The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog

"Thank you very much," Crociata said through an Italian interpreter. "I thank the court and the district attorney for what you did for me."

Crociata then turned toward the gallery -- where his wife, Lucy, children and a number of other family members from Brooklyn were sitting -- and said, "Thank you, everybody."

Two years ago, Doyle also overturned the murder conviction of Crociata's sister, Marie La Pinta, 71, for the killing of her husband, Michael La Pinta, in their West Islip home. Crociata was convicted of pulling the trigger and sentenced to 25 years to life.

During the scuffle, Marie La Pinta hit her husband with a baseball bat. Marie La Pinta helped her brother dump the body at the Babylon landfill.

As with Crociata's sister, Doyle ruled that Crociata was denied a fair trial because he was represented by the same law firm as his sister and was not notified by the trial judge of the conflict of interest. Doyle said the conflict "affected the nature of the defense" offered on Crociata's behalf.

Marie La Pinta, who was released in May 2005, did not attend yesterday's hearing. Her son, Anthony La Pinta -- a Hauppauge attorney who helped free his mother -- said his mother stayed home to avoid the media spotlight.

Spota said in a statement his office has already sent a letter on Crociata's behalf to the parole board. "I believe that his further incarceration serves no legitimate societal or correctional purpose," Spota said. "I hope the board agrees."

During Thursday's hearing, Anthony La Pinta spoke in a different role for him -- as a relative of the murder victim.

He said credit for the professional success he and his brother have had belongs "not only to my mother, but also to my uncle, who have been stabilizing factors to us from behind the walls of the penitentiary."

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-lisent0329,0,7219504.story?c
oll=ny-top-headlines