The committee did not take action to kill or advance any bill after Wednesday's public hearing. A Brooklyn jury is being asked to decide whether a shadowy millionaire ordered two murders as part of a mob-style enterprise, and whether he deserves the death penalty. Defense attorney Gerald Shargel portrayed his client as an enterprising immigrant from the rural Punjab region of India who built a gas station empire. He said Dhinsa was the victim of rumors spread by fellow Sikhs competing for the American dream. Maybe it was because of his success.
Jealousy plays so rough.
During the 6-week capital trial, he was accused of rigging gas pumps to cheat motorists, evading taxes and using deadly force to protect his turf. The defendant arrived in the United States in 1982. Penniless, he took a job pumping gas in the Bronx. He soon scraped up enough money to lease that gas station, then boldly began opening others in the city's toughest neighborhoods, Shargel said. At its peak, City Gas had 51 stations in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware, and employed 300 people.