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A Few Clouds 'Put this bad man away'Gottlieb's daughter asks for maximum sentence; judge obliges
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James Gottlieb isn't there to coach her in softball anymore, and won't see her cheerlead or graduate, Alicia said. It especially hurts when she sees her friends with their fathers, she said. Then Alicia asked Judge Jerald Carter to impose the maximum penalty against the man convicted last month of shooting her father dead on a Franklin Square street 16 months ago.
"Judge Carter, please put this bad man away forever," she said last Wednesday in Nassau County Court.
Minutes later, her wish was granted, as Carter sentenced Reginald Gousse, 32, to life behind bars without the possibility of parole.
In a high-profile incident that made national headlines, Gousse rented a dark SUV, affixed police lights to it, dressed as a police officer and tailed Gottlieb, an assistant manager at a bank in Cedarhurst, to Franklin Square on Jan. 5, 2005, Assistant District Attorney Fred Klein said. Gousse pulled Gottlieb over on Semton Boulevard and shot him twice when Gottlieb refused to hand over the keys to the bank, Klein said.
Gousse, who had several outbursts during his trial, was defiant until the end. In his final words before sentencing, Gousse ranted for nearly 10 minutes, repeatedly stopping in mid-sentence, unable to focus on one thought. His arguments ranged from likening himself to the "Central Park 5" (five black teens convicted in 1989 of brutally raping a white jogger, only to have their cases overturned) to calling the lead detective on his case a racist to expressing compassion for Gottlieb.
"I have sympathy for him solely from a human standpoint," Gousse said, maintaining his innocence throughout his speech. "His kids, I understand their father will never be in a position to walk through the front door."
Gousse accused his own attorney, Martin Geduldig, of improperly representing him for failing to investigate Lawrence Williams, a tipster who claimed that another man, Amili Chambers, was responsible for killing Gottlieb. Geduldig said outside court that Williams, who has a criminal record, could not be located, even by police. Chambers, who is a foot taller than Gousse, does not have a criminal record.
"It's unfounded and untrue," Geduldig said of Gousse's claims of misrepresentation. "I did as good as job as I could do."
Gousse also reiterated what he told Elizabeth Gottlieb at a post-arraignment hearing last year: that she would not get closure because police arrested the wrong man. Outside court, Elizabeth Gottlieb said Gousse was mistaken. "I have my closure," she said. "He's wrong."
After Gousse spoke, Carter addressed Alicia and James Gottlieb Jr., 20. Gottlieb's other son, Brian, 17, an H. Frank Carey High School senior, was not in court. "As tragic as it was and is, you know your father's last action on earth was to try and come home to see his family," the judge said. "Each day you breathe life, try to remember that."
Carter then turned to Gousse, and recalled March 14, the day during the trial that Gousse called the judge, who, like Gousse, is black, a "house n- - - - -." The outburst came after Carter ruled against Geduldig's request to call to testify a manager of a Cedarhurst bank near the one where Gottlieb worked who claimed he was followed home from work by a dark SUV the night before the murder.
"I let it pass," Carter said to Gousse. "Even though you dissed me in my own courtroom."
Carter revealed that Gousse's verbal assault that day didn't end there. As Gousse was being led to a courthouse cell and Carter was entering his chambers, Gousse told Carter, "You're a dead man," the judge said. Gousse denied threatening Carter's life, and said the judge misunderstood.
"In my mind, you were capable of this act," Carter told Gousse before delivering his sentence. Elizabeth Gottlieb, in the front row seat she occupied during the two-week trial, shook as the judge spoke.
Afterward, Geduldig said Gousse plans to appeal the sentence, which the Gottlieb family expected. Now they hope an Appellate Division judge doesn't let him off. "He got out before and this is what happened - a tragedy," Elizabeth Gottlieb said. "Now my husband is gone."
Said James Jr.: "This is the best that can be done. Hopefully, an appeal doesn't overturn it."
Talk of appeals didn't faze Alicia, who wore a pink dress. She got what she asked for. "He's in jail for life," Alicia said outside court. "Now I feel relieved."
Comments about this story? PWein@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 204..
"Judge Carter, please put this bad man away forever," she said last Wednesday in Nassau County Court.
Minutes later, her wish was granted, as Carter sentenced Reginald Gousse, 32, to life behind bars without the possibility of parole.
In a high-profile incident that made national headlines, Gousse rented a dark SUV, affixed police lights to it, dressed as a police officer and tailed Gottlieb, an assistant manager at a bank in Cedarhurst, to Franklin Square on Jan. 5, 2005, Assistant District Attorney Fred Klein said. Gousse pulled Gottlieb over on Semton Boulevard and shot him twice when Gottlieb refused to hand over the keys to the bank, Klein said.
Gousse, who had several outbursts during his trial, was defiant until the end. In his final words before sentencing, Gousse ranted for nearly 10 minutes, repeatedly stopping in mid-sentence, unable to focus on one thought. His arguments ranged from likening himself to the "Central Park 5" (five black teens convicted in 1989 of brutally raping a white jogger, only to have their cases overturned) to calling the lead detective on his case a racist to expressing compassion for Gottlieb.
Gousse accused his own attorney, Martin Geduldig, of improperly representing him for failing to investigate Lawrence Williams, a tipster who claimed that another man, Amili Chambers, was responsible for killing Gottlieb. Geduldig said outside court that Williams, who has a criminal record, could not be located, even by police. Chambers, who is a foot taller than Gousse, does not have a criminal record.
"It's unfounded and untrue," Geduldig said of Gousse's claims of misrepresentation. "I did as good as job as I could do."
Gousse also reiterated what he told Elizabeth Gottlieb at a post-arraignment hearing last year: that she would not get closure because police arrested the wrong man. Outside court, Elizabeth Gottlieb said Gousse was mistaken. "I have my closure," she said. "He's wrong."
After Gousse spoke, Carter addressed Alicia and James Gottlieb Jr., 20. Gottlieb's other son, Brian, 17, an H. Frank Carey High School senior, was not in court. "As tragic as it was and is, you know your father's last action on earth was to try and come home to see his family," the judge said. "Each day you breathe life, try to remember that."
Carter then turned to Gousse, and recalled March 14, the day during the trial that Gousse called the judge, who, like Gousse, is black, a "house n- - - - -." The outburst came after Carter ruled against Geduldig's request to call to testify a manager of a Cedarhurst bank near the one where Gottlieb worked who claimed he was followed home from work by a dark SUV the night before the murder.
"I let it pass," Carter said to Gousse. "Even though you dissed me in my own courtroom."
Carter revealed that Gousse's verbal assault that day didn't end there. As Gousse was being led to a courthouse cell and Carter was entering his chambers, Gousse told Carter, "You're a dead man," the judge said. Gousse denied threatening Carter's life, and said the judge misunderstood.
"In my mind, you were capable of this act," Carter told Gousse before delivering his sentence. Elizabeth Gottlieb, in the front row seat she occupied during the two-week trial, shook as the judge spoke.
Afterward, Geduldig said Gousse plans to appeal the sentence, which the Gottlieb family expected. Now they hope an Appellate Division judge doesn't let him off. "He got out before and this is what happened - a tragedy," Elizabeth Gottlieb said. "Now my husband is gone."
Said James Jr.: "This is the best that can be done. Hopefully, an appeal doesn't overturn it."
Talk of appeals didn't faze Alicia, who wore a pink dress. She got what she asked for. "He's in jail for life," Alicia said outside court. "Now I feel relieved."
Comments about this story? PWein@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 204..
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