Joseph F. DeFelice

Reprinted from the New York Law Journal, the following article examines the case of People v. Engstrom, 1442/08, where I represented the Defendant.

Judicial Errors Require New Trial in Nassau Theft Case, Panel Says

by Daniel Wise, printed on July 9, 2011
Several judicial errors require a new trial for a woman who was convicted of fleecing an elderly man of more than
$200,000, ostensibly while she was caring for him, a unanimous panel in Brooklyn ruled last week.

The panel in People v. Engstrom, 1442/08, faulted Nassau County Acting Supreme Court Justice Alan L. Honorof (See
Profile), for releasing a juror without conducting an adequate inquiry in a matter in which the prosecution’s case was
“not overwhelming.”

The unanimous panel also cited what it called Justice Honorof’s “perfunctory admonition” after the alleged victim made
“derogatory” and “unrelated” comments about the defendant, Lynn Engstrom.

Ms. Engstrom, 61, was sentenced to three to nine years in prison and has been serving time since June 2009.

Her lawyer, Joseph F. DeFelice, pointing to the two years she has been imprisoned, said it is “logical” that on remand
she will be released either “on her own recognizance or very low bail.”

According to both Mr. DeFelice and the prosecution, Ms. Engstrom and the alleged victim, Robert Obojski, then 74,
met in the fall of 2003, became good friends and planned to work together on a children’s book.

Mr. Objoski is the author of at least 11 books, six of them about baseball, according to a search on Amazon.com.

Ms. Engstrom, according to the brief Mr. DeFelice filed with the Appellate Division, Second Department, grew up in
Grosse Point, Mich., the daughter of a designer of U.S. Army tanks and the niece of a chief executive officer of General
Motors.

Mr. Obojski suffered a severe infection which resulted in the amputation of his foot above the ankle. He gave Ms.
Engstrom power of attorney and made her the sole beneficiary of his will.

Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen M. Rice said in a statement issued when Ms. Engstrom was sentenced that
Ms. Engstrom used the power of attorney from 2004 to 2006 to empty Mr. Obojski’s bank accounts, stealing $211,000,
leaving him with only $10.

Mr. DeFelice disputed Ms. Rice’s version, saying that his client had used the power of attorney to sell Mr. Obojski’s
home after he underwent an extensive stay in a rehabilitation facility.

With the $740,000 she realized from the sale of the home, Mr. DeFelice said, Ms. Engstrom paid $345,000 for a smaller
house and an additional amount to make it handicapped accessible. Mr. Objoski also gave Ms. Engstrom and her
daughters, who had also helped Mr. Objoski, $129,000, the lawyer said.

Ms. Rice in her 2009 statement characterized the $129,000 payments as “cash gifts” from Mr. Obojski in “appreciation
of her assistance in paying his bills and brokering the sale of his Port Washington home.”

Before the jury began deliberations, Justice Honorof, over the objection of the defendant, agreed to discharge a sworn
juror, a doctor who said he had to attend a conference. But the Second Department concluded that the judge should have
made a more thorough inquiry into whether the juror’s release was required by “illness, incapacity or unavailability.”

Further, when Mr. Obojski testified against Ms. Engstrom, the panel noted, he “prejudiced” her by making “derogatory”
comments which were “unrelated and unresponsive to the questions posed.” The trial judge’s mild response was
“inadequate to effectively dispel” that prejudice, the panel noted.

Also at issue was a charge that Ms. Engstrom had stolen four antique gold coins worth approximately $7,000, Mr.
DeFelice said.

The panel, consisting of Justices Peter B. Skelos (See Profile), John M. Leventhal (See Profile), Leonard B. Austin (See
Profile) and Sandra L. Sgroi (See Profile), wrote in an unsigned opinion that Justice Honorof erred in charging that Ms.
Engstrom’s claim that Mr. Obojski had entrusted the coins to her was an affirmative defense. His ruling that a “claim of
right” is an affirmative defense had the effect of improperly shifting the burden of proof from the prosecution to the
defendant, the panel concluded.

According to Mr. DeFelice, Mr. Obojski had given the coins to Ms. Engstrom to use in her artwork, with the
understanding that the two would split the proceeds from the sale of any of her works.

According to Amazon.com, Mr. Obojski has written a book entitled, “Coin Collector’s Guide” and coauthored a second,
“Illustrated Encyclopedia of World Coins.”

The case was argued on June 7, 2011.

On the appeal, the prosecution was handled by Nassau County Assistant District Attorneys Judith R. Sternberg, Tammy
J. Smiley, Barbara Kornblau and Samantha Alessi.