Carbonaro
GOSHEN – A Warwick man was immediately sent to the Orange County Jail on Wednesday following his guilty plea to a charge of tampering with physical evidence and conspiracy as a hate crime.
Eric Carbonaro, 18, pled guilty in the October 2016 spray-painting of swastikas and other anti-Semitic symbols at the Beth Shalom Cemetery in the Town of Warwick.
The District Attorney’s Office recommended he be sentenced to six months in the county jail plus five years of probation and recommended that Carbonaro not be sentenced as a youthful offender.
The sentencing hearing was adjourned and will resume on August 30 when the incarceration will end, and the remainder of the sentence, plus any other conditions which the court may impose, will commence.
Carbonaro must appear in court again on February 19, 2019, at which time the court will evaluate ant steps toward rehabilitation and remorse demonstrated.
Everyone who presented victim impact statements indicated the need for a balanced sentence noting Carbonaro was 17 at the time of the offense, and that they hope that he can learn from this incident and become a law-abiding member of the community.
Factors tending to indicate that a harsh sentenced would be appropriate include the hateful, premeditated and voluntary nature of the offense, its impact on the Jewish community and the lack of remorse on the part of Carbonaro.
Judge Craig Stephen Brown gave him the opportunity from his release from jail on August 30, 2018 to his reappearance in court on February 19, 2019 to show that he learned from his mistakes and that hateful acts against any minority group are abhorrent, and offense against all and are not to be tolerated by the community.
Orange County Jewish Federation Executive Director Suzanne Leon said that “Jewish values have long stood for justice balanced with mercy and we believe that this disposition serves that purpose.” She said it is hoped that Carbonaro will learn “that there is no place in this life for hatred directed towards anyone and that he will take this opportunities to make amends to society and the Orange County Jewish community.”
