Completely Legal

Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore (pictured, right) will be inducted into the Women’s Research and Education Fund’s hall of fame next month.

The group said it chose DiFiore, a Bronxville resident, in part for her “special concern for domestic violence victims and her significant measurable contributions to the quality of life for Westchester women.” She will join a list that includes Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey, famed caterer Abigail Kirsch, actress and activist Ruby Dee and former Republican Assemblywoman Cecile Singer.

A posthumous hall of fame award will be given to Karen Z. Bell, who worked for more than 20 years as a court-appointed law guardian for children. Bell helped to create the Moderate Means Panel at Pace Women’s Justice Center where lawyers work agree to work for reduced pay to help struggling women.

WREF also will recognize 66 young women in Westchester who were chosen for college scholarships totaling $205,500.

The scholarship luncheon will take place on Friday, March 30, at the Hilton Rye Town. For tickets or more information, go to www.wrefny.org or call 914-305-5111.

Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore’s monthly message for February is about services offered to crime victims and their families in the county:

Crime can have serious physical, psychological, financial and other effects on victims. As District Attorney and a former judge, I know how frightening and overwhelming it can be for victims who, through no fault of their own, come into contact with the criminal justice system. This is why I consider the Victim’s Justice Center (VJC) of the District Attorney’s Office an essential part of our mission to provide support to crime victims and their families.

In 2010, over 7,300 members of the community received assistance, information and guidance at the VJC, which is located in the District Attorney’s Office in the Westchester County Courthouse in White Plains. VJC services are free of charge. The multi-lingual staff provides information about victims’ rights, safety planning, and resources available to them.

The VJC offers counseling and therapy at its offices, as well as referrals for support groups for families of homicide victims and victims of rape, childhood sexual assault, incest and elder abuse. The staff of the VJC provides referrals to shelters or safe houses if appropriate, as well as referrals to other agencies for services tailored to victims’ needs and the type of crime. VJC counselors accompany victims and their families to criminal court proceedings and provide interpreters to assist with translation if necessary. VJC staff assist victims in preparing victim impact statements to be read in court at the time of sentencing of a convicted offender.

The VJC provides help with applications for financial assistance from the New York State Office of Victim Services to compensate victims for lost income, funeral expenses for victims of homicide, medical and counseling expenses and loss of essential personal property. The VJC connects victims and their families to New York’s Victim Information and Notification Everyday (VINE) Program which provides prisoner status and release dates for convicted felony offenders in the state prison system.

At the District Attorney’s Office, we understand that victims of crimes, especially violent crimes, may lose their sense of personal safety and security. Taking the first steps by reporting the crime and seeking assistance can make a difference in moving forward. If you are a victim of a crime, contact your local police department to report it immediately. If you need help coping with the physical, psychological and financial impact of the crime, please contact the VJC for assistance.

After a little more than two days of deliberations, a jury found Frank DeMaria guilty of nine charges that he directed four young girls to touch his genitals at his former martial arts studio in Croton on Hudson.

DeMaria,one of the highest-ranking martial arts experts in the country, has vehemently denied that he ever had any of his students to touch him inappropriately, including the hundreds of children he has taught in the past 50 years. He called the allegations “disgusting.” His family and supporters backed him up, as did two former students who said they never saw him sexually abuse anyone in his classes.

But his reputation was not enough to counter the testimony of the girls, who are now between 9 and 13 years old, nor the testimony of a male student who said he saw DeMaria abuse an 8-year-old girl in December 2010 and January 2011. Another male student backed up the January 2011 allegation.

DeMaria faces up to 7 years in prison when he’s sentenced on May 8, but he also could be sentenced to probation. In either case, he will likely have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

It’s not every day that you get a Buddhist fighting monk to testify at a trial. But when the defendant is Kung Fu grandmaster Frank DeMaria, it makes perfect sense.

Shi Guo Lin brought some action—and a laugh—to the courtroom of Westchester County Judge Barbara Zambelli today when he took the stand as a defense witness. DeMaria, his friend and Kung Fu brother, is facing felony sex abuse charges for allegedly directing four young female students to grope him during class.

Guo Lin, who does not speak fluent English, did some Kung Fu moves for the jury to demonstrate a groin strike that DeMaria claims he was teaching the girls when two adult male students saw him and accused him of abuse. He showed some other kicks and punches in front of the jury box as defensive moves during an attack.

Assistant District Attorney Christine Cervasio asked Guo Lin about the “tiger claw,” a phrase to describe a groin attack he did not understand in English and that the Mandarin interpreter could not translate.

