Prosecutor seeks new venue in Mahopac child endangerment case

December

Rockland County Assistant District Attorney Joanna DeVito last night requested that the case against four Mahopac educators accused of child endangerment be moved to a different venue because of potential conflicts of interests with the Carmel Town Court justices, according to the Town Court clerk.

The specific venue and next appearance date have not yet been decided. The motion is expected to be filed shortly with the court, and hopefully that will contain more details. I’ll keep you posted…

UPDATE: I just spoke with DeVito and she said she is filing a motion to move the case because Justice Thomas Jacobellis had a conflict with one of the witnesses. Apparently he knows the witness from living in the same neighborhood. In addition, he also has a son who attends an after-school program in the Mahopac schools, according to DeVito.

DeVito said Jacobellis raised these concerns on an earlier occassion and she last night requested the change of venue in order for the case to move forward. Once the motion is submitted, the court will then decide the new venue.

I asked her why the case has been delayed for so long, and she essentially didn’t have a comment.

“We were investigating the case and other than that I really can’t comment on anything else.”

Click here for some of the back story.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008 at 12:31 pm by Diana Costello.
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3 Responses to “Prosecutor seeks new venue in Mahopac child endangerment case”

Jill December 3rd, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Jill
“We want and deserve answers and justification for our children.” (from the October 8 blog)
You are absolutely right, all the parents deserve answers and justification. They also deserve to be able to put this fiasco behind them for the sake of their children. However, do the parents really want answers-as in the truth? What if the truth is that nothing happened to their children and they were not mistreated in any way? Will the parents celebrate the fact that their child was not mistreated as they were led to believe or will they be disappointed that there will then be no basis for a lawsuit?
TomsMom March 20th, 2009 at 11:30 am
OK, here it is Spring 2009—what’s the lates on this case?
Chris F May 15th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
Tammy Card was my very best friend growing up.We grew apart over the years.On a day off from work I tried to find her on line and found this.I have read the blogs and the comments. Tammy is a wonderful person. A devoted mother.Her life long dream of becoming a teacher was something she worked very hard for.I will never believe the accusations against her.It is truley a shame that everyone has had to wait so long to find out they are wrong.Tammy my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

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