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The Crime Minister By David Hafetz, Douglas
Montero He has a deep and boisterous baritone pitched to seduce. In his career, Lawrence Craig, a 44-year-old minister and opera singer, has won over the faithful and critics alike, and even wooed a Manhattan judge. But Craig's charming voice has never saved him from his own siren's call. Last Saturday, a drunken Craig, whose girlfriend is state Supreme Court Judge Donna Mills, barged into a Bronx woman's apartment, where he allegedly tried to snatch her 4-year-old son and then sped off in a black Volvo with court tags belonging to the judge. The escapade landed the sweet-sounding Craig in serious trouble for the second time and has added to a growing headache for Mills, who was censured this week over a past DWI arrest. Craig, a preacher's son who lives in Washington Heights, now faces four years in prison on attempted-burglary and assault charges. In 2001, Craig pleaded no contest in Wisconsin to misdemeanor sexual assault for touching a high school actress during a performance. Friends describe Craig as a consummate performer and a gentlemanly and jolly person "kind of like a Santa Claus," one friend said. But while Craig has drawn some rave reviews and appeared in small Broadway roles, the often cash-strapped artist's performances are punctuated with show-stopping off-stage disasters. "It's kind of heartbreaking. He's such a talented person," said Harold Melvin, who runs a Upper West Side salon Craig frequents. "It's just freaky," said one of Craig's former girlfriends. "I used to think he was a nice guy, but now I'm starting to question my thinking." Just weeks ago, at the funeral of Mills' father, Craig was meeting many of her relatives and friends for the first time and making a good impression. He sang during a service at Abyssinian Baptist Church. "All the women were buzzing about him, saying he had charisma, and how they thought he was so good-looking," said a cousin of Mills, who asked not to be named. Still, despite appearances, Craig's ex-girlfriend sounds a sour note about his love affair. "Why do you think he hooked up with her? She's a wealthy woman," she said. "He doesn't have a regular income like we do." Mills' cousin said he was "speechless" when he learned of Craig's arrest. "It was hard for me to believe that [Mills] could have made a mistake like that get involved with someone like that," he said. Craig is pinning his own criminal woes on the bottle. Defense lawyer Steven Young told a judge this week that Craig was "blotto" that night and had been seeking help when he was drawn to David's apartment by a cross hanging on the door. Craig's ex-girlfriend suggested that, if he had a drinking problem, it might stem from career frustrations. According to the salon owner, Craig sometimes hasn't gotten roles because of his color and age, and was disappointed when he didn't get a starring role in "Aida" on Broadway and was instead put in the chorus. A critic in Philadelphia once praised Craig's "exceedingly inventive mind" and slapstick skills during his starring role as a buoyant bird-catcher in Mozart's "The Magic Flute." Craig has performed in regional productions around the country, but it was his role in the musical "Big River" at Wausau West HS in Wisconsin that has cast a shadow over his career. Wausau, a nearly all-white community of 40,000, needed a black performer in November 2000 to play the role of Jim in the Huck Finn-inspired musical. The district learned of Craig from a parent who knew him from an opera performance in Milwaukee. The musical was a local hit, but soon after it ended, Craig, then 39, was back in Wausau to face disturbing charges that included allegedly touching the breasts of girls in the production and asking one teen to come back to his hotel. In a 2002 plea deal, Craig agreed not to contest a misdemeanor charge of touching a girl's behind and was fined $1,582. Robin Kennedy, a former prosecutor who handled the case, said the key issue was whether the girls had misinterpreted Craig's behavior. Kathryn Rubino, a parent volunteer who was backstage during much of the production and who recommended Craig, said, "The time I was around him, everything was OK." Craig later became the minister of music at Harlem's Williams Institutional Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. The Rev. G. Harold Williams said Craig has been preaching and providing counseling since 1998. He said that the church was aware of his conviction, but did not know that the charge involved a kid. At the church, Craig has been working some of his old charm. The reverend said that Craig's voice and musical talents have helped boost membership and attract more kids.
