By: Veronica Kordmany
A narcotics investigator who had been charged with murder, after allegedly shooting up a Brooklyn bar, has been freed by a Brooklyn judge due to the assumption that the felon would post bail.
Prosecutors asked for the culprit, detective investigator for the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor, Stephen Abreu, to be held on a $75,000 bail at his Feb. 28 arraignment.
Judge Hilary Gingold disagreed, saying, “I don’t believe that his family posting bail in about 10 minutes would do anything further,” according to a transcript obtained exclusively by The Post.
“There’s no doubt in my mind they would post bail. So, this way, with supervised release, we ensure that someone is talking to him and encouraging him and making sure he comes back [who] is not a member of his family.”
Gingold said that weekly meetings with a social worker would ensure that Abreu would show up to court. She also told Abreu to stay away from the Williamsburg bar Horses and Divorces, where the fracas allegedly took place. In addition, Stephen was given a restraining order, mandating he keep a distance from both a bouncer and a bartender he allegedly attacked during his rampage.
“Find a new place to have your beverages, because they work there, and they need to come and go in peace,” the judge said.
In response, court system spokesman Lucian Chalfen said Judge Gingold was following a requirement under new bail reforms that judges find the “least restrictive” method to get defendants to show up for court.
“The purpose of bail is to ensure that the defendant returns to court,” Chalfen said. “Under the new guidelines, the judge has to consider the least restrictive means available. In this case, regardless of the financial ability of this defendant or any defendant to post bail, with the same facts and circumstances before the court, supervised release was the least restrictive way to ensure the defendant’s return.”
Chalfen also noted that Abreu showed up for his first scheduled court appearance on March 4.
When told of Gingold’s reasoning for letting Abreu out on supervised release, defense attorneys expressed mixed opinions on the matter.
But coming to the defense of the Judge was Lisa Schreibersdorf, executive director of Brooklyn Defender Services. Schreibersdorf said that giving a defendant supervised release, instead of having them post bail, could give the court better oversight and make it easier to connect the defendant with social services.
“She had that resource, and I’m glad that resource has been created,” Schreibersdorf said.
Abreu, a four-year veteran of the special prosecutor’s office, was suspended from duty without pay after his arrest and remained under suspension on Friday. Abreu’s salary is $69,817, Cornell said.
