BALLSTON SPA – A Saratoga County prosecutor on Monday solid deli proprietor Georgios Kakavelos as a chilly and calculated killer who savagely murdered Allyzibeth Lamont to continuously silence a 22-yr-ancient employee he blamed for his deepening economic ruin.
“The defendant perceived Ally as a whistleblower,” First Assistant District legal professional Alan Poremba informed the jury in a more than two-hour closing argument at Kakavelos’ first-degree murder trial.
Kakavelos, 52, of Ballston Spa, a Greek immigrant who owned the native No. 9 sandwich shop in Johnstown, faces the opportunity of existence in prison devoid of parole if convicted. Kakavelos’ trial entered its sixth week Monday with attorneys supplying their closing arguments to the jury earlier than County judge James A. Murphy III.
Poremba advised jurors that via the autumn of 2019, Kakavelos changed into broke, his credit was shot and he faced a bankruptcy petition. And he mentioned Kakavelos turned into carrying on with to pay personnel beneath the table, while he owed the state greater than $70,000 and the U.S. Interior salary service more than $120,000.
Lamont, who labored for Kakavelos on the store, changed into submitting a grievance with the state branch of Labor about the businessman’s apply of paying employees below the table. The prosecutor said Kakavelos faced a investigation over tax fraud.
“at the the age of 51 he was failing as a businessman,” the prosecutor advised jurors, “but within the defendant’s egotistical mind it wasn’t his fault. It changed into Allyzibeth Lamont’s fault for complaining about his business practices.”
The prosecutor observed Kakavelos believed Lamont was a “ring chief” of young ladies on the store revolting in opposition t him. Lamont turned into threatening to blast Kakavelos as a terrible boss on social media. in addition, she had discovered that the authentic owner of the company changed into Kakavelos’ spouse and deliberate to elevate her considerations to her — all at a time when Kakavelos turned into planning to circulation the deli to a brand new area in Saratoga Springs.
it is why, according to Poremba, Kakavelos enlisted Jimmy Duffy, a profession crook who admittedly raped a 14-year-historical girl as a teen, to assist him kill Lamont.
“The defendant could not manage to pay for any further investigations, any more tax debt or any further bad publicity for his business,” Poremba advised jurors. He stated Kakavelos was upset about a piece of writing within the instances Union in 2012 after his Saratoga Diner closed.
Prosecutors contend Kakavelos and Duffy, who labored on the deli, ambushed and bludgeoned Lamont on Oct. 28, 2019 about 7:30 p.M., then dumped her physique in a wooded area off Exit 13 of the Northway in Malta. Duffy testified that he struck Lamont in the head and that Kakavelos, in flip, put a bag over Lamont’s head, choked the lady and accomplished her off by striking her with a small sledgehammer. He testified that he and Kakavelos back to Exit 13 the next nighttime to bury the victim’s is still.
Duffy, who pleaded responsible to second-degree homicide in alternate for a sentence of 18 years to existence within the detention center, was the prosecution’s key witness and in line with Kakavelos’ attorney, acted on my own to kill Lamont.
In a virtually two-hour closing argument previous Monday, Kakavelos protection legal professional Kevin O’Brien scoffed on the prosecution’s argument that a labor criticism led his client to murder. The attorney referred to Kakavelos in the past owned the Saratoga Diner in Saratoga Springs and Travers Diner in Gloversville, had faced labor complaints during the past — and on no account resorted to violence.
“doubtless the weakest a part of the executive’s case is what they consider to be intent,” O’Brien told the jury. “It does not make sense to chance his entire life and every little thing he’d built considering he got here to this nation to kill this 22-yr-historic woman. Since it failed to take place.”
O’Brien recounted the prosecution isn’t required to show a motive to convict his customer, but added: “most of the time, you might be going to need an evidence for why someone who had not ever been convicted of or arrested for against the law rapidly — in his 50s– decides that a grievance to the department of Labor is a cause to homicide a 22-year-historical young girl.”
previous Monday, Kakavelos concluded his fourth and last day of testimony, carrying on with to say that he took no half in the crime.
“I do recognize that I had nothing to do with it,” Kakavelos testified. ” I do know a existence changed into lost that evening. A life became lost of a young girl.”
