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Curtis Hudson gave Superior Court Presiding Judge Liliana DeAvila-Silebi a hand-written letter saying he’ll be happy to be sentenced in absentia, as long as he can get back to his prison cell in Cheshire, CT.
That means he’ll agree to whatever amount of restitution DeAvila-Silebi sets — not only for the women whose credit cards he stole but for the dozen or so stores where he used them.
The 52-year-old New Haven native has been in the Bergen County Jail since before Thanksgiving while prosecutors and his lawyer hashed out an agreement that allows him to serve his New Jersey time in his home state while he completes a longer sentence there.
Hudson is “anxious to return to a regular prison, as opposed to county jail,” defense attorney Robert Kalish told CLIFFVIEW PILOT after today’s hearing.
Hudson needed less than an hour to agree to the deal, in which he pleaded guilty to one charge of a 14-count indictment that outlined a blizzard of purchases with credit cards he stole from women in Edgewater, Englewood, Fort Lee, and Hackensack.
He used the cards at stores in Bergen, Passaic and Hudson County — among them, Target, Staples, Toys “R” Us, Wal-Mart, Bed, Bath & Beyond, TJ Maxx, Radio Shack, Kohls, Best Buy, Linens ‘n Things, Pathmark, Work N Gear and Kohls — as well as at Dunkin Donuts and McDonalds.
In the Englewood case, the indictment alleges, Hudson walked into an office at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center and stole the credit card from an employee’s desk.
“Is it true you’re waiving your right to be present at sentencing?” DeAvila-Silebi asked him.
He agreed.
“Do you agree to pay restitution?” the judge then asked. “You’re going to allow your attorney to review the documents and make that decision for you, because you won’t be here.”
Once Hudson agreed, the judge told him that he could return to Connecticut once his pre-sentencing evaluation interview here was complete — likely later today.
Given that Hudson’s Connecticut sentence is longer, Assistant Prosecutor Nicholas Ostuni told DeAvila-Silebi that he considered a “5-year flat” sentence, served concurrently, appropriate.
STORY, CLIFFVIEW PILOT PHOTO: Mary K. Miraglia
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