Blog

After a two-week Suppression Hearing involving testimony from police officers, detectives and a psychiatrist for the Defense and a psychiatrist for the Prosecution, all statements made by our client, who was charged with Arson and Assault, were suppressed as a matter of Law. Knowledge of the Law and extensive preparation in presenting Psychiatric testimony, resulted in the Constitutional Rights of our client being upheld. When an incriminating statement is made by a defendant in police custody, the Prosecution has a “heavy burden” of proving that the statement was voluntarily given. In the case of a mentally ill Defendant, more than a simple recitation of the Miranda Warning is required: New York’s highest Court has set forth that “The People must establish that the Defendant grasped that he or she did not have to speak to the interrogator…” In the case at bar, Addabbo and Greenberg attorney’s Todd Greenberg and Caitlin Young were able to prove that although the Defendant responded “yes” to a waiver of his Miranda Warning, that, in actuality, he did not “grasp” the meaning of those warnings. The Court held, in suppressing all statements, that “…clearly the Defendant suffers from a mental illness and appears, based upon the People’s own witnesses, that he was suffering from some form of illness in the way he reacted to law enforcement officers that basically was described by both officers who testified regarding the Defendant’s bizarre behavior”. Mr. Greenberg’s extensive courtroom experience was key in eliciting the proper testimony that the Judge relied on. Ms. Caitlin Young, Esq., prepared a detailed and well written legal brief that highlighted the factual issues and the Law, which ultimately the Court adopted. No matter how bleak your situation is, the lawyers of Addabbo and Greenberg will fight for you and bring forth all issues that will help achieve the best resolution. At Addabbo and Greenberg, we have handled numerous cases involving mentally ill defendants and are familiar with issues involving such clients in the Criminal Justice System. Call us at 718-268-0400 or visit our firm’s website at www.addabboandgreenberg.com.

Drunk Driving is a serious crime and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent. However, sometimes a person is arrested for DWI when he is not Intoxicated, but did have a drink and his breath smells of alcohol. This is that case! Despite a 0.10 reading on the breathalyzer, Queens Criminal Defense Attorney Todd Greenberg obtained an Acquittal of all charges for our client, a Certified Airline Mechanic, whose career was on the line. How? During cross-examination of the arresting officer, Mr. Greenberg elicited that although our client passed a red light at 2:30a.m. and the Police Officer stated there was a strong odor of alcohol coming from his breath and he had blood shot eyes, that, in fact, the strong odor of alcohol was coming from the vehicle (not our client), that our client was steady on his feet, cooperative and he was speaking clearly. Further, Mr. Greenberg had the Officer admit that during his observation of our client’s operation of the vehicle, both before and after the red light, he operated the vehicle as a “reasonable and prudent driver”! That language is critical in that the DWI Statute sets forth that a person is Intoxicated when he consumes alcohol to the extent that he cannot operate the vehicle as a “reasonable and prudent driver”. Although the Intoxicated Driver Testing Unit Technician, who administered the breath test, said our client failed the physical coordination test, detailed cross-examination established that the technician failed to give proper instructions regarding the tests. For instance, a video tape showed that our client failed the Finger to Nose Test. However, the instructions for the Finger to Nose Test sets forth that a suspect should tilt his head “slightly back” with his eyes closed. The IDTU Technician told our client to tilt his head “all the way back until he is looking at the ceiling”. Mr. Greenberg then had the Technician admit that the test must be given properly to yield any value. Clearly, the tests were not administered properly in this case. Mr. Greenberg’s knowledge of the Law was critical: although there is a per se 0.08% level of intoxication, whether a person exhibits the signs of intoxication or not, the Law clearly says that a person’s physical attributes can be weighed against the results of the test to determine if the test is correct. In this case, Mr. Greenberg argued that the test result had to be in error because our client did not exhibit the common signs of intoxication. Our client was acquitted of all charges involving Driving While Intoxicated and Driving While Under the Influence, a considerable victory given the fact that the District Attorney insisted from the inception of this case that our client was Intoxicated. Knowledge of the Law, knowledge of the facts of the case and experience in cross-examining police officers led to the best result possible: an acquittal of all charges. You can reach Mr. Greenberg at 718-268-0400 or visit our firms website at www.addabboandgreenberg.com.

