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Arrests Made in Anti-Gay Beating of 'Top Chef' Contestant
Sunday, November 18, 2007
SEA CLIFF, N.Y. - Two women have been arrested in an anti-gay attack on a
former "Top Chef" reality show contestant and her friends, police said.
Nassau County police announced the arrests Saturday, a day after victim
Josie Smith-Malave's attorney said she had filed a complaint accusing
investigators of not pursuing the case energetically enough. Police said
Friday that an arrest had recently been made and another was imminent.
Smith-Malave, who is openly gay and appeared on Season 2 of the Bravo
channel show, and three other women were assaulted by about a dozen people
after being thrown out of a Sea Cliff bar on Sept. 1, according to police.
The attackers hurled slurs about the women's perceived sexual orientation,
spat on them and hit them, police said.
Melissa Trimarchi, 21, was arrested Saturday night on a misdemeanor assault
charge, police said. She was released on an appearance ticket until a Nov.
30 court date. No working telephone number could be found for Trimarchi at
the Sea Cliff address police gave, and they didn't know whether she had an
attorney.
Police also said Saturday that Elizabeth Borroughs, 20, had been arrested
Tuesday on a misdemeanor charge of aggravated harassment. She also was
released on an appearance ticket and is due in court Friday.
A woman who identified herself as Borroughs at the Glen Cove address police
gave said Saturday she didn't know about the case. Police were unsure
whether she had a lawyer.
A homeless man, 20-year-old Matthew W. Walli, was arrested in September on a
charge of robbery as a bias crime; he was accused of stealing a victim's
video camera during the attack. His lawyer's name and the status of his
court case were not immediately available early Sunday.
Smith-Malave's lawyer, Yetta Kurland, rapped the investigation Friday,
saying police hadn't gone after all suspects vigorously and had failed "to
treat the vicious attack ... as the violent hate crime that it was."
Kurland didn't immediately respond to a telephone message left at her office
late Saturday.
Police spokesman Sgt. Anthony Repalone said Friday that the investigation
was active, and Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey was monitoring it
personally.
Smith-Malave, a 32-year-old Miami native, is a former sous-chef for the
Marlow and Sons restaurant in Brooklyn. She has played for the New York
Sharks of the Independent Women's Football League.
She was attacked while visiting Long Island for a friend's birthday party.
Arrests Made in Anti-Gay Beating of 'Top Chef' Contestant
Sunday, November 18, 2007
SEA CLIFF, N.Y. - Two women have been arrested in an anti-gay attack on a
former "Top Chef" reality show contestant and her friends, police said.
Nassau County police announced the arrests Saturday, a day after victim
Josie Smith-Malave's attorney said she had filed a complaint accusing
investigators of not pursuing the case energetically enough. Police said
Friday that an arrest had recently been made and another was imminent.
Smith-Malave, who is openly gay and appeared on Season 2 of the Bravo
channel show, and three other women were assaulted by about a dozen people
after being thrown out of a Sea Cliff bar on Sept. 1, according to police.
The attackers hurled slurs about the women's perceived sexual orientation,
spat on them and hit them, police said.
Melissa Trimarchi, 21, was arrested Saturday night on a misdemeanor assault
charge, police said. She was released on an appearance ticket until a Nov.
30 court date. No working telephone number could be found for Trimarchi at
the Sea Cliff address police gave, and they didn't know whether she had an
attorney.
Police also said Saturday that Elizabeth Borroughs, 20, had been arrested
Tuesday on a misdemeanor charge of aggravated harassment. She also was
released on an appearance ticket and is due in court Friday.
A woman who identified herself as Borroughs at the Glen Cove address police
gave said Saturday she didn't know about the case. Police were unsure
whether she had a lawyer.
A homeless man, 20-year-old Matthew W. Walli, was arrested in September on a
charge of robbery as a bias crime; he was accused of stealing a victim's
video camera during the attack. His lawyer's name and the status of his
court case were not immediately available early Sunday.
Smith-Malave's lawyer, Yetta Kurland, rapped the investigation Friday,
saying police hadn't gone after all suspects vigorously and had failed "to
treat the vicious attack ... as the violent hate crime that it was."
Kurland didn't immediately respond to a telephone message left at her office
late Saturday.
Police spokesman Sgt. Anthony Repalone said Friday that the investigation
was active, and Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey was monitoring it
personally.
Smith-Malave, a 32-year-old Miami native, is a former sous-chef for the
Marlow and Sons restaurant in Brooklyn. She has played for the New York
Sharks of the Independent Women's Football League.
She was attacked while visiting Long Island for a friend's birthday party.
