New York Criminal Lawyer Blog

Published on: November 29, 2011

Man who killed Angels pitcher in car crash sentenced to prison

by Stephen Bilkis

A life behind bars is no way for a 23 year old to spend his time, after all a person that young has barely had enough time to experience life on his own terms. Unfortunately, when your life experience takes another person’s life away, prison time is the likely result. For the man who killed Angels pitcher and two other people in 2009 while he was DWI and speeding in the middle of the night, there will be plenty of time to think of what he has done.

The man has been found guilty of three felony counts of murder and has been sentenced to 51 years to life in prison for the deaths. As sad as a life in prison may be, it is sadder still that three families, countless friends and thousands of fan’s lives have been forever burdened by the sorrow and sadness of losing those who died. The driver had more than twice the legal blood alcohol limit in his bloodstream two hours after the crash occurred. There was no way he would have been able to functionally drive.

Police reports said the man ran a red light going 65 mph in a 35 mph zone and struck the car carrying four people, one of them was a new pitcher for the Angels of Anaheim baseball team. He and his friends had been out celebrating his fourth major league game, played just hours before. Only one of the people in the car survived, informs the reporter, and the accident left him permanently disabled. Tragedy can happen anywhere, but it happens most often when people abuse the privilege of drinking and take it out on the road. The sooner we let it sink in that driving drunk is NEVER acceptable, the safer our streets will be. This is murder.

Published on: November 28, 2011

Cocaine smuggler ends up with egg on his face

by Stephen Bilkis

It is amazing the things that people will try to get away with when it comes to smuggling drugs into our country. Immigration and customs agents see it every day. People come up with the most hair brained schemes to get their drugs through customs, to the point of absurdity. According to a reporter, one man tried a playful approach, but ended up with egg on his face after all.

The 23 year old Florida man flew into LA International Airport with a suitcase filled with plastic Easter eggs. When Immigrations officers became suspicious, the man tried to play off the incident, saying that the toy eggs were filled with candy and he was taking them home to his children, despite the fact that Easter was months away. Officers searched the suitcase and lo and behold, there was candy in those eggs, alright, but not the kind of candy one would give to a small child.

Reports from the court said that police cracked open the plastic eggs to discover 14 pounds of cocaine, estimated to be almost $100,000 worth on the street. Why the man thought that his story would fly is beyond most of us. Surely the TSA has proven to us again and again that it is difficult enough to slip through security with a bottle of water, so why try to sneak through such a large quantity of cocaine? Needless to say, the candy man ended up going to jail with more than a little bit of egg on his face.

Published on: November 26, 2011

Frankford missing woman found in Maryland

by Stephen Bilkis

Delaware State Police cancelled a Gold Alert for a woman who had been missing for over a day. The 23-year-old woman was found in Prince Frederick, Maryland. She was located over four hours from her Frankford, Delaware home.

Maryland State Police notified Delaware State Police around 2:15 p.m. that they had located the missing woman. No other details were readily available. Maryland State Police could not release any details about the condition of the woman. Kidnapping did not seem to be the case.

She had been last seen at her 30000 block of Wilson Lane residence in Frankford, Delaware. The 23-year-old woman’s family was worried for her welfare because of her mental status, a reporter was told by the state police spokesman captain. The police believe she left purposely and was not kidnapped.

Published on: November 25, 2011

Child custody issues belong in the courtroom but don’t always stay there

by Stephen Bilkis

When a marriage ends in divorce and there are children involved, very often there is animosity and resentment between the two parents as to who will retain custody of the children. Though the divorced couple may say that they are fighting to determine who will best care for the children, very often the parents engage in a power struggle to see who will come out the victor, and this can be tragic for the children involved and highly emotionally abusive and can result in a case of child endangerment.

For obvious reasons, it is always best to let the attorneys do the talking. At all costs, the parents who are fighting over custody of their children should refrain from discussing the custody case outside of the walls of a courtroom or a legal office, and they should never bring the issue up in front of the children themselves. Unfortunately, many people in our society try to take these delicate matters into their own hands, and the results can be devastating.

A California man fighting for custody of his children had to be tasered by police in a municipal parking lot outside of court offices after he and his ex-wife were seen arguing over the custody of their children; an argument which ended with the man assaulting his ex out with a punch to the face. Though scenarios like these can be avoided by taking the logistic approach and using legal counsel for support, people who choose to react with violence find that the game they were attempting to play and win in the first place is going to cost them their children and quite possibly their freedom.

Published on: November 24, 2011

Medical Mafia figure held in contempt of court,

by Stephen Bilkis

The courtroom drama continues in the ever widening Medical Mafia case in Las Vegas. The shocking FBI case made headlines and weakened an already hesitant trust in insurance companies and the medical establishment by Americans with what is now known to have been a blatant deception and fraud by some of the country’s top physicians, attorneys and insurance companies that took billions of dollars from insurance companies and patients as well as strong armed confused and worried patients into having surgeries that they did not need.

