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Copyright 1997 Daily News, L.P.  

Daily News (New York)

January 31, 1997, Friday

SECTION: Suburban; Pg. 1

LENGTH: 394 words

HEADLINE: PAROLE BID IN GAY SLAY DRAWS FLAK

BYLINE: By PETE DONOHUE

BODY:

 

Gay and lesbian activists are waging a campaign to deny parole to one of the accomplices in the brutal 1990 murder of gay bartender Julio Rivera in a Jackson Heights schoolyard.

Activists are calling on elected officials and the public to fax parole authorities letters demanding that Erik Brown not be released after serving about five years in prison for Rivera's death.

Brown confessed to luring Rivera deep into the courtyard of Public School 69, known as a gay cruising location, so he could be attacked by two of Brown's cohorts. Rivera targeted simply because he was gay was bludgeoned and stabbed to death.

"This was a brutal, pre-meditated murder . . . and Brown made it possible," said Chris Quinn, executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project. "He was the Judas in this scenario."

Brown, who last year pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to five to 15 years in prison, has a hearing before the Parole Board in March, parole officials said. He has been jailed since his arrest in 1991 and has received credit for time served.

Russell Morea, Brown's attorney, said he hoped the board considers all the facts, including Brown's remorse.

"He feels terrible about what happened," Morea said. "It was not something he wanted to happen. It was something he went along with, unfortunately, and will have to live with for the rest of his life." Morea added that Brown "tried to do the right thing" when he pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against co-defendant Esat Bici.

Prosecutors have claimed that Brown, Bici and Daniel Doyle were skinhead racists. Morea says Brown was an art student who meekly followed two more sinister characters.

Doyle, who inflicted the fatal stab wound, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and is serving 81/3 to 25 years in prison. He testified against Bici and Brown at a previous trial in 1991, in which a jury convicted the two men of murder. The convictions were later overturned on technicalities.

As prosecutors prepared for a second trial last year, Bici, who posted bail and was released, went on the lam. He is still at large.

City Controller Alan Hevesi is among the politicians who already have agreed to oppose Brown's parole. "This was a terrible, heinous, pre-meditated hate crime, and the perpetrator should serve the maximum," said Hevesi.

LOAD-DATE: February 03, 1997

 

 

 

 

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Copyright 1997 The New York Times Company  

The New York Times

 View Related Topics 

February 16, 1997, Sunday, Late Edition - Final

SECTION: Section 13; Page 9; Column 1; The City Weekly Desk

LENGTH: 279 words

HEADLINE: NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: JACKSON HEIGHTS -- UPDATE;

Parole Is Denied Skinhead in 1990 Anti-Gay Murder

BYLINE:  By CHARLIE LeDUFF

BODY:

   The New York State Board of Parole last Monday denied the request of Erik Brown, one of three skinheads involved in the anti-gay murder of Julio Rivera in a Jackson Heights schoolyard in 1990, for an early release from prison.

The slaying became national news when one of the defendants said he killed Mr. Rivera simply "because he was gay."

On learning of the parole denial, Peg Rivera, Mr. Rivera's sister-in-law, said: "We were pleased that he was denied for another two years. We hope that he is at least made to serve the full 15."

In the early morning of July 2, 1990, Mr. Brown, Esat Bici and Daniel Doyle left a party, shaved their heads, and set out to pummel a gay man. Mr. Brown lured Mr. Rivera, a 29-year-old bartender whom he did not know, to the P.S. 69 playground, on 37th Avenue, and beat him with a hammer. Mr. Doyle, who admitted to stabbing Mr. Rivera with a knife, is serving 8 1/3 to 25 years for manslaughter.

The 1991 murder convictions of Mr. Brown and Mr. Bici were overturned last year on technical points. Mr. Brown, who had served five years, agreed to a lesser charge of manslaughter in exchange for his testimony against Mr. Bici. Free on a $350,000 bond, Mr. Bici, 25, jumped bail last May and has been at large.

