Division affirmed the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the additional felony charge. In a 5-2 decision, the Court of Appeals affirmed, strictly construing VTL 511 as an expression of legislative intent. Acknowledging the District Attorney’s contention that such a reading of VTL 511 “disserves our State’s strong public
policy to combat drunken driving with serious penalties,” the Court deferred to the Legislature to address the admittedly
“large disparities” between the punishments available for persons who drive under the influence of alcohol with conditional,
as opposed to revoked or suspended, licenses. Significant to any future legislative initiative to address such disparities is
the dissent by two of the Justices, who agreed with the Office and expressed concern that “under the majority’s analysis, a
driver like defendant who not only disregards the limitations in the conditional license but also drives drunk will receive the
same penalty as a person who engages in a minor violation of the terms of a conditional license,” and agreed that the statutory scheme and the policies underlying conditional licensing support the conclusion that a defendant with a conditional license continues to hold the status of a person with a revoked or suspended license, thereby allowing a prosecutor to charge
the felony under VTL 511.
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A
C URIAE ON BEHALF OF DAASNY - The Office often serves as lead counsel to the District Attorneys
Association of the State of New York (DAASNY) in the filing of amicus curiae briefs in cases having national significance to the criminal justice system. In 2010, the Office filed amicus briefs in three cases. Most notably, in 2010,
the Office filed an amicus brief on behalf of DAASNY in the United States Supreme Court in Connick v. Thompson, a case
involving a §1983 claim against a district attorney’s office for an alleged failure to train based upon a Brady violation by assistant prosecutors in the office. In 1985, Thompson was tried and convicted of attempted armed robbery. He was then
tried, convicted and sentenced to death for an unrelated murder. Because of his first conviction, Thompson elected not to
testify in his murder trial. One month before Thompson’s scheduled execution, it was discovered that prosecutors in his first
trial failed to turn over Brady material, i.e., a bloody swatch of the victim’s clothes, which proved to be exculpatory. The
blood sample, which was admittedly from the robbery assailant, did not match defendant. Following the vacatur of his conviction, Thompson sued the district attorney’s office under §1983. The jury awarded Thompson an unprecedented $14 million. The Supreme Court granted certiorari to decide whether a district attorney’s office may be held liable under §1983 for
an alleged failure to train based on a single Brady violation of particular prosecutors. Of great interest to DAASNY was the
serious threat to the financial viability of public prosecutor offices as a result of the staggering judgment against the Orleans
Parish District Attorney's Office.
MICUS
In a 5-4 decision, the Court ruled that the plaintiff did not establish his claim of a failure by the District Attorney to train based
on a single Brady violation of certain prosecutors. The Court found that the district attorney was without notice that a course
of training was deficient and cannot be said to have deliberately chosen a training program that will cause violations of constitutional rights. The Court further concluded that this case does not fall within the narrow range of "single-incident" liability
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hypothesized in precedent (Canton v Harris, 489 US 378 [discussing the failure to train police officers on the use of deadly
force in the apprehension of fleeing felons]) since, unlike police officers, there is no obvious need for specific legal training
of independently-trained and educated attorneys who “not only are equipped but are ethically bound to know what Brady
entails and to perform legal research when they are uncertain.”
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he Office also served as lead counsel for DAASNY in the New York Court of Appeals in the matter of People v Harnett, a case involving the failure to warn a defendant who pleads guilty to a sex offense that he may be subject to
civil confinement under the Sex Offender Management and Treatment Act (SOMTA). Harnett pled guilty to sex
abuse in the first degree with a sentence promise of 7 years incarceration and 3-10 years post release supervision. On
appeal, Harnett argued that his plea was not knowing, voluntary and intelligent because of the failure to advise him of possible SOMTA consequences, which include the possibility of civil confinement upon release from prison. The Appellate
Division affirmed his conviction and granted leave to appeal. Though not applicable to Harnett since there was no indication that he was subject to a SOMTA proceeding, the Court of Appeals held that even though SOMTA consequences are
collateral, it is possible that they are so important that non-disclosure could render the plea proceedings fundamentally
unfair. Of significance to prosecutors throughout the State is that the Court strongly recommended that the possible effects of SOMTA be explained to anyone pleading guilty to an offense that may result in SOMTA proceedings and extended confinement.
