The most experienced prosecutor in Ulster County

Over the past 32 years—as Assistant DA, Assistant Attorney General, and Chief Assistant DA—Manny Nneji has dedicated his life to keeping people and communities safe. He has prosecuted hundreds of cases, from fraud, burglary and animal cruelty to the most violent crimes of rape and murder. Whether achieving convictions by jury verdict, securing guilty pleas, or recommending alternatives to incarceration, the depth and breadth of Manny’s experience is unmatched.

Sampling of Cases

WARNING: Some case descriptions contain disturbing content.

CONVICTIONS: MURDERS AND OTHER HOMICIDES

JURY FOUND GUILTY

  • Defendant invited her mother to her apartment in Ellenville and stabbed her 120 times; this conviction was recently upheld on appeal

  • Murder conviction in shooting of a young man adjacent to Broadway Lights Diner in Kingston

  • Defendant fatally strangled and stomped her great-aunt

  • Murder conviction in which defendant drowned his estranged girlfriend in the Hudson River at Charles Ryder Park, in which the death was initially ruled a suicide and not prosecutable; however, Manny reviewed the evidence and led further investigation leading to conviction

  • Armed marijuana robbery that resulted in a shooting death; this kind of case is often difficult to try because some jurors can lack empathy for victims who were murdered while committing a crime themselves; Manny does not shy away from taking on these kinds of cases

PLEADED GUILTY

  • Murder in the Town of Shawangunk

  • Marlboro mother left 10-month-old daughter to drown in tub

  • Vehicular homicide (manslaughter)

  • Vehicular homicide (manslaughter)

  • first degree rape and murder

CONVICTIONS: GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE

JURY FOUND GUILTY

  • Conviction for Rape in the 1st degree in which victim was defendant’s 6-year-old daughter; this case was initially reviewed and senior ADAs declined to prosecute, but Manny reviewed and led further investigation leading to the conviction; he also wrote the appellate brief and successfully argued the case before the Appellate Division’s Third Department; the conviction was subsequently sustained by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals

  • Defendant sexually molested his 22-month-old daughter who almost died and required extensive surgery; case was deemed not prosecutable by others, but Manny took it on

  • Defendant drugged and sodomized a 15-year-old boy in Kingston

  • Defendant, a 42-year-old man, raped an 84-year-old woman in New Paltz

  • Registered sex offender convicted in the forcible rape of a teenager in Accord

  • Defendant, a veteran in his 30s, raped his 15-year-old sister-in-law in Shawangunk; he forced the child's older sister, his wife, to aid him in subduing her

  • Defendant sexually abused his 12-year-old step-daughter in Plattekill; fled to Indiana and had to be extradited; he was tried and convicted as Judge Brian Rounds’ last case as a defense attorney; Manny made the case for a life sentence because of the defendant’s dangerous criminal history, and he got it; it was upheld on appeal

  • Defendant made a forced entry into an apartment where he sexually abused and strangled a woman; Manny made the case for a life sentence because of his dangerous criminal history—he got it and it was upheld on appeal

  • Home improvement contractor hired to renovate parts of the victim’s Stone Ridge house; he entered the house before morning light and sexually assaulted a teenage girl

PLEADED GUILTY

  • Defendant, a young man from Greene County, raped a 66-year-old veteran in her hotel room in Saugerties

  • First degree rape of a victim under 13 years old

  • Sexual abuse of a toddler in Kingston

“The maximum prison sentence was 15 years, but I made the case for a life sentence because of his dangerous criminal history. He got it, and it was upheld on appeal.”
— MANNY NNEJI, on the People v. Troy Swartz

CONVICTIONS: VIOLENT ASSAULTS, ROBBERIES, BURGLARIES, DRUG SALES

JURY FOUND GUILTY

  • Navy veteran Mark Hogancamp, who was also a brilliant artist, was beaten nearly to death in Kingston by a group of young men for being a cross-dresser; he suffered permanent brain damage; his story was made into a documentary film "Marwencol" (2010) then became the big screen movie, “Welcome to Marwen” (2018) starring Steve Carell

  • Stone Ridge crime family that burglarized, robbed, and pistol-whipped victims in their homes for over 15 years; Manny reviewed and guided further investigation that led to successful prosecution with a month-long trial, bringing an end to the crime family

