GUEST COLUMN
Victim’s sister sets the record straight BY JACKIE AXT
Recently, I’ve been reading about all of the available services for domestic violence assistance in Dutchess County. I cannot help but point out how this “model” for domestic violence response has failed so many people. I’d like to set a few things straight. My sister, Linda Riccardulli, was not helped by Grace Smith House. She did not get directed to a domestic violence court in Dutchess County. She was not assigned a domestic violence divorce lawyer, who would have given her appropriate council. She and her children were not protected by the “order of protection” that was given to them. Her estranged husband, who was a danger to himself and others, was released from jail and what she was given was 40 minutes’ notice that he was out. That was the “model” that did not save Linda’s life last summer, the same model I keep reading about. I cannot correlate the military-level response to the woman who was being evicted from her home last Tuesday to the lack of response that Linda encountered in Dutchess County when she brought her multiple order-of-protection violations to her lawyers, the DA and police, and ultimately, as she lay bleeding in her home on the night she lost her life. I really cannot fathom the reluctance that the advocates I work with, Maria DiBari and Alyssa Kogon, have encountered trying to offer solutions to the problems. Not far-fetched solutions or unproven theories, these are solutions that have been proven effective in other places. These ideas that have been dismissed or COUNTY LEGISLATURE,
ignored, in some instances, many months later, are being touted as their own. As previously mentioned, the press conference we held in September for “Linda’s Laws” was not attended by anyone from any domestic violence assistance group, even though they were all invited. The latest slap in the face was the Dutchess County Legislature committee hearing on April 7. You can see for yourself how the discussion of the GPS proposal was mentioned and tabled and the reaction from Legislator Angela Friesland (R-Poughkeepsie), who seemed annoyed that it was even being brought up. I wrote a letter to the Legislature/Advisory Committee regarding my feelings from a victim’s point of view (see below). I got three responses from 25 people in the Legislature. Most notably, I received no response from Leah Feldman, who is the project coordinator of the Universal Response to Domestic Violence. The most resounding response I got was the webcast taken down the day after my letter was received by the Legislature. Only after complaints from the public, the webcast was put back up and a letter from the Advisory Committee went out to appease those concerned and angered about the Legislature meeting. Stop using my sister as a political pawn. I am appalled that these groups keep invoking Linda’s name when I know firsthand that they did not help her before her death, nor have they supported or even acknowledged the family in the wake of her murder. Jackie Axt is the sister of the late Linda Riccardulli, who was killed by her husband in a domestic violence incident last year. Respond to this column at editorial@ thehudsonvalleynews.com.
I would like to thank those legislators in Dutchess County who value saving the lives of domestic violence victims in the community and were willing to speak out, along with the unpaid advocates in the county. However, I’m sorry that the value of saving lives for some is not as obvious as the value of a free ice machine. I am shocked and appalled by what occurred in the committee meeting on April 7. It is unbelievable that the committee was so quick to table the GPS proposal with nothing more than a vague “We’re looking into it” from the advisory committee liaison. That Leah Feldman, the project coordinator for the Universal Response for Domestic Violence, had nothing to say on the matter is baffling. Furthermore, my family and I are offended by the callus comments made by Legislator Angela Flesland, as though it was out of line to bring this proposal to the meeting. My sister, Linda Riccardulli, is dead, and other families in addition to my own have been destroyed by homicides related to domestic violence since. The committee is not working fast enough where domestic violence is concerned. The offenders were all out on bail. Victims go unprotected. The GPS would have saved lives, and as part of a solution, deserves discussion, not distain. You must remember we are dealing with lives, not political agendas. Jackie Axt
arrested developments BY HV NEWS STAFF NEWBURGH MAN MURDERED IN POUGHKEEPSIE
City of Poughkeepsie Police are investigating the murder of a Newburgh man and asking the public for any information that could lead to an arrest. On Sunday, April 24, at approximately 2:18 a.m., the City of Poughkeepsie 911 Center received a call for shots fired in the area of 412 Main St. Police located the victim, identified as Marcus L. Woody, 39, of Newburgh, within minutes a short distance away. Woody was transported to St. Francis Hospital, where he later died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds. Police are seeking the assistance of anyone who might have been in the area at the time of the shooting. Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to call the City of Poughkeepsie Police Department confidential tip line at 845-451-7577.
COPS: PAROLEES STOLE $2K WORTH OF ALUMINUM
Two parolees from Hyde Park were arrested after local police say they caught them stealing nearly $2,000 worth of aluminum from a local property. According to Hyde Park Police, on April 21, at approximately 10:45 a.m., officers were dispatched to the area of 57 South Cross Rd. for a report of a larceny in progress. Officers arrived to find two men loading what appeared to be large aluminum light poles into a truck, police said. The suspects told police they had permission to remove the items, but an investigation revealed the suspects’ story to be fictitious, police said. Both men were taken into custody and the value of the aluminum found in the truck was nearly $2,000, according to police. It was learned both subjects, Thomas Lutz, 30, and Walter Brown, 37, both of Hyde Park, were on parole from previous criminal convictions. Hyde Park Police contacted the Division of Parole, and violation-ofparole warrants were lodged on both subjects. Lutz and Brown were charged with grand larceny in the fourth degree, a class-E felony; trespass, a violation; and violation of parole, a felony. Both men appeared before Judge John Kennedy in Hyde Park Justice Court and remanded to Dutchess
County Jail on $5,000 cash or $10,000 bond for the South Cross Road larceny. Both subjects were also held without bail on the parole violation warrants, pending a parole hearing.
COUNTY OFFICE BUILDING EVACUATED AFTER TERRORIST THREAT
A City of Poughkeepsie man was arrested after he threatened to “take lives” at the Dutchess County Office Building, according to the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office. According to the sheriff’s office, at approximately 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 19, the Dutchess County Department of Social Services received a call from a man who said he was going to “take lives” at the Social Services office because he was denied benefits. The sheriff’s office and City of Poughkeepsie Police responded, and the County Office Building was closed and evacuated by order of the county executive’s office. Once the building was evacuated, and it was determined all occupants were safe, an investigation into who made the call was initiated. According to the sheriff’s office, Eric J. Espinosa, 22, of the City of Poughkeepsie, was identified as a suspect and was taken into custody at his residence without incident. Espinosa was charged with making a terroristic threat, a class-D felony. He was remanded to Dutchess County Jail in lieu of $20,000 cash or $40,000 bond.
RECENT ARRESTS
The Hyde Park Police Department reports the following arrests: • Shirley A. Wise, 50, of New York City, was charged with DWI, a misdemeanor, on April 19. • Joseph P. Wylie, 19, of Hyde Park, was charged with assault in the second degree, a class-D felony; criminal possession of stolen property in the third degree, a class-D felony; DWI, a misdemeanor; and leaving the scene of a personal-injury auto accident, a misdemeanor; on April 19. • Josia Orende, 50, of Hyde Park, was charged with criminal contempt in the second degree, a class-A misdemeanor, on April 19. • Darshima L. McNeil, 30, of Staatsburg, was charged with DWI, a misdemeanor, on April 20. • Javonte L. Johnson, 26, of Poughkeepsie, was charged with aggravated harassment in the second degree, a class-A misdemeanor, on April 21. • Matthew J. Omeara, 17, of Hyde Park, was charged with criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, a class-A misdemeanor, on April 21.
Hudson valley news | editorial@thehudsonvalleynews.com | april 27, 2011 {5}