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C RIMINAL L AW N EWS - 2010 marked the 5th year of the District Attorney’s publication of the Criminal Law
News, a periodic newsletter originally introduced under District Attorney
Carl A. Vergari’s administration. The Criminal Law News is intended to
serve as a source of continuing legal education and practical advice for our partners in law enforcement, and is specifically designed to assist police agencies in
meeting the public safety needs of the community. In 2010, we devoted the
Criminal Law News to search and seizure issues and the protections afforded by
the 4th Amendment to the United States Constitution and the NYS Constitution.
We addressed the importance for law enforcement to be aware of and comply
with recent decisions by our State’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, with respect to the issuance and scope of search warrants and mandates that impact
the everyday work of police officers. Of primary focus was the Court’s decision in
People v Weaver (12 NY3d 433), which held that the NYS Constitution requires a
search warrant in the absence of exigent circumstances before police can attach
a GPS device to a suspect’s vehicle. Mindful of rapidly emerging means of enhanced electronic surveillance and other technological innovations, we cautioned
police departments to remain vigilant of our highest Court’s warning of the need
for judicial oversight before seeking information and evidence through any form of
technologically enhanced surveillance. To that end, we offered practical advice
regarding the information that must be included in an application for a warrant
authorizing the installation and attachment of a GPS devise so as not to run afoul of constitutionally protected privacy
rights.
HE
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e also discussed People v Mothersell (14 NY3d 358), in which the Court held (1) that a search warrant authorizing the search of all persons in an apartment where drugs were previously sold was overbroad where the underlying application failed to particularly describe any person to be searched, and (2) that such an “all-personspresent” warrant does not authorize a visual body cavity search of a suspect. In light of the Court’s rulings, we offered
police departments advice as to best practices for securing “all-person-present” search warrants, including the need to
provide sufficient facts from which to infer that the targeted premises is truly devoted to an “ongoing illicit purpose” and
particularly describing the person(s) in the targeted premises to be searched. We further counseled law enforcement that
warrants authorizing highly invasive body cavity searches require specific facts to support the reasonable suspicion to be-
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C
 C OM M U NI TY OUTR EA C H 
P RE VENTION F OR S ENI ORS - The District Attorney’s Office partners with other agencies of the Westchester
County Elder Abuse Coalition in Senior Crime Busters, a proactive effort that presents information aimed at preventing elder abuse and fraud. Assistant District Attorneys and representatives from other Coalition agencies, including
the New York State Attorney General and the Westchester County Departments of Senior Programs and Services, Consumer
Protection, Social Services, and the Office for Women, offer advice and information that alert seniors to safety concerns and
potential online, telephone, mail and other fraud. The District Attorney’s Office staff participated in 29 Senior Crime Buster and
elder abuse presentations. In addition, the District Attorney’s Office presented crime prevention information at Westchester
County’s annual Salute to Seniors Day and Senior Law Day.
CCE SS TO J U STICE - District Attorney Janet DiFiore joined judges of the 9th Judicial District, DSS and other Westchester agencies in introducing in 2009 a coordinated effort to enhance understanding among community members,
and representatives of faith based communities in particular, of the functions of the various courts and of the social
and criminal justice agencies that work with them. In 2010, the District Attorney’s Office continued this partnership, meeting
with judges and clergy to continue to enhance their understanding and to facilitate constructive communication on behalf of
individuals who appear before the courts.
S SISTANT D ISTRICT A TTORN EY S S PEAKING IN THE C OMMUNITY - As part of the crime prevention efforts of
the District Attorney’s Office, prosecutors offer presentations to a wide range of community based organizations, including school staffs, on topics such as internet safety, bullying, economic and real estate fraud, bias crime and
neighborhood safety. In 2010, Assistant District Attorneys made over 150 such presentations.
