HOME

Nicholas Garaufis, Federal Judge of the District Court, Eastern District of New York


Nick Garaufis, Federal Judge
Judge Nicholas Garaufis

George Harrison Case:

George Harrison "George Harrison's music spoke to the heart and soul of my generation," Garaufis said. "I am grateful that the parties have reached an agreement that not only resolves the nascent litigation, but, even more significantly, preserves the dignity and protects the privacy of all concerned."

Dr. Gilbert Lederman, who treated the former Beatle George Harrison at the Staten Island University Hospital in New York, was accused of forcing Beatle George Harrison to autograph a guitar as he lay dying. The doctor agreed to dispose of the guitar to settle a lawsuit by Harrison’s estate. The Harrison family gave the doctor another guitar without the autograph in return.

Thomas Pizzuto Case

Judge Garaufis was the judge that helped award $7.75 million dollars to the estate Thomas Pizzuto, whom he knew as a porter. Thomas Pizzuto was beaten to death by Prison Guards in the Nassau County Jail. The guards tried to blame the doctors for his death. Peter J. Neufeld, a lawyer with the firm of Cochran, Neufeld & Scheck, represented Virginia Pizzuto the wife of Thomas, and his son. Peter Neufeld lent Virginia Pizzuto money to live on while waiting for the judgment.

Peter Neufeld with Johnny Cochran  Attorney Peter Neufeld on right.


Garaufis takes years off of Mafia member's sentence as a Christmas Present:

Judge gifts L.I. 'Soprano' (Caridi, Luchese)

By John Marzulli

Christmas came early for the reputed mobster known as the "Tony Soprano of Long Island."
Luchese consigliere Joseph Caridi was sentenced yesterday to eight years in prison - a gift from a federal judge who could have given him up to 10 years.

Caridi, 53, of East Northport, L.I., who has a long rap sheet, pleaded guilty last March to extorting the owners of a Long Island seafood restaurant.

Defense lawyer Sarita Kedia sought the lesser sentence claiming Caridi was a good family man - to his wife and three children - and had organized charity benefits for the terminally ill. She even produced a 2000 letter in which Caridi was praised by former Nassau County Executive Thomas Gulotta as "a glowing example of human decency."

Prosecutors balked, noting Caridi masterminded the shakedown of the Hudson & McCoy restaurant in Freeport, draining $7,000 to $10,000 nightly.

Brooklyn Federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis decided to play Santa rather than Scrooge. "It's also the holiday season, I hate to put it that way, but I'm sympathetic to the family," said Garaufis.

Caridi was dubbed Tony Soprano by a Suffolk County prosecutor last year after he was busted for running crime rackets out of his suburban home and a local strip club, like his fictional New Jersey counterpart.



Originally published on December 19, 2003            http://pub86.ezboard.com/fgangstersincfrm5.showMessage?topicID=376.topic


April 1, 2003

Suit Is Settled in Inmate Death, Lawyers Say
By ELISSA GOOTMAN
The New York Times

  ARDEN CITY, N.Y., March 31 =97 Lawyers for Nassau County agreed today
to pay $7.75 million to relatives of an inmate who was beaten to
death by guards in the county jail, lawyers for the inmate's family
said, settling a federal civil rights lawsuit.

The settlement, which still requires approval from the Nassau
Legislature, comes a little more than four years after Thomas
Pizzuto, 38, a heroin addict serving a 90-day jail sentence for
traffic violations, was assaulted by correction officers who,
investigators said, were perturbed that he was clamoring for his
methadone treatment.

Mr. Pizzuto's killing, coupled with several other high-profile cases
of brutality that came to light around the same time, focused intense
scrutiny on the jail, in East Meadow. The United States Department of
Justice initiated its own investigation and lawsuit after Mr.
Pizzuto's death, uncovering widespread problems that the county has
since agreed to address.

Peter J. Neufeld, a lawyer with the firm of Cochran, Neufeld &
Scheck, which along with other lawyers represented Mr. Pizzuto's
widow and son, said he believed that the award was among the largest
Nassau has agreed to pay in a case with a single victim. He said that
Mr. Pizzuto's widow, Virginia, was "very pleased" with the amount,
and that he hoped the sum would serve as a warning.

"This huge settlement will inspire Nassau County to make sure that
procedures are in place to reduce the risk of this kind of thing
happening again," Mr. Neufeld said, "because they simply as a
financial matter can't afford it."

Jeffrey S. Lisabeth, an East Meadow lawyer, said he believed that the
county Legislature was likely to approve the settlement, particularly
given that Mr. Pizzuto died under a previous administration's watch.

"This is part of a mess that had been left to the current
administration, which they're attempting piece by piece to remedy,"
Mr. Lisabeth said. "I would expect approval."

About a year ago, the Justice Department announced that in order to
stave off a department lawsuit, the county had agreed to adopt new
policies to improve inmates' medical care and limit the use of force
by correction officers. Conditions at the jail are still being
monitored to ensure compliance with those guidelines.

EMAIL    Go To Main Page    Site Map

Sign the Guest Book   View the Guest Book