  • Pine Bush man tried to hang his wife and stage it as a suicide; a documentary about this attempted murder case is scheduled for release in Fall 2023

  • Inmate who regularly threw his feces at Corrections Officers and was abusive to everyone in court

  • Robbed and stole from local stores and assaulted officers who arrested him; assaulted Corrections Officers; claimed he was “almighty god”; ultimately feigning insanity

  • Shooting and harboring weapons in Kingston

  • String of burglaries in Rosendale, New Paltz, Gardiner, Plattekill, and Lloyd

  • Gang motivated attempted execution-murder in Kingston

  • Shawangunk burglary, robbery, and attempted kidnapping of his estranged girlfriend

  • Armed robbery of Highland store

  • Drug sales

PLEADED GUILTY

  • Attempted murder of a police officer in Esopus

  • Armed burglary; neighbor came home while defendant was trying to flee and the neighbor’s car blocked him; defendant fired a shot into the vehicle

  • Bank robbery

  • Bank robbery

  • Domestic violence against girlfriend

  • Armed robbery in Kingston

  • Domestic violence, hit wife with baseball bat with kids present

  • Multiple residential burglaries in Saugerties

  • Burglary in Saugerties

Navy veteran and artist Mark Hogancamp was nearly beaten to death in Kingston by a group of young men for being a cross-dresser. Manny prosecuted the case in People v. Purcell, et al. Hogencamp’s compelling story was made into the documentary “Marwencol” and later into the feature film “Welcome to Marwen".”

CONVICTIONS: ANIMAL CRUELTY

JURY FOUND GUILTY

  • Defendant was watching a friend's dog while she was away; he shot the dog and lied about the circumstances of the dog’s death; the case was initially assigned to Mike Kavanagh, who did not believe it could be proven in court as a felony, Manny took it on and got a guilty verdict

  • Shot his girlfriend’s dog; an ADA other than Manny was trying the case, but the DA asked Manny to help out shortly before trial; Manny saw that the evidence was not fully developed to prove aggravated cruelty; he reviewed the case and asked to see photos of the autopsy, uncovering proof of the animal’s suffering and depravity of the defendant

PLEADED GUILTY

  • Beat his girlfriend's dog to death; served jail time for aggravated cruelty to animals

People v. Matthew Miller was initially assigned to Mike Kavanagh, who along with everyone else in the DA’s office did not believe the case could be proven in court as a felony. The case was reassigned to Manny, who thoroughly reviewed it and developed the evidence, asking questions and working with the SPCA. Manny tried the case and the jury delivered a felony conviction.

Under Manny’s leadership as Chief Assistant District Attorney, the DA's Office created an Animal Abuse Unit.

CONVICTIONS: FRAUD

JURY FOUND GUILTY

  • Used names and particulars of interns to defraud UARC; Manny personally performed the accounting work and tried the case; convicted her but recommended probation because Manny believed that a prison sentence would amount to a death sentence for her mom who was under her care

PLEADED GUILTY

(Manny investigated and prosecuted the cases below as Assistant NYS Attorney General)

  • Albany entrepreneur who stole money that was invested in his venture by victims from around the country

  • A woman who claimed she was dying of cancer and had a last wish to marry the love of her life before dying – except it was a fraud; she obtained thousands of dollars in charitable donations from all over the state and beyond, plus a honeymoon in Aruba

  • Builder who contracted to build $500k homes for various victims in Orange County but did not and stole hundreds of thousands of dollars

  • Staten Island chimney sweep who scammed elderly people in Ulster County and stole their money for unnecessary services and rendered their homes unsafe

  • Group of doctors and entrepreneurs who ripped off NYS Empire Plan for over $12 million by double-billing (processed by Empire Blue Cross/Shield office in Ulster County). Seven Assistant AGs had worked on the case and recommended a settlement for $200,000. It was assigned to Manny to finalize the settlement when he started with the AG’s Office. He reviewed the case and boxes of vouchers of the double-billing and was able to determine that they were clearing the “double-billed vouchers” through a company in Cleveland, Ohio, for about 60 cents on the dollar. Manny recommended criminal prosecution and full restitution; the case was settled for $1 million.

  • Insurance broker with fraudulent shell operation out of NYC selling insurance to commercial entities: embezzled premiums in some instances; did not actually obtain any coverage in others

Jessica Vega