By Mallory Simon
Terence Lyons, 53, of Elmont, L.I., and Victor Constentino, 58, and Nicholas Maceli, 22, both of Valley Stream, L.I. were arrested Monday by officers from the 102nd Precinct on charges of gang assault, assault as a hate crime and aggravated harassment.
On Tuesday afternoon police arrested another suspect, Ryan Meehan, 21, of Queens on the same charges.
A spokeswoman for Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said formal charges had not been filed yet because the arrests were still being investigated to ensure there was substantial evidence to continue with prosecution.
The four men along with Nicholas Maceli's brother, Salvatore Maceli, 26, who was arrested one day after the attack, are alleged to have beaten Rajinder Singh Khalsa, 50, outside the Villa Russo restaurant in Richmond Hill while he was with his cousin, police said. Salvatore Maceli had been celebrating his child's christening inside the catering hall, police said.
The group is believed to have engaged in a confrontation with Khalsa and his cousin Bucharan Singh, 51, calling their turbans “dirty curtains,” beating Khalsa and then fleeing the scene, the DA said in a statement after Salvatore Maceli was arrested.
Charges against Salvatore Maceli were upgraded to assault, assault as a hate crime and aggravated assault Monday night and his bail was increased from $3,500 to $50,000, Brown said. Salvatore Maceli was originally charged only with assault. He could face up to 15 years in jail on the charges if convicted.
“As a result of an ongoing joint investigation by my Anti-Bias Bureau and the NYPD's Hate Crime Task Force, the charges have been upgraded to reflect additional evidence from eyewitnesses and the victim's serious physical injuries,” Brown said.
A complaint filed in court said Salvatore Maceli admitted he had had an argument with two men and that he had punched one man in the face twice and left the scene with his relatives.
The attack sparked protests and rallies by the Sikh community, local politicians and community activists who demanded that all the perpetrators be brought to justice immediately.Following the attack Sikh's gathered in front of the 102nd Precinct to demand they work harder to investigate leads and make more arrests.
Some Sikh leaders had said police in the 102nd Precinct were not doing enough to find the men who attacked Khalsa, but after recent developments they said they were pleased with the investigation's success.
“It's absolutely a step in the right direction,” Sikh Coalition Legal Director Amardeep Singh said. “I've looked over the past two years from Seattle to Arizona to Michigan to Florida and New York at the efforts put forth in bias crime cases, and I can say with authority this is as strong a case investigated as I've seen.”
Singh had led members of the community in calling for a stronger investigation and swift moves to arrest those who viciously attacked Khalsa.
After Sept. 11, Sikhs in Queens and across the country were targeted and attacked. During the rally at the 102nd Precinct Sikhs stressed the fact they are not followers of Islam or terrorists and pointed out that their turbans and beards are symbols of peace and religion rather than the hate and violence associated with the Taliban.
At a recent rally at Borough Hall politicians and community activists gathered in support of the Sikhs, demanding that attacks such as the one against Khalsa would not be tolerated in Queens.
Singh said that with the number of attacks against Sikhs on the rise, the arrests and prosecution of the attackers were of grave necessity, calling this case “a tipping point” for the Sikhs in terms of the system of justice in this country.
Singh said Khalsa was in good spirits and was doing much better now. Khalsa sustained multiple fractures to his eyes and face, which was extremely swollen and bruised from the beating at the hands of his attackers.
“His eyesight is getting back to normal, the swelling on his face is much lower now, and in terms of feelings, he is generally happy with the support of how people have reached out to him,” Singh said. “I think he's truly heartened by all of this.”
Even with the pain he was subjected to during the beating, Singh said Khalsa remains optimistic, saying that in his homeland things are much worse.
“What (Khalsa) kept saying, it stuck with me. Despite what he's been through, he spoke of the beatings his people encountered in India at the hands of the police, saying 'What I've suffered here is nothing compared to what people do in India,'” Singh said. “He just said he's happy that here the police are actually trying to do something.”
Sikh leaders agreed that the support from the community and politicians helped in pressuring police to pursue further leads and suspects.
“I think the message was sent, whether it was by the government or us,” Singh said. “We've seen a great amount of effort expanded in the investigation, and I think our concerns have been heard by those who needed to have heard it.”
