Opposition To The Parole of Inmate Anthony Bottom

August 26, 2019

Board of Parole

August 26, 2019

Sullivan Correctional Facility
Supervising Offender Rehabilitation Coordinator
325 Riverside Drive, P.O. Box 116
Fallsburg, New York, 12733-0116

RE: LETTER OF OPPOSITION TO THE PAROLE OF INMATE ANTHONY BOTTOM (DIN: 77A4283)

Dear Supervising Offender Rehabilitation Coordinator,

We are writing to express our strong opposition to the release of Anthony Bottom, who is serving a sentence of 25 years to life for the murder of two New York City Police Officers nearly 50 years ago and is now seeking parole. The bottom line is that Mr. Bottom’s release will send a message that society no longer cares about the murder of law enforcement officers. It will do nothing but cause more pain for the still grieving families of those two police officers, Joseph Piagentini and Waverly Jones, who were murdered in cold blood by Mr. Bottom and his accomplices.

As a matter of fact, Mr. Bottom’s accomplice, Herman Bell, was released on parole last year despite pleas from many New Yorkers, including the families of those two police officers. We believe the Parole Board made a mistake then and are hoping they do not make the same mistake now.

Time does not absolve Mr. Bottom of the heinous crime he committed, nor does it heal the pain felt by the families of Police Officers Piagentini and Jones. There is no rehabilitation or redemption possible for those who murder our police officers. We the undersigned respectfully ask that Mr. Bottom’s request for parole be denied again, just as it has ten times before.

A police officer’s life is no more valuable than the average citizen’s; however, these are the men and women who keep us safe and enforce our laws. Our modern society strongly believes that anyone who kills a police officer is a criminal – that belief is reaffirmed in our laws. Granting Mr. Bottom parole would only diminish the integrity of our justice system.

We appreciate your consideration of our request and hope the members of the Parole Board will make the right decision.

Sincerely,

Michael Reilly Member of Assembly 62^nd District	Andrew J. Lanza State Senator 24^th District
Brian Kolb Member of Assembly Minority Leader, 131^st District	John J. Flanagan State Senator Minority Leader, 2^nd District
Nicole Malliotakis Member of Assembly 64^th District	Joseph A. Griffo State Senator 47^th District
John Mikulin Member of Assembly 17^th District	Patrick M. Gallivan State Senator 59^th District
Kevin Byrne Member of Assembly 94^th District	Fred Akshar State Senator 52^nd District
Ed Ra Member of Assembly 19^th District	George A. Amedore, Jr. State Senator 46^th District
Marjorie Byrnes Member of Assembly 133^rd District	Phil Boyle State Senator 4^th District
Kieran Michael Lalor Member of Assembly 105^th District	Rich Funke State Senator 55^th District
Karl A. Brabenec Member of Assembly 98^th District	Pamela Helming State Senator 54^th District
Jake Ashby Member of Assembly 107^th District	Chris Jacobs State Senator 60^th District
Dan Stec Member of Assembly 114^th District	Daphne Jordan State Senator 43^rd District
Michael Miller Member of Assembly 38^th District	Kenneth LaValle State Senator 1^st District
Andrew P. Raia Member of Assembly 12^th District	Betty Little State Senator 45^th District
Michael LiPetri Member of Assembly 9^th District	Thomas F. O’Mara State Senator 58^th District
Melissa Miller Member of Assembly 20^th District	Robert G. Ortt State Senator 62^nd District
Anthony H. Palumbo Member of Assembly 2^nd District	Michael H. Ranzenhofer State Senator 61^st District
Peter Lawrence Member of Assembly 134^th District	Patty Ritchie State Senator 48^th District
Andrew R. Garbarino Member of Assembly 7^th District	Joseph E. Robach State Senator 56^th District
Clifford Crouch Member of Assembly 122^nd District	Sue Serino State Senator 41^st District
Michael Montesano Member of Assembly 15^th District	James L. Seward State Senator 51^st District
Joseph DeStefano Member of Assembly 3^rd District	James Tedisco State Senator 49^th District
Chris Tague Member of Assembly 102^nd District
John Salka Member of Assembly 101^st District	Steven Matteo New York City Councilmember Minority Leader, 50^th District
Joseph M. Giglio Member of Assembly 148^th District	Joseph C. Borelli New York City Councilmember Minority Whip, 51^st District
Robert Smullen Member of Assembly 118^th District	Robert Holden New York City Councilmember 30^th District
Michael J. Fitzpatrick Member of Assembly 8^th District	Eric Ulrich New York City Councilmember 32^nd District
Brian Manktelow Member of Assembly 130^th District
Steve Hawley Member of Assembly 139^th District
David G. McDonough Member of Assembly 14^th District
Philip A. Palmesano Member of Assembly 132^nd District
Billy Jones Member of Assembly 115^th District