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2 NYPD shot in the Bronx 2 separate shootings this weekend - I am a victim of NYPD crimes civil rights violated but I do not support violence even those the NYPD that broke laws celebrated violence against me.
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monster NYPD cop charged with killing his son kept custody AFTER judge suspected he was beating children
GRAHAM RAYMAN, LARRY MCSHANE
February 9 at 12:01 AM ET
The warning signs around NYPD Transit Officer Michael Valva were undeniable: A year’s probation for physically punishing his autistic sons, his continued abuse of the kids despite an agreement to clean up his act, indications the kids were underfed and undernourished.
None of it convinced a Suffolk County Family Court judge to remove the boys from the family’s Center Moriches home, where 8-year-old Thomas was left to freeze to death last month on the concrete floor of their bitterly-cold Long Island garage.
The monstrous Valva, who described the doomed Thomas as a “piece of s--t” in a text message two days before the boy’s Jan. 17 death, retained custody of his three sons despite desperate efforts by their mother, their teachers and school psychologists to find the little boys a safe haven.
8-year-old Thomas Valva was left to freeze to death last month on the concrete floor of the family's bitterly-cold Long Island garage.
Valva, 40, charged with murder in Thomas’ grotesque killing, agreed to a year’s probation — known as an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal — with a March 7, 2018, promise to refrain from “any acts of physical and domestic violence" toward his three sons. He also pledged to attend a parenting skills program.
Though, court records suggest that the cruel Valva’s mistreatment of the boys never ended, Suffolk County Family Court Judge Bernard Cheng left the three boys in their deranged dad’s custody. He was not the only one at fault: Sources indicated visits by Child Protective Services in March 2018, October 2018 and March 2019 all reported no issues inside the suburban house of horrors.
On Feb. 20, 2019, Cheng noted in court that he remained concerned “about a couple of things," starting with an interview one month earlier where 10-year-old autistic Anthony arrived walking bent over at the waist and indicating his backside was sore. The boy also went to school with injuries so severe from beatings that officials needed to ice down the boy’s buttocks and upper thighs.
“He was not able to explain how he got hurt and denied falling,” said Cheng. "He also stated his father told him to say he does not get hit at his house ... Anthony was (also) observed with bruising on his arm in the shape of fingerprints. So the court is concerned with that.”
The judge also referenced what he called “an ongoing thing” with the little boys’ continued weight loss. Cheng noted that Anthony lost six pounds in the month of January, while Thomas gained just four pounds in the 12 months of 2018.
Justyna Zubko-Valva holds a photo collage of her son, Thomas Valva, outside her home in Valley Stream,n Nassau County on Jan. 31.
SHAWN INGLIMA
Cheng noted that educators at the boys’ school in East Moriches told investigators that the kids couldn’t concentrate and were looking for food in garbage cans or off the floor. Despite the increasingly-frantic efforts of the boy’s mother Justyna Zubko-Valva, she was never able to regain custody of the kids: Anthony, Thomas and 6-year-old Andrew.
Suffolk Assistant County Attorny Randall Rajti, in the Feb. 20 hearing, objected to further investigation: “These are non-issues.” Cheng disagreed but ultimately declined to take any action.
“The court cannot ignore there are problems going on," said the judge. “Anthony is facing stressors. His deterioration in his level of functioning suggests that his needs are not being met.”
The judge said from the bench that he had to rely on the opinions of the CPS investigators. He insisted he could not change a custody arrangement ordered by another judge - Nassau County matrimonial Judge Hope Zimmerman who gave custody to Michael Valva.
Pallbearers carry Thomas Valava's casket after his funeral at St. Elizabeth's Church in Melville, Suffolk County on Jan. 30,
KEVIN HAGEN
New York courts spokesman Lucian Chalfen insisted the case was handled properly despite its tragic coda.
“As a neglect case, an inordinate amount of time was spent on this case by the judge including ordering three CPS investigations of the father and two physician visits,” said Chalfen. “These are not routine occurrences. Extra attention was paid to this case.”
Another red flag was thrown by Cheng in an April 12, 2019 decision, where the judge noted city schoolteacher Katherine Izzo — a neighbor of Zubko-Valva — testified that Thomas had recounted to her how Valva hit the little boy a dozen times.
Cheng wrote in the same decision that he found the father’s claims of innocence “less than credible,” with the dad’s testimony changing when pressed for details.
But in the end, nothing changed. He denied Zubko-Valva’s bid to regain custody of her kids.
“That is denied,” Cheng said. “You have to learn that once I make a decision that is it.”
Angela Pollina and her NYPD officer fiance Michael Valva are charged with murder in Thomas Valva's death,
(SUFFOLK COUNTY SHERIFF VIA AP)
Valva and his fiancee Angela Pollina remain jailed without bail for murder in Thomas’ death. They were indicted on Thursday at a hearing where prosecutors recounted how a callous Valva declared “I’ve been through more stressful things than this” after learning his son was dead.
Justyna Zubka-Valva (holding her son), arrives with family members for the funeral services for her son, Thomas Valva, 8, on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020, at St. Elizabeth's Church, in Melville, N.Y. Thomas' father, NYPD Transit Officer Michael Valva, 40, and his fiancée, Angela Pollina, 42, were charged with second-degree murder in his death. Thomas died in a freezing garage on Jan. 17, at his home in Center Moriches, N.Y. According to police sources, Valva began beating his autistic son on Jan. 16, then dictated that he spend the night in an unheated garage. Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said that a medical examiner ruled Thomas' death a homicide and listed hypothermia as a major contributing factor. The abuse reportedly began long before his death.
DAVID WEXLER
