PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release on May 19, 2006

Contact: William J. Smith (718) 556-7150
William.Smith@rcda.nyc.gov

D.A. Donovan: Murder Charges Filed in April 10th Murder of Retired PAPD Officer
Retired NYPD Officer Allen Lau, 46, Charged With 2nd Degree Murder in 23-Count Indictment for Shooting Death of Steven Vitale; Also Charged for Weapons Possession for Items Recovered Following Standoff at Home

STATEN ISLAND, NY - Richmond County District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan, Jr. today announced the filing of a 23-count indictment against Allen Lau (DOB: 12/5/1959), of Travis Avenue, Staten Island, on charges related to the shooting of Steven Vitale, 55, in the parking lot of a strip mall on Richmond Hill Road, when he is alleged to have fired fifteen shots from a 9mm Glock semi-automatic gun, killing the victim.

District Attorney Donovan stated, “The defendant has been indicted on charges of Murder in the 2nd Degree and Attempted Murder in the 2nd Degree in that he is alleged to have intentionally fired fifteen shots at Steven and Karen Vitale; causing the death of Mr. Vitale by multiple gunshot wounds and narrowly missing his wife. In relation to the incident, the defendant has also been charged with one count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the 1st Degree, for his possession of a loaded firearm that was used against the Vitales. Following the defendant’s surrender at his Travis Avenue home, numerous unlicensed and defaced guns, three explosive devices and a quantity of ammunition were recovered from the residence for which he has also been indicted today.”

In addition to the three counts related to the shooting, the defendant has been indicted on 20 additional felony and misdemeanor charges related to the possession of: three improvised explosive devices (homemade hand grenades), a defaced 9mm Luger pistol, a firearm silencer, a .defaced 25 caliber Model 950 Beretta pistol, a 9mm Model M10 semi-automatic Luger pistol, a 9mm Model 19 Luger semi-automatic Glock pistol, ammunition for .357 caliber pistol, ammunition for a .38 caliber pistol, a magazine for an AR-18 semi-automatic rifle, a magazine for an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, ammunition for a 12-gague shotgun, ammunition for a 20-gague shotgun, ammunition for a .223 caliber rifle, ammunition for a .25 caliber rifle, ammunition for a 7.62X39 rifle and ammunition for a .22 caliber rifle.

The top count of the indictment is Murder in the Second Degree, a Class A-1 felony, carries a maximum penalty of up to 25 years to life in prison.

The case will be prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Michael Bousquet, Senior Trial Counsel, and Assistant District Attorney Anne Crick, under the supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney Timothy J. Koller.

The defendant is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges in State Supreme Court, St. George, on Wednesday, May 24, 2006.

The public is reminded than an indictment is merely an accusation, and that a defendant is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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