Results tagged “sentencing”

A man convicted of killing his girlfriend apparently decided that the best thing to wear at his sentencing was "a T-shirt with his victim's picture and the words 'R.I.P. Love You Forever.'" Naturally, Gregory Morency's move didn't go over well with victim Claribel Hernandez's family—her brother yelled, "How dare you come in here wearing my sister on your chest! You are a punk, you took my sister....Not even hell would be good enough for you." Morency's lawyer told the Daily News, "Well, what can I say, he still loves her." Morency was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

The 30-year-old fake livery cab driver who raped one woman, and attempted to rape another last February, was sentenced to 15 years behind bars yesterday. Make that 15 years and 30 days. Torkieh Sadagheh reportedly cried upon hearing his sentence, but when that got him no sympathy, he went the outburst route — which got him an extra month in the slammer for contempt of court.

A former NYPD detective who was caught lying when a murder suspect recorded the cop questioning him on an MP3 player was sentenced to four months in in jail. Christopher Perino has already lost his job, pension and health benefits, estimated to be worth $3 million, after being convicted for perjury. Perino had claimed to have never questioned 17-year-old attempted murder suspect Erik Crespo during Crespo's trial, only to have the teenager break out the hour-long grilling he had stored on file.

You may recall that State Senator Pedro Espada's son Alejandro—not the one who got hired by the Senate and then quickly quit, a different one—pleaded guilty to harassment against 76-year-old blogger Rafael Martínez-Alequin at a campaign rally last September. According to Martínez-Alequin, several people, including Alejandro, began shoving him and trying to grab his camera as he approached Espada with questions. Here's video, which shows the infamous Bronxchester Senator smugly telling Martínez-Alequin, "He's trying to teach you manners papa. He's trying to teach you manners." Alejandro was charged with harassment and criminal mischief for (allegedly) pushing Martinez-Alequin and breaking his camera, but he struck a plea bargain, pleading guilty to second-degree harassment and agreeing to pay $432 for the camera. Anyway, Alejandro was supposed to be sentenced yesterday, but that never happened because the judge was absent. So Martínez-Alequin didn't get to read his contemptuous victim's-impact statement, which calls the Senator "a common street thug. It is most unfortunate that a politician can resort to thuggish tactics and not be held fully accountable. Senator Espada encouraged his son to assault a defenseless 76-year-old man." Somebody sure needs a lesson in manners, among other things.

The gang of young men who were so incensed by last year's victory for President Obama that they "decided to go after black people" were sentenced today for their two separate Election Night attacks. The four Staten Islanders, known as the Rosebank Krew will now spend the four years of Obama's term behind bars. Three of them received sentences hovering around five years and one got a stiffer nine years for beating up a 17-year-old Liberian immigrant and putting a white man they believed to be black in a coma for weeks after running over him with a car. 19-year-old Ralph Nicoletti (pictured) received the 9-year sentence; he has had a rap sheet since he was 14 and at one point point attacked Michael Contreras because he thought Contreras was the snitch. (Nicoletti said he had become "upset" because Contreras repeatedly tried to sell him drugs.) Nicoletti believed he deserved a lighter sentence for cooperating, but a judge disagreed, saying his crimes were "perpetrated by pure hate that was born out of ignorance."

A 21-year-old Brooklyn man convicted of kidnapping a young girl was sentenced today to 10 years in prison despite his pleas for "mercy and leniency." Bernard Mutterperl wept before a judge, pleading that he needed help "outside of jail" as punishment for the Mother's Day 2007 incident in Midwood where he followed Xochil Garcia home and grabbed the girl, who was then 11. But the judge fell on the more stringent side of sentencing that could have fallen anywhere from 3 1/2 to 15 years. Garcia, now 13, testified at the trial this spring and spoke again in court today, recounting how she has suffered panic attacks and feared going out alone. She looked at Mutterperl and said, "You messed up my life. Some people want to fight me for no reason. Some people want to be my friend so they can be on TV ... I do not have any real friends now because of this."

The Post reports that Bernard Madoff has left the Metropolitan Correctional Center, his home for the past few months, and it's believed he's headed upstate to begin his 150-year sentence at the federal correctional facility in Otisville, NY: "The [Bureau of Prisons] tends to place inmates in facilities that are within a reasonable distance of their family members, to promote visits. Otisville, which is near Middletown, NY, in Orange County, is only about 77 miles away from" NYC. Update: CNBC says Madoff is at a facility in Butner, North Carolina—does this mean Ruth Madoff is headed South too?

