Strike three — you’re in!
City Council Public Safety Committee Chairman Peter Vallone (pictured) yesterday again called on Albany to pass the “Three Strikes, You’re In” bill, mandating prison time for anyone convicted of three misdemeanors within 10 years.
The Queens Democrat renewed his call after alleged PATH-train groper Gian Verdelli, 61, of Brooklyn, was nabbed Monday in New Jersey and it turned out his record included an eye-popping 168 arrests since the 1970s, mostly for misdemeanors.
Vallone figures Verdelli, a registered sex offender, should not have been walking free.
“These criminals are continually spitting in the face of the justice system due to lenient laws allowing them to avoid prison terms,” he said.
“The only way to prevent the problem of chronic misdemeanors is to eliminate turnstile justice and teach these repeat offenders a valuable lesson: three strikes, you’re in.”
In New York state, misdemeanors can range from petty crime to assault. Vallone said a majority charged with misdemeanors have at least one prior conviction.