NFORMING THE C OMMUNITY - Working with the court staff of the 9th Judicial District, Assistant District Attorneys provided court tours to 14 groups, in which they explained the roles played by judge, prosecutor, defense counsel, court officer, court reporter, translator, and others in the criminal justice system. Assistant District Attorneys also staffed tables at
17 festivals in the County, offering crime prevention information and answering any questions from the public.
RIME
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A GAINST G UN V IOL ENCE - The District Attorney’s Office again worked with the school districts of
Yonkers and Mount Vernon in 2010 to present CARGO,
“Community Awareness Regarding Guns and Other Violence”.
Assistant District Attorneys presented this interactive gun violence prevention program to 8th graders in 86 classes in 15 middle schools, reaching
approximately 2150 students.
E EN D RINKING AND D RUG A BU SE - In 2010, the District Attorney’s Office continued to work with parents, schools, teens and
other community members to develop effective approaches to underage drinking and drug use. The District Attorney co-chairs, along with
the County Executive, the Westchester Coalition for Drug and AlcoholFree Youth (Coalition), a county-wide organization whose goal is to reduce drinking and drug use among teens. In 2010, the Coalition and related local coalitions conducted trainings for community members, teachers, parents, and law enforcement on topics ranging
from the sale of alcohol to parenting skills aimed at preventing drug and alcohol abuse among young people. The District Attorney’s Office did 34 presentations to students and parents on the legal, medical and social consequences to young people
of using alcohol and drugs.
Along with the Coalition, the District Attorney’s Office worked closely with SAS to assist parents and other community members in keeping the prom and graduation season safe, and protecting teens from the risks of unsupervised parties and drinking and drug use. In April 2010, District Attorney Janet DiFiore participated in a countywide event addressing the legal, medical and mental health issues that teen drug and alcohol abuse raise. Hosted by SAS and Administrative Judge Alan D.
Scheinkman of the 9th Judicial District, the event offered presentations by the District Attorney as well as Westchester County
Community Mental Health Commissioner Grant Mitchell and Adolescent Medicine specialist Dr. Marcia J. Nackenson of Maria
Fareri Children’s Hospital.
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he District Attorney’s Office worked to ensure that licensed sellers of alcohol complied with their legal responsibilities
with respect to the sale of alcohol to those under the age of 21. At the start of 2010, the Office again mailed 2,200 age
calculator placards to all licensed vendors of alcohol in Westchester County. These signs are displayed in stores, restaurants and bars, indicating that alcohol will not be sold to anyone under the age of 21. Continuing an ongoing collaborative
effort with local police departments in Westchester County, the District Attorney’s
Investigators conducted 74 underage drinking compliance checks of licensed
alcohol vendors in 9 local jurisdictions. Area students under the age of 21, working in an undercover capacity, attempted to purchase alcohol at the 74 licensed
premises. These checks resulted in a compliance rate of 92 %, and vendors that
failed to comply with the law were charged with violating the Alcohol Beverage
Control Laws.
In response to an increase in the abuse by young people of substances found in
their homes, including prescription and non-prescription medications, and household products that can be used as inhalants, the District Attorney’s Office has
worked with the Coalition, SAS and PTA’s in developing “Parents: Today’s Unsuspecting Drug Dealers”. This program explains the nature of the problem and offers prevention strategies, and was presented twice to parent groups in 2010.
RO SECUTOR S IN THE S CHO OLS - The District Attorney’s Office has a robust presence in Westchester’s schools,
with Assistant District Attorneys making presentations and engaging in discussions with elementary, middle and high
school students around the county. The high school curriculum is PRO-LAW, a series of interactive programs that are
designed to engage students in discussions of legal issues in the context of violence, drugs, alcohol, date rape, cyber crime,
teen pranks and search and seizure. In 2010, prosecutors made 182 PRO-LAW presentations to high school classes.
