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The bulk of the trial testimony came from Albert Cleary, who told detectives several different stories before incriminating John. Albert told the jury that he and Angel DiPietro left John’s house at some point on the morning of October 12th and walked back to his house. He testified that he and Angel went to … Read more
John Avitto, a drug addict and predicate felon, was incarcerated with John in early 2005. At the time, Avitto was thirty- five and in for a burglary charge, which would eventually result in his 18th conviction (at least). Unbeknownst to John and his attorneys, he’d also recently been diagnosed with schizophrenia. John’s lawyers were … Read more
Anthony Beharry was a friend of John’s and also lived in the neighborhood. Like Lauren, he wasn’t at the party. But he testified that in the days that followed, John contacted him and asked him to help get rid of the gun. This, despite the fact that Antonio Russo had apparently hinted to … Read more
Angel DiPietro, who is now an assistant district attorney in the very office that once called her an “uncooperative witness”, is a crucial character in this story, despite efforts to minimize her role. Her testimony reflects these efforts; she knew nothing, saw nothing, remembered no details, and took herself out of the equation at … Read more
Lauren Calciano was, at the time, John Giuca’s girlfriend. Lauren was not at the party, however she testified that she went over to John’s house during the day on October 12th. She stated that Albert Cleary was also present, and that John told both of them that the following evening, Antonio Russo came up to … Read more
Prosecutorial Misconduct “A prosecutor may ‘strike hard blows, but he is not at liberty to strike foul ones. It is as much his duty to refrain from improper methods calculated to produce a wrongful conviction as it is to use every legitimate means to bring about a just one.” –Berger v. United States “It is my … Read more
The Wrongful Prosecution of John Giuca 1. The Murder On Saturday, October 11, 2003, college student Mark Fisher went out with some friends on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. At a bar, he ran into Angel DiPietro, a classmate from Fairfield University, who was out with some of her friends, including a girl named … Read more
In September of 2003, John Giuca was a college student, studying Criminal Justice at the prestigious John Jay University in New York City. But just two years later, his life would grind to a screeching halt when he was sentenced to 25-years to life for a crime he did not commit. Convinced … Read more