Judge responds to PEF’s plea for justice Drunk driver faces stiffer penalty in VP’s death By DENYCE DUNCAN LACY The man whose drunk driving claimed the life of PEF Vice President Jean DeBow last summer will likely be getting more than just a slap on the wrist for the crime, thanks to PEF’s intervention. When PEF President Roger Benson learned that a Kings County Supreme Court Judge offered Erasmo Torres a minimum jail sentence of 3 1/2 to 7 years in prison in exchange for his guilty plea to manslaughter in the second degree, Benson fired off a letter blasting the deal. And the union leader pleaded with the judge to take into account the loss suffered by the victims and their families — including their union family — in urging her to withdraw the plea-bargain arrangement. “We are appalled and saddened that your Honor has offered such a lenient sentence to the defendant, a predicate felon, who has taken the life of a member of our union family — PEF Vice President Jean DeBow — and has forever scarred both physically and emotionally another family member, Executive Board Member Dollie Williams, who was also a victim of the horrific crime committed by the defendant.” DeBow was killed instantly in the early morning crash in Brooklyn last June, and Williams sustained serious injuries. “The defendant has robbed us of a phenomenal woman, a woman of promise and purpose,” Benson wrote. “The defendant in the darkness of his destructive selfishness has forever quenched the light of a woman of creative altruism. ... In his drunken stupor, he has silenced the voice of a trailblazer for justice and equality. “The horrible and irreversible consequences of drunk driving will only grow larger and unchecked if Mr. Torres is not duly punished for his crime.” Judge Patricia DiMango was so moved by Benson’s three-page letter, and by arguments from the District Attorney’s Office, that she did withdraw the deal. Instead, she offered Torres the option of accepting the maximum jail sentence of 7 1/2 to 15 years for his guilty plea, or going to trial. Torres has been incarcerated since his arrest last June. He has appealed DiMango’s ruling to the Appellate Division of State supreme Court, but the DA’s office is hopeful a just sentence will be meted out. “We are optimistic this case will proceed to trial unless the defendant agrees to an enhanced sentence,” said Kings County Assistant DA Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi. “We do not believe the maximum jail sentence is excessive in light of the nature of the crime.” A decision from the Appellate Division is expected in May. The Communicator Home Page