After a man who was scheduled to testify against alleged members of the violent MS-13 gang was found bludgeoned to death in New York, Nassau County officials, including the police commissioner and the district attorney, questioned whether new bail reform laws that permitted his name to be revealed by defense attorneys to defendants had led to his death.
The New York Times wrote of the victim, Wilmer Maldonado Rodriguez, 36, “On Sunday, Mr. Rodriguez was found beaten to death outside a home in New Cassel, N.Y., and on Wednesday, his killing became a new flash point in the debate over criminal justice changes enacted by the New York State Legislature in 2019 at the urging of progressive lawmakers.”
As The New York Post reported, Rodriguez was “allegedly attacked by nine MS-13 members in October 2018 after intervening when the group threatened two boys. The suspects allegedly beat all three victims, stabbing Maldonado several times and knocking him in the head with a bat, officials said.”
Last December, prosecutors revealed who Rodriguez was to an arrested suspect’s defense team; prior to that his identity was concealed by protective order, as Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas stated. She added, “This case underscores the importance of safeguarding the identities of witnesses and victims of crime and our hearts are with Mr. Maldonado’s family and friends as we grieve his loss.”
Nassau County Executive Laura Curran added, “These new discovery requirements pose a threat to both the victims and witnesses of crimes … I am calling on Albany to take corrective action to fix criminal justice reform immediately. These new discovery requirements pose a threat to both the victims and witnesses of crimes.”
As WCBS reported, Singas stated, “This courageous man was prepared to testify against his alleged assailants at an upcoming trial, but he was brutally beaten to death before he could.”
Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder noted that the new bail reform law forces prosecutors to hand over all evidence against a defendant within 15 days of arraignment. He stated, “The system failed. The system failed, this man is dead … Justice reform is not taking care of our victims.” Newsday noted, “Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said even before Rodriguez was killed, he was assaulted and another victim was shot at — acts of intimidation that Ryder said began after the previously sealed evidence in the case was disclosed to defense attorneys.”
Ryder later stated there was no direct correlation between the law and Rodriguez’s death.
In late December, acting state Supreme Court Justice Helene Gugerty, the trial judge, issued an order that provided “for the disclosure of the protected information to defense counsel” but said that the defendants couldn’t see it until Jan. 6 “as that was the trial date,” according to court officials.
Singas added that prosecutors “protected this victim’s identity by obtaining a protective order in December of 2018, but his identity was disclosed pursuant to a judge’s order in December 2019.” A spokesman for Singas asserted, ‘We continued to request that the identities of the witnesses be protected until we could be ready for trial.”