Georgios Kakavelos and his new lawyer Mark Sacco were sentenced on Tuesday

BALLSTON SPA-Johnstown Deli owner ambushed and killed an employee-22-year-old Allyzibeth "Ally" Lamont-was sentenced in Saratoga on Tuesday for whistling on a series of labor violations Life imprisonment and no parole in county-level courts.

The 53-year-old Georgios Kakavelos of Milton showed almost no emotion when Judge James A. Murphy announced the verdict. This is the county since the law was enacted. Conviction for first-degree murder for the first time since.

Kakavelos is the owner of the No. 9 smokehouse and substation in Johnstown. As a family and relative of Lamont in Gloversville, he sat there stoically and gave an emotional victim impact statement.

Greek immigrant Kakavelos also owns the Saratoga restaurant in Saratoga Springs and the Traverse restaurant in Gloversville.

The victim’s sister Brooke Lamont told Carcavelos: "You make me sick and make me unwell. The truth is heartbreaking, and I will never forget it. Now everyone knows who you are—a disgusting one. Woman, narcissistic woman—"

Lamont’s aunt Tammy Quickenbush said: "I hope you will never find a moment of peace because of what you did. Your Honor, we ask you to impose the same penalty on him (Kakavelos)-life. No parole."

The victim’s mother, Christa Lamont, stated that she and Ellie’s father, Sherman, will always be with their daughter for Carcavelos (rather than someone who cares about or loves her). One last breath of shock and anger at the fact that she fought for her life and took her away.

"As a businessman, you are a loser," the mother said. "As a person, you are a loser."

First Assistant District Attorney Alan M. Poremba described Lamont as sincere, generous and brave when she confronted Carcavelos on behalf of herself and her female colleagues about fraudulent business practices.

As Lamont filed a complaint with the State Department of Labor about his business and his practice of paying employees to avoid taxes, Carcavelos was convicted of inciting a murder plan for employment.

James Duffy was also charged with first-degree murder, but pleaded guilty to one second-degree murder in April. As a testimony to Carcavelos, Duffy was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

The jury heard six weeks of testimony and convicted Kakavelos on all 10 charges on June 17. It deliberated for about 7 hours in two days. More than 60 witnesses testified and displayed more than 700 exhibits.

Poreba said that the jury did not pronounce the verdict in the seat where the jurors were distanced from society in the court, but was allowed to gather together in the jury and deliver the verdict in unity.

At least seven jurors appeared in court for Carcavelos’ verdict.

Lamont was killed at the Townsend Avenue store on October 28, 2019. On October 31, 2019, the police found her body near the southbound ramp at Exit 13 of Northway, Malta. Her body was buried in a shallow grave.

After Kakavelos was convicted, State Commissioner Robert Reardon of the Department of Labor weighed the case in a letter to the court.

Reardon pointed out that Lamont was fighting for justice for herself and her colleagues by reporting violations of labor laws in good faith, only to become the victim of the "most heinous act of retaliation" ever committed against a worker in the state's history. By.

"I ask the court to consider the potential chilling effect of this murderer's actions on workers seeking to exercise basic rights: the right to report abuse and illegal acts," the commissioner wrote, adding that Lamont was a "hero of her colleagues who fought for protection." ".

Prosecutors said Lamont stated that when she first started working at the deli, she thought Carcavelos was just "a strange and arrogant person."

Poremba said that over time, she learned about her boss’s appetite for dishonesty. But she won't know how evil Carcavelos is until the last moment of her life.

Poremba said that Kakavelos has engaged in fraudulent activities with restaurants he owns and operates in Saratoga and Fulton counties for more than two decades.

Kakavelos underreported the working hours of its employees to the New York State Department of Labor, New York State Department of Taxation and Treasury, and the Federal Internal Revenue Service. He failed to pay his employees on time. The prosecutor said that he never pays overtime, always pays in cash and does not issue pay slips.

Kakavelos also refused to pay unemployment insurance premiums and evaded tax liability.

In 2019, Carcavelos declared bankruptcy after he was arrested for violating the labor law and fined twice.

But he continued to engage in the same fraudulent business practices at the Johnstown Delicatessen, owing more than $70,000 in tax debts to the New York State Department of Taxation and Treasury, $120,000 to the Internal Revenue Service, and tens of thousands of dollars in compensation and fraud fines. New York State Department of Labor.

Poreba said that Lamont warned Carcavelos that if he does not stop illegal business practices, she will refer him to the National Labor Council and expose him on social media.

"She hated the way the defendant treated her and her colleagues," Poremba said.

Lamont met with an investigator from the New York State Department of Labor and expressed dissatisfaction about seven weeks before she was killed.

