Opinion
2013-04-4
The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Rhea PISCIOTTA, also known as Alyssa Vacca, Defendant–Appellant.
Steven Banks, The Legal Aid Society, New York (Adrienne M. Gantt. of counsel), for appellant. Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Yuval Simchi–Levi of counsel), for respondent.
Steven Banks, The Legal Aid Society, New York (Adrienne M. Gantt. of counsel), for appellant. Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Yuval Simchi–Levi of counsel), for respondent.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Edward J. McLaughlin, J. at plea; Marcy L. Kahn, J. at sentencing), rendered August 5, 2010, convicting defendant of assault in the second and third degrees, and sentencing her, as a second felony offender, to an aggregate term of four years, unanimously affirmed.
Defendant's claim that the court improperly enhanced her bargained-for sentence without sufficient inquiry is unpreserved since defendant neither requested a hearing nor moved to withdraw her plea ( see e.g. People v. Malaj, 69 A.D.3d 487, 894 N.Y.S.2d 31 [1st Dept. 2010],lv. denied15 N.Y.3d 776, 907 N.Y.S.2d 464, 933 N.E.2d 1057 [2010] ), and we decline to review it in the interest of justice. As an alternate holding, we find that the court conducted a sufficient inquiry and properly imposed an enhanced sentence based on reliable information that defendant violated the terms of her plea agreement ( see People v. Jenkins, 11 N.Y.3d 282, 869 N.Y.S.2d 370, 898 N.E.2d 553 [2008] ). There were no disputed factual issues that required a hearing as a matter of due process ( see People v. Valencia, 3 N.Y.3d 714, 786 N.Y.S.2d 374, 819 N.E.2d 990 [2004];compare Torres v. Berbary, 340 F.3d 63 [2d Cir.2003] ). The record also establishes that defendant was sufficiently warned of the meaning and consequences of absconding from her drug program.
We perceive no basis for reducing the sentence.