“He was a highly experienced boater,” Andrew Kondogianis said of his younger brother, who was a regular at…
By Kathianne Boniello
John Kondogianis loved being on the water so much that sometimes he would go boating just to watch the sunset, his brother Andrew Kondogianis said.
“He was a highly experienced boater,” Andrew Kondogianis said of his younger brother, who was a regular at the Bayside Marina. “He loved the outdoors.”
But years of experience did not protect John Kondogianis, 36, on the night of July 11, when he was one of two people killed in a boating collision on Little Neck Bay.
John Kondogianis grew up in Flushing and graduated along with his three brothers from Francis Lewis High School, his father George and older brother Andrew said in an interview Tuesday.
George Kondogianis said his son had a number of jobs, including plumbing, construction work and a bartending job in Bayside, but always provided well for his family. At the time of his death, John Kondogianis was working as an independent contractor, his father said.
His wife, Marisa Rodgers, 29, was critically injured in the accident and was sedated to speed her recovery, her husband’s family said. By Monday the Bellerose native, who has a 10-year-old son with her husband, was just beginning to regain consciousness, the Kondogianis’ said.
Kondogianis was out on Little Neck Bay the night of July 11 with Rodgers when his 1990 Bayliner collided with a 1996 Sea Ray operated by Douglas Manor teen Robert Arnold. Kondogianis and a teen from Arnold’s boat were thrown into the water. Both drowned.
A week after the fatal accident, in which Little Neck teen George Lawrence was also killed and another Little Neck teen was seriously injured, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown dropped drunken boating charges against Arnold, 18.
Blood tests on Arnold showed the Douglas Manor teen was not drunk at the time of the crash, but Arnold could still face additional charges of criminally negligent homicide, the DA’s office said.
Law enforcement sources have said that blood tests revealed John Kondogianis had a high alcohol content and traces of cocaine in his system at the time of the accident.
Andrew Kondogianis and his father said the close-knit family, which has been in Flushing for 28 years, has been reeling since John Kondogianis’ death and was shocked at reports of his possible drug use.
“He was a devoted son and a loving husband and father,” George Kondogianis said of his son. “He was not a drug addict by any means. John was very sharp and very alert, there were never any signs of drug use. It was very surprising.”
John Kodongianis was arrested twice for drug charges, in 1999 and 2000. At the time of his death he was still on probation for drug possession.
The family is angry at Arnold, who has been accused of operating his boat recklessly and causing the accident that killed Kondogianis as well as what they call lax enforcement of boating laws on the water.
“We have a brother we feel was murdered,” Andrew Kondogianis said. “We would like to see that something will be done, so this doesn’t happen again.”
Andrew Kondogianis said his brother was an athlete and a good swimmer who loved to be outdoors.
“We would play volleyball against each other,” Andrew Kondogianis said. “When we played against each other, it was for all of the chips but when it was over, we were brothers again. He had a fiery, competitive spirit.”
Kondogianis and Rodgers lived in Bellerose and had been married for about six years before briefly separating, his father said. At the time of his death he was living in Elmont, L.I.
“They were separated but very close,” George Kondogianis said. “Now our prayers are with Marisa.”
The elder Kondogianis was on vacation with his wife in Maine and upstate New York when the accident occurred.
“We called and Andy said, ‘Dad, come home,’” he recalled. “That was the longest seven hours I ever drove. That was eternity.”
The family has been buoyed, George Kondogianis said, by an outpouring of affection for John Kondogianis from the community.
“John was not only popular, he was loved,” his father said. “Not only his friends, but their parents and grandparents came out — it was the only thing that has supported us at this time.”
Reach reporter Kathianne Boniello by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 146.
