PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release on August 8, 2005

Contact: William J. Smith (718) 556-7150

D.A. DONOVAN HONORS NYPD PERSONNEL, DA STAFF FOR MEGAN’S LAW SUCCESSES

***Since 1/04, Island’s Prosecutors Have Convicted & Incarcerated All 14 Sexual Predators Arrested for Violations of Megan’s Law ***

STATEN ISLAND, NY – In a ceremony held in the Office of the District Attorney, Richmond County District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan, Jr. today honored Assistant District Attorney (ADA) Heidi Tannenbaum-Newman, Deputy Chief of the D.A.’s Sex Crimes/Special Victims Bureau and six members of the NYPD’s Sex Offender Monitoring Unit (SOMU), including the unit’s commanding officer, Sgt. Thomas Brick, for their work in arresting and prosecuting individuals who fail to meet their registry requirements under New York State’s Megan’s Law.

“Under our state’s Megan’s Law, there are clear registration requirements for sex offenders who have been released from prison.” stated District Attorney Donovan. “If a sexual predator residing in this borough fails to meet their obligations we will have them arrested, we will prosecute them and we will send them back to jail.”

Since District Attorney Donovan assumed office in January 2004, the Richmond County District Attorney’s (RCDA) office has successfully prosecuted all 14 individuals who were arrested for failure to comply with their registration requirements. In that time period, the RCDA also led the city with a 100% incarceration rate for those convicted. Included in that number are the borough’s first two felony convictions for Megan’s Law violations.

“The men and women we are honoring today are on the front lines of the battle to protect our families,” added the District Attorney. “The safety of our children is a direct result of their vigilance”

In New York State, the first offense for failing to register is a class A misdemeanor, punishable up to 1 year in jail, and a second or subsequent offense is a class D felony which can result in up to 7 years incarceration.

Honored at the ceremony were:

Assistant District Attorney Heidi Tannenbaum-Newman

Sergeant Thomas Brick, 19 year NYPD veteran, 3 years as Commanding Officer of SOMU

Detective (First Grade) Jose Olmo, 20 year NYPD veteran

Detective (Third Grade) Dewayne Smart, 12 year NYPD veteran

Detective (Third Grade) Guy Scavelli, 10 year NYPD veteran

Detective (Third Grade) Angelo Barone, 7 year NYPD veteran

Police Officer Elizabeth McColgan, 7 year NYPD veteran

 

Megan’s Law Convictions on Staten Island Since 1/1/2004

Name	Level Offender	Arrest Date	Sentence
Eugene Marrero	Level 2	01/03/2004	90 days jail
James Penson	Injunction Class – 3	02/24/2004	90 days jail
Amos Boone	Level 3	06/01/2004	90 days jail
Eloim Gonzolez	Level 2	07/11/2004	30 days jail
Norman Wheeler	Level 1	07/14/2004	9 months jail
Akeem Browder	Level 3	06/16/2004	4 months jail
Albert Gray	Level 1	08/29/2004	90 days jail
David Lent	Level 1	12/09/2004	4 months jail
Marcus Armfield	Level 2	01/18/2005	4 months jail
Shane Hodges *	Injunction Class- 2	03/07/2005	1 year jail
Gary Brice	Level 2	03/15/2005	6 months jail
Michael Moore	Level 2	03/18/2005	6 months jail
Shawn Hazel *	Injunction Class – 3	03/31/2005	1 year jail
Terrance Ruffin	Injunction Class – N/A	05/02/2005	90 days jail
“*” signifies a felony conviction Source: RCDA Sex Crimes/Special Victims Bureau

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