Retired Fallsburg Judge Isaac Kantrowitz will not have to serve any time in jail after killing two teenagers while behind the wheel on June 2, 2019 in Rock Hill.
Six months prior to that tragedy, Kantrowitz severely injured another pedestrian, also on Glen Wild Road.
After State Supreme Court Justice Stephan Schick today heard heart-wrenching statements from the families of the victims, calling for the maximum sentence of 30 days in jail -on the unclassified misdemeanor charge of reckless driving - Schick spent about three minutes praising Kantrowitz before telling the families he hoped that they would find peace.
Schick then imposed a fine of $1,088.
The case involving the deaths of Justin Finkel and Devin Zeininger revealed that former District Attorney Jim Farrell did not want to prosecute the case while he was campaigning to become County Court Judge, leaving it to then-Acting District Attorney Meagan Galligan.
Reporting by the SullivanTimes also revealed that the New York State Police accident reconstruction report clearly stated that Kantrowitz was traveling at 70 miles an hour in a 45 mph zone just before striking the teens.
But Galligan stated at a news conference on August 25, 2020 - right after the grand jury indictment- that Kantrowitz was only traveling at 62 mph.
Galligan has never explained the discrepancy but continues to maintain that her reading of the law precluded her from seeking any felony charges.
Late today, though, she issued a statement that said in part:
“The deaths of Devin and Justin will always be an unfathomable tragedy. When I inherited this case, my Office made this investigation a priority and fulfilled our promise to these victims to make a full, fair and legal presentation of this case to a grand jury and to prosecute any crimes it charged. The defendant pled guilty to the top charge issued by the grand jury and his license is permanently revoked. While my Office joined in the recommendations of the Zeininger and Finkel families, Judge Schick ultimately determined that justice in this case does not call for incarceration. “
Defense attorney Steve Lungen - the noted former District Attorney who preceded Farrell and who was Galligan’s first boss -spent considerable time today blaming this media outlet for its coverage of the case and threatened legal action.
The SullivanTimes stands by its reporting, including this exclusive story that revealed that Kantrowitz struck another pedestrian in December 2018.
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