Three Men Officially Indicted On Gay Hate Crimes In NYC’s Greenwich Village Attacks

Matthew Francis, 21 and Christopher Orlando, 17 and  Frederick Giunta, 25, from Queens  were indicted Tuesday for two incidents last month of alleged LGBT hate crimes in NYC’s West Village.

Francis, and Orlando,, both of Staten Island, pleaded not guilty to charges of assault and attempted robbery as hate crimes after allegedly attacking Benjamin Carver in the bathroom at the Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street on Oct. 3.  Francis made anti-gay statements and punched Carver, was charged with attempted robbery as a hate crime, assault as a hate crime and criminal possession of a weapon. Orlando was charged with attempted robbery as a hate crime, and assault as a hate crime. Both face up to eight years in prison

In a seperate case Frederick  Gunta pleaded not guilty to attacking bartender Greg Davis, 38, at Julius Bar on West 10th Street, and shouting racist and anti-gay slurs at customers. Giunta is also accused of trying to steal a wallet from a patron at Ty’s bar at 114 Christopher St. on Oct. 11.  Guinta, charged with attempted robbery and assault as a hate crime, faces up to five years in prison for the robbery, and one year for the hate crime.

“Attacks such as these not only harm individual victims, they also threaten entire communities in New York City,” Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. said in a statement. “We created the Hate Crimes Unit to identify and then to build strong cases against those who commit bias crimes.”

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