Former Greenport Village trustee and businessman John A. Costello, 75, entered a guilty plea to a vehicular manslaughter charge today in connection with the December 2014 crash that claimed the life of a 34-year-old Guatemalan immigrant.
Costello, who prosecutors said was operating his vehicle with a blood-alcohol count more than twice the legal limit Dec. 5, 2014 was sentenced to six years’ probation with alcohol counseling, 1,260 hours of community service work with organizations that deliver support services to immigrants and payments to the victim’s family every month. The amount of the payments will equal to the amount that the victim was sending home every month from his earnings while employed at a North Fork vineyard.
Costello was given an “interim probation” for one year, during which he must return to court for evaluation every three months.
The sentence was imposed by acting State Supreme Court Justice Fernando Camacho today in Central Islip, who also required Costello to return to court every three months during the probationary period. The sentence was the result of a plea deal between prosecutors and Costello’s attorney, said Robert Clifford, a spokesperson for Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota.
Clifford said he did not yet have more details about the amount of the monthly payments Costello must make to the family of Bartolone Miguel, who was a passenger in a Honda sedan that Costello’s pickup truck hit head-on on Route 25 in Greenport, after Costello crossed a double-yellow line and into the oncoming lane of travel.
Clifford said he was as yet unsure about what would happen at the conclusion of the interim probation. A second probationary period may commence at that point, he said.
Costello was indicted by a grand jury in January 2015 on charges of manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter, driving while intoxicated, assault and failure to stay in lane. He initially pleaded not guilty to all charges and has been free on bond pending the disposition of his charges.
Editor’s note: This article was updated with additional details provided by the district attorney’s office after it was first published. It was also change to reflect a correction to the date of the crash, which was misstated in the first version.
