By Alexander Dworkowitz
Henry Vega, the Flushing drug dealer who twice thwarted murder convictions, last week was found guilty of gunning down a man in Kissena Park in 1996.
In State Supreme Court in Kew Gardens, Vega, 35, was convicted of murder in the second degree for the death of Middle Village resident Tommy Hill, who was 29 when he was killed on Nov. 5, 1996.
The jury took less than two hours to reach a verdict after three days of testimony, said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.
It was the second trial in as many months in the Tommy Hill murder case after the first ended in a hung jury.
“The defendant is a career criminal who has lived a life of violence and drug dealing,” Brown said. “This conviction ensures that he will spend the rest of his life in prison with no hope of parole.”
Vega will be sentenced on March 6 and faces a prison term of 25 years to life in addition to his drug sentence.
According to trial testimony before Judge Randall Eng, Vega lured Hill to a deserted ballfield in Kissena Park on Nov. 5, 1996 because he believed the Middle Village man owed him money from a drug deal, then robbed and killed him.
The district attorney has also charged Alfred Augugliaro, who witnesses testified dealt drugs with Vega, in connection with Hill’s death. Augugliaro’s trial begins on March 18.
The jury’s decision last Thursday likely marked the end of a long series of trials for Vega.
In November 2000, Vega was convicted of selling more than a pound of cocaine to undercover police officers who were posing as nightclub owners. He was sentenced to 92 years to life in prison.
But while investigating Vega’s drug deals police acquired evidence linking Vega to the murder of a police officer.
According to the district attorney, on July 7, 1987 when he was only 21, Vega was discovered breaking into a car in front of the house of Police Officer George Scheu. Scheu, who was off duty at the time, approached Vega, who allegedly shot him to death, the district attorney said.
When Vega was tried for Scheu’s murder in May 2001, the district attorney played a videotape in which Vega admitted to shooting Scheu when shown a newspaper clipping about the officer’s death.
The jury later acquitted Vega of Scheu’s murder.
The investigation into Vega’s drug deals and Scheu’s death produced three witnesses who later testified against Vega when he was first tried for the death of Tommy Hill in January.
Assistant District Attorneys Brad Leventhal and Patricia Malloy called those witnesses to the stand on Jan. 20, but when the jury failed to reach a verdict after three days, Eng declared a mistrial.
Eng quickly ordered a new trial and prosecutors called the same three witnesses to testify.
On Feb. 6, one witness, who had dealt marijuana at Frances Lewis High School for Vega, testified that Vega had admitted to killing Hill while he was trying to convince the witness to help him take part in a mob hit.
“He told me to relax, that the first time (killing someone) ain’t that bad,” said the witness. “He said, ‘I don’t think you ever met this guy named Tommy… He took him to Kissena Park… He told me it’s funny how people walked to their own deaths.”
The witness continued, describing Vega’s feelings about murder.
“[Vega] was hyped. He was holding his hands a lot. He said there was a lot of meaning, a lot of freedom to it.”
The witness said he turned down Vega’s offer to participate in the hit, which Vega maintained was ordered by organized crime members.
Leventhal asked the media not to publish the names of the witnesses because the government was concerned about their safety.
Vega’s attorney, Jonathan Latimer III, called no witnesses in the Flushing man’s defense.
Reach reporter Alexander Dworkowitz by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 141.
