Opinion ID: 791971
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The 1998 Prosecution of Shmueli

Text: 3 In May 1998, the State filed a 93-count complaint (the criminal complaint) against Shmueli in the Criminal Court of the City of New York, County of New York (Criminal Court). See People v. Shmueli, Crim. Compl. No. 98N042120 (N.Y.Crim.Ct. May 6, 1998). The criminal complaint was sworn to by a police detective based on information the detective had received from, inter alios, Lieberman, his friends, family members, and business associates, as well as friends and business associates of Lieberman's relatives, and officials at Lieberman's daughter's school. The criminal complaint alleged that Shmueli had subjected Lieberman and his ex-wife, children, friends, and associates to numerous acts of harassment, including repeated letters to third persons disclosing private information about Lieberman or private information that Lieberman had shared with Shmueli about other persons while Lieberman and Shmueli were living together as domestic partners; an act of vandalism on a car belonging to Lieberman's ex-wife and being used by his son; the placement of shattered glass covered with a red substance at Lieberman's door; and the posting, at Lieberman's minor daughter's school, of flyers making libelous and scandalous statements about the relationship between Lieberman and his daughter. The criminal complaint also alleged that Shmueli had made numerous harassing hang up telephone calls. In support of that allegation, the detective stated that he had reviewed records for the telephone at Shmueli's Manhattan apartment for the period in question and had found approximately 59 calls from that telephone to Lieberman's home or work number, with each connection lasting less than one minute. The criminal complaint charged Shmueli with one count of Harassment in the Second Degree, one count of Menacing in the Second Degree, and 91 counts of Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree. 4 The case against Shmueli was never tried. In March 2002, all charges were dismissed on statutory speedy trial grounds, without State opposition. 5