Chief Leader – October 13, 2014
by SARAH DORSEY
Anthony Marsal, a 25-year-old resident of Elizabeth, New Jersey, pleaded guilty Oct. 6 to death by auto for striking and killing Firefighter John Monteverde last October while the 31-year FDNY veteran was riding his motorcycle to work.
Mr. Marsal’s blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit when he collided with Mr. Monteverde’s vehicle, and drug tests showed he had done cocaine in the hours before the crash.
Honors for His Victim
The plea was entered just two days before Mr. Monteverde was honored as part of the FDNY’s annual Memorial Day, which recognizes active-duty members who died in the previous year.
As part of a plea agreement, Mr. Marsal is expected to be sentenced to five years in prison. He has no prior criminal history. He was originally charged with second-degree vehicular homicide and driving while intoxicated.
Mr. Monteverde, who lived in Queens, was 56 when he was killed, and was traveling from Pennsylvania to his firehouse on Staten Island, Engine Co. 159, at about 5:30 a.m. Mr. Marsal was making a left turn onto a road in Union Township, N.J. and cut off his motorcycle; the force of the collision threw Mr. Monteverde from the bike.
According to nj.com, which first reported the verdict, Mr. Marsal will be required to serve at least 85 percent of his sentence before he can apply for parole.
Mr. Monteverde was a decorated firefighter who left behind three grown children and his mother. He followed his father into the Fire Department and worked for nearly 30 years at his old firehouse, Engine Co. 22 on the Upper East Side.
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