The District Attorney’s Office shares the concerns of parents, teachers, and administrators over cyberbullying. Assistant District Attorneys pay particular attention to cyberbullying when giving presentations to students, parents, and school staffs on
internet safety. In addition, the Office has continued to present workshops aimed at preventing bullying of all types. There is a
disturbing association between bullying and adult criminal behavior, and the District Attorney’s Office takes the matter seriously. Prosecutors point out to students that harassment and intimidation, whether on line or in real life, can be violations of
criminal law and are associated with negative social, educational and psychological outcomes for both the bully and the victim. In 2010, prosecutors conducted a total of 69 internet safety and bullying prevention workshops.
The District Attorney's Office has a prosecutor specially trained in the investigation and prosecution of animal cruelty cases,
which are vertically prosecuted. This Assistant District Attorney collaborates with the SPCA and Pace Law School students to
present workshops within the Yonkers Public School system on animal cruelty prevention. In 2010, there were 8 workshops
presented. In addition, this Assistant District Attorney presented a series of lectures at Mercy College to their veterinary technician students, training them on their important role in the detection and prevention of animal cruelty. Training is also provided to new recruits at the Westchester County Police Academy on effective methods of identifying, investigating and collecting evidence in animal cruelty and animal fighting cases.
n 2010, assistant district attorneys from the SCB continued their commitment to training and outreach to the community as
an adjunct to their professional responsibilities. In addition to speaking at numerous high schools throughout the County
on the topics of date rape and Megan’s Law, the Chief of the SCB participated in several trainings for police at the Westchester County Police Academy, at a Symposium at the State University of New York on sexual violence on college campuses, at a training for forensic nurse examiners sponsored by Victim’s Assistance Services and at a training for law enforcement officials sponsored by DCJS’s Office of Sex Offender Management.
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 LEG AL ED U C A TI O N A ND TR AI NI N G 
The District Attorney’s Office provides extensive training for its own professional staff and for numerous outside agencies. As
an accredited provider of continuing legal education (CLE), the Office offers the required training for staff attorneys to maintain admission to the NYS Bar. Other attorneys invited to attend the Office’s CLE programs include the legal staff of the
Westchester County Attorney’s Office, Assistant District Attorneys from Rockland and Putnam counties, as well as retired
Judges and staff members of the Westchester County Board of Legislators. This training concentrates on matters having
particular relevance to the daily duties and obligations of these attorneys.
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I
n 2010, the Office offered 33 CLE programs and issued 1165 certificates of attendance. Of these programs, 27 were
conducted by members of the District Attorney’s staff. The remaining 6 were presented by outside experts, including
members of the Special Counsel for Ethics of the Office of Court Administration, the NYPTI, the National Family Justice
Center Alliance, and the Ballistics Unit of the WCPD. The District Attorney welcomes, in fact encourages, the discussion
and debate fostered by the perspective of outside speakers. Of particular importance is the emphasis placed on ethics in
prosecution.
The District Attorney’s Office provides specialized training for all Assistant District Attorneys new to the office. Typically,
these sessions are held on late Friday afternoons and are attended by between 20 and 25 attorneys, depending on their
work schedules. In 2010, the topics included SORA Hearings, Narcotics Evidence, Miscellaneous Court Proceedings, Probation, Mental Health Court and Drug Court.
C ONTINUING E DUCATION FOR I NV ESTI GATORS - The District Attorney’s Office employs 33 Criminal Investigators who
have a broad range of talent and experience. To ensure that these Investigators remain on the cutting edge of the latest
investigative technology and trends, and current on changes in the law, they attend numerous training sessions. In 2010,
training for Criminal Investigators included Child Fatality and Serious Physical Injury Abuse Investigations; Sex Crimes
Training; Workplace Violence Training; and Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act Training. In addition, all
Criminal Investigators received firearms training in the spring and in the fall of 2010.
I NT ERNSHIP P ROGRAM - In 2010, the Internship Program continued to grow to meet the needs of the District Attorney’s
Office as well as to provide much needed opportunities for students in high school, college, and law school.
