Announcements
QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ AND THE NYPD ANNOUNCE THE CREATION OF NEW PROGRAM TO HELP JAMAICA BUSINESSES
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, joined by New York City Police Department officials, members of the Jamaica business community and elected officials, today announced a new initiative to discourage disruptive, unwanted activity inside, and in front of, local shops and stores. District Attorney Katz said, “This program, conceived in partnership with my Office, the police…
DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ PRESENTS SPECIAL PROGRAM IN HONOR OF NATIONAL CRIME VICTIMS’ RIGHTS WEEK
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz presents a special program in honor of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. This virtual event takes place tomorrow, Wednesday, April 21, 2021 at 5 p.m. via Zoom. The District Attorney has invited several guest speakers from the Queens community and this livestreamed event will also feature live performances. The…
STATEMENT OF DA MELINDA KATZ ON OUTCOME OF INVESTIGATION INTO ALLEGATIONS OF UNLAWFUL USE OF FORCE DURING THE ARREST OF SIRCARLYLE ARNOLD
After a thorough investigation that included consultation with two medical experts and an NYPD expert in Physical Training and Tactics, interviews with multiple officers and Sircarlyle Arnold, and extensive review of NYPD Body Worn Camera footage, my office’s Public Corruption Bureau has determined there were no violations of Administrative Code 10-181 during Mr. Arnold’s arrest…
MEDIA ADVISORY: DA MELINDA KATZ REQUEST DISMISSAL OF HUNDREDS OF CASES
NEWS ADVISORY Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz will personally request the Court dismiss hundreds of cases for defendants currently charged with loitering for the purpose of prostitution and related charges tomorrow, Tuesday, March 16, 2021 at 10:30 a.m. before Queens Acting Supreme Court Justice Toko Serita. Even before becoming the District Attorney for Queens…
SCAM AWARENESS AND FRAUD PROTECTION WEBINAR MEDIA ADVISORY
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz is sponsoring a Scam Awareness and Fraud Protection virtual event tomorrow, Wednesday, March 10, 2021 at 6 p.m. via Zoom. The event will include several legal experts from the District Attorney’s Office and partner tax advocates and specialists. The program will also be available in Spanish and Mandarin. The Queens…
QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ HOSTS LUNAR NEW YEAR VIRTUAL EVENT
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz is sponsoring a Lunar New Year virtual event this Thursday, February 18, 2021 at 5 p.m. via Zoom. The District Attorney will honor several community leaders and the livestreamed event will also feature live cultural performances. Lunar New Year 2021- the Year of the Ox -will be celebrated around the…
QUEENS DA MELINDA KATZ HOLDS VIRTUAL PANEL DISCUSSION ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING: RESOURCES AND INTERVENTION STRATEGIES
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz sponsored a Human Trafficking Awareness virtual event via Zoom and livestreamed on Facebook with legal experts and several community service providers to explain the warning signs of sex and labor trafficking. The participants also discussed the unique approaches and resources available to trafficking survivors who reach out for support. District…
QUEENS DA MELINDA KATZ CREATES NEW BUREAU TO ENHANCE AND EXPAND RESTORATIVE JUSTICE PROGRAMS
District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced the creation of a new Bureau to enhance and expand restorative justice programs and units within the Queens DA’s Office and the appointment of Aisha Greene as its Bureau Chief. District Attorney Katz said, “The Rehabilitation Programs and Restorative Services Bureau is a fulfillment of my promise to ensure…
CITING EVIDENCE OF IMPROPER DISCRIMINATION IN JURY SELECTION BY AN ADA IN THE 1990S, QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY FILES JOINT MOTION WITH DEFENSE TO REVERSE TWO CONVICTIONS
Citing decades-old evidence of improper discrimination based on race, sex, religion, and ethnicity in jury selection, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that she has filed a joint motion with the defense counsel at the law firm Covington & Burling, LLP, to vacate the convictions of Santiago Valdez and Paul Morant. Both men were…
DEFENDANT PLEADS GUILTY TO MANSLAUGHTER IN STABBING DEATH OF LONG ISLAND MAN
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that John Daves, 34, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter for the September 2018 stabbing death of a 25-year-old Long Island man, who was patronizing a food cart in Jackson Heights, Queens when he was attacked. District Attorney Katz said, “A minor dispute while ordering at a food cart escalated…
