By Sadef Ali Kully
A Flushing mother has been convicted of endangering the lives of her son and two granddaughters who were between 2 and 8-years-old by failing to provide them with a habitable environment, the Queen district attorney said.
Katherine Vartholomeou, 48, of 147-09 41st Ave. was convicted Jan. 29 after a four-day jury trial before Acting Queens Supreme Court Justice John Latella on three counts of endangering the welfare of a child, the DA said. Vartholomeou has been free on $2,500 bail since her arraignment last January.
“As a mother and caregiver to the children, she endangered their welfare by raising them in deplorable and unsafe living conditions that included no running water or electricity. The house in which they resided, which was missing exterior walls and part of the roof, was literally a ‘house of horrors’ infested with vermin, refuse and human waste,” District Attorney Richard Brown said.
According to trial testimony, police were investigation a pattern of burglaries and Vartholomeou’s son, Dimitrios Vlahakis, 24, became a prime suspect. After obtaining a court-authorized search warrant for stolen property at Vartholomeou’s 41st Avenue residence, which had been the scene of a fire, officers found three younger children living in squalor and hiding in the refuse. The youngsters were identified as Vartholomeou’s two granddaughters, ages 2 and 3, and her 8-year-old son,.
Officers described objects piled several feet high and covered in garbage, while extension cords were running to lights dangerously close to items that could have caught fire, according to court records. Furthermore, the house was missing some exterior walls and part of the roof, had no electrical service other than extension cords running into the house from a neighboring house, and no running water. And to add to the filth, police observed buckets of human waste scattered throughout the house, as well as rodents and insects, the court papers said.
“This conviction underscores this office’s commitment to the prosecution of those who fail to act responsibly in caring for helpless, innocent children,” Brown said.
The three children are presently in the custody of family members.
Dimitrios Vlahakis, 24, pleaded guilty to criminal possession of stolen property in 2014 and was sentenced to 90 days in jail. Katherine Vartholomeou, who faces up to one year in jail, has her sentencing scheduled for March 19th.
Reach Reporter Sadef Ali Kully by e-mail at skully@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4546.
