BIAS ATTACK BECOMES ASSAULT
By Dan Rivoli
Posted by Our Town on December 23, 2009 · View Comments
Hate crime charges have been dropped against the man arrested for bias attacks in the Upper East Side this summer.
Driton Nicaj, an Upper East Side resident, was arrested in July for the brutal robbery of Joseph Holladay.
When Nicaj, who was 19 at the time of his arrest, was arraigned, he was charged with robbery as a hate crime and aggravated harassment as a hate crime.
But state Supreme Court Judge Ronald Zweibel dropped the hate crime charges Dec. 17. Nicaj faces charges of assault in the third degree.
Holladay was visiting a friend who lives in the Upper East Side during the city’s Pride Week celebrations. Nicaj, acting with several other men, is accused of hitting Holladay in the head with the butt of a silver firearm and robbing him June 27 at 4:15 a.m. Police investigated other bias attacks and robberies.
Nicaj is slated for a Feb. 11, 2010 hearing and trial.
Joseph Holladay was beat on my front door steps while visiting me. I found him laying in a pool of blood in front of my building. They called him Faggot while beating him. He was beat because of who he was and ended up in the hospital. I think it is horrible the politicians pass Hate Crime bills and then the Justice Department drops Hate Crime charges. This is very upsetting. It sems we are fighting a losing battles. Politicians are elected to represent us. The politicians are going to have to stay on top of the Justice Department to make suer justice is actually done.
John Jerome
East 85th Street