Man pleads guilty in DWI crash that killed Suffolk cop

With dozens of uniformed cops looking on, a Plainview man pleaded guilty Monday to causing a 2009 crash in Commack that killed Suffolk Police Officer Glen Ciano.

Jose Borbon, 24, admitted to being drunk and talking on a cell phone when he smashed into a police cruiser driven by Ciano at 4:12 a.m. on Feb. 22, 2009. Ciano, 45, of Bayport, died when the cruiser crashed into a utility pole and exploded in flames.

Ciano's wife, Susan, watched from a second-row seat as Borbon pleaded guilty to the top count, first-degree vehicular manslaughter, aggravated driving while intoxicated and two lesser charges.

State Supreme Court Justice Robert W. Doyle said he would sentence Borbon to 1 1/3 to 4 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 22.

Prosecutors said they would ask Doyle to sentence Borbon to 3 to 9 years in prison.

Borbon's attorney, William Petrillo of Rockville Centre, said Borbon would be immediately eligible for parole because he has been in jail for one year and nine months since being charged with Ciano's death.

But John Collins, chief trial prosecutor for the Suffolk district attorney's office, told reporters outside court that he expects Borbon to be denied parole and serve more than three years in prison.

Jeff Frayler, president of the Suffolk Police Benevolent Association, said he had mixed feelings about Borbon's plea and his potential sentence.

Speaking to reporters after Borbon's plea, Frayler said it was "a sad day for law enforcement."

"To see it come down to 1 1/3 to 4 years hurts everybody," Frayler said. But he added that the guilty plea was "the best the district attorney could do."

Collins said Ciano's family was "realistic" about the case's outcome. Susan Ciano and other family members left court without speaking to reporters.

"I can't stand here and tell you that they're thrilled with this proposed sentence, because I know they're not," Collins said.

Prosecutors had said Borbon had a blood-alcohol level of 0.19 percent - more than twice the legal limit of 0.08 percent - when he crashed into Ciano's cruiser at Vanderbilt Motor Parkway and Commack Road.

In a separate case in Nassau County, Borbon previously was sentenced to a year in prison after admitting in court he drove drunk on the Long Island Expressway in January 2009, six weeks before the crash that killed Ciano.