Commenting on the denial of Mr. Brown's parole, Christine Quinn, executive director of the New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, said, "This is a victory because it keeps a dangerous homophobe in jail," but added, "No one can be happy until Esat Bici is in jail."

Mr. Brown, who has had disciplinary problems while in prison, will be eligible for parole again in August 1998.   CHARLIE LeDUFF

 

GRAPHIC: Photo: Erik Brown at a court appearance.

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: February 16, 1997

 

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Copyright 1997 Daily News, L.P.  

Daily News (New York)

February 13, 1997, Thursday

SECTION: News; Pg. 80

LENGTH: 455 words

HEADLINE: BOARD NIXES PAROLE BID OF GAY-BASH KILLER

BYLINE: By PETE DONOHUE

BODY:

 

A Queens thug who pleaded guilty in the bludgeoning and stabbing death of a gay man has lost his bid for parole, officials said yesterday.

A state parole board rejected the application by Erik Brown, 26, cheering gay activists who had led a campaign to keep him behind bars in the the 1990 gay-bashing slaying of Julio Rivera.

The decision also brought some measure of relief to relatives of Rivera, a bartender who was killed in Jackson Heights.

"We're very satisfied," said Peg Rivera, his sister-in-law. "Brown's actions were premeditated and hateful. He didn't know Julio. He singled him out solely because he thought he was gay."

Brown, of Queens, has served five years of a sentence of five to 15 years for manslaughter. He confessed to luring Rivera, 29, into the dark courtyard of Public School 69, known as a gay cruising location, so Rivera could be attacked by two cohorts wielding a knife and a hammer.

Prosecutors have described the three men as skinhead racists who were hunting for a gay man to attack.

The board rendered its decision last week, and it was made public Tuesday.

Brown cannot make another bid for freedom until August 1998, a spokesman for the board said.

The board's decision noted the brutality of the attack and Brown's history of drug and alcohol abuse. "You continue to pose a significant risk to the safety and welfare of our community," the board said in a written statement to Brown.

The New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project orchestrated a letter-writing campaign opposing Brown's release.

Mayor Giuliani, Controller Alan Hevesi and City Council members Walter McCaffrey (D-Queens), Ken Fisher (D-Brooklyn) and Tom Duane (D-Manhattan) were among those who wrote to the board, project executive director Christine Quinn said.

Russell Morea, Brown's lawyer, said the board succumbed to pressure and made a "political decision" to deny parole.

"The parole board in recent times has surrendered its authority to politicians and organized letter writers," Morea said.

Brown was an art student, not a skinhead, when he meekly followed two more sinister characters who led the attack, Morea said. He is full of remorse, Morea said.

The man who stabbed Rivera, Daniel Doyle, is serving a sentence of 81/3 to 25 years for manslaughter. Esat Bici, who allegedly struck Rivera with the hammer, is on the lam.

Brown and Bici were convicted of murder after a trial in 1991, but the convictions were overturned because the judge, according to an Appellate Division panel, made procedural errors. Bici was freed on bail and fled last year as prosecutors prepared for a second trial, while Brown had pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

 

 

GRAPHIC: DEMONSTRATORS from lesbian and gay groups in Queens in 1995 protest release of Erik Brown, convicted in gay bartender's killing.

LOAD-DATE: February 13, 1997

 

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Copyright 1997 Daily News, L.P.  

Daily News (New York)

January 31, 1997, Friday

SECTION: Suburban; Pg. 1

LENGTH: 394 words

HEADLINE: PAROLE BID IN GAY SLAY DRAWS FLAK

BYLINE: By PETE DONOHUE

BODY:

 

Gay and lesbian activists are waging a campaign to deny parole to one of the accomplices in the brutal 1990 murder of gay bartender Julio Rivera in a Jackson Heights schoolyard.

Activists are calling on elected officials and the public to fax parole authorities letters demanding that Erik Brown not be released after serving about five years in prison for Rivera's death.

