Appellate panel denies bail to ex-LIer in fatal shove case

Lauren Pazienza, the former Port Jefferson woman accused of fatally shoving a well-known Manhattan voice teacher earlier this year, lost another bid to get out of jail on bail before trial.

In a unanimous decision, a four-judge panel of the Appellate Division First Department in Manhattan turned down a request by Pazienza’s attorneys to have her earlier $500,000 bail reinstated.

 The court — in a one-sentence opinion without elaboration — said it was turning down the request, noting only that an earlier effort to get bail was “properly denied.”

“We are exploring all options,” said defense attorney Arthur Aidala, when asked what other legal avenues Pazienza could pursue.

Pazienza, 26, an event planner, was charged with first-degree manslaughter and two counts of assault after on March 10 she allegedly pushed Barbara Gustern, 87, on a sidewalk, causing her to fall and strike her head. Gustern died from her head injuries five days later.

After Pazienza was charged and arraigned on a criminal complaint in March, a state judge granted her $500,000 bail, an amount put together with money from her parents, grandparents and other relatives.

But in May, after Pazienza was formally indicted, Manhattan State Supreme Court Judge Felicia Mennin revoked her bail, finding that she was a flight risk and that no other conditions could assure her future appearance in court.

Pazienza has remained in custody on Rikers Island since. No trial date has been set.

In appealing Mennin’s revocation of bail, Aidala argued to the appellate court that the fact that Pazienza waited 12 days before she surrendered to police was because she was trying to line up a defense attorney to help her turn herself in and not because she was thinking of fleeing.

The media furor over the case prompted the bail revocation and manslaughter charge, Aidala said.

“This is a media case,” Aidala argued last week to the appeals court. “If this was not a media case, she wouldn’t be charged so high, there would be bail.”

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office declined to comment on the Appellate Division ruling.

During her arraignment in May, prosecutors spelled out for the court more details about the events in a nearby park that preceded the fateful encounter between Pazienza and Gustern on 28th Street.

To celebrate their upcoming wedding in June, Pazienza and her fiance planned to visit some Chelsea art galleries. Pazienza had several glasses of wine, after which she and her fiance went to a nearby park to eat meals they bought from a food cart, prosecutors said.

However, after a male park employee told the couple they had to leave because the park was closing, Pazienza became angry, started cursing, threw her food onto her fiance and stormed out of the park, officials said. According to the prosecution account, the fiance then packed up the food and decided to go back to the couple’s apartment in Astoria.

It was on 28th Street, prosecutors alleged, that Pazienza crossed the street, walked directly toward Gustern, cursed her and gave the woman a shove, which knocked her down.

The impact caused Gustern’s head to bleed, and Pazienza left without giving aid, officials said. The voice coach died five days after the encounter.

A passing cyclist who witnessed the incident stopped to help Gustern, who at that point was conscious, and walked her back to her friend’s apartment, prosecutors said. Gustern told the cyclist repeatedly that she had never been pushed that hard before in her life, officials said.

Police didn't immediately know who the suspect in the alleged attack was, except for some video images  that depicted a woman with long hair and dressed in a dark coat.

Prosecutors said NYPD investigators got an anonymous tip a few days later that Pazienza was hiding at her parents' home in Port Jefferson.

By Anthony M. DeStefano

tony.destefano@newsday.comtonynewsday

Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.