Now, a central figure in the case who was scheduled to go before a grand jury and answer some tough questions about some of the other people involved has decided that he is not talking, and as a result he is now being held in contempt of court. Though the man is already in custody, having been convicted for his role in the Medical Mafia, he will receive an additional 18 month sentence if he does not change his tune and cooperate. Medicaid Fraud is involved in this case.

Several physicians have testified that they participated in the scheme, in which attorneys and physicians blindsided confused patients with unnecessary procedures and medical services, claiming that they were working on the behalf of the patient, yet all the while bilking them and their insurance companies for services and surgeries that they did not need. As more people come forward and more information is known, the nature of the case could change substantially as more details are brought to light. There are cases like this in Manhattan and Long Island.

Published on: November 23, 2011

Road rage crash gives probation

by Stephen Bilkis

Police told reporters that two people where involve in an incident associated with road rage. Apparently, the two began to quarrel in a nightclub. This is where the incident started. Both left the nightclub and the result was a car accident on the highway later on that night.

The woman faced probation instead of being charged. The twenty three year old woman made the admission that she was DWI on that night when the collision of the cars took place. One car had six occupants including the driver when they were pulled over by the police.

The woman, a medical receptionist, received two and a half year probation infraction. The Judge found her to be guilty of driving while intoxicated and her actions caused endangerment. She was also cited with six infractions of assault using a deadly weapon, which was her car.

Published on: November 22, 2011

Man’s sentence for fatal DUI drops from possible 30 years to 120 days

by Stephen Bilkis

A Massachusetts man has been given the gift of learning a hard life’s lesson but at much less cost after a plea bargain his lawyers initiated landed him serving a mere 120 days at a Vermont prison work camp after a fatal car accident in which his friend was killed. The 24 year old man was DWI last March when the accident occurred.

Reports said the man lost control of the car, sending it off the road and rolling off to the side. The passenger, a friend of the man, was thrown from the vehicle sustaining fatal injuries. He died later that night at the hospital. Though family and friends were devastated over the man’s death, they rallied around the 24 year old driver and supported him. Those closest to him said they knew that he was not a criminal, but had chosen to make a very bad decision on the night that he got drunk before he got behind the wheel. Drug possession was not a part of the scene.

The worst case scenario could have been 30 years in prison for the driver, but in the end the judge saw fit to give him a new lease on life by allowing him to attend a prison work camp instead of doing hard time. In this case, a man who made a tragic mistake that he will have to bear for the rest of his life gets another chance to live according to a higher principle.

Published on: November 21, 2011

Guantanamo detainee appeal denied

by Stephen Bilkis

A Judge told a confidant that the United States Supreme Court has denied the appeal made by a detainee at Guantanamo Bay for Mohammed al-Adahi. This man is from Yemen who had been locked up without being charged. This happened in the year 2002. He was accused of Federal Crimes but not murder.

The United Supreme Court reached their decision and insisted that the accused be held in detention for an unspecified time. In other words, the Judge told the reporter that the ruling had to stand when it came to the high courts.

Do you know enough about the United States Constitution to know if this ruling is acceptable or not? In the year 2009, for example, a District Judge ordered the this Guantanamo detained be released even after the United States government accused that Al Adahi was connected to the Taliban or Al Qaeda. The District Judge told the reporter that the government failed to prove that this was the case.

Published on: November 20, 2011

Mars/Hilton Prosecutor Busted Buying Crack

by Stephen Bilkis

What goes around comes around. A distinguished public official in Las Vegas Nevada, known for his glamorous prosecution of celebrities for drug violations, certainly found out first hand following his recent arrest for buying crack cocaine.

A source familiar with the high profile attorney’s legal record said the special prosecutor prosecuted Paris Hilton following her cocaine arrest a year ago. The special prosecutor was the attorney of record in the prosecution of rising star Bruno Mars on drug possession charges.

Authorities said that the special prosecutor was being investigated on allegations that he regularly bought $40 worth of coke every week from a street dealer. His arrest came as a result of being seen buying the drug on the street. The special prosecutor’s BMW was idling on a Las Vegas street where law enforcement observed a possible drug buy taking place. The arrest report said that the special prosecutor picked up an African American male at one apartment building and dropped him off at another building. Then the special prosecutor allegedly drove around before returning to the same drop off site and picked up the same man. When authorities pulled the black BMW over the suspected drug dealer fled from the passenger side of the vehicle. One officer gave chase and apprehended the suspect, a resident of Las Vegas.

Published on: November 19, 2011

LeBron’s Mother Arrested for Battery in Miami

by Stephen Bilkis

The mother of LeBron James, major star of the Miami Heat, was arrested on charges of assault, battery and disorderly intoxication. A contentious encounter with a valet at a Miami Beach hotel ended with the arrest.

The 43-year-old woman was arrested because she reportedly struck a valet around 5 a.m. in the morning, Miami Beach police told Long Island Criminal Attorneys.

Sources revealed, the woman requested her vehicle from the valet, who brought it to the valet ramp, where it was left running for 30 minutes as James’s mother talked to other hotel patrons. After that, the valet turned off the car and gave the keys to the valet cashier.