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Newsday The Associated Press A Long Island subcontractor pleaded guilty to manslaughter Tuesday in connection with the deaths of five workers killed in a Manhattan scaffold collapse. Philip V. Minucci, 42, of Commack, N.Y., pleaded guilty to a single count of second-degree manslaughter in exchange for a sentence that state Supreme Court Justice Rena Uviller said will not exceed four to 12 years. She set sentencing for Jan. 14. Minucci, head of Tri State Scaffold and Equipment Supplies, Inc., admitted that he erected a scaffold that could not support the weight put on it, and he conceded that he did not have a licensed engineer inspect the structure as the law required. Minucci had been charged with five counts of second-degree manslaughter and four counts of assault for injuries to other workers. Although he pleaded guilty to a single manslaughter count he acknowledged responsibility for all the deaths and injuries. “I was aware that the scaffolding was potentially dangerous,” Minucci told the judge. He said he designed the structure himself but did not know its load capacity. Assistant District Attorney Daniel McGillycuddy interjected that Minucci knew he was required to have a licensed engineer review plans for the scaffold. He said that when the scaffold collapsed, on Oct. 24, 2001, in the courtyard of a Park Avenue building under renovation, it was holding three times its capacity. Prosecutors said Minucci won the job mainly because he promised to put planking at every level of the 13-story scaffold. This allows the work to be done faster because it eliminates the need to continually move the planking upward as the work progresses. However, planking on every level adds significantly to the weight of the scaffold. At the time of the collapse, 16 workers were on the scaffold. Some were crushed to death; others suffocated because their chests were compressed by debris. Munucci had faced up to five to 15 years in prison on each account of second-degree manslaughter, and up to seven years on each count of second-degree assault. Personal Injury attorney Todd D. Greenberg represented the family of one of the workers killed in this accident. Mr. Greenberg’s client, the estate of accident victim Manuel Balarezo Sumba, received a settlement of $3 million. Mr. Greenberg released the following statement in response to the settlement: “The Sumba family hopes that the payment of substantial damages will draw the public’s attention to the seriousness of failing to provide a safe work environment. The family was deeply saddened to hear of a similar accident that occurred only weeks later where two brothers from Ecuador were seriously injured by the collapsing of a scaffold causing the fatality of one of the brothers. The lives of immigrant workers are not expendable and safety precautions must be met.”

Newsday.com By Herbert Lowe A sobbing former correction officer begged for forgiveness from his 7-year-old daughter yesterday before a Queens judge sentenced him to 25 years in prison for fatally shooting the girl’s mother. But prior to Van Griffin and Justice Evelyn Braun having their say in State Supreme Court in Kew Gardens, the daughter had hers. “I miss my mommy,” the girl, whose name is being withheld because of her age, said of the late Felicia Cosby, who was 26, in a brief note read to the court by the daughter’s grandfather, Keith Cosby. “She’s my best friend,” she added. “Daddy took her away. You should apologize.” Griffin, 38, of Cambria Heights, soon tried. “I am truly sorry for all that has been done,” began the man whom Braun convicted July 29 of first-degree manslaughter in the Nov. 6, 2000, death of Cosby at her South Jamaica home. Griffin then sobbed loudly. “I miss her so much,” he said of his daughter, who was attending her first day of second grade. “I am sorry for what I did to her mother.” Griffin and the victim were involved in a dispute about child-support payments. When Cosby told Griffin to leave her home that night, he shot her five times with a .38 handgun, Assistant District Attorney Steve Antignani said. Griffin turned himself in to the 105 th Police Precinct later that night. Prosecutors charged him with second-degree murder, a charge that carries a top sentence of 25 years to life. But in a non-jury trial, attorney Todd Greenberg persuaded Braun that Griffin’s actions fit the legal definition of “extreme emotional disturbance.” That meant that Griffin could be found guilty of manslaughter, punishable by up to 25 years. “Mercy has been shown already,” Braun said while imposing sentence. “As the (victim’s) family said, he still does have a life. Ms. Cosby, she never gets out. No mercy was shown to her. Hopefully she is in a better place.” Cosby, an aspiring model and dancer who was attending Mercy College, was the mother of Griffin’s second child. He has two other daughters, now 14 and 3 years old, by two other women. Mercy College has set aside a scholarship for Cosby’s daughter for after she graduates from high school, officials said.

