4 The QUEE NS Courier • FEBRUARY 4, 2016 for breaking news visit www.qns.com Bayside man convicted of brutally murdering both parents By Alina Suriel asuriel@qns.com/@alinangelica A Bayside man faces up to 50 years to life behind bars after being c o n v i c t e d on Jan. 29 of killing both his parents in separate i n c i d e n t s spaced a little over a year apart, a c c o r d i n g to Queens Gregory D. Cucchiara D i s t r i c t Attorney Richard A. Brown. Gregory Cucchiara, 39, of 28th Avenue in Bayside was arrested for the crimes in 2012. According to trial testimony, Cucchiara’s mother — 66-year-old Giusepina Cucchiara — was found dead in the family’s 28th Avenue residence on May 24, 2011. The senior citizen had been struck on the head with a perfume bottle and choked with her own pearl necklace before having her head forcibly submerged underwater in the bathtub. Gregory’s father, Carmelo Cucchiara, 75, moved out of the Bayside home he shared with wife Giusepina and their son Gregory Cucchiara soon after her death and took up residence in a basement apartment in his daughter’s Astoria home. She found him dead of asphyxiation on Aug. 21, 2012, lying in bed with a pillow covering his face. Gregory Cucchiara was considered a suspect in the murder of his father at this time because he had been the last person to see the elderly man alive during a visit the previous evening. He was arrested following an extensive investigation by the NYPD and the Queens District Attorney’s Office. Both victims had blunt force trauma to their heads before they were killed and DNA evidence found under the fingernails of both bodies were matched to their son, prosecutors noted. Brown said such senseless acts of violence demonstrate that the defendant is a threat to society and deserving to spend the rest of his life behind bars. “This is a horrifying case of cold-blooded murder and the ultimate betrayal of family trust,” Brown said. Cucchiara was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder following a threeweek jury trial in which he served as his own legal representation. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 23. Rendering courtesy of the Park Department Funding for the comfort station was secured in 2004. Little Bay Park restrooms open this week after three years of construction By Alina Suriel asuriel@queenscourier.com/@alinangelica What a relief for visitors to Little Bay Park! The park’s comfort stations are fully operational and will be open for public use after Feb. 4, according to officials. The project is long overdue, with state Senator Tony Avella and former Congressman Gary Ackerman having secured millions of dollars to install bathrooms and expand the site’s parking lot in 2004. Work on the parking lot was complete in May of 2015. Workers broke ground on the comfort stations in 2013 and the completion date was delayed in the next year by extreme winter weather. First, the delays in the plan had been caused by additional funding reviews by the state’s Department of Transportation, as well as the need to secure design and construction approvals from the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation and city’s Department of Environmental Protection. Residents of the area were thrilled to hear the news. Temporary porta-potty toilets have had to suffice in place of a permanent facility since before construction began. The Bay Terrace Community Alliance — a civic association that has been critical of the delayed construction throughout the entire process — posted a message on its Facebook page informing residents of the project’s upcoming conclusion. “Flush away your troubles at Little Bay Park! Long awaited comfort station is scheduled to open for business on Thurs, Feb. 4th. Hold it in no longer!” the statement read. The park is located in between the Throggs Neck Bridge and Fort Totten Park on the border of Whitestone and Bayside. NYPD meets ‘Blue Bloods’ actor in Forest Hills By Alina Suriel asuriel@qns.com/@alinangelica Even real police can be starstruck when seeing their small-screen counterparts. Officers in the 112th Precinct had a chance encounter with an actor filming a scene from CBS primetime cop drama “Blue Bloods” in Forest Hills on Jan. 27. Detective Gigi Redzematovic of the 112th Precinct Community Affairs Unit got up close for a photo with series regular Will Estes, who plays the youngest son in a family of NYPD officers. Estes is in full costume as a uniformed officer in the snapshot, alongside Redzematovic clad in an NYPD windbreaker. Officers at the precinct are clearly fans of the show, as the photo was posted to Twitter with Estes referred to by the name of his television alter ego, Jamie Reagan. Redzematovic was excited to have run into a “Blue Bloods” shoot because her children, ages 12 and 14, both watch and relate to the program because the similarities to her job in the NYPD. She said her daughter was especially excited to see the photo of Estes, and that she herself thought the actor was very handsome as an officer on the show. A veteran officer who began her time on the force in the 112th Precinct 18 years ago, Redzematovic began her own family blue blood tradition by inspiring two nieces to follow her into law enforcement. Photo via Twitter/@NYPD112Pct Detective Redzematovic (left) with Will Estes of “Blue Bloods” on CBS.
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