Ralph Nicoletti, Anti-Obama Assaults, New York 2008

Ralph Nicoletti Pleads Guilty to Hate Crime Assaults

A former Staten Island resident has pleaded guilty to committing three assaults targeting African-American residents on the night of President Barack Obama's election victory in 2008.

Ralph Nicoletti, 43, pleaded guilty in Brooklyn, N.Y., federal court before U.S. District Judge Carol B. Amon to committing three hate crime assaults in Staten Island, New York, on November 4, 2008.

Nicoletti was the last of four defendants to plead guilty in the federal prosecution stemming from the attacks. The other three defendants – Bryan Garaventa, Michael Contreras, and Brian Carranza – previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit the hate crime assaults and each face sentences of up to 10 years in prison.

As part of his plea, Nicoletti has agreed to a sentence of 12 years, subject to the court's approval.

The guilty plea was announced by Loretta King, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division; Benton J. Campbell, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Joseph M. Demarest, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, FBI, New York Field Office; and Raymond W. Kelly, Commissioner, New York City Police Department.

At the plea proceeding, Nicoletti admitted that on November 4, 2008, the night of the presidential election, the defendants decided to assault African-Americans in Staten Island after President Obama was declared the winner of the election.

Nicoletti's crimes included striking an African-American teenager with a metal pipe and driving his car into an unidentified African-American man, seriously injuring him.

The successful prosecution sends a clear message that racially-motivated acts of violence targeted at those who are exercising their right to vote are intolerable and will be aggressively investigated and prosecuted, said Acting Assistant Attorney General King.

Ralph Nicoletti, Crime: Anti-Obama Assaults, State: New York, Year: 2008

Source: https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/final-defendant-pleads-guilty-anti-obama-assaults