By Scott Shifrel A former city correction officer who shot an ex-lover to death in a quarrel over child support was convicted of manslaughter – and he could be sprung from prison in less than five years. Supreme Court Justice Evelyn Braun”s decision outraged the family of victim Felicia Cosby. ‘Its like it was nothing, its like he’s getting away with it,’ said Cosby’s brother, Keith. The manslaughter conviction means Van Griffin, 38, faces five to 25 years in prison for killing Cosby at her Jamaica, Queens, home Nov. 6, 2000. He would have faced 25 years to life if he had been found guilty of second-degree murder in the nonjury trial. But Braun, who found that Griffin acted under ‘extreme emotional disturbance’ when he killed Cosby, 26, defended the sentence. ‘He still will be held responsible for this crime,’ she said. ‘He’s not going to be excused.’ Braun agreed with defense lawyer Todd Greenberg that Griffin had brain damage from a 1996 motorcycle accident, suffered from depression and had other problems. Prosecutor Stephen Antignani told the judge that Griffin brought on many of the problems himself. For instance, he had two other children out of wedlock with different women. Griffin, who is scheduled to be sentenced by Braun on Sept. 9, cried as the judge issued her verdict. ‘I know Van, and I know he’s taking it even harder than he’s showing,’ said his father, Marvin. ‘He never meant for this to happen. It just got out of control.’ Cosby’s father, Keith Cosby Sr., said he hopes the judge keeps her word of a sentence ‘commensurate with the crime.’ ‘I was looking for 25 to life, but it he gets 20 or 25 years, I can live with that,’ he said. ‘I’m just looking for some sort of justice, and I want the case to be over with.’

By Eric Lenkowitz The family of a woman shot to death by her correction-officer husband reacted with tears and outrage yesterday after the 38-year-old killer was convicted in a Queens Court of the lightest charge he faced – one that could get him as little as five years in jail. ‘It should have been murder,’ said Angelina Cosby, aunt to 26-year-old victim Felicia Cosby. ‘No jail time is enough. He deserves a death sentence.’ Justice Evelyn Braun, presiding over the nonjury trial, acquitted Van Griffin of second-degree murder charges that could have gotten him 25 years to life in prison, after she found he was suffering from an extreme emotional disturbance when he killed Cosby in a dispute over child support on Nov. 6, 2000. But Braun convicted him of manslaughter. ‘This is such a sad and tragic case,’ Braun said before explaining the verdict. Braun said her decision was based heavily on the testimony of psychiatrist Robert Berger and the doctor called in by prosecutor Antignani. ‘In large part, corroborated every finding of Dr. Berger,’ the judge said. Both psychiatrists agreed that Griffin suffered from brain damage and severe depression stemming from a 1996 motorcycle accident. ‘Van Griffin was suffering from a unique combination of stresses,’ Braun said. Griffin”s lawyer, Todd Greenberg, said, ‘One of my strategies was to force then to call .’ Braun said that when she factored the doctors” testimonies with those of Griffin”s friends and family, it all fit together.’ Griffin faces 5 to 25 years when he is sentenced Sept. 8, and Anitignani said he is, ‘going to ask for the maximum sentence.’ Braun said he would do ‘serious time.’ ‘He still will be held responsible for this crime,’ Braun said. ‘ had a right to live her life and he had no right to take her life.’ After the verdict Angelina Cosby said the extreme emotional disturbance defense is ‘just an excuse.’ Felicia Cosby’s father, Keith Cosby, said he expected the judge to rule in Griffin”s favor, but added, ‘less than 20 years, I’ll be upset.’

