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Light Rain Fog/Mist Path of destruction leads to prison
Elmont man sentenced, fined
Acting Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas announced that an Elmont man was sentenced last week for causing a mile-long path of destruction stretching from Elmont to Valley Stream when he drove a stolen truck with an exterior boom extended in August 2013.
Joel Grasman, 54, pleaded guilty in April 2014 to second-degree criminal possession of stolen property, fourth-degree criminal mischief and second-degree criminal tampering.
Acting Supreme Court Justice Helene Gugerty sentenced Grasman, who had spent seven months in prison, to time served, five years of probation and a $1,000 fine, and required him to pay $1,001,319.98 in restitution on the top charge. He was sentenced to three years of probation on the remaining two charges, to run concurrently with the first count.
The district attorney’s office had recommended a sentence of two to six years of incarceration, and restitution.
“The defendant caused a tremendous amount of destruction in a short period of time, and thousands of families were impacted by his actions,” Singas said. “By stealing the truck and knocking down so many power lines, the defendant inconvenienced thousands of Long Islanders — including seniors and the infirm — who need electricity in their homes.”
Singas said that Grasman went to a Metropolitan Transportation Authority facility in Richmond Hill, Queens, where he worked, and loaded a Mack boom truck with multiple pieces of welding equipment at 1 a.m. on Aug. 27, 2013. After unloading the equipment at a residence in Elmont, Grasman drove the truck with the boom in the extended and upright position, striking a number of telephone poles, traffic signal lights, utility wires and trees.
The incident caused interruptions to LIPA, Verizon and Optimum services and resulted in more than $1 million in damage to utility lines, homes and cars. Grasman was arrested later that day by Nassau County police after leaving the vehicle on the entrance ramp of the Southern State Parkway at Exit 15 in Valley Stream.