Brown confessed to luring Rivera deep into the courtyard of Public School 69, known as a gay cruising location, so he could be attacked by two of Brown's cohorts. Rivera targeted simply because he was gay was bludgeoned and stabbed to death.

"This was a brutal, pre-meditated murder . . . and Brown made it possible," said Chris Quinn, executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project. "He was the Judas in this scenario."

Brown, who last year pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to five to 15 years in prison, has a hearing before the Parole Board in March, parole officials said. He has been jailed since his arrest in 1991 and has received credit for time served.

Russell Morea, Brown's attorney, said he hoped the board considers all the facts, including Brown's remorse.

"He feels terrible about what happened," Morea said. "It was not something he wanted to happen. It was something he went along with, unfortunately, and will have to live with for the rest of his life." Morea added that Brown "tried to do the right thing" when he pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against co-defendant Esat Bici.

Prosecutors have claimed that Brown, Bici and Daniel Doyle were skinhead racists. Morea says Brown was an art student who meekly followed two more sinister characters.

Doyle, who inflicted the fatal stab wound, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and is serving 81/3 to 25 years in prison. He testified against Bici and Brown at a previous trial in 1991, in which a jury convicted the two men of murder. The convictions were later overturned on technicalities.

As prosecutors prepared for a second trial last year, Bici, who posted bail and was released, went on the lam. He is still at large.

City Controller Alan Hevesi is among the politicians who already have agreed to oppose Brown's parole. "This was a terrible, heinous, pre-meditated hate crime, and the perpetrator should serve the maximum," said Hevesi.

LOAD-DATE: February 03, 1997

 

 

 

 

 

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Copyright 1996 Daily News, L.P.  

Daily News (New York)

October 01, 1996, Tuesday

SECTION: Suburban; Pg. 3

LENGTH: 241 words

HEADLINE: MOST WANTED IN QUEENS

BYLINE: BY BLANCA M. QUINTANILLA

BODY:

 

SUSPECT: Esat Bici

Description: Male, 24 years old, 5-foot-8, 145 pounds, black hair and brown eyes.

The Queens warrant Squad has mounted a nationwide search for former Elmhurst resident Esat Bici, who jumped bail while waiting to be retried in connection with the gay-bashing slaying of Julio Rivera.

Bici was convicted of murder in 1991 and was sentenced to 25 years to life, but his conviction was reversed.

He was free on $ 350,000 bail when he did not show up for his new trial earlier this year, and a warrant was issued for his arrest, said Sgt. Fred Wilson of the Queens warrant squad.

Prosecutors allege that on July 20, 1990, Bici and two accomplices attacked and killed Rivera in the schoolyard of Public School 69 in Jackson Heights.

Prosecutors say that the attackers used a knife, a hammer and a wrench to commit the homicide, and that they killed Rivera because they believed him to be gay.

Wilson said he has received numerous tips that Bici has visited Queens. "He has a number of connections," Wilson said. "It wouldn't surprise me if he's in Queens, Texas or upstate New York."

If you have information on the whereabouts of Esat Bici, call CRIMESTOPPERS toll-free at (800) 577-TIPS. CRIMESTOPPERS will pay up to $ 1,000 for information leading to Bici's arrest and indictment. All calls to the hotline are confidential. All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in court.

 

 

GRAPHIC: Esat Bici

LOAD-DATE: October 01, 1996

 

 

 

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Copyright 1996 Daily News, L.P.  

Daily News (New York)

July 29, 1996, Monday

SECTION: Suburban; Pg. 1

LENGTH: 492 words

HEADLINE: 10G OFFERED FOR GAY-SLAY FUGITIVE

BYLINE: By PETE DONOHUE

BODY:

 

Gay activists have posted a $ 10,000 reward for information leading to the capture of an alleged skinhead gang member charged in the fatal beating and stabbing of a homosexual in Jackson Heights.

