New York Paralegal Blog

Jose Ramos Sentenced to Maximum Prison Term, Speech-Impaired Victim Used Letter Board and Translator to Testify Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the conviction and sentencing of JOSE RAMOS, a nursing aide at Amsterdam Nursing Home in Morningside Heights, for sexually abusing a disabled and speech-impaired 61-year-old resident of that facility. Today RAMOS was sentenced to seven years in state prison on one count of Sex Abuse in the First Degree, one and one-third to four years in state prison on one count of Endangering the Welfare of a Vulnerable Elderly Person in the Second Degree, and one year in jail on one count of Endangering the Welfare of a Physically Disabled Person, to run concurrently. Upon his release, RAMOS will be under post-release supervision for ten years and will be required to register as a sex offender. “The defendant preyed upon a helpless victim,” said District Attorney Vance. “Much trust is placed in the hands of those that ta...

Tyson Foods Inc. was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Arkansas to pay the maximum fine for willfully violating worker safety regulations that led to a worker’s death in its River Valley Animal Foods (RVAF) plant in Texarkana, Ark., the Justice Department announced. The court ordered Tyson Food to pay the $500,000, the maximum criminal fine as well as serve one year probation. According to the court documents filed in the case, Tyson operated several RVAF plants that recycled poultry products into protein and fats for the animal food industry. As part of the rendering process in four of the plants, the company used high-pressure steam processors called hydrolyzers to convert the poultry feather into feather meal. Decomposition of biological material such as poultry feathers produces hydrogen sulfide gas, an acute-acting toxic substance. Employees at the Tyson facilities often were exposed to the toxic gas when working on or near the hydrolyzers, which required frequent adjustme...