William Mancusi admits causing the death of cyclist Alfred Poggiogalle
-
- May
- 19
Larry Hertz, Poughkeepsie Journal, A Putnam County man faces up to three years in state prison after admitting Tuesday he fatally injured a bicyclist on a highway in East Fishkill when he hit him with his van last year.
William Mancusi, 32, of Carmel, entered a guilty plea in Dutchess County Court to vehicular man-slaughter, a felony. He admitted causing the death of 48-year-old Alfred Poggiogalle of Hopewell Junction.
Responding to questions from Senior Assistant District Attorney Edward Whitesell, Mancusi acknowledged he had smoked marijuana and ingested morphine before he drove his van on Route 52 on the evening of June 12.
“And you admit that by ingesting these drugs, you operated your vehicle in a manner that caused the death of Alfred Poggiogalle?” Whitesell asked.
“Yes,” Mancusi replied.
The crime carries a maximum sentence of 21 2/3 3 to seven years in state prison. In exchange for his plea, County Court Judge Thomas J. Dolan said he would impose a one-to-three-year sentence.
Mancusi was jailed without bail pending his sentencing, scheduled for June 25.
Poggiogalle’s widow, Cindy Poggiogalle, and several friends and family members attended Tuesday’s court session.
Following the proceedings, Mrs. Poggiogalle said Mancusi’s guilty plea marked “the beginning of the path to closure for our entire family.
“There really can be no just sentence for what has happened,” she said, “and we were extremely disappointed to see (Mancusi’s) lack of remorse.”
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, May 19th, 2009 at 9:35 PM by Randall Wolf. 
Print This Post
| 
Email This Post
My sympathies to the Poggiogalle family.
You can never be too careful out there.
Driving while intoxicated is reckless behavior in search of a disaster. The law needs to mandate jail time for anyone caught driving with significant impairment.