Completely Legal

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.

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.

It was the day of tear-filled emotional sentencings in the Westchester County courtroom of Judge Barbara Zambelli.

Ex-Eastchester police officer James Pileggi (right) blubbered as he was sentenced to serve 3 to 9 years in state prison for unintentionally killing his friend in New Rochelle two years ago. Pileggi’s tears followed the sobs of Gail Everett, the mother of victim Andre Everett, who called Pileggi “evil” and swore never to forgive him. The prosecution asked for the maximum semtence: 15 years in prison. The defense asked for the minimum: time served with probation. Zambelli, as I predicted, split it down the middle, allowing Pileggi to apply for parole in a little more than two years.

Three hours later,  Francisco Acevedo (left) was sentenced to life for the cold-case serial killings of three women in south Yonkers.  The daughter of one of the victims, who was three when her mother was killed, and the mother of the second victim sobbed as they railed against Acevedo, calling him a monster, an animal, and other insults.

Danielle Hodges of The Bronx, who is the sister of one of the victims, did not speak at the sentencing. After it was over, she said it brought closure. “My sister is finally free,” she said.

Acevedo’s sentencing was delayed because he had not been brought to the courthouse in time from Green Haven Correctional Facility in Dutchess County, where he is serving a 1 to 3-year stint on a felony drunken driving conviction out of Suffolk County.

There were two other high-profile cases today that were both brief and unemotional. Ex-Mayor Adam Bradley’s ongoing domestic violence case was adjourned to March 5 while the case of Tappan Zee Bridge dangler Michael Davitt was postponed to Feb. 24 in Greenburgh Town Court.

A Queens man who managed private parking lots at the Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla admitted today that he bilked his employer out of more than $75,000 over a two-year period.

James Lozada, 36, pleaded guilty at his arraignment in Westchester County court to a reduced felony charge of third-degree grand larceny. He was ordered to pay $75,860 in restitution and remains free on $50,000 bail.

How much, if any, time Lozada serves behind bars will depend (as it usually does) on how much he can pay back before his sentencing on April 9. If he pays back the full amount, he will serve five years of probation with no jail time. If he pays back half of it, he will serve five years’ probation with four months of weekends in jail. If he pays back nothing, he goes to state prison for 1 to 3 years.

He was facing up to seven years in state prison had he been convicted at trial of third-degree grand larceny, and up to 15 years wif convicted of second-degree grand larceny, the original charge.

Lozada, an ex-regional manager for Healthcare Parking Systems of America, started submitting phony payroll information in February 2009, according to the Westchester County District Attorney’s office. He used the names of past employees to get the company to cut fradulent paychecks, and then deposited the checks into his own bank account, as well as the account of his girlfriend.

His attorney, Raymond Cash, declined to comment without his client’s approval.

The end of the December holidays means court is back in earnest with several cases of interest on the docket this week:

1. Pretrial hearings begin Wednesday for Brian Roach and Daniel Sanchez, who are facing life in prison in the slayings of two men, one a local gang leader, and the shootings of four others in a Yonkers apartment in 2010.

Roach, 21, of Yonkers (far left) and Sanchez, 23, of Brooklyn (left), have been indicted on charges of murder, attempted murder, robbery, burglary and weapon possession. Their trial could start as early as next week.

The pair is accused of breaking into an apartment in Cromwell Towers on Locust Hill Avenue on July 7, 2010 for a robbery and killing 21-year-old Kasheem Little, the leader of the Strip Boyz gang known as “Killa Kash” as well as 23-year-old Carlton McLeod.  A 5-year-old boy, a 17-year-old girl and two men, ages 33 and 56, were all shot but survived.

Police are still searching for a third suspect, 23-year-old Ronnell Jones. Police said Jones has been dressing like a woman to avoid arrest.

