Nearly a dozen friends and family members were at the back of a Bronx courtroom on Tuesday, Nov. 26, when Administrative Judge Alvin Yearwood approved a request from the Office of Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark to vacate the 2011 second-degree murder conviction of Kimberly Hanzlik, 59, for her role in the 1999 killing of Joseph Brown. The victim was shot and killed inside a bar formerly known as Frenchy’s on East Tremont Avenue in Throggs Neck.

 

After a trial in Bronx Supreme Court, Hanzlik and her co-defendant, Joseph Meldish, were convicted by a jury on March 9, 2011, of second-degree murder. Hanzlik was sentenced to 20 years to life and Meldish to 25 years to life.

 

The vacating of the conviction, the dismissal of the charges, and the sealing of the case came after the DA’s Conviction Integrity Bureau (CIB) yielded new evidence that Hanzlik’s conviction was based on unreliable identification of her as a suspect.

 

In the context of the announcement, Clark said, “Ms. Hanzlik served 13 years in prison based on trial testimony that would not meet today’s threshold of credibility given the discovery of new information, which casts doubt on the integrity of her conviction, and we cannot stand by it. I realize this causes pain and anguish for the victim’s family, but in the interest of justice, we are dismissing the indictment against Ms. Hanzlik.”

 

Still in handcuffs during her court appearance, Hanzlik looked towards the ceiling as she took in news of her impending freedom before being embraced by her attorney.

 

Outside the courtroom, Hanzlik’s defense attorney, Irving Cohen, said, “It’s amazing! We knew she was innocent right away.” He added, “She’s totally innocent; she wasn’t there when this event happened.”

However, not everyone was happy with the decision. Although she has been interviewed and publicly identified in the past, Brown’s widow asked that we not identify her by name for this story. Hours after Hanzlik’s release, the widow told Norwood News that she and her family members were invited to attend the release proceedings, but none chose to do so.

 

The widow fumed, “I don’t know why they’re letting her out. It’s b——t that the witness……they screwed around with his testimony.” She continued, “The arresting officer who passed away, they’re taking advantage that he died because he isn’t here to defend himself.”

 

Having served nearly 14 years of her 20-year-to-life sentence, Hanzlik’s gratitude was conveyed through her defense attorney, who who told the judge, “There aren’t words to express the appreciation [for] the District Attorney’s office and the Conviction Integrity Bureau of that office, and I’m astounded by how diligently and hard-working they have been to arrive at this point.”

 

Before vacating the conviction, Yearwood said, “The court trusts that the district attorney’s investigation was accurate, and the district attorney believes if this conviction in this case was vacated, they would not have enough evidence in which to prosecute Mrs. Hanzlik a second time.”

 

She continued, “I testified. I saw her in the bar. The guy testified he drove her.” Brown’s widow added that Hanzlik and her co-defendant, Joseph Meldish, “went into Frenchy’s to kill Tommy Brown.” The widow added, “Unfortunately, they got Joe Brown instead.”

 

She then alleged the two 45^th Precinct detectives originally assigned to the case retired within days of the homicide. “It went into a cold case file [until 2011],” she added.

 

Published media reports at the time the incident occurred alleged Meldish was suspected of carrying out dozens of contract killings for three of the five New York crime families.

“Joe Meldish was fighting with my brother-in-law [Tommy Brown],” the widow said. “They were always fighting, and he wanted money from him, and he sold drugs. It was all about drugs and money. It had nothing to do with my husband [Joe Brown] or myself at the time; we were at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

 

The widow said her husband grew up in Throggs Neck, was a member of the Air Force Reserves, and was a “sandhog” or tunnel worker. She said they met through mutual friends.

 

Asked what life had been like for the last 25 years since the murder, the widow replied, “Horrible! I’m without a husband. My son is without a father.” She added that her son was four-and-a-half years old when Joe Brown was fatally shot.

 

Coincidentally, the widow said she had worked at the Bronx DA’s office for 12 years, only leaving the year before her husband’s murder. “I am so disappointed in the justice system,” the said. “I think it sucks, and all the criminals have the rights now. You open one door like this. Now, you’re going to open up a whole bunch of doors.”

 

Norwood News asked the NYPD for comment on the widow’s claims that the two detectives initially assigned to the case subsequently retired. We did not receive an immediate response. We also asked the NYPD for the work history records of now-deceased Det. Kevin Tracy. We were directed to file a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request.

The Bronx District Attorney’s office confirmed that Brown’s widow was employed at the office but could not immediately confirm for how long. Hanzlik’s conviction was the second that involved Tracy to be vacated this year. Given Tracey reportedly oversaw hundreds of cases over the course of his career, we asked the Bronx DA’s office about the possibility of other cases being overturned. We will share any updates we receive.

 

Meldish, 68, remains incarcerated and is not eligible for parole until 2032.

 

In response to this story, one reader later commented, “That was a good thorough piece on Hanzlik. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a vacate story that mentioned the impact on the victim’s family.”