De Canzio v. Kennedy

67 A.D.2d 111, 415 N.Y.S.2d 513, 1979 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 10080
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedApril 6, 1979
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 67 A.D.2d 111 (De Canzio v. Kennedy) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
De Canzio v. Kennedy, 67 A.D.2d 111, 415 N.Y.S.2d 513, 1979 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 10080 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1979).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Simons, J. P.

Petitioner has been convicted of murder and his conviction has been affirmed on appeal (People v De Canzio, 53 AD2d 1065, mot for lv to app den 40 NY2d 849). The judgment was subsequently vacated, however, because of newly discovered evidence (CPL 440.10, subd 1, par [g]), and in this article 78 proceeding petitioner seeks to prohibit respondents, the Justice to whom the case is assigned for trial and the District Attorney, from proceeding, claiming that his retrial places him twice in jeopardy (US Const, 5th, 14 Arndts; Benton v Maryland, 395 US 784; NY Const, art I, § 6; CPL 40.20 et seq.).

Prohibition is an appropriate remedy for one threatened with double jeopardy (Matter of Di Lorenzo v Murtagh, 36 NY2d 306, 309; Matter of Kraemer v County Ct. of Suffolk County, 6 NY2d 363; Matter of Forte v Supreme Ct. of State of N. Y., 62 AD2d 704; Matter of Cardin v Sedita, 53 AD2d 253, 255), but such relief is unwarranted in the present proceeding. The petition should be granted only to the extent [114]*114that the prosecution is to proceed to trial upon the original Indictment, No. 32/1975, which is hereby reinstated. The superseding Indictment, No. 531/1978, was obtained without court permission after the judgment of conviction was vacated, and is a nullity (see CPL 40.30, subd 3; but see CPL 210.20, subd 4).

Briefly, these are the facts:

In 1973 petitioner and Charles Monachino, with others, planned a robbery of the Irondequoit office of the Department of Motor Vehicles. The actual crime was performed by Ernest White and Reginald Hawkins, using White’s car for transportation. During the robbery White and his car were identified by witnesses and a warrant for his arrest was subsequently issued. The conspirators feared that White would talk if he was arrested and they summoned him to the garage of the construction company where they worked. Telling him that they intended to make it look as if he had been kidnapped and thus allay suspicion of him, petitioner and Monachino tied up White with his permission, placed him in the trunk of a car belonging to petitioner’s wife, and petitioner then fired three bullets into White’s head. The body was dumped into a manhole where it was discovered some months later.

The principal witness at petitioner’s murder trial was Charles Monachino. After receiving immunity, he testified in detail concerning the robbery of the motor vehicle office and the murder of White. Throughout the investigation, in his testimony before the Grand Jury and at trial, Monachino contended that although he knew after the robbery that White would be killed sometime, he did not know that the murder was planned on the night it occurred. Based upon Monachino’s testimony, the trial jury was charged that if Monachino was an accomplice in the White murder, his testimony must be corroborated. After petitioner’s conviction became final, Monachino recanted and swore that his testimony at the trial was false. He claimed that in truth he had participated in a meeting held prior to the killing at which White’s murder was planned. This additional fact was highly significant for if Monachino had helped to plan the killing and participated in it, as he now contends, he was an accomplice as a matter of law and defendant was entitled to an appropriate charge that Monachino’s testimony was not sufficient to convict unless it was corroborated (CPL 60.22, subd 1).

The testimony of one other witness at petitioner’s murder [115]*115trial, that of Thomas Wheeler,

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

People v. Gentry
193 N.Y.S.3d 389 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2023)
People v. Harris
2020 NY Slip Op 2394 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2020)
People v. Clarke
55 A.D.3d 1447 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2008)
People v. Yaghoubi
10 Misc. 3d 406 (New York District Court, 2005)
Jadoo v. Griffin
267 A.D.2d 311 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1999)
People v. Gonzalez-Rodriguez
245 A.D.2d 1051 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1997)
People v. Wirth
224 A.D.2d 1002 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1996)
People v. Maye
173 A.D.2d 891 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1991)
People v. Cade
547 N.E.2d 339 (New York Court of Appeals, 1989)
People v. Rodriguez
150 A.D.2d 265 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1989)
Johnson v. Morgenthau
505 N.E.2d 240 (New York Court of Appeals, 1987)
People v. Faux
124 A.D.2d 20 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1987)
Pollak v. Mogavero
114 A.D.2d 640 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1985)
People v. Lane
93 A.D.2d 92 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1983)
People v. Jorgensen
118 Misc. 2d 310 (New York County Courts, 1983)
Nolan v. Lungen
91 A.D.2d 1095 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1983)
People v. Armlin
90 A.D.2d 880 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1982)
Canzio v. Kennedy
88 A.D.2d 770 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1982)
People v. Lane
112 Misc. 2d 514 (New York Supreme Court, 1982)
People v. Gonzalez
81 A.D.2d 838 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1981)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
67 A.D.2d 111, 415 N.Y.S.2d 513, 1979 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 10080, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/de-canzio-v-kennedy-nyappdiv-1979.