OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY

RICHMOND COUNTY

DANIEL M. DONOVAN, JR.

DISTRICT ATTORNEY

130 STUYVESANT PLACE

STATEN ISLAND, NEW YORK 10301
TELEPHONE (718) 876-6300

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release on December 15, 2010 Contact: William J. Smith (718) 556-7150
William.Smith@rcda.nyc.gov

STATEMENT OF RICHMOND COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY

DANIEL M. DONOVAN, JR. ON GUILTY PLEA ENTERED BY TYESS
CRESPO, AN EMPLOYEE OF RIDGEWOOD BUSHWICK SENIOR
CITIZENS COUNCIL/HOPE GARDENS
STATEN ISLAND, NY – Richmond County District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan, Jr. today announced that Tyess
Crespo (DOB: 3/8/1974) of Bleecker Street, Brooklyn, an employee of Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens
Council/Hope Gardens, has entered a guilty to a charge of Criminal Facilitation in the 4th Degree, a Class A misdemeanor,
in Brooklyn Criminal Court before Judge Suzanne M. Mondo, who sentenced the defendant to a Conditional Discharge, a
condition of which is that the defendant can no longer be employed by Hope Gardens.

Following an investigation by the New York City Department of Investigation (DOI) and the Kings County District
Attorney (KCDA), the defendant was arrested on charges Attempted Grand Larceny in the 4th Degree, Offering a False
Instrument in the 1st Degree, both Class E felonies, and Criminal Facilitation in the 4th degree, a Class A misdemeanor.
The allegations were based on evidence that the defendant, under the direction of a now deceased supervisor, photocopied
and altered attendance sheets to support approximately $4,080 in alleged expenses incurred by a Hope Gardens anti-gang
youth violence program.

On August 3, 2010 the Richmond County District Attorney’s office was appointed Special District Attorney of this matter
in addition to reviewing possible criminal irregularities in, inter alia, the funding of Hope Garden, Inc., and its parent
agency, Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council, Inc., pursuant to an order issued by Justice Fern A. Fisher, Deputy
Chief Administrative Judge for New York City Courts, following a Special District Attorney application by the KCDA.

District Attorney Donovan issued the following statement on the disposition of the prosecution:

“In recent months numerous media accounts have reported that my office has been conducting an investigation
into Assemblyman Vito Lopez, who has been affiliated with the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens
Council/Hope Gardens organizations. Although it is my office’s policy to not confirm or deny the existence of
any investigations, I believe the intense interest in this matter compels me to clarify the public record.

My office was appointed as Special District Attorney following the arrest of an individual by the New York City
Department of Investigation, accused in a criminal court complaint by the Kings County District Attorney, of
photocopying and altering attendance sheets of a youth program to seek support a request for reimbursement of

-more-
 expenses allegedly incurred by the program. Both investigations by the DOI and KCDA into Tyess Crespo’s
actions, later continued by my office, as well as a review of possible criminal irregularities in the funding of
Ridgewood/Hope Gardens produced no actionable evidence of criminal conduct beyond those in the initial
criminal charges. This was the extent to which the judicial order allowed my office to investigate.

It must be noted that my office, as Special District Attorney in this matter, is bound by the principles espoused in
People v. Leahy, 75 N.Y.2d 510 (1988), in which the Court of Appeals held that a court appointing a Special
District Attorney may only do so for “a particular case” due to the extraordinary circumstances of disqualifying
a District Attorney. In this proceeding, my office has followed the Court of Appeals ruling that the Special
District Attorney statute must not be read expansively to include matters other than the particular case so
designated in the order.

I believe that the disposition of this case is appropriate in light of the defendant’s lack of a criminal record and
that the defendant’s actions did not result in any loss to the taxpayers of New York City.

I must caution the public that the disposition of this matter should not be taken as an indication of a resolution
of any other possible investigations of Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council/Hope Gardens, or affiliated
individuals, which may be undertaken by other law enforcement entities.

The case against Tyess Crespo was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney David Frey, Deputy Chief of the
Investigations Bureau, under the supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney Timothy J. Koller. The defendant
was represented by Frank Carone, Esq.

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