ADA Peter Lomp. The Queens DA’s office wants to convict his witness for assaulting his wife, then use the same witness’ testimony to convict a defendant who says the witness is a serial lair. Photo: Linkedin
[Speaking Truth To Power]
The Queens DA’s witness in the latest of a series of bogus cases against Kris Gounden was a no-show for his own July 30 trial on charges that he assaulted his wife in May.
Former NYPD auxiliary officer Joseph Adorno, the Queens’ DA’s key witness claimed Gounden, a Howard Beach resident whose family and business have been destroyed by a 12-year vendetta involving the 106 precinct, the DA’s office and judges in Queens criminal court, struck him with his car on Feb. 5, last year, while he was a pedestrian, then fled from the scene.
Gounden, from the very beginning of this case, claimed Adorno was a liar and that he in fact was the victim. He claimed he’d stopped at a red light in Queens when Adorno struck the back of his car several times without provocation with his black BMW. Gounden suspected that Adorno was affiliated with the 106 precinct.
Gounden has been arrested nearly a dozen times over the years by officers from the 106 precinct. The Black Star News has covered many of the cases stemming from these serial arrests and subsequent prosecutions by the Queens DA’s office. The vendetta from the 106 precinct started shortly after Gounden and his family, ethnic Indian immigrants from Guyana, purchased a two-house waterfront property for $800,00 in Howard Beach, with years of savings and support from his family. Around the time attacks from neighbors started, the New York Daily News reported on Aug. 24, 2007 in an article headlined “Family Haunted by Hate in Queens,” that the backlash from some White neighbors was something akin to the “deep South” circa 1950s.
After last year’s incident involving Adorno, Gounden produced records of two 911 calls to prove that he’d called police immediately after Adorno struck his car. Gounden also made a surreptitious phone recording when officers from the notorious 106 precinct responded to his 911 calls. Adorno and his wife, Evaline Orovco, who’d been a passenger in the vehicle told the officers that they made a phone video recording to support their claim that Gounden had struck Adorno. Bello didn’t ask to see the purported video recording and arrested Gounden, the secret tape-recording Gounden made shows. No video-recording that proves the Adornos’ claims against Gounden have been produced.
Adorno’s web of lies began unraveling soon after. He filed a claim with Gounden’s insurer Allstate. When he testified April 26, 2018 to an Allstate lawyer, Daniel Gilley, Adorno said he had been driving when the alleged incident happened –which, of course, means he could not have been struck while standing– and had to be prompted by his lawyer, Matthew Marchese, to amend his statement and say he had exited his vehicle. Adorno gave the Allstate lawyer a different address as the location of the alleged incident compared to the one he gave Officer Bello. When he spoke to the Queens DA’s office, documents show, Adorno told ADA Brian Cox that Gounden struck him on his hand. Yet, he told the Allstate lawyer, that he’d been hurt on his neck, his knee, and his back.
Earlier this year, Orovco, Adorno’s wife, made a statement that she was prepared to come forward and let the authorities know that Adorno had “made up” the whole incident, Michael J. Schwed, a court-appointed lawyer, told Judge Michelle Johnson, in Queens Criminal Court. Gounden fired Schwed and has now retained Ron Kuby, the well-known criminal defense and civil rights attorney, to represent him.
Gounden’s trial was postponed to September 16, from July 15 when Adorno, the prosecution’s star witness, was a no-show on that date. Assistant District Attorney Peter Lomp told the court he didn’t know where to find Adorno.
The Black Star News later found out that Adorno had been arrested in May and charged with third degree assault on his wife, who obtained an order of protection. Adorno didn’t show up for his own criminal trial on July 30.
Queens DA spokesperson Ikimulisa Livingston didn’t respond to inquiries yesterday from The Black Star News about whether a warrant had been issued for Adorno’s arrest or if he was already in custody.
The judge in Adorno’s case postponed Adorno’s trial to Sept. 16, which is the same date as Gounden’s trial.
So, the Queens DA’s office has a two-fold unenviable task. The DA has to convince a jury to convict Adorno on charges that he assaulted his wife; beginning on that same date, Sept. 16, the same Queens DA’s office will attempt to get a separate jury to convict Gounden on charges that he assaulted the same Adorno.
Only in Queens.
If you have a similar case of miscarriage of justice within any jurisdiction reach out via [email protected] Follow me @allimadi