By Scott Shifrel Keith Cosby watched in court as lawyers talked about the five bullets that ended his daughter’s life and what her last words were, and showed him a video of his son-in-law confessing. That was last week. Today, he awaits the judge’s decision on whether or not the son-in-law, Van Griffin, is sentenced on manslaughter or murder charges. ‘This isn’t hard,’ the 48-year-old father said after last week’s closing statements. ‘Burying her was hard.’ Griffin, 38, a former correction officer, is charged with shooting Felicia Cosby, 26, at her Jamaica home on Nov. 6, 2000, as the couple argued over child support for their daughter, then 4. Kew Gardens Supreme Court Justice Evelyn Braun is hearing the case without a jury and is set to decide today whether Griffin is guilty of second-degree murder or manslaughter. If it’s murder, he’ll face 25 years to life in prison, manslaughter could mean a maximum of 25 years. Griffin’s lawyer said his client suffered from extreme emotional distress, a finding that could lead to a manslaughter verdict. Griffin had brain damage from a 1996 motorcycle accident, suffered from clinical depression and had numerous problems, including trying to meet child support payments, defense attorney Todd Greenberg said. ‘Van Griffin was a decent man his whole life,’ Greenberg said. ‘The only explanation for this action is that Van was acting under extreme emotional distress.’ But Griffin, who had three other children out of wedlock with three other women, created his own problems and was not under extraordinary pressure, prosecutor Stephen Antignani said. ‘It’s not in dispute that he pulled out his gun and fired five shots into her body,’ he said. ‘The only thing in dispute is whether he deserves mercy from this court.’ The case has clearly taken its toll on both families, who have attended nearly every court session. ‘This is a tragedy for everybody,’ said Griffin’s father, Marvin Griffin, 62, a former New York City police officer. Cosby’s father has been silent through most of the trail, quietly taking notes in a composition notebook he borrowed from his granddaughter, who is now 7. ‘I want to see him get 25 to life,’ Keith Cosby said. ‘His daughter? She wants her father to apologize for what he did to her mother.’ Originally published on July 29, 2003

By Herbert Lowe A former correction officer’s depression after a serious motorcycle accident ultimately led to his fatally shooting the mother of one of his three children over child support, defense witnesses testified yesterday in Queens. Van Griffin, 38, spent 11 days in a coma after the 1996 accident that killed a woman who was riding with him on his motorcycle, his mother and four lifelong acquaintances said in State Supreme Court in Kew Gardens. ‘He just seemed like he wasn’t the same person that he was prior to the motorcycle accident,’ Colin Richards, 37, a computer technician, testified. Griffin and his attorney said he killed Felicia Cosby, an aspiring model and dancer, in her home in South Jamaica on Nov. 6, 2000, then went to the 105 th Precinct in Queens Village and surrendered. But the attorney, Todd Greenberg, hopes to persuade Justice Evelyn Braun in a non-jury trial that Griffin”s actions fit the legal definition of ‘extreme emotional disturbance.’ If Braun agrees, she could find Griffin guilty of first-degree manslaughter, which is punishable by up to 25 years in prison, instead of second-degree murder, which carries a 25 years to life sentence. ‘We know he’s going to jail,’ Greenberg said of his client, who has been behind bars since Cosby”s death. ‘But is absolutely consistent with loss of self control.’ Assistant District Attorney Steven Antignani sought to show while cross-examining the defense witnesses that Griffin intentionally killed Cosby because he was anger that she wanted more child support. Cosby was the mother of Griffin”s second child, Felisa, now 7 years old. He has two other daughter, now 14 and 3 years old, by two other women.

Newsday By Rocco Parascandola A Queens Catholic school administrator was arrested yesterday for allegedly groping his wife’s 13 year old goddaughter, police said. Jorge Diez, 41 was charged with sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child for allegedly fondling the girl inside his Jamaica Estate home Monday. Diez is the religious education administrator at St. Sebastian’s in Woodside. One July 1, 2005, Jorge Diez was acquitted of all charges. Attorney Todd D. Greenberg represented the Defendant.

By Denise Buffa – Staff Writer A cop insisted yesterday he wasn’t driving drunk when he struck and killed a Brooklyn motorcyclist more than a month ago – but prosecutors say they’ll use a controversial field sobriety test to prove his guilt in court. Victor Wilson, a 12-year veteran, pleaded not guilty yesterday in Brooklyn Supreme Court to vehicular manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and driving while intoxicated in connection with the June 22 crash in Bay Ridge that claimed the life of 21-year-old Stefanos Kiladitis. We emphatically state that Mr. Wilson was not intoxicated,” his lawyer, Todd Greenberg, said after the arraignment. The defense said the victim “unfortunately and tragically” caused the crash at Fort Hamilton Parkway because he was speeding and passed a red light. There are eyewitnesses who confirm our version of events,” Greenberg said. Prosecutors concede the victim was traveling fast, but say he didn’t pass a red light. They charge Wilson slowly passed a light while he was drunk. And they say they plan on proving it by submitting – probably for the first time ever in the city – the results of field sobriety test taken with a portable machine at the scene of a crash. We’re using it – it’s going to be the first,” prosecutor Maureen McCormick said. The field test showed Wilson’s blood-alcohol level was .11 percent – slightly above the .10 legal limit – about two hours after the 8:45 p.m. crash, authorities have said. A test of his blood 61/2 hours after the crash showed his alcohol level was well below the legal limit – possibly as low as .015, prosecutors said. But experts say that reading means his blood-alcohol level was at least .10 at the time of the accident, considering how much alcohol his body had metabolized by then, according to prosecutors. But the defense said prosecutors won’t be able to use the field-test results unless they first prove they are scientifically reliable. Wilson, 43, faces seven years behind bars if convicted.

By Nancie L. Katz – STAFF WRITER An off-duty cop accused of plowing into a Brooklyn motorcyclist while driving drunk pleaded not guilty yesterday to manslaughter charges. If convicted in the death of Stefanos Kiladitis, Officer Victor Wilson, 43, could face up to seven years in prison. Wilson, of Staten Island, was leaving a Bay Ridge bowling alley June 19 when he allegedly ran a red light about a block away and crashed into the motorcycle driven by Kiladitis, 21. Kiladitis, of Brooklyn, died three days later. “Mr. Wilson was not intoxicated,” defense lawyer Todd Greenberg said. “The young man was speeding… . It was the young man who ran the red light.” But prosecutors said Wilson had a blood alcohol level above the legal limit and ran the light.

By Herbert Lowe STAFF WRITER Bail was set at $750,000 yesterday for a man accused of the 1999 beating death of Long Island City community activist Armando Perez. Shaguye Colbert was arraigned on second-degree murder charges in State Supreme Court in Kew Gardens, in a case in which similar charges were dismissed last year against four other young men. Colbert, 26, sat in Justice Robert Hanophy’s courtroom as defense attorney Todd Greenberg entered his plea of not guilty. Colbert, formerly of Long Island City, now lives in Newark. On Wednesday, New York detectives extradited Colbert from Essex County, N.J., where he had finished serving time after pleading guilty to complicity in a robbery. “We look forward to fighting the charges,” Greenberg said after court officers returned Colbert to custody after the arraignment. “Not only did they have four wrong people in the first case, they have the fifth wrong person now.” Perez, 51, was killed in early April 1999, in front of 34-04 24th St., in the Ravenswood Houses in Long Island City, where his wife lived. Perez ran with a street gang for a time before turning to community activism. In 1979, he helped convert a dilapidated school building in Manhattan into Charas/El Bohio, a center for struggling painters, dancers and actors. Assistant District Attorney Richard Schaeffer told Hanophy that Perez was severely beaten in a random dispute that stemmed from someone leaning on his car. Police arrested the four young men based on two witnesses, one who later recanted and the second who was known to be unreliable. Their case never went to a grand jury and prosecutors dismissed the charges after a new witness identified Colbert and another man, Malik Hill, who is in custody in New Jersey, as the suspects. Colbert’s next court date is April 15.