The New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, which is posting the reward, also is conducting a letter-writing campaign demanding that Esat Bici be prosecuted for murder and nothing less. Activists don't want prosecutors to offer a plea deal that might allow Bici to be sentenced to a lesser charge if he is captured.

"No deals, no pleas," Anti-Violence Project Executive Director Christine Quinn said.

"The gay community and Julio Rivera do not deserve that."

The police Crime Stoppers program is offering another $ 1,000 reward.

Anyone with information should call (800) 577-TIPS. Bici also is slated to be featured on a September airing of the television show "America's Most Wanted."

An assistant district attorney would not comment on the no-plea demand.

Bici became a fugitive in May when he failed to appear in court on his case, which was heading toward its second trial in Queens Supreme Court. The first trial ended with his conviction for murder, but it was overturned by a higher court.

Rivera was beaten and fatally stabbed in July 1990 in an early morning attack on the grounds of Public School 69 in Jackson Heights. Prosecutors say three men took part in the killing: Bici, Daniel Doyle and Erik Brown. They targeted Rivera, 29, because he was a homosexual, Brown has admitted in court.

Authorities said Doyle and Bici were members of a group that called itself DMS, which has had several meanings over the years, including Doc Martin Stompers and Death Machine Skinheads.

Doyle, who inflicted the fatal stab wound, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter, testified against the other two and was sentenced to 81/3 to 25 years in prison. Brown also pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced Friday to five to 15 years behind bars.

Brown said he engaged Rivera in conversation in the school courtyard, setting him up for an attack by Doyle and Bici. Doyle and Bici were armed with a knife, a hammer and a wrench, Brown said.

Brown, who never made bail even after his initial conviction with Bici was overturned has been imprisoned since November 1991, and will be eligible for parole consideration later this year, authorities said.

Bici went on the lam May 15 one day after Brown pleaded guilty and vowed to testify against Bici at trial. Bici was free on bail at the time.

Rivera's relatives, meanwhile, are looking forward to the day when a shackled Bici is brought back to court and convicted. Peg Rivera, Julio's sister-in-law, said relatives are confident that District Attorney Richard Brown's office and the Police Departmentwill track Bici down.

"Today marks two out of three," Peg Rivera said. "We will be standing here again and it will be three out of three."

LOAD-DATE: July 29, 1996

 

 

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Copyright 1996 Daily News, L.P.  

Daily News (New York)

July 21, 1996, Sunday

SECTION: Suburban; Pg. 1

LENGTH: 779 words

HEADLINE: HEIGHTENED CRIME AWARENESS

GROUP TAKES AIM AT VIOLENCE IN GAY WORLD OF JACKSON HTS.

BYLINE: By CLAIRE SERANT

BODY:

 

JACKSON HEIGHTS, the multi-cultural mecca in the heart of Queens, has also become home to the city's largest gay and lesbian community outside of Manhattan.

But their heightened visibility has also brought an increase in the number of bias-related crimes and reports of same-sex domestic violence, most notably the gay-bashing killing of Julio Rivera in 1990.

As a result, the Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project (AVP), a social services agency that monitors criminal acts against and within the gay community citywide, will open its first satellite office on 37th Ave. in Jackson Heights by the end of the month.

"It made perfect sense to us . . . to do outreach in the outer boroughs," said Christine Quinn, executive director of AVP.

"Jackson Heights has a large and active gay population . . . growing over the past five or six years."

Last year, the Manhattan-based nonprofit group documented 625 bias crimes citywide, ranging from verbal harassments and assaults to killings that were reported to their office.

There were 56 incidents reported in Queens in 1995, up from 38 the year before, Quinn said.

Law enforcement officials praise the anti-violence project's decision to open auxiliary offices both in Jackson Heights and Brooklyn.

AVP also plans to open a site in Park Slope in September.

But, said, Eric Rosenbaum, an assistant Queens district attorney: "Bias crimes aren't on the increase."

