Westchester Attorney Robert Schuster Sentenced To 2-6 Years In Prison For Deadly Drunk Driving Crash
BEDFORD, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Two to six years in prison is the sentence for a Westchester attorney who drove drunk and killed a man.
Wednesday, the judge called 53-year-old Robert Schuster a "disgrace to the legal profession" and the victim's sisters spoke of their pain and loss.
As CBS2's Tony Aiello reports, the memorial at the crash site has faded, but the grief has not and it never will for those who loved 22-year-old Diego Trejo.
His sister Stephanie lost her best friend.
"It is an unimaginable pain to know that my brother won't be there to see everything he knew I'd accomplish," Stephanie Trejo said.
Schuster hung his head as he listened.
Two years ago, he drove drunk on Route 172 in Bedford after leaving a holiday party, ignoring those who urged him to call a cab.
Investigators say Schuster was traveling at 94 mph with a blood alcohol content of 0.12 -- that's 50% over the legal limit -- when he slammed into Diego Trejo's vehicle.
The crash killed Trejo and his beloved dog, Lily.
Through their pain, his family has found the grace to forgive.
"We forgave the man that killed our brother, our son, nephew, friend. We forgave him, as difficult and heart wrenching as it was. He did not take two seconds to hold himself accountable for what he caused," said Sophia Trejo, one of Diego's sisters.
Schuster was briefly disbarred after a white collar crime 20 years ago.
Prosecutor Nadine Nagler quoted Schuster's promise made back then.
"'I can assure my family with all of my being and will never again appear as a defendant in any criminal court,'" she said.
Schuster broke that promise and took a life.
"My family and I pray daily for the Trejo family," he said Wednesday. "The heartbreak and harm caused by the accident has anguished and tortured me daily for the past two years."
"This was not an accident. This was a crime, committed by you," Judge Barry Warhit said.
As Warhit sent Schuster to prison in handcuffs, Trejo's mother, Maria, could no longer hold back the tears she had kept in check.
A defense lawyer says Schuster pleaded guilty in August in part to spare the Trejo family the pain of a trial. With the conviction, Schuster has been disbarred for a second time.