3 Howard Beach Youths Guilty of 2nd-Degree Riot; 1 Acquitted

NEW YORK — Four white youths were acquitted Friday of first-degree riot charges in the Howard Beach racial attack that left a black man dead, bringing to a close the second trial stemming from the incident.

But three of the youths--William Bollander, 19, James Povinelli, 18, and Thomas Farino, 18--were convicted of second-degree riot, a misdemeanor that carries a penalty of up to one year in prison. The fourth defendant, John Saggese, 20, was cleared of all charges.

Fifth Defendant Cleared

A separate jury that heard the same trial cleared a fifth defendant, Thomas Gucciardo, 19, on Thursday of attempted murder charges.

Spectators burst into applause as the “not guilty” verdicts were read on the first-degree riot charges, which carried jail terms of up to four years. Sentencing for the three was set for Sept. 14.

The verdict came on the third day of deliberations after a series of problems between the jury and state Supreme Court Justice Thomas Demakos.

The jury at one point declared that it had reached an impasse but was ordered back into deliberations and finally came to an agreement.

“Go back and try to resolve your differences,” the judge said at one point during the day of tense deliberations. “Be reasonable; let the chips fall where they may.”

The trial was the second stemming from the attack on Dec. 20, 1986, in which a group of whites chased three black men who had wandered into the predominantly white Howard Beach section of Queens after their car broke down.

Michael Griffith, 23, was killed when he ran onto a highway and was struck by a car. A second victim, Cedric Sandiford, 37, was beaten and the third man, Timothy Grimes, 20, escaped injury.

Three white youths were convicted of manslaughter in the first Howard Beach trial and one youth was cleared of all charges.