By Dan Israeli
Gross, 45, admitted his part in a money-laundering conspiracy involving over $400,000 in cash and jewelry. He was arrested in August of 2005 after he spoke with an undercover FBI agent who was investigating an illegal gambling operation involving the Genovese crime family, with which Gross was involved.
The one-time judge now awaits his own judgment, with sentencing by U.S. District Judge Arthur Spatt scheduled for Oct. 26. Gross faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, though federal guidelines may reduce the sentence to as little as 37 months, according to Gross's attorney, John Carman of Garden City.
"There are a lot of issues that still need to be addressed prior to standing before Judge Spatt that will determine the extent of David Gross's sentence," Carman said in a telephone interview this week. There could be other hearings before the sentencing, but it is most likely that all the parties will not gather in court again until October.
The case was handled by Roslynn Mauskopf, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, along with Mark Mershon, assistant director of the FBI, who heads the bureau's New York field office. "Sworn to do justice, a sitting judge violated his oath as well as the law when he partnered with a member of organized crime to launder the proceeds of criminal activity," Mauskopf said in a statement. "We are committed to rooting out the corrosive influence of organized crime in our communities."
Gross planted the seeds of his eventual downfall in January of 2005 - the year he was up for re-election as a district court judge - when he got involved with Nicholas Gruttadauria, a member of the Genovese family. Gruttadauria introduced Gross to the same FBI agent that was infiltrating the gambling ring, who was posing as a trafficker of stolen jewelry.
Both Gross and Gruttadauria agreed to launder money and stolen jewelry provided by the agent.
It was then that Gross began to hitch a scheme that would use his reelection campaign fund as a cover for his money laundering. He suggested a fund-raising party at Cafe-by-the-Sea in Great Neck, and even got the restaurant's owner Kim Brady Land involved in the laundering. Eventually, Gross, Land and Gruttadauria were all getting a cut of the action, while the agent provided the money and jewels.
Now Gross faces multiple years behind bars and will most likely never be able to practice law in the U.S. again. In addition, under terms of a plea agreement entered into with the government, Gross agreed to forfeit $7,000 in cash, his cut of the money laundering, as well as a Chrysler 300 used to transport the money, and a pair of 1.7-carat diamond earrings.
Earlier this year on April 20, Gruttadauria pleaded guilty to money laundering and conspiring to operate an illegal gambling business, and faces a maximum sentence of twenty-five years in jail. Land pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy on June 12, 2007, and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years.
For Gross, the guilty plea ends a tumultuous law career that began in the New York City firms, moved to Long Beach under his partnership Gross & Gross, and ended with his only term as a Nassau County Judge. In November of 2005, three months after his arrest, Gross lost his re-election bid.
Lawrence Elovich, chairman of the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce, knew Gross from the Long Beach Lawyers Association. According to Elovich - describing Gross's downfall - all signs point to a severe lapse in good judgment. "He obviously made a very serious mistake and he's going to pay for it," he said. "My heart goes out to his family, for this tragedy that has befallen them."
His attorney noted that despite his legal troubles, which included another incident involving the Long Beach Police, Gross was a respected community leader, who was even awarded Man of the Year by the Stephanie Joyce Kahn Foundation in 2004. "David was always a very well liked member of the legal community," Carman said. "As a judge, he was viewed as being very fair and evenhanded."
It will be up to another judge now to determine how many years Gross will need to serve in prison.
Comments about this story? DIsraeli@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 214.
