Tag:

Criminal Trial

Key Witness In Trump Trial Has Strong Ties To Hudson Valley Key Witness In Trump Trial Has Strong Ties To Hudson Valley
Key Witness In Trump Trial Has Strong Ties To Hudson Valley A key witness in former President Donald Trump's criminal trial who allegedly helped bury negative stories involving him has close ties to Westchester, including a university in the county from which he graduated.  Former media executive David Pecker, the former CEO of the National Enquirer's parent company, American Media, Inc., became the first witness to testify in Trump's criminal trial on Monday, April 22, and Tuesday, April 23,  The 72-year-old Pecker testified that he had used "catch and kill" tactics to buy rights to stories casting Trump in a negative light and then decl…
Hudson Valley Child Rapist Heading To Prison After Jury Trial Hudson Valley Child Rapist Heading To Prison After Jury Trial
Hudson Valley Child Rapist Heading To Prison After Jury Trial A 32-year-old man from the region will spend 56 years in prison after being found guilty of child rape. Ulster County resident Charles Burgher, of Highland, was sentenced Friday, Dec. 9 to state prison followed by 15 years post-release supervision. According to the Ulster County District Attorney's Office, Burgher was convicted of five counts of rape and three counts of criminal sexual act following a four-day jury trial in October. The conviction stems from incidents between August 2022 and Nov. 2022, when Burgher was arrested after a 5-and-a-half-hour standoff with law enforcement a…
'Evil' Stepmom Gets 25 Years For Freezing Death Of NY 8-Year-Old 'Evil' Stepmom Gets 25 Years For Freezing Death Of NY 8-Year-Old
'Evil' Stepmom Gets 25 Years For Freezing Death Of NY 8-Year-Old More than three years after an 8-year-old boy froze to death inside the garage of his New York home, a second adult is heading to prison for his murder. Long Island resident Angela Pollina, age 45, of Center Moriches, received the maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison in Suffolk County Court on Tuesday, April 11.  It followed her jury conviction for second-degree murder and other charges for her role in the death of Thomas Valva, her stepson.  Earlier Report: Center Moriches Father's Ex-GF Convicted For Murder Of Boy Forced To Stay In Freezing Garage Valva died of …
Guilty: Hudson Valley Man Convicted Of Raping Child Guilty: Hudson Valley Man Convicted Of Raping Child
Guilty: Hudson Valley Man Convicted Of Raping Child A man from the region is facing decades behind bars after being convicted of raping a child. Orange County resident Cecilio Navarro, age 35, of Middletown, was found guilty of multiple sex crimes by a jury on Tuesday, March 14. Prosecutors had argued that Navarro sexually abused a child beginning in December 2016, when the victim was under the age of 13. The abuse continued on and off through 2021.  Navarro was arrested by the Orange County Child Investigation Unit in June 2022, and the trial began on Tuesday, March 7. Jurors convicted him of the following crimes: Predatory sexual…
Gang Member Found Guilty Of Brutal Street Assault In Hudson Valley, Faces Sentencing: DA Gang Member Found Guilty Of Brutal Street Assault In Hudson Valley, Faces Sentencing: DA
Gang Member Found Guilty Of Brutal Street Assault In Hudson Valley, Faces Sentencing: DA A member of the 300 Bloodhound Brims street gang has been found guilty of a violent street assault in Westchester County.  On June 17, 2021, around 9 p.m., 20-year-old Devin Coates, hit a 33-year-old victim in the head with a glass bottle and knocked them unconscious in Yonkers at North Broadway (Route 22), according to Westchester District Attorney Miriam Rocah.  After this, the attack on the victim continued as numerous gang members and associates hit and kicked the victim, who was taken to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla and suffered a traumatic brain injury along w…
Out-Of-State Man Found Guilty In Violent Hudson Valley Home Invasion Out-Of-State Man Found Guilty In Violent Hudson Valley Home Invasion
Out-Of-State Man Found Guilty In Violent Hudson Valley Home Invasion After a three-week trial, an out-of-state man has been found guilty of charges connected to a brutal Westchester home invasion in 2018.  At around 7:30 a.m. April 23, 2018, at around 7:30 a.m., Confessor Soto of Fayetteville, North Carolina, entered a residence in Yonkers on Leighton Avenue while armed with a handgun and zip ties, and tied up the 82-year-old homeowner, according to Westchester County District Attorney Miriam Rocah, Soto then forced the homeowner into his 54-year-old daughter's bedroom, woke her up, and demanded money from the pair at gunpoint, Rocah said. When…
'Can We Party Today?' Hudson Valley Man Convicted In Father's Murder-For-Hire At McDonald's 'Can We Party Today?' Hudson Valley Man Convicted In Father's Murder-For-Hire At McDonald's
