Steven Pagones
Encyclopedia
Steven Pagones is a former Assistant District Attorney
in Dutchess County, New York
who was accused in 1987 by Tawana Brawley
of raping her. A grand jury investigation concluded that Brawley had not been the victim of an attack and may have simulated the appearance of an attack herself.
Pagones subsequently filed a civil suit against Al Sharpton
and lawyers C. Vernon Mason
and Alton H. Maddox, seeking $395 million in damages for 22 alleged defamatory statements. On July 13, 1998, after an eight-month trial, a jury found Sharpton liable for defamation for seven of the statements, Mason for one, and Maddox for two. On July 29, 1998, the jury awarded Pagones a total of $345,000 in damages. Sharpton was found liable for $65,000 of the amount, Maddox for $95,000, and Mason for $185,000.
Pagones went on to become an Assistant State Attorney General
.
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
in Dutchess County, New York
Dutchess County, New York
Dutchess County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, in the state's Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley. The 2010 census lists the population as 297,488...
who was accused in 1987 by Tawana Brawley
Tawana Brawley
Tawana Brawley is an African-American woman from Wappinger, New York. In 1987, at the age of 15, she received national media attention in the United States for accusing six white men, some of whom were police officers, of having raped her...
of raping her. A grand jury investigation concluded that Brawley had not been the victim of an attack and may have simulated the appearance of an attack herself.
Pagones subsequently filed a civil suit against Al Sharpton
Al Sharpton
Alfred Charles "Al" Sharpton, Jr. is an American Baptist minister, civil rights activist, and television/radio talk show host. In 2004, he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. presidential election...
and lawyers C. Vernon Mason
C. Vernon Mason
C. Vernon Mason is an African-American lawyer from Tucker, Arkansas. Best known for his involvement in several high profile New York City cases in the 1980s, including the Bernhard Goetz, Howard Beach, and Tawana Brawley incidents, Mason has not practiced law since his 1995 disbarment. He then...
and Alton H. Maddox, seeking $395 million in damages for 22 alleged defamatory statements. On July 13, 1998, after an eight-month trial, a jury found Sharpton liable for defamation for seven of the statements, Mason for one, and Maddox for two. On July 29, 1998, the jury awarded Pagones a total of $345,000 in damages. Sharpton was found liable for $65,000 of the amount, Maddox for $95,000, and Mason for $185,000.
Pagones went on to become an Assistant State Attorney General
New York State Attorney General
The New York State Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of New York. The office has been in existence in some form since 1626, under the Dutch colonial government of New York.The current Attorney General is Eric Schneiderman...
.