Activists: Don't politicize MS-13 witness' death

More than a dozen progressive activists Friday accused Nassau's top lawmaker and police commissioner of "politicizing" the death of a homeless man found bludgeoned to death as he prepared to testify against his alleged MS-13 attackers. 

The body of Wilmer Maldonado Rodriguez, 36, was recovered outside an abandoned New Cassel home Sunday, police said.

Rodriguez’s identity as both victim and witness to a 2018 assault by MS-13 gang members was initially under a protective order. But his name was turned over in December to attorneys for the defendants, Denis Pineda, 20, and Elian Ramos Velasquez, 19, in anticipation of their planned trial.

County Executive Laura Curran and Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder initially linked Rodriguez's death to a new law requiring prosecutors to give defense attorneys discovery material — including, potentially, the name of confidential witnesses — no later than 15 days after a defendant is arraigned.

At a news conference in Mineola on Friday, Susan Gottehrer, director of the Nassau Chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union, accused Ryder and Curran of "cynically" spreading "misinformation" to fuel a political agenda.

"Here are the facts: the new discovery laws are not responsible for the death of Wilmer Maldonado Rodriguez," Gottehrer said. "The new discovery laws allow for protective orders to protect witnesses' identity."

Court records show that a protective order, keeping Rodriguez's identity secret, was modified by a judge in December allowing prosecutors to share information with defense attorneys. But defense lawyers for Pineda and Velasquez said they did not disclose Rodriguez's name to their clients.

Curran's statement Wednesday said the discovery requirements "pose a threat" to crime victims and witnesses and "undercut" the trust between law enforcement and the community.

"Our communities will be scared to report crimes or talk to law enforcement," Curran said. "We cannot let another murder happen because a witness may have been disclosed."

Ryder argued at a news conference Wednesday that Rodriguez's identity had been released prematurely, seeming to blame the new discovery law. “This man is dead because we didn’t do enough … and this law is not helping us,” he said. 

The commissioner later conceded there was "no direct link" between Rodriguez's death and criminal justice reform.

But on Friday, Ryder said: “I stand behind the information that I presented at the press conference which is accurate.”

Curran's office released a statement Friday that did not specifically address the concerns raised Friday by progressive groups.

“I think the outcry over so many of these changes is evidence of the tremendous amount of anxiety and frustration that our communities and law enforcement officials are feeling," Curran said. "We will need to parse out necessary changes to criminal justice reform.”

Kayla Glick, a community organizer with Bend the Arc, a Jewish social justice group, called on Curran and Ryder to issue public apologies for their initial statements. 

"Our public officials must not play political games with the freedom and dignity of the thousands of people who are impacted by the bail and discovery reform laws," Glick said.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.