D.A. KATZ ANNOUNCES DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CHIEF KELLY SESSOMS-NEWTON AWARDED PRESTIGIOUS THOMAS E. DEWEY MEDAL FOR OUTSTANDING WORK
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Kelly E. Sessoms-Newton, Bureau Chief of the Domestic Violence Bureau is the Queens County recipient of the sixteenth annual Thomas E. Dewey Medal. The Thomas E. Dewey Medal is awarded each year by the Association of the Bar of the City of New York to an outstanding assistant…
LAGUARDIA AIRPORT WORKER SENTENCED TO JAIL FOR USING CELL PHONE TO RECORD WOMAN IN BATHROOM
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that Samuel Rodriguez, 39, was sentenced to six months in jail after pleading guilty to using his cell phone to secretly record “pretty girls” using a public restroom at LaGuardia Airport where he worked in December 2018. District Attorney Katz said, “In pleading guilty, this defendant admitted to…
QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ NAMES VETERAN PROSECUTOR TO RUN NEW FRAUDS BUREAU
District Attorney Melinda Katz today announced that veteran prosecutor Joseph T. Conley III has been named to head the Frauds Bureau of the Queens District Attorney’s Office, which was created earlier this fall. District Attorney Katz said, “Joseph Conley’s distinguished career in law enforcement, including 16 years with the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, made…
BROOKLYN MAN SENTENCED TO PRISON AFTER PLEADING GUILTY TO AGGRAVATED VEHICULAR HOMICIDE FOR CRASH THAT KILLED A MAN AND HIS TWO DOGS
Queens District Melinda Katz announced today that Alex Elicier, 31, of Hart Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant has been sentenced to up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide and other crimes. The defendant admitted he got behind the wheel of a car after drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana in August 2018….
LONG ISLAND RESIDENT CHARGED WITH MURDER IN DEATH OF GIRLFRIEND WHOSE BODY WAS DUMPED ON QUEENS EXPRESSWAY
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Goey Charles, 29, has been charged with murder in the death of his girlfriend, whose body was found Friday morning alongside the Horace Harding Expressway. District Attorney Katz said, “This is a heartbreaking case. A pregnant woman was allegedly killed by this defendant – the father of…
QUEENS DISTRICT ATTORNEY MELINDA KATZ AND QUEENS DEFENDERS TEAM UP TO OFFER LOCAL COMMUNITY UNIQUE DIVERSION PROGRAM BASED AT THE ROCKAWAY COMMUNITY JUSTICE CENTER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that her office has entered into a formal agreement with Queens Defenders for the launch of a new diversion program based at the Rockaway Community Justice Center, at 19-22 Mott Avenue in Far Rockaway. Under the program, eligible defendants accused of low-level crimes are referred to this locally-based…
DA KATZ ANNOUNCES FORMATION OF COMMUNITY ADVISORY COUNCILS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today the creation of eight advisory councils to enhance communications between her office and the various communities that comprise the most diverse county in the United States. “The first time people interact with the District Attorney should not be during a time of crisis or tragedy,” DA Katz said….
CIGARETTE SMUGGLER PAYS MORE THAN $1.3 MILLION TO NEW YORK STATE AFTER PLEADING GUILTY TO GRAND LARCENY
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Nicholas Galafano, 58, has agreed to forfeit more than $1.3 million in cash that was recovered during a long-term investigation into a cigarette smuggling ring run by the defendant. Galafano was sentenced today for illegally selling untaxed cigarettes. Over the course of 2020, the Queens District Attorney’s…
QUEENS CONTRACTOR AND HIS BUSINESS PLEAD GUILTY TO VIOLATING PREVAILING WAGE LABOR LAWS AND STEALING MORE THAN $1.5 MILLION FROM WORKERS
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, joined by the New York City Department of Investigation Commissioner Margaret Garnett, announced today that Jagdeep Deol, 36, and his business Laser Electrical Contracting Inc. have pleaded guilty to a labor law violation on paying a prevailing wage to workers. The business owner pocketed more than $1.5 million that should…
BRONX MAN INDICTED FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER IN NEAR FATAL BEATING OF WOMAN REPEATEDLY STRUCK WITH NAIL-RIDDLED WOODEN PLANK
Queens District Melinda Katz announced today that a Queens County grand jury has indicted James Fitzgerald, 53, for attempted murder and other crimes for nearly killing his estranged companion. The defendant allegedly kicked and punched the woman then used a wooden beam embedded with nails to continue the beating. The victim barely survived the vicious…
