In case you have not heard, this is a big story in NY.



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State Senate Panel Faults Monserrate

ALBANY — Senator Hiram Monserrate behaved recklessly and callously after his companion was hurt during an argument at his Queens home, failing to call 911, dragging her violently through a hallway and taking her to a hospital miles away, according to a State Senate committee investigating Mr. Monserrate.

A draft of the committee’s final report concludes that Mr. Monserrate seemed to be as concerned with keeping the confrontation last December from becoming public as he was with the safety and health of his companion, Karla Giraldo, according to a person familiar with the report. The report also found that Mr. Monserrate, a Democrat from Queens, refused to take full responsibility for injuring Ms. Giraldo, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the report is confidential.

While it is not yet clear what sanctions the panel may recommend for a vote by the full Senate, the report’s harsh findings suggest that the committee is laying the groundwork for a stiff punishment for Mr. Monserrate, possibly even his expulsion.

A state judge, William M. Erlbaum, acquitted Mr. Monserrate in October of felony charges of deliberately slashing Ms. Giraldo’s face with a broken glass, but convicted him of misdemeanor assault for pulling her through the lobby of his apartment building, an episode that was captured on security video.

Justice Erlbaum sentenced Mr. Monserrate to three years of probation, 250 hours of community service and a 52-week counseling program. But many of his Senate colleagues called on him to resign, a step that Mr. Monserrate, who is appealing his conviction, has steadfastly said he will not take. Democrats hold a bare 32-to-30 majority in the Senate.

Through a spokesman, Mr. Monserrate declined to comment.

After a two-month review, the committee concluded that Mr. Monserrate resisted Ms. Giraldo’s pleas to call an ambulance that night and bypassed nearby Elmhurst Hospital Center, instead taking her more than 10 miles to Long Island Jewish Medical Center.

More . . .
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This case is a much watched in NY and is going to be even more interesting to watch in January.




-- Edited by Sanders on Wednesday 30th of December 2009 02:23:37 PM