NY--Diner Rampage-Release

Associated Press direct feed | June 28, 2002 | Frank Eltman

[NYer]

NEW YORK (AP) _ A man who pleaded guilty to more than 100 felony counts in a horrific 1982 rampage of robbery, rape and assault in several Long Island communities was freed from prison on Friday, state officials said.

Robert Williams, 39, walked out of the Shawangunk maximum security prison in upstate Wallkill at 9:30 a.m., said Linda Foglia, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Correctional Services. Williams, who was sentenced to 15-30 years in prison, was released because he has served two-thirds of the 30 years, complied with prison rules and razuicipated in treatment programs. Four accomplices are still in prison.

The five men from Brooklyn stole a Cadillac and drove to a home in Plainview, on Long Island, where they raped, beat and robbed guests at a party. Later, they went to a diner in Westbury, where the men robbed and terrorized customers.

The attackers made their victims strip and ordered some to have sex with each other. Two men were shot and at least one waitress was raped. ``Nothing in my career ever compared to the magnitude of this crime and the acts of pure evil,'' former detective John F. Nolan told The New York Times in Friday's editions. ``This was degradation on a scale that was barbaric.''

After Williams' conviction, Nassau County District Attorney Denis E. Dillon successfully lobbied state lawmakers to change sentencing laws, making it possible for people convicted of multiple felonies, not including murder, to be sentenced to 25 to 50 years in prison instead of the 15-30 years that Williams received. ``My office continues to support legislation to remove all caps on consecutive sentences in cases such as these,'' Dillon said in a statement.

Two of Williams' accomplices, Robert Samuels and James Martin, are serving life sentences after convictions on an unrelated murder. Robert Williams' brother, Michael, has enrolled in a sex offender treatment program that could lead to his release. The fifth man convicted in the attack, Bruce Garrison, is not being released because he has not enrolled in the sex offender program.

Robert Williams' name has been added to the state sex offender registry; he is expected to move to Brooklyn, where he will live with his wife and two of his three children, state parole officials told The Times.

``He will be supervised intensively by the Targeted Offender Program, which is a special offender unit of parole officers, who work with the New York Police Department and officers in the 73rd and 75th precincts,'' said Martin Cirincione, executive director of the New York State Division of Parole.

AP-ES-06-28-02 1358EDT

[r9etb]

razuicipated in treatment programs

Well I feel so much better knowing that he razuicipated.....

[FreeTally]

Maybe he will get robbed, raped and assaulted on his way home....

[johniegrad]

Razuicipation

[KantianBurke]

sickening. And yet NYer's still couldn't bring themselves to elect any R's for over another decade of violence and rape.

[Clemenza]

Ah, the famous Diner Gang. This ex-Nassau resident remembers their little spree well.

At least here in Florida, enough customers would be armed to act as a deterrent against such BS. Of course, RINO Pataki will never sign a shall-issue carry law, nor will he ever actually execute somebody.

[First_Salute]

"razuicipated"

Only in the corrections systementalities of liberals.

[anniegetyourgun]

No one would ever accuse AP of professionalism or quality anyway.

[.38sw]

Saw a story on this last night. I kept saying to my husband how horrifying it was that there was no one - NO ONE - at the party or in the diner who had the wherewithal to stop these thugs. No one was armed. They were at their mercy. Isn't victim disarmament a marvelous thing - for the predators? And yet, those who advocate for victim disarment carry the incredible belief that we'll all be safer if guns are banned. How do you wrap your mind around that concept?

[gaijin]

dictionary.com shows no listing for "razuicipate".

[Jim Noble]

My mom always told me I would get more out of things if I razuicipated...

[EggsAckley]

he is expected to move to Brooklyn, where he will live with his wife and two of his three children,

If he's been in jail for twenty years, how does he have "children?" Yes, he COULD have had them 20 years ago, but then, aren't they a little old to be living with him? This makes no sense, except maybe that conjugal visits were allowed.

[dighton]

"He will be supervised intensively by the Targeted Offender Program, which is a special offender unit of parole officers, who work with the New York Police Department and officers in the 73rd and 75th precincts."

Any time this animal does anything -- jaywalking, littering, mopery with intent -- throw the book at him.

[ex-Texan]

Perhaps it might be best if this person just vanished ... 'went fishing' or whatever.

[teeman8r]

i wish i had a nickel for every time i razuicipated

[Clemenza]

Remember that this happened on Long Island, one of the most anti-gun regions of the country. I grew up there so I know of what I speak.

[Timesink]

Any time this animal does anything -- jaywalking, littering, mopery with intent -- throw the book at him.

They will. Monsters like this invariably end up breaking the law again within a few months. Occasionally it's as soon as a few HOURS after release.

[SteamshipTime]

I watch The Learning Channel and Frontline a lot and have had an acquaintance give an anecdotal account of this sort of thing.

There is a bizarre sub-culture of generally unattractive, empty-headed, and/or politically liberal women who take up correspondence with prisoners and end up marrying them. Prisoners are generally allowed conjugal visits and it doesn't hurt their chances in front of the parole board either.

I suspect that's the case here. It's a sick world.

[ladtx]

I was razuicipated once. Man! No fun at all.

[Tacis]

Who's got the pool? Anything good still open? I want my buck on any one of day ten through day 20. That is, "days from release until he commits another crime." BTW, I sure his wife is delighted to have him move in after an absence of 20 years, I'm sure they'll take up exactly where they left off.