"There's greater awareness of violent crimes," said Rosenbaum, who also serves as a liaison to the gay and lesbian community for Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.

"We'll be able to get information quickly, and the increased visibility lets the community know that an advocacy group has moved in," he said.

Quinn insisted that AVP's bias statistics are higher than those of most law enforcement agencies because many gays are reluctant to report crimes to authorities.

AVP's Queens site will be located three blocks from the Jackson Heights schoolyard to which Julio Rivera was lured, then beaten and stabbed to death six years ago. The 29-year-old bartender's senseless killing outraged the gay community.

Three men allegedly associated with a skinhead gang were arrested in connection with the slaying.

One of them testified in court against the other two and helped convict them of murder. But the convictions were reversed last year. A re-trial is pending.

It was Rivera's slaying that galvanized the borough's gay community to use their growing numbers to become politically active, said Ed Sedarbaum, founder of Queens Gays and Lesbians United (QGLU), a five-year-old group born of the killing of Rivera.

"Like any community, we're in need of social services. The political progress we've made by establishing ourselves outside Manhattan could disappear overnight," said Sedarbaum, who is director of SAGE/Queens, an Astoria-based gay and lesbian senior citizen program.

Although Queens has hosted the largest Gay Pride parade outside Manhattan every year since 1992, there is fear within the community about homophobic violence, said John Azzali, QGLU's co-chairman.

"Attacks on [gay] people have not gone down," said Azzali, who moved to Jackson Heights from Ridgewood four years ago.

"Having the [anti-violence] project here will make a dent in the bias crime against us. It will make it easier for people to come forward."

The Jackson Heights office, Quinn said, will be housed in the same building as the Hispanic AIDS Forum, a social service agency.

Two project staffers will be available to the community on a part-time basis, while an outreach plan is being developed.

Sedarbaum, a 17-year Jackson Heights resident, said the neighborhood has always been home to a large number of gay bars and public areas where gays congregate.

"Jackson Heights always had a gay nightlife. It was kept secret for self-protection," Sedarbaum pointed out.

Knowledge of the gay community's presence often brings gay bashers into the area, Sedarbaum said, adding, "They come to our neighborhoods to find us."

The Queens office will also address the issue of domestic violence within gay households.

"It's a chance to empower gay people and break the isolation of domestic violence," said Chris Drumm, an AVP staffer who will work in the Queens office.

"It's impossible for some people to admit they are being battered. It's important for perpetrators to know there's an organization that knows and cares and monitors responses."

Another AVP staffer, Hector Seda, said, "We're very excited. Queens is a mix of so many cultures, we're going to help a lot of people."

 

 

GRAPHIC: THOMAS MONASTER DAILY NEWS HELP IS HERE: Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project staffers Hector Seda (left) and Chris Drumm confer in office on 37th St. in Jackson Heights. "It's important for perpetrators to know there's an organization that knows and cares and monitors responses," says Drumm.

LOAD-DATE: July 22, 1996

 

 

 

 

 

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Copyright 1996 The New York Times Company  

The New York Times

May 19, 1996, Sunday, Late Edition - Final

SECTION: Section 13;  Page 8;  Column 4;  The City Weekly Desk 

LENGTH: 383 words

HEADLINE: NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: JACKSON HEIGHTS;

Still Waiting for Justice in Gay-Bias Killing

BYLINE:  By DAVID W. DUNLAP 

BODY:

   "Justice for Julio" was the refrain in Jackson Heights six years ago after Julio Rivera, a 29-year-old bartender, was lured into a gay cruising area on 37th Avenue by assailants who beat him and stabbed him to death. For months, gay organizers prodded the authorities to handle the case with a greater sense of urgency.

When Erik Brown and Esat Bici were convicted in 1991 of second-degree murder, homosexuals thought justice had been done. A third man, Daniel Doyle, had already admitted to stabbing Mr. Rivera.

Their feelings of vindication began to erode last year, however, when the convictions were overturned by an appeals court. Now, any sense of justice has vanished.

