Federal judge denies bail for NYPD cop charged in murder-for-hire plot

Suspended NYPD officer Valerie Cincinelli appears in matrimonial court in Mineola in June 2019. Credit: Howard Schnapp
A federal judge Tuesday denied the bail application of a suspended NYPD officer charged with a murder-for-hire plot despite her claim that being forced to do laundry as an inmate at a Brooklyn jail put her at heightened risk of catching the coronavirus.
Valerie Cincinelli, 35, who is accused of plotting to kill her estranged husband and the teenage daughter of her boyfriend, also maintained that new evidence greatly weakened the government’s case against her.
But federal prosecutors said that at best Cincinelli was exaggerating her situation at the laundry, saying Cincinelli had volunteered to work there and was misrepresenting her job to her attorney.
Eastern District federal prosecutors Anthony Bagnuola and Catherine Mirabile said during a telephonic bail conference that Cincinelli’s claims — that she was washing the clothing of inmates infected with the coronavirus — was incorrect, and that, in fact, she was only assigned to fold already cleaned clothing.
Prosecutors also said that while Cincinelli said in court papers that she works in the laundry without “proper” protective equipment, she acknowledged in an email to a friend that she is given a mask and gloves.
This disclosure prompted U.S. District Judge Sandra Feuerstein to ask Cincinelli’s attorney James Kousouros how closely he had investigated his client’s claims. Kousouros said he had difficulty getting any information out of jail officials.
“I don’t see any additional risk for your client” working in the laundry, Feuerstein said.
At one point, Cincinelli, who was on the call from the Metropolitan Detention Center, or MDC, tried to speak but was stopped. Court procedure usually requires defendants to address a judge through counsel.
Feuerstein also rejected Cincinelli’s claim that new evidence submitted by Kousouros, most provided by federal prosecutors during the pretrial discovery process, weakened the government’s case, making her more eligible for bail.
But the judge said the defense lawyer's interpretation of the material was either unpersuasive, irrelevant or subjects for the trial jury to decide.
“I don’t find anything different from the initial application,” the judge said.
It was the second time Feuerstein has denied bail to Cincinelli. In September, Feuerstein ruled that Cincinelli had shown “clear and convincing evidence” that she was a danger to the alleged victims and the community.
Shortly after the hearing, Kousouros filed an appeal of Feuerstein’s decision with the Second Circuit in Manhattan.
Cincinelli, who was arrested in May, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder-for-hire and one count of obstruction of justice. She faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
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