Your Dishonor By Dareh
Gregorian and Marsha Kranes
The action against the
50-year-old jurist by the state Commission on Judicial Conduct was
spurred by her July 22, 2002, arrest for DWI. She had smashed a
Rolls-Royce BENCH BOOB:
Donna Mills, presiding (above) The timing of the two actions was coincidental, commission administrator Robert Tembeckjian said. He said that after Mills' criminal trial ended, "we had to conduct our own investigation" and "don't have the resources to move more swiftly." Mills had been found not guilty of DWI in April 2004 following a week-long jury trial in which she claimed she was racially profiled. But the commission noted that during its probe, Mills "frankly acknowledged it was inappropriate for her to drive after consuming as much alcohol as she did that evening" and that her accusations against the arresting officers were "offensive" and "otherwise inappropriate." It also noted that the cops who picked her up "were persons of color," and that Mills voluntarily entered an alcohol-rehab program following her arrest. Mills is on vacation and could not be reached at her Mount Vernon home. She can appeal the censure to the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals, but the commission said she has agreed that "the appropriate sanction is censure." "This sanction reflects the seriousness of [her] misconduct and underscores that judges, who hold a high position of public trust, are to be held to the highest standards of conduct both on and off the bench," the commission stated in its decision. It said Mills cooperated fully with its probe and "voluntarily provided confidential medical records regarding her physical and psychological treatment and recovery." The commission stressed that "it is the responsibility of every judge to act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity of the judiciary and to avoid conduct that detracts from the dignity of judicial office." Public censure is the second-harshest penalty that can be meted out by the state panel —— second only to removal from office. Mills was arrested after she slammed into two cars while trying to back her father's Rolls-Royce out of a parking spot. At her trial, the arresting officers testified that she had bloodshot eyes, smelled of booze, slurred her words, was unsteady on her feet, and refused to take a Breathalyzer test. As a
Judge Is Censured, By Kareem Fahim A State Supreme Court justice in Manhattan has been censured by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct for inappropriate behavior after an investigation into the circumstances surrounding her drunken-driving arrest in July 2002. Though cleared of all criminal charges, the justice, Donna M. Mills, admitted to the commission that she should not have driven her 1979 Rolls-Royce after drinking as much alcohol as she had. She also told the commission that her accusations that the arresting officers had singled her out because she is black had been offensive. Censure is the second most serious form of public discipline a judge can receive, one step short of removal from office, according to the commission's administrator, Robert H. Tembeckjian. Justice Mills has 30 days to appeal the decision. The unanimous decision by the commission, which was reached on Aug. 17 and announced yesterday, comes at a difficult time for Justice Mills, 52, who was already the subject of public attention this week in an unrelated court matter. Yesterday, an ordained minister and church choir director, Lawrence Craig, who was described by friends as her companion, was arraigned in Bronx Criminal Court on a felony charge of attempted burglary, as well as misdemeanor charges of attempted assault, trespassing and endangering the welfare of a child, and other charges. The charges stemmed from an occurrence on Saturday in which Mr. Craig drove a black convertible belonging to Justice Mills to a Bronx apartment building and tried to grab a 4-year- old boy from his family's home, according to witnesses' accounts. In court yesterday, Mr. Craig's lawyer, Steven Young, said that his client had a drinking problem and that the arresting officer reported that Mr. Craig appeared to be either drunk or under the influence of drugs. Mr. Craig, who was released on $2,500 bail, could not be reached for comment last night. Neither Justice Mills nor her lawyer returned calls made to their offices. According to the decision, which was released yesterday by the judicial conduct commission, on July 22, 2002, after an evening out with a friend that included "numerous" drinks and dinner, Justice Mills got into the Rolls-Royce, which had been parked in a lot belonging to a Loehmann's department store in the Bronx. As she started to leave the lot, opposite the 50th Precinct station house in Kingsbridge, Justice Mills tried to make a U-turn, and became stuck between two parked cars, the text of the decision said. Police officers who arrested her testified at her trial that Justice Mills "had a strong odor of alcohol, was unsteady on her feet and was incoherent," the decision said. The commission began its investigation into Justice Mills's conduct after a Bronx jury acquitted her of the drunken-driving charges in April 2004, Mr. Tembeckjian said. Justice Mills, who refused a Breathalyzer test when she was arrested, did not take the stand at her trial. But her lawyer at the time, Paul Gentile, contended that she had been singled out because of her race. According to the decision, Justice Mills acknowledged to its members that it was "inappropriate for her to drive after consuming as much alcohol as she did that evening." The commission also noted that while Justice Mills had accused the officers of arresting her because she is black, she had not uttered "profanities, epithets, or other words that would have been offensive per se." She also did not "invoke her judicial office or assert the influence of the judicial office in order to avoid arrest," according to the decision. Justice Mills is serving a 14-year term that ends in 2012, according to a spokeswoman for the Office of Court Administration. The commission found that she had violated standards requiring judges "to act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity of the judiciary and to avoid conduct that detracts from the dignity of the judicial office." In the case against Mr. Craig, Johanna Hernandez, an assistant district attorney in the Bronx, said in court yesterday that prosecutors had contacted authorities in Wisconsin, where Mr. Craig pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor sexual assault charge in 2002. Two other sexual assault charges were dropped. A report prepared by the Wausau, Wisc., police as part of the inquiry into allegations against Mr. Craig included interviews with cast and crew members of "Big River," a production the Wausau school district had hired Mr. Craig to perform in. The female witnesses, who ranged in age from 14 to 18, told investigators that Mr. Craig had touched them on their buttocks, breasts and legs, and kissed many of them. One 15-year old girl, identified as "H" in the report, said that during the play's final performance, Mr. Craig had "French kissed her" in a secluded spot, and mentioned coming back to a hotel with him. The girl said that Mr. Craig "encouraged her not to tell anyone what he had done." Another witness, an older woman, suggested that many girls had sought out Mr. Craig whenever he was not on stage. Matthew Sweeney contributed reporting for this article. Boozy Reverend 'Crossed' Up: Lawyer By Denise Buffa, Douglas
Montero
"My client does have a
drinking problem," Steven Young told a Bronx Criminal Court judge in
a bid to explain why his client, the Rev. Lawrence Craig, tried to
snatch David's 4-year-old son from her Beaumont Avenue apartment
last Saturday. "There's a cross on [David's] apartment door and other religious writing. He knew he was in trouble. He was seeking help," Young said. He contended that most people at one time or other get so blotto they don't know where they are. Craig was charged with attempted burglary, endangering the welfare of a child, attempted assault, attempted criminal trespass, trespass and harassment. Young argued against bail, asking that the 44-year-old minister be permitted to enter an alcohol-rehab program. But the judge set bail at $2,500 in cash or a $7,500 bond. Bronx Assistant District Attorney Johanna Hernandez requested higher bail, citing Craig's past arrest in Wisconsin for the sexual assault of a minor. "We believe he has had other contacts [with the criminal-justice system] as well," she said.
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Manhattan
Supreme Court Justice Donna Mills is not having a good week —— she
was censured yesterday for drunken driving and claiming she was
arrested because she's black. 
Judge
Donna Mills' minister boyfriend was lost in a boozy hell and thought
he had found salvation when he saw a cross over Narva David's
apartment door, his lawyer claimed yesterday. 
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A Feast
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