The killing had
all the hallmarks of a hate crime.
The victim was
Michael Sandy, a gay black 28-year-old. The suspects were
a crew of young whites who ran out of money and drugs on a
Sunday night and figured a gay man would be an easy
mark for a robbery.
Police said the
men, using an online chat room, lured Sandy to a remote
beach in Brooklyn, N.Y., by promising a date, then
beat him and chased him into the path of a speeding
car. Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the crime ''a
pernicious scheme'' to single out a victim because of
his sexual orientation. Prosecutors filed murder and hate
crimes charges.
But a two-week
trial has produced a surprise twist: The man who first
suggested going after a gay target was probably gay too.
Taking the stand
in his own defense, Anthony Fortunato testified about
having a series of one-night stands with men he met online.
He said he'd been having homosexual impulses since he
was around 13, although he kept that hidden from
friends.
''I was living
two complete double lives,'' said Fortunato, 21. But he
waffled when asked directly about his sexual orientation.
''I don't know,''
he said. ''I could be homosexual. A homosexual.
Bisexual.''
The revelation --
corroborated by three men who testified that they had
sexual encounters with Fortunato -- was intended to question
the validity of charging him with a hate crime, an
offense that could add years to his prison sentence if
he is convicted.
Defense attorney
Gerald Di Chiara said his client clearly had no hatred
for gays.
Fortunato, one of
four men charged in the assault, acknowledged on the
stand that it was his idea to enter an online chat room and
find a gay man to set up.
But he said the
plan had been to try to trick Sandy into giving them
marijuana or money, not to attack him.
Things got out of
hand, he claimed, when a codefendant who is being tried
separately decided on his own to escalate the encounter to a
violent mugging.
Brooklyn
prosecutors argue that Fortunato's sexual orientation is
irrelevant. Under New York law, they said, defendants can be
convicted of a hate crime even if they bear no actual
hatred for their victim.
The law only
requires that they have singled out a person for a violent
act because of some belief or stereotype about that person's
ethnicity, gender, religion, age, disability, or
sexual orientation.
The judge
overseeing the case backed that interpretation of the law
before trial. ''This is a case where the defendants
deliberately set out to commit a violent crime against
a man whom they intentionally selected because of his
sexual orientation,'' wrote state supreme court justice
Jill Konviser.
Legal scholars
also said the law appears to be on the prosecution's side.
''The issue in the case is, why did they select this guy, as
opposed to some other guy? They selected him because
he was gay,'' said Arthur Leonard, a professor at New
York Law School who has been following the case.
Therefore, he added, it doesn't matter whether they actually
hated him or merely thought he would be weak and
vulnerable.
Queens
prosecutors recently used the hate crimes statute to charge
a man accused of trying to defraud several elderly
victims -- another case that matches the prosecution's
theory in Fortunato's trial that the victim was chosen
because he was easy prey.
One legal expert
said it wouldn't be unheard of for a gay person to lash
out in hatred at another gay person.
Research has
suggested that at least some violent gay bashing is
committed by people who are sexually confused themselves,
said Ruthann Robson, a professor at the City
University of New York School of Law whose specialties
include gay sexuality and the law.
''It's
self-hatred,'' Robson said. ''That doesn't meant that they
should be allowed to act out and hurt other people
because they are confused about their sexuality.''
Fortunato and one
of his codefendants, John Fox, are charged with a range
of crimes. Closing arguments at their trial were scheduled
for Wednesday and Thursday.
Jurors could
convict them of murder or the lesser charge of manslaughter,
or of only robbery and assault. On each count, the jury also
has the option of convicting the pair of a hate crime,
which would enhance any prison sentence, especially on
the lesser charges. They face at least 25 years to
life in prison if convicted of murder.
Another man
accused of participating in the attack, Ilye Shurov, is to
be tried separately. A fourth man, Gary Timmins, who
was 16 at the time of the killing, pleaded guilty to
attempted robbery and testified for prosecutors. (AP)
