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Sunday, March 10, 2013

Satmars outraged that accused of killing couple and their infant not facing three murder charges


They should have charged him with three murders.

That was the refrain Friday as supporters of a young Hasidic couple who were killed with their baby in a Brooklyn car wreck expressed outrage that the lowlife hit-and-run driver wasn't hit with harsher charges.

Ex-con Julio (Wemo) Acevedo faces multiple counts of leaving the scene of an accident, criminally negligent homicide, third-degree assault, speeding and reckless driving - but not vehicular manslaughter.

"This is an outrage," said Abe Friedman, a leader in the insular Satmar community. "The community and everybody was demanding that he be charged with murder."

The fact the low-life was hit with lesser negligent homicide charges was no consolation to those grieving for newlyweds Raizel and Nachman Glauber - and their doomed infant son.

Judy Schwartz was furious as she emerged from the Williamsburg apartment where Raizel's family was sitting shiva.

"We think it's very bad," said Schwartz. "It's a shame. We want him to be charged with murder. His sentence should be for life."

Abraham Handler, a close friend of Nachman Glauber, was practically screaming as he vented his frustration on a legal system that seemingly spared Acevedo from harsher prosecution.

"I hate this country and the laws here," Handler said. "When I first came here the laws were better. Now I hate the laws."

Gayle Dampf, chief of the Vehicular Crimes Bureau at the Brooklyn Distict Attorney's office, said, "The charges are based on the evidence that we have. That's the maximum charge that the law supports."

Isaac Abraham, an unofficial spokesman for the Satmars, said he thinks Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes hit Acevedo only with charges that would "stick."


"The fact of the matter is that he (Acevedo) caused the death of three people, which is murder," said Abraham.

Inside Raizel's family's apartment, the men and women were separated by a screen. On one side, the men quietly consoled each other and picked at a plate of brownies.

Muffled sobs could be heard coming from the other side of the screen, where the women were gathered.

Raizel's brother, Joseph, said he was too distraught to think about what Acevedo should be charged with - but added he didn't blame Hynes.

"I'm sure they (the authorities) want him (Acevedo) off the street like we do," he said. "I can't be upset with the DA."

"A car is a weapon and this was murder, not an accident," added Raizel's uncle, Moses Silberstein. "It's possible that there was no malicious intent, but he was driving 60 miles an hour. That's not an accident."

Acevedo, a 44-year-old father of two whose rap sheet includes a manslaughter conviction and a DWI arrest just last month, faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted on the new charges.

Acevedo was extradited Thursday back to Brooklyn from Allentown, Pa., where he had holed up with a friend while preparing to surrender.

His lawyer, Kathleen Julian, insisted it was an accident, not murder.

Nachman Glauber and his seven-months-pregnant wife were both 21. They were killed early Sunday when a speeding BMW driven by Acevedo plowed into the livery cab taking the couple to a Brooklyn hospital, cops said.

Their tiny son was delivered by C-section, bringing bittersweet joy to the Satmar community. But the joy turned to despair Monday morning when the baby died.

He was to be named Nachman, after his dad.


By Daniel Beekman, Oren Yaniv And Corky Siemaszko / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

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