Three of four men received jail time and a national Asian-American fraternity was barred from doing business in Pennsylvania Monday in connection with the December 2013 hazing death of a college student in the Pocono Mountains. Kenny Kwan, Charles Lai, Raymond Lam and Sheldon Wong – all fraternity brothers of Pi Delta Psi – were sentenced after pleading guilty in May to manslaughter as accomplices and hindering apprehension in the death of Chun Hsien “Michael” Deng, an 18-year-old at Baruch College in Manhattan who was pledging to the fraternity when he died. Blindfolded and wearing a backpack, Deng was forced to walk in the backyard in the early morning hours through a line of fraternity members who allegedly pushed, shoved and tackled him in an attempt to bring him down, court records state. Judge Margherita Patti-Worthington, of the Court of Common Pleas of Monroe County, sentenced Wong and Lam each to 10 to 24 months incarceration; Kwan to a term of 12 to 24 months; and Lai to time served, according to attorneys for several of the defendants. Each sentence will be followed by seven years probation, according to Kimberly A. Metzger, a prosecutor with the Monroe County Office of the District Attorney. Wong’s attorney, Steven Brill, and Lam’s lawyer, Todd Greenberg, said their clients were taken into custody following the hearing and began serving their sentences in county jail immediately. Both Brill and Greenberg said there were no plans to appeal the conviction or sentencing. “There were no winners today or in this case,” Brill said. “Michael Deng has died. Sheldon Wong’s life is shattered and uncertain. But this sentence is reasonable enough that it allows Sheldon to get out and continue on the productive road that he was on before this night ever happened.” Greenberg said the sentencing process was extremely fair. “The judge took into consideration all of the mitigating factors in this case,” he said. “There’s no question that this is a tragic incident with regard to Michael Deng, but equally tragic to Mr. Lam and his co-defendants in the sense that they were young men on the right track and nobody intended this to happen.” Jim Swetz, Lai’s attorney, said in a phone interview that his client was eligible for immediate parole and was released. He said he was satisfied with the sentence, adding that Lai would not be available for interviews because of ongoing civil litigation. Robert Saurman, Kwan’s attorney, said Tuesday they were satisfied with the verdict. “The judge was fair,” he said. “She applied justice to it, weighed the balance, and came out with a very just decision, which punishes the defendants but also recognizes that they didn’t act with any malice, that they made mistakes, horrible mistakes, but no one intended any harm.” Earlier Monday, Patti-Worthington sentenced Pi Delta Psi to 10 years probation and imposed a $112,500 fine, the maximum allowable by law, according to Metzger. The fraternity, which was convicted in late November on criminal charges, including aggravated assault and involuntary manslaughter, is required to pay off the fine and associated cost of prosecution within five years, Metzger said. Pi Delta Psi must also give written notice 60 days from Monday of its conviction and sentence to all colleges and universities across the country where it currently has or has ever had a chapter, associate chapter or colony, or where they plan to host or establish them, according to Metzger. Metzger said she had asked for 20 years probation, but was satisfied with the sentence. “I think the judge really took her time with contemplating what was the most appropriate sentence, and so we have no objection to what she’s done here,” Metzger said. Wes Niemoczynski, Pi Delta Psi’s attorney, said the sentence was within the judge’s discretion but that the fraternity is going to appeal the verdict. “What happened at trial, I think, was a gross mischaracterization of the fraternity and its policies and its rituals and all the rest of that,” he said. Deng’s mother submitted a written statement to the court ahead of the sentencing, according to Metzger; his family was not present in court Monday. Deng was pledging to Pi Delta Psi when he died during a December 2013 retreat at a rented house in the Poconos, around 96 miles west of New York City. The hazing was part of a violent ritual known as the “glass ceiling.” Deng fell several times and suffered multiple blows to his body, including his head, according to a forensic pathologist, court documents state. A grand jury presentment said he was brought into the living room, but wasn’t driven to a hospital for at least an hour. An autopsy showed Deng died of complications of traumatic brain injury, and the delay in treatment, the forensic pathologist said, significantly contributed to his death, according to court documents. Last January, fraternity member Ka-Wing Yuen was the first of 37 individual defendants sentenced in the case. Yuen pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to hinder apprehension by evidence tampering, a third-degree felony, and conspiracy to commit hazing, a misdemeanor. He was given five years probation, ordered to complete 100 hours of community service, and pay a $1,000 fine. Metzger said 30 individual defendants in November entered guilty pleas and were all sentenced to probation, ranging from six to 36 months. Former national fraternity president Andy Meng, brother of U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), was given the harshest punishment of 36 months probation, according to Metzger. Deng’s family has also filed a lawsuit against the fraternity. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/fraternity-fined-sentenced-probation-2013-baruch-college-hazing-death-n835731