The Honors Extern Program for law students, established in 2008, continued to be a marked success. By order of the Appellate Division, Second Department, law students participating in our Honors Extern Program are permitted to appear in
court in actual criminal cases. These students may conduct court calendars, participate in pre-trial hearings and prosecute
penal law violations and misdemeanors. Notably, the participants first receive intense training at their law school followed
by orientation within the District Attorney’s Office. These young students continuously report to their professor and shadow
Assistant District Attorneys while receiving training. In 2010, this office hosted 29 honors externs from Pace University
School of Law and Hofstra University School of Law.
In 2010, the District Attorney’s Office Internship Program hosted a total of 131 law school, college and high school interns.
There were 15 high school students, 68 college students, and 48 law school students who worked through the spring, summer and fall sessions of our Internship program. The program begins with the spring semester, which runs from January to
May, followed by the summer semester, which runs from June to August; and concludes with the fall semester, which runs
from September to December. The breakdown of participants, from a wide variety of schools, was as follows:
Spring: 25
3 High School
13 College
9 Law School
Summer: 83
11 High School
42 College
30 Law School
Fall: 33
1 High School
3 College
9 Law School
The high school students worked between 6 and 10 hours a week depending on their school schedule and the semester.
The college students worked between 14 and 21 hours per week. The law students worked between 14 and 40 hours
per week depending on the semester and whether they were receiving school credits or an outside stipend for time
worked.
Tra ini ng Ot her Agencie s - In 2010, the District Attorney’s Office held 23 training sessions for outside agencies.
Among the many groups who benefited from such training were the Police Recruits, Sergeants, Lieutenants and Supervisors attending the Westchester County Police Academy. Topics covered were legal updates, elder abuse, sex crimes,
human trafficking, animal cruelty and the use of K-9 animals in investigations.
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DISTRICT ATTORNEY JANET DIFIORE CONGRATULATES ANTHONY A. MOLEA ON HIS RETIREMENT FOLLOWING 45
YEARS IN WHICH HE SERVED THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE WITH HONOR AND INTEGRITY. MR. MOLEA WAS
APPOINTED AN ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY BY DISTRICT ATTORNEY LEONARD RUBENFELD IN 1964, AND
SERVED UNDER FOUR DISTRICT ATTORNEYS. FROM 1982-93, MR. MOLEA SERVED AS THE CHIEF ASSISTANT,
FIRST DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY UNDER DISTRICT ATTORNEY CARL VERGARI. FROM 1994 UNTIL HIS RETIREMENT IN 2010, MR. MOLEA SERVED AS CHIEF OF THE PLEADINGS BUREAU. HE HAS BEEN A MENTOR TO COUNTLESS ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEYS AND IS HIGHLY RESPECTED BY ALL.
IN FEBRUARY 2010 DISTRICT ATTORNEY JANET DIFIORE SPOKE AT CONSUMERS UNION, THE YONKERS BASED
PUBLISHERS OF CONSUMERS REPORTS MAGAZINE, ON THE RELEASE OF THE WESTCHESTER COUNTY'S CHILD
FATALITY REVIEW TEAM'S INDEPENDENT CHILD FATALITY REPORT WARNING CAREGIVERS ON THE DEADLY DANGERS POSED TO CHILDREN FROM THE UNSAFE PLACEMENT OF OVERSIZED TELEVISIONS ON UNSTABLE FURNITURE
AND OTHER SURFACES. THE TEAM REVIEWED THE TRAGIC DEATHS IN 2008 AND 2009 OF TWO CHILDREN WHO SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES WHEN TELEVISION SETS TOPPLED FROM FURNITURE ON TOP OF THE CHILDREN. IN BOTH
INSTANCES, THE FURNITURE WAS INCAPABLE OF SUSTAINING THE WEIGHT OF THE TELEVISIONS.
J ANET D I F IORE
D ISTRICT A TTORNEY
Westchester County District Attorney's Office
Richard J. Daronco Courthouse
111 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
White Plains, New York 10601
(914) 995-3414
http://www.westchesterda.net