Category: Criminal Defense

Do you sometimes have the urge to flip off a cop? If so, you are not alone. There are many examples of people who have flipped off a cop and paid the price. However, many of those individuals successfully filed lawsuits to protect their constitutional rights. While “giving the finger” to a cop in New York may not be a crime, it can result in an arrest that you must fight. If you are arrested, exercise your right to remain silent and contact a New York criminal defense attorney as soon as possible.

Court Rulings Regarding Hand Gestures Given to Police Officers

An officer pulled a woman over for speeding in Michigan, but the officer was merciful when he issued the ticket. The driver flipped the officer off when driving away. The officer then pulled the woman over a second time and issued a ticket for the maximum penalty for her traffic violation.

The woman filed a lawsuit claiming the officer violated her constitutional rights. The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled the second stop was unjustified because the driver had not broken any laws and “at most was exercising her free speech rights.”  Judge Sutton specifically stated in the opinion that a lack of gratitude or fits of rudeness might break the Golden Rule, but that does not make it illegal.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth District also ruled in favor of a young girl who had “extended both middle fingers” toward police officers when she was eleven. She was arrested and sued for violation of her constitutional rights, among other allegations. The judge stated in part that her “gesture was crude, not criminal.”

In another case appealed from New York to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, a passenger in a vehicle was arrested on several charges after “giving the finger” to an officer as the car passed the officer’s vehicle. The judge noted that the “ancient gesture of insult is not the basis for a reasonable suspicion of a traffic violation or impending criminal activity.” The court reversed and remanded the case to the lower court.

The above cases are just a few of the lawsuits brought around the country by individuals who have been arrested or suffered other consequences for “giving the finger” to a law enforcement officer.

It May Be Considered Freedom of Speech, But It is Not Recommended

While courts have ruled that your constitutional rights extend to flipping off a cop, that does not mean it is a good idea. You might eventually have the charges filed against you dismissed because the charges were not based on probable cause or a violation of the law. You might even win a lawsuit against the officers and other parties for violating your constitutional rights. However, before you are vindicated, you will deal with the cost, inconvenience, and other negative consequences of being arrested. A lawsuit may take years to resolve, and you are not guaranteed a specific outcome.

It is best to be smart when you interact with law enforcement officers. You have the right and freedom to express yourself, but the rude gesture could snowball into criminal charges that may not be able to be dismissed.

Contact a New York Criminal Defense Attorney for Help

Officer misconduct is a serious issue. If you believe your rights were violated or your criminal charges are in retaliation for another matter, you need an experienced Syracuse, NY criminal defense attorney to help you fight for justice.  You have the right to legal counsel. It is always a wise idea to exercise that right whenever you are facing criminal charges. Contact one of our New York criminal defense attorneys today.

Syracuse.com published a wonderful article detailing the life and work of our own David Hammond. This article describes his life before the Chelsea Manning case, why he chose to come to Syracuse and what he plans to do now that he is here. To read the article in full click here.

Syracuse, NY — The lawyer for a former Onondaga Community College employee suspected of stealing from the school over the past decade was in court today to discuss a possible resolution of the case.

Defense lawyer Emil Rossi met with Assistant District Attorney Matthew Dotzler and County Judge Anthony Aloi to discuss the criminal case against Kathleen Kane. Dotzler said the prosecution is looking for a jail sentence and restitution of about $200,000. Kane, 47, of 206 Bennett St., East Syracuse, was arrested last year on four counts each of first-degree falsifying business records and fourth-degree grand larceny.

She is accused of stealing money from students’ payments while she was employed as a cashier in the OCC bursar’s office. The series of charges covers the theft of only $6,527 from April 9 through May 25. But in a statement to authorities, Kane admitted stealing $100,000 to $150,000 since 2003. She told authorities she began stealing at work after being divorced from her husband and falling behind with her bills.

Kane was not present in court today and Rossi declined comment on the specifics of any plea negotiations that took place at the bench with Dotzler and Aloi.

But Dotzler said the prosecution made an offer to have Kane plead guilty to one felony grand larceny charge and one charge of tax fraud to satisfy all charges from the thefts. The prosecution would seek to have Kane sentenced to two consecutive one-year sentences in the Onondaga County Correctional Facility in Jamesville, he said.

