The case against a former Greenport Village trustee and prominent businessman facing manslaughter, DWI and other charges after a December 2014 head-on crash, was adjourned again today in Suffolk County Criminal Court.
It was the 18th adjournment in the case against John A. Costello, 73, who was arrested for on a driving while intoxicated charge Dec. 5, following the crash that claimed the life of a 34-year-old Guatemalan immigrant.
A Suffolk County grand jury in January returned a seven-count criminal indictment against Costello, who prosecutors say had a blood-alcohol content more than twice the legal limit when he drove his pickup truck across a double yellow line and into the oncoming lane of travel on Route 25 last December, crashing head-on into a Honda sedan. Bartolone Miguel, a passenger in the Honda, later died at Eastern Long Island Hospital.
Costello and the driver of the Honda were both injured in the crash. Costello was arrested while hospitalized, posted $250 bail and was released on a desk appearance ticket.
The indictment charges Costello with manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter, driving while intoxicated, assault and failure to stay in lane.
Prosecutors said Costello had been drinking at Greenport Harbor Brewery on the evening of the crash and had a blood-alcohol content of .17 percent, more than twice the legal limit of .08 percent. At his initial arraignment before Judge Rudolph Bruer in Southold Justice Court on Dec. 16, Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Miller said Costello “drifted” into the oncoming lane and hit the Honda driven by Oseas Manell Ramirez, 22, of Peconic.
Costello’s lawyer, William Keahon, the former chief of the homicide division of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office, objected to the prosecutor’s characterization of the facts.
“My client is not at fault,” Keahon said, adding that Ramirez, the driver of Honda, was unlicensed. He said Costello had two beers over a 90-minute period at the brewery.
After Keahon argued against the DA’s request to raise bail to $100,000 cash, arguing that his client, who owns a marine contracting company in Greenport, has deep roots in the community and was not a flight risk, the town justice let bail at $250.
Bruer said he’d known Costello for “30 to 40 years” and had “no doubt that he’ll return to court.” The judge noted that his daughter had dated Costello’s son. “I consider him a friend,” Bruer said, indicating he’d likely recuse himself at Costello’s next court appearance, which was then set for Jan. 30.
But the grand jury returned its indictment on Jan. 28 and the case was moved to Suffolk County Criminal Court in Islip. Judge Fernando Camacho subsequently set bail at $50,000 bond. The case has been on the court’s conference calendar ever since.
Costello is next due back in court on Nov. 1, a spokesperson for Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota said today.
Editor’s note: A criminal charge is an accusation. By law, a person charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
