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The three indicted are Millie Sauvan and Gelacio Morales-Lopez, both of Spring Valley, and Patrick Zeitler of Sparkill.
Zugibe said, “Prospective witnesses must be protected from outside interference that could impact their testimony. My office will not tolerate the bribing of, or tampering with, witnesses and is committed to the vigorous prosecution of those who engage in such conduct.”
According to the district attorney, on Oct. 15 and 16 the defendants were arrested in the bribery attempts of the witness set to appear at a Sauvan’s first-degree burglary trial, scheduled for Oct. 16, 2015 in Rockland County Court.
In the weeks prior to the start of the trial, the witness was allegedly offered money by MoralesLopez and Zeitler, on behalf of Sauvan, not to appear in court and testify against Sauvan.
According to the charges, the witness refused, but the defendants persisted. After reporting the alleged bribery attempts to authorities, detectives with the Rockland County District Attorney's Office Special Investigation Unit launched an investigation.
During a subsequent sting operation, an individual posing as a relative of the witness arranged to meet Morales-Lopez and Zeitler for the purposes of completing the transaction.
Both men were arrested and charged with attempting to bribe a witness upon arrival. Sauvan was arrested the next day.
All three defendants were arraigned before in the Town of Clarkstown Justice Court. Bail was set in the amount of $100,000 for Sauvan and $50,000 for both MoralesLopez and Zeitler. If convicted, they each face up to seven years in state prison.
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