The man who confessed to killing and dismembering 8-year-old Hasidic boy Leiby Kletzky this past fall has already been found mentally competent to stand trial—but his lawyer is still arguing that he is insane. Lawyer Howard Greenberg laid out his case in defense of 35-year-old Levi Aron to reporters outside Brooklyn Supreme Court this morning: "He suffered a severe head injury as a young man. There's a history of schizophrenia," the lawyer said. "There's inbreeding in that community." more ›

Justin Timberlake may have performed a couple of songs at his Manhattan restaurant recently, but his focus is set firmly on acting and saving MySpace for the moment. Some people would prefer the musical talent focus on the song and dance while he still can, however, and to that end, they've made this somber plea. more ›

The city's Special Narcotics Prosecutor's office today announced that it had offered plea deals to the former Columbia students accused of dealing drugs out of dorms and frats, but none of them are biting. Yet. more ›

Maksim Gelman pleaded not guilty yesterday to four counts of murder after being accused of going on a 28-hour stabbing rampage, and court papers revealed he is confident he'll go free. The day after cops arrested him in February, he allegedly told a cop, "It's OK. I'll beat this. I'll go to a mental hospital for a few years and then I'll get out on the street again. You'll see." Unfortunately, he may be right. more ›

Maksim Gelman is doing a great job proving his insanity. Earlier today he pleaded not guilty to a stabbing spree that left four, including his step-father and ex-girlfriend, dead. According to court papers, here are a few excuses, explanations and other bits of advice he had for cops when he was arrested on February 12th: more ›

Ex-con Hassan Malik—who previously confessed to killing Betty Williams with an electrical cord and a frying pan and stuffing her body in a suitcase, which he left on a corner in East Harlem—has now pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder. He claims he paid Williams for sex in his Pleasant Avenue apartment, but the two got into a fight after he allegedly caught her stealing his money. He also said she attacked him first, and he just used the improvised weapons on her in self-defense. However, Williams's sister insists she was not a hooker: "How those two met, we don't know and we'll never know." more ›

Last week, many were outraged over the case of Tony Simmons, who was sentenced to no prison time and 10 years' probation after admitting to raping three teenage girls who were left in his care while he was working as a counselor at the Department of Juvenile Justice. People were especially shocked that the judge who gave the sentencing is a woman. Today, Judge Cassandra Mullen tossed out the previous deal, saying, "This defendant does not admit his guilt, and more alarming, has no understanding that his conduct was wrong. And perhaps most outrageously blames the victims, demonstrating a depravity that shocks the conscience of this court." more ›

After all the talk that ex-State Comptroller Alan Hevesi would plead guilty to charges related to the "pay-to-play" state pension fund scandal, there was nothing! Now the Daily News reports, "A source familiar with the investigation said Hevesi plans to plead guilty to felony corruption - but won't cop to it until his lawyer Bradley Simon returns next week from an overseas trip. 'It's going to happen,' the source insisted." Attorney General Andrew Cuomo would only say, "This is an ongoing investigation and we have no agreement with Mr. Hevesi pertaining to that investigation." Fine—we'll just watch the video of Paladino and Dicker over and over and over and over again to get our fill of Albany insanity. more ›

Two weeks after being arrested for allegedly placing a car bomb in Times Square on May 1, suspect Faisal Shahzad finally appeared in court. The federal courtroom was emptied for a security sweep and reporters were eager for their first glimpse of him. However, as the NY Times reports, "The tension and drama that led up to the brief proceeding, including a sweep of the packed fifth-floor courtroom that cleared mobs of reporters and spectators so the room could be secured, far overshadowed the substance of the nine-minute hearing." more ›

Former Brooklyn College student Syed "Fahad" Hashmi was supposed to appear in court today on charges that he plotted with Al Qaeda, but instead pleaded guilty to one charge of material support yesterday. The 30-year-old now faces up to 15 years in prison instead of 70. His lawyer said, "The government wanted to lock him up for the rest of his life. They will not succeed in that goal." more ›

Four decades after helping hijack a Pan Am plane to Havana, Luis Pena Soltren, 67, pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiracy to commit air piracy, interfering with flight crew members and kidnapping. When he finally surrendered after more than 40 years in Cuba, he was the FBI's longest wanted fugitive. Soltren's co-conspirators, who were arrested in the mid-70s, were sentenced to between 12 and 15 years, but Soltren's looking at a much longer bid because federal sentencing guidelines were made stricter in 1987. He could get at least 21 years to life in prison, though his lawyer is imploring the court to consider the circumstances that drove his client to hijacking. more ›

Back in 2007 soap opera actor Nathaniel Marston (or as you may know him, Dr. Michael McBain on One Life To Live) was busted after allegedly attacking three cab drivers at a Hell's Kitchen gas station, after he said one drove into him. Reportedly he swung a metal crate, breaking one of his victim's legs. more ›

Robert "Joe" Halderman pleaded guilty yesterday for his attempt to extort $2 million from David Letterman by way of revealing Letterman's many affairs. The former CBS News producer admitted his scheme to sell a movie treatment to the talk show host "was just a thinly-veiled threat to ruin Mr. Letterman if he did not pay me a lot of money." more ›

The mother accused of killing her 8-year-old son in a botched murder-suicide attempt in a Midtown hotel pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder charges today. Speaking in what was described as "a mousy voice," socialite and pharmaceutical executive Gigi Jordan made the plea via video from her bed in Elmhurst Hospital, where she has been held since she was discovered "babbling incoherently" beside the body of her child earlier this month. more ›

The 19-year-old driver who hit and killed a 47-year-old man at a Staten Island bus stop pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide and will serve a maximum of six months in jail. Joseph Catrama admitted he ran a red light and was speeding when he turned from Seaview Avenue onto Capodanno Boulevard last February, lost control of his 2008 Hyundai Sonata, and pinned Nathan Pakow between the car's bumper and metal post displaying bus route information. According to the Advance, Catrama will be stripped of his drivers license and will face a minimum of five years probation. "This plea guarantees that the defendant is held accountable for his actions and avoids the uncertainty of a jury trial," said a spokesman for the Staten Island District Attorney's Office. more ›

Last February Bethesda Terrace was vandalized! The taggers were promptly arrested for spray-painting on the murals and pillars — damages that would cost around $40,000 to repair. Now the NY Post reports the graf-happy trio struck a plea deal yesterday. They won't be going to jail, but rather they'll perform 200 hours of community service cleaning Central Park's horse stables. The lawyer for one of the teens, Victoria Beniaminova, told the paper: "The Central Park Conservancy insisted that their community service be shoveling shit in the stables. It beats going to prison." more ›

With Posterchild putting up so many new pieces in town lately, we nearly forgot about ol' Poster Boy. The slice 'em and dice 'em artist who mashes up subway ads agreed to a plea deal yesterday, according to the NY Post, which landed him 210 hours of community service. His lawyer said the number of hours is "somewhat extreme," and that "the DA's office took a very harsh view of this case, and they were not terribly flexible." The 28-year-old, Henry Matyjewicz, had pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal mischief (a felony and a misdemeanor). more ›

When news broke that alleged Pan Am hijacker Luis Armando Peña Soltren—the FBI's longest wanted fugitive—had turned himself over to authorities yesterday, it seemed probable that Soltren had worked out a plea deal in exchange for surrendering after more than four decades in exile. But today Soltren pleaded not guilty to participating in the 1968 hijacking of a Pan Am flight from New York and rerouting it to Havana, where he has lived ever since. more ›