Last year, 51-year-old Cecille Villacorta, an ex-Saks employee, went on trial for charges that, through a unique con, she stole over $1 million from the Manhattan flagship store. She faced up to 7 years in prison for grand larceny, and now the court has finally handed down her sentence: 90 days behind bars, five years’ probation and a $96,000 fine. Though Villacorta reportedly left the courtroom happy, the conviction is being appealed—if it's upheld, she also faces deportation to her native Philippines.

With fraudulent investor Bernard Madoff sentenced to 150 years in prison, the feds are now going after his associates. The Associated Press reports, "A person familiar with the investigation into disgraced financier Bernard Madoff says at least 10 more people are likely to be charged by the time the probe is complete." The associates will apparently face charges over the next few months; "The person familiar with the probe wouldn't detail the likely charges against the others or say whether they would include Madoff's relatives or former employees."

After her husband was sentenced to 150 years in prison for running a $65 billion Ponzi scheme, Ruth Madoff issued a statement. It begins, "I am breaking my silence now, because my reluctance to speak has been interpreted as indifference or lack of sympathy for the victims of my husband Bernie’s crime, which is exactly the opposite of the truth... I am embarrassed and ashamed. Like everyone else, I feel betrayed and confused." Her full statement is after the jump; earlier, Bernard Madoff told the court that she cries herself to sleep every night.

In a courtroom packed with several hundred spectators—some of them his ruined victims—Ponzi-schemer Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Denny Chin. In the courtroom, Madoff told Chin, federal prosecutors and his victims that he thought he could "work his way out" of fraud and that he lives in a "tormented state." He added that he lied to his brother and sons and that his wife Ruth Madoff cries herself to sleep each night. He did turn to face his victims briefly and said:

"I'm sorry; I know that doesn't help you. I cannot offer you an excuse for my behavior. "How do you excuse betraying thousands of investors who entrusted me with their life savings? How do you excuse deceiving 200 employees who spent most of their working life with me? How do you excuse lying to a brother and two sons who spent their entire lives helping to build a successful business? How do you excuse lying to a wife who stood by you for 50 years?"

It's Bernard Madoff's big day: At 10 a.m., U.S. District Judge Denny Chin will hand down a sentence that determines the 71-year-old's future after he pleaded guilty to orchestrating a $65 billion Ponzi scheme in the guise of an exclusive investment fund. Bloomberg News reports, "Each of the 250 seats in the courthouse’s Ceremonial Courtroom will probably be filled, many with Madoff victims. Proceedings will be broadcast to courthouse overflow rooms." Ten of the victims have asked to speak during the sentencing.

Now it's clear why Ruth Madoff was riding the subway earlier this week: The Ponzi schemer's wife has come to an agreement with federal prosecutors, leaving her with $2.5 million as she must sell her and her husband's $7 million Upper East Side penthouse, $11 million Palm Beach house, and $3 million Montauk house and many other assets such as yachts. The homes and other assets will be sold, with proceeds going to victims of Bernard Madoff's $65 billion fraud.

Monday is multi-billion dollar fraudster Bernard Madoff's sentencing, and his lawyer won approval for his client to get dressed up. Lawyer Ira Sorkin explained that Madoff will be getting "just clothes" before sentencing. But Newsday points out, "One of the last extravagant clothing expenses Madoff reportedly made before he was arrested last December was a $2,000 pair of custom-made Italian pants that went unclaimed at a Palm Beach, Fla., store."

Sure, multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme mastermind Bernard Madoff knew what he was doing was wrong, but he really doesn't want to face up to 150 years in prison. Today, Ira Sorkin, a lawyer for the 71-year-old disgraced financier, told U.S. District Judge Denny that a 12-year sentence would be sufficient, noting that Madoff's life expectancy is only another 12.6 years and that Madoff "will speak to the shame he has felt and to the pain he has caused." Sorkin added, "The significant anger and resentment evidence in the victims' words is no doubt justified in light of the circumstances of this case. Thankfully, none of the fury expressed in the victim statements has been as shocking as the death threats and anti-Semitic e-mails that have been directed toward Mr. Madoff and his counsel." Chin is scheduled to sentence Madoff next Monday,