'Can We Party Today?' Hudson Valley Man Convicted In Father's Murder-For-Hire At McDonald's A Westchester County man has been found guilty in the murder-for-hire killing of his own father, who was shot to death while sitting in a McDonald’s drive-thru. Anthony Zottola, age 44, of Larchmont, was convicted by a federal jury in Brooklyn Wednesday, Oct. 19, of murder-for-hire conspiracy in the October 2018 killing of 71-year-old Sylvester Zottola in the Bronx. The man who Zottola hired to pull the trigger, 36-year-old Himen Ross, of the Bronx, was also convicted Wednesday following the pair’s six-week trial, according to the US Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District. Zottola and …
Hudson Valley Man Sentenced For Raping, Sexually Abusing Minor, DA Says Hudson Valley Man Sentenced For Raping, Sexually Abusing Minor, DA Says
Hudson Valley Man Sentenced For Raping, Sexually Abusing Minor, DA Says A 43-year-old Westchester man will spend decades behind bars after being sentenced for raping and sexually abusing a minor, the District Attorney’s Office announced. New Rochelle resident Jamaal Jackson was sentenced to 25 years in state prison, followed by 20 years of post-release supervision, according to Westchester DA Mimi Rocah. Jackson was convicted by a jury in 2018 of abusing a 12-year-old on these charges: First-degree sexual abuse; First-degree rape; Endangering the welfare of a child. Jackson was arrested on Sept. 11, 2020 following an investigation that was assisted by the NY…
Ex-College Athlete Found Guilty In Stabbing Of Roommate From Hudson Valley Ex-College Athlete Found Guilty In Stabbing Of Roommate From Hudson Valley
Ex-College Athlete Found Guilty In Stabbing Of Roommate From Hudson Valley A 23-year-old Long Island man was found guilty of stabbing his former college lacrosse teammate, a Northern Westchester County man, during a dispute about a loud party.  Matthew Stockfeder was convicted on Thursday, March 24, of first-degree assault and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon in the 2019 stabbing of his then-roommate Justin Corpolongo, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. Stockfeder, of Melville, and Corpolongo, of Somers, were both players on the lacrosse team at St. John's University at the time, Katz said. Stockfeder is a graduate of …
Area Man Hid 19 Bags Of Cocaine Near Groin, DA Says Area Man Hid 19 Bags Of Cocaine Near Groin, DA Says
Area Man Hid 19 Bags Of Cocaine Near Groin, DA Says A Hudson Valley man has been convicted of criminal possession of a controlled substance following a jury trial after he was allegedly caught with 19 bags of cocaine near his groin. Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced on Monday, Dec. 6, Cory Williams, age 46, of Middletown, faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in state prison when he is sentenced in February. He was remanded to the Orange County Jail without bail following the jury’s verdict. According to the District Attorney's Office, in December 2019, the City of Middletown Police Department, ai…
Woman Guilty Of Burglarizing Homes In Three Counties While Families Were At Funeral Services Woman Guilty Of Burglarizing Homes In Three Counties While Families Were At Funeral Services
Woman Guilty Of Burglarizing Homes In Three Counties While Families Were At Funeral Services A 30-year-old woman was found guilty by a jury of burglarizing homes that she targeted while families were attending the funeral services of loved ones in several area homes. Bronx resident Latonia Stewart was found guilty of six counts of burglary and criminal possession of stolen property following a weeklong trial for a rash of burglaries in Westchester, Fairfield, and Putnam counties between the winter of 2017 and spring 2018. Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah said that between December 2017 and May 2018, Stewart burglarized the homes of six Westchester County residents in…
Passenger Found Guilty Of Fatal Stabbing Of Driver After Argument In Area Passenger Found Guilty Of Fatal Stabbing Of Driver After Argument In Area
Passenger Found Guilty Of Fatal Stabbing Of Driver After Argument In Area A 39-year-old man will spend time behind bars after being found guilty to the fatal stabbing of another man in a parked car following a three-week trial. Yonkers resident Byron Stinson was found guilty of second-degree manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon, both felonies, for his role in the 2019 stabbing death of another man while the two were doing drugs. Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah said that at approximately 4:30 a.m. on April 24, 2019, Stinson and Yonkers resident Michael Federico were sitting in a parked car on Whetstone Avenue in Yonkers using narcotics.…
Ex-Cop Strangled First Area Homicide Victim With Zip Tie, Feds Say Ex-Cop Strangled First Area Homicide Victim With Zip Tie, Feds Say
Ex-Cop Strangled First Area Homicide Victim With Zip Tie, Feds Say Nicholas Tartaglione, the former Hudson Valley police officer facing the death penalty for a quadruple homicide, allegedly strangled the first of his victims with a zip tie, according to federal prosecutors. New information has been released regarding Tartaglione, a former Briarcliff Manor police officer, who is accused of murdering four men in Orange County in 2016. It’s the first time prosecutors have detailed how the former cop killed one of his four victims. According to the indictment that was filed in White Plains Federal Court, Tartaglione killed Martin Luna, 41, Urbano Santiago, 32…