According to Duffy’s testimony, Carcavelos had a pale face and focused his anger on claiming that Lamont was the leader of his female workers. He accused Lamont of ruining his business, reputation and livelihood.

Initially, Carcavelos hired Duffy to act alone to kill Lamont.

Polumba said the two men considered staging an accidental drug overdose or a botched robbery in the deli. But Kakavelos rejected these plans because news about the dead bodies in the store would bring negative publicity to the deli.

The two agreed that Duffy would hit Lamont on the head with a baseball bat, and then put her body in a large sandwich prefabricated freezer to hide and transport the body before disposal.

But the day before she was murdered, Duffy said he couldn't bear it, and Carcavelos slammed his partner because his feet were cold. Kakavelos then decided that he could not expect Duffy to act alone.

Poremba said that the next day, Kakavelos bought the clothes he wore during the murder and handling of cleanup items and tracking evidence at Walmart. He also bought work gloves and two bags of fertilizer that he thought would accelerate Lamont's decay.

The final murder plan involved a trick. Carcavelos was doing a cleaning job in the deli restroom after closing hours, which distracted Lamont, and Duffy came in and beat her with a bat from behind.

Duffy should put a contractor-grade garbage bag on Lamont's head before hitting the ball for the first time to minimize blood splatter. However, the plan did not proceed as expected, Poremba said.

Before placing the bag, Duffy hit Lamont in the head. Carcavelos then pulled the bag over Lamont’s head and placed it there, while Duffy used a bat to hit Lamont’s skull three times.

Despite her injuries, Lamont continued to fight for her life, even though she was knocked to the ground with the bag on her head, Carcavelos straddled the ground and tried to strangle her.

Carcavelos yelled to Duffy for something heavier, then he came back with a 2.5-pound sledgehammer and hit Lamont on the head with him "with everything he had," Porumba said .

Carcavelos hit Lamont three more times with a hammer.

Duffy testified that Carcavelos had "a happy expression on his face", said something strange, and checked Lamont's pulse.

"It's over," he declared.

After the murder, Carcavelos drove to Wal-Mart to buy cleaning supplies in order to clean up beyond expectations. He spends time buying plastic sheets, tape, towels and bleach.

The prosecutor recalled the "disturbing picture" of Kakavelos eating almond joy candy bars and mercilessly buying magazines. He even remembered buying laundry detergent for his wife.

Carcavelos returned to the deli, and the two wrapped Lamont's body with plastic sheeting and tape. Prosecutors said they cleaned the restrooms and covered the rest of the bloody crime scene with red soda syrup.

They packed Lamont's body and bags of cleaned up items on the back seat of the Volkswagen Passat in Carcavelos.

Poremba said the people dumped the body from the Northway ramp and returned with supplies the next night, stripped off the victim’s clothes, and placed her in a shallow filled with fertilizer, concrete blocks, concrete mixture and mud. In the hole.

Carcavelos' custom prescription glasses were found within 15 feet of the burial site of Lamont's body.

Prosecutors said the items used during the murder were disposed of in Milton and Galway within the next two days.

Kakavelos had the trunk of his Volkswagen refilled with materials he purchased at Lowe's in Glenmont, and the car was treated and deodorized in detail at a car wash in Colonie to remove and destroy evidence.

On October 31, 2019, after the case was interrupted several times, law enforcement officers were taken to Lamont's body.

Kakavelos' lawyer Mark Sacco asked the judge to impose a minimum penalty, noting that this was his client's first exposure to the criminal justice system, and that he was a local business owner and employed many people. Nicolas also called Carcavelos a good husband and father of his three children.

The judge rejected Kakavelos' motion to rescind the jury verdict on behalf of his wife, and Kakavelos' attempt to get Sacco to be replaced in this case.

The verdict was postponed because Carcavelos replaced his first lawyer, Kevin O'Brien of Albany, shortly after the verdict.

The judge dismissed Kakavelos' claim that he had no opportunity to tell his story to the jury.

Carcavelos refused to make a statement in court on Tuesday. His lawyer stated that Carcavelos intends to appeal.

Poremba said that in Kakavelo's pre-sentence interview, a probation officer described Kakavelos as indifferent and stoic, and he never mentioned Lamont by name.

The probation officer wrote: "There is no regret or regret of any kind that is surprising." "Georges Carcavelos never admitted any responsibility. He never said sorry. He never said he was wrong. In Throughout the interview, his attention was completely focused on himself..."

The prosecutor read that Carcavelos accused Duffy, his legal counsel and the criminal justice system.

"Throughout the interview, Georgios Kakavelos wrapped himself in the coat of the victim."

Contact reporter Brian Lee [email protected] or 518-419-9766.

Category: Fulton Montgomery Schoharie, News, Saratoga County

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