By Jeff Lipton and Debbie Rosen
A 22-year-old Rockville Centre man was sentenced to a prison term of 20 years to life in the July 1999 shooting death of an Oceanside man, whose body was found in his car, parked on a quiet, tree-lined street in Hewlett.
John Aufiero of Olive Court in Rockville Centre was sentenced by Nassau County Court Judge Donald DeRiggi on Thursday, Oct. 26. Another man involved in the crime, Joseph Duncan, 23, of North Franklin Street in East Rockaway, is scheduled to be sentenced on Monday, Nov. 13. The judge has committed to handing him a nine-year prison term, said Assistant District Attorney Michael Walsh.
Mr. Walsh said the defense and prosecution "agreed upon a plea deal" to avoid putting the victim's family through a trial.
"We are satisfied. The sentence of 20-to-life is a significant amount of time," said Mr. Walsh. "It is something we were confident with and the victim's family was comfortable with, avoiding the necessity of going to trial and the inherent risks associated with that."
Mr. Aufiero got the stiffer sentence because he was the triggerman, Mr. Walsh said.
"Mr. Duncan wasn't the shooter. He cooperated with us and agreed to testify. He even led us to the murder weapon," the assistant DA said.
The body of Jonathan Kane, 23, of Silver Lane in Oceanside was discovered on July 13 last year in his red, 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse. The body was found by a resident of Willard Drive in Hewlett, where the car was parked, near Warwick Road.
Mr. Kane, a 1994 Oceanside High School graduate, was shot several times in the head at close range with a large-caliber weapon, investigators said.
"This [sentencing] did not put closure to his death for me," Mr. Kane's mother, Barbara Becker, said in a telephone interview. "Wherever he [Aufiero] is going will not bring my son back. This is something that stays with you forever."
During the sentencing, Mr. Aufiero did not appear remorseful, she said. "You could see even the judge looked disgusted."
Robert Sale, Mr. Aufiero's lawyer, handed the judge a letter of apology from his client. But, Ms. Becker said, "I did not believe a word of it and I don't think anyone there did."
Joseph Duncan, however, who knew Mr. Kane from high school, has shown remorse, Ms. Becker said. He apologized to her family and said he never meant for the shooting to happen and just wanted to rob Mr. Kane.
County Homicide Squad detectives said that Mr. Kane apparently was shot on an East Rockaway street after agreeing to meet the two men in a drug transaction. The men said they had arranged for Mr. Kane to bring a large quantity of marijuana, possibly $10,000 worth, to Adams Street and Emmet Avenue, and planned to rob him of the drugs, Assistant DA Walsh said. But Mr. Kane showed up with much less than promised and was shot to death, Mr. Walsh said, and his body was driven to Hewlett and left abandoned in his car.
After an investigation, Mr. Aufiero was arrested on July 17, 1999, and Mr. Duncan turned himself in 11 days later, on July 28.
Attorney Sale said the Aufiero family "deeply regrets the circumstances that caused the tragic death of Jonathan Kane, and John Aufiero shares these thoughts and he is looking forward to serving his sentence and returning to society as a useful and productive citizen."
During sentencing, Ms. Becker addressed Mr. Aufiero, saying: "You deserve life without parole; 20 years is much shorter than the sentence you have given my family and me and to all those who loved and cared about him. You took away my son, who I've cared for and nurtured. You've made all my happy occasions bittersweet.
"When your parole comes up , I will be there to see that you never get a chance to return to society. ... If I have but one wish, you will never be free."
Ralph Raiola of Iron Island Gym, where Mr. Kane worked out to stay fit, said, "As a parent, myself, I'd want to see more retribution. I don't think a life sentence is what he should get." Mr. Raiola would have preferred to see Mr. Aufiero receive the death penalty.
And of Mr. Kane, he said, "He was like sunshine when he walked in the door. And Jon was always trying to do the right thing for his friends."
Ms. Becker said, "I'd like my son to be remembered as a good-natured, happy-go-lucky kid who was always there to help anybody, He was a good son, grandson, brother and friend."
She added that she has forced herself to cope with the tragic loss of life. "You cry, but you have to go on -- you have a family and other children.
"But then something hits you and you cry again."