Former NYPD Sergeant John Galtieri may spend the rest of his life in prison after being sentenced today in Staten Island for the 2007 murder of his ex-wife. Galtieri was convicted of shooting Jeanne Kane in a Staten Island park-and-ride after becoming enraged over the divorce settlement handed out to his once-battered ex-wife. Justice Stephen Rooney said, "What's particularly chilling here is the calculated and premeditated nature of this murder...A truly cold-blooded murder such as this requires severe sentencing." Kane had once appeared on as a member of the '60s trio, The Kane Triplets. Her two sisters were in court at the sentencing along with Kane and Galtieri's daughter, Patricia. She said to her father, "John Galtieri, I should have said this a long time ago: You are a coward ... Only a coward hides behind a gun ... As he sits in his cold, lonely cell for the remainder of his days, he will be tortured by this for eternity: 'Jeanne beat me.'" (Her full remarks are here.) Galtieri's lawyer called the outcome of the trial "a conviction by character assassination."

Bernard Madoff, everyone's favorite multi-billion-dollar Ponzi schemer, was supposed to be sentenced for his fraud on June 16, but it was postponed till June 29. While U.S. District Judge Denny Chin didn't explain why the sentencing rescheduled, Bloomberg News reports that he "[outline] a procedure for victims who wish to submit letters to him or to speak at the sentencing," with the order reading, "Due to the number of victims in the case, the court cannot guarantee that every victim who wishes to speak at sentencing will have the opportunity to do so." (His victims do have a lot to say.) Madoff, who faces 150 years in prison, is being held that Metropolitan Correctional Center. In other news, the trustee charged with liquidating Madoff's assets believes he'll be able to approve $100 million in investor claims this month and win clawback settlements later on.

After once promising actor Lillo Brancato Jr. was sentenced to 10 years in prison (possibly getting out in 5 years, with good behavior), he told his lawyer, "This is going to be good for me, this five years. I'm going to straighten myself out, put my thoughts together."

Some former lovers just can't help but leave an indelible impression on a guy, no matter how many years they've been broken up. A judge thought that 23-year-old Kristina Caban definitely should not have, when she kidnapped her ex- and marked him on his abdomen with a homemade branding iron at the Chelsea Inn. She was sentenced to five years in prison for the crime.

Today there's talk of the chaos that ensued after Remy Ma's sentencing yesterday. To recap, so far in this ongoing saga there's been an alleged theft, a shooting, a conviction, a Rikers Island almost-wedding, an attempted jail break, a sentencing...and finally, what is hopefully the last bit of drama: the courtroom outbursts.

Remy Ma, who is possibly more famous now for what landed her in jail than for her music, is still managing to make headlines from behind bars. A little first-degree assault and weapons charges aren't going to stand in the way of her dream wedding, to be held later this month on a little island off the coast of the Bronx.

After Remy Ma was found guilty earlier this week, she was carted off in handcuffs screaming, "Oh, my God! My son! My son!" If she receives the maximum sentence of 25 years, her son will be 33 by the time she's free again -- and she will be 51.

Last year Grammy-nominated Bronx rapper Remy Ma got herself into some trouble when she allegedly shot a woman (Makeda Barnes-Joseph) who she thought stole $3,000 from her. This all occurred after the two, along with a large party, were enjoying a night at Pizza Bar in the Meatpacking District.

John White is free on bail after being convicted of manslaughter, and yesterday called for the arrest of the father of the 17-year-old Long Island man he killed. His son Aaron filed a complaint with police after Daniel Cicciaro Sr. seemed to threaten his life. White was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to two to four years for the death of Daniel Cicciaro Jr., who he shot in the head during an altercation in August 2006. The victim's father was apoplectic following the sentencing, which he deemed inappropriately light. In front of news cameras, Cicciaro Sr. went on a profanity-laced tirade. "Let's see what happens when Aaron White gets shot!" he yelled at one point.

The construction worker who killed actress-director Adrienne Shelly in her West Village office was sentenced to 25 years in prison yesterday. Diego Pillco, an illegal immigrant from Ecuador, pleaded guilty last month, and yesterday, he faced her family's sadness and rage.

Eugenio Cidron, the man who killed bicyclist Eric Ng in 2006 after driving drunk down the West Side bike path instead of the West Side Highway following a holiday party at Chelsea Piers, was sentenced yesterday to three to 10 years in prison. Cidron had driven over a plastic pylon to enter the path from Chelsea Piers and had been driving south for a mile before hitting Ng, who was traveling north.