January 03, 2018 At the 50th Anniversary Dinner of the Assistant District Attorney Association of Queens County with Association President Todd Greenberg and Honoree and founding father Robert Leighton, Esq. Robert Leighton, Esq., Jill Stone, Esq., Morton Katz, Esq., and Todd Greenberg, Esq. Dominic “Buddy” Addabbo and Joseph Addabbo, Assistant District Attorney, Queens County. Jill Stone, Esq., Karen Hochberg Tommer, Deputy Chief Clerk, Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Dep’t., Dominic “Buddy Addabbo”, and the Honorable Stephanie Zaro, Justice of the Supreme court, Queen County. Honorable Augustus Agate, Justice of the Supreme Court, Queens County. Robert Leighton, Esq., and Steven Murphy, Esq. Honorable Stephanie Zaro, Justice of the Supreme court, Queen County, and Jill Stone, Esq. Judge Stephanie Zaro, A and G attorney Caitlin Young, Esq., and Queens ADA Joseph Addabbo. A and G attorney James O’Hare and Jeffrey Samel, Esq.

This case illustrates why it is important to retain a private attorney immediately upon being arrested. Our client, a twenty-three year old man, was arrested as he stepped off a plane at JFK Airport returning home from China after visiting his family. He was charged as a Fugitive from Alabama and immediately detained in an Extradition Proceeding. It was alleged that he was charged with Theft of Property in Alabama, allegedly occurring on September 17, 2016. In an Extradition Proceeding, the only issue for the New York Courts to decide is whether the person arrested is the person wanted in Alabama. Guilt or innocence of the Crime is not inquired into. However, the definition of a “Fugitive from Justice” is that the person under arrest in New York was present in the demanding state (Alabama) at the time the crime was committed. Our client appeared at his arraignment in Queens County with a Public Defender who advised him to waive his Right to a Writ of Habeas Corpus and to consent to be sent to Alabama. Once that occurs, Alabama would have to pick up our client in Thirty (30) days and can ask for a sixty (60) day extension, while the arrested person remains in jail. Four days after the Waiver, the client retained Criminal Defense Attorney Todd Greenberg who immediately attempted to withdraw the Waiver on the ground that the client had indisputable evidence that he had never set foot in Alabama! Mr. Greenberg spoke to family members, obtained employment records and proved beyond any shadow of a doubt that his client was never in Alabama. Despite that evidence, the Judge refused to allow the withdrawal of the Waiver and denied Mr. Greenberg’s application to release his client. While Mr. Greenberg was preparing a Writ of Habeas Corpus and an Appeal to a higher court, he met with the Assistant District Attorney in charge of Extraditions and pleaded on behalf of his client that an innocent man was being held in jail and that despite the Court’s failure to allow the withdrawal of the waiver, the Queens District Attorney’s Office should look into this matter immediately. In the interest of Justice, and based on Mr. Greenberg’s representations, Assistant District Attorney George Farrugia exercised due diligence, investigated the matter, and, on Veteran’s Day, a holiday, came to court himself to urge the Court to release our client so that he may travel on his own to Alabama to straighten this matter out. Our client was released and Mr. Greenberg has contacted the Alabama Authorities to convince them that they have a Warrant for an innocent man. The Queens District Attorney’s Office went out of its way to procure Justice for our client for which we are very thankful. Call Criminal Defense Attorney Todd Greenberg at 718-268-0400 or reach us at www.addabboandgreenberg.com for the best result in your case.

