ROSEDALE MAN CONVICTED OF FELONY FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS FOR REPEATEDLY PHONING 911 TO FALSELY REPORT CRIMES

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced today the conviction of a 41 year old Rosedale man on charges of repeatedly telephoning false crime reports to the police in the summer of 1996.

District Attorney Brown said, "This defendant cried wolf once too often. He has been convicted of repeatedly calling 911 to falsely report crimes in his neighborhood and causing police officers to respond. He created situations that placed people with genuine emergencies at risk."

District Attorney Brown identified the defendant as John Cimisi, 41, of 231-10 147th Avenue, Rosedale, New York. He was convicted of multiple counts of falsifying business records in connection with seven 911 calls after a trial before Supreme Court Justice Jaime Rios who will sentence the defendant on December 14. He faces up to four years in prison in connection with each of the seven incidents.

According to the testimony at trial, the defendant called 911 once on July 2, 1996, twice on August 26, 1996 and four times on August 28, 1996, to report that various crimes including gun trafficking and drug dealing were occurring in his Rosedale neighborhood. However, when police officers of the 105th precinct responded to investigate his claims they found no evidence that any crime had taken place. At one point, officers attempted to question the defendant in connection with the reported occurrences and he refused to open the door. Police arrested the defendant at his home.

Assistant District Attorney James M. Liander of the District Attorney's Integrity Bureau which is under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Vincent J. Carroll, prosecuted the case.