2. Two men accused of grand larceny are set to make court appearances this week. Former parking lot manager James Lozada of Queens is scheduled to be arraigned by Superior Court Information on Wednesday while Frank Degrasse, a disbarred lawyer from South Salem, is to be sentenced on Thursday.

Lozada, 36, who managed a parking lot at the Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, is accused of keeping past employees names on the payroll from February 2009 to February 2011 so he could cash their paychecks and deposit others into his girlfriend’s bank account, according to the county District Attorney’s office.

Degrasse, who is a former New York City police detective, pleaded guilty Oct. 4 to first-degree scheme to defraud, a charge punishable by 1 to 4 years in prison. The plea covered the entire 31-count indictment that he was facing, which included charges of second-degree grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, criminal possession of a forged instrument, identity theft and falsifying business records, all felonies.

3. The convicted sex offender known as “Dr. Hunter” is due to make another pretrial court appearance on Thursday.

Lawrence Bottone, 53, (left) is accused of torturing five young minority men in a phony security-training program and faces numerous charges of assault, unlawful imprisonment and criminal impersonation.

Prosecutors say Bottone, from Stamford, Conn., brutalized men in their late teens and early 20s with broom handles, chains and pins in an elaborate scheme in which he posed as a security force trainer in Westchester.  He is being held on $250,000 bail and faces decades in prison if convicted.

Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore’s monthly message for December involves credit card “skimming,” or using illegal devices to read your credit card number:

As Westchester County’s chief law enforcement officer, I want to share with you my concern about an emerging trend here in our county and across the country known as “skimming.” This form of electronic theft involves the planting of illegal card reading devices and hidden cameras in and around ATMs to capture account information and PINs from unsuspecting customers. Bank personnel and members of law enforcement are carefully monitoring this crime trend to identify and arrest offenders and protect individuals’ finances. Particularly in this busy holiday shopping season, it is also important to raise public awareness of this issue.

Skimming is one of the new techniques criminals have developed to cash in on or steal your personal financial information. A specialized law enforcement task force, including members of my office, the Westchester County Police and nearly a dozen local police departments across our county, is working alongside the U.S. Secret Service to investigate instances where skimming has occurred. In the last 14 months, eight individuals in Westchester have been arrested on charges related to illegal skimming with devices discovered at banks in Yorktown Heights, Yonkers, Bronxville, Greenburgh, Tarrytown and Rye Brook.

The skimming method used by thieves at ATMs involves placing a skimmer, an illegal card-reading device that looks like the authentic reader, on top of an actual card-reading slot at an ATM. In addition, thieves may place a concealed, pinhole-sized camera nearby, in order to record the cardholder’s PIN. In stores and restaurants, skimming devices have also been used by dishonest employees to capture credit card account information when they swipe customers’ credit cards to pay for a bill. When skimming devices are used, customers usually go about their business, unaware that they have provided information to thieves. The thieves retrieve the recorded information and create counterfeit cards. Using the stolen account and PIN information, the thieves can “cash out” an account or fraudulently charge purchases to the credit card.

Some experts believe that skimming is costing banks across the country millions of dollars in losses. For victims, knowing that thieves have gained access to their personal financial information is very unsettling. Skimming devices may be difficult to detect, but I urge you to keep these important safety measures in mind when you are using your credit, debit or ATM card:

Check for any sign of tampering with the slot where you insert your card. Look at the area above and around the ATM for any sign of a concealed camera. As you punch in your PIN, use your hand to cover the keypad so that a hidden camera is unable to capture it. Never share your PIN or allow someone to punch in your PIN for you. Check your bank and credit card statements frequently and report any suspicious charges or activity to your financial institution immediately

It’s actually a spokesman of the victim in the $20 million fraud case involving Katonah pianist and composer Roger Davidson, who prosecutors say was bilked out of $20 million by Chappaqua grifters Vickram Bedi and Helga Ingvarsdottir over a six-year period through an elaborate scheme of lies and nefarious story lines involving international intrigue.