By Robert E. Kessler STAFF WRITER TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 A federal prosecutor began a second trial yesterday against a Queens man charged with defrauding his late wife out of her share of the couple’s $1.2 million in assets. Ali Bessaha, 65, of 43-20 40 th St. in Long Island City, is accused in U.S. District Court in Manhattan of cheating his late wife, Ourida of Hicksville, through mail and wire fraud. He also is accused of obtaining a passport under fraudulent pretenses. The first attempt to prosecute Bessaha on fraud charges ended in a mistrial at U.S. District Court in Central Islip in May when a juror disobeyed a judge’s orders and read a newspaper account of the case. The juror then told another juror that the jury had been deliberately denied a key fact: that Bessaha also is accused of killing his wife. U.S. District Court Judge Leonard Wexler had told jurors not to read any newspaper accounts of Bessaha’s trial, fearing it would prejudice the jury. A date to try the murder case in state court in Nassau County has not been set. Ourida Bessaha was found beaten to death in January 1999 in her Hicksville home. Federal postal inspectors initially gathered evidence of the alleged fraud, resulting in the first charges against her husband. Bessaha’s attorney, Todd Greenberg of Forest Hills, denies his client either killed his wife or cheated her out of any money. As a result of the juror reading an account of the initial Bessaha trial in Newsday, Wexler ordered the second trial transferred from Long Island to Manhattan. During opening remarks yesterday, federal prosecutor Gary Brown said Bessaha used a complicated scheme to illegally transfer his and his wife’s assets overseas amid their divorce so that she would not get her fair share. Brown said Bessaha was ‘not playing by the rules’ and wanted to make sure that his wife would ‘not get anything.’ But Greenberg told jurors that his client was not transferring any of the couple’s joint assets to France. Throughout their marriage, Greenberg said, Bessaha and his wife had always had separate assets, and the money that was transferred overseas belonged to his client. The Bessaha’s were involved in ‘a bitter, bitter divorce action,’ Greenberg said, ‘but the federal government has no business getting involved in it.’

By Robert E. Kessler STAFF WRITER A mistrial was ordered Friday in the fraud case of Long Island City man after a juror acknowledged reading a newspaper story that discussed one fact that the judge had barred jurors from knowing: that the man also had been charged with murdering his wife. U.S. District Court Judge Leonard Wexler ordered the mistrial in the case of Ali Bessaha, 64, of 43-20 40th St. after one juror told him that another juror had read the Newsday story on Wednesday and mentioned it to other jurors at lunch Thursday. Wexler had instructed the jurors in the U.S. District Court in Central Islip not to read or listen to any media account of the case because he considered the separate second-degree murder charge to be too prejudicial. The case at issue accused Bessaha only of defrauding his wife, Ourida, or her share of the couple’s $1.2 million during a contentious divorce. Bessaha also is facing a trial in state court in Nassau County on charges that he murdered Ourida, 54, at her home in Hicksville in January 1999, shortly before he believed a judge would award her a share of the couple’s assets. The two were separated but had been married for 30 years. After questioning the jurors Friday morning, Wexler said he would reschedule the case in the Southern District of New York, which includes Manhattan, the Bronx and Westchester. Wexler normally tries cases in the Eastern District, which includes Long Island, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. Federal prosecutor Gary Brown said, “We’re obviously disappointed and are preparing for the next trial at which Mr. Bessaha should be convicted.” Bessaha’s attorney, Todd Greenberg of Forest Hills, said he was “a little disappointed a good chance to win the case.”