Long Islander Pleads Guilty To Hate Crime
An 18-year-old Long Island teenager pled guilty last Thursday, May 9, to burglary as a hate crime in connection with three separate incidents in one day in which three elderly men were duped into allowing him and his unapprehended cohorts into the victims’ homes.
Cash and valuables were taken from all three victims.
The defendant was identified by Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown as Justin Frank, 18, of Brentwood, L.I., who has been held in jail in lieu of bail since his arrest in October
2012. Frank pleaded guilty last Thursday to second-degree burglary as a hate crime before Acting Queens Supreme Court Justice Barry S. Kron, who indicated that he would sentence him to a determinate term of six years in prison and five years’ post release supervision at sentencing on June 7.
“[Frank] shamefully targeted his victims because their advanced age and frailties made them easy targets,” Brown said in a statement issued last Friday, May 10. “[The] admission of guilt by the defendant-along with a lengthy prison sentence of six years which is expected to be imposed next month-serves as a measure of justice for each of the victims.”
According to the charges, a 91- year-old Flushing man was standing in his driveway on Aug. 28, 2012, when he was approached by Frank and several other unapprehended individuals. One of the individuals claimed to have been a former neighbor of the victim and asked to be allowed into his house to write down his new address so that the victim could visit.
Frank picked up an envelope while inside the house-presumably to write down his new address. The men pushed and slapped the victim and threatened to kill him, then took his cell phone, cash from his pocket, and his eyeglasses. They also forced him into the basement, placing a pointed stick at his neck, threatened to kill him and took additional cash.
Approximately two hours later, it was reported, a 92-year-old Woodside man was taking out the garbage when he was approached by some men who stated that they were from the water company and needed to check a broken pipe.
They pushed their way into the living room and Frank and the other unapprehended male individuals entered the home. The males took money from the victim’s living room, pushed him to the floor and fled the house.
Finally, a few minutes later and a few blocks away, a 77-year-old man was home with his wife when some men knocked on his door and claimed to have done work for him years earlier. Frank asked for a glass of water and blocked the victim at his refrigerator while the other men wandered around the house. All of the men then left together.
Afterwards, the victim checked his wallet which he had left on the dining room table and noticed that it had been moved and that money was missing from it.
Frank’s fingerprints were matched to the fingerprint left on the envelope in the first incident and the fingerprint left on the water glass in the third incident.
The district attorney noted that under the provisions of New York State’s Hate Crimes Act of 2000 enhanced charges can be filed when a defendant is alleged to have selected his or her victim because of their disability and/or age which is defined as being 60 years of age or older.
Det. Thomas Castle of the NYPD Queens Robbery Squad investigated the case under the supervision of Sgt. Ronald Buell, Capt. Jason Savino and the overall supervision of Chief of Detectives Phil Pulaski. Assisting in the arrest were Det. Robert Scudieri and Sgt. Bronson Jusino of the North Bergen Police Department in New Jersey.
Additionally, the district attorney thanked Social Worker Mary H. Hayes of the Elder Abuse Project, which is under the supervision of Director Laurie K. Woods.
Assistant District Attorney Kristen A. Kane, chief of the District Attorney’s Elder Fraud Unit, prosecuted the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Gregory C. Pavlides, bureau chief, and Christina Hanophy, deputy bureau chief, of the District Attorney’s Economic and Environmental Crimes Bureau, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Peter A. Crusco and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Linda M. Cantoni.