Mr. Bici, who was free on $350,000 bail, failed to appear for a court hearing Tuesday, a day after Mr. Brown pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter and agreed to testify against him. Judge Thomas A. Demakos revoked Mr. Bici's bail and ordered his arrest. His lawyer, Barry Gene Rhodes, said that neither he nor the Bici family had heard from the young man.

Douglas Sullavan, 75, a Jackson Heights resident, sounded angry but not surprised that the defendant disappeared. "The law, the system is not taking this matter as seriously as they should," Mr. Sullavan said.

The latest development in the Rivera case will almost surely dampen the fourth annual gay pride march on June 2 along 37th Avenue, between 75th and 89th Streets. For the last few years, when the lead contingent reaches the yard of Public School 69, where Mr. Rivera was killed, the marchers have paused for a moment of silence.

Daniel Dromm, co-chairman of the Queens Lesbian and Gay Pride Committee, said he and others were considering a protest. But several residents said indignation might be giving way to resignation.

"People are so drawn out that we get deadened," said Howard Cruse, 52, an author. "In some ways, it's analagous to dealing with the epidemic. If everything had happened in the space of a week, you'd have people pouring into Sheridan Square."

Daniel Castellanos, 32, who works at the Hispanic AIDS Forum, also noted an erosion of outrage. "You can be angry the first time, and angry the second time, and angry the third time," he said. "But then you see that there is no point."   DAVID W. DUNLAP

 

GRAPHIC: Photo: Esat Bici, left, and Erik Brown were convicted of murder in 1991. (Photographs by Steve Berman for The New York Times)

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

LOAD-DATE: May 21, 1996

 

 

 

 

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Copyright 1996 Daily News, L.P.  

Daily News (New York)

May 15, 1996, Wednesday

SECTION: Suburban; Pg. 1

LENGTH: 317 words

HEADLINE: GAY SLAY SUSPECT GOES ON THE LAM

BYLINE: By PETER DONOHUE

BODY:

 

A Queens man charged with the gay-bashing murder of bartender Julio Rivera apparently went on the lam yesterday one day after his alleged accomplice vowed to testify for prosecutors, authorities said.

Queens Supreme Court Justice Thomas Demakos yesterday issued an arrest warrant for Esat Bici after Bici failed to appear at a pre-trial hearing on charges that he killed Rivera in Jackson Heights in 1990.

As of press time yesterday, Bici was still at large.

On Monday, co-defendant Erik Brown pleaded guilty to manslaughter in connection with the killing of Rivera, who was beaten and stabbed to death. Brown said Bici, 24, of Elmhurst, took part in the attack and vowed to testify during Bici's upcoming trial.

"He's gone," Bici's attorney Barry Rhodes of Brooklyn, said. "Mr. Bici is a fugitive." Bici was free on $ 350,000 bail.

To Rivera's relatives, Bici's flight confirmed Bici is not innocent. "This shows his guilt," sister-in-law Peg Rivera said. "We feel vindicated. We now know we were not hounding innocent people."

Rhodes said he was stunned by Bici's disappearance. He last spoke to Bici Monday night and Bici was confident that he could win his case, Rhodes said.

Bici and Brown were convicted of Rivera's murder in 1991 and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. However, those convictions were overturned on technicalities.

On Monday, Brown said he engaged Rivera in a conversation outside Public School 69, setting him up for an attack by Bici and a third man, Daniel Doyle. Brown said Bici was armed with a hammer and Doyle had a knife.

Rivera, 29, was targeted by the trio, alleged members of a skinhead gang, because they suspected he was a homosexual, Brown said.

Doyle testified for the prosecution during the first trial. He is serving a state prison sentence for manslaughter. He inflicted the fatal stab wound, authorities said.

LOAD-DATE: May 15, 1996

 

 

 

 

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Copyright 1996 Daily News, L.P.  

