Jan 10, 2009 7:20 am US/Eastern
Hit/Run Plea Deal Lands CEO Just 16 Days In Jail
Bizarre Agreement: Because Both Suspect And Victim Were Drunk, Driver Gets Relative Slap On The Wrist
Victim's Family Furious, Plans To Let Judge Know About It
Reporting
Lou Young
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
When police led 48-year-old George Anderson away in handcuffs a year ago, the Wall Street executive was facing possible manslaughter charges and a seven-year prison sentence for the DWI hit-and-run death of Brooklyn secretary Florence Cioffi.
The 59-year-old woman was run down and killed on the evening of Jan. 24, 2008 by Andersen's black Mercedes SUV and the CEO of Enterprise Engineering left the scene only to return 20 minutes later refusing a breathalyzer test. Now Cioffi's family and her companion of 18 years say they're outraged at the deal Anderson has made with the Manhattan District Attorney's office that they say is a slap on the wrist.
Anderson has agreed to a plea deal in which he'll admit to misdemeanor DWI charges and a charge of leaving the scene of an accident, but he'll only serve 16 days in jail and do that time on eight consecutive weekends. He also agrees to do 200 hours of community service and pay a $350 fine.
It doesn't sit well with Cioffi's companion, William Mosca.
"I'm not saying that man has to go to jail for life, or 10 years or 11," he told CBS 2 HD, "but 16 days and on weekends? That's ludicrous. It's a rich man's sentence."
Assistant District Attorney David Hammer suggested in court documents that the victim contributed to her own death by walking out onto Water Street a good 40 feet from the crosswalk with a blood alcohol level that would've been twice the legal limit if she'd been driving. He said she stepped out between two parked cars and that it would be difficult to prove that Anderson's own intoxication was the cause of the accident.
Legal experts said the DA's office is leaning on a theory called "comparative negligence," something usually seen in civil cases where plaintiffs are assigned a portion of the blame for their own injuries.
"The question is, would [Andersen] have been able to avoid that accident if was sober?" attorney Michael Lamsonoff said.
The DA's office insists the Cioffi family was consulted before the plea deal was made, but they told CBS 2 HD otherwise. Their attorney, Jeffrey Minsk, said: "It seems to me [the DA's office] were trying to fly this one under the radar. They didn't want to make a stink about it. They didn't want everyone to know what was going on."
The deal still has to be formalized at a Feb. 27 sentencing hearing. Mosca, and Cioffi's brother, sister and mother plan to give victim impact statements in the hope of forcing the case to trial.
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