A Nassau County District Court Judge dismissed a DWI case prior to trial on Motion of Criminal Defense Attorney Todd Greenberg on the ground that the District Attorney of Nassau County failed to be ready for trial within the appropriate time limit. The Defendant in this case had a prior attorney who was urging her to plead guilty. Mr. Greenberg immediately advised the District Attorney that there would be no plea in this case. The reason was simple: it was alleged that our client, on Thanksgiving Day 2015, was in a car accident on the Southern State Parkway wherein she was struck from the rear and did not cause the accident. Upon the police arriving, they smelled alcohol on our client’s breath and she advised that she was at Thanksgiving dinner with her family and during the course of the day had three (3) glasses of wine.  She blew a 0.08% of Blood Alcohol Content on a breathalyzer machine which is the exact legal limit for Driving While Intoxicated. During pretrial hearings regarding her statement, Mr. Greenberg elicited this astonishing fact: the police officer placed our client in the back of the police car in handcuffs, but since the Trooper did not know how to drive a stick-shift he removed our client from the car, removed her handcuffs, and told her to move the car, which she did! How could an officer say that a person was so Intoxicated that she could not operate a vehicle as a reasonable and prudent person, which is the legal standard, yet hand her the keys to the car on the crowded Meadowbrook Parkway to move the car. Although Mr. Greenberg was anxious to take this case to a Jury, he insisted in having a trial and, eventually, after the People kept stating they were not ready for the trial, the case was dismissed on Constitutional Speedy Trial grounds. If you find yourself charged with DWI or any serious crime, hire an attorney that does not immediately jump into a plea deal but prepares the case and has the knowledge and experience to take cases to trial. Call Criminal Defense Attorney Todd Greenberg at 718-268-0400 or reach us at www.addabboandgreenberg.com.

On August 16th, 2017 our client was acquitted by a New York County Jury of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance, a Class “B” Felony, as well as Possession with Intent to Sell. The District Attorney told the jury that this was an “open and shut case” for a conviction based on the fact there was a video of the sale, which allegedly took place at the Marquee Club in New York, as well as being witnessed by a security guard. At Trial, the District Attorney played the video, called the alleged buyer to the stand and also the security guard who stated he was 5 feet away and witnessed the sale. Significantly, at the Pretrial Hearing, based on the Cross Examination skills of New York Criminal Defense Attorney Todd Greenberg and his knowledge of the Law, all statements and items seized upon our client’s arrest was suppressed in that the People failed to establish “Probable Cause”. Put simply, the District Attorney presenting the case failed to put enough facts into the Hearing to establish the predicate for the arrest! Therefore, the evidence at Trial consisted of an alleged drug sale without any money being recovered from the Defendant! Please call Criminal Defense Attorney Todd Greenberg if you need help and for the best result! Call us at 718-268-0400 or reach us at www.addabboandgreenberg.com.