Daily News (New York)

May 14, 1996, Tuesday

SECTION: Suburban; Pg. 1

LENGTH: 432 words

HEADLINE: MAN PLEADS GUILTY IN FATAL GAY BASHING

BYLINE: By PETE DONOHUE

BODY:

 

A Jackson Heights man pleaded guilty yesterday to taking part in the schoolyard slaying of Julio Rivera a killing that sparked rage in the gay community.

Erik Brown, 25, engaged Rivera in conversation outside a Jackson Heights school in July 1990, setting him up for an assault by two cohorts Esat Bici and Daniel Doyle Brown said yesterday in Kew Gardens Supreme Court.

Rivera, who was gay, was targeted because the three alleged members of a skinhead gang suspected he was homosexual, Brown said.

"I was to speak to him, detain him, while Mr. Bici and Mr. Doyle attacked him," Brown said without emotion. "That's exactly what happened."

Rivera, 29, was beaten and fatally stabbed in the early morning attack outside Public School 69, on 37th Ave.

Brown, who faced 25 years to life if convicted of murder, pleaded guilty to manslaughter before Justice Thomas Demakos. Under the deal, Brown faces up to 15 years in prison and will testify against Bici at his upcoming retrial.

Doyle, also of Jackson Heights, also pleaded guilty to manslaughter and is serving a sentence of 81/3 to 25 years behind bars.

Brown and Bici, who is from Elmhurst, were convicted of murder in 1991. The convictions, however, were overturned on technicalities one of which involved jury selection. The Appellate Division found Justice Ralph Sherman, who has retired, wrongly excluded the public from part of the questioning of potential jurors.

Ted Rivera, the victim's brother, said he was "not happy" with the plea agreement but accepted it as a way to insure that Bici will be prosecuted.

"I feel these men, these cowards, are guilty, and they were proven guilty," Ted Rivera said outside the courtroom. "They butchered my brother."

Matt Foreman, executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, called the plea deal "tolerable" in light of the fact that the convictions were overturned. But he blasted police for allegedly failing to investigate the slaying properly early in the case noting, for example, that the knife used to kill Rivera was not recovered.

Doyle, 25, testified against Bici and Brown during the first trial. Doyle inflicted the fatal knife wound, authorities said. Bici was armed with a hammer and a wrench, Brown said yesterday.

Assistant District Attorney Richard Schaeffer yesterday told Demakos that he has been unable to locate a witness from the first trial. That witness testified that Bici bragged about the attack on Rivera. Earlier this year, Doyle's attorney said his client may not testify at a second trial.

LOAD-DATE: May 14, 1996

 

 

 

 

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Copyright 1996 Daily News, L.P.  

Daily News (New York)

February 22, 1996, Thursday

SECTION: Suburban; Pg. 2

LENGTH: 406 words

HEADLINE: DA WITNESS BALKS AT GAY SLAY RETRIAL

BYLINE: By PETE DONOHUE

BODY:

 

The key prosecution witness in a gay-bashing murder case that galvanized Queens' gay community may not take the stand in the retrial.

Prosecutors have appealed to Daniel Doyle, who participated in the 1990 slaying of Julio Rivera in a Jackson Heights schoolyard and was a key witness in the first trial, to testify against his two alleged accomplices again.

But Doyle, who is now serving time in a state prison for manslaughter, has so far refused to make such a commitment, his attorney said.

"Whether he will or will not remains to be seen," Doyle's attorney, Jeffrey Schlanger, said. "He is under no obligation to testify."

The case against Erik Brown and Esat Bici is marked to go to trial in Queens Supreme Court tomorrow. It is expected, however, to be postponed for reasons not related to Doyle, authorities said.

Prosecutors say Rivera, 29, a bartender, was lured into a PS 69 courtyard and attacked by the three allegedly associated with a skinhead gang because he was gay. He was bludgeoned and stabbed to death, with Doyle, now 25, inflicting the fatal stab wound.

