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| Kevin Duffy, judge who presided over terrorism trials, dies at 87 of coronavirus | Kevin Duffy, judge who presided over terrorism trials, dies at 87 of coronavirus |
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| Kevin Duffy, a longtime judge who presided over three major New York terrorism trials in the 1990s, died April 1 at a hospital in Greenwich, Conn. He was 87. | Kevin Duffy, a longtime judge who presided over three major New York terrorism trials in the 1990s, died April 1 at a hospital in Greenwich, Conn. He was 87. |
| The cause was complications from the novel coronavirus, said Edward Friedland, the district executive at Manhattan federal court. | The cause was complications from the novel coronavirus, said Edward Friedland, the district executive at Manhattan federal court. |
| Mr. Duffy, appointed to the bench in 1972 by President Richard M. Nixon, made relatively quick work of the trial of four men who conspired to bomb the World Trade Center in February 1993, starting it only five months after the attack that killed six people and injured hundreds more. | Mr. Duffy, appointed to the bench in 1972 by President Richard M. Nixon, made relatively quick work of the trial of four men who conspired to bomb the World Trade Center in February 1993, starting it only five months after the attack that killed six people and injured hundreds more. |
| He also presided over two trials of the bombing’s mastermind, Ramzi Yousef, who is serving a life sentence after his conviction in the trade center attack and a plot to blow up a dozen U.S. airliners over the Pacific Ocean. | |
| All three trials resulted in convictions, and Mr. Duffy sent the defendants to prison for the rest of their lives, bemoaning the change terrorism had brought to the United States. | All three trials resulted in convictions, and Mr. Duffy sent the defendants to prison for the rest of their lives, bemoaning the change terrorism had brought to the United States. |
| “Prior to February 26th, 1993, this country was a much freer place,” Mr. Duffy told the four men convicted at the 1993 trial. “Now we have guards. Now we have an identification-card mentality. It’s not quite as free.” | |
| After one defendant complained that prison guards had not given him prayer beads and rugs, Mr. Duffy replied: “You’re a convicted felon. . . . You’re not some guy on vacation.” | |
| “You talk about the Koran,” he told another defendant. “You have shamed it. . . . You violated the laws not only of man, but God.” | |
| At a sentencing years later, he called Yousef an “apostle of evil.’’ | |
| Kevin Thomas Duffy was born in the Bronx on Jan. 10, 1933. He graduated in 1954 from Fordham University and in 1958 from its law school. He worked in the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York before going into private practice in 1961. He also was a New York regional administrator of the Securities and Exchange Commission. | |
| According to the New York Times, survivors include his wife, the former Irene Krumeich; three children; two sisters; and eight grandchildren. A son died in 2017. | According to the New York Times, survivors include his wife, the former Irene Krumeich; three children; two sisters; and eight grandchildren. A son died in 2017. |
| In addition to the terrorism trials, Mr. Duffy oversaw other high-profile proceedings, including the trial of Paul Castellano, who allegedly headed the Gambino organized crime family before he was assassinated outside a Manhattan steak house after the trial had started. | |
| He also presided over a 1983 trial resulting from the 1981 armed robbery of a Brinks truck in Rockland County that led to a shootout between Black Liberation Army members and the police. A guard and two Nyack officers were killed in the robbery. The trial ended with several convictions. | He also presided over a 1983 trial resulting from the 1981 armed robbery of a Brinks truck in Rockland County that led to a shootout between Black Liberation Army members and the police. A guard and two Nyack officers were killed in the robbery. The trial ended with several convictions. |
| Mr. Duffy, who retired in 2016, was at times bombastic. | Mr. Duffy, who retired in 2016, was at times bombastic. |
| It took an appeals court only weeks after the trade center bombing to reverse as a violation of free speech a gag order barring all prosecutors, investigators, defense attorneys and others from discussing the case. Mr. Duffy had threatened to impose fines that would start at $200 for a first offense and increase exponentially to $1.6 billion by a third offense. | It took an appeals court only weeks after the trade center bombing to reverse as a violation of free speech a gag order barring all prosecutors, investigators, defense attorneys and others from discussing the case. Mr. Duffy had threatened to impose fines that would start at $200 for a first offense and increase exponentially to $1.6 billion by a third offense. |
| Yet he used a folksy demeanor with jurors, making them feel at ease with plain talk. | |
| After a jury was chosen for the 1993 trade center trial and opening arguments were about to begin, he offered them the chance to quit the jury for no reason at all if they didn’t want to be there. No one quit. | After a jury was chosen for the 1993 trade center trial and opening arguments were about to begin, he offered them the chance to quit the jury for no reason at all if they didn’t want to be there. No one quit. |
| Read more Washington Post obituaries | Read more Washington Post obituaries |