Later this afternoon, Justice William Erlbaum is expected to give his verdict for State Senator Hiram Monserrate's assault trial. The freshman Senator (and former NYPD and City Councilman) is accused of slashing his girlfriend last year, sending her to the hospital for 40 stitches. He and his girlfriend claim it was an accident. One expert believes, based on the 6 hours of closing arguments, that both sides know they don't have an open-and-shut case. more ›

During State Senator Hiram Monserrate's assault trial, a nurse testified that his girlfriend Karla Giraldo begged that he not be allowed into the room where doctors were examining the cuts on her face, saying, "He's crazy! He's crazy!" And an ER doctor testified that Giraldo yelled, "I can’t believe he did this to me! My face! My face! I can’t believe my face!" more ›

The Daily News reports that State Senator Hiram Monserrate refused to take a plea deal for "reckless assault" misdemeanor which is why he's headed to court to face charges that he allegedly assaulted his girlfriend with a glass. The News points out the plea would have allowed him to avoid jail time and keep his Senate seat, but if he's found guilty on one felony count (he's charged with three), he "faces seven years in prison and would automatically lose his seat." The paper got hold of "secret" grand jury testimony—Monserrate's girlfriend Karla Giraldo said that when the hospital "realized he was a politician... They started gossiping and calling the police... They were telling me he was at a hospital of crazy people, that he was married out in Central America, many things more for me to be angry and upset and to sign a complaint against him, but I was not going to sign because I always said from the beginning that this was an accident." But a cosmetologist says Giraldo called her before going to the hospital, saying, "I'm very afraid, I don't want anyone to see my face," plus there's also a video allegedly showing Monserrate roughly yanking Giraldo in the apartment building hallway. His lawyer simply said he's is innocent and ready for trial. more ›