As part of a deal struck under former Queens District Attorney John Santucci, Doyle pleaded guilty to manslaughter and testified against Brown and Bici in a 1991 trial. The two men were convicted of murder and sentenced to up to 25 years in prison. Doyle received a sentence of 81/5 to 25 years in prison.

But the Appellate Division last year overturned the convictions, citing errors by the trial judge, and ordered a new trial.

Doyle's deal called for him to testify once not repeatedly, lawyers said.

Prosecutors expect they will be allowed to read Doyle's testimony from the prior trial to a new jury. But that may have less impact, prosecutors and defense lawyers said.

Barry Rhodes, Bici's attorney, said Doyle was an imposing character on the stand during the first trial.

"Reading his testimony is not nearly as dramatic as seeing the guy," Rhodes said, recalling how the 6-foot-5 Doyle seemed to barely fit in the witness box.

"He was frightening. He was perfect [for the prosecution]. . . . he's a scary guy. He made my blood go cold."

The killing sparked outrage in the city's gay community and led to the formation of Queens Gays and Lesbians United. Activists from the Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project and other groups monitored the case and demanded that Rivera's killers be punished.

LOAD-DATE: February 22, 1996

 

 

 

 

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Copyright 1995 Daily News, L.P.  

Daily News (New York)

September 05, 1995, Tuesday

SECTION: Suburban; Pg. 1

LENGTH: 479 words

HEADLINE: GAY GROUP FOCUSING ON SLAY RETRIAL

BYLINE: By MIGUEL GARCILAZO

BODY:

 

Five years ago, Julio Rivera was ruthlessly stabbed and bludgeoned to death in the courtyard of a Jackson Heights elementary school allegedly by three men who killed him because he was gay.

The cold-blooded killing shattered the family of Rivera, 29, and brought cries of outrage from the city's gay and lesbian community.

"The Police Department at first refused to call it a bias crime, even after the three suspects were apprehended," said Ed Sedarbaum, founder of Queens Gays and Lesbians United.

"It took quite a while," he said, ". . . but it was obvious to the district attorney that it was a hate crime."

The Queens group sprung to life as a result of the Rivera killing and has monitored the case closely.

Sedarbaum said his group will hold a forum tonight on anti-gay hate crimes that also will focus on the upcoming retrial of two men whose convictions were set aside in the Rivera case.

The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Community Methodist Church on 34th Ave. in Jackson Heights.

The pending retrial also is deeply upsetting to Rivera's family. They are angry that an appellate court ordered a new trial because of procedural errors by the judge who presided over the two men's murder trial.

"My hopes were fulfilled when they were convicted, but now I just don't know," Ted Rivera, Julio's brother, told the Daily News. "I feel that [the judge] should have been sanctioned, not us.

"This should not have happened. These men are guilty."

Rivera's alleged killers Eric Brown, 21, and Esat Bici, 20 became the first defendants in state history to be tried and convicted for a bias-related murder. Their co-defendant, 21-year-old Daniel Doyle, testified against them at the trial after pleading guilty to manslaughter.

Brown and Bici members of the Doc Martens skinhead gang were found guilty three years ago.

In January, the Appellate Division of Supreme Court overturned the 1991 murder convictions of Brown and Bici, citing errors by Justice Ralph Sherman, who tried the case.

Although the court felt there was sufficient evidence to establish the defendants' guilt, a new trial was ordered.

One of the judicial errors cited by the Appellate Division involved Sherman's questioning of prospective jurors in his chambers. The judge apparently asked some members of the jury pool whether they were gay.

Although the appellate court made no judgment on whether the question was appropriate, it noted that holding the interviews in chambers violated the defendants' right to a public trial.

"This trial is truly about hate," Ted Rivera said solemnly. "I wanted these guys off the streets I really believed we saved more people from being hurt."

Bici and Brown are scheduled to return to Kew Gardens Supreme Court on Sept. 18. Court watchers estimate the case could be tried soon after.

LOAD-DATE: September 05, 1995