He also said authorities believe the total amount of money stolen from OCC to be about $200,000. Any plea deal would include an order for Kane to pay back that money. Kane also would be on the hook for any tax liability stemming from her underreporting her income by not reporting the thefts, the prosecutor said. Aloi adjourned the case to Feb. 13 for a status report from the lawyers.

This article was originally published on syracuse.com, click here to read the article.

Syracuse, NY — A former accountant for the Raymour & Flanigan furniture company admitted his guilt today in the theft of more than $126,000 from the company.

Anthony J. Caruso Jr., 37, of 4396 Princess Path, Clay, pleaded guilty before County Judge Joseph Fahey to a single felony count of second-degree grand larceny. He admitted stealing from the company from November 2010 through November 2011 while employed as an a company accountant.

Although Caruso only admitted to stealing more than $50,000 in entering his guilty plea, he agreed to pay $126,808.03 in restitution.

Because Caruso had made full restitution prior to today’s court appearance, Assistant District Attorney Matthew Dotzler agreed to have Fahey sentence Caruso to a conditional discharge. That means Caruso will avoid any jail time or the need to report regularly to a probation officer. He could have faced up to 15 years in state prison.

Sentencing is set for March 13.

Court papers filed in the case early last year charged Caruso with issuing company checks to fictitious people and then depositing the funds into his own personal banking account.

Court papers also indicated Caruso had been fired by Raymour & Flanigan after being confronted in November 2011 about a problem using company gift cards for his own benefit. A company official told authorities Caruso blamed his problems on gambling.

Caruso and defense lawyer Robert Tisdell left court without comment after Caruso’s guilty plea. Dotzler said the main concern of furniture company officials was to be reimbursed fully as quickly as possible. The prosecutor said he did not know where Caruso obtained the money to pay back.

The original article was published on syracuse.com, to read the article click here.

Syracuse, NY – The former office manager for a wood furniture manufacturer in DeWitt was sentenced today to serve two to six years in state prison for stealing more than $260,000 from the company over six years.

Kimberlei A. Senke, 44, of Libby Street, Liverpool, had nothing to say before County Judge Joseph Fahey imposed the sentence.

But the judge bluntly pointed out the least Senke could have done was offer an apology, especially after listening to her former employer talk in court about the impact of the theft on him, his family and the company.

Gregory McCartney, owner and president of Artistry in Wood on Manlius Center Road, appeared to be fighting to maintain control as he told Fahey in court today about the financial and emotional impact of Senke’s thievery.

Senke had been a trusted office manager and friend of his family, McCartney said. Senke was arrested a year ago and accused of stealing more than $260,000 from the company from 2005 through March 2011.

She pleaded guilty Dec. 29 to second-degree grand larceny, fifth-degree criminal tax fraud and workman’s compensation fraud.

Defense lawyer James McGraw noted Senke had paid back $53,000 in restitution to date. But that was not going to keep her from state prison. Assistant District Attorney Matthew Dotzler said that even if Senke had come up with full restitution, she was to be sentenced to serve one to three years in prison. With restitution still unresolved, the deal called for the two- to six-year sentence Fahey imposed, the prosecutor said.

According to Dotzler, Senke did not appear to have a gambling or substance abuse problem to account for the thievery. She was just living above her means and stealing to support that lifestyle, the prosecutor said. McCartney said he had given up pay for a year and a half, used savings and retirement money and laid off employees in order to keep the business alive in the wake of Senke’s thefts. He and his family and his other employees had been exposed to “needless anxiety” and experienced “a deep sense of betrayal” as a result of Senke’s criminal conduct, McCartney told Fahey.

After faulting Senke for failing to apologize, Fahey said the defendant “richly deserved” the state prison penalty he was imposing. Fahey ordered Senke to pay another $211,000 in restitution, plus $11,629 to the New York State Department of Taxation and $26,091 to the New York State Insurance Fund.

This article was originally published on Syracuse.com, to view the article, click here.

Syracuse, NY – The former manager of a Cicero hotel admitted in court today to stealing more than $50,000 from her employer over a period of two months in 2010.

Cathaline Aylmer, 40, of Utica, pleaded guilty before Onondaga County Judge Joseph Fahey to a single felony count of second-degree grand larceny. She admitted stealing from the Days Inn Hotel on Bartel Road in Cicero from June through July 2010.

With the case heading for trial soon, the prosecution agreed to a plea deal calling for Aylmer to be sentenced to five years’ probation. She will be required to pay $48,811.53 in restitution. Assistant District Attorney Matthew Dotzler said that’s to cover the thefts Aylmer committed by taking cash from the hotel and by running up expenses on the corporate credit card.

She also had been accused of stealing supplies from the hotel to try and sell on Craigslist and eBay. But a co-defendant, Brett M. Howard, is being held responsible for paying back about $12,000 in restitution to cover those thefts, Dotzler explained.

Howard, 33, also of Utica, pleaded guilty last year to fourth-degree grand larceny for stealing restaurant supplies and hotel equipment in the rip-off scheme. Authorities have said he is Aylmer’s boyfriend. Aylmer is to be sentenced July 16.

This article was originally published on Syracuse.com, to view the full article, click here.

Syracuse resident Kathleen Prince was sentenced today in Onondaga County Court for stealing more than $29,000 from the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS), marking the end of a joint investigation by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and Onondaga County District Attorney William J. Fitzpatrick.

Prince, who was arrested in September 2011, pleaded guilty on January 20 to fourth-degree grand larceny and received five years probation and was ordered to pay full restitution of $29,067.

“My office is vigorously working to track down individuals who defraud the retirement system,” DiNapoli said. “My investigators and Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick’s office used our collective resources to ensure that justice was done and this wrongdoing was punished.”

Kathleen Prince admitted to inappropriately cashing the retirement checks of her late father, Lewis Klein, for more than a decade. Prince’s mother, Mary Klein, was the beneficiary of Lewis Klein’s pension. After Mary Klein died in 1997, Prince forged her mother’s name and continued to cash the retirement checks.

DiNapoli’s office referred the case to Onondaga County District Attorney William J. Fitzpatrick. The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Matthew Dotzler. The restitution will be collected by the Onondaga County Probation Department during the course of the probationary period and then forwarded to NYSLRS.

DiNapoli encourages the public to help fight against fraud and abuse. New Yorkers can report allegations of fraud, corruption and abuse of taxpayer money by: calling the Comptroller’s toll-free fraud hotline at 1-888-672-4555; filing a complaint online at investigations@osc.state.ny.us; or mailing a complaint to: Office of the State Comptroller Investigations Unit, 110 State Street, 14th floor, Albany, NY 12236.

This article was originally released online.

Syracuse, NY – A DeWitt man was sentenced today to two to four years in state prison for ripping off local senior citizens in a door-to-door home-improvement and yardwork scam.

Vincent Brush confessed to being ashamed of himself as he stood before Onondaga County Judge Anthony Aloi. The judge said Brush should be ashamed for taking money from elderly people and then failing to do the work he was paid to do.

“I don’t believe, you Mr. Brush, have an ounce of integrity or any sense of responsibility,” Aloi told the defendant.

Brush, 30, of 2 Gregory Parkway, pleaded guilty last month to a felony count of first-degree scheme to defraud.

Assistant District Attorney Matthew Dotzler said Brush approached at least 11 victims in Syracuse and DeWitt and persuaded seven of them to give him money for yard work or small home-improvement jobs that he never did.

This is Brush’s second scam conviction.

He has an earlier scheme-to-defraud conviction from 2007 for a similar scam, Dotzler said.

Defense lawyer Michael Allen told Aloi Brush has a severe cocaine addiction and is undergoing mental health treatment for depression, anxiety and trouble sleeping.

Aloi noted Brush should be having trouble sleeping given his criminal conduct. The judge also said drug addiction is not and never will be a legitimate excuse for a defendant’s criminal conduct.

Aloi also said the probation department’s pre-sentence report indicated Brush reported he had been a self-employed landscaper for the past 10 years. The judge, however, questioned whether Brush even owns a rake or a shovel given his criminal history.

In addition to the prison sentence, Aloi ordered Brush to pay $5,149.35 in restitution.

This article was originally published on Syracuse.com, to view the article, click here.