Men sentenced for election night assaults against Blacks

Four men who committed three hate crime assaults in response to President Barack Obama's election victory have been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Carol B. Amon in federal court in Brooklyn, N.Y. Ralph Nicoletti, 19, was sentenced to 108 months in prison; Bryan Garaventa, 18, was sentenced to 60 months; Michael Contreras, 19, was sentenced to 55 months; and Brian Carranza, 21, was sentenced to 70 months. The sentencing was Sept. 11. On Nov. 4, 2008, following the announcement of President Obama's victory in the presidential election, the defendants set out to assault Blacks in Staten Island, N.Y., because they believed the victims had voted for the president. Mr. Nicoletti drove the group to the Park Hill section of Staten Island, a predominantly Black neighborhood, where they encountered a Black teenager and assaulted him. Mr. Nicoletti struck the teenager with a metal pipe and Mr. Garaventa hit him with a collapsible police baton. Mr. Nicoletti then drove to the Port Richmond section of Staten Island, where the defendants assaulted an unidentified Black man, knocking him to the ground.