Davidson’s new spokesman, Christopher Cooper, responded today to counterallegations that Bedi made after his arraignment Tuesday that he never deceived Davidson, who is heir to an oil fortune, and that Davidson concocted the plots involving foreign nationals hacking into his computer out of paranoia. Cooper, in essence, said Bedi’s version was bunk.

“Roger Davidson has a single priority: to ensure that Vickram Bedi is held responsible for their crimes he committed and is punished to the extent that the law allows. The Davidson’s family maintains their faith that the truthful accounting of the events surrounding this case  will emerge in the only venue that matters: a court of law.”

Davidson also has a civil case against Bedi that’s pending before acting state Supreme Court Justice Gerald Loehr.  Bedi’s criminal case is before county Judge Barbara Zambelli.

Two men today agreed to serve time in state prison for the fatal beating of Robert Lopez, the brother of Yonkers mayoral aide Lorraine Lopez, outside of a Yonkers bar in May.

James McGeechan, 29, (far left) and Benis Melendez, 22, (left) pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter at a pre-trial appearance in Westchester County Court. As part of the plea deal, McGeechan will serve 11 years in prison, while Melendez will serve five, according to the Westchester County District Attorney’s office.

Lopez was beaten unconscious May 17 outside Sal’s bar and restaurant at 209 Nepperhan Ave. after he tried to diffuse a tense confrontation, prosecutors said. McGeechan and Melendez, accompanied by their girlfriends, returned to the bar at 4:30 a.m. after they had been asked earlier to leave. McGeechan began arguing with the bar manager and Lopez, a security guard who had just finished his shift at another establishment, stepped in and asked McGeechan to “just leave and go home.”

When Lopez walked out of the restaurant, he was beaten into a coma. He died 10 days later. Police arrested Melendez at the scene later that morning.  McGeechan was arrested three days later.

Both men will be formally sentenced on January 31. They had faced up to 25 years in prison had they been convicted at trial.

McGeechan’s former girlfriend, Nicole Ryan, who went with him to the bar that night, is facing charges of witness intimidation, a felony, and hindering prosecution, a misdemeanor. Prosecutors allege she threatened to kill a witness to the attack by pretending her hand was a gun and saying, “If you talk to police, you’re dead.” She is due in court on Dec. 15 and faces up to four years in prison if convicted of witness tampering.

More than three years after Sheldene Campbell was arrested for causing a fatal hit-and-run rampage in White Plains, a jury for her murder trial will be selected on Monday.

Campbell, a 40-year-old mother of two who lived in Pomona before her arrest, is charged with intentionally striking and killing 65-year-old Marie Bucci on Oct. 19, 2008, moments after hitting 46-year-old Roseanne Schiavone in an Acura MDX.

She was indicted on felony counts of second-degree murder and attempted murder, first-degree attempted assault and leaving the scene; and misdemeanor counts of leaving the scene and third-degree assault.

Campbell has been held at Westchester County jail in Valhalla since Oct. 29, 2008, when her bail was raised to $200,000. After she was indicted on a murder charge, her bail was revoked.

The case against her hit a snag when Westchester County Judge Susan Cacace dropped the murder and assault charges  in July 2009, saying there wasn’t enough proof that she meant to kill and hurt her victims. An appeals court overturned her ruling and reinstated the charges in January 2010.

Another delay came as the defense raised questions about Campbell’s mental capacity. Two psychologists who examined Campbell testified at a competency hearing last year that she was fit to stand trial, despite having schizophrenia and hearing voices telling her she will win her criminal case.

Campbell, a former court reporter for the state Workers Compensation Board in New York City,  still has charges pending against her in New Jersey. Three weeks before the fatal collision in White Plains, she was arrested in Woodcliff Lake, N.J., accused of driving over a lawn, almost hitting a jogger, abandoning her 10-year-old son and assaulting a police officer. She was hospitalized for a week.