“Could you demonstrate so I could see what it looks like?” he asked the prim prosecutor. The image of Cervasio, or any of the lawyers, doing Kung Fu caused the courtroom to erupt in laughter.  The judge, with a smile, said there would be no demonstrations and that DeMaria could tell his lawyer the Mandarin word for the tiger claw move so he could inform his witness.

DeMaria, left, and Guo Lin in happier times. Photo from kungfu.org, the American Center of Chinese Studies website.

The DNA Databank Expansion Bill cleared its first hurdle today when the state Senate approved legislation that would require all those convicted on Penal Law crimes, including misdemeanors, to submit their DNA to the state databank. Currently, convicted felons and those convicted of about three dozen specific misdemeanors must give a DNA sample to authorities, typically a cheek swab. The bill would cover convictions of all charges, expect for misdemeanor counts of driving while intoxicated and other traffic misdemeanors.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, in a written statement, called the bill “an important step in protecting New Yorkers and modernizing the state’s criminal justice system. This critical crime fighting resource embraces technology to help protect the innocent and convict the guilty.”

Cuomo urged the state Assembly to pass the bill so he could sign it into law immediately.

Robert Loja (middle, in photo) was living the American Dream, his lawyers said. After emigrating from Ecuador at 17 and getting his U.S. citizenship, Loja and his wife, Maria, owned a home in Peekskill where they lived with their 5-year-old son. He had a steady job with a landscaping company for eight years and was making enough so his wife could go to school to be a nurse.

That all changed on Oct. 24, 2008, when a 23-year-old paralegal, blinded by sun glare on her way to work, slammed into Loja as he was unloading a landscaping trailer on Benedict Avenue in Tarrytown. The collision pinned him against the trailer, crushing his legs and nearly killing him. He has been unable to work since.

Loja’s luck took a turn for the better on Friday, when a Westchester County jury awarded him $11.2 million in his suit against Sleepy Hollow Landscaping and the woman who hit him.

His lawyers, Jonathan Rice and Steven Grant, (left and right, respectively, in photo) said the judgment breaks down like this: $3 million for future medical expenses, about $1.4 million for future lost income, $300,000 for past medical expenses and past lost wages, $2.5 million for past pain and suffering, $3 million for future pain and suffering, and $1 million for his wife for past and future pain and suffering.

But that amount instantly is reduced by $3.36 million because the jury found Loja 30% liable for not parking the landscaping trailer in a safer spot. And his lawyers said there is little chance he would collect anywhere close to the remaining $7.84 million from the landscaping company and driver.

His lawyers hope they can negotiate enough money from the defendants to save Loja’s house from foreclosure and to buy a new, better-fitting prosthesis for his left leg, which they said would allow him to get the surgery he needs on his right leg.

Court funding cuts and the effect those cuts have had on New York’s justice system will be among the key topics for discussion at the New York State Bar Association’s 135th Annual Meeting in Manhattan, which starts on Monday.

The week-long conference will include forums on immigration, court funding, representation of veterans, diversity in the legal community and the impact of the Bernie Madoff fraud case on international litigation. More than 5,000 lawyers are expected.

Among those scheduled to address the conference are William Robinson III, president of the American Bar Association; Jack Rives, executive director of the American Bar Association; state Chief Judge Jonathan Lipmann; state Chief Administrative Judge A. Gail Prudenti; former state Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye and former Governor David Paterson. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder will be presented with the Gold Medal, the Bar Association’s highest award, for lifelong excellence in the legal profession and his civic contributions.

On Wednesday, the conference will feature a panel on the crisis in state court funding across the United States. The Bar Association this week released a report that identified problems with the court system in the wake of state budget cuts, including long delays and postponements in civil and criminal cases, overcrowded court calendars, problems with jury selection and jury service, limited citizen access to legal services and overworked court employees, among other issues. Former state Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye (now of counsel with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, & Flom), will moderate a panel of state and national experts on the topic. American Bar Association President William T. Robinson’s keynote address also will focus on court funding.

For a complete listing of speakers, program and events, go to www.nysba.org/am2012. Founded in 1876, the 77,000-member New York State Bar Association is the largest state bar association in the country.

A 30-year-old Mount Vernon man was convicted today of raping his live-in ex-girlfriend and beating her 6-year-old son at least twice last year.

Michael E. Thompson Jr. (right) was found guilty of first-degree rape and three counts of second-degree assault, all felonies, and misdemeanor counts of menacing and child endangerment.

A Westchester County jury acquitted him of two counts of third-degree rape an an additional count of first-degree rape.

Prosecutors say Thompson, who is 6-foot-3 and weighs more than 300 pounds, punched the boy in the mouth, knocking out a tooth. They also allege he beat the boy with an electrical cord, poured rubbing alcohol over the open wounds and dunked his head into scalding water.

Thompson was accused of terrorizing the boy’s mother, who worked in a restaurant, threatening to kill her if she didn’t let him live in her apartment. She said Thompson beat and raped her to keep her under his control.

The woman told no one until Feb. 20, when prosecutors said she finally got the courage to go to the police. The defense claimed the woman’s accusations were revenge for Thompson cheating on her.

Acting state Supreme Court Justice Robert Neary set sentencing for Feb. 29. The rape conviction carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in state prison, while each assault charges is punishable by up to seven years.

UPDATE: CLICK HERE TO READ THE STORY ABOUT OPENING STATEMENTS

Frank DeMaria (left) taught a move called the “tiger claw” so his martial arts students could defend themselves against attackers. But Westchester County prosecutors say the move, when it involved grabbing DeMaria’s groin, was an excuse to have 8- and 10-year-old girls fondle the 67-year-old kung fu grandmaster at his Croton-on-Hudson studio.

Jury selection began today for DeMaria, an Ossining resident who founded the American Center for Chinese Studies. His felony sex abuse trial will open at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow before county Judge Barbara Zambelli.

He has pleaded not guilty to three counts of second-degree course of sexual conduct against a child and two counts of first-degree sexual abuse, both felonies, and four counts of child endangerment, a misdemeanor.

He is charged with abusing four girls, all under 13 years old. Prosecutors say he would have the girls face away from him, reach around and then repeatedly grab, squeeze and pull his penis. While the girls followed instructions, she said, DeMaria would gyrate his hips. Those actions, they argue, is not a legitimate martial arts move.

DeMaria told Croton detectives that his students were taught to grab the eyes, throat and groin of their attackers. He said he taught students to grab the groin when they were in an arm-lock or choke-hold position. When police told him that some of his students complained that he enjoyed being grabbed in the groin, DeMaria reportedly said, “I can’t control what my groin does. It’s a physical reaction, it’s not on purpose.”

Defense lawyer Andrew Quinn said his client, a retired Westchester County police officer, is the third-highest ranked grandmaster of his type of martial arts in the world. He said DeMaria teaches physical street-fighting moves so people can defend themselves, and has demonstrated “tiger claw” defense moves in videos and booklets. Quinn also said the parents and students who sign up for his martial arts courses sign waivers acknowledging that there will be physical contact in the classes.

DeMaria wrote a book on Chang-style tai chi and was head instructor for self-defense at the Westchester Police Academy. He has also taught courses at the State University of New York at Purchase.

The prosecution is continuing to provide a jury with evidence and testimony in the robbery case against Edward Brims, charged with one gun-point robbery of the Ramapo convenience store Guzzles in Hillcrest on Oct. 12, 2010.

Prosecutor Richard Kennison Moran has offered the jury a video of the man leaving the business, as well as police testimony.

Today, Moran planned to provide testimony on the recovery of the gun, following up Friday with a DNA expert testifying that Brims’ DNA was supposedly  found on the weapon.

On Monday, the Guzzles clerk is scheduled to testify about being robbed and by whom.

What Brims lacks in a legal degree, he makes up with street legal training and self-confidence. At one point in January 2011, Brims told Kelly, a former Bronx prosecutor and veteran jurist, “Bring it on

Brims is representing himself in the robbery and faces a potential life sentence in prison if convicted, based upon his previous felony convictions. Ramapo police arrested Brims following a string of store robberies, but he was charged with just one.

Brims, 53, is charged with  first-degree attempted robbery, criminal possession of a weapon and assault. Attorney Martin Gotkin is  his adviser during the trial before state Supreme Court Justice William A. Kelly at the Rockland Courthouse in New City.

What Brims lacks in a legal degree, he’s made up for with  street legal knowledge from the streets and prison. He filed a legal papers in federal court concerning his arrest,  but the judge denied his motion.

He doesn’t lack confidence in the courtroom.

Last January, Brims told Kelly, “Bring it on, judge”  after arguing for nearly an hour that he is qualified and able to mount his own defense. Kelly attempted to convince him that as a career criminal with at least 20 arrests – including seven felony convictions – in New York he would be better off with a lawyer.

Brims responded he understood the seriousness of the charges, but added, “If I’m going to go down, I’m going to go down defending myself.”

He told the judge that the charges were as “phony as phony can get,” and “I spent 23 years up in the mountains in jail.”

Brims also told  the judge the legal system is against him because he’s black and his cousin is Belton Lee Brims, who was convicted of the double murder of Arnold and Elaine Sohn in December 1980.  He’s also related to Jerry Lee Brims, convicted of killing Jerry Reed in a 2000 gunfight in Spring Valley.

When Moran asked for $500,000 bail, Brims responded. “That’s not bail, that’s a ransom.”

Photo upper right of Edward Brims