STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Nearly 10 years ago, a Staten Island lawyer was arrested and faced possible disbarment amid accusations he punched a man in the face during a dispute in Family Court, St. George.
The criminal charges were dropped six months later, while a civil matter was brewing.
On Dec. 9, a jury awarded attorney Patrick Bisogno of Grymes Hill $10 million in compensable damages following a defamation suit he filed in state Supreme Court, St. George, against John Libertella and his father Giovanni. The jury also awarded the plaintiff $250,000 in punitive damages.
Bisogno was represented in the case by Staten Island-based attorney Jack Tracy.
In 2013, police arrested Bisogno on allegations he punched John Libertella, now 58, of Long Island, during an altercation in the elevator at Family Court, St. George. The dispute surrounded a child support battle and Bisogno was representing his sister-in-law, who is John Libertella’s ex-wife.
John Libertella told the Advance/SILive.com at the time that Bisogno called him a “deadbeat dad” and told him he’d never see his daughter again, before striking him in the nose. His father, now 83, who was with him at the time, maintained the story, the lawsuit stated.
Bisogno denied the allegations, saying at the time he only put his hand up to block Libertella’s phone after being told he was being recorded. “I never touched him. I never laid a hand on him,” Bisogno stated. In the months that followed, news of the arrest made headlines in multiple news publications in New York City and a law journal.
Client referrals were lost as a result of the charges while Bisogno’s future as a licensed attorney hung in the balance, his attorney said recently.
Among the evidence presented to the jury was a video that Bisogno shot at the time of the altercation, which does not show him assaulting the defendant. It was the same video investigators viewed before dropping the charges in 2013. The defendants maintained through the trial that the attack happened while the camera was turned off.
Court records show the jury found John Libertella responsible for 80% of the compensable damages, while his father is tasked with 20% of the decision. The defendants’ assets between the two of them include real estate properties and a medical practice in the New York City area, a source with knowledge of the case noted.
The Libertellas’ counterclaim was rebuked by the jury.
Bisogno, who remains a practicing attorney in New York, issued a statement Monday saying the incident caused a “great deal of anguish and pain to me and my family.”
“Although it has taken almost 10 years to have this case heard and judged by a jury, listening to evidence and testimony in a trial… we hope that this verdict will bring some measure of closure and recompense from this hurtful experience and allow us to get back to our normal lives.”