Not only did Queens DWI attorney Todd Greenberg obtain a dismissal of a complaint charging Operation a Motor Vehicle While Under the Influence of Drugs based on insufficiency of the complaint, on July 24 th, 2017 a False Arrest case based on that arrest was settled for a substantial amount of money. In January of 2016, our client was involved in a one car motor vehicle accident and the police alleged that our client made an incriminating statement and that she was “confused”, that she had “watery eyes, was excessively talkative, had slurred speech, mismatching stories, and was unable to stand on her own, and was combative”. However, conspicuously absent and defective to the legal sufficiency of the complaint was allegations that the Defendant ingested any alcohol or a drug, that the drug allegedly ingested was prescribed by the Public Health Law and that our client operated a motor vehicle impaired by such ingestion. Further, Mr. Greenberg argued that the police officer’s observations were consistent with just being in an accident and not evidence of intoxication. Moving immediately for a dismissal of the complaint based on applicable Law, attorney Todd Greenberg was granted a dismissal within one month after the arrest. Thereafter, a Federal Civil Rights suit was instituted for damages for False Arrest and False Imprisonment based on the act of the police officer in arresting the Defendant without “Probable Cause”. On July 24 th, 2017, the Federal Civil Rights and False Arrest case was settled for a substantial amount of money. Once again, knowledge of the law and immediate action in Court has resulted in the best possible result: Dismissal of a DWI charge and substantial recovery for False Arrest! Call us at 718-268-0400 or reach us at www.addabboandgreenberg.com.

Too many times in my career, young adults with good backgrounds make stupid decisions. This case is one of them. Our client, a college student, got involved with three (3) other young men and acted as the getaway driver in what was an armed robbery of Caesars Atlantic City Casino in 2014. The case was prosecuted in the Atlantic County Court in New Jersey by the office of the Attorney General Casino Prosecution Bureau. The evidence established my client’s car as the getaway car and our client was implicated by several witnesses. Two of the other men went in the casino, placed a gun at a teller’s head and stole in excess of $180,000.00. Our client was arrested two (2) weeks later and made a full confession except for one detail: Our client maintained that although he knew there was going to be a theft, he did not know that the person going into the casino was armed with a weapon. One of the other defendants was a former employee and our client thought that he knew where the money was and that there was inside cooperation. His family, from Queens, immediately contacted Mr. Greenberg who has been fighting this case since 2014. Mr. Greenberg immediately understood there was a major difference in the sentencing structure if our client knew there was a gun and it was going to be an armed robbery. Although the Attorney General did not accept our client’s version at first, with persistence and due diligence, and pointing out other factual matters to the Attorney General, Mr. Greenberg was able to establish that our client did not know that the other participant was armed with a gun. The difference was significant in that an armed robbery conviction would mandate a sentence of up to 25 years and under New Jersey’s “No Early Release Act”, our client would have had to do 85% of the sentence! Instead, under the Theft charge, our client was sentenced to 7 years but the “No Early Release Act” did not apply. The bottom line is that our client was just released on July 10th, 2017 after serving three (3) months of his prison sentence under a New Jersey program known as “Intensive Probation Supervision”. Our client, now 23, has been reintegrated into society and is on his way to being a productive and contributing member of the community. No matter how serious your situation seems, contact Criminal Defense Lawyer Todd Greenberg for the best results at 718-268-0400 or at www.addabboandgreenberg.com.

Our client was charged with Forcible Rape in the First Degree, a charge that carries a potential twenty-five (25) years in jail, based upon what our client maintained was a consensual encounter. The Indictment charged that our client engaged in sexual intercourse with a female by means of “forcible compulsion”. It was alleged that our client “…did grab the informant by the informant’s hair, throw the informant to the floor, causing the informant to fall to the informant’s knees, hold the informant down by placing his hand on the back of informant’s neck and…” had intercourse without informant’s consent. Our client, who was visiting from France, had his family reach out to New York Criminal Defense Attorney Todd Greenberg who immediately arranged for him to be released on bail. Our client maintained his innocence and all plea offers were rejected. An immediate investigation ensued wherein Mr. Greenberg and Associate Attorney Caitlin Young spoke to all of our client’s roommates. A very thin wall separated the room where this allegedly occurred and our client’s roommate who was a visiting student from Japan. That witness was leaving New York on his way back to Japan but had critical information: He “heard” the encounter and described sounds coming from the woman that sounded pleasurable and not compelled by force! Using a section of the law that is rarely utilized, Mr. Greenberg and Ms. Young moved the court for an Order to conditionally examine the witness to preserve his testimony at trial. Although the Trial was not going to occur until six (6) months later, the witness was called into Court, questioned and cross-examined and his testimony was videotaped for use at the trial. After his testimony, the offer became lower but, upon the advice of Mr. Greenberg, our client did not accept any plea in that he was not guilty in that the sexual encounter was consensual. On June 6th, 2017, the matter appeared for trial wherein the District Attorney stood up and outright dismissed the case! Once again, due diligence and knowledge of the Law on the part of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Todd Greenberg and Caitlin Young prevented an injustice and the entire Indictment was dismissed against our client. If you need help call Criminal Defense Lawyer Todd Greenberg at 718-268-0400 or you can reach our firm, Addabbo and Greenberg, at www.addabboandgreenberg.com. Understanding the New York Rape Statutes and the Close-in-Age Defense New York's rape statutes distinguish between allegations involving forcible compulsion, lack of consent, and offenses based primarily on the complainant's age. In the case described above, the indictment alleged first-degree rape based on forcible compulsion. New York Penal Law § 130.35 defines first-degree rape to include sexual contact committed by forcible compulsion, while Penal Law § 130.00 defines “forcible compulsion” in terms of physical force or certain threats that place a person in fear of immediate death, physical injury, or kidnapping. That distinction matters when discussing a so-called close-in-age exception. New York does provide a limited close-in-age affirmative defense under Penal Law § 130.30, but it applies to specified age-based second-degree rape charges involving a victim under 15, where the defendant was less than four years older than the victim. It is not a general defense to a rape allegation based on forcible compulsion. Accordingly, based on the facts described in this case, the close-in-age defense was not the issue that resolved the prosecution. The defense instead focused on the allegation of forcible compulsion and developed evidence from a roommate who heard the encounter. The prosecution ultimately dismissed the indictment after that evidence was preserved and presented. Want to understand how New York's sex-offense statutes work? Read our Sex Crimes FAQ & Statutes Guide for a straightforward explanation of consent, age-based offenses, close-in-age defenses, and related New York criminal laws. This article discusses the law generally and the facts reported in this particular case. The application of a statute or defense depends on the exact charges, dates, ages, and circumstances of an individual case. This information is not legal advice.

Our client was arrested and charged in Queens County with the Misdemeanor crime of Driving While Intoxicated. The Police alleged that our client was operating his vehicle when he failed to signal and, thereafter, he was observed to have “bloodshot watery eyes” and a “a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath”. Upon advice of Criminal Defense attorney Todd Greenberg, all plea offers were rejected and the case proceeded to pretrial hearings. During a skilled cross examination of the arresting officer, Mr. Greenberg elicited that other than the failure to signal, he had no reason to pull over our client. The police officer admitted that our client was not swerving, that our client did make a proper stop at a stop sign and that other than failing to signal, the “Defendant was driving in a reasonable and prudent manner”. That language is critical because the burden of proof in a drunk driving case is that due to alcohol consumption a person is incapable of driving a vehicle in a “reasonable and prudent manner”. After legal briefs supporting the dismissal were filed, on the next court date the District Attorney stood up and dismissed the case outright, not even waiting for the Judge’s decision! This case illustrates how a skilled Criminal Defense attorney, knowing exactly what questions to ask which will elicit the proper responses, can win a case at the pre-trial hearing stage. If you are arrested and charged with DWI, or any crime, for the best result call Criminal Defense attorney Todd Greenberg at 718-268-0400 or visit us at www.addabboandgreenberg.com.