Monserrate Loses Latest Chance To Clear Record

Former City Council Member and State Sen. Hiram Monserrate has lost his appeal of the October 2009 domestic assault conviction that helped bring down his political career.

According to the Queens District Attorney’s office, the four members of the Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court, Second Department, unanimously upheld Monserrate’s conviction on third-degree assault charges for striking his girlfriend, Karla Giraldo, during a dispute at his Jackson Heights apartment building in December 2008.

“The Appellate Division’s affirmance of the trial court’s verdict and sentence conveys a clear message that domestic violence is a serious crime that can never be condoned,” said Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown in a statement last Friday, Dec. 16. “The court’s unanimous decision represents a victory for those of us who seek to prevent family violence and abuse—and to punish those who engage in such conduct.”

In its decision, the four members of the Appellate Division, Second Department concluded that “the evidence presented as to the complaintant’s [Giraldo’s] weakened state from severe facial injuries, the manner in which the injuries to her arm were inflicted, the defendant’s motive as a contributing factor to the degree of force he used and the exacerbation of the complaintant’s injuries and the depiction of the complaintant’s facial expressions in reaction to the defendant’s acts provided the judge with sufficient basis to infer the complaintaint suffered substantial pain.”

According to the charges, Monserrate and Giraldo became embroiled in an argument inside his 83rd

-SEE ASSAULT ON PG. 86- Street apartment building at around 1:30 a.m. on Dec. 19, 2008. During the dispute, it was reported, he broke a drinking glass that he was holding in his hand and struck Giraldo in the face, causing a laceration above her left eye.

Surveillance video taken from inside a stairwell and the lobby of the apartment building showed Monserrate forcibly dragging his injured girlfriend out of the premises. He took her to Long Island Jewish Medical Center (LIJ)—located 14 miles away on the Queens/Nassau border in New Hyde Park—for treatment.

Prosecutors noted that Elmhurst Hospital Center is located only a few blocks from Monserrate’s apartment. In statements made following his arrest, the former lawmaker claimed that Giraldo “insisted” on going to LIJ instead of Elmhurst Hospital.

Medical staff at LIJ alerted local police to Giraldo’s injuries following an examination. Monserrate was taken by 105th Precinct officers to their Queens Village stationhouse for further questioning; he was later charged with assault.

Queens Supreme Court Justice William Erlbaum, who presided over the bench trial, found Monserrate guilty in October 2009 of a misdemeanor, third-degree assault charge. The judge had previously dismissed more serious felony charges brought forth by the prosecution.

Monserrate was sentenced to 250 hours of community service and ordered to attend 52 weeks of counseling and pay a $1,000 fine.

First elected to two terms in the City Council, in November 2008, he won the 13th State Senate district seat formerly held by John Sabini, who resigned earlier that year to become chairman of the state’s Racing and Wagering Board.

The domestic assault occurred one month after Monserrate won the state senate race, and it began a downward spiral that led to his banishment from government.

Following his assault conviction, the State Senate launched a special commission to consider disciplinary action against Monserrate. Based on that panel’s recommendation, the State Senate voted in February 2010 to expel Monserrate, marking the first time that a state lawmaker was booted from office by their peers since the 1920s.

A legal challenge made by Monserrate contesting his ouster from the State Senate was thrown out in federal court.

Running as an independent candidate, Monserrate tried to win back the State Senate seat in a special election held later that March, but ultimately lost to current State Sen. Jose Peralta. He then ran for the Assembly seat vacated by Peralta in another special election that year and was soundly defeated by current Assemblyman Francisco Moya.

In October 2010, Monserrate ran into legal trouble again as he was indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly using a city-funded, non-profit group to help recruit voters and support hs previous campaigns for public office. The case is still pending.

Monserrate is currently out on $500,000 bail and faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted.