Gerald Cammisa, 47, was arraigned July 22 at Queens Criminal Court in Kew Gardens on…
By Ayala Ben-Yehuda
An off-duty sanitation worker was arrested in Bayside July 21 on charges he choked, punched and pushed his teenage stepson, said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.
Gerald Cammisa, 47, was arraigned July 22 at Queens Criminal Court in Kew Gardens on assault, child endangerment and harassment charges, said a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office.
If convicted, Cammisa faces a maximum sentence of up to a year in jail and/or up to a $1,000 fine, the spokeswoman said.
According to the district attorney’s criminal complaint, Cammisa allegedly choked his 15-year-old stepson at about 2:45 p.m. at a 28th Avenue home in Bayside.
Cammisa then allegedly punched the teen with a closed fist around his face and body and pushed him onto a table, shattering some glass objects on it, the complaint says.
The teen suffered bruises, scratches, swelling and lacerations on his right arm that required nine stitches, according to the complaint.
The boy’s younger sisters, ages 8 and 9, were just five feet from Cammisa during the altercation, the complaint says.
Department of Sanitation spokesman Keith Mellis said that Cammisa was employed at the agency’s garage on Douglaston Parkway and 75th Avenue.
A woman who answered the phone at the house where the alleged assault took place said Cammisa did not live there but lived with his girlfriend. The woman said she did not know how to get in touch with Cammisa. Attempts to reach his attorney were unsuccessful.
Cammisa was released on his own recognizance after his arraignment in front of Judge Pauline Mullings, said the DA’s spokeswoman. He was due back in court Sept. 4.
Reach reporter Ayala Ben-Yehuda by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 146.
