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Ordeal is ending for relatives of two women killed in 1990 as drag racer who fled after being convicted of manslaughter is brought back
BY MICHAEL ROTHFELD AND BILL MASON
STAFF WRITERS
August 20, 2004, 2:19 PM EDT
He tried to rob them of justice. Today, Mark and Jill Singer got a chance to stare down the man who caused the deaths of their mother and grandmother.
Twelve years after he fled the country following his conviction in a drag-racing crash, Ugo Berardi, formerly of Elmont, was brought back to Nassau County last night.
"I lost a lot of faith in the justice system," said Jill Singer, 37, of Forest Hills. "You have to move on with your life and that's what I and my brother have done. But it's really good closure ... This is a tragic story with a happy ending."
Berardi was convicted and sentenced in 1992 for his role in the deaths of Marci Singer, 48, of Dix Hills, and her mother Sarah Gerstein, 71, of West Palm Beach, Fla.
Berardi today was sentenced to 5 to 15 years in prison for each of the two deaths, with the sentences to run concurrently. He remained in custody.
The women were killed when Berardi, who had been drag racing with a 17-year-old Hempstead man, crashed into their car after they left a restaurant in Westbury on Nov. 26, 1990. Singer's father, David Gerstein, lost vision in his left eye and suffered paralysis in his left arm, but survived. He has since died.
Berardi, 70, had been living in the country of his birth, San Marino, a tiny nation surrounded by Italy that does not have an extradition treaty with the United States, said Det. Sgt. Dennis Barry of the Nassau County Police Homicide Squad.
Ten months ago, Berardi tried to travel to Switzerland and was detained by authorities, who saw his name on a fugitive watch list.
"Despite the fact that the years may pass, we still work on these cold cases ... to see that justice can be served for the victims," Barry said.
Berardi fought extradition, but ultimately lost. United States marshals took him into custody yesterday in Switzerland, flew him to Washington, D.C., and to Kennedy International Airport. He was given to Nassau police at 7:15 p.m.
Mark Singer, of Melville, said he learned of Berardi's capture six or seven months ago.
"I cried," said Singer, 35, a physician. "It brought back a lot of very difficult memories."
Berardi was convicted of second-degree manslaughter and second-degree assault. Although he was previously sentenced in absentia to 5 to 15 years in prison, Barry said, but was still ordered to appear before the court again for the sentencing.
The other man charged in the crash, Saul Portillo, received 11/3 to 4 years in prison after his conviction for criminally negligent homicide and was released after serving his sentence.
While Berardi was missing, Mark Singer had two daughters. His father, Burton, re-married a friend of his late wife's, and died of cancer.
"I think it infuriated him that the person who caused her to be killed was not paying for his crime," said Betsy Singer of Jericho, who married Burton in 1993. "If he were here today, he would be relieved and he would feel that justice had been served."
Copyright © 2004, Newsday, Inc.
FINALLY!!! The family can rest in peace that he caught but not 100 percent yet till the trial. I am so happy he got caught. He will rot in jail.
BY MICHAEL ROTHFELD AND BILL MASON
STAFF WRITERS
August 20, 2004, 2:19 PM EDT
He tried to rob them of justice. Today, Mark and Jill Singer got a chance to stare down the man who caused the deaths of their mother and grandmother.
Twelve years after he fled the country following his conviction in a drag-racing crash, Ugo Berardi, formerly of Elmont, was brought back to Nassau County last night.
"I lost a lot of faith in the justice system," said Jill Singer, 37, of Forest Hills. "You have to move on with your life and that's what I and my brother have done. But it's really good closure ... This is a tragic story with a happy ending."
Berardi was convicted and sentenced in 1992 for his role in the deaths of Marci Singer, 48, of Dix Hills, and her mother Sarah Gerstein, 71, of West Palm Beach, Fla.
Berardi today was sentenced to 5 to 15 years in prison for each of the two deaths, with the sentences to run concurrently. He remained in custody.
The women were killed when Berardi, who had been drag racing with a 17-year-old Hempstead man, crashed into their car after they left a restaurant in Westbury on Nov. 26, 1990. Singer's father, David Gerstein, lost vision in his left eye and suffered paralysis in his left arm, but survived. He has since died.
Berardi, 70, had been living in the country of his birth, San Marino, a tiny nation surrounded by Italy that does not have an extradition treaty with the United States, said Det. Sgt. Dennis Barry of the Nassau County Police Homicide Squad.
Ten months ago, Berardi tried to travel to Switzerland and was detained by authorities, who saw his name on a fugitive watch list.
"Despite the fact that the years may pass, we still work on these cold cases ... to see that justice can be served for the victims," Barry said.
Berardi fought extradition, but ultimately lost. United States marshals took him into custody yesterday in Switzerland, flew him to Washington, D.C., and to Kennedy International Airport. He was given to Nassau police at 7:15 p.m.
Mark Singer, of Melville, said he learned of Berardi's capture six or seven months ago.
"I cried," said Singer, 35, a physician. "It brought back a lot of very difficult memories."
Berardi was convicted of second-degree manslaughter and second-degree assault. Although he was previously sentenced in absentia to 5 to 15 years in prison, Barry said, but was still ordered to appear before the court again for the sentencing.
The other man charged in the crash, Saul Portillo, received 11/3 to 4 years in prison after his conviction for criminally negligent homicide and was released after serving his sentence.
While Berardi was missing, Mark Singer had two daughters. His father, Burton, re-married a friend of his late wife's, and died of cancer.
"I think it infuriated him that the person who caused her to be killed was not paying for his crime," said Betsy Singer of Jericho, who married Burton in 1993. "If he were here today, he would be relieved and he would feel that justice had been served."
Copyright © 2004, Newsday, Inc.
FINALLY!!! The family can rest in peace that he caught but not 100 percent yet till the